Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

One week ago, Disneyland opened the largest, most elaborate, most ambitious, most complex attraction ever put forth by Walt Disney Imagineering. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the crown jewel of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The ultimate E-ticket that combines multiple ride technologies into an exciting, action-packed, cinematic experience that blurs the lines between them park ride, immersive theater, and even line waiting.

We wrote a little bit in our last update about what to expect if trying to ride this attraction for the near future. Disneyland (and Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida) has implemented a virtual queue for guests wishing to ride. This requires fans to arrive inside Disneyland park prior to park opening and then use the Disneyland app to try to obtain a boarding pass number at the moment the park officially begins its operating day. The boarding number then functions like a FastPass, and guests are called to the ride when their number appears on the app later in the day. Expect the demand for the ride to be exceedingly high, especially at the beginning when capacity is lower due to an operating schedule that does not match the park’s full hours. The exceptionally technologically advanced nature has also meant sometimes significant downtown, and while some days are better than others, the ride is sure to take its lumps as park operations gets used to running such a sophisticated and intricate attraction.

Our general Disneyland Resort update on Wednesday was vague about the ride itself, but today’s update will be far less careful about spoilers. This update is a deep dive into the attraction, covering the entire experience from entrance into the queue to disembarking the unload station. If you do not want to know anything about Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, you should stop reading now. This article will contain plenty of spoilers. But if you’re not planning on riding for a while and don’t mind knowing what happens, or if you’re one of those who wants to know everything to expect anyway, continue on!

The Queuing Atmosphere (Very Minor Spoilers)

We start with a trip through the queue, because as with any massive E-Ticket attraction, the story starts from the moment guests get in line. Rise of the Resistance can be found outside of Black Spire Outpost, in the wilderness area of Galaxy’s Edge, off of the Critter Country entrance to the land. The ride entry is formally marked by a gun turret station anchoring the entry portal, which also has a satellite and coordinates map to the side. Currently, the area has a few portable stanchions marking out control points where Resistance [cast] members check boarding group numbers before allowing guests to pass through.

Most guests will go through the full queue, and we’ll focus on that in this section. But some guests will also have the opportunity to go through what will eventually be the FastPass line. If a cast member asks if the group consists of new travelers or returning travelers, those returning can bypass the main line, which offers an advantage of getting to the bulk of the attraction more quickly on days where breakdowns earlier in the day may contribute to the physical queue stretching longer than the typical 15-20 minutes.

There’s a bit of an Indiana Jones Adventure feel at the line for Rise of the Resistance. The attraction is situated in a rugged, natural area, and Resistance members have set up camp within a cave network within the Batuu geology to house a secret base that the First Order is searching for. Initially, plenty of flora surrounds the path. Communications towers are set up along the way, as are pole-mounted drum fans that will prove to be welcome on hot days when Batuu’s three suns shine down especially brightly.

I’m assuming these will be spray fans on a hot day.

As plantlife gives way to rocks, the ambiance becomes more mountainous, transitioning to the beginnings of a tunnel passage. There’s a cool moment when guests pass behind a waterfall—a can’t-help-but-compare-to The Jungle Cruise moment and a hint at the beauty of the planet, Batuu. But all too soon, the path moves indoors, and guests are plunged into secret hideout of the Resistance.

The foliage is surprisingly exotic in this neck of Batuu!

There are a lot of fantastic details through the second half of the line. The rockwork is exquisite, on par with what was done in Cars Land at California Adventure and Mysterious Island at Tokyo Disney Sea. Cables, lights, and ducts run overhead with a sci-fi industrial vibe, and there is plenty of evidence of excavation in the form of rock scares and drill patterns that mark passageways. Another curious feature… natural benches that have been conveniently carved from the stone, allowing rest to guests who (in the future) may have already waited an hour or two by this point. The benches are a brilliant feature, and thoroughly entertaining in how extensive they are. They’re novel initially, and by the third room that features them, they’ve become a hilarious but welcome amenity.

As guests move deeper, Resistance supplies begin to appear. A crate of thermal detonators, an armory of blasters and rifles, locker bays of uniforms and flight suits reveal themselves as guests pass from room to room. In some areas, systems maps indicate strategic locations across local galactic sectors. In addition, supplies and crates also help form the pathway of the queue. And lest folks get bored, many of them also have barcodes compatible with features and missions on the Disney Play app, to enhance the experience.

I love how parts of the queue look like they were caves from ancient civilizations that have been repurposed by The Resistance.

Finally, guests come to a communications foyer, which serves as the grouping chamber for guests going into one of two identical, mirrored preshow rooms. This is also where the FastPass line reconnects with the general line, coming in from the right. Guests are asked for their group size and lumped into preshow assemblies, and when things are ready, they’re sent into the next room.

The Mission Briefing (Earnest Spoilers Begin Here)

As guests file into the chamber, they can see that the Resistance has set up a communications camp to monitor and distribute transmissions here. The equipment is old—the rebel group is cash strapped and dependent on sympathetic donors around the galaxy, after all—and has the feel of how 1980s America computer technology might look like in the Star Wars universe.

Decidedly not old, however, is a somewhat shy BB-8, who rolls out from behind some of the monitor screens. The adorabe droid seems unsure of what to make of the crowd and ducks back a couple of times. The movements are fluid and incredibly convincing, and this is the first of many little wow moments that have proven to be emotional for many fans of the Star Wars franchise.

They’ve really brought the little droid to life!

Before BB-8 has a chance to analyze too much longer, an incoming transmission is broadcast from Rey. She banters with the droid for a brief moment, then sends BB-8 off to prepare Poe Dameron’s X-Wing. Then, Rey turns her attention to the audience, who are new recruits for the Resistance. Apparently, the Resistance secret base has been compromised, and the First Order is headed toward Batuu. It is no longer safe to remain on Batuu. The recruits are to board a transport helmed by Lieutenant Bek and piloted by Nien Nunb (of Return of the Jedi fame), who will evacuate them out of Batuu and to General Leia Organa’s base on Pacara. Poe Dameron will lead an escort of X-Wings for protection.

Rey basically tells everyone to get the heck out of here.

The door opens, and guests move outside to the next wow moment of the experience, the boarding of the transport. It’s right about this time that most people start to realize that the story has begun, and they are central characters in this riveting suspense. To the right, Poe’s X-Wing is warming up, with BB-8 looking on and Poe prepping his ship inside the cockpit. To the left, the transport lies. A moment later, its ion engines fire up, provoking a stir of excitement, and soon afterward, the doors open for the first chapter of the ride.

On Board the Transport

Recruits enter the transport, which features a multitude of screens at the front and the back, plus Lieutenant Bek at the helm, monitoring the situation. Nien Nunb sits at the very front, but he can also be seen in the some of the ship’s monitors. The space itself feels like an open, wide subway train, with several stands to grab on. But wait… is this part of the line or the ride? There are no seats or restraints. And yet, as the ship lifts off, there is a very discernible vibration on the ground and an unnervingly convincing feeling of movement.

Similar to the Millennium Falcon attraction, the screens showing the outside change according to the time of day.

Guests looking out the back of the ship can see the take-off out of Batuu, quickly moving into orbit. Those looking in front can glimpse the pilot’s view. Things seem to be progressing smoothly enough for the first few moments, but the action quickly heats up when several small craft are detected heading the Resistance’s way. They’re TIE Fighters from the First Order, and just as the transport raises its shields, the enemy craft open fire.

Immediate pandemonium breaks out, as several X-Wing in the convoy are quickly taken out. It’s unclear where the TIE Fighters are even coming from until a turn of the ship reveals a Star Destroyer that quickly latches onto the transport. Caught with no ability to escape, Lt. Bek can only advise the audience to keep the location of the Resistance base a secret. Meanwhile, Poe launches into hyperspace, promising to bring back reinforcements to help rescue the new recruits.

Poe is one of several escorts for the transport, but when the First Order attacks, he can’t stay.

A transmission comes in from a First Order officer, giving warning for upcoming boarding. After Lt. Bek feigns service to a civilian ship and asks for the authority of this capture, the First Order officer is pushed aside to reveal General Armitage Hux, leader of the First Order troops, sternly admonishing “Resistance scum” and ominously hinting at a cruel upcoming fate. Everyone is advised to stand clear of the doors, and when they doors behind everyone (from which guests had entered) are the ones that open, the next scene is perhaps the most dramatic and awe-inspiring of all.

Get on board a ship only to be captured. It’s almost like it’s a…

Taken Onto the Star Destroyer

By now, if you’re friends with or Instagram followers of anyone who has ridden Rise of the Resistance, you’ve undoubtedly seen the incredible money shot moment of the whole experience—the entry into a Star Destroyer hangar lined with a legion of Stormtroopers, commanded by several sinister and intimidating First Order officers who direct everyone off the Resistance transport and toward the interrogation area. The cast members here are on point, derisively and gravely showing their disdain for the Resistance.

This is Disney at its absolute best, mixing a massive physical set with live actors (the First Order officer cast members) and large scale projection effects. The space is absolutely mammoth and feels just like a Star Destroyer. The Stormtroopers are not only an amazing photo op, they also border the uncanny valley between mannequins and actual actors—swaying subtly and sometimes offering just the slightest bit of a chin tilt or head turn.

A First Order Short-Range Evacuation Vehicle sits to the side—a preview of the ride vehicle guests will take in just a few moments. Behind, the Resistance transport now sits in the hangar, mirrored in every detail to the set copy that guests boarded. Proceeding down the hall, guests file into a second queue to await their fates.

The cast members playing the First Order parts are fantastic and very, very stern!

This two-turn corridor is brief, acting as a staging area for ride grouping, but it is sleek, elegant, and cold at the same time. The matte First Order aesthetic—full of machine gray and red illumination accents and white diffuse light is beautiful and lifeless. The smooth, black tile floors are darkly opulent, with a tile joint pattern that zigzags and makes no practical sense, other than to be fancy. Switches and lights and panels run along the entire path, thoroughly transporting guests into the clutches of the First Order to every last detail. Even for the most lucid theme park goer who pays attention to every last detail, the illusion is incredibly convincing.

The aesthetic is perfect, bringing the move straight to life!

Coming into another vestibule, guests are then asked for the number of members of their party. Here, under the gaze of more watchful Stormtroopers, guests are directed into one of two corridors, both leading to interrogation chambers. In groups totaling up to 16 people at a time, the Resistance prisoners are moved down the staging areas, until they’re eventually moved into the interrogation room itself.

I’m an architect, so I have to notice the flooring. Hopefully, they’ll clean the floors regularly, because they are so glossy that they easily scuff.

The Interrogation

The actual cell where the questioning is conducted is a claustrophobic enclosure, tapering to a narrow width at the far end, forcing everyone to turn around and gaze upward at the Stormtrooper guard stationed above the group. Soon enough, General Hux enters the catwalk, disparagingly proclaiming the Resistance’s upcoming demise. He is followed by Kylo Ren, who attempts to use the Force to extract the Resistance base information from the group.

Before he can fully succeed, however, he is summoned to the bridge of the Star Destroyer. Tasking Hux to keep the prisoners until he returns, Kylo leaves. Oddly, so does Hux. Left alone, everyone is left to wonder where they go next, but rattling within the walls catches some attention. Suddenly, to the side, the glow of a laser burn appears, tracing a portal that is pulled open from the other side, revealing secret inside agent Resistance members come to rescue the group!

This is the point where guests board the ride vehicle. Having been given a group color by First Order officials earlier, guests match up those colors with a row in one of two 8-person ride vehicles. These are the Short-Range Evacuation Vehicles seen earlier, and as Finn explains on a screen next to loading, each is navigated by an R5 unit that has been programmed to find the Star Destroyer’s escape pods and return the captive Resistance recruits back to Batuu.

The Ride

Although parts of the experience have felt like a ride before, this is where the actual dark ride begins. On trackless vehicles using the same radio remote control technology as Pooh’s Hunny Hunt at Tokyo Disneyland, Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland, and the Ratatouille attraction at Walt Disney Studios in Paris, guests begin a breakneck adventure to escape from the grasp of the evil First Order.

Lt. Bek comes in over the intercom as the SREV’s begin their journey. In the first room, they encounter another group of empty vehicles (coming over from the unload station and moving to take the place of the just departed ride vehicles for the next group of riders). Lt. Bek urges R5 to tell the other droids that this is a prisoner transfer, which seems to allay any suspicion. Another close call is avoided when the SREV’s just miss the detection of an old Imperial probe droid.

The concealment doesn’t last long, though, as the riders run into a pair of Stormtroopers who quickly recognize everyone as the Resistance prisoners who escaped, and begin firing to stop the getaway. The first of many blaster fire effects is low-key amazing, as a mix of projections and physical breakaways gives a very convincing effect of laser fire damage. Cover blown, the SREV’s are ordered by Lt. Bek to find an alternate way to the escape pods. Naturally, the simplest path goes through a massive hanger containing a pair of First Order AT Walkers.

Didn’t get my lens wide enough, but this is a shot you’ve seen everywhere.

The Finn animatronic is just the slightest big derpy.

It’s another wow moment, but there’s little time to savor it. A dogfight quickly breaks out as the SREV’s try to take cover, while Finn, inside a Stormtrooper disguise, tries to return fire. Fortunately, actual Stormtroopers on this ride are just as inaccurate as they are in the movies, but the peril is intense! Finding a lift to escape the chaos, riders are unintentionally sent up a level, just barely avoiding the turbo cannons of the AT-AT’s, weaving onto the bridge of the ship.

Wait, don’t get in line of fire of an AT-AT!

Guests catch a look at Kylo Ren and General Hux surveying the scene in front of them. Though Hux is sure of victory, Kylo senses a threat and orders the shields to be turned up. With hardly enough time to react, a medley of Resistance ships plunge out of hyperspace and immediately begin an offensive against the Star Destroyers, hoping to create enough of a distraction to allow the prisoners to escape. It seems Poe did come back after all! But there’s more imminent danger, because as the space battle rages outside, Kylo turns around and notices the Resistance recruits turned escaped prisoners!

It’s a cool moment spying on the baddies for a spell.

The SREV’s back up, but the Supreme Leader of the First Order is on the prowl. He follows the vehicles, and just when it seems riders have reached safety inside a lift, the fiery red glow of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber pierces the ceiling, cutting a swath to try to stop the escapees. (I think it’s a shame that this moment is shown in the TV spot, effectively spoiling it—it’s one of the most dramatic parts of the ride and the only effect that I can’t completely, for sure figure out how Disney did).

One of the most jaw-dropping moments of the ride, in my opinion.

The opening of the lift doors allows a momentary escape, leading everyone to another battle scene that practically overwhelms the senses. Vividly clear screens show First Order and Resistance craft engaged in a massive fight, while the powerful cannons fire plasma bursts through the portals. The SREV’s manage to weave under the heavy artillery, but before they can reach the evacuation zone, they are grabbed by Kylo Ren who uses the Force to seize the vehicles toward him. He once again demands information on the secret Resistance base, but before he can succeed in his endeavor, a wayward X-Wing crashes into the bay, opening up the interiors to. the vacuum of deep space and immobilizing Kylo.

The R5 units use this moment to back out and continue their trek. At this point, Finn comes on and warns that the Star Destroyers are nearing destruction themselves. Fortunately, the escape pods have been found. The carts load onto the chambers, and the attraction switches from an elaborate dark ride at this point into a motion simulator featuring a very sudden but momentary drop! The escape pods crash through a neighboring, falling Star Destroyer before navigating themselves into the clear and hurtling back to Batuu. In an ending that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been on Star Tours or Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, the vehicle whips through the planet’s atmosphere, back over Black Spire Outpost, and crash lands into the Resistance hideout just outside of town.

Of course, on a Disney Star Wars ride, a crash landing is a prerequisite.

From there, what’s left is to back out and hit the rendezvous point, where it turns out that Lt. Bek has also made it out, safe and sound. Guests disembark at the unload station—most likely in awe and disbelief and trying to process the entire experience that has just transpired—before stumbling out through the ride exit and back onto Batuu.

The Verdict

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is an incredible experience that goes beyond the scope of any ride before it. It is the ultimate in Disney storytelling, utilizing every Imagineering trick in the book to craft a level of immersion so deep that the only reaction afterwards for first time riders is giddy disbelief and awe. The entire active attraction, from the preshow through the transport and imprisonment sequence to the formal dark ride itself combines to make the greatest, most elaborate, most incredible iteration of a theme park adventure ever. Part dark ride, part motion simulator, park drop ride, part immersive and interactive theater, it utilizes an intricacy that is positively mind-blowing.

The blaster fire effects are among many awesome effects on the ride.

This same complexity can also be a flaw, because it has been the biggest impetus to the breakdowns and ride issues that both Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions have suffered so far in their short time of operation. The ride has so many inter-connected moving parts, and many of them are critical components of the entire experience. Without them, the next part literally does not function, and because of that, there is a much higher possibility of a component fault causing the entire attraction to stop.

It’s not like a special effect that—if not functioning—will simply look a little odd (although with Disney’s commitment to complete immersion on Batuu, I wouldn’t be surprised if even effects malfunctions or mis-synchronization might cause the ride to go 101). There are many more components that rely on a previous component in order to keep the ride going. If the transport doesn’t work, guests can’t enter the Star Destroyer, which is needed to eventually board the ride. If the video in the interrogation room is off, it actively disrupts the story and the disaffects the breakout scene. If any door in a ride scene fails to open or shut, it literally prevents the ride vehicle from continuing. And if any component listed above goes down, the ripple effect continues all the way through the entire cycle.

So it’s going to take some time for the ride operators to get a hang for the cadence and flow of the ride, and for the maintenance folks to come up with an efficient and rigorous way to service the attraction on a regular basis. There are a lot of moving parts, from animatronics to video screens to 3D mapping projections to moving props to the trackless ride vehicles themselves to the blaster fire special effects and more. But the fact that Disney has been able to pull all of this off through any ride cycle to begin with is absolutely spectacular. Putting everything together is a monumental feat that deserves many kudos.

There is no doubt that this will be the #1 Disney ride for almost everyone who goes on Rise of the Resistance. For me, it actually slots in just a hair behind Hong Kong’s Mystic Manor on my personal list of favorite Disney attractions and is almost tied with Shanghai Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. Those two attractions are a good barometer, though, because Rise combines the fantastical storytelling of the prior with the epic scale of the latter, mixing a seamless integration of physical and practical elements with video and projected components.

(I also have a subjective bias; Mystic Manor was the first truly cutting edge, next gen, top tier Disney attraction I rode, and the original storyline, complex animatronics, magical scenes, and incredible and climactic finale left me giddy over the spectacle and whimsy of the ride. Mystic Manor transported me back to a child-like experience of Disney, where a ride experience feels viscerally magical. I have no doubt this is exactly the reaction that most people who go on Rise of the Resistance will have.)

Wait! Don’t shoot! Or wait! Try to shoot straight at us so you miss!

If I do have to nitpick on almost unimportant details on Rise of the Resistance, I would say that the pace of the actual dark ride itself is so fast and jumpy that it’s almost impossible to really take in everything that happens. This attraction demands multiple re-rides, and at a time when even riding once is a challenging task, the inability to communicate the full details of the story in one swoop is a bit of a minus. In addition, the animatronics on the ride don’t seem to be quite as ridiculously amazing as Disney’s absolute top of the line models can provide. Those who are just turned off by screens rides may also just be turned off by the use of screens here—even though their integration is done just about as well as one can incorporate into a dark ride, in my opinion.

These are my own biases, and by no means do they imply that Rise of the Resistance is disappointing or poor in any way. This ride is an immaculate execution of every facet of WDI coming together to form an unforgettable experience. It’s one that—at this present juncture, early in the ride’s existance—creates a cathartic communal enjoyment. The excitement and screams of joy at all the little details and giant moments makes people watching almost as fun as the ride itself—and definitely a contributing positive factor to overall enjoyment.

If you’re a Star Wars fan in any sense, you’ve got to go on Rise of the Resistance as soon as you can. Obviously, the place will be a madhouse for a while, so take this at your own pace. If you need to go asap, then do it. If you can way, that’s fine too. But this ride is definitely worth the hype, and under any metric (except for operational reliability), it is a resounding and marvelous success. Thank you to everyone at Disney who worked to make this transformative ride into a reality!