While a lot of people were excited for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland in May, the announcement of the opening was tempered somewhat by the revelation, that not everything that had been announced would be open on day one. Rise of the Resistance, an E-ticket attraction, would not be there when the new land opened at Disneyland or Walt Disney World, but now we know when the attraction will finally arrive, and Walt Disney World is getting it first.
While the west coast got the first Galaxy's Edge land in May, and the Walt Disney World version won't even be open until August 29, today the Disney Parks Blog revealed that the Walt Disney Imagineers in charge of the Rise of the Resistance attraction have been hard at work getting the attraction ready in Florida first. It will open there on December 5. It will follow in California in short order, opening at Disneyland in early 2020, on January 17.
The only date given when the "second phase" of Galaxy's Edge was announced was "later this year" and it seems that things have taken even longer than anticipated, as, in the case of Disneyland, that broad window will actually be missed. Both of the new lands were actually given opening dates in advance of their original windows. We didn't expect Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World to open until late fall originally, but even if Disney Parks waited and didn't open things until originally planned, it seems Rise of the Resistance still would not have been ready, which may explain why the lands were opened early to begin with.
The reason for the delay is likely pretty obvious, Rise of the Resistance promises to be the largest attraction ever opened at a Disney Park. It's just a physically massive location with a lot going on inside it. Getting so many animatronics, projections, ride vehicles, and whatever else is going on, to work seamlessly is never an easy task, and the size of this one just makes it all that much more complicated.
It will be interesting to see how this announcement impacts the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The new attraction will be opening barely over three months after the land opens. How many people will simply wait until the entire land is up and running? This might even be part of the plan, a way to help manage the size of initial crowds.
Disneyland used a reservation system to soft open Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge starting in May and has since instituted a virtual queue system to manage crowds into the new land. From all reports the crowd control has been well done and we would expect nothing less from Disney's flagship park as well.
Rise of the Resistance will see guests join the Resistance on Batuu, only to be captured by the First Order. The majority of the ride will apparently be aboard trackless ride vehicles as guests attempt to make their escape.
If you were waiting to book your passage to Batuu until the second attraction was up, you now know when to go. If you've already been once, you now know exactly when you need to go back.
