Disney makes securing a boarding group for Star Wars Rise of the Resistance much more convenient

Oct 29, 2020 in "Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance"

Posted: Thursday October 29, 2020 1:07pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney's Hollywood Studios will be introducing a new Virtual Queue process for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance beginning November 3 2020.


  • Guests with a valid ticket or annual pass and a Disney Park Pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be able to access the virtual queue system and check for an available boarding group starting at 7am on the day of their park reservation. This can be done before you leave your Disney resort hotel, or wherever else nearby you might be at that time.

  • The virtual queue will reopen daily at 2pm for anyone who wasn’t already able to join a boarding group earlier in the day. Note: Guests must be inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios to access this second virtual queue opportunity, and access to a boarding group is subject to availability and not guaranteed.

Disney says that it is hoping this new approach will make a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios more enjoyable and relaxing, as guests no longer need to be inside the park each morning to request a boarding group for the first virtual queue opportunity.

The existing process sees most guests racing to enter the park and glued to their phones from 9:15am to 10am awaiting the 10 second window to open at 10am to secure a reservation. The process if often followed by audible cheers or groans depending on the outcome.

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gerararMar 20, 2022

Kinda off-topic, but I was able to use my ROTR/Rat BG virtual queue skills to get a boarding pass for the tram tour rides at the NASA Johnson Space Center Houston. 😎 Groups dropped right at opening at 9am and snatched Group 1! Kinda funny how they have a very similar system to Disney's lol.

yensidtlaw1969Mar 14, 2022

It didn't make sense back in the day. The ride wasn't reliable enough to let people wait that long with no guarantee that the attraction could even resume operation after a shut down. I didn't love the reservation system, but given the unique situation Rise was in early in its run I can at least say it made decent sense. Unlike the reservation system at Ratatouille, which was excessive.

matt9112Mar 13, 2022

See...this is all we have been asking for....just let people wait...I remember being bewildered that wasn't an option back in the day.

invaderMar 05, 2022

Got into line at around 3:30 today and was on in under 2 hours.

pdude81Mar 02, 2022

That depends on whether the ride stays up or not. Much like Splash Mountain, I believe if the ride is down after park closing it's over. However, getting on line late in the day is a viable strategy as long as the ride stays up.

DisorbustMar 02, 2022

So can anyone tell me if its possible to hop in stand by later in the day and actually get to ride? My kids are considering going on a day the park is open til 930. Would they be able to do standby if they get there by 4pm?

gerararDec 04, 2021

Late response (idk why this never got sent lol) But I kinda do too. I love being the first RV when approaching the AT-AT room, cannons, Kylo AA, then first to escape pods. There’s technically another caveat for when one elevator is down/broken. Then the single RV running “may” switch from Track A to Track B or vice versa on approach to Probe Droid.

disneygeek90Nov 29, 2021

Love this graphic! I personally am still a fan of Track B. It's interesting that for 3 of the 4 rooms white/orange will get you that. For a while I was under the impression that one wing was white/orange and the other was blue/red for track B. When that failed one time I was confused, so this makes sense as to why.

gerararNov 29, 2021

It depends from which load room you departed from. If you turned right after exiting the hanger hallway, blue gets you front AT-AT track. If you went straight after hallway, blue gets you either front AT-AT or side AT-AT. I made this graphic a while ago to illustrate it.

pdude81Nov 29, 2021

If you didn't see Kylo on the screen trying to shoot at you from a ship then you were in A mode. Blue is supposed to be the best of the colors based on the path through and sitting in the front row, but any of the paths are good.

rustincohleNov 29, 2021

You lot did not undersell it. What a ride! My wife counted and we were 34th and 35th in the queue this morning. Must say, despite all my wasted time learning about boarding groups, the old fashioned way of turning up early is much better. We got to the park at 7:15 and were in the caves by 7:45, despite the opening time being 9AM (8:30 for early entry). Kylo was always an animatronic so I assume that’s A Mode? We were blue, is there a difference between the colours?

HoustonHornNov 25, 2021

Congrats, and it is! If you are planning an ILL and it sells out too fast, rope drop worked perfectly for me and my Dad on Tuesday (staying on site). We were through the tapstiles by 8:23 and at the door to the first preshow at exactly 9:00. Enjoy!

rustincohleNov 25, 2021

Been following this thread since opening day from the UK, and in two days I finally fly out for a trip originally planned for May 2020! My boarding group knowledge is of no use whatsoever but I'll always have fond memories of checking this thread each day (posting in it is why I signed up) and will think of you all when I finally experience Rise! It better be as good as you all said :D

TwirlnhurlNov 19, 2021

Back in original Fastpass days, it was not unheard of to have FP take more than 90% of capacity in order to recover promised rides from a downtime or capacity restriction.