Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance remains one of the most popular rides in Disney World.

Until recently, the only way to experience this attraction, however, was to tap those fingers VERY quickly and try to get one of a limited number of available Boarding Groups. But, starting today, September 23rd, Disney paused the use of Boarding Groups for Rise of the Resistance. That means you can now just hop in the regular standby line to get in on all the Star Wars fun. Just how long did it take us to ride the ride today? We’re sharing all of that information with you right here!

Earlier today we made our way to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to experience Rise of the Resistance with the new standby line process, and we weren’t alone. There were a LOT of guests rope-dropping Galaxy’s Edge to try and be among the first to ride this attraction.

Let’s take you step-by-step through our morning.

By around 8:50AM, we were driving up to those parking lot gates for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with the park set to open at 9AM.

At around 9:02AM, we were in the park and waiting in line for Rise of the Resistance. At that time, the line stretched back to the Indiana Jones shop in the Echo Lake area of the park. Just minutes later, the My Disney Experience app showed a 150 minute wait for the attraction.

First day of standby queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Wait time is currently at two hours ⏰ pic.twitter.com/N7XQxYnzSH

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 23, 2021

 

By 9:08AM, we could see the line stretching behind us, nearly all the way back to 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

Around 9:19AM, we were nearing closer to the entrance to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

By 9:23AM, we entered the actual line for Rise of the Resistance, but the queue can be a bit deceiving. This morning, the queue was being weaved into the standard line for Rise of the Resistance, then back out and around Muppet*Vision 3-D, and eventually back into the Rise of the Resistance queue again.

At 9:37AM, the ride had a 220 minute wait when we checked on My Disney Experience.

We spent some time near the Muppet*Vision 3-D area part of the line around 9:40AM, and by 9:52AM the wait was back down to 180 minutes on my Disney Experience.

At around 10:00AM we entered the Rise of the Resistance regular standby queue again.

We made our way through the outdoor areas of the line and by 10:18AM, we were almost at the pre-show.

By 10:24AM, we were in the first pre-show.

And by 10:30AM, we were already hanging out with some stormtrooper friends in the large hangar space! After that, we waited just a bit more (until about 10:41AM) until we ultimately got in the ride vehicle and off we went on our intergalactic journey.

By about 10:48AM, we were off the attraction and we saw that the wait was down to 75 minutes. As of the time of writing this post (about 12:24PM ET), the wait time is 75 minutes.

So, all in all, we got in line at around 9:02 and were out on the ride by 10:41 — that’s just over an hour and a half (about 100 minutes). Not too bad!

But still, an hour and a half can be a decent amount of time to wait in line early in the morning, so be sure to be prepared. If you can’t make it through your morning without coffee, don’t attempt to wait in a 90 minute (or longer) line without that coffee — fuel up first! Bring games — we saw guests playing games throughout the queue on their phones and interacting with their parties.

If you’re willing to get up VERY early, that might also be a good strategy for you. From what we were told, the parking lot opened at 7:45AM this morning (even though the park’s official opening time was not until 9AM). The Cast Members indicated that this opening time will vary, however, depending on the amount of people that arrive, how early they arrive, and what things look like in terms of staffing.

For today though, things opened up early and Disney allowed guests through security at 8AM. They then let guests in a little bit further through the gate and held guests at a certain point until around 8:30AM. After that, guests were able to get into the actual Rise of the Resistance line.

There was a separate area designated for guests trying to ride Rise of the Resistance, so that also helps things stay organized.

Overall, it seems either arriving quite early or waiting a little bit after opening might be good strategy. We felt like those who waited just a little bit after opening to hop in line had a slightly shorter wait time, as we saw that wait time drop to 75 minutes later in the morning. That’s not to say that’ll always be the case, but that’s what we experienced today.

The line did keep moving, which was helpful in making it not seem quite as long. The ride also didn’t appear to go down this morning, from what we saw, which helped keep things going smoothly. If the ride were to go down or experience a delay, that could greatly impact things.

Also, remember that Park Hopping begins at 2PM each day. Right at that time, a large number of guests could decide to hop to Hollywood Studios to try and ride Rise of the Resistance, potentially causing a big spike in wait times.

Also, keep in mind that while Disney has paused the use of boarding groups for Rise of the Resistance right now, they have noted that boarding groups may return in the future or may be used from time to time. Be sure to check on the My Disney Experience app for any updates.

UPDATE: As of about 3PM ET, the wait time for Rise of the Resistance was at just 60 minutes.

We spoke with a Cast Member who indicated that they believe the line is even less than that.

We noticed that the queue was not really full.

In fact, it appeared like Cast Members were only utilizing a shortened regular queue.

They were not using any of the extended line that had to be used earlier this morning from what we could see.

We’ll keep an eye out for more updates about Rise of the Resistance and we’ll let you know what we find. Check back with us for more updates!

Click here to see more about when Baby Yoda went to space…for REAL!

Will you be trying to ride Rise of the Resistance during one of your upcoming trips? Let us know in the comments!