VIDEO - Changes to Star Wars Rise of the Resistance aim to increase capacity but may take you out of Batuu

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

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Gallery / 11 Photos
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance - increased capacity October 28 2020

See all 11

Posted: Thursday October 29, 2020 11:53am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney is continuing to work on increasing the hourly capacity of its signature ride, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and recent changes have brought in a lot more plexiglass and a trip to another planet.

Since reopening in mid-July, each pre-show has been limited to just a handful of guests, along with just one party per ride vehicle. The ride has struggled with capacity since it opened in 2019, and the the physical distancing requirements of COVID-19 have amplified the problem.

Boarding Groups continue to reach capacity within 10 seconds of becoming available, and many guests are unable to experience the attraction during their visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

For a complete look at the latest changes, see the video below from yesterday for a trip through the queue and full POV of the pre-shows and ride, and scroll down for more details of what's new.

Outside of the attraction, operations is making much more use of available queuing space. The line often begins in Grand Avenue outside of Batuu, and once inside, it snakes around the area in-front of the ride entrance.

The lines start position varies but is often outside of Galaxy's Edge

Physical distancing markers on the ground are dotted around the entire land.

Star Wars Rise of the Resistance - increased capacity October 28 2020

To try to accommodate as many people in the queue as possible, and to keep them 6 feet apart, guests now go for a mid-story break out of Batuu and back to Earth for a trip to the Muppets overflow queue. See the video above for exactly when this occurs, but it's roughly half way in the main Rise of the Resistance queue.

The queue uses the Muppets overflow line

The queue moves outside of the Rise show building

You even get a view of a bit of Studios history, with a look at part of the still standing Streets of America facade that is now hidden from normal view.

The queue ventures behind the show building giving a look at an old set piece

After queueing along the Muppet overflow queue, guests head back inside and are suddenly back in Batuu to continue the story.

Back inside and on-theme, new plastic dividers are now in place in the pre-show area, meaning many more guests can enter the room at one time.

Plastic dividers allow more groups to be loaded into the pre-show area

The transport shuttle is now equipped with similar dividers, fitting many more guests in that was previously possible.

Plastic dividers allow more groups to be loaded into the transport

Depending where you happen to be positioned, it does impact your view of the animatronic figure and other effects on the transport.

The interrogation rooms are now equipped with 4 ground markers to accommodate up to 4 parties, which fits in with changes to the main ride vehicles.

Over the past few weeks Disney has been testing various types of plastic shielding on the main ride vehicles, and they have settled on a rigid panel to divide the front and back rows.

Plastic dividers allow two parties in each ride vehicle

The new dividers mean two parties can now ride in a single ride vehicle, which is why there is now a need to accommodate up to 4 groups in the interrogation room.

Plastic dividers now separate the two rows with 2 parties now being loaded into one vehicle

It remains to be seen how the changes will work out and if Disney will be successful in getting more guests through the attraction. Boarding Groups have continued to reach capacity within 10 seconds since the new changes were introduced yesterday, and the total number of boarding groups loaded did not significantly change.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

networkpro9 days ago

It might make it worth riding again. We havent ridden it in the past two years as more than 30ish minutes waiting isn't worth it to us. The only variability in the ride is which vehicle you get assigned to which determines which elevator you go up. That said, its still much better than the button slapping coaxium ride.

JohnD9 days ago

My observations. 1. If you remember anything, if you want to be fully immersed, do NOT ride Single Rider. 2. You go down a walkway by the exit intended for CMs. 3. Your first stop point is by a standard door with a rectangular window. You have a hidden view of the starcruiser. Think C-3PO and R2 waiting to board the Falcon on the Death Star. 4. The wait is counter-intuitive. You're not immediately plugged in to board the cruiser. You wait about every 6 groups from the briefing room to allow the single rider group to collect. Maybe 10 min. 4a. You're figuratively taken "outside" the experience. By that I mean, you only hear the music as the guests exit the briefing until after they have entered the starcruiser and the doors shut. Its like an out of body experience. 5. When enough have collected, you're escorted through the normal door into a normal hallway which connects with the briefing room waiting area. 6. All simgle riders are escorted into the same briefing room then together into the starcruiser. 7. On the FO ship, single riders wait at the same collection point to be dispatched. This is where the single rider portion takes effect. One got put with another group. 10 others were sent to the same meeting room waiting point. Two from the "regular" queue joined. 8. The rest is the same after that. if you don't have single lightning lane, its a good option. Otherwise, I prefer Rise with LL.

JohnD10 days ago

They're still experimenting with it. I jusr rode LL. They told me about single rider as I exited. Will do later today.

Purduevian25 days ago

It all comes down to $$ Does this hurt ILL sales? How much extra does it cost to staff Does this improve the GS enough that they are more likely to buy something now that they aren't stuck in line?

G00fyDad25 days ago

I truly do hope this is a thing for us next September but I am not holding my breath. It sounds like it works and is very beneficial so that means Disney will come up with some reason for getting rid of it. But, here's to hope and as well all know.... rebellions are built on hope.

Nunu25 days ago

Ooops!, thought the testing phase was over. Hope it stays. 🤞

gerarar25 days ago

It's still currently in testing, so not sure if it will still be there come December as it seems to come and go. They are still doing daily changes, for example one day I've observed them handing a piece of paper to the FO saying the current batch is single riders/units. Another day they radio'd it in. Seems like they're still trying to figure out what's best basically. But hopefully it does stay and becomes permanent!

Nunu25 days ago

Sounds good to me! Can't wait to give Single Rider a try in December. Appreciate your report, thank you! :)

gerarar25 days ago

Got to try the single rider line over the past 4 days. And it's literally a dream come true. There's basically no wait for it (currently). You enter through the exit. They also promote the new single rider line at the main entrance with a sign, so not like it's a hidden secret anymore. You walk through a short path then stop at a door. This is the backstage entrance/exit for CMs to the outdoor area before the ITS preshow. You wait here for about 5-10 mins then they take you as a group into the area before the Rey preshow through a (unthemed) hallway where the CM break room is. From there on, everything is pretty much the same. I will say when you get intercepted by the First Order, they refer to y'all as "single units" instead. They even play on it, like one FO officer said upon entering the ITS – "...Your interrogation will be expedited, at the cost of your family and friends". Another said "Come this way single units, no one clearly cares for you as you got caught alone. How sad." I absolute love it. Adds a whole new dimension to the narrative and immersion. I was on and off in like 30 mins each time. I did the single rider line probably 10+ times throughout my trip. Did 5 in a row on Saturday (10/12). Hope this stays a thing because this is the best implementation of it thus far. I even voiced my feedback/praises when I saw a GR CM standing nearby the entrance the other day.

MisterPenguinOct 07, 2024

You're riding Fantasmic!? What character do you play on the river boat? :p

nickysOct 06, 2024

It’s a recent thing, a trial of a single rider line.

G00fyDadOct 06, 2024

I thought they didn't have single riders for this ride.

dmc493Oct 05, 2024

Sounds like they're putting Single Riders thru both preshows now too, which is an improvement for sure. Still curious if it'll be offered long term.

gerararOct 04, 2024

So this is interesting. This livestreamer went on the ride and the final Kylo AA was in B-mode. The wall that hides the AA wasn't down either. Then not even 15 mins later, the final Kylo AA was in A-mode. The ride did not go down or anything, it just simply switched show modes. For years the ride has to go down in order for A -> B-mode to happen (or vice versa), but apparently that's not the case anymore and can happen on demand. This is a big improvement imo. Also, the single rider line is back. According to CMs the test was successful. That's how the above streamer was able to get back on so quickly within 5 mins.