A new single rider line on Rise of the Resistance at Walt Disney World could someday let Disneyland riders skip the typical 100-minute wait on the most popular ride in the Anaheim theme park without paying for Lightning Lane ¯ but there is one major downside to the shortcut.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios began testing a single rider line over the weekend on Rise of the Resistance in the Florida version of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.
The limited-time test on the state-of-the-art Star Wars dark ride is scheduled to run for a week or two at the Batuu East outpost, according to Blog Mickey.
Disneyland has no plans at this time for a single rider line on Rise of the Resistance in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, according to Disneyland officials.
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“No test is being run at the Disneyland version of the attraction right now,” according to Cinema Blend. “But you can bet that if the test goes well in Orlando, the line will be a new addition to Disneyland resort before too long.”
Disneyland and Disney World use single rider lines on select attractions to fill empty seats and boost capacity. The big downside: You don’t get to ride with your party.
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Hollywood Studios visitors enter the Rise of the Resistance single rider line near the attraction exit beneath a blue and white sign, according to WDW News Today.
A Galaxy’s Edge cast member escorts groups of single riders through a series of backstage passageways and unthemed hallways that ultimately drops visitors off inside the Star Destroyer hangar, according to WDW News Today.
Single riders are directed to a separate queue just outside the Star Destroyer detention cell where visitors encounter Kylo Ren, according to WDW News Today.
Opting for the Rise of the Resistance shortcut comes with one major downside.
The single rider bypass skips Rey’s pre-show introduction and the Intersystem Transport Ship motion simulator that help set up the attraction’s backstory, according to Blog Mickey.
“These are both pretty critical moments for guests who have never experienced the attraction before,” according to Blog Mickey. “We would highly suggest that you don’t use single rider unless you’ve already experienced the full queue/pre-show experience.”
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The five-minute walk allows single riders to skip the line that averages just under an hour at Hollywood Studios and just over 100 minutes at Disneyland, according to Thrill Data. Single riders also don’t need to pay for a Lightning Lane Single Pass that costs as much as $25 at each park, according to Touring Plans.
“If you are OK with skipping the pre-shows or have already ridden the ride, the single rider line could be a great way to get on the ride quicker,” according to All Ears.
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Shaving off 95% of the wait time for Rise of the Resistance is “pretty awesome” and a “good trade off,” according to Blog Mickey.
“This breaks immersion for a ride that is considered a masterpiece for Walt Disney Imagineering, but who cares when you get to bypass a 90-minute line,” according to Blog Mickey.
The ambitious, first-of-its-kind attraction combines four separate ride systems with audio-animatronics and visual effects.
Rise of the Resistance enlists recruits to join a battle between the villainous First Order and the heroic Resistance.
The backstory for the attraction finds riders entering a dense forest where the Resistance has set up a temporary and secret military base camp outside of the Black Spire Outpost village on the Star Wars planet of Batuu, the setting for the twin Galaxy’s Edge themed lands in Anaheim and Orlando.
Along the way, the recruits will be captured aboard a Star Destroyer, break out of a First Order detention cell, elude the clutches of Kylo Ren and escape back to a secret base on Batuu.
