Five Things to Know About Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

When Rise of the Resistance first opened, a lot of superlatives were used to describe this one-of-a-kind Disney attraction. Words like exceptional, extraordinary, groundbreaking, and not-to-be-missed. So what makes it one of the most immersive, unique, and just plain fun attractions you can experience? We’ve got five things! If you want to jump to hyperspace for details about where it is and how to ride, you can head straight to the Nuts and Bolts section.

1. You will be immersed in a galaxy far, far away.

Another way to say this is that you don’t just ride Rise of the Resistance, you EXPERIENCE it. For 18 minutes from start to finish, you’re transported to another time and place. Your out-of-this-world experience begins on the outskirts of the Black Spire Outpost. You enter a brilliantly constructed queue, loaded with details that let you know you’re not in Kansas anymore.

Keep your eyes open as you wind first through the ancient oasis where the Resistance camped. The entrance to the attraction is guarded/marked by a gun turret. You’ll enter caverns, which lead into bunkers carved out by the Resistance, hidden away from the eyes of the First Order. Take in the details, like power lines run through these rock bunkers to provide power for the lights and equipment. Stores of equipment and supplies belonging to Resistance fighters line this walkway, too. Eventually, you emerge into a large cavern for the first of two preshows.

2. You’ll join the fight against the Empire.

Your role: you’re a new recruit for the Resistance. BB-8 meets you as you enter the large briefing room. Then a hologram transmission from Rey explains your mission: to strike a blow against the First Order. For the second preshow, you exit the briefing room, head outdoors, and climb aboard a shuttlecraft. You’ll see some friends from the movies as you take off, get in a battle, and end up captured by a Star Destroyer.

When the doors open, you find yourself in a cavernous hangar, facing a regiment of 50 Stormtroopers. There are TIE fighters and a 100-foot-wide bay window looking out into space. The visuals are just tremendous –and we don’t really feel that we’re spoiling anything by telling you that, since they are all over the internet! (And at the top of this article, too.)

At this point, the demarcation between waiting in line and experiencing the attraction begins to blur. As a friend of mine has said, “…this part – where you’re captured into the First Order ship – is genius. You’re waiting in line … but you’re on the ride. You’re waiting in line on the ride. Because it’s part of the ride!”

First Order officers herd you into holding rooms to await your fate. Thankfully, the Resistance helps you escape. You climb into a trackless troop transport with an animatronic R5 unit droid as your driver. You dive between the legs of towering full-size AT-ATs while dodging laser fire, and come face-to-face with Kylo Ren, who is in hot pursuit.

This part of the ride uses dozens of animatronics and enormous sets with video projections to create some of the largest-scale scenes ever seen in an indoor ride. It is truly an Imagineering marvel, using special effects so amazing that you know some are projections and some are animatronics, but you may be hard-pressed to tell which are which.

Finally, the trackless ride vehicle moves into an escape pod, heading back to Batuu. As the pod drops into space, you’ll experience a small – but significant – drop. In the end, your pod crash-lands back on Batuu. You’ve survived and helped strike a blow against the Empire! Well done, you!

3. The history of this distant galaxy.

Rise of the Resistance was first announced at the 2015 D23 Expo, but only as one of the major attractions that would be built in the brand new “Star Wars Land.” Three years later, on November 17, 2018, the official name of the ride was revealed to be Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

The ride was originally scheduled to open with the rest of Galaxy’s Edge, but was delayed. After the land was already open at both Disneyland and Disney World, Disney shared that the Hollywood Studios Rise would open on December 5, 2019; the Disneyland Rise on January 17, 2020.

Rise has a lot of production “reprise” of the final Star Wars trilogy. Among others, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Adam Driver all voiced their Rise characters. (That’s Rey, Poe Dameron, Finn, and Kylo Ren.) And Disney Imagineers worked side by side with members of the Lucasfilm design team and Industrial Light & Magic, creating CGI effects for the ride.

4. Secrets of the Resistance.

⭐ Rise of the Resistance is set in the time between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. How do we know? You’re recruited into the Resistance. It’s a time when Kylo Ren has stepped up to finish what Darth Vader could not. And yes, true nerds will tell you that Rise is canonical!

⭐ In addition to the 50 Stormtroopers, there are a total of 65 different Animatronics appearing in ROTR. The ride is so complex, it required coders to write more than five million lines of code to program everything you’ll experience.

⭐ Not-so-secret secret: The attraction is about as reliable as the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon. Which is to say that Rise of the Resistance goes offline with unpredictable regularity. This can be challenging if you’re trying to work it into a touring plan. But we think it’s also understandable: the very same astounding degree of complexity and detail that provides a one-of-a-kind experience can go awry in a thousand ways.

⭐ The attraction building is 165,000 square feet. And while Disney won’t reveal exactly how much concrete it required, they do say it was the most massive “pour” in the history of the parks.

5. The Nuts and Bolts.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is in Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you enter Batuu from Grand Avenue, the entrance is to the left marked by a mobile Resistance gun turret. Since Rise of the Resistance is indoors, weather shouldn’t impact operation. But if the queue extends outside the building (as it frequently does), guests in line are out in the elements.

The ride vehicles for Rise of the Resistance are 8-seater troop transports with two rows of four seats each. The seats and seatbacks are hard plastic, and there are individual fabric lap belts.

To board the transport, you’ll need to take a small step up. Guests in a wheelchair/ECV must transfer to the trackless vehicle. Those unable to transfer can experience the queue and pre-shows, and ask a Cast Member where to exit before the on-vehicle portion of the ride. Guests must be at least 40 inches tall to ride, and Rider Switch is available. Disney advises that you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride. And Audio Description and Handheld Captioning devices are available from Guest Services.

Rise can be a bit scary and may be a little too much for some guests and children. In my experience, Cast Members do their best to be reassuring without breaking character. For a more detailed take on this, see A Ride Wimp’s Review of Rise of the Resistance.

Rise of the Resistance is open for Early Theme Park Entry. In addition to the standby line, a single-rider line is available – look for a CM with a sign to the right of the entrance. The single-rider line can save some time, but it may omit the preshows depending on what day you visit. Visiting first thing in the morning or near park closing can be a good strategy for shortening your wait at Rise of the Resistance. But Rise is down at park opening about 25% of the time. So due to its unreliability, those approaches can also be a way to lose a chunk of your Early Entry time, or end up not riding at all if it goes down near the end of the day. Be flexible. You can also purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass for Rise of the Resistance, and it is included if you purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass.

The Bottom Line.

Rise of the Resistance is not to be missed. It’s truly unlike any other attraction at Disney World. Using multiple ride systems, it offers you an experience that’s part dark ride, part trackless ride, part simulator, and part walk-through. These all work together to successfully immerse you totally in the experience. FWIW, as someone prone to motion sickness who doesn’t do coasters – and hates heights – I’ve experienced RotR several times, all without incident. And I’m glad I did!

What’s your favorite part of Rise? Tell us in the comments below!

(Originally published April 27, 2023. Last updated January 30, 2025.)