Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance experienced extended downtime today, August 25, and had not opened from the opening of Disney’s Hollywood Studios throughout the day until nearly 6:00 pm ET. Pirates of the Caribbean also experienced extended downtime, and was only open for about an hour later this evening for regular park guests.
Downtime at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has been plagued by downtime since it opened, and this is not the first time it had extended downtime resulting in a (near) full-day closure. It is one of the most technically complex rides at any Disney Park. Still, this stoppage was much longer than the average of 30 to 90 minutes.
The ride had not opened at any point today, according to the MyDisneyExperience app, until almost 6:00 pm ET.
Walt Disney World Imagineers have several fail-safes built in to keep rides operational, especially in these multifaceted experiences. For example, when the Kylo Ren audio-animatronic at the end of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not operational, the ride still runs with an alternative “B-Mode”, depicting Kylo Ren in a TIE Fighter on a screen. Other technical problems have been skirted by only loading through one area, leaving other areas available for crews to work on technical problems without extended downtime.
Disney has not shared further information about the downtime; however, guests who purchased Lightning Lanes are eligible for a refund due to the closure. Guests with a Lightning Lane for the experience will have their purchase honored, even if their Lightning Lane arrival window has expired due to the closure. As of 6:30 p.m. ET, the wait time for this attraction’s queue ballooned to 180 minutes, or three hours.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a trackless dark ride found at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, with elements of motion simulation, drops, and walk-through experiences. Below is a full ride-through experience on Rise of the Resistance, with the ride fully operational and no “B-Mode” elements:
Downtime at Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean over at Magic Kingdom failed to open today until around 5:00 pm local time. With the park closing early to accommodate tonight’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, this only gave regular park guests about an hour to access the experience.
Recent closures at Pirates of the Caribbean have reportedly been related to protected bat species using the ride and the surrounding building as a nesting ground.
Have you experienced numerous show scene issues or problems overall with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance? Are this fall’s frequent closures at Pirates of the Caribbean driving you batty? Let us know in the comments.
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