In the past year, Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The addition of these new lands were accompanied by newly released merchandise, innovative technology and heavily anticipated attractions. However, the most recent attraction for both parks has been Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Guests in Florida were able to experience the attraction first with an opening date on December 5, 2019, while Disneyland guests were able to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance on January 17.
Related Article: Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Galaxy’s Edge is a completely immersive land that is set on the planet of Batuu. The Aurebesh language is commonly seen throughout the land and the Black Spire Outpost consists of unique experiences such as building your own droid at the Droid Depot or even a custom lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop. The attraction that first opened at Galaxy’s Edge was Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, which is a motion simulator where guests fly through the galaxy in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon. Guests are assigned to one of three roles: pilot, engineer or gunner, and all of these assignments have specific tasks guests must complete in order to successfully achieve their mission.
Via Los Angeles Times
One of the unique elements about Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is that guests are able to experience this attraction through a virtual queue and lottery system. Through the My Disney Experience app, guests are able to join boarding groups based on a few contingencies: they are in the park, meaning their MagicBand, the Disneyland app, or their ticket has been scanned at entry, they have met the 40-inch height requirement and there are boarding groups still available. Once a guest has received a boarding group, they are free to enjoy the other amenities throughout the park and will receive a notification once their boarding group has been called. They then have a two-hour window to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Related Article: What You Need to Know About Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Over winter break, I had the opportunity to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. In order to get a boarding group, I had to wake up a few hours before park opening in order to ensure I would have even a remote chance of obtaining a boarding group. I arrived at the park at around 6:15 a.m. and was in the park by 6:30. At this time, Disney extended the hours for Hollywood Studios so park opening was at 7:00 a.m. There have been a lot of stories of guests arriving at 4:00 or 5:00 o’clock in the morning, with some guests even arriving at earlier times for the opening day. However, your spot in line does not matter as long as you are in the park before 7:00 a.m. On the first day I went, I received boarding group 34, with the person next to me receiving 81. My boarding group was then called at approximately 10:00 a.m. and I immediately made my way over to check in.
Via easyWDW
Although I decided not to share any spoilers, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was truly like no other ride I had ever ridden before. The attention to detail, complete immersion and the state-of-the-art animatronics and technology utilized by Imagineers was shocking. In my opinion, it is by far the most advanced ride at Walt Disney World and truly creates a new dialogue surrounding theme park attractions.