In all honesty, this visit was as much for my wife and me—the family visited Disneyland in July 2021 (shortly after it re-opened following the Coronavirus closure), but we were unable to procure the required advance reservations for the new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride that was new at the time. We always wanted to return to check out the ride, so this seemed like a good time, now that the demand has somewhat lessened (it’s now a regular line like the other rides).
In addition to being a newer attraction, Rise of the Resistance has become one of the park's most popular because it’s a state-of-the-art dark ride that features trackless vehicles, meaning the cars are programmed to glide and make turns on a plain finished floor, free from the constraints of any track, making for a very smooth ride. The ride is also unique because it is made up of several elements, including a walk-through, a motion simulator, the trackless ride, and a (small) free-fall drop, all in one attraction. This is all effectively pulled off using video, practical and animatronic elements and effects.
Highlights include entering the expansive hangar of a Star Destroyer, built to impressive scale as a real environment/set—then the trackless ride that includes running beneath full-scale AT-AT walkers in a real environment, going by the bridge of the Star Destroyer where you see an epic space battle in progress through the windows, being lifted up to top of an AT-AT walker, then experiencing a sudden drop as you are catapulted into space in an escape pod.
Along the way, the principal actors from the most recent Star Wars trilogy appear in character (Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and, presumably, Adam Driver in mask and costume as Kylo Ren), some of them in both video and animatronic form.
It’s important to note that the different technologies and elements of the attraction are already present in other rides. The Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man: Webslingers ride at California Adventure similarly blend animatronics, video and the original film actors in a convincing way. And I actually experienced the trackless system for the first time earlier in the day at the new Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway Ride that opened in January in Disneyland’s Toontown. (This was another amazing and delightful dark ride that mixes state-of-the-art ride technology with animation.) But Rise of the Resistance is the ambitious culmination of all these elements into a single extended attraction. Though the ride doesn’t feel as visceral or thrilling as one might want, the ambition, technology, immersion, scale, and magic of it all makes it quite amazing to witness.
Anyway, we’re glad we finally got a chance to experience it (and did a second time later that day as well!). We also of course rode other rides during our visit, including the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride, which we’ve done before and still remains a personal favorite, offering a great motion simulator experience in one of Star Wars’ most iconic ships.
As for the crowds, it was still plenty busy, but we’ve seen way worse, so we’re glad we visited before the summer rush!
In addition to being a newer attraction, Rise of the Resistance has become one of the park's most popular because it’s a state-of-the-art dark ride that features trackless vehicles, meaning the cars are programmed to glide and make turns on a plain finished floor, free from the constraints of any track, making for a very smooth ride. The ride is also unique because it is made up of several elements, including a walk-through, a motion simulator, the trackless ride, and a (small) free-fall drop, all in one attraction. This is all effectively pulled off using video, practical and animatronic elements and effects.
Highlights include entering the expansive hangar of a Star Destroyer, built to impressive scale as a real environment/set—then the trackless ride that includes running beneath full-scale AT-AT walkers in a real environment, going by the bridge of the Star Destroyer where you see an epic space battle in progress through the windows, being lifted up to top of an AT-AT walker, then experiencing a sudden drop as you are catapulted into space in an escape pod.
Anyway, we’re glad we finally got a chance to experience it (and did a second time later that day as well!). We also of course rode other rides during our visit, including the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride, which we’ve done before and still remains a personal favorite, offering a great motion simulator experience in one of Star Wars’ most iconic ships.
As for the crowds, it was still plenty busy, but we’ve seen way worse, so we’re glad we visited before the summer rush!
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