How to Ride Star Wars: Rise of Resistance Strategy Guide
The most popular attraction at Walt Disney World is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Hollywood Studios. This guide covers how to ride now that the virtual queue is done: avoiding lines or minimizing the multi-hour wait times and strategy for successfully scoring an Individual Lightning Lane at the Galaxy’s Edge blockbuster.
We update this guide regularly based on the latest changes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Last year, Walt Disney World announced that it was “pausing” the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. However, that hasn’t happened even during peak weeks since then, including on occasions when the standby wait has hit 420 minutes. We love Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and consider it the best attraction at Walt Disney World, but I cannot imagine waiting 7 hours!
In any case, the virtual queue is gone for good. In addition to the Disney’s Hollywood Studios headliner having a standby line, there have been a lot of other changes: Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary plus the debut of Early Theme Park Entry for on-site hotel guests plus the controversial Lightning Lane and Genie+ system. Suffice to say, a ton is happening with queueing at Walt Disney World right now. We’re here to break it all down and explain your best and worst options for doing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Before we dig in, one final note: Walt Disney World tinkers with this ride regularly. We’re diligent in keeping this updated and the information here is current as of Late 2023, but things could change. Be sure to check back for the latest info–or subscribe to our free Walt Disney World email newsletter for instant updates about all of the latest news, when discounts are released, etc.
With that said, let’s start in sequential order, so to speak. Although Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not using a virtual queue anymore, you still might want to be up at 7 am. This is because the ride now uses a traditional standby line and is one of Hollywood Studios’ two Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) attractions.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is actually the most popular Individual Lightning Lane in all of Walt Disney World, routinely booking up before the park even opens. In general, we’re not fans of paying extra for ILLs…with the exception of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. That’s true even after the latest price increase–Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance can cost as much as $25. Our Individual Lightning Lane Info & Tips post covers the why of that and what to do to reserve this ride via ILL.
It’s also worth noting that it’s difficult to book both Slinky Dog Dash via Genie+ and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in the same morning unless you have multiple people trying and use our “speed strategy.” For advice on the latter, consult our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World and Lightning Lane FAQ.
Continuing before Disney’s Hollywood Studios officially opens for the day, there’s the option of Early Theme Park Entry, which replaced morning Extra Magic Hours. Officially, Early Entry is offered at all 4 theme parks every single day and offers 30-minute access to guests staying in on-site hotels at Walt Disney World. (See our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World for more info & strategy.)
Unofficially, Early Entry often ends up being much more than a 30 minute head-start at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which often quietly opens before that and starts operating Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Check out our report on Early Entry at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that covers our experience knocking out the trio of most popular attractions at DHS before the park opened to regular guests.
This brings us to normal park opening time for everyone else. Because you’re almost an hour behind on-site guests at this point and other off-site visitors will be racing to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, this is actually one of the worst times to do the attraction via the standby line.
In fact, wait times for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance essentially have two peaks: about 30-60 minutes after official opening time and in early afternoon. This is the direct result of the park opening race to Rise of the Resistance and another spike following lunch.
If you want the best time to do Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in the first half of the day, line up around 11 am. The posted wait time will still likely be triple digits, but it’s typically falling at this point rather than rising.
This is because the influx of park opening guests is cycling out, and fewer new guests are jumping into line because the wait will conflict with lunch. Objectively, this is the optimal time unless you’re staying late–assuming no ride breakdowns.
In general, later in the day is better than the first half, with posted wait times typically bottoming out about 2 hours before park closing. There are a couple of things you need to be aware of here, however.
First, posted wait times typically don’t drop much after 6 pm. That doesn’t mean actual wait times aren’t still declining, though. Walt Disney World often inflates posted times later in the day to discourage people from queueing up. Usually, an attraction’s actual wait time will be shortest in the last 30 minutes of the night, regardless of posted waits.
This is almost always true with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, too. The one wildcard is ride breakdowns, which are still semi-frequent with this complex attraction. Breakdowns earlier in the day can create a backlog of Individual Lightning Lane guests, and Disney prioritizes those–this means standby will be slow later in the night when the ride has a “bad” day.
The other risk with downtime is that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will have problems towards the end of the night and simply not reopen. A breakdown earlier in the day is one thing–you can always come back later. If it’s the last hour of operations, there are no second chances, unless you have another day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As such, assess your “risk tolerance,” how important Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is to you, and plan accordingly.
That wraps up our revised strategy guide for riding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We’ll keep you updated with what you need to know for doing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
As far as current info goes, that’s it. What follows is ‘legacy’ info about the now-defunct virtual queue, preserved for posterity–and just in case it returns…
As with every other theme park at Walt Disney World, you’ll need to start by booking a Park Pass reservation before visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios, usually at least several weeks in advance. The good news is that park capacity has increased significantly throughout summer, so obtaining Park Pass reservations is easier. The bad news is that it’s also easier for everyone else, which means higher attendance and more competition for a Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding pass. That’s why we’re here to help you improve your odds of success in beating the crowds.
A comprehensive ‘how to ride’ guide might seem excessive, after all, isn’t it just a matter of “sitting down and buckling up”?! However, protocol for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is unprecedented in several ways. The procedure for getting a chance to ride Rise of the Resistance is confusing even longtime Walt Disney World fans, so our goal here is to help you avoid similar frustrations.
If you simply show up at park opening for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and think you’re going to be able to rope drop Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, you’re in for disappointment. To the contrary, your odds are significantly worse if you only do that. It cannot be overstated how different and difficult Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is to experience.
Hence this ride guide and FAQ, so you can plan accordingly, beat the crowds, and have an incredibly efficient day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Here’s everything you need to know about the attraction and how to access it. While the second section is largely spoiler-free, it does remove some ‘elements of surprise.’
Virtual Queue
What is the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
The virtual queue is the sole system for accessing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Rather than FastPass or a standby line, you join this virtual line via the My Disney Experience (MDX) app and are notified when it’s your turn to ride. The process requires a few clicks in-app, but it’s pretty intuitive.
What are boarding groups for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
Boarding groups are the means of organizing guests into groups when it’s their turn to ride.
For example, rather than having a set 3-4 pm return time, you might be in boarding group 55. Your return time is not specified in advance, but rather, based upon how quickly the attraction cycles the guests through who are in front of you in the virtual queue. (Plus how many or few times it breaks down.)
When can we enter the virtual queue?
One new positive change Disney has made since reopening is multiple ‘drop times’ for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue boarding passes.
You can join the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue at 7 am or 1 pm via the My Disney Experience app.
How can I enter the virtual queue at 7 am given that Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t open then?
This is the latest change to the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue, and allows guests to attempt joining from their hotel room or wherever they may be.
For those successful at the 7 am entry time, this effectively removes the need to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by rope drop. There are still some strategic advantages to that, but it allows for a more leisurely start to the day.
Is one of the entry times easier for the virtual queue?
Right now, yes.
The 1 pm virtual queue is currently staying open for hours almost every single day. By contrast, the 7 am entry time fills up in seconds. This difference is due to the incredibly low crowds Walt Disney World is currently experiencing–in normal times, both fill up in seconds.
What is the process like for joining the virtual queue?
The steps are pretty similar to the FastPass+ selection process (if you used that before Walt Disney World suspended the service).
With that said, there’s no substitute for seeing for yourself. While it won’t let you complete the process, you can go through the first several steps of joining the virtual queue from home. Be on the MDX app some morning right when Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens and go through the motions. It’s good practice for the real thing!
Disney WiFi v. Cellular Data?
It really depends on your carrier and where you’re located in the park/resort/etc.
We’d recommend doing a quick speed test with both a few minutes before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Anything at or above 50 Mbps should be sufficient, but the higher the better. If necessary, move around to get away from other people or increase your speed to that threshold.
How should we prepare for joining the virtual queue?
This might sound like overkill, but milliseconds matter.
Make sure your phone is fully updated and force close all apps, including My Disney Experience shortly before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Double-check the time on your phone or watch against time.gov, which is what Disney uses for opening the virtual queue.
What’s the best strategic approach for joining a boarding group? Should one person try for everyone, should we each try individually, or what?
Do not try individually–you won’t be in the same boarding groups, meaning you won’t ride together.
We recommend everyone try for everyone in your party. Launch the MDX app about 10 seconds before the official virtual queue entry time and hit the “Join Boarding Group” button. If that doesn’t work, force-refreshing by pulling down “hard.”
Everyone in your party who has a valid Disney Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios should already be pre-selected. The person in your party with the fastest fingers will score the boarding group, while everyone else will receive a “Not So Fast/Already in Boarding Group” message. Just be sure that anyone in your party who tries for boarding passes attempts to add everyone.
Again, it’s good to do a practice run or two at home so you’re comfortable with the process in the My Disney Experience app so you don’t get flustered and mess up. We’ve heard horror stories of readers clicking through too quickly and forgetting to add one of their family members. Don’t freak out if that happens–go to the Guest Experience Team Cast Members stationed at the blue umbrellas.
What if not everyone in my party is pre-selected?
During the process of joining the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue, everyone in your party who has a Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and/or has tapped into the park (as applicable) should already be pre-selected. However, you have the option to hit “Change Party” before tapping the “Join Virtual Queue” button.
Our strong advice is not mess with this–don’t even check whether they are or are not in your party–simply to click “Join Virtual Queue” as fast as possible. Pausing for even a second to review this screen can doom your chances of success. If, for some reason, someone in your party was not selected, see a Cast Member at the Guest Experience Team stands (look for the blue umbrella) in the park. Adding one person to an existing boarding group is a problem they can fix. No one in your party getting boarding groups because you hesitated or didn’t join due to an error is not a problem they can fix.
Do we need to be in the park for the 1 pm virtual queue opening?
No. However, everyone in your party does need to enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios at some point before 1 pm in order to “unlock” access to the virtual queue at 1 pm. Meaning you could arrive for park opening, take the Skyliner back to your hotel for lunch and a pool break, and try again at 1 pm.
It is not geofenced or based upon proximity—this functionality unlocks in the My Disney Experience app for each guest after they have physically tapped into the park’s tap/turnstiles. You can leave after tapping in and still join during the afternoon entry time from your hotel room or wherever.
You could literally be inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios or in Duluth, Minnesota. The system only validates whether you’ve tapped into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, not your current location. It can actually be advantageous to leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios midday, as that’s when crowds and wait times are worst.
Anything else we can do pre-vacation to improve chances of success?
If you don’t mind monitoring the Disney Park Pass reservations calendar, consider booking multiple days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Even if you’re only going to do DHS one day, it’s savvy strategy to book reservations for DHS on your Epcot and possibly Animal Kingdom days in addition to your dedicated DHS day.
With the 7 am entry time, it’s possible to attempt to score Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding passes from outside the park before you start your day. If you’re unsuccessful, you can change your Disney Park Pass reservations day-of to Epcot or Animal Kingdom subject to availability.
This is our recommendation because it’s always easier to change from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to another park than vice-versa. By the time your travel dates arrive, it’s entirely conceivable that DHS will be fully booked for every day of your trip. Same goes for Magic Kingdom on some dates, whereas Animal Kingdom and EPCOT usually have same-day availability.
Walt Disney World significantly increased attendance caps in mid-July, and it is now much easier to score same-day Disney Park Pass reservations. However, we must emphasize that there is some risk in getting “stuck” with multiple DHS reservations, so keep an eye on the Disney Park Pass availability calendar and switch in advance if this looks like it’s becoming an issue around your travel dates.
Should we buy Park Hopper tickets?
If you’ve read our Money-Saving Walt Disney World Ticket Guide, you know that we typically recommend Park Hopper tickets. They allow you to bounce around, which is strategically advantageous.
For guests who really want to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, we recommend booking Park Pass reservations for at least two days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. However, we also do not believe DHS is a full-day park right now. As with the above day-of switcheroo above, we’d actually recommend reserving 2 days at DHS and 0 days at Epcot—and plan on sticking with those reservations.
Morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and evening at Epcot is our preferred way to experience both parks. This isn’t just personal preference–it’s strategically superior given normal operating hours.
Accordingly, starting your morning at DHS and ending at Epcot can extend your day by a couple of hours. (Additionally, rope dropping Epcot doesn’t offer any advantage–it’s more crowded due to the late opening time.) For this reason, we highly recommend purchasing Park Hopper tickets right now. Read about what to expect and why in our Guide to Park Hopping at Walt Disney World.
Which days of the week are best for visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
When Walt Disney World was regularly running out of Park Pass reservations, we recommended doing Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Saturday or Sunday. However, that’s no longer the case and this is no longer our advice. We now recommend any weekday. It doesn’t really matter which one, but Friday is objectively the best by a small margin.
As a whole, wait times in DHS are still lower on weekends. This is because locals are more likely to visit on weekends and less likely to stand in long lines since they’ve done everything before. They are also more likely to be skilled and experienced at doing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, making them tougher competition. It’s like playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of a little league team. (Not that your family should go around trouncing kids at baseball, but you get the idea!)
Can we get more than one boarding pass per day?
No.
Do reservations for Oga’s Cantina or Droid Depot get us spots in the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
No.
What happens if we have an Advance Dining Reservation that conflicts with our return time?
Ideally, you should see a Cast Member at the Guest Experience Team stands (look for the blue umbrella) located throughout the park. They can assist with scheduling conflicts.
Failing that, see a Cast Member at the attraction entrance–they are typically pretty flexible.
When should we get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for rope drop?
If you’re wanting to do park opening, arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at least 30 minutes before the official park opening time. It’ll take around 15 minutes to get through bag check and the turnstiles, that should give you at least 15 minutes to join the masses and be ready to go at official park opening time. See our updated 1-Day Disney’s Hollywood Studios Itinerary for morning ride recommendations and step-by-step advice for your entire day.
When you should leave your hotel room in order to arrive by then is a different matter entirely and depends upon where you’re staying and the mode of transportation you use. Don’t cut things too close–Walt Disney World transportation usually takes longer than anticipated.
How do we time our arrival if we score Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance spots but want to arrive late?
A good rule of thumb is that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance averages about 12 boarding groups per hour. However, due to its reliability woes, sometimes that can be as low as 0 per hour or as high as 18 per hour. Over the course of most days, it averages out to about 10-14 per hour, though.
Accordingly, if you’re boarding group 48, you could plan to arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios around 4 hours after park opening. Boarding group 60 could do 5 hours after park opening (and so on).
When will crowds subside?
Currently, Walt Disney World attendance, crowds, and congestion have all increased dramatically as compared to even a few months ago. Demand still far exceeds supply for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. For every boarding pass that’s distributed, there are several guests who want to experience the attraction.
Is it safe to rely on Walt Disney World transportation for getting to DHS in time for park opening?
Yes.
If you’re staying at one of the Crescent Lake resorts, it’s easiest just to walk to DHS. For other resorts, the buses and Skyliner, are also once again reliable for arriving at park opening. Still, guests who stay at BoardWalk, Yacht & Beach Club, and Swan & Dolphin should walk rather than using boats or the Skyliner. Walking is far and away the fastest and best way to arrive in the morning.
What time is Rise of the Resistance running out of boarding passes?
There is no set time, but it has been occurring in under 10 seconds of boarding group distribution times.
Going forward, we expect this trend will continue.
Does everyone have to be present to join or can we send one ‘runner’ to the park?
For the 7 am entry, the only requirement is a valid Disney Park Pass reservation. Since DHS isn’t open at that hour, entering the park isn’t even possible for that.
For the 1 pm entry, everyone in your party must tap into Disney’s Hollywood Studios before they’re eligible to join the VQ.
What if we’re all near the park?
Nope.
It’s not based upon proximity–this functionality only unlocks in the My Disney Experience app once you physically tap into the park’s tap/turnstiles. It’s worth noting that you can leave after tapping in and still join during the afternoon entry time from your hotel room or wherever. The system only validates whether you’ve tapped in, not your current location.
Can we leave the park once joining the queue?
Yes. You could go back to your resort and take a nap, eat lunch, etc.
How do we know when we can return?
If your phone has push notifications for My Disney Experience enabled, you’ll receive an alert that your boarding group has been called.
Failing that, the “My Status” screen on the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance screen displays the same information.
Does Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance accommodate Disability Access Service (DAS) card?
Yes, but this is still truly first come, first served.
That means everyone must join the virtual queue first, which means arriving and going through that just like everyone else. To take advantage of DAS, go to the FastPass return line once your boarding group is called.
What about Rider Switch?
Yep, same process as above.
How long is the average wait once in the physical line?
Assuming nothing breaks down and the attraction didn’t just return from being down, around 20-40 minutes.
Boarding groups are fairly small in size, so if you get lucky and return at the “right” time, most of the queue will be empty and you’ll practically walk on the attraction. Time it poorly and things can back up quite a bit, and you might be in a line that’s closer to an hour long. We’ve been in line when the ride breaks down and ended up having to wait over 2 hours.
Should we just wait to do Rise of the Resistance until our 2024 Walt Disney World trip?
We wouldn’t recommend it for both the reasons identified immediately above and below.
Additionally, this is a very complex attraction with a lot of practical effects, some of which may not exist forever. Just ask anyone who rode Expedition Everest or Indiana Jones Adventure the first year those attractions were open how the original rides compare to today.
This is pretty complicated…is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance worth jumping through all of these hoops?
It’s complicated to understand because it’s new and different, but once you experience it in person, it’s really not that difficult.
Moreover, as we write in our spoiler-free Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Ride Review, this is one of Walt Disney World’s best attractions ever. It’s absolutely worth the effort.
When will this all die down?
Never? Maybe when your kids have kids?
Flight of Passage is just as popular today as it was ~6 years ago, and still can be a hassle. And that’s for a ride based on Avatar–this is Star Wars. Don’t wait.
Ride Info for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Will I like this if I’m not a huge Star Wars fan?
Much like you can enjoy Splash Mountain without ever seeing Song of the South or Flight of Passage without ever seeing Avatar, you can enjoy Rise of the Resistance without ever seeing a single Star Wars film.
Fans of the franchise will likely get more out of it, but the ride works on multiple levels and the storyline requires no prior knowledge to understand. In fact, our favorite character in Rise of the Resistance is new for this attraction!
If I have a YouTube channel dedicated to complaining about how Disney destroyed Star Wars with the last movie, will I enjoy this?
I hope not.
What’s the heigh requirement?
You must be at least 40″ tall to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
What rides does Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance compare to?
Not much at Walt Disney World.
It’s a bit like a dark ride, except trackless and mildly exhilarating. Think somewhere between Spaceship Earth and Dinosaur, with some qualities of Tower of Terror. The trackless dark ride element is comparable to the upcoming Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at Epcot. (Ride vehicle pictured below.)
Is it family friendly?
Absolutely. There’s the aforementioned height requirement due to a drop and a variety of boilerplate health warnings, but otherwise this is okay for all ages.
Is the drop intense?
No. The drop in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is more like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean than the ones in Tower of Terror. It might catch you by surprise, but it’s more of a “haha” thrill than an “aaaahhhh” thrill.
That still sounds too intense–is there a ‘chicken exit’?
Yes, and we’d highly encourage you to utilize it, as over half of the attraction occurs before boarding a ride vehicle.
If you don’t want to ride, simply notify a Cast Member at the point where they’re assigning colors. They will direct you to the exit at that point.
Any issues for guests with motion sickness?
If you’re fine doing Toy Story Mania, you’ll be fine here. The ride portion utilizes a trackless ride system, and the vehicles have nimble and dynamic ‘dancing’ movements.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not like motion simulator like Star Tours or even Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Wait a second…Toy Story Mania…is this 3D?!
Nope. There are some screens, but no 3D.
The Toy Story Mania comparison is most apt because of the way that can spin you around at times.
Is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance better than Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Frozen Ever After, or Flight of Passage?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
The only one of those that even belongs in the same conversation as Rise of the Resistance is Flight of Passage, and although they’re very different attractions, we’ll state this without equivocation: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is better than Avatar Flight of Passage.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is one of the top 10 Disney attractions in the world, on an epic scale that’s only rivaled by Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland. Whether it has the same longevity as all-time greats like Haunted Mansion and (regular) Pirates of the Caribbean remains to be seen.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition. As for planning the rest of your trip, we have a thorough Walt Disney World Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Do you have any questions this FAQ failed to answer? If you’ve done Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, do you think there’s anything else first-timers should know? Do you agree or disagree with any of our advice or answers? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom, not sure if you’ll see this, but I have a question that didn’t really exist before this new afternoon drop time. Let’s assume my entire party arrives in the park in the morning and all taps in to the park and attempts the 10am pass madness, but we can’t get a pass (technical issue/too slow etc.). Can we leave the park, go chill at our resort pool, and try again at 2pm from the resort since we have all “tapped in” to Hollywood Studios for the day, or will the location service on our phone showing we have left the park prevent us from trying again at 2pm? I don’t love the idea of having to deal with morning crowds and midday heat at the park just to try again at 2pm if we could escape it and return in the more civilized afternoon/evening timeframe.
I haven’t tried that with the new/modified system, but this would have worked before. I’m about 90% sure it’ll still work, but will test the next time I have an opportunity. (Who knows when that will be, though.)
My parents are interested in riding this and neither have smart phones. Is there a way to get a boarding group without the use of the app?
Hi there,
My husband and I travelled from Canada and just got back. We used your advice here and were successful so thank you! March 5th was our one and only chance to be at Disney and I was the only one with a phone so I was nervous.
The park opened at 8 however we arrived at the parking gate at 6:30. Disney advises that the parking opens an hour before the park however we were able to pay and park at this time and we were not the first ones by any means.
I did a speed test check and found the area in front of the Disney Dance Party to be good. I was on the app minutes before and right at 8 I started refreshing the page. As soon as the button went red (which was quick) I was able to board and get group 14!
So thank you again for the advice. Practicing before hand was for sure a good idea to get familiar with the app and process. The ride and experience is by far the best!
For our second try this morning, I got off of the WiFi and was able to get group 3, while my wife clicked “Find out More” too early and wasn’t able to get anything. So we were two for two this week, but it took a bit of teamwork.
Excellent results! Teamwork is definitely the way to go for this. Enjoy your trip!
Thanks Tom. After using our fast pass for Mickeys Runaway Railway, we did a dining reservation roulette and ended up at Jungle Navigation at Magic Kingdom for lunch. Now waiting at Animal Kingdom lodge for the Magical Express back to the airport and flight home. Was a great trip. As always ytd is for your tips.
This may have already been asked. I have been hearing conflicting info about everyone in your party to try at the same time to get a boarding pass. Some say yes some say only I person from your group. Which is better?
More people trying will increase your odds of getting a boarding pass.
Thank you! We are not going until June but already getting nervous about getting a boarding group. We are going with our grandchildren and my grandsons hearts will be broken if they don’t get to ride . We are traveling from Texas. Really wish Disney will change this.
Sorry if this has already been asked 100 times, but do you think getting a dining reservation at Hollywood and vine before park opening is worth it? As they say, they allow people in about 30 minutes before anyways, maybe our dining reservation isn’t needed to be in the park before rope drop?
Did you ever get a response to this question? I have a breakfast reservation at Hollywood and Vine at 8:20 and the park opens at 9, wondering if that will help or hinder us.
So, after all the research and all of the practicing from home, we finally had our shot at getting a boarding pass yesterday (March 2). We got to the park super early using an Uber from Animal Kingdom Lodge, in the que by 6:45. After scanning into the park we headed for the rope drop for Rock n Roller Coaster where we were right at the front of the line. They move the line forward a few times so that by 8 we were right at the stand by entrance to the ride. My wife and I both opened the app at 7:55 and waited until precisely 8:00 to press the “Find out More” button. Mine must have glitched as I came up empty even going back and forth between screens. But, my wife had “Join boarding Group” turn orange right away and was able to get group 24. We got called to ride a little after 9. Awesome experience (the ride, not the anxiety trying to get the boarding pass)
We were there yesterday too and got boarding group 27! My husband (an IT guy) checked the speed of the Disney World WiFi versus the speed of the cellular connection on his recent-model IPhone with Verizon. He determined that the Disney World WiFi is a lot faster. So we decided to use the WiFi. He advised me that the WiFi would run faster on the phone if there was some physical space between myself and others using the WiFi. So we went down by Tower of Terror where it’s not crowded. when I first clicked “find out more” the “join boarding group” button did not light up, so I clicked “check status” and then it did. The crowding was intense so we used the park hopper strategy and rope dropped Epcot and did some did Soarin while the others took the littles to the Seas pavilion. Our boarding Group was called at 9:17 and we arrived at 11am and utilized Rider Switch. My son and I went at 11am. My husband and daughter were given Fastpasses that were valid anytime for the rest of the day. (I’m not sure if they actually needed to have boarding passes or if we could have done Rider Swap with just one boarding pass.). The ride was amazing!!!!!! Thanks to all who helped us understand how to navigate this process!
Disney newbie here – I tried to get into RotR on Feb 4th at Disneyland. As soon as Join Boarding Group was red, my party of 5 tried to join, we realized that we needed to scan & link all of our tix! As soon as we did that, Boarding Groups were already filled. I’m going again tomorrow 3/4 with another group of 6. Don’t know if it was mentioned here but should we have our tix scanned & linked as soon as we get into the park so that we’re ready for the 9am opening? Not sure what to do once that Join Boarding Group button turns red because we never got that far 🙁 Help!
How did you scan into the park without your tickets linked to My Disney Experience? I would link them before hand!
I’ve just read somewhere that you should turn off your wifi before trying to get your boarding pass, Do you think that is necessary and why?
I tried it with the park wifi on Thursday, and I couldn’t get a boarding pass. I went back Friday and tried again with my cellular data, and I did get one then (albeit with a high number-I got to ride late in the day though).
The park WiFi works great normally, but when thousands and thousands of people all start calling on it for the same thing at the same exact time, it’s more water than its pipe has volume to handle, it seems.
I don’t think it’s necessary at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We’ve had success with both WiFi and cellular data. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
At Disneyland (California), we do recommend turning off your WiFi.
So I want to know how you get from galaxys edge to a star destroyer through the same door
My wife and I were 3 for 3 getting boarding passes this week. We got group 44 (2/24), 4 (2/25), and 5 (2/28). What worked best for us was 1. Completely close out the app 2. Open fresh version of app, we did this about 5 minutes before 8 as the app seems to freeze about half the time when opening a fresh version. 3. Make sure you are signed in. 4. When the time changes to 8 on our phones we clicked on “Find Out More” on the app home screen for the first time. We got the “Join Boarding Group “ button every single time.
Important note: do not press the “Find Out More” button for the first time until 8 am. We found that there is no true way to “refresh” this screen so no matter how many times you click back and forth it won’t refresh until some set amount of time passes.
On 2/28 folks around us were still getting backup groups 10 minutes after 8 which means anyone putting in the effort to be there on time and figure out the App had a good chance of riding.
Here’s how the rest of my trip panned out.
I went back on Friday, even a little earlier this time. Requesting a Lyft worked on the first try this time (live works fine, pre-booking does not).
I found a relatively isolated spot near the end of the !ncredibles alley where there were few people, and my cell signal speed seemed to increase when I got nearer the building walls. (Reflections off the surfaces perhaps?) I kept right off the WiFi. I ran a streaming radio station to pass the time and keep the signal up while I waited for 8:00 to arrive, then shut it off when we got close.
At first, it seemed like I was having no better luck than I did on Thursday. I kept bouncing between the main menu and the Rise screen and the button still wouldn’t turn red. I was hearing delighted whoops in the distance again, and almost in desperation, I tried the “check my status” button, and when I did that, I finally got the option to claim a boarding group. This I did, and got number 86.
So the good news was I had a group this time, but the bad news was it wasn’t guaranteed. I think they said they were only promising up to 66 that day, and I’d read reports that they didn’t get out of the 40s on Thursday.
I took the Skyliner over to Epcot to clean up seeing some attractions there I’d run out of time for when I was there Wednesday (and while DHS was still mostly closed). Had lunch there, and then noticed that the groups were getting called at a good pace, and that my own group number had somehow dropped by 2, to 84. Does this normally happen?
I went back to DHS and started seeing other things there I’d planned to, but as the afternoon went on my heart was sinking as the pace had slowed, and they seemed to stall in the 60s. It was about 3pm now, and I was afraid they’d had another breakdown that’d kill the whole rest of the day. After about another hour, it picked up again, and I finally got the call to go board while I was watching the end of the Beauty and the Beast live show.
And so I did! And it was as awesome as everyone says it is, even if I had been spoiled for some of it. I was NOT spoiled for what I thought was the most ingenious event in it though, and won’t spoil here, but I thought it was brilliant. It looked so good, and the cast were really into it, especially the one First Order officer who I thought looked like General Hux’s younger brother (and I told him so out loud while he was intimidating our group). 🙂
And as I came out, dusk was setting over Galaxy’s Edge, which gave it an even better look.
So… it all turned out for the best eventually, but it did take me two attempts on two consecutive days, and even then it was dicey to get in.
The vacation’s over now, and I’m home, but I’m very happy I got to ride it.
How do you quickly refresh your page on the My Disney Experience App? I open my app a few minutes before the opening of the park, click ‘Find out More” under the Star Wars: Rise of theResistance – Access by Boarding Group. Then as I wait for the Join Boarding Group to change from gray to red, how do I refresh the page without leaving the page? Does it do it automatically or do I have to leave the page? Thanks
Hit the back arrow and the re-select find out more is the only way I have been able to refresh the page.
I forgot to add my travel issue. I had set an advance appointment with Lyft to pick me up to get from my hotel to Hollywood Studios at 6:50am. And it didn’t work. When the time came, it said it was looking for drivers and never found any. I had to quickly download and start an Uber account, and that worked at once, though it was a little more expensive than Lyft was supposed to be.
Coming back, Lyft was working normally again,
I just got back from Hollywood Studios after trying and failing to score a RotR boarding pass. I got inside with 25 minutes to spare, sat myself down where there were only a few people around, and started doing cell phone speed tests.
I’ve got an iPhone 8+ on Sprint, and the speed test was telling me their speed was swinging up and down. On the WiFi it looked quicker, so I decided to go with that.
3 minutes before 8, I started refreshing the app every 3 seconds. As 8 arrived, I could hear screams and whoops in the distance as people got or didn’t get passes, but the button on my app never turned red, and then of course it said, “we have reached capacity for this attraction.”
I also note that today they’re only promising entry up to boarding group 46, the lowest I’ve seen in some time.
I did manage to get on Smuggler’s Run in only 15 minutes in the single rider line while everyone else was in the 2-hour standby line, so that was something, The ride is too good though…it gave me motion sickness.
It’s freezing cold here today (for Florida). It was windy and about 50F while I was there. Also, hardly anything else was open until about 10-11, and what was had a huge line. I’ve come back to my hotel for the rest of the day.
I get another shot at this tomorrow morning. Hopefully I have better luck then,
So sorry to hear you didn’t get a group. If you have another person with you, try to have both of you try. I also heard of people opening the app exactly at 8? I’m not sure which is better, but good luck tomorrow!
Unfortunately, I’m here on my own.
Later in the morning I found a spot where I had excellent speed on both cellular and WiFi, but then realized that won’t help in the morning as it’ll still be behind a rope at that time. Sigh.
We had 4 people try – 2 were on Disney’s WiFi and 2 were on cellular service (AT&T). I was on cellular and was the first to get on a boarding group. I might try using your cellular service tomorrow.
I am confident you’ll get it tomorrow! I say try the cellular service rather than WiFi this time.
Thanks Dan and Patti, that’s my plan.
According to the speed test program, it looked as if I had good cell connections when I first made them, but then it was like the tower throttled me when it saw I wasn’t pulling much data. Maybe if I have something going on at the same time that would help prevent that? (Stream a radio station or something)
I am not sure. I have had people say to close all other apps on your phone, but I’m not too sure how the speed etc. works! you may know better.
I’m certainly not an expert either but I don’t think streaming a radio station will have a positive impact on your throughput. I would open the app. at 7:59am and keep selecting the “Find out More” button alternating with hitting the back arrow button until the “join boarding group” turns red. This is to refresh the screen quickly.
I’ve read things several places, but still confused. One person said all adults need to have their own mydisney app open & trying to join and then you can add children. Can my husband and I both just be logged in to his account? And we both try from the same account? How do we link all Of our children to two different accounts if we cannot both try from his account? This part confuses me. Thank you!!
It is not a requirement that all adults have to have the app. One person can do this as long as all the tickets for your party have been loaded into your account and are visible In your app. You will have better odds of getting in a boarding group if you have multiple people log into the app with the same logon/password And have everyone try to get a boarding pass at the same time. The system will not allow you to double up so there is no risk in this approach. We successfully did this with 4 people logged in on 2/15 when all boarding passes were handed out in 32 seconds. Hopefully this answered your question.
HELP! I just got boarding group 13! Only problem: I’m sitting in my bedroom in Minnesota!! I tried the timing out at 7am CST just to see if it would work (I’ve got time date screen shots to prove this). I have tickets linked to my account, but we don’t leave for Disney for another 3 weeks. What should I do? I feel like I need to tell someone. How could this happen?
Wow! Something was really malfunctioning this morning! I was trying from my home in Florida (practicing for the real thing on Friday) and the “join boarding group” button never even became available! At 8:01 it just said all boarding passes had been distributed but I never got to even try.
I think if you no-show for group 13 that will just make room for someone from the backup groups to ride later so I don’t think you need to worry. Very disturbing that the app isn’t working! Maybe report it to technical support for MDE if you want.
Gabe, do you by chance have a screenshot of your boarding group (ideally with a CST time-stamp) that we could use in an article about this? If so, please email me: [email protected]
Thanks!
I just saw that a commenter on the Park Hopper Strategy page got a boarding pass in Maine this morning!
YES! I have a screen shot AND video. I’ll try to send it to you. It’s calling my group of 5 to report so the boarding group is still active! It’s 9:08am Minnesota time and I’m just here drinking my coffee in my livingroom! Took me all morning to screen record a video (I’m not very tech savvy).
YES! I have a screen shot AND video. I’ll try to send it to you. It’s calling my group of 5 to report so the boarding group is still active! It’s 9:08am Minnesota time and I’m just here drinking my coffee in my livingroom! Took me all morning to screen record a video (I’m not very tech savvy)!
I’m glad I found this thread! I was “practicing” from my living room in Iowa at the exact opening time this morning (Feb 26) (I don’t even have tickets linked to my MDE account yet) and was able to get a boarding group….I think it was 45 or 46. Did not take a screen shot, but I went back in and removed myself from the boarding group so as not to prevent someone else from riding. Now hoping I can get a boarding group from my hotel rather than in the park during my May trip.
I “practiced” again this morning, 2/27, and this time received the message that everyone needs to be in the park before continuing. Looks like the developers fixed whatever glitch was introduced yesterday.
If you are staying at a Disney hotel, please visit the Disney Ticket Desk (in the hotel) the night before your visit to Hollywood Studios and ask them the best way to enter the park. Every hotel will provide different advice and time suggestions.
We stayed at the Swan (2/16) and they said that driving or taking an Uber/Lyft would be a nightmare due to traffic and highly suggested that we walk to the park – 15 min (they provided the route). The current advice was to leave the hotel at 6:15am. We were in line for bag check at 6:30am (took 5 min) and then waited at the park entrance line for 30 min before entering the park at 7:05 (gates opened at 7am). In hindsight we probably could have pushed the hotel departure back 15-20 min but their advice was solid and we enjoyed the ride.
Is there any chance to get on as a single rider coming I. Late to the park (9am)?
All the boarding groups were given out in the first 32 seconds on 2/16/2020. Park opened at 8am. As long as that trend continues, you won’t be able to ride it if you enter at 9am.
Perhaps you could limit this to the most extreme Star Wars fans in your party – knowing how bad things were I would personally never have set out for this again.
I agree – we didn’t know the Uber had to drive all the way arround, we only saw the river walk to Dolphin later. But it still is about a mile to walk.
I managed to experience Rise of the Resistance and Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run on Saturday February 22nd, having traveled all the way from Europe to do so in 2 days. They were great rides (hence 4 stars) that point the way for how rides will look in the future, but I am shocked how Disney gives you a false hope about it – and also of the effort needed.
We ordered an Uber at 06:15, and at that time they already all were at Hollywood Studios and surge pricing of 20 USD from Disney Dolphin Hotel was in effect. Due to the massive line of Ubers, taxis and rentals entering Hollywood Studios the ride took 40 minutes, we had to run 500m on foot towards the entrance. At least 10 000 people were there at 07:50. The lanes were hundreds of meters long. Do NOT bring any kind of bag, so you can use the express lanes. Doing this entering took 50 more minutes as all are fingerprinted. Then 7000 of the 10 000 run towards Galaxy’s Edge to do Smugglers Run after the lottery. See pictures attached for the crowds. WiFi near the tunnel to Galaxy’s Edge was ok. A loudspeaker counts down to the lottery every 10 minutes to bring people into a frenzy of nerves. If you have not practiced with the app for many days, and know its load times and response you don’t have a chance. Reload active pages (like the family member page) to keep the connection alive and fresh. At 08:00 you begin to hear a few people cheer, while your “Join” button is not yet clickable, and you believe you have lost. About 5 seconds later mine lit up, I pressed, and almost skipped the crucial next step were you add your family. Rumor has it that if you are more than 2 or 3 you won’t have a chance. I selected my daughter, and waited for what seemed an eternity again believing I had lost as more people cheered. Then suddenly I got Boarding Group 90 (all above 60 are stand-by Groups that are not verified and may be cancelled at any time) and exploded in happy dance with my daughter. The cheering persons at this time, about 30-40 seconds past 08:00 were about one in 5. Then no more, and reality sank inn for the thousands who lost. The joy of winning at that time overshadowed my sympathy for them, but now I must admit they endured a 2-3 hour morning hell to stand there with nothing. Then it was a dash for Smugglers Run. As the tunnel opened we realized it was much wider than the crowd believed – you could actually run on the side/flanks of the crowd towards the entrance of the tunnel past large parts of the crowd and entering from the side of the crowd as you enter the tunnel. 3-400 meters of running and a walking line into Smugglers Run began – letting us walk in in about 30 minutes. You get 4 minutes of shaky space flight sim and some nice Millenium Falcon interiors. As we entered the cockpit the app showed the line behind us to be 170 minutes, this being for a 4 minutes ride. Afterwards we went to the hotel to sleep as the 06:30 morning would otherwise destroy our whole day. 3 hours later at 12 we went for Magic Kingdom and 3 Fast Passes there booke 60 days before thanks to hotel reservations at Disney Dolphin for 350USD/night. We had to check the app every 15 minutes to see progress on the Boarding Groups. At about 15:00 90 was called and we had about 90 minutes to get there. This meant we had to scrap one of the FastPasses. We spent the next 60 minutes walking out of Magic Kingdom, taking the Monorail to the Transportation Center, wait 15 minutes for an Uber, drive to Hollywood Studios, re-enter run through the park to Galaxy’s Edge…only to reach the entrance that was roped off due to “a technical issue” of “unknown duration”. At the same time 3-4 Boarding Groups were sent out through various exits with tears in their eyes. All were told to watch the app for an advance in the Boarding Group number. If this happens to you it is the higher number that counts. The lower number advancing just means they evacuate groups inside the attraction. We and most other Boarding Groups in the intervall 76-106 hung around the entrance. An hour passed looking at the app, force refreshing it. Then suddenly the upper group number advanced to 107 and everyone ran to the entrance. We got in and walked directly on to the ride. It was great (see the dozen 360/POV videos on YouTube), and much better in real life than on video as the screen technology used for the windows into space is truly next level. But we remember nothing else from this day, that was spent playing the lottery, sleeping after the 06:30 hell, and commuting to the “prise”. The “technical issue” could easily have taken everything away. The previous week Boarding Groups maxed out at everything from 86 to 158. Leaving for the airport, and seeing it plastered with advertisements for Rise of the Resistance we could not avoid the utter cynical nature of Galaxy’s Edge. If you are a “regular” foreign visitor turning up at opening hour you will have no chance of ever seeing it. It is a fact that Disney will not let you pre-order the attraction, because it caused guests not to visit the park at all if they didn’t have a pre-order. No physical line will ever accommodate it as wait times would be endless. They need to build a version in EuroDisney – the number of disappointed foreign visitors must be massive. There is no advantage to being a hotel guest, they should run it as special extended hours for them, why else pay up to 600USD for a 100 USD level room? With such over-demand the only method that ever has worked in economic history is an auction system – at least then you could work a regular day or two rather than burn two holiday days (I would easily have paid 1000USD to get that vacation day I spent back from Disney and to save thousands from the disappointment of losing the lottery after that effort). Or make it a pure free lottery in the app with no personal cost in terms of time lost. At least now you know what to expect.
I appreciate your candor. I have been planning all along to try for this ride on our upcoming trip. Lately I’ve been wondering if it will be too great a sacrifice on the overall enjoyment of the vacation. May I ask, how long was the Uber ride from your hotel to the parking lot gates? How long do you think we need to allow for actually parking the car, once we arrive?
The Uber trip is about 3-4 miles from Disney Dolphin/Swan depending on route and usually goes quickly, but due to the extreme rush they had parking attendants redirecting cars all over the place once you snailed by the vehicle entrance.
You probably could have walked from the Dolphin more quickly than it took to get an Uber and enter the park that way.