Hi!!
How does this work when the guide is meeting us at the hotel at 7:30am with the tickets?
How to get a BG in this scenario?
We are flying in, going to Star Wars stuff and flying out - so we only have one day to do this!
When we went in late December, they had just started the system where you couldn't tap in to secure a BG until official park opening. Our VIP Guide got us there in time for RD (6:00 am on our tour day), but the issue, at that time, was that the VIP Tours ticketing system at DHS had a 5 minute delay from official park opening until VIP guests could tap in (it has something to do with their hand-held equipment not being tied to the tapstiles). That 5 minute delay was compounded by the fact that there were 5 VIP groups (at least 40 or so guests altogether) all tapping in to one VIP hand-held ticket scanner. By the time we scanned in at 6:07 am, we were only able to secure a back-up BG which was fine with us as I knew nothing was guaranteed and it at least gave us a possible chance to ride. We ended up getting some pixie dust from guest services who moved our BG up so we could ride earlier in the day, but it was completely unexpected. VIP Tour services were very upfront with us that they could not get us on the ride, so we were happy with the back-up BG we got and super happy with the pixie dust.
The possible issue I see with your tour, however, is, recently the BG's and back-up BG's have been running out in, literally, minutes (I think today all BGs were gone by 8:03 am - 3 minutes after opening). If there is still a 5 minute delay in tapping in to DHS for VIP guests, your chances of getting any BG may be slim to none and I really don't know if your VIP guide can intervene and help if you don't secure a BG at all.
If I were you, I would call VIP Tour services and ask if there is still a ticket scanning delay and, if so, how they are navigating the delay with guests who are trying to get a BG. If the delay has been eliminated, you will, at least, have a better chance of snagging a BG or back-up BG, but, again, there are no guarantees.