Score a pass for the hottest ride at Disney World!
Rise of the Resistance quickly became Disney’s most buzzed about attraction since it’s debut in December 2019 and it’s easy to see why: it’s epic scale, creative details, and immersive quality make it a favorite ride among diehard Star Wars fans and as well as those that have never seen the films at all. Recently, Disney changed it’s process for joining a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. If you want to ride, you have to join the virtual queue as there is not a standby line for this attraction currently. We’ll take a step-by-step look at the updated procedure and how to increase your odds of joining a boarding group.
• Get the My Disney Experience app (if you don’t already have it)
This step is essential to getting a boarding pass and it always surprises me how many people don’t know about the app! It’s super helpful for more than joining the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. You can mobile order food at many quick service dining locations, book FastPasses (when they’re offered), link your PhotoPass photos, and even unlock your resort hotel room door via the My Disney Experience app! It’s available for free on the App Store and Google Play. You can use your existing login and password for other Disney accounts, such as your Disney World account or Disney+.
• Link your park tickets in My Disney Experience
If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to make sure you’ve linked your existing park tickets for yourself and anyone else in your party that you want to be a part of the boarding group. Have all of this ready to roll well before your visit.
• Have a valid Disney Park Pass reservation for Hollywood Studios
Piggybacking off my last step, you’ll also want to make sure you have already set up your Disney Park Pass reservation for Hollywood Studios. This is advisable for all four parks in general since Disney has noted they’ll be implementing the Park Pass reservation system until at least September 2021. It’s best to go ahead and choose your park days and get them reserved well in advance to make sure there is availability.
• The day of your Hollywood Studios visit, have one member of your party manage your reservation for the boarding group/virtual queue
Having more than one person try to log into multiple My Disney Experience accounts does not increase your odds of successfully joining a boarding group and may, in fact, do just the opposite.
• Log into the My Disney Experience app shortly before 7 am
You no longer need to be physically inside the park at 7 am to secure a spot in the virtual queue! Yay!! I did this a few weeks ago right before sitting down for breakfast and was still able to take time to enjoy the morning before heading to the park at rope drop.
• Join the boarding group promptly at 7 am
I cannot stress this enough: you want to refresh your app and join at 7 am right on the dot. This is key for snagging a spot in the virtual queue. Being a minute late (or even seconds, for that matter) can mean the difference between getting in a boarding group or not. Quickly select all members of your party if they aren’t all appearing (although, they should be).
Pro tip: Have another member of your party pull up the World Clock on his/her phone so you can accurately countdown the seconds to 7 am!
• Congratulations… you’ve joined the virtual queue!
But what if I didn’t get in at 7 am, you ask? You’ll get a second chance at 2 pm. This time, you will physically need to be inside of Hollywood Studios. Again, be prepared to join at 2 pm promptly. You may also want to consider trying using cellular data only as Disney parks WiFi is notoriously spotty (although it has greatly improved in the past few years). Some folks swear by using cellular data only for this process whether you join at 7 am or at 2 pm. You just want to make sure you have good cellular signal strength well before trying this method. If you were able to get in the 7 am virtual queue openings, you won’t be able to join the 2 pm groups, as you are only permitted to join a group once per day.
Good luck and enjoy!! And while you’re there, say hi to Kylo Ren for me, please 😉
The Disney Digital Nomad Blog 