Disneyland’s Rise of the Resistance Group Boarding Pass or Fail?

Neek sez:  Okay, we have crappy phones with crappy coverage so we really didn’t think that we could do any of the virtual queuing that Disneyland had required to get a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance ride at Galaxy’s Edge.

At 5:48AM, we arrived at the Mickey and Friends Parking Lot and waited there until 6:30AM when the cars were allowed to enter.

The entrance lines to the park were the longest we had ever seen.  They stretched to the entrance of Disney California Adventure.  Lex saw that lines were opening up to the left so we dashed off there and were only about the 6th in line.  What luck!

Longest lines ever 

We opened up the Disneyland App five minutes before 8AM and made sure all of our tickets were linked and found a spot near the First Aid Station where we could sit at the tables and wait for the virtual queue to open.  It was the longest 5 minutes and I literally felt nauseous. What if we didn’t get a spot? What if my phone froze? What if my finger suddenly got a cramp and wouldn’t move (okay that’s a little too dramatic!).  Well, all things being considered, WE DID IT! and we got number 34!  Hooray!  We heard cheering and a person across from us got number 19 – Good for them!

The moment of truth

So, later in the day at about 11:30AM we received a notification on our phone that our boarding party was ready so after we rode Soarin’ Around the World we headed on over there and showed our pass.

Sar was so happy to experience the ride!

There were Star Wars objects everywhere including a case of thermal detonators and fighter uniforms.  Lex was in heaven!

Oh, those crazy detonators!

Unfortunately, the ride had broken down again and we all waited until it was rebooted.  We decided that we would stay because if you left, you would forfeit your place and another boarding pass would not be issued.  Thank goodness we all went to the restrooms before!

We were all very determined to get on this ride!

Honestly, the ride was amazing and even if you are not a Star Wars fan, you would thoroughly enjoy the immersive environment of being in a First Order ship pursued by a maniacal Kylo Ren.  I really felt like I was inside the film.  Lex was gob smacked and you can hear what he has to say in our video.

Rey with our mission assignment

Captured by the First Order!  Rats!

Stormtroopers guarding us

Afterwards, Lex tried the green milk and bought himself a red Khyber Crystal for his light saber from Savi’s Workshop

Here are some tips that helped us to get our boarding pass:

1.  Get to the park early (2 hour at least), even though the virtual queue doesn’t open until the official park opening time, you need time to park your car, get through the security checkpoint and get in line.
2. Make sure all of the people in your party are linked on your Disneyland App.  If you have linked anyone in your party who is NOT going to come to the park that day, make sure you delete them in advance of the virtual queue.
3.  When we entered the turnstile, we immediately opened the Disneyland App so it could read our location and closed it.  When you load the app, make sure you allow location and push notifications.
4.  Lex used a Speed Test app on his phone to see which area we could have a chance and the First Aid Station was our best bet.  Most people do this so they can find the best coverage for their phone and phone plan.
5.  Five minutes before, we again opened the app and waited until the park opening time and immediately pressed “Find out more” .  Then on the next screen you should see “Join Boarding Group” in a red/orange color and press that.
6.  The next screen will show your linked tickets and press “Join”
7.  As long as your phone screen doesn’t freeze (if it does this just press the back button and try again).  You should get onto a boarding group and hear a bunch of cheers including your own!

Mission accomplished!