Disneyland Park · Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
An 18-minute, multi-stage ride that is the most ambitious thing Disney has ever built — and the one to get first thing in the morning.
Ride facts
- Type
- Dark ride
- Height
- 40in (102cm)
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Motion sickness
- Moderate motion risk
- Getting wet
- Stay dry
- Indoor / outdoor
- Indoor
- Air conditioned
- Yes
- Rider Switch
- Available
- Travels backwards
- Yes
Last verified July 2026
What it is
Rise of the Resistance opened at Disneyland in January 2020 and remains the most technically complex attraction in either American Disney resort. It is not a single ride: it is a sequence of a pre-show briefing, a simulated transport flight, a walk through a Star Destroyer hangar, a capture sequence, a trackless vehicle ride through a running battle, and an escape pod finale, running roughly eighteen minutes end to end.
The hangar moment is the one people talk about — doors open onto a bay lined with dozens of stormtrooper figures under a full-size TIE fighter, at a scale no other Disney attraction attempts. It works on the tenth visit as reliably as the first.
It is also the least reliable headliner at the resort. With that many systems in series, breakdowns happen, and a mid-ride evacuation is a real possibility on any given day. Disney issues recovery passes when it happens, but plan on the assumption that this ride can eat an hour of your morning without producing a ride.
What riding it is actually like
You queue through a Resistance base built into rock caverns, get a briefing, and board a transport shuttle for a short simulated flight. Partway through, the shuttle is captured, the doors open, and you walk out into the Star Destroyer hangar — this is the single best reveal in either American Disney park and it is worth walking slowly through.
After a corridor sequence and a brief interrogation scene, you board a trackless eight-passenger vehicle with no visible driver. From there the ride wanders: gun batteries, a corridor with turbolaser blasts, an AT-AT walker bay, and several encounters with First Order characters at close range. The vehicle pivots, reverses, and moves in ways that hide where the next scene is coming from, which is the entire point of trackless.
The finale is the part nobody warns you about. Your vehicle enters an escape pod, the pod appears to be jettisoned from the ship, and you take two short but genuine drops. They are simulator drops rather than coaster drops, but they are sharp and they arrive after fifteen minutes of a ride that had given no indication it would do that.
Is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance scary?
Two short simulated drops near the end catch people off guard because nothing earlier in the ride suggests they are coming. There is a sequence where you are taken prisoner and interrogated, blaster fire everywhere, and a very large villain figure at close range. Louder and more intense than most families expect from something with no coaster elements.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Stay in your wheelchair or ECV
- Audio description
- Available
- Handheld captioning
- Not offered
- Assistive listening
- Available
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Must use a kennel or wait with a companion
The trackless vehicle portion has wheelchair-accessible positions, but the experience includes a standing pre-show, a simulated transport ride with a step-in, and a walk between show buildings, so the full sequence involves standing and walking. Tell a cast member at the entrance and they will route you appropriately.
Tips that actually help
- Do this first or buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass for it. It is the one Disneyland attraction where a mid-afternoon standby attempt regularly costs two hours.
- There is no virtual queue anymore — that ended. Standby and Single Pass are your options as of July 2026.
- Take the hangar scene slowly. Cast members will move you along, but the difference between hurrying and looking up is the difference between a good memory and a great one.
- The two drops at the end are the part that surprises children. Warn them in the queue rather than letting it land cold.
- If it breaks down while you are in the queue or mid-ride, ask a cast member about a recovery entitlement before you walk away. They are routinely issued and rarely volunteered.
- The whole sequence involves substantial standing and walking between show buildings — meaningfully more than a normal queue. Factor that in for anyone with limited stamina.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- The first thirty minutes of the operating day, or the last hour before close when the standby line often collapses.
- Typical wait
- 60 to 120 minutes for most of the day. Under 40 in the first half hour and sometimes in the last hour.
- Lightning Lane
- Lightning Lane Single Pass
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: common questions
How tall do you have to be for Rise of the Resistance?
40 inches at Disneyland, the same as the Walt Disney World version. That is the same requirement as Star Tours, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Space Mountain, and Big Thunder here.
Does Rise of the Resistance still use a virtual queue?
No. Disneyland dropped the virtual queue for it, and as of July 2026 no attraction at either resort permanently uses one. You join standby or buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass, which is sold à la carte and separately from Multi Pass.
Are there drops on Rise of the Resistance?
Yes, two short ones near the very end when the escape pod is jettisoned. They are simulator-style drops rather than coaster drops, but they are abrupt and come after fifteen minutes of a ride that gives no warning they are coming. This is what catches out parents who told their kids there were no drops.
How long does the whole thing take?
About eighteen minutes from the pre-show to the exit, of which the trackless vehicle portion is roughly five. That length is worth factoring into your plan — it is far and away the longest attraction at Disneyland.
Is it scary for kids?
It is loud, dark in places, and involves being taken prisoner, interrogated by a large villain figure at close range, and shot at from all directions. Children who love Star Wars generally handle it; children who do not know the story sometimes find the capture sequence genuinely upsetting. The two drops are the other consideration.