There’s one thing for sure… the Rise of the Resistance ride is like NONE OTHER. I knew it was going to be a lofty task to go the first couple weeks it opens, but I had to hear what the commotion was about. The real question you’ll have to ask yourself is, how long are you willing to “wait”?

SPOILER ALERT - There will be spoilers ahead. If you want to be completely surprised, turn back now.

What to expect trying to get in a boarding group…

Start by getting there very, very early. If the gates open up at 7:30am, get to the gates by 7:20a. There were massive crowds before the gates open.

Your best shot will be trying to go with someone else. Maybe not a huge party, but enough to help look for the shortest entry lines, better chances to get in a lower number boarding group and pass the time. Just make sure that all your party’s tickets are in each other apps before 8am.

Close the Disneyland app before 8am, and open it when it’s time to get a boarding group. That’s definitely what slowed us down because the app wasn’t refreshing.

I went on a Friday, and all non-waitlist boarding groups were assigned by 8:03am. All waitlist group were assigned by 8:08am. Very intense process. A friend of mine that works at WDW (s/o to Kelly) told me that the Rise of the Resistance in Florida still has a heightened hype with all boarding groups being assigned with the first 45 minutes of the park opening.

My boarding group was 79. But, what the hell does that mean? Well for one, it seems that Disneyland doesn’t start boarding groups until about 9am. I looked through people posting Instagram posts with #RiseoftheResistance, saw others post their boarding group, and reached out to them for advice on timing. Someone told me 8:30pm with group 79, another said 6:30pm… We got on the ride at 4:40pm. We could have left the park and came back, but as Disneyland Annual Passholders… we were willing to come back if the wait was becoming too long.

If you’re in a mid-numbered boarding group, I would highly consider NOT leaving the park. We judged whether or not we were going to wait all day based on how quickly the boarding groups were going. In the app, you’ll be able to see which boarding groups Rise is boarding at any moment. If the top number doesn’t start to move, the ride likely broke down. Luckily at about noon, they were a little more than halfway until our number. So that means… you’ll be staying in the park for awhile. Keep that in mind when you’re packing for the day. I highly recommend bringing a phone charger, water bottle and wearing comfortable shoes (as always).

One last thing that I would ask/recommend… please monitor the app and be aware of what group is boarding. The process moves a lot quicker if everyone is on top of things.

As for the ride…

Trackless. 20 minutes. Just wow.

Wow was just about the only reaction I could give after walking off the ride. I don’t want to spoil much for anyone that doesn’t want it. Here’s what I’ll say: the room with the army of Stormtroopers was incredible, the cast members working the ride are perfectly in character, and the ride is MASSIVE.

Let me know what you think of the ride! Good luck!