It’s the second day of operation (third if you count Media Previews) for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and as we move towards day-to-day (read: not grand opening) operations, it seems that new issues are arising, with the attraction experiencing increased downtime, and Boarding Groups getting depleted hours before the stated park open time.
Yesterday, the attraction broke down in the early AM hours for a brief period of time. We know because we covered it extensively as one of the first groups on the ride and subsequently evacuated. (You can view our full ride evac video here!) This morning, the attraction has broken down twice already, leading to having the entire ride evacuated, including the queue. While it is not openly known what is causing these operational issues, downtimes have been relatively short, with the attraction back up and in operation soon after evacuation is completed.
Those evacuated from the queue, pre-show, or onboard the attraction have received same-day re-entry FastPasses, but it offers little solace after two back-to-back evacuations.
These operational issues and evacuations are in turn leading to lessened capacity on the ride. Last night, guests in later Boarding Groups were denied access to the attraction after having waited all day. Of course, joining a Boarding Group is not a guarantee that they’ll be able to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Guests whose Boarding Groups were not able to be accommodated received an anytime FastPass for the attraction, plus 1-Day Park Hopper tickets as a means of guest recovery.
Today, despite an official listed park open of 9:00 AM, Boarding Group distribution ended at 8:10 AM, meaning guests who arrived nearly an hour before park open did not have a chance at obtaining a Boarding Group or a place in the virtual queue for the attraction. The park has quietly opened at 6:00 AM these past two days, unbeknownst to most Disney Resort guests. The number of Boarding Groups distributed has been severely capped to avoid the same capacity issues the park ran into last night.
Park open isn’t until 8, but Galaxy’s Edge is open and so is Toy Story Land pic.twitter.com/7xy4nQRT2d
— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) December 6, 2019
If you are headed to Walt Disney World to ride the new Rise of the Resistance attraction, do keep in mind that hours are constantly changing, and in order to be able to secure a Boarding Group, you will have to beat the crowds, which may or may not be there three hours before official opening time.
