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| Star Wars...…..Rise of the Resistance |
We've had the pleasure of watching sunrises and sunsets at various locations on six of the seven continents. Until today we had never watched the sun rise from inside a theme park. To say we got an early start would be an understatement. However, we were not alone. We were joined by what seemed like a couple of thousand other early risers. We had all made our way to Disney's Hollywood Studios in hope of getting a boarding group number for Disney's newest and boldest ride, Star Wars-Rise of the Resistance. This ride opened on December 5, 2019 and is filled to capacity daily.
Rise of the Resistance's popularity is such that to even have a chance to secure a spot for the day you must do bizarre things like we did this morning. Even then, there is a possibility that you won't get selected through the lottery like system. Chad Burton, our relative who is an expert on these types of things, told us that on a day he was at the park all the slots for the day filled up in seventeen seconds! I don't know how long it took to fill up this morning, but it's safe to say that it was within a minute at the most.
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| Sunrise inside Hollywood Studios. Everyone was waiting for the clock to strike 7:00 AM |
Now if you know us, you're probably thinking, "I didn't know Kent and Beth were big Star Wars fans". We're not! As a matter of fact, between the two of us we've seen a grand total of two Star Wars movies. We both saw the original movie that was released back in 1977. So while we're not particularly fans of the movies, we both occasionally get caught up in the herd mentality. Obviously, that's what happened here. We heard so much about it, we just had to try and experience it for ourselves......even if it meant missing a little sleep!
If you're planning a visit and want to experience Rise of the Resistance, go to the Disney Website, the Disney Experience App, Google or YouTube and you'll find more information than you could imagine existed on the subject. I will tell you that it is an absolute must that you are past the Hollywood Studios turnstiles before the park opens to even have a chance. This morning the park opened at 7:00 AM (opening times vary, check the schedule). Although we had been warned, we were still shocked and somewhat amused at the steady stream of headlights in front of us and behind us. We were in the park by 6:45, waiting on the magical hour of 7:00 to start hitting the button on the app in an attempt to get a boarding group number for the day. We met a nice young couple from Holland who were visiting the park for the second time. They were successful on their first visit a few days earlier and were kind enough to let us hang around with them. We're glad they did, because there seemed to be a little hiccup in the system but they quickly figured out a way around it and helped us work around it as well. They ended up in boarding group 68 and we quickly followed behind with boarding group 74. We did it! They told us that these numbers would probably not be called until mid-afternoon. No worries, we were there for the day so time wasn't really an issue. We wished them well and they were soon on their way to enjoy the park. I think they were also quite pleased at having helped a semi-elderly American couple navigate the Rise of the Resistance section of the app.
We're not as familiar with Hollywood Studios as we are with the Magic Kingdom, but we did enjoy roaming around. The Toy Story section of the park is very colorful and there is plenty for young and old alike. The Toy Story Mania ride was a lot of fun. It's a 3D ride where you shoot at virtual targets. I jumped out to an early lead but Beth, with her younger eyes and faster reflexes, soon passed me by and ended up with a the bigger score. During the day we also enjoyed the Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Beauty and the Beast Stage Production, Alien Swirling Saucers and the Walt Disney Story Movie. After all that fun and a little lunch our boarding group number appeared and we were on our way to the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge section of the park.
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| Woody welcoming everyone to Toy Story Land |
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| Part of the Slinky Dog Dash Roller Coaster. It looked like a good one but the line was too long for us. |
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| The Tower of Terror...….we survived! |
It took a lot of effort to get that boarding group number, so the question you probably would ask is "was it worth it"? The answer is absolutely, positively...…….yes! Even by Disney standards, this ride was over the top. The imagination and engineering that went into putting this ride together is beyond comprehension.
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| We did it! Inside the Rise of the Resistance. |
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| Welcoming Committee |
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| Happy faces after the ride! |
Set your alarm and try for Rise of the Resistance! If you can plan your visit on a less busy day, you'll be competing against fewer people for those coveted spots.
We were told by a very nice Disney cast member that when trying to get the boarding group number that the app works better if the wifi is turned off. I can't verify this, but we did turn ours off and we were successful.
The Fastpass works well in Hollywood Studios, however, there are fewer options than what is offered at the Magic Kingdom. We didn't get as much use as we did the previous day.
Unless it is a really busy day, you probably won't need to use a Fastpass for the shows, such as Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast. They are held several times a day in large theaters.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
