The First Order understands the importance of face coverings…Update: as of July 24, Boarding Groups are released at 10:00 and 2:00.
One of the main questions when Walt Disney World announced reopening plans was how Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance would be handled. After all, before the closure the ride would draw crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios well before the park would open for the day. Crowds are not a good thing right now, so it’s not surprising that it was decided that something needed to change. There was a rumor that Disney would get rid of the Virtual Queue, but they did not go in that direction.
Rise of the Resistance is still using the Virtual Queue system. You have to be in the park to ride. You’ll need to sign onto the My Disney Experience App, and pick all members of your party. (They need to be in the park as well.) Then you’ll just hit “join”. To keep the large crowds from gathering early, Boarding Passes in the Virtual Queue are now released at 10:00, and 2:00. This is an update, when the park reopened they were released at 10:00, 1:00, and 4:00.
It sounds simple, right? Wrong! The system is still seriously flawed. In the one time that I’ve been back to the park, our names didn’t show up on our Friends & Family list, so we couldn’t join a group. Our names were just gone! After our first trip to Guest Relations and a scan of our MagicBands we were assured that we were in the system, and that our Boarding Group number would show up soon in the app. It didn’t, so after about 45 minutes we headed back to Guest Relations. According to their system we were in a Boarding Group, but it still would not show up. An incredible Cast Member worked it out for us, but the whole thing was frustrating.
The other problem that I’ve heard about since reopening is that the Boarding Passes are gone in literally seconds. I’ve read in several places that the groups have been lasting for ten seconds or less. If your phone is slow or if your clock is not in sync with Disney’s clock, you’ll be out of luck.
There is one other issue with Rise of the Resistance that you will want to be aware of. The ride breaks down A LOT. You might be in Boarding Group 40, which sounds like it would be a good number, but if there are technical problems you might not get on. It’s not uncommon for new rides to break down, which is why there are similar issues with Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
I personally wish that Disney would find a different way to assign Boarding Groups. Something like the old FASTPASS system might work better. I even think that going all standby might make more sense. Then again, Disney hasn’t asked me about this one.
Even if you don’t ride Rise of the Resistance, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is worth a visit. My four favorite rides at Walt Disney World are all located at DHS. It feels a bit more crowded than the other parks these days, but that’s because it’s by far the smallest park. It’s still easy to social distance. Some rides that previously experienced long waits now are almost walk on. The theming for the two new lands is amazing! Ever since Rise of the Resistance opened in December, I’ve considered riding it a bonus. I’ll still have a great time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, even if I don’t face the First Order.