Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the most popular attraction at Disney World currently. It is one of the most ambitious attractions Walt Disney Imagineering has ever created. Getting a chance to experience this attraction should be on the top of everyone’s list, however, it isn’t as straight forward as it might seem (Updated 3/21/23).
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is where Rise of the Resistance is located. This is a sub-land of Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS). When Rise of the Resistance debuted in 2019, it was a huge hit. One of the most technological and cutting edge experiences guests could ever experience.
It opened with a new system called “virtual queue”. This was a system where you would log on to the app and with everyone else in the world try to secure a place in line for a chance to experience Rise of the Resistance. That virtual queue gets full within less than a minute of it being available for booking, everyday, and that is not an exaggeration. Fortunately they did away with this after the re-opening from the pandemic.
Now there is a traditional standby line you can get in for Rise of the Resistance. There is also the new system which replaced Fastpass named Lightning Lane. Let’s discuss Lightning Lane a bit below.
Genie+ Which includes Lightning Lane
In order to utilize Lightning Lane, you need a cell phone with the “My Disney Experience” app, and also, purchase Genie+. To purchase Genie+ is to do it daily starting at midnight, and before 7am EST on the day of your visit to the parks. Very important that you purchase this before 7am or you will miss out on attractions that are fully booked at 7am.
To complicate things more, certain rides aren’t even included in the purchase of Genie+. You actually have five attractions, that you have to purchase separately. These are called “Individual Lightning Lane”, or Lightning Lane a la carte. These attractions are currently: Please note Disney opted to leave Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a ILL making this the first park with two of those.
- Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train & TRON Lightcycle /Run
- EPCOT: Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage
Each Individual Lightning Lane can be purchased at 7am by guests staying on property for any of the attractions above. Guests not staying on property can purchase them at each park’s respective opening times, however be warned, most of the attractions above are gone within the first couple minutes or even seconds in the case of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and we are sure TRON will even be faster for a while.
Also one more point of contention, if you are managing Lightning Lane and also Individual Lightning Lane, you have a choice to make at 7am on which one to concentrate on. Meaning if your day started at DHS and you wanted to grab Slinky Dog Dash, and Star Wars: Rise of the resistance at the same time you will more than likely miss out on one of them. These two attractions disappear within the first minute of being available.
Strategies for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
There are several ways to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and we will do our best to guide you on the correct path for your party.
Option 1: the standby line. This is your traditional line, you walk up to the attraction and decide if the posted wait time is worth your time. The average wait time for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is 90 minutes, however it can get up to 180 minutes at certain points of the day.
With the standby line, there are different strategies to get on Rise of the Resistance. If you are staying on property and at a hotel that participates in early entry, you can get a head start on the general guests. This is beneficial, but comes at a cost of sleep. You will need to get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios very early.
If you have a rental car, plan on leaving your hotel 90 minutes before DHS opens to get in the parking lot. Parking lots often open 60 minutes before the gates. To this point you aren’t the only one going for Rise of the Resistance. You will be going up against your fellow guests who are all staying on property. If you manage to get on and off it quick during early entry you should prioritize Slinky Dog, and Tower of Terror as your next destinations. Mickey and Minnie’s runaway Railroad is another good option early morning.
If you leave your fate in the horrible Disney bus service, find out from your resort when the first bus leaves for DHS. Make sure you get on that first bus to have your best chance at beating everyone else in the morning.
If you do not want to deal with all of that in the morning, you can go with the closing time strategy. This is where you get in line 5 minutes before the park closes. This typically is how we ride this attraction, although beware that Rise of the Resistance does break down a lot. If it happens to break down while you are waiting in line and after park closes, it will not re-open. To avoid this you can check the standby line during the last hour as well.
If your only chance to ride this attraction is this strategy, you could miss out. We prefer this standby method as the wait times are a lot shorter, but it comes with a risk. For us, we have waited only 20 minutes for this attraction by jumping in line right before closing time. Also, the sun isn’t out anymore at closing time, which is a huge bonus!
Option 2: The second method to experience Rise of the Resistance is to purchase the individual Lightning Lane at 7am. As described above, you will need to be staying on property to have a chance at obtaining this Lightning Lane as it will sell out within the first minute of being available.
Conclusion
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a top notch Disney attraction. Walt Disney Imagineering created something special with this 18-minute experience. Many nights Emma and I drive over to DHS just to go on this attraction, it is that good!
If you love Star Wars, this attraction is a must do for you. Or even if you do not love Star Wars, you will enjoy this experience. A lot of technology is working together to deliver something unforgettable.
We highly suggest you find a way to get on this attraction. Plan it into your trip somehow even it means park hopping over to DHS from a different park. We would do that if we had a 5 days or longer at the theme parks though in the interest of time.
Let us know in the comments what you think. Have you been on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance? If you haven’t been on it yet, how will you attempt to ride it?
Thank for info. Great help. See you soon