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When Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance works as intended, it’s nothing short of spectacular—arguably Disney’s best attraction to date. Combining immersion, thrills, and cutting-edge technology, it’s a near-perfect blend of storytelling and innovation.
The only issue? It rarely works.
Credit: Brian McGowan, Unsplash
Since its debut, this marquee ride at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has gained a reputation for its technical unpredictability. Lines are perpetually long, but downtime often turns those waits into marathon ordeals. In 2022, the ride averaged 122 minutes of downtime daily, according to Thrill Data. Fast forward to now, and the problems persist. Reports of malfunctions, delays, and temporary fixes flood in from Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, painting a picture of a ride struggling to meet its own ambitions.
This inconsistency has only added to the mixed reception of Galaxy’s Edge as a whole. With just two main attractions, the land already feels light on entertainment. When one of those attractions frequently breaks down, it amplifies frustrations for guests who’ve spent hours in line only to miss out on the full experience.
Credit: Steven Miller, Flickr
For now, the prospect of a third ride in Galaxy’s Edge seems remote. Disney’s best option is to give Rise of the Resistance the care and attention it so desperately needs. Restoring the ride’s reliability is crucial—not just for its survival but for the overall appeal of the land.
Technical Woes: A Growing List for Rise of the Resistance
B-Mode Cannons
The once-dynamic laser cannons, which recoil as they fire, have largely stopped moving. Instead of dodging these animated blasts, ride vehicles pass static cannons that fail to sell the intensity of a space battle. According to one Reddit user, delays in sourcing unique replacement parts have left this iconic feature sidelined, with no clear resolution in sight.
Missing BB-8
The pre-show, a critical setup for the attraction, often loses its charm when BB-8—the beloved droid—vanishes entirely in a simplified B-Mode. Without him, the scene feels incomplete, leaving guests with a diluted introduction to the story.
Credit: Disney
Kylo Ren’s Malfunctions
Few moments in the ride match the drama of Kylo Ren confronting riders before being violently sucked into space. However, when the animatronic is out of service, the sequence feels underwhelming. Instead of a climactic showdown, guests are left watching a screen where Kylo appears from a distance, threatening them from a ship outside. While Disney’s backup B-Mode keeps the ride operational, its overuse chips away at the immersive magic.
Transporter Troubles
As of late 2024, issues with the transporter segment at Disney’s Hollywood Studios have significantly impacted the pre-show experience. The transporter, a critical element where guests are captured by the First Order, has reportedly been out of service for weeks, leaving new riders without a key part of the narrative.
Cast Member Enthusiasm
Beyond technical failures, some guests have noted a decline in cast member participation.
Credit: Alex Lue, Inside the Magic
The once-enthusiastic First Order and Resistance roles, which added a theatrical layer to the experience, have become noticeably subdued to some guests.
“They almost never act out the roles anymore!!” complained one Reddit user. “When it first opened, the cast members were awesome about acting like they really were the First Order or the Resistance. I loved how horrible and cutting the First Order CMs would be, and how the Resistance would really ham it up, like ‘GO, GO, GO!!!’ rushing to load you onto the ship like you were really racing against time! It was SUCH a cool part of the ride. Now the CMs are mostly just strolling around with normal everyday personalities.”
Worth noting, however, is that this definitely varies from ride to ride and guest to guest. On our most recent trips to both Disney World and Disneyland, the cast members were totally in character (and loving it). But we digress.
A Call for Restoration
Rise of the Resistance still has the potential to be Disney’s crowning achievement—but not without addressing these growing issues. From technical repairs to reinvigorating cast performances, the attraction needs a concerted effort to reclaim its former glory.
What fixes do you think are most urgent for Rise of the Resistance?
We just rode and the transport section is back. We just felt the ride was slow, taking a while to get us from each section to the next so it felt like it dragged on a bit
I got to ride RIse of the Resistance three times in Aug. 2023. Experienced every thing except the Kylo Ren animatronic. Cast members were really into it. In my opinion it’s one of the best ride experiences (preshow & actual ride) in Disney & Universal. If they had this when I was a child my head would have exploded. Sad to hear that it’s having so many problems.
“Rise” worked great in July 2024 when we were there. Everything but the canons part was functional. I would be nice if they worked, but everything else was great including the cast members. My family left feeling the “lived” the movie.
Re-theme it and Smuggler’s Run to the original trilogy with characters people actually care about!!!
2nd that
I bought multi individual Lightning Lane passes for this ride before our arrival being big star Wars fans. We were both Very dissappointed. Expected something impressive and just found it slow and lame. Waste of money. We tried it a second time, it was no better. Had bought 5 passes each. Was not impressed at all. Didn’t want to bother going back again. Could not get refunded for extra passes but we were able to trade them for GotG ride which was much better and my new favorite ride. Another thing, Millennium Falcon is only fun if you get the 2 pilot seats. We were not fortunate enough to get the pilot seats and ended up at the back every time we tried to ride. It’s all luck of the draw. Even though we bought and used multi passes every day to get on this ride we were still stuck in the back every time we rode. Just not the same experience. I rode as a pilot 1 time at Disney Land when Millennium first opened and it was fun. We went back multiple times in WDW this past trip in September to try to get pilots seats as I wanted my son to get that pilot experience and had no luck. Won’t bother going back again. Back rows are just not fun at all. Everything there is overpriced. Star Wars Land disappointing overall. Waste of time and money.
This times 10000. The entire galaxy’s edge should be an all timeline Star Wars land, instead of trying to force the crappy sequels on everybody.
Excellent idea.. most of the truth Star Wars Fans have been saying this for 7 years
I will never forget the first time my family of three rode ROR the first time right after its hard opening at WDW Resort. The ride broke down while we were inside the Resistance base. The Resistance CMs in full character came through the tunnels with water, bananas and chocolate chip cookies for us saying ” Don’t worry we are going to evacuate you out-of here soon”. Wow, it was so cool and my youngest son was just blown away. Then the ride was 100% up fully. I will never forget that day!
I have been on it many times and never had an issue.
One of male cast members who played part of The Resistance was attired in a woman’s costume (I guess he was trans) and it was just plain weird. Dude, at least shave your beard if you wanna look like and be treated as a woman. Honestly, I couldn’t get over this. Plus, my niece said there was another cast member in Fantasyland who was dressed as a princess but was clearly a young man which made her uncomfortable. WTF Disney??? Make kids experience less enjoyable so that you can appease trans fascists. We won’t be visiting the park anytime soon.
Wow. Insecure much. I’m sure the kids don’t care. Just being closed minded. Why even care if he is wearing a dress? Or a tutu?
If that is what you took away from the ride, then just don’t go out.
I always refer to it as “Rise of the B Mode”. I haven’t seen the cannons move back and forth for years. In my experience, it’s been a 70/30 chance that the Kylo Ren animatronic works. Other than that, I’ve been rerouted around the transporter 3 times, twice had a missing BB-8, twice and not had the pre-show at all, and once had the first Kylo animatronic out of order. Don’t get wrong, I love the ride, but I get in line expecting at least one B-mode to be in operation (I’m looking at you laser cannons), and hoping that Kylo gets sucked out of the ship.
Disney needs to learn the KISS principle – Keep It Simple S-. Disney’s older mechanical ride systems and mechanical animatronics were just as enjoyable and much more reliable (yes, they break down, but keep in mind how many DECADES they have been continuously operating). Not only do their modern rides frequently break down, they will become un-maintainable within a decade when replacement computer systems and projectors can no longer be sourced
We rode it once. Lots of standing around listening to unenthusiastic cast members telling us to stand here, or line up over there. We are long-time fans of Star Wars, but we were all disappointed by the experience. The good thing is, we’ll never waste our time on it again!
The worst part is the Yeti… Oh wait!
There are cannons? I just remember riding around in a jerky cart through a concrete room, I didn’t know there was more to it.