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I think we should go ahead and get ahead of the comments now. Some of you are going to be unhappy with this article. That’s okay; your opinion is just as valuable as mine. We get it; Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland is everything a Star Wars fan could hope for in a ride. It’s probably the most technologically complicated and attractive experience ever made. It’s a testament to great minds cultivating and executing fantastic ideas flawlessly. That is until those great ideas stop working when their designs constantly fail.
As ride systems become more complex and demand for breathtaking technology in Park attractions puts strain on Disney to create ground-breaking experiences, Rise of the Resistance was on track to be the most incredible theme Park ride ever made. Some would argue that it still is until they experience it in a secondary operational mode. Which, by my count, happens a little more than 50% of the time. Imagine only getting one chance to experience this hyped-up experience. You’re stoked to see Kylo Ren, in all of his evil goodness, use the force to push and pull your ride vehicle, but instead, you’re met with a prop blocking his animatronic. Not to worry, a video recording of the Star Wars baddie will try and blow you out of the Star Destroyer with his nifty little spacecraft. This isn’t a joke; many Guests are faced with this scene compared to what the ride advertises because the complexity of the animatronic causes it to fail to work. And it doesn’t work A LOT of the time. No other ride in a Disney Parks experiences as much downtime as Rise of the Resistance!
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Credit: Disney/ Canva
Not long ago, we wrote about whether it would benefit Disney to abandon these lofty and expensive projects and build more dependable rides instead. Rise of the Resistance was a definitive example in that article because it constantly breaks down. Not only are you taking a shot in the dark as to whether or not the attractive functions of the ride will operate, but it’s also complete guesswork as to if you’ll be able to ride it. It goes down a couple of times a day. This is attributed to the complexity of the ride, but who cares how intricate it is if you can’t ride it?
Even if you’re lucky enough to hop on, there’s a good chance that some of the ride’s mechanics won’t work. All of us who have ridden know the scene with the giant laser cannons firing out at the Rebel Alliance in space. Your ride vehicle is doing everything possible to get you to safety. It dodges back and forth, the only issue is that it needs to be avoiding something. The cannons used to recoil as they fired and you’d have to dodge them; nowadays, they stand still. They don’t move at all. In addition, there’s always the likelihood that Kylo Ren’s lightsaber will not come through the ceiling or that the transport ship at the beginning of the experience will sit still instead of moving to simulate flight. These things have happened to me and other riders more than half the time we’ve purchased an Individual Lightning Lane or waited forever to get on.
Credit: Disney
None of this suggests that the design behind Rise of the Resistance isn’t mind-boggling. Without question, it is the most advanced experience I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a Park (when it runs as intended). The issue, however, is that it is increasingly difficult to experience it as it should be. This isn’t due to virtual queues filling up within seconds or selling out of Individual Lightning Lanes; instead, it constantly breaks down. Every time I go on Rise of the Resistance, something needs to be fixed. Last time, there was no BB-8, and the screens weren’t working in the AT-AT. It’s infuriating as Guests spend a lot of money with that specific attraction being the highlight of their visit, only to be met with a broken-down mess that may or may not be running.
