So you wanna ride Rise of the Resistance—here are the best ways to ride Rise of the Resistance with lower wait times. I explain the two ways to ride:
- Purchase Individual Lightning Lane or
- Use the StandBy Line
There is no Virtual Queues or Genie+ option available for Rise of the Resistance.
A good Disney ride strategy is one of the reasons I created this website and I even help people plan step-by-step Disney itineraries for their time in the parks. It’s more than just knowing about the 2 ways to ride—it’s all the fine print details in between.
I was at Disneyland the day Galaxy’s Edge and Smugglers Run opened, but Rise of the Resistance is a whole new ball game. When Galaxy’s Edge opened, Disneyland required reservations to enter the land which took away a lot of the guesswork.
The reservations for the land were fantastic because you knew before you even got to Disneyland exactly what time you’d be entering Star Wars land. You even knew about what time you’d ride Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Pictured above is me on far left with my Disneyland with Kids co-founders and then President of Disneyland Resort, Josh D’Amaro (he’s now president of Disney Parks worldwide). 
The biggest problem during opening days of Galaxy’s Edge was the demand for Oga’s Cantina. There was a “not really a line” line to get in the real line for Oga’s and many people spent the better part of their reservation hovering around the entrance.
True, there was also high demand for building droids and lightsabers but Disneyland quickly adjusted and refined the process. Today you can get a reservation for any and all three of those immersive Star Wars experiences up to 60 days in advance on the Disneyland App.
You need more than just official word from Disney regarding Rise of the Resistance. Keep reading for all the details (photo above taken by Becca Robins) and insider tips.
I successfully joined the virtual queue on a busy weekend with my kids in tow, then on a weekday as well. Here’s what worked for me and what can work for you to increase your chances of riding Rise of the Resistance.
Table of Contents
Increase Your Chances to Ride Right Now
If you want to increase your chance of riding Rise of the Resistance, you must be prepared even before you leave the house to Disneyland.
- Secure your tickets and theme park reservations. Discount tickets are available here. Be sure to buy multi-day tickets with a Park Hopper to increase your chance of riding.
- Download the Disneyland App and add everyone’s ticket to the app. If they’re traveling with you, their ticket should be in your app.
- Familiarize yourself with how the Disneyland app works. Practice using Disney Genie, Virtual Queues and purchasing Individual Lightning Lane selections.
Rise of the Resistance Day-of Strategies
Important things to know for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance:
- There are no more virtual queue options.
- Once everyone has entered Disneyland Park check the Disneyland app attraction listing for “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.”
- Guests must have scanned into the park in order to purchase Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Individual Lightning Lane.
- You may purchase an Individual Lightning Lane one time per day, per ticket with a valid theme park reservation.
When your return time arrives, you generally have one hour to return to the attraction but be sure to enable push notifications and check your app for updates.
Don’t want to pay to ride? Or ride more than once?
You can now wait in the regular, stand-by line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Watch the Disneyland App for wait times and be ready to hop in line when they drop.
Rope drop is not usually the best time to ride because wait times are high from so many people trying to rope drop it. Plus, the ride often doesn’t open on time, making the walk all the way to the back of the park useless.
Rise of the Resistance Q&A
There’s a lot of information to keep in your brain for one ride. It’s much more complicated to learn an entirely new system that only applies to one thing, not like Disney Genie+ that works for many E-ticket Disneyland attractions.
That being said, it’s likely you have more questions about Rise of the Resistance strategies, so let’s do this!
Can I use Genie+ for Rise of the Resistance?
No, as of this update Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is NOT on the Genie+ ride list. Instead it is available for individual Lightning Lane.
Is Rise of the Resistance open during Early Entry?
Early Entry is an early admission option offered for guests of the Disneyland Resort hotels only. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not included in Early Entry.
Guests with Early Entry get access to Disneyland 30 minutes earlier than the general public. Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes will only open during regular park hours, not during Early Entry.
You still have an advantage using Early Entry because you’re already in the park to join the standby line or purchase Individual Lightning Lane.
What time does Rise of the Resistance open?
Rise of the Resistance opens during regular park hours. BUT—check the app as soon as the park opens, if there’s no wait time listed it likely isn’t opening on time, so don’t head over there.
Can I purchase Individual Lightning Lane from California Adventure?
Yes, with a valid ticket and theme park reservation. Your return time must be for later in the day when you can park hop, you’ll have to manually watch for the times as they advance toward 11:00 am.
How many times can I ride Rise of the Resistance each day?
You will only be able to pay for Individual Lightning Lane once per day, but with stand-by options open, you can ride as many times as you’d like to wait.
Why does Rise of the Resistance always break down?
I don’t know all the answers but one thing I’ve heard from various sources over time is that anytime something is dropped on the track area (a hat, sunglasses, etc) the ride has to be paused to remove the item. Think of how many things could possibly get dropped in one day!
Another thing I’ve heard is it take quite a while to “reboot” the ride once it’s gone down. That being said, I’ve never seen it down for less than an hour. There’s been days when it never came back up and running even when it’s not “down for refurbishment.”
When is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance closed for refurbishment?
Rise of the resistance has yet to be closed for refurbishment at Disneyland Resort. I keep a regular list of ride closures here and will update this in the future when Rise of the Resistance is down for refurbishment. Keep in mind that just because it’s closed during specific dates one year, doesn’t mean it will be closed on the same dates the next year.
More Tips for Rise of the Resistance
I’m placing bets this ride will be one of the most (if not the most) popular attraction at Disneyland Resort for years to come. Cue Radiator Springs Racers that opened in 2012 and still regularly holds wait time of an hour or more.
Rise of the Resistance is in high demand and I expect these tips to come into play during the year:
- When’s the best time to go to Disneyland? It depends on so many things. My Disneyland planning guide helps break it down for you.
- Utilize Early Entry on days with larger crowds, even if you’re not lining up for Rise during Early Entry (more tips on that below).
- Check your wifi signal at your hotel and decide if you’re using their wifi or your data to get your Individual Lightning Lane return time quicker.
What would you add to my Rise of the Resistance strategies?
Rise of the Resistance History
This article has been updated so many times since the attraction opened. I am keeping this section so Disneyland history-lovers can look back at these changes.
Prior to November 2021, joining the virtual queue looked much different. I’m keeping this section just in case we need it . . . because Disney is always switching things up.
Joining the virtual queue can be stressful as you race the clock each day of your Disney vacation. Guests who have slower connections or bad wifi (don’t rely on Disneyland’s wifi) may find they’re out of luck as Boarding Groups fill to capacity within seconds of virtual queues opening.
Here’s my top tips to join the virtual queue in those first few seconds so you can ride Rise of the Resistance. See how fast the virtual queue filled on opening day here.
Join the virtual queue from any place you are via the Disneyland App! That’s right, beginning in 2021 you can join the queue as early as 7 am on the date of your visit. You don’t make reservations beforehand, just the morning of. Keep reading for all the info.
- Locate the boarding group information on the Home Screen of the Disneyland App by scrolling down and seeing this image.
The queue opens at 7 am for guests who have tickets AND a reservation to start their day at Disneyland Park. Set your alarm for a few minutes before and tap “JOIN BOARDING GROUP.”
2. Try at noon if . . . you are park hopping or missed the 7 am time slot, you can join the queue at noon from inside either park. You no longer need to be in Disneyland for the noon queue.
Open the app one minute before the virtual queue opens. Then be prepared with quick fingers to tap:
- Join a boarding group or
- My Status>Join Boarding Group
3. If you have little ones’ tickets who won’t ride, join them to a group anyway! No time to lose by unselecting them. Just join. If you’re successful, you will see something like this image below telling you which boarding group you’re in and the size of your party.
For a quick reminder on how it works, remember the acronym JEDI. Here’s what I mean by JEDI.
J: Join a boarding group from the Disneyland mobile app.
E: Everyone must have tickets and reservations linked in the app.
D: Don’t open the app until 1 minute before virtual queue opens.
I: Immediately tap Join a boarding group or My Status>Join Boarding Group.
What happens if you can’t join the virtual queue or you arrive late in the day? Here’s what to do if Rise of the Resistance is sold out during your visit.
Can I use genie + for other rides while I wait for my return time to rise of the resistance? Planning to purchase LL for it first thing in morning but if return time is later in day wasn’t sure how it would effect genie + LL. Thanks!
Rise is an Individual Lightning Lane so it is separate from others. You can do other rides and get other Genie+ LL while you wait 🙂
So I called Disneyland Customer service to remove my extra tickets from my Disney app for future trips before my September trip with my youngest so I only have our two tickets linked and was told if they removed my November tickets it would remove my November reservations. I was told that in September it should only populate mine and my daughters names with our Sept tickets for virtual queue selection. Let’s hope the case member was right.
That’s correct, I’ve done this myself with 14 extra tickets on my app I wasn’t using that day. I had no issues over the course of my visit.
Can I use rider switch on Rise of the Resistance? Thanks for all your tips!
You for sure can! You just need to make sure everyone who wants to ride gets a boarding group. Easiest thing to do is get a boarding group for all, even the ones who may not ride. It works quicker that way in the app.