Starting September 23rd, guests to Disney’s Hollywood Studios will no longer have to sit by their phone for a chance to experience one of the park’s major attractions as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is pausing the use of the virtual queue system and opening up their traditional standby queue.
What’s Happening:
- Since Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened in 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World, guests have had to partake in an almost lottery-like situation via the My Disney Experience app to try and gain access to the headline attraction.
- Guests who did not acquire a virtual queue “boarding pass” would have zero chance at being able to experience the new attraction. Over time, additional opportunities to acquire the boarding pass were added throughout the day, but Disney has announced that for the first time since the attraction opened, starting September 23rd, that will no longer be the case.
- On that day, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be pausing the use of the virtual queue/boarding pass system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, allowing guests to wait in a traditional standby queue (complete with posted wait times) which not only allows guests to choose when they get to ride, or if they want to wait, but also allows guests the chance to experience that popular and award-winning attraction more than once in a day.
- Disney says that there has been enough feedback from guests, knowing that they love choice and flexibility when planning their day in the park, that they’ve heard them loud and clear to drop the system. The system previously would assign a group at random and give an estimated time of return that was likely to change based on the operation of the attraction, making planning the rest of the day more difficult.
- However, the prominent use of the word “pause” in Disney’s announcement means that in time, the virtual queue/boarding group method of experiencing the attraction could return at a later date, or periodically as needed.
- Disney also says that Virtual Queues continue to be helpful with attractions, merchandise launches, and grand openings. Though the virtual queue/boarding group system is dropping for the time being from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, it will also be implemented at EPCOT’s new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, set to open to the general public on October 1st as part of the World’s Most Magical Celebration.
- Also later this year, we’ll see the debut of the Disney Genie system, a complimentary planning tool that can also be upgraded (for an additional fee) to Disney Genie Plus, which gives access to the new “Lightning Lane” on numerous attractions, as well as the opportunity to pay an additional fee for immediate access to select attractions. While an official line-up of attractions for this option has yet to be released, DPEP chairman Josh D'Amaro has hinted that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will be on that list, saying “there are some attractions that use the Lightning Lane queue—which you can purchase individually—which is the ultimate in flexibility. Think about Rise of the Resistance as an example. It’s a highly demanded attraction" when Disney Genie was first announced.
- At this time, the pausing of the use of Virtual Queue/Boarding Groups for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is limited to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Those visiting Disneyland Park who wish to experience the attraction are still required to obtain a Boarding Group.
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