Since opening in December 2019 Rise of the Resistance has proved to be the most in demand attraction at Hollywood Studios and at Walt Disney World Resort. Fast Passes were not offered for the attraction and instead a virtual queue/boarding group system had been used. In this post we guide you through how to ride Rise of the Resistance by securing your boarding group for this amazing ride.
UPDATE – FALL 2021
The virtual queue/boarding group system is no longer in operation for Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios. To ride the attraction now (at time of writing) there are 2 options available.
- Use the Rise of the Resistance Standby Line.
- Buy a Lightning Lane reservation for the attraction using the new Disney Genie Plus service.
You can find our Hollywood Studios Disney Genie+ Guide Here
Below You Will Find more Details on the Old Method Currently Not in Use…
Here’s an overview of the steps on How to Ride Rise of the Resistance:
- Get a Park Reservation For Hollywood Studios
- Prepare to Secure Your Boarding Group
- Make Sure Your Disney App is Ready
- Check the Internet Speed at Your Resort with Fast.com
- Get Up Early and Have a Second Phone Ready.
- Use Time.Is to Accurately Keep an Eye on the Time (with the 2nd phone)
- Get That Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group
- Have fun at Hollywood Studios and wait for Your Boarding Group to be Called.
- If You Didn’t Secure a Boarding Group try Again at 1pm (2pm for Park Hoppers)
1. Get a Park Reservation For Hollywood Studios
Before we get started, do remember due to the current procedures in place at Disney World that before attempting to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance you will have to have a park reservation for Hollywood Studios.
2. Prepare to Secure Your Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group
Once you have your Park Reservation for Hollywood Studios secured you can prepare to secure your boarding group for Rise of the Resistance.
What is a Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group?
To ride Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios you will need to secure a boarding group using the my Disney Experience App. Once allocated a boarding Group you will need to wait for your 2-hour window to ride the new attraction. Boarding Groups become available at 7am and 1pm each day (2pm for park hoppers).
You can only secure one Boarding Group each day for Rise of the Resistance.
3. Make Sure Your Disney App is Ready
Make sure that you have the My Disney Experience App installed on your phone and it has been updated to the latest version. Also you will want to make sure that you already have all of your party already added to your friends and family list. This will enable you to get all of your party on to the ride the same as it does when you reserve Fast Passes at Disney World.
4. Check the Internet Speed at Your Resort with Fast.com
Previously you had to be inside Hollywood Studios to secure your boarding group for Rise of the Resistance, but now you can secure them from outside the park using the My Disney Experience App.
We would recommend trying to secure a boarding group at 7am. To make the process easier have a walk around your resort (or wherever you maybe) and use fast.com to check to see where internet speeds are the fastest. Believe it or not these can differ quite drastically when staying at a Disney World Resort, so it is best to check. Once you have found that prime position for internet speed you know where you will need to be early the next morning when you try to get your boarding group.
5. Get Up Early and Have a Second Phone Ready.
Yes you will need to be up early prior to the 7am opening window for Rise of the Resistance boarding group allocations but you will also need a second phone. Don’t worry you aren’t going to attempt to secure boarding passes twice (this tactic actually makes the process more difficult, so don’t try it). The second phone is going to accurately tell you the time. Have your partner or a member of your party use their phone as the second phone you will require. This is where you need to make your way to your location that you scouted for yesterday for the best internet speeds. Give yourself plenty of time, it will be worth it.
6. Use Time.Is to Accurately Keep an Eye on the Time
Get your party member with the second phone to open Time.IS so that you have an accurate reading of the time as possible. Now is the time to get the My Disney Experience App open and get ready to try and secure your Boarding Group for Rise if the Resistance.
Time.is is synchronised with an atomic clock – the most accurate time source in the world. The displayed time will normally have a precision of 0.02-0.10 seconds.
7. Get That Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group
Now open the My Disney Experience App and on the homepage of the app, there will be a section named “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Request Access with Virtual Queue.” You can do this about five minutes before the Boarding Groups will open at 6.55am. Once you hit 6.59 and get about 30 seconds away from 7.00am on Time.IS on the second phone make sure you keep refreshing the page. Once the Boarding Groups become available you click on the Join button.
This is where you and your selected friends/family members can join a Boarding Group. You’ll want to confirm very quickly and use your fast fingers to click through the screens. Hopefully with quick fingers and a little luck you will have secured your Boarding Group for Rise of the Resistance.
Tips to Remember
Give yourself plenty of time – get up early.
Turn off Disney WiFi and use cellular data if you can – it tends to be more reliable.
Turn off all other Apps on your phone – don’t have any open in the background, it could slow you down.
Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the 7am Boarding Group, you can try again at 1pm (2pm for park hoppers).
The virtual queue for trying to get a Boarding Group can literally close in seconds depending on the demand on the day.
BIG TIP – you can actually practice on the My Disney Experience App before your vacation without completing the process – Give it a try (get training).
8. You Got a Boarding Group What Happens Now?
On securing your Boarding Group you will be given a group number. The bigger the number the later on in the day it is likely that you will be notified that it is your turn to ride Rise of the Resistance. The My Disney Experience App will keep you updated as to what groups are currently boarding the attraction and give you an estimated wait time for when you will be called. The App will also send you a notification so make sure your push notifications are turned on.
Now is the time to head to the Hollywood Studios and enjoy the park. Once you are notified that it is your turn to board you have one hour to get to the attraction (bear that in mind if you decide to leave the park). You will have to scan your Magic Bands/passes when joining the line for Rise of the Resistance.
More Tips
Enable your push notifications on your phone.
Keep checking the My Disney Experience App.
You have a one hour arrival window once your Boarding Group gets called – be careful when you sit down to eat or decide to leave the park.
If you do need to use the rider switch service scan in at the ride entrance and then look to get assistance from a cast member when you are in the queue line.
Once you join the line you will be looking at an approximate wait of 30 to 45 minutes.
Why not take a look at Where to Eat at Hollywood Studios here.
9. If You Didn’t Get a Boarding Group Try Again at 1pm
If you were unlucky then you can try again at 1pm. You can try to repeat the exact process above but more than likely you will already be inside Hollywood Studios enjoying the park. If this is the case then keep checking the internet speeds around the park and try to find a good location.
We would suggest trying less populated and quieter areas of Hollywood Studios.
Other Things to Know About Rise of the Resistance
You Might Get Put in a Back Up Boarding Group
Disney does use Back Up Boarding Groups. If you will only get one of these if all the allocated Boarding Groups get called and enjoy Rise of the Resistance. This is when they will start calling the Back Up Boarding Groups. To be honest though most guests find that if they
What Happens if Rise of the Resistance Breaks Down?
If the ride happens to shut down in order with technical issues, there is a chance you could experience a delay. Boarding Groups will stop being called, and entry into the queue will be closed. Your Boarding Group can be called, but by the time you got to the ride entrance, the ride can be experiencing a delay. In this event you will have to wait until it opens back up. Once the ride is up and running again, the order of Boarding Groups will pick up again where it was left off.
Don’t worry though your return window will be extended if a delay causes you to miss your 1 hour arrival window. You will still need to keep a close eye on which Boarding Groups are allowed entry though.
Joining a Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group does not guarantee that you’ll be able to ride the attraction. Things can go wrong.
If you have any concerns talk to a cast member.
You can find out more about all the other Hollywood Studios Rides and Attractions here.
Take a look at our Hollywood Studios Disney Genie Guide
How to Ride Rise of the Resistance – 2021 EASY Disney World Guide
I hope you’ve found our Easy Guide on how to ride Rise of the Resistance helpful. If you have please do share it (you can use the pin image below). You can also sign up to our newsletter here and we have a Facebook page too.
Thanks for stopping by.
Darren
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