Virtual Queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Tips & Info
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is using the virtual queue system, unlike other Walt Disney World attractions that use FastPass and/or standby lines. Here, we’ll offer info, tips, screenshots, strategy, and everything you need to know about the My Disney Experience app boarding group system that Hollywood Studios is using.
If you have any questions, please consult our regularly-updated Ride Guide & FAQ for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. That includes answers to 40+ questions that were frequently being asked by readers in the comments to this post and others about Walt Disney World’s new flagship attraction.
You might recall that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge used this same virtual queue on the day that it opened to the general public at Walt Disney World…but never again. It could be a similar scenario with Rise of the Resistance only using this for opening weekend, in which case everything that follows is moot and irrelevant. However, that seems unlikely for a number of reasons…
First, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the flagship attraction of Galaxy’s Edge, and it’s opening to rave reviews (including ours). Even in the off-season, it has remained very popular with high demand. “Competition” to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will remain intense for a long time.
Second, the physical standby line at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not that long. It’s certainly not as long as the queue at Avatar Flight of Passage, and I don’t even think it’s as long as Smugglers Run’s line. Even if temporary switchbacks were added outside the entrance (a potential logistical nightmare given the attraction’s location near the land’s entrance), there may not be enough of a physical line to contain everyone who wants to be in line.
This wouldn’t be a problem with FastPass+, as Walt Disney World can manipulate the ratio of FastPass (the other form of virtual queue) to standby guests to bump up the posted wait time. Higher posted wait times then act as a means of discouraging more guests from entering the standby queue, thus meaning fewer guests in that line. However, there’s no FastPass+ for Rise of the Resistance, and it’s likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
Third, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is currently not particularly reliable and there have already been issues with uptime. It typically breaks down multiple times per day, usually going down for about 25-70 minutes at a time.
Unlike Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, which has had a great uptime record, things will be a bit more touch and go with Rise of the Resistance. As such, using a virtual queue to act as a ‘faucet’ on the stream of guests–with Disney controlling the flow and having the ability to turn off completely–into the physical line makes a lot of sense.
When Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance breaks down, this prevents Disney from having to dump an entire queue full of people and having disgruntled guests who waited two hours or longer for nothing. Instead, it means flushing a significantly smaller number of guests who can be given paper readmission vouchers.
It also minimizes the impact and “reach” of downtime issues. By confining the impact of a ride breakdown to the smaller number of people in a few boarding groups, it’s less likely to make waves on social media. Other guests and boarding groups in the virtual queue who didn’t already scan in to the attraction will likely never even know the ride went down.
Finally, per the Tampa Bay Times, Walt Disney World representatives have indicated that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is expected to allow reservations via Virtual Queue through the next few weeks; it will then accept FastPasses and have a standby line.
Of course, “expected to” is the operative language here. We have enough experience covering Disney to know those wiggle words when we see them. Expectations change, and it thus shouldn’t be surprising to see the Virtual Queue used for more or less time than the next few weeks.
That’s the ‘case’ for my belief that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will use the virtual queue at least until at least March 2020. In the interest of full disclosure, prior to the opening of Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland opening, I also predicted the park would “deplete its daily supply of boarding passes by 10 am” every day for the entire summer. In actuality, the land used the virtual queue once for like two hours…
To use the virtual boarding pass for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, download the My Disney Experience app before arriving at Walt Disney World and be sure you’re updated to the most current version. Functionality for the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance virtual queue and boarding pass system was actually added to the app code this summer, so if you’ve updated in the last few months, you’re good. (If you don’t have a smart phone, see the Guest Experience Team at the front of DHS, and they can assign you to a boarding group.)
Joining a virtual queue boarding group is as simple as launching the My Disney Experience app and clicking the “Find Out More” button under “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Access by Boarding Group” window on the home screen.
From there, this will show you the status of the land (it’s always open now) and provides options to check “My Status” or “Join Boarding Group.”
If you haven’t already joined one, “Join Boarding Group” is the button you want. From here, you select party members and click confirm. This process works like selecting people for making a FastPass+, and you can only add people if they’re in the park.
After that, when you click on “My Status,” you’ll see this screen. Those green bars do progress, but it’s still pretty much meaningless until you’re actually called.
(Note that this screenshot was taken immediately after we entered the virtual queue–we were inside the park at 6:06 am on a morning that Disney’s Hollywood Studios officially opened at 8 am.)
We highly recommend enabling push notifications on your mobile device for the My Disney Experience app so you will be notified when it is time to enter the queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
When it was our time to enter today, we received notifications on our Apple Watches and phones.
If you don’t enable notifications, you’ll need to incessantly refresh or check the “My Status” screen in the My Disney Experience app or digital signage in the park to see when you’re up.
Once your virtual queue boarding group is called, you’ll have up to two hours to enter the physical line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
To enter, you simply walk up to the Rise of the Resistance entrance, which is just inside the land itself.
There, you’ll find a sea of Cast Members with iPads will scan your MagicBand or linked park ticket. Neither of our MagicBands worked, as we had to scan our physical APs. (YMMV.)
I’m not exactly happy that Disney plowed forward opening an attraction that seems like it could use more test & adjust time, but that was the risk taken when the opening date was set way back over the summer.
I’m also not a fan of Walt Disney World not offering Extra Magic Hours at Rise of the Resistance. One way or another, big-spending resort guests should have an advantage with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and that’s not currently the case.
However, I’m a huge fan of the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It’s really a case of Walt Disney World Operations ‘making lemonade out of lemons.’ Setting aside all of the above issues, this eliminates further potential guest frustrations and minimizes guest headaches. For the most part, tourists can go about their day as normal at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, rather than this new attraction eating up their entire day.
Additionally, as someone who is both an early-riser and a huge fan of same-day FastPass (rather than booking 1-2 months in advance), this system is ideal for me–I hope it continues indefinitely. Basically, it’s like a digital return to legacy FastPass, except with a 2-hour return window instead of a 1-hour window.
It’s also great in that I now don’t have to totally overhaul our 1-Day Disney’s Hollywood Studios Itinerary. The only new step is “join a boarding group immediately upon entering DHS.” Then, instead of waiting two, three, or seven hours for a ride that may go down several times while you’re there, you can simply go about your touring plan as normal and return to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance mid-morning or so.
Some added strategy and answers to FAQ:
- Get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios well before posted park opening. It’s likely the park will continue to open at 7 am until at least March 2020, regardless of current official park hours.
- Until further notice, the optimal time to arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is ~6:30 am.
- If you’re in an early boarding group and are called back while wait times around the park are low, take your time returning. Do Slinky Dog Dash and other headliners while lines are shorter.
- If you arrive late (in other words, any time after 8 am), consider park hopping to Epcot while awaiting your evening return time. This virtual queue will inflate wait times around DHS, as now the line for every other attraction is effectively a “waiting room” for Rise of the Resistance.
- Boarding groups are called without specific intervals. This is especially true later in the day, and after the ride has broken down. Don’t simply linger around the attraction entrance for hours, thinking you’re almost there. (I say this speaking from experience!)
- Once you’re in line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the wait time should be minimal. Even if the physical line is totally full and backed up to the ride entrance, the wait time shouldn’t exceed 30 minutes (unless something breaks down).
That should answer every question about the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Walt Disney World. It’s a painless process, and intuitive once you’re inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so don’t fret or stress out if you’re still confused. Unlike a lot of Walt Disney World IT, this actually works really well.
Just be advised that the Virtual Queue is distributing all slots very early. On most days, primary boarding groups are gone within minutes and backup groups are fully distributed within the first hour or two that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is open. This is why we currently recommend arriving by 6:30 am. Walt Disney World transportation should be running by then, but you might just be better off taking a Lyft or Uber if you’re visiting during the next few weeks.
We’d also advise you not to worry about the virtual queue too much if you’re visiting at some point beyond Summer 2020. As noted, there’s a lot of speculation and guesses here, and you should expect this to evolve and change in the weeks to come. It’s possible that Walt Disney World will continue using the Rise of the Resistance virtual queue for the next several months (or beyond), but it’s also likely that they’ll switch to FastPass+ at some point or make some other arbitrary change that renders everything I’ve typed here irrelevant. Either way, we’ll keep you posted!
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
Are you planning on visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge now that Rise of the Resistance is open? Do you agree or disagree with our preliminary strategy for using the virtual queue? Are you a fan of this system, or would you just prefer FastPass+ or a really long standby line? 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 decided to try our luck for a boarding group on Jan 25, 2020. This website and discussion was helpful to answer most questions and what to expect, thank you so much. Highlights from our experience – arrived at 6:15am for 7am park opening. They open the turnstiles to scan your park pass or magic band 30 minutes before opening. Guests can then walk down Main Street and either turn left to stand in queue for Star Wars land or turn right and stand for park opening of Toy Story Land. They open virtual queue for everyone at park opening but only for those who scanned a park pass to gain entry can attempt a boarding group. We had 3 phones, 2 on Disney WiFi and one on Verizon and the Verizon one was the successful one in gaining Boarding Group 67 This was less than a minute after park opening, person next to us got Group 14 a few seconds before we confirmed. By 8 minutes after park opening they were already issuing backup boarding groups. They finished Issuing backup groups by an hour after park opening. Our Group 67 return call time was at 11:40am and our queue was about 30 minutes to board the ride. Looks like on our day they were up to backup group 136 boarding at 4:20pm so they were very efficient or less maintenance required. Bottom line – get there before park opening but don’t bother getting there any earlier than 30 minutes before as there is no additional advantage with everyone attempting via the app at the top of the hour. Best advice while waiting for your boarding group is to visit the Cantina while there are no crowds and you can ride Millennium Falcon ride in single rider queue.
Hi
We’ll be going last week of February.
Where in HS exactly do you need to be in order to join the virtual queue? And do you have an Update on whether the crowds are still crazy and making it hard to to Slinky and other rides in the morning?
Thanks a lot for your blog, it’s been a great help in planning our trip.
We are
We are currently staying at the resorts. We arrived by 6 last Sunday the 19th. You can get a boarding pass anywhere in the park as long as your entire party is in the park. Queue opened at 7 AM we got boarding pass 43 and were on at 10:05 AM. As for the lines at 7 AM they went up instantly to 120 minute wait times for slinky, smugglers run etc. We went to smugglers run around 3 and waited 90 minutes. Going for another round tomorrow.
Thanks for your reply – was your second day like the first?
We went again today, sunday the 26th, we got to HS at 6:30. In the park at 6:40 and waited for the Tower of terror. We did get boarding group 12 and somehow our kids got group 108 when it finished. We spoke to guest relations and they gave our children the ability to board at anytime. We were called at 7:17 am. Went over close to 8 the ride went down but we received fast passes to return at anytime. We did return about 11:30 and it was fantastic but not working properly still as we noticed Kylo Rens part was missing in the end. It is a great ride but would love to see it go to fast pass ability as dragging teens out of bed at 5 AM to wait patiently until 7 AM does not make the ideal vacation.
So if I arrive at Disney 2 hrs early to get in the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance when and how do I make reservations for the droid depot? How do I know what time to do the depot? I dont want to be in one when the other comes up.
Jan 14.
Arrived at HS 7:05 am and after the bagline, in park by 7:14 am. Got an early backup BG @107. The MDE app says boarding groups after 114 run the risk of not getting called.
1/2/20- entered the virtual que at 7:11am- got assigned Backup group 153! Waiting to see if we get on now! The park is so crowded they extended the closing time until 10pm. Was supposed to close at 9pm.
We arrived around 6:30 and joined the mass going into the park. Had a little trouble with the app (make sure you’re on the Disney WiFi) and got group 88 by probably 3 minutes after the queue opened at 7am. They were on standby groups by 7:20am. We were called at 1:15pm and boarded the ride within 20 minutes. I appreciate this system!
So Florida is still only using this queue system? They don’t have regular lines or fast passes yet?
No, only the virtual queue system.
We went to DHS on Saturday, December 21st. The Park opened at 7:00 am. We entered the Park at 7:15 am and got Boarding group 102. Our group was called around 6:00 pm. The app indicated Boarding groups after 117 might not be called.
12/18/19 Thanks for all info- helped us to plan and maximize sleep. We stayed at Swan- left room at 5:15am. Ferry arrived (employee said starts ferry service at 4am for the 6am openings). We did not pack a bag to expedite security, but would not have had a wait. We arrived at 5:30 and were instantly through security and at 5:35 began allowing people into Main Street. A very quick process- all lanes open. We found a spot at 5:45 and waited. We had 4 phones- 3 att and 1 Verizon. The Verizon secured our tickets by clicking in and out of my status until join a Boarding group was lit. ( I’m sure any phone works) We got group 26 at 6:01. We rode slinky dog and was called to board at 6:45. In line at 7am through ride at 8. We had 2 delays on the ride- not a big deal. Fellow park goers entered at 6:10 and got group 110. Which appears to be boarding at 7pm today. Fun Waiting tip- Ogas cantina reservations can be made for singletons and pairs and my group of 4 was able to sit together despite separate times (none open for 4). Breakfast serves both menus.
We have a 1 year old in our group. Is there any allowance for parental ride switch?
Great info all, any thoughts on what this might look like come the first week of January? Will be at DHS on Monday Jan 6th. You think the post holiday rush will have passed or still recommend arriving before posted opening hours?
Several people have written that they took Lyft or Uber to get in to DHS early in the morning (4 am). Is the regular parking not open that early? We are headed there on Monday 12/23 and wondering if we can just drive in ourselves that early.
Yes your can drive in yourself. The parking tollbooths are closed you just bypass them and park yourself. We did this a few weeks ago.
Is Hollywood Studios opening earlier than the times stated on the app/website?
Can you get a boarding group if you have Fast pass for other rides? Or do you have to dump your Passes first
Yes. The boarding group is not connected to the FP + system.
We were in DHS on Dec 10 at 7:45 Am got out boarding passes for ROR… #82 the ride was down at least 7 times .
Friends of ours were in the line inside over 3 hours never got on the ride.
Our number never came up…plus the park closed early for Party time .
In your Blogs remind people ..every person in your group have to be in the park to get the boarding pass .
Helpful stuff!
We are three adults going. Do we all need to have the app and be linked together ? Does only one person request to join the boarding group?
Also, we have a same day ticket for one park. What times will the windows open to pick up the tickets?
All good info! Our plan is to go Sunday. We are not staying on property. There are magic hours from 7-9. How can we get in the virtual que?
BRR:
Yes, only one person should request boarding passes for your group of three. Otherwise, you could get different boarding groups or not all get a boarding pass. You’ll want to have the app downloaded and installed before you go. Play around with it so you know exactly where to click after you step through the gate. Depending on who bought the tickets, you probably need to all have the app (or at least each have a Disney account, you can do that on the web). Then use the app to connect as “family and friends” (tap menu icon in lower right left, scroll down to “my profile”, click second tab at top) or “add members” to your “party”. Do that ahead of time as well. You should be able to, even if you don’t have your physical ticket (magic band or RFID card) activated yet. It sounds complicated but it’s not not really.
If you have any trouble with the app, there are cast members with iPads waiting just inside the gates that can request boarding passes for you, but obviously it’s faster if you have everything set up and do it yourself.
When we arrived, the entrance gates were open and the ticket windows were open too. It only took a minute to show the confirmation code for our tickets and get our RFID cards before heading to the entrance gate.
And just to be clear, every member of your party has to be inside the park to be in your boarding group request. That includes the fingerprint scan on the way in. So you can’t send one person early on behalf of the group.
However, once you have a boarding pass, you’re allowed to leave the park and come back (if that suits you). If you paid to park, you do have in and out privileges for the day too (keep your receipt).
Hello! Me and My Fiancé are AP holders and Wednesday is our last day to go before blackout dates start. We are planning on getting a hotel and get up at 4am to be at DHS by 4:30 to wait for bordering passes.
My question is, what time does the boarding pass access begin since the posted time for opening is now 7AM for DHS? Does it start at 6AM? Or does it give access at 7AM uppn opening and me and my fiancé also have seperate AP accounts will it be possible for us to join the same boarding group if we both click the button at the same time and if we dont will it be possible for a Cast Member to switch one of us so we can be in the same group without connecting our account to eachother?
This morning we were in the queue outside the park by 6:10 am. We were in line with people who arrived at the park entrance at 7:10 am the prior day and did not get into a queue for Rise of the Resistance. Today, gates opened at 7:30. We were prompt getting in and were assigned boarding group 46, which was called at 12:15 pm. The queues were all full by 8:20 am – perhaps earlier.
You probably know this but just in case…you will have to pay to upgrade everyone’s tickets and everyone will have to go there with you early to check into the park. The ride is good…but I’m not sure it would be worth the upgrade for a single ride that may or not be working when your boarding group is called. â€â™‚ï¸
I bought a half day pass (after noon). Realistically we won’t get to Hollywood Studios until 3 pm due to another event. Does it let you select late in the day?
You would need to be admitted into the park by 6:30 or 7:00 a.m to secure a boarding group. You do not pick your group, it’s assigned to you. However if you only have a half day pass for the afternoon, it’s a non issue. Boarding groups are usually gone by 7:40 or 8:00 a.m. You have no hope of getting in a boarding group arriving that late to the park.
They’ve been gone by around 7 in the last few days.
Today (Friday Dec 13):
Still available at 7:37 am
Closed sometime before 7:59 am
According to the status in the app.
Ok. So you get there at 6:30 to get in the Rise of the Resistance boarding group. The park opens at “8:00” that day. Does it really open at 8:00 or can you get into the park earlier then that? My worry is that we will be there with 6 kids under the age of 10 to get in line for ROR but then do not want to have to wait until 8 to get into the park trying to entertain them for 1 and 1/2 hours. We are going to HS on December 30th….
Jeff, in case others ask, I called guest services today. They told that I could come to Disney Springs guest services and pay to upgrade my unused after 12 pm ticket to an all day ticket for Sunday so I can check into the queue first thing. Irritating, but I guess better than nothing. I have an unrelated obligation at the Orlando convention center at noon, so what I will likely have to do is get there super early for the Q to get on the earliest group so I can do the ride, then leave the park, then we can come back and enjoy the rest of Galaxy’s Edge at our leisure. According to the website, the $25 parking fee is good for the full day in and out. Thank God for that.
Update #2: after I was able to upgrade my ticket to all day, I got to the parking lot by 6:30 AM today. The park opened at 7 AM and I signed on to the virtual Q as soon as I got scanned at 7 AM. The app said I was boarding group 96 and advised me it would be ready in the evening. That was true. My boarding group was up at 4:30 PM, which suited me just fine. The wait on check in was approximately 45 min or so. It was an excellent ride, no question. Spots were gone by 8 AM for sure.
I was disappointed I couldn’t get on Smuggler’s Run at all, the wait was just too long even as a single rider.
Thursday Dec 12:
Boarding passes were gone sometime before 8:49 am (probably a lot earlier but I wasn’t checking)
Wednesday Dec 11:
Still available at 7:26 am
Closed at, or sometime before, 8:10 am
Tuesday Dec 10:
Don’t remember exactly…
Definitely all gone by 9 am, probably a lot earlier
Monday Dec 9:
Still available at ~8:15 am
Closed by ~8:30 am
Hope that helps anyone trying to plan in the near term.
Saturday Dec 14:
Boarding passes were available starting sometime before 7:17 am (official opening was supposed to be 7 am)
Virtual queue was full sometime between 7:40 and 7:50 am
Do you have any thoughts on What this will look like the week of Christmas? Is there any way to find out when they will be opening the park?