No matter how Universal responds - and there’s no doubt that they will - fans will benefit.Įditor’s Note: This review is based on the Disneyland version of Rise of the Resistance, which is identical to the version in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.I only saw the “We Apologize” sign while leaving Disney’s Hollywood Studios at lunchtime. If Universal’s Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey became the ride that was everything was measured against in the 2010s, I fully expect Rise of the Resistance to set the same standard in this decade. When it’s working smoothly, there’s no question that Rise of the Resistance tops anything else in the theme park industry, including outside of Disney. You’ll find yourself thinking, “Doesn’t the First Order need to get me into interrogation quickly? I have valuable information!” If this wait stretches beyond a few minutes, your sense of immersion dissipates just slightly. Juggling these multiple ride systems means lines are bound to form in the middle of the attraction, namely in the Star Destroyer space between the hangar and the interrogation rooms. It’s in my nature to find something to criticize, but only qualm is a petty, almost unavoidable operational problem. No one has made physical environments this large and detailed before no one has so successfully made typically mundane pre-shows feel so exciting and no one has combined multiple ride systems into one complete experience. Rise of the Resistance cannot be easily compared to any other theme park ride, simply because it feels so much more advanced than anything that has come before. In my eyes, getting up and counting down the seconds to opening to land a spot in line was a very, very small sacrifice to make to get on this spectacular attraction. I managed to get a boarding group for two consecutive days I was at Disneyland.
The entrance to Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland (Orlando Rising) Both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are utilizing a virtual queue “boarding group” system that requires you to be inside the park at its official opening to reserve a spot - and even then, there’s no guarantee. Riding Rise of the Resistance isn’t an easy task at this moment. The real entertainment comes from the environment, not from any stomach-churning motions on the ride itself. I don’t want to spoil all of the surprises along the way, but it ends with yet another transition, as your vehicle locks into an escape pod and “drops” down back to Baatu, simulating a small-scale version of a single plunge on the Tower of Terror.įor the more trepidatious theme park fan, I’d say Rise of the Resistance will provide ample, yet safe thrills. Utilizing a trackless system that have largely been confined to Disney’s overseas parks, your vehicle will criss-cross with another, turning and spinning along seemingly random paths in yet more incredibly detailed and enormous sets. The colors you were assigned correspond to your row in the vehicles after all, if you’re escaping imprisonment, you need to get moving quickly. Once they are called away, a glowing outline appears on one of the walls of the cell, revealing that the Resistance has commandeered some vehicles to making a daring escape.
General Hux and Kylo Ren demand to know the location of the secret Resistance base. Groups of 16, with four guests assigned to four colors, are then led into an interrogation cell for the next phase of the experience. Guests are sorted into groups here before the Star Destroyer’s interrogation cells (Orlando Rising)