Hey, it's Kelly! I just got back from Disney World and spent a ton of time in Galaxy's Edge doing *ALL THE THINGS* so I can tell you about everything. Remember, I go so you know!
I'm jumping right in. Rise of the Resistance ("that new Star Wars ride") lived up to the hype. It was amazing. By far, the most incredible ride I've ever experienced. I'll post a YouTube link below with my POV, definitely skip that part if you don't want spoilers! However, I do want to share my tips and tricks with you to make sure you can get on the ride if you want to see it for yourself! Here we go....
We were able to get on the ride both days that we tried, but this isn't for the casual fans. It requires dedication and caffeine. See below for what we did and feel free to contact me with any questions!
1. Check park hours. Hollywood Studios opened early (7am) when we were there. Sounds like they're extending this into January (at least) for now. We found that buses were advertised to run 1 hour prior to park opening, but were, in reality, about 90 minutes before. We were on buses by 5:45am and 6:15am but we stayed at Coronado which was a quick ride away. You might want to plan for extra travel time if you're coming from a resort that's further away or if you're driving/parking. Parking lots, we heard, opened at 4am.
2. We jumped off the bus and got our bags inspected. From there we snagged a spot in line. This was intense. Everyone was pushed together and there was NO room to move. Kiddos will need to be prepared to be squished. Mine (5 and 8) did great but we kept them close and made it fun. There will be a lot of other people lined up but keep in mind each boarding group has hundreds, or not thousands of people assigned to it.
3. The gates opened around 6:45am. We got through the gates (scanned our Magic Bands) by 6:50 and 6:57. At 7:00am the My Disney Experience app opens up to grab a boarding group. Everyone in your party MUST be scanned into the parks. You can't just send 1 person to grab a boarding group. The link to grab a group is on the main page in the Disney app. Pro tip: We had 1 person jump off park Wifi each day and that was always the person who got through first. We got Boarding Group 13 both days. This was very early, we were on the ride within 20-30 minutes.
4. Once your boarding group is called, you have 2 hours to return. We didn't have any luck with push notifications so we had to keep checking the app. Groups 1-97 (I think) are considered pretty much "guaranteed" to ride that day. Anything above that isn't promised. We checked every day we were there and saw anything from group 103-190ish at time of park closing.
5. It's a LONG experience. Close to 20-25 minutes. It's a combination of walking through different rooms, standing in a simulator, and an actual ride vehicle. But honestly the most amazing ride I've ever experienced.
Note: I'm super prone to motion sickness and had NO issues. My kids absolutely loved it, too. Nothing super scary or intense in my opinion.
Want to see this for yourself? Please reach out and we'd love to look into availability and pricing for your travel dates. As always, our assistance is 100% complimentary!
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