Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened with a single functioning attraction, but it was clear that what Disneyland and Walt Disney World had planned for Phase 2 of the new theme park land was something big. We've been teased with what is to come for Rise of the Resistance, the massive new attraction opening in the next few months at both theme parks, but now we have an idea just how massive the attraction will actually be, as it's apparently about 15 minutes long.
The hardest part of justifying standing in a long line at a theme park is that, once you get to the front of the line, your time on the attraction is usually less than five minutes. However, Rise of the Resistance might be much more worth the wait. Over the weekend on Freeform, Disney aired a special look at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (via Slashfilm) which confirmed that Rise of the Resistance will be one of the longer theme park attractions on record. According to the head of Disney's Parks Division Bob Chapek...
Imagine being chased for 15 minutes by Kylo Ren and the First Order. Stormtroopers everywhere, Lightsabers coming at you. It’s going to be fantastic.
While 15 minutes is a bit shorter than the 28 minute ride that had been previously rumored, it's possible that both are technically true. It depends on where you start counting when the ride actually begins. We know the basic layout of the attraction, and there's quite a bit of an experience prior to the part where the First Order begins to chase the guest vehicles. That portion could be considered part of the queue, but it could just as easily be considered part of the attraction.
It's also likely that Bob Chapek wasn't giving an exact length of the ride, but rounding slightly in one direction or another.
Either way, we're still looking at Rise of the Resistance being one of the longer theme park experiences at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Each park has experiences that exceed 15 minutes, but most rides don't even come close to that length.
Our own Sean O"Connell got to walk through some of Rise of the Resistance just before the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World and based on the size and scope of the attraction, a significant length only makes sense.
If anything could get me more excited for Rise of the Resistance, I now am. A nice long experience, that looks to be packed with action, is something we just haven't seen from Disney Parks to this point. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge does a phenomenal job of making you feel like you're inside the world of Star Wars, but it sounds like Rise of Resistance will make you feel like you're truly inside a Star Wars adventure similar to the way that Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run does, and it will be long enough to truly feel like it's the real thing.
Rise of the Reistance is set to open first at Walt Disney World in December, and then at Disneyland in January.
