We did it! Here is our experience

We flew out of Pittsburgh last Thursday for Orlando. Our evening flight was delayed about 40 minutes and landed about 10:00 PM. After arriving, waiting for baggage, walking over and checking in at Magical Express, waiting on Magical Express to depart we finally walked into our hotel room at POP Century at 12:15 AM

Next morning was Hollywood studios and after reading numerous posts about how so many people were not being able to secure a boarding pass for ROTR we thought we had to wake up early and do what we needed to do to at least try to secure a board pass

We woke up at 4, showered, called for an Uber at 5 AM. As we walked out to the front of POP others were also waiting for Ubers. When we got in the car I asked the Uber driver if he does this a lot with rides to Hollywood Studios for this challenge to secure a board pass. He informed me he has been transporting people over to Hollywood Studios since 3:30 aM already.........I thought OK, there is going to be lines already.

Quick 10 minute ride and we got in line with about 100 people already at 5:10 AM. All the turnstiles were open and each had about 5-10 people waiting in line. We had no bags so we went over to that line which had only 3 people in it

At 5:15 AM they opened up security and allowed everyone to go through to the next turnstile which was the one you needed to scan your magic band at. We stood there until 6:15 AM. By that time hundreds of people were behind us in line and every turnstile was open.

At 6:15 they opened up and informed everyone to walk down the main street and turn left to wait to enter Star Wars land. Another 45 minute wait as the park only opened at 7 AM that day and we were told over and over again by the Disney cast members you can only log on at 7 AM to try to secure a boarding pass for the ride.

It was truly like New Year's eve count down as hundreds of us had our phones out. We were about 5 people deep from the rope. I looked behind me at 6:55 AM and the line wrapped about down the main street already. As 7 AM hit, everyone started hitting the phones and you could here people yelling "Yes, we are in" , we had to refresh twice but finally got boarding group 67. Very random as the people next to our left got board group 2 and the other side of us got 27.

The cast members told us that they would wait 5 minutes after 7 AM to drop the rope as they didn't want everyone looking down on their phones and walking. They told us to follow them to the land area and start to squeeze down to 2 by 2. They walked us all straight to Smugglers Run and we walked right on. We were off by 7:20 AM. They said we were all free to leave the line and go anywhere in the park we wanted but suggested that if we wanted to ride this ride, do it now as the line will grow as the day goes on. Great suggestion.

Our boarding group of 67 was called at 11:45 AM to board. You have 2 hours to get on the ride. It was worth every minute of waking up at 4 AM and waiting in lines all morning.

That is our story. If I had to do it over again the same way I would...........getting their early was very beneficial. We spoke to other during the day at arrived at 7:45 AM and were not able to secure a board pass.

I'm glad to hear you guys got your boarding pass and enjoyed the ride. You are more determined to ride a ride than I am though. There is absolutely no way I would ever go through all of that. We are going to be there in a couple of weeks and in all likelihood won't get in but it is fine. It will still be there in a couple of years and the frenzy will be over by then. I will just get in line and ride it one day down the road.

Thank you @DisneyDadFromPittsburgh; for your detailed explanation of how you were able to secure a boarding pass. Excellent information - I was curious about how that could be done! :mickey: :thumbsup: I'd definitely do the same if I was there in HS. (I'm a morning person & I like Disney at that time in the morning the best - {thanks to the marathons}.) :cloud9:

Congrats on securing your boarding group!! Personally, though, it is highly unlikely I am going to ever arrive at a park that early in the morning so it will likely be a while before I get on that ride!!

Thanks for the Report! :thanks:

... also a great guide for those how haven't experienced the virtual queue yet.

For those planning their visit, please also be advised that some of the later boarding groups are now being given a 1 hour return window instead of 2. Check your boarding group info to make sure!

I know this is a Disneyworld board, but I just rode it at Disneyland on Thursday and it’s a similar experience. Just be in the park when it opens and hit the “join a boarding group” spot immediately. I was able to get group 43. Screams of excitement heard everywhere. If you get in a few minutes after opening you are probably out of luck. Maybe that will ease up in time but who knows. The ride is fantastic but I don’t want to build it up too much and have people disappointed later. If you are a Star Wars fan you should love it though. Great use of characters and technology.

So, if I understand, if you want to get a boarding pass, you need to be through the turnstiles and scan your wrist bands before the park officially opens?

Did that question make sense? 🤪

Yes that is correct. Once 7 AM hits, then you can get on your phone and try to get the boarding pass as long as your magic band has been scanned.

I applaud your determination to get on the ride, especially considering how late you arrived the night (actually, morning) before! It all sounds very exhausting though; not sure that I would have had the energy to jump through all the hoops.