As a Star Wars fan first and a theme park obsessive second, I have ridden my share of attractions. Nothing has ever matched the moment I became a Resistance recruit inside Rise of the Resistance at Walt Disney World in Florida. When Disney opened the ride on December 5, 2019, it billed the experience as the most ambitious attraction in theme park history. In 2026, after multiple visits and several years of operational changes, that claim still holds up.
The First Five Minutes: A Resistance Infiltration
My most recent ride began outside a rocky outpost on Batuu. Instead of a traditional queue, I followed a narrow path behind a waterfall and through tunnels inside a Resistance encampment. The queue itself is an attraction: I spotted rebel flight suits, helmets, macrobinoculars, and breath masks, all suggesting the Millennium Falcon had just been there. From the start, the line blurs between waiting and storytelling. I was not standing in a switchback — I was sneaking into a secret base.
After the tunnels, Rey and BB-8 appear to brief you. They explain that Batuu is evacuating and that you must travel to a secret base in another star system. I boarded a transport ship with a group of new recruits, and for a moment it felt like we were leaving the theme park behind entirely.
The Capture: A Star Destroyer Hangar
The transport does not get far. The First Order tractor beam pulls the ship into a massive Star Destroyer hangar. When the doors open, I stepped into a room lined with more than 50 First Order officers, all in uniform, all glaring forward. Through the viewport, TIE fighters and Star Destroyers drift in space. It is not a screen; it is a full-scale environment, and it forced my brain to accept that I had actually been captured.
Walking in single file toward the holding cells, I passed a Resistance TIE fighter and caught movement inside, a detail many guests miss because the scale is overwhelming. Then arrived the big-screen villains: General Hux and Kylo Ren. Kylo attempted to use the Force on me — or the group around me — but a battle interrupted. The timing, performed by live cast members and an incredibly convincing Kylo Ren figure, changes slightly on each ride.
The Escape: Laser-Cut Cells and a Finn Cameo
Just as a First Order interrogation seems inevitable, someone begins laser-cutting into the cell block. A Resistance soldier emerges and frees the prisoners. I was then strapped into a trackless transport, and Finn appeared on screen to lay out the escape plan. This is where the ride transitions from a walk-through narrative into pure motion.
The Final Five Minutes: Blasters, Freefall, and a Lightsaber
The last act is a whirlwind. Our vehicle darted between blaster fire and First Order ships, gave us a stomach-churning freefall, and sent us into repeated close calls with Kylo Ren. At one point, his lightsaber melted through the ceiling above the vehicle, leaving a glowing gash as we accelerated away. The ride ends with a crash landing back on Batuu, just inside Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge.
What Makes Rise of the Resistance Different
Fans who previewed the ride in 2019 praised it for combining four different ride types into one seamless story. I agree. Most attractions ask you to choose between a dark ride, a simulator, or a drop tower. Rise of the Resistance refuses to choose. It uses trackless vehicles, projection mapping, physical sets, live performers, animatronics, and a drop sequence, all tied together by a narrative that never stops moving.
| Ride Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney’s Hollywood Studios |
| Duration | 18 minutes |
| Height Requirement | 40 inches (102 cm) |
| Key Characters | Rey, BB-8, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, General Hux |
| Ride Systems | Trackless vehicle, walk-through, simulator, drop sequence |
The attraction opened about four months after Galaxy’s Edge, so many guests were skeptical. But Rise of the Resistance was worth the wait in 2019, and it remains worth the wait in 2026. The operational access has changed over the years, but my advice has not: arrive early, watch the app, and do not spoil the Star Destroyer hangar reveal for first-timers.
For me, that hangar moment is still the single greatest environment reveal in any theme park. It is the reason I tell friends to make a special trip to Florida. Even as Disney continues to update the parks around it, Rise of the Resistance feels less like a ride and more like stepping into the Star Wars universe for 18 unforgettable minutes.
In-depth reporting is featured on Polygon, and its coverage of how games blend narrative, spectacle, and interaction offers a useful lens for understanding why Rise of the Resistance still feels unmatched in 2026: like a well-directed “playable set piece,” it stitches together multiple systems (walkthrough staging, simulator transport, trackless dark-ride routing, and a drop) so the story never pauses, making each scene transition—especially the hangar reveal—land with the pacing and payoff of a major campaign mission.