Rise of The Resistance at WDW vs Disneyland

We’ve now gotten to ride Rise of The Resistance on both coasts. The rides are virtually identical, but we did notice a few differences in the process of actually getting to ride the ride, which we wanted to share today.

Spoiler alert: I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Star Wars fan. Now, before you start throwing blue milk at me, let me state my case. I’m married to a Star Wars SUPER FAN, but I never watched the movies myself growing up, so my first experience with Star Wars was in my 20s. I think the movies are great (especially the new ones!), but since I didn’t have the same emotional attachment to the films that my husband had growing up, our fandom is definitely on different levels. HE LIVES FOR STAR WARS. So clearly, we weren’t going to be able to not visit both coasts to compare and contrast Rise of The Resistance.

-They’re the exact same ride

Let’s get this out of the way – they are identical rides. I couldn’t spot a single difference between the two. This means that, respectively, they’re both the most immersive, innovative, groundbreaking ride that a Disney park has ever had. But that’s just my humble opinion.

-The process to ride is the same

You can’t wait in line for Rise of The Resistance currently, and you can’t get a fast pass or if you’re in Disneyland, a Max Pass for the ride. Rise of the Resistance uses boarding groups, that you access through the park’s respective apps. As of right now, boarding groups are going EXTREMELY fast, and are normally gone a few minutes after park opening.

-The crowd is different

The main difference we have seen is in the crowd’s reaction to this system. For Disney World, we arrived at 4:30 am, for a 6 am park opening. It was a mob scene like I’ve never seen at a Disney Theme Park, where everyone was funnelled onto Hollywood Studio’s main boulevard as they anxiously awaited to see if they would get a boarding group. Disneyland, however, we arrived 30 minutes before park opening, got into the park quickly, and found most people milling around, taking photos, or just enjoying the park before they got a boarding group. This might be completely different than your experience, but it’s just what we happened to see. We think it makes a lot of sense though, since Disneyland has a majority of a crowd that is locals, so if they don’t get a boarding group on that specific day, it’s not the end of the world. Disney World, however, is a majority crowd of vacationers, so if they don’t get a boarding group, it will be a long time before they have another chance.

-The bottom line

We found Disneyland to be a much more relaxed, chill experience on the whole for riding Rise of The Resistance. Both rides are phenomenal and should be prioritized on your trip.