Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has been open for almost a week exactly and it’s safe to say that this new attraction is a smash hit for Walt Disney World and finally makes Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge feel like a complete land. However, though we’ve lauded this attraction’s entertainment value, day-to-day operations have been a bit of a nightmare for this new experience. Not only has park opening been a moving target (the park has been opening anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30 AM most days, despite a posted 8:00 AM opening time) but technical difficulties have also been a big issue for this attraction. With downtime happening several times a day (often with full attraction and queue evacuations), Disney has had to come up with some creative solutions to deal with an attraction that is experiencing some serious technical issues during its first few days open.
Operating the ride for as many hours as possible
Though Disney hasn’t officially adjusted the opening time for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, park officials have been letting guests into the park and opening boarding for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance as early as 6:30 AM on some days so that this attraction can run as long as possible during an opening day.
While some have criticized Disney’s unscheduled early openings for both the park and this specific attraction, as guests swell outside the park, it has been necessary for the park to let guests in early, and because of the frequent downtime for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the longer this attraction can run during the day, the better chance guests have of being able to “board” this attraction using the park’s boarding pass system before park close.
Paper and digital FastPass distribution for evacuated guests
Sadly, because of the complex nature of this ride, when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance goes down, oftentimes a full attraction and queue evacuation is required, which is definitely a pain for guests already in the queue or worse, on the ride itself. However, Disney has developed a pretty tight system for dealing with guests who have already had their boarding pass number called but had to be evacuated: a combination of FastPasses!
If you find yourself being evacuated from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, friendly Cast Members will hand you a paper FastPass good for returning to the attraction later that day when it comes back online, and will also scan your MagicBand and load a digital FastPass that can be used for any attraction in the park (including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) the next day.
This system ensures that guests who have waited all day for this attraction can experience it later, regardless of when their boarding group is, and has been a great way to keep guests happy while this attraction is experiencing technical difficulties.
And while this system is great for guests who are unexpectedly removed from the attraction, what if you secure a boarding pass that is never called?
Park Hopper passes are being given for guests whose boarding group is never called
On opening day Disney began giving guests whose boarding pass number for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was never called 1-Day Park Hopper Tickets who were not be able to experience the attraction due to the frequent downtime. And though this may be a temporary measure for guests who don’t get to experience this ride during its grand opening, this is still a great gesture by Disney, as boarding passes don’t technically guarantee guests access to the ride (there’s a pretty big disclaimer in the app).
A FastPass+ plan could be coming together for after the holiday season
Right now, we’d expect the current procedure for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (early opening, boarding pass required, FastPasses during downtime) to stay in place at least through the busy holiday season. However, rumors seem to indicate that Disney is looking at a long-term plan for this attraction, which will likely retain its popularity well into next year.
According to some sources, Disney may be opening up FastPass+ reservations for this attraction in the new year, allowing resort guests to book an advance time to ride this attraction, while still giving day guests the chance to join the virtual “boarding pass” queue.
Time will tell if such a plan will come together, but as guest levels wane after January, it might be a good idea to revisit the opening procedures for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, especially if the attraction is running more reliably by then!
