The college student’s budget is quite small, but everyone loves a good trip to Disney.
Since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened in 2019, everyone’s Instagram feed depicts themselves with a Lightsaber in front of the Millennium Falcon. Many students have already visited the park since the land’s opening.
But with the grand-opening of Rise of the Resistance, is it worth paying a couple hundred dollars?
The ride had been open for months at Disney World in Florida, instilling time for any problems to be resolved. Yet the ride had broken down, leaving me aggravated for most of the afternoon. My boarding group was called around 5 p.m. but it was not until 7 p.m. that they allowed riders to start boarding again.
From the start of the line, an hour or more had passed.
I saw the ingenious architecture of the seats built into the lines for those with tired feet to take a rest while they wait.
The line also has eerie music and voices along with memorabilia, significant items from the films, such as fighter pilot suits, to build suspense when the ride becomes closer.
This allowed the riders to interact with the world of Star Wars in a fun way. The intense, thrilling atmosphere and the built-in seats made the line feel like it moved quicker, which was a plus.
Rise of the Resistance is more of an immersive experience into the movies than just a ride, and an amazing experience to say the least. The ride is interactive and has multiple layers and destinations.
Riders are ushered onto a spaceship where they stand as if they were on a bus, which would be a pain if it weren’t for the seats in the line.
Then, the First Order, who are the “bad guys” from the recent movies, board the spaceship and ushered the riders out to be “interrogated” which employs cast members to lead riders to another line.
After the “interrogation”, the Resistance, or the “good guys”, break the riders out and the ride begins.
The ride itself is fantastic. After going through the whole experience before, it is the icing on the ice cream cake.
The ride is very similar to the Transformers ride at Universal Studios in its way of mechanics. But there is a lot more going on in Rise of the Resistance; and that is one of the downfalls.
There is too much going on during the ride and becomes a sensory overload. One would have to ride it more than once to fully take in all the ride has to offer. In the case where college students can fully enjoy the experience, they do not have the time or money to ride Rise of the Resistance five times.
So unless you are a super Star Wars fan, and wouldn’t mind the long wait in line, visiting Disneyland might not be worth the money.
But, as a college student who loves Star Wars, even with a tight budget, the ride is totally worth it.
The experience envelops the rider in the Star Wars universe with the characters you love and the ones you love to hate. The ride makes you feel as if you are in the movie and helping the resistance. It is incredibly immersive; my mouth was open with awe during the entire experience.
