A Boarding Group Adjustment

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has been open for a couple of weeks now at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As I’ve mentioned before, boarding groups have been used so that people will not have to wait in line for hours. People have still been waiting, but that has been because they have shown up at the park a couple of hours early in order to grab a spot in one of those boarding groups. The spots have often been gone within 15 minutes of opening.

The way that the groups are run has been tweaked a bit. Originally Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been opening before the official opening time. As soon as someone entered the park, they could try to grab a spot in a boarding group. That is why the groups would all be filled within minutes of the official opening time. People were getting in groups before the official opening hours.

The past couple of days, people have been allowed in the park before the official opening time, but they have been allowed only in the front of the park. The boarding groups have not been available when entering, instead Disney has been waiting until the official opening time of 7:00 to make them available on the My Disney Experience App.

Some people are upset about the change, but I think it’s a good idea. Things have been crazy so far, and Christmas Week is just around the corner. No one wants to wait outside of a closed park at 5:00 on Christmas morning.

So far, the new strategy seems to be working. I tend to check the My Disney Experience App a lot, to see if there are any trends. There have been spots open quite a bit later, they aren’t all gone by 7:15.

If you hope to ride the greatest theme park attraction in the world, you will still want to arrive early. You need to be in the park in order to get into a boarding group. Your entire party needs to be with you. The good news is that you don’t have to stay in the park until your group is called. When you receive the notification that it’s your turn, you have a two hour time frame. The system may not be perfect, but so far it does seem to be fair. Keep in mind that Disney could change things up again if they decide that it’s necessary.