Star Wars Rise of Resistance Ride Report: Our First Frustrating Foray
Holiday crowds have left Walt Disney World, so yesterday we headed back to Hollywood Studios to determine the best early 2020 strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance during the off-season. In this, we’ll offer arrival recommendations, crowd predications, and share our ride report…which is our first suboptimal experience doing the flagship Galaxy’s Edge attraction.
Before delving into this ride report, we’ll offer the boilerplate reminder that most questions you have are likely answered by our Ride Guide & FAQ for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We continue to update that as circumstances dictate (it was just modified yesterday!), so please read that before asking a question in the comments below.
It’s also worth noting that the 7 am opening time for Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been extended through January 26, 2020. Expect to see this trend of early openings to continue as crowds dictate, so keep an eye on park hours. Same-day closing time extensions have also been occurring from time to time, but don’t expect those outside of the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr and Presidents’ Day holiday weekends…
Last week in our Crowds Spike, EMH Changes, and Hours Extended at DHS for Star Wars Rise of Resistance post, we speculated that a spike in crowds was due to Orange and Osceola Counties still being on winter break. After stalking the boarding group process in the My Disney Experience app each morning the last few days, we can more or less confirm that this assessment was accurate.
Crowds dropped off noticeably once school was back in session this week. While Walt Disney World historically has not been known as “locals parks,” this reputation is outdated. You only have to drive around a bit in the sea of subdivisions that used to be orange groves, farms, and swampland to realize there’s been a population explosion in Central Florida.
But I digress. The point here is that crowds due to the holiday peak season followed by locals being off work and out of school have subsided at Walt Disney World. This was readily apparent when we rolled up to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at around 7:20 am…
Arriving 20 minutes after park opening was deliberate. For one, we wanted to test our Sleep-In Strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as well as Using the Skyliner to Rope Drop Rise of the Resistance. On non-holiday and weekday dates in January and February 2020, both of those approaches are feasible.
In other words, this should work January 13-17, January 21-24, and January 27-31, 2020. Same goes for February 3-7, February 10-13, and February 24-28, 2020. Those are also the ideal dates to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the lowest morning crowds. (See our 2020 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars for more insight.)
With that said, we would not recommend this sleep-in strategy if you only have one day (and thus one shot at SW:RotR) in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This approach is a “reduced stress strategy” better suited for guests visiting Walt Disney World for a week who have Park Hopper tickets and have already gotten their first ride in on Rise of the Resistance.
Anyway, from the time we passed the Skyliner station at Disney’s Hollywood Studios until we were under the Crossroads of the World, it took approximately 4 minutes. There was absolutely no wait at security or the turnstiles. From there, we opened My Disney Experience and had our Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance boarding group at 7:24 am. We could’ve left at that point, but I wanted to check out crowds and wait times.
Even though it was 30 minutes after park opening, headliners all had lengthy waits–and these weren’t just inflated posted times. That’s the end of the Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run line spilling out into Grand Avenue below (with a 90 minute posted wait). Slinky Dog Dash had a similarly long line.
After getting ample photos and riding Alien Swirling Saucers a half-dozen times, we headed out. At this point, we could’ve walked or taken the Skyliner over to Epcot and followed our Double Rope Drop Day at Walt Disney World Strategy.
We also could’ve arrived to Disney’s Hollywood Studios significantly later than we did. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance didn’t run out of backup boarding passes until 9:55 am. (However, given the problems we encountered later, I’m not sure obtaining a boarding pass after about 9 am would’ve actually done us any good.)
I continued to watch My Disney Experience throughout the day, wanting to see if there were any downtimes so we could plan accordingly and delay our return if necessary. There was, in mid-afternoon shortly before our boarding group was to be called.
After Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was back up, our boarding group was called shortly thereafter. Knowing there’d be a surge, we held off on returning for another hour. We ended up arriving to the attraction at 6 pm to find the line spilling out the front entrance and the the extended queue totally full. This was our first red flag.
Nevertheless, it was a lovely evening and it’s not like we had anything better to do, so we hopped into line. After about 20 minutes of consistent movement through the outdoor queue, we came to a dead stop.
We were still stalled at 7 pm as guests in front of us began leaving the line (so at least we started inching forward a tad!). We decided to stick it out, primarily because these reports are most useful when they reflect the array of actual experiences guests are having, and not just our usual glowing review of the ride itself. Plus, we had heard some concerning reports lately about show quality and wanted to see for ourselves.
At 7:10 pm, there was a wave of spontaneous applause and cheering that rippled through the the extended queue. We weren’t sure why there was suddenly so much excitement, but we nonetheless clapped and cheered, too. Had everyone else spontaneously jumped into the waterfall in the Rise of the Resistance queue, we would’ve followed suit. We’re lemmings like that. Then again, who wants to be the only person standing there stone-faced while everyone else is hyped?
This excitement was not for naught; the ride was back up. I’m not sure if the ride went down and had to reset–I’ve been told that takes 70 minutes–or if there was simply a smaller issue. The line was not dumped and we weren’t stopped for 70 minutes, but the queue moving early-on could’ve been a matter of Cast Members asking guests to fill in all available space at the front of the queue, and the decision could’ve been made not to dump the line because it was so close to park closing.
Whatever the case, we began the attraction ‘process’ shortly before 8 pm and were off Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance by around 8:15 pm. There were several positives that we were relieved to see (or not see) and one negative. This is tough to convey without getting into spoilers, but here goes…
First, there were no switchbacks where they don’t belong. This was a huge relief given photos that have popped up on social media. Our entire “run” from the start of the attraction process to the end was seamless, which we view as crucial to a proper experience.
Second, the Cast Members were pitch perfect. There were no managers wearing street clothes in the queue, or anything of the sort. The First Order Cast Members in the load area are only getting better at doing this as the ride is open longer. They are truly rising to the occasion, even at the end of the day at what I can only imagine was a frustrating time for them, too. So kudos where kudos are due.
We’ve had several great interactions with these Cast Members, but last night was unquestionably the best. While we were touching one of the control panels (because ya know…colorful lights!) one of them ordered us to keep still with arms to our sides because, “for all you know, that controls the oxygen in here and you’re breathing the same air as me…for now.”
Finally, the negative. It’s impossible to adequately cover this without spoilers, and we’re refraining from those for at least the next several months. Suffice to say, one major effect was broken and one minor one wasn’t working. If you haven’t experienced the attraction before, you wouldn’t notice either. The major effect actually has a satisfactory B-mode (no, it’s not a strobe light!) so that the story still makes sense, but it’s nowhere near as cool as the actual effect.
Again, if this were your first time on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, you wouldn’t have noticed either issue. It’s debatable whether the attraction should run without the major effect in question working, but given that there’s a video B-mode for it that maintains the experience, I’m inclined to say yes, it should. Either way, Rise of the Resistance is still the Best New Disney Attraction of the Decade.
Ultimately, we spent an hour in the morning commuting to and from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to obtain our boarding passes, plus over 2 hours in the evening to experience the attraction. Obviously, the second part of that is bad luck, and most guests are going to wait 20-30 minutes for their return ride. Cutting out the downtime, we would’ve been looking at ~90 to 120 minutes of time devoted to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
In hindsight, we could’ve arrived at 6:30 am, been in the park by 7 am, scored a low-number boarding group, done the attraction (and maybe Slinky Dog Dash) and been out of the park before 9 am. That would’ve been more efficient than what we did, even if it meant waking up earlier and dealing with crowds at the turnstiles.
However, that also represents a best-case scenario. Because Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance’s virtual queue is now a hybrid first-come, first-served and lottery system, we could’ve arrived early and entered the park at 7 am, but had the app crash when it was time to grab the boarding pass.
Problems with joining boarding groups immediately via My Disney Experience have been occurring, and the result is guests who arrive early end up in boarding groups higher than 80. Had that happened to us, we still would’ve had the same issue with waiting out the afternoon downtime and we still would’ve queued up at around the same time in the early evening. The only difference would’ve been more wasted time in the morning.
The point here is that the “best” strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is debatable, and it comes down to balancing the desire to avoid the morning crowd outside the turnstiles with how willing you are to risk being in a higher-numbered (potentially backup) boarding group. Even then, there are several factors outside of your control that could cause longer waits or even being shut out entirely.
We remain of the belief that arriving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at around 6:30 am on your first (or only) day to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is optimal. Thereafter, we’d encourage a more relaxed approach that allows you to sleep in a bit and not stress out quite as much. For subsequent days, consider arriving between 7:30 and 8 am before bouncing immediately and park hopping to Epcot.
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
Have you had any negative experiences with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? If you’ve visited since January 7, 2020, what has been your experience with crowds and boarding group distribution? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment and advice? 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!
We are a family of 4, and I’m currently the only member that has downloaded the MDE app. How do I get all members of my family into a boarding group, or do we all have to download the app? I know the smartphone is a typical item for the majority of the population, but we have a child that doesn’t have one.
You can open it and try it right now fyi (it just wont let you book a group if you’re not scanned in the park) ……..As long as all your party is listed on your friends and family list on the MDE app you will be able to join a boarding group for all
Yes, only one person needs to have the app to join for everyone linked in their MDE. However, the lottery system means that you want more than one shot. Anyone who has a phone that supports the app should get it and be ready to jump in. My spouse and I have matching, new Pixel phones, and he had technical issues where I did not. If he had been the only one trying, we would not have gotten to ride. Even if he got through a minute later, he would have been later than my boarding Group 83 assignment on a day when the ride broke down so much that they only got to group 87. That’s how close and random the lottery can make things.
Tom, our experience on Jan 3 was very close to what you describe (except I’m pretty sure we got the full, regular version of the ride) in terms of wait and breakdowns. Now imagine that happening on your first and/or only time. Reading descriptions at blogs and message boards from people who get to visit the park regularly is very different from the experience of normal tourists who have one day or maybe one week to drag their kids up before dawn to get to DHS in time to join a BG. “Frustrating” is just the beginning. Our first try we got backup group 181, and they only got to 165. So our second try was super stressful and laden with disappointment and anxiety from already once having tried and failed to get to ride. The stakes are not the same for the average visitor.
Tom! We were at the HS Rise of the Resistance, at the same time! We were group 123 (just after you) and experienced the long breakdown wait! We’re here from Canada so leaving the line wasn’t an option. Would love to know what the two malfunctioning props were. If all goes well, we’ll be on the ride one more time. But tomorrow is the 1/2 marathon & it may be too busy…
Thank you for your blog! We’ve been following your writings for the last 6 months & appreciates all your tips! Bea, from Alberta, Canada
I meant to share, this was THE best ride I’ve ever been on! Thank you for no spoilers!!!
I don’t want to spoil this in the comments, but the minor effect is something in the ceiling and the other is the main Audio Animatronics figure of the ride’s antagonist at the climax of the attraction. The AA in question is covered by a breakaway shield and the ceiling effect protrudes when it occurs, meaning that you wouldn’t have seen either of these things (and hence wouldn’t have known you missed them).
For more detail than that, I’d suggest watching a ride-through video. The major effect that wasn’t working will be obvious when you see that.
Thank you for an unbiased field report Tom. I’m am so happy I was able to visit HWS in late September. I was so worried about Smugglers Run and Galaxy Edge causing major crowds and that was not the case. We had a 20 min wait for Smugglers Run when we visited. What is now being reported is insane (over an hour wait).
More importantly, what is the deal with the lack of reliability with ROR??
Honestly does not sound like a fun time right now at the Studios. Hope they get it together for the opening of Mickey and Minnie ride and that is a smooth start with reliability.
Hi! We are planning on arriving at 6:30AM walking from the Boardwalk on a Friday in January. I got us a 7:20AM ADR at Oga’s Cantina. Then they switched the opening from 8AM to 7AM. If we get into the park and are lucky enough to get an early Boarding Group, do you think we can get the ADR to be flexible on pushing up or back the time? Has anyone else had conflicts with ADRs and their Boarding Group time? We’d be outside the time that we could cancel the ADR without any fees.
You have two hours to return to experience the ride once your boarding group is called, so you could easily do both with that ADR.
What if your at an ADR at another park?
Our trips in July, so the process could be entirely different by then anyways, but we’re considering giving ourselves a second HS morning. We’ve intentionally left our afternoon open on the day we plan on opening HS so that won’t be a problem. Problem is, the morning were considering adding a second HS park opening we have evening ADRs at Tappen Edo. I’m sure we’re overthinking this, but if we add the second morning I’m convinced they would call our boarding group 30 minutes before our dinning reservations.
We were there on December 10th. We arrived at HS at 7:30. Our boarding group was78. I can only assume there were issues throughout the day because we didnt get called until 7:30pm. We were at the dessert party at HS when we got called, but knew we had a 2 hour window. We went to the ride at 8:45. Not sure what was going on, but they rushed us through the line, took us through what appeared to be a cast member area up some stairs, then outside and back in…a bit odd but I’m guessing this was so they could allow as many people to ride as possible. It was the most incredible ride I have ever been on and I cannot wait to go back this December. I’m really hoping they are doing fast passes by then!
It’s highly likely you bypassed part of the attraction. There have been a few reports of what you described happening, and each time it has been a case of one portion of the attraction breaking down, and that being skipped.
We went on Wednesday morning (Jan 8) and arrived around 6am to discover that there was already a significant crowd waiting. At about 6:30, the line had extended all the way to security, and they started letting guests into the park. Right at 7am, all 3 of us started to try for boarding passes. My partner’s app crashed, mine was not allowing me to click “get boarding pass,” and finally by 7:03, my sister had managed to actually get all of us boarding passes. We were in group 60. Since it was a work day for me and my partner (we work from home so have to work a certain number of hours each day but can be flexible with when we work), we went back home. We took our lunch break at 1pm when our group was called, but then we arrived at the park and RoR was down and they had no idea when it would be back up. We spoke to guest relations and they issued a fast pass so that we could return the following day rather than waiting around for the ride to re-open.
Fast-forward to Thursday Jan 9. We headed back to Hollywood a little after noon on our lunch break and arrived at Galaxy’s Edge to find out that the ride was down again. They estimated it would be down for 45 more minutes. As reluctant as we were to waste working time on a crunch week, we stayed at the park and about an hour later managed to use our Fast Pass to get onto the ride. It was amazing and well-worth the hassle. Really hoping they iron out the issues though so that we can head back and do it again!
We were last at HS in December. My husband & son had ridden ROR the day before I did and their experience was seamless. They couldn’t say enough good things about it! They convinced me to ride it the next day, even though I am neither a Star Wars fan, nor one who likes to experience new attractions right after they open. Our boarding group was called, so we got in line. My initial impression was that the queue (save for a few displays of Star Wars equipment, uniforms, etc.) was terribly under themed. For a ride that should expect – and so far has seen – huge crowds, the queue was mostly long corridors of what looked like nothing more than a cave or underground storage facility. If the line is constantly moving, I guess it’s acceptable, but the line doesn’t constantly move. Anyways, the ride apparently broke down while we were in line. We were not told by the cast members that we’d be there for a while, but I knew as soon as they started coming through the line handing out bottles of water & packages of carrot sticks…we were going to be there for a while. We waited (in a standstill, in what felt like a cramped cave) for over an hour & a half. After all the waiting, I felt like they overfilled the first two parts of the attraction. By the time we got to the actual riding part, I was just annoyed. My first experience (& probably only…at least for a loooong time) was not great. :/
Hi guys! Our travel dates are 2/29-3/6. We plan on doing HS on 3/2. This is a 30th birthday trip for my boyfriend and obviously the reason for this trip is to see Galaxy’s Edge. I have made the following plans: Droid Depot at 9:45am, Savi’s Workshop at 2:05pm, and Oga’s Cantina at 3:40pm. I have made FP for other rides, but ultimately we are here for everything Star Wars. Do you think those plans will work? The only time they had for Oga’s was 3:40. I have been reading each post regarding the boarding passes, and it seems as if these might be okay, especially if there is downtime waiting while waiting for boarding. And thank you for the hard work and detail you put into these posts! I am all about efficiency and can be slightly OCD when it comes to planning trips, especially Disney. So this is truly appreciated!!
We will be there Weds February 05 which is showing an opening time of 9am as long as that remains are you still suggesting to arrive at 6am or are you just suggesting to arrive an hour before opening? Sorry I’m confused easily
Hi! We were just at Disney World Dec 29-Jan 3! On Dec 31 we arrived at Hollywood Studios at 9am . Got our boarding pass 174 and wondered if we’d get in. We rode the other Star Ears ride in the afternoon after being in a line for 70 minutes! After we got off which was around 5 pm we got our text that our boarding group was called! We walked over and got in line and walked straight through and got on the ride! Awesome!
Just to clarify, do you mean a 6:30 arrival for a 7:00 a.m. open, or for an 8:00 a.m. open? We’ll be there on weekdays at the end of the month that currently have an 8:00 a.m. open and I don’t want to have to motivate my family to get on the road any earlier than necessary. Thanks!
Thanks for the update! Are family member able to try for boarding passes from 2 different devices and 2 different MDE accounts? (My husband and I have our accounts linked as family members). I’m curious if that would cause a problem or if it would act as a back up in case one person’s app crashes.
I’ve also been reading that you should stay out of the app until park open to avoid the app not refreshing. Is that true?
We’re not going to DHS until March 8th, but I love reading your updates and tips! Thanks!
Tom, what is your opinion on how long they will have BG’s vs. FP+/standby? If they keep BG’s, do you think they will offer resort guests only to access BG’s during morning EMH’s?
I view as the most logical turning point as the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (March 4, 2020). I don’t see boarding groups going away before that. (I also doubt they’ll go away right after that since we’re already inside the 60 day window for that ride.)
When they roll out FastPass, I think it’ll be for all three new attractions all at once. As for when? Your guess is as good as mine. I could see it being sometime in March before spring break, or sometime in May 2020. I doubt it’ll happen during the peak spring break or Easter travel periods, though.
Took your advice and arrived at the park a little after 6:00 am. They let us in at 6:30 and I had to go to guest relations to link up a magic band for my sister who was visiting from ohio. By 6:45 we had that all taken care of and at 7:00 I was able to join boarding group #21! By 7:28 we were called and we had one of the best experiences of our life. It is everything you can imagine in a ride. Well worth getting up early and driving over. We live in Valrico, Fl. Thanks for your great tips!
I haven’t seen this covered. But if we get there and get a super low boarding group, and are off the ride early and they still have boarding groups open, is it possible to get a second boarding pass the same day? I would imagine it would be a backup boarding group, but still a chance to experience it a second time?
you can only ride once per day
Unfortunately right now they are only allowing guests to ride Rise of the Resistance once per day. The app won’t allow you to book a second boarding group after you ride once.
Hi I know my question isn’t about current post… but my family and I are going in late December 2020- early January 2021 what do u think is best time and also do they offer any discounts at these times
This is a perfect question for your travel agent! 🙂
if you can go outside of the normal schools Christmas/Winter break time, that’s the best time, so end the trip before the friday before Christmas or start the trip the tuesday after new years. If you can avoid Dec19 – Jan 4, you’ll avoid the biggest crowds. Otherwise, if you have to go during that time, it’ll be a fun madhouse 🙂
Discounts can happen, but you probably won’t see them pop up until late summer or fall. If you have a reservation and a discount becomes available, you can apply it after you’re booked.
I was there during the afternoon downtime. I was stuck in line in the cave for over an hour while my friend (without a pass) waited outside. Despite the frustration of being so close yet so far away, Disney was great by providing free bottles of water and free boxes of popcorn while we waited. They were also prepared to take people in line to the bathroom if needed. It was a long experience but still well worth it.
That’s great to know! We were there when avatar opened and people were just peeing in the line (and not just kids)….. it was awful
Thank you for this post and update! Its incredibly helpful to first timers like me. My family will be visiting on February 4th and I have been reading all the Rise of the Resistance updates! 🙂
We are planning to be there Saturday February 1, only have 1 day there, and don’t have park hoppers. Do you think we’ll be okay arriving at 6:30am? We are coming from Port Orleans Riverside – can we rely on bus transportation or do we need a Minnie van (we have young children). Or do we need to switch our days and try to do HS on Friday 1/31 instead?
If at all possible, I’d switch to Friday because locals show up in full force on Saturdays and Sundays.
If not, you should still be okay arriving at 6:30 am, just be aware that it’ll take some time to get through the turnstiles and you might get stuck in a higher numbered boarding group. Not a huge deal if you’ll be in DHS all day, but still not ideal.
I’d switch to Friday. You’ll most likely have a smaller crowd, which will be easier on your children (how young?). When we did it, we had our 1.5 year old in the stroller while we waited, but took our bus from Coronado and got in the gaggle by 6:40; we were in the park by 7:20. This was the week before Christmas, so crowds were probably bigger than what you’ll experience. My thoughts are that bus transportation should be good if you’re at the bus stop by 6:15 am. That’ll also give you time once you’re in the park and have boarding passes to determine if you’ll stay and ride or head back to POR and get breakfast/sleep. Good luck!
We had no issues with using the buses from Riverside when we did things just before Christmas. Bus picked us up at 6, at the park by 6:30, and inside before 7. We were boarding group 18. Called before 9 a.m., but ride broke down. We came back on our own schedule and rode around 4. 15-20 minutes in the queue wasn’t bad at all.
It took us two attempts to finally get to ride. The first attempt was Jan. 3. We did the early arrival (5:45) and were in the park by 6:20. We, along with many others, had trouble with the app at 7, and ended up getting Boarding Group 158. The ride went down, I think around 2:00, and at 3:00 we received the dreaded “You don’t get to ride today” notice. Quite a bummer after dragging the husband and daughter out so early. Tried again on 1/5 and had terrific success. Followed basically the same arrival strategy, but after talking to some CM’s and doing a bit more research, decided to line up beside a CM with an iPad for our next attempt. Thankfully the app worked perfectly and we ended up in boarding group 13. I think we ended up on the ride at around 8:15 a.m. and were out around 8:35. I’m going again with a friend Feb. 5-6, so I’m really hoping for lower crowds, and we really will only get one shot. I don’t think we will be there early enough on 2/5 to get a boarding group, but it might be worth a try. Will the later opening hours, I wonder if the queue will fill faster, since more people would probably be able to be in a park before 9:00 vs. before 7:00?
“I wonder if the queue will fill faster, since more people would probably be able to be in a park before 9:00 vs. before 7:00?”
Perhaps, but I’m not sure that makes a huge difference during the off-season. There are a ton of people joining the virtual queue *right at* park opening (whenever that is), followed by a significantly slower trickle during the next 1-2 hours.
Thanks. I am going to follow your advice for my upcoming trip at the end of January. I’m staying at the Riveria. Do you still suggest taking an Uber if I want to be at HS by 6:30 am, over the Skyliner?
The Skyliner won’t be operating that early, so definitely Uber/Lyft.
what time does the skyliner open Tom?