Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

 

Disneyland Hotel

 

The opening of any new ride at Disneyland is cause for celebration. But the new “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” seems to have captured the whole world’s attention—well, at least the attention of everyone who loves Star Wars. Not only is this just the second—and most highly anticipated—attraction in Disneyland’s relatively new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge “land,” it is, according to many critics, the single best ride ever created: 20 minutes of highly interactive thrills—in other words, every Star Wars fan’s dream.

To manage demand, access to “Rise of the Resistance” is handled via “boarding passes” allotted as soon as Disneyland opens. If you are not in the park right at “rope drop,” you'll miss your chance at getting a group number allowing you to board the ride later in the day. We’ve heard stories of annual-pass-holders showing up at 9AM, when the park opens, only to leave again at 9:15AM because they weren’t able to get a numbered boarding pass. Much like the villains that populate Batuu, the Galaxy’s Edge home planet, getting a boarding pass to “Rise of the Resistance” can be cutthroat.

Thus, we decided to avoid Disneyland for a while . . . that is, until last week when we canceled prior vacation plans (due to coronavirus fears) and suddenly had an open calendar. Hmmm . . . Might we have a better chance getting into “Rise of the Resistance” on a weekday in early March? And why not spend the night before at the Disney resort to ensure early arrival at the park the next morning? We quickly reserved a room at the Disneyland Hotel.

Tim already got a tutorial from a friend who knew how to snag “Resistance” boarding passes online via the Disney app (far too complicated for me!). But when we checked into our hotel, the gal at the registration desk convinced us that getting paper boarding passes in Tomorrowland was a much better way to go. Besides, as hotel guests we could get into the park an hour early (i.e., “Magic Morning”) and, therefore, be first in line at the boarding pass machines. As soon as we unpacked, we ran over to Disneyland to scope out where to go in Tomorrowland the next morning. This might just work!

 

 Tomorrowland after dark

After a night filled with Disney fun—new Disneyland parade, Food and Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure, and dancing to a free Beatles cover band in Downtown Disney—we got up early the next morning and started walking over to the park. Seems like every hotel guest had the same idea because the security lines were longer than we’ve seen them in a while. We stepped up our pace zipping through Downtown Disney, only to find even longer lines at the Disneyland gates. It was 8:15AM before we got to Tomorrowland. Breakfast would have to wait.

The park opened at 9AM, so we had 45 minutes to wait. Despite getting there early, we were  second in line at the “Resistance” boarding pass machines, behind three Japanese tourists. Disneyland cast members stood nearby to answer questions about the process. Though they encouraged everyone to use the Disney app to get the boarding pass online, people continued to queue-up behind us. The closer it got to 9AM, the bigger and more tense the crowd became. Three guys standing next to were hoping to get 15 boarding passes. I inwardly rolled my eyes and wished them luck.

 

 Waiting at the board pass machine, counting down to 9AM

At 8:55AM, the cast members directed us to line-up in front of the boarding pass machines. To get the boarding pass, we had to stick our paper Disneyland tickets into the machine. I couldn’t stand the pressure, so gave Tim my ticket. And then suddenly it was 9AM! 

 

 Crowd getting restless

People at the other machines were madly jamming their tickets into their machines, while dozens of other people tried accessing the Disney app. Those who were successful yelled in glee, while I waited for Tim to tell me our boarding numbers. We got in, but . . . though he had stuck one ticket in just a half-second after the other, I was in group 10 while he was in group 39—probably two hours difference in boarding times! We could go on the ride, but not together.

 

 Boarding passes: groups 10 and 39

Catching our breath, we hurried over to Galaxy’s Edge to see when I could board. . . only to find that the ride was down. While waiting for it to be fixed, I chatted with a nice young woman who had just started working for Disney a month before. She had come in on her day off in hopes of going on the ride herself. She encouraged me to ask if Tim could go on the ride with me, even though his boarding number was much higher. And, indeed, a few minutes later, we both went in, walking along an outdoor path which eventually led to a large cave-like room where we saw Star Wars-style screens and one of our favorite android characters, BB-8. We were wondering what was next when a hologram of Rey, the main character from the most recent Star Wars films, appeared, asking for our help. The doors then opened. 

 

 BB-8

 

Holographic Rey, asking for help

 

“Bad news,” a cast member, dressed like a resistance fighter, said. “The ride is still down.” He then gave us passes to return in two hours. We left Disneyland and had breakfast in Downtown Disney. It was now after 10AM.

At 11AM, we checked out of the hotel and took the Monorail back into Disneyland. It was noon when we returned to “Rise of the Resistance.”

The ride was still down with no foreseeable resolution. In all our plotting and scheming, we hadn’t counted on a broken ride!

So we went home and took a nap. A good excuse to go back another day.