The Secret to Riding Rise of the Resistance Without the Two-Hour Wait

By Amy L. · Local mom · Celebration, FL

Published June 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

Everyone tells you to run to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance the second Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens. It is the most common piece of Disney World advice out there—and it is exactly why the standby line routinely balloons to 90 minutes before the park is even officially open.

From SupaPark's data

As of Oct 12, 2026, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance's posted wait over the last 60 days was shortest around 8 PM (27 min on average) and longest around 11 AM (56 min) (SupaPark measured data). Best time to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
As of Oct 11, 2026, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance's posted standby wait averaged 47 minutes over the last 30 measured days, peaking at 105 minutes (SupaPark measured data). Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance wait times
As of Oct 11, 2026, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance's Lightning Lane was gone before 7:00 AM on 17 of the last 31 measured days (SupaPark measured data). Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane sellout times

Computed from SupaPark's own park data collection, refreshed as new days are measured. About our data

If you want to ride the flagship attraction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge without burning your entire morning or paying for a Lightning Lane Single Pass, you need to zig when everyone else zags.

Here is what the data actually says about the best time to ride Rise of the Resistance, and the smart moves to make instead.

The Problem with Rope Dropping Rise

Rope dropping—getting to the park before it opens to beat the crowds—is generally the best way to skip lines at Disney World. But Rise of the Resistance is the exception that proves the rule, for two massive reasons:

Everyone else is doing it. Because it’s the park’s biggest headliner, the vast majority of the Early Entry crowd heads straight to Batuu. If you aren’t at the very front of that pack (which means arriving at the park gates 60 to 90 minutes before official opening), you are going to wait in a massive line anyway.
The reliability issue. Rise of the Resistance is a wildly complex piece of machinery. It is notorious for experiencing technical difficulties and failing to open with the rest of the park. If you skip Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to gamble on Rise, and Rise is broken, you’ve just wasted the most valuable hour of your park day.

If you do decide to rope drop it, you absolutely must have a backup plan. If it’s down, pivot immediately to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run or Slinky Dog Dash.

The Actual Best Times to Ride

If you aren’t buying the Lightning Lane Single Pass, when should you actually get in line? Let the morning rush burn off and aim for these two windows:

1. The Late Afternoon Lull

Most families hit Hollywood Studios hard in the morning, eat lunch, and hit a wall by 3:00 PM. This is when the standby lines for headliners reliably start to thin out. SupaPark’s wait-time data frequently shows Rise of the Resistance wait times dropping significantly in the late afternoon. It is not uncommon to see a posted wait time drop to 35 or 45 minutes between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM.

2. Right Before Park Close

The absolute shortest wait of the day is almost always in the last hour before Hollywood Studios closes. While the rest of the park’s attention shifts toward Fantasmic! or heading to the buses, the standby queue for Rise empties out. We frequently see wait times drop to 30 minutes or less at 9:00 PM. As long as you enter the queue one minute before the park officially closes, you will be allowed to ride.

The Lightning Lane Single Pass Strategy

If Rise of the Resistance is the one thing your trip hinges on, buy the Lightning Lane Single Pass. It is an à la carte purchase (separate from Lightning Lane Multi Pass) that guarantees your spot and saves you from stalking wait times all day.

The smart play: Buy your Single Pass in advance (7 days before arrival for Disney resort guests, 3 days for off-site guests). Because Rise is not on the Multi Pass tier, buying your way out of this specific line frees up your entire morning. You can then rope drop the rest of the park—knocking out Slinky Dog Dash, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Smugglers Run—while everyone else is sweating in the Rise standby queue.

The One Thing to Remember

Stop treating Rise of the Resistance like a mandatory 9:00 AM chore. Let SupaPark’s best-time forecaster show you the historical lulls, or let our live alerts ping you when the wait time craters in the late afternoon. By avoiding the morning stampede, you save your sanity and get far more done at Hollywood Studios.

Go deeper — the full guides: Will Your Kid Hate Soarin’? How to Decide (And Where to Sit) · Why DINOSAUR Is Disney’s Most Intense Ride for Kids (And How to Know if They’re Ready) · Animal Kingdom Deep Dive: Conquering Pandora, Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris & Smart Touring

SupaPark tracks live wait times and crowd forecasts, and pings you the second a hard-to-get reservation opens or a ride goes walk-on — free to start at supapark.com.