Preston: January 17th, 2020 was no normal day at the Disneyland Resort. Yesterday marked the first E-Ticket attraction to open at Walt Disney’s original theme park in over twenty years. We decided to head down to celebrate the special occasion. We have heard such amazing things about Rise of the Resistance from Galaxy’s Edge east over in Florida; we made sure to take off work so we were able to get on the attraction on opening day. In this report, we will showcase the crazy early morning crowds and the actual experience of the ride itself. We’ll also give you a tutorial (and some tips) on how to get a boarding group to ensure you are able to ride on your visit.
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We woke up at 3:30 AM and parked at 5:00 AM in order to ensure we could get a boarding group. Because of the early morning crowds, Toy Story Parking Area opened at 12:00 AM midnight, so we had to park there. A quick bus ride over and we arrived at the Esplanade!
This was the scene at the Esplanade at 5:15 AM. The lines almost touched DCA’s gates!
Our annual passes were scanned into the park around 5:50 AM. The park was not open until 8:00, but since the Esplanade was filling up we were moved to Main Street U.S.A. New maps!
Here is a look at Main Street USA. Keep in mind, I was in the middle of the crowd. So there were also about 1,000 people in front of me in addition to the crowds in the photo.
At about 6:30 AM, we were allowed into the hub of Disneyland. My party and I grabbed a bench and played the waiting game until the boarding groups opened at 8 ‘o clock. We were able to see the sunrise and it was stunning. This is an unedited photo.
It was incredibly weird to see everyone just standing around Main Street this early. Normally, large groups of people crowd around the land they plan to enter first. This was not the case today because everything was done virtually, through the Disneyland App.
I’m sure a lot of you want to know how to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. Here is a brief tutorial along with some tips and tricks. First, if you don’t have it already, download the official Disneyland app.
Before you get your boarding group, make sure that you have all the tickets of the people in your party linked to your phone. DO THIS *BEFORE* PARK OPENING. Next, click “Find Out More” below “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – Access by Boarding Group”
Then, click “Join Boarding Group” (it’s highlighted below).
From there, all you will have to do is click on who is in your party. You will then be assigned a boarding group! We got group 47.
The biggest tip I can give you guys is to NOT open your app ahead of park opening time (in my case, 8:00 AM). Keep the app completely shut off and then open it at scheduled park opening time. That will give you the best chance of getting an early group.
Our boarding group was called at about 12:50 PM. Let’s take a look at the queue.
Lots of technology to keep you interested while in line.
Tons of awesome and authentic Resistance gear!
Here is preshow number one. BB-8 doing his thing.
A transmission from Rey. She tells us that the First Order has found us and we have to leave Batuu.
After preshow #1, we can see that BB-8 is packed up and ready to go.
This is preshow number two. We are now on a ship being transported off Batuu. You can feel the floor gradually shaking and moving! Lieutenant Bek’s animatronic is incredible.
That’s all the Rise of the Resistance photos I have for you. I wanted to experience and enjoy the ride for the first time purely. All I can say is that it is now my favorite attraction/ride I have ever been on. It’s not even an attraction – it’s an experience. I have never felt so immersed while at a theme park. Imagineering, you killed it. This is the new bar to beat.
Thanks for checking out our Rise of the Resistance report! I am going to be back at Disneyland tomorrow (1/19) and Monday (MLK day, 1/20) so I can ride it again; I will make sure to get on-ride photos for all of you. See you in the next one!