Remember the good ol' days when Disney fans could just get in line for a ride and then... ride it? Fine, you still do this all around the park. But I know why you're here. You're hoping to get on Disneyland’s hottest new attraction, Rise of Resistance, which is located at its own Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Well, that’s going to take a bit of strategy. It’s been over a month since it opened its doors in Anaheim’s Disneyland, yet the journey to get aboard the ride is still quite the process. I witnessed the craze that is getting on the new Star Wars ride last weekend and have returned with some valuable intel for how you can join the resistance.
As you read these tips about how to ensure yourself a spot on Rise of Resistance in Disneyland, California, remember that a ticket to the park doesn’t ensure entry into this ride. It’s not the perfect situation and cast members are well aware of this – they deal with it every day. There’s a high price for high demand, but it’ll all be worth it once the nerd tears hit, right? Okay, ready? You might want to take notes.
Download The Disneyland App Beforehand
Besides buying a ticket to enter the park, downloading the Disneyland Mobile App is absolutely essential to nabbing your spot on Rise of Resistance. It’s completely free and it’s a great way to track wait times for rides, check out time slots when characters will be doing meet and greets and which restaurants to check out. I recommend buying your ticket or passes online before reaching the parks, as well as get the app all set up and familiarize yourself with it. Make sure you’ve signed onto the app and your tickets are linked to your account as well.
Now let’s say you’re going with a group of people who have purchased their tickets separately (like a bunch of friends instead of a family). In this case, I would recommend that you all meet up before heading into the park and have one person link all of your tickets to one account. This is easy to do: just find the “My Tickets” button on the Homepage of the app, press the “+” button on the right top corner and then find “Link Tickets & Passes”. You can then use the phone camera to scan tickets and link them together.
I say this because once you attempt to join a boarding group, even if you try to press it at the same time, you may still find yourself in completely different boarding groups. This happened during my recent visit. Just minutes after joining the boarding group from each other, it jumped from 65 to 135.
How To Join A Rise Of Resistance Boarding Group
The key to joining a boarding group is getting to Disneyland early. And I mean early. Imagine when you want to get there and leave a half an hour before that. On a typical day, Disneyland opens at 8 a.m., but you should definitely double check the hours beforehand because it does fluctuate. Not to mention the time it takes to get parked and going from your parking spot to the line to get into Disneyland. You can only join the virtual queue into Rise of Resistance once you’ve physically entered the park, and as I’ve alluded to, these spots often disappear within minutes.
So once you’ve made it into the gates of Disneyland, it’s time to join a boarding group. It’s easy to find on the homepage of the app. Click on “Find Out More” right under Rise of Resistance and press “Join Boarding Group.” At that time, your group will be assigned by number. Groups 1 through 72 is a good place to be in line. If you’ve been assigned a number after 72, you’ve been placed in a backup boarding group. These groups still have a chance to ride Rise of Resistance, but it depends on how smoothly things are going for the attraction that day. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
What To Do When Your Boarding Group Is Called
Once you’ve been assigned a boarding group, all you can do is wait. Or you can go on another ride/explore the other parts of the park. The app is set up so that it will send you a notification once your boarding group is ready to be called. Once you receive the notification, you have two hours to physically get in line for Rise of Resistance. While you wait, you can monitor how things are moving along on the app. It regularly updates with which groups are being boarded.
The main perk of the virtual queue is you’re avoiding waiting in a seven-hour line. There will be a line once you get to Rise of Resistance, but it won’t be significantly better or worse than any other lines you are in throughout the day at Disneyland. When your boarding group is ready, a ticket for your ride will appear on the app for a cast member to scan. And yes, you absolutely have to wait for your specific number before you can board.
It's Common For Rise of Resistance To Break Down
The dark side of Disneyland’s newest attraction is it does break down quite a bit. Recent data collected by Touring Plans revealed that in three days out of a single week in late January, the ride closed down for two hours or more, and once it broke down three times in an eight-hour period. Two days after the ride opened, it was down for four hours as well. This is why guests who find themselves in backup groups shouldn’t expect to 100% make it on the ride. It just depends on the day. It’s the luck of the draw.
On my own first experience, I was on backup boarding group 139. It was finally called around 6:30pm and I arrived in line and was feeling positive about actually getting on. However, a few minutes into physically being in line, the ride broke down and did not resume boarding for over an hour. As told by cast members, if this happens while you’re in line and you decide to leave, your long-awaited spot is forfeited.
Don’t Expect To Get On During Star Wars Nite
Another thing to keep in mind is this summer’s Disneyland After Dark event, Star Wars Nite on August 27. Although the event will include some exciting galactic fun exclusive to that specific day such as a Star Wars firework show and limited-release merchandise, Rise of Resistance will not be open. The website details that it will be closed due to “standard required maintenance time.” Chances are the demand would be too high and Disneyland cannot accommodate guests on Rise of Resistance for this event.
Will you be braving Rise of Resistance? If you follow these steps, I’m confident you’ll make it in. If you’re not successful the first time around, there’s plenty of fun to be had throughout the parks. A new parade featuring Moana called Magic Happens debuts on February 28, and the Avengers campus is on its way this summer. Sound off in the comments about your experience getting on the ride!
