Rise of the Resistance or Smugglers Run First? (Rise)

By The SupaPark Team

Published November 10, 2026

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge sits at the back of Disneyland Park, and that location shapes how you should plan it. The land has two rides, a couple of shows that don’t run every day, and four places to eat. People still lose half a day here because they arrive at the wrong time with no plan for the one ride that matters most. The answer to the question everyone asks: plan around Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance first. Smugglers Run has several cheap ways in. Rise doesn’t.

Why Rise Comes Before Smugglers Run

The difference comes down to how you can get on each ride:

  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: standby, or a paid Lightning Lane Single Pass. It isn’t part of Multi Pass, the Disney hotel Lightning Lane entry doesn’t cover it, and it has no single rider line.
  • Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: standby, Lightning Lane Multi Pass, a single rider line and the hotel-guest Lightning Lane entry.

If the day gets away from you, you still have three or four ways onto the Falcon. For Rise, your only options are to pay or to wait in standby. So make your Rise decision first and fit Smugglers Run around it.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: Make the Call Early

Key facts as of November 2026:

  • Height requirement: 40 inches.
  • No virtual queue. As of November 2026, no ride at Disneyland Resort uses a boarding group. Rise runs on standby, so you don’t need to be on your phone at park opening.
  • Single Pass: one of only two Single Pass rides at Disneyland Resort (the other is Radiator Springs Racers). You buy it in the Disneyland app after you enter a park, and you can buy one per attraction per day. Prices vary by date, so check the app on the day.

The move: if you’re willing to pay for this ride, buy the Single Pass as soon as you’re through the gate and plan the rest of the land around your return time. If you aren’t, head to the standby line at the start of the day or late in the day, and don’t let it drift into a decision you make mid-afternoon. Waiting until then is how people end up paying anyway, waiting longer, or both.

If someone in your group is under 40 inches, use Rider Switch. The party splits, a Cast Member scans the admission of the people waiting, and up to two of them can ride afterward without doing the standby line again.

Planning around this? Open Disneyland in SupaPark.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: The Cheap Routes

  • Height requirement: 38 inches, which makes it one of the easier big rides for younger kids.
  • Lightning Lane: included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
  • Single rider line: yes, but some single rider lines open only on busy days.

The insider take: single rider is the no-cost shortcut here, but know what you’re giving up. Single rider splits your party across cockpits, so nobody is guaranteed a specific job. The line also doesn’t always open, since some single rider lines run only on busy days. If you’re mainly riding to cross the Falcon off your list, it’s a great deal. If your group wants to fly together, ride standby or use Multi Pass.

Staying at the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa or Pixar Place Hotel? Each registered guest age 3 and up gets one Lightning Lane entry to one eligible Multi Pass attraction in either park, on one day of the stay. It shows up at check-in, or shortly after 7:00 AM on arrival day if you use Online Check-In. Smugglers Run is one of the eligible rides, and it makes a lot of sense to use the entry here. The entry can’t be used on Rise because Rise is a Single Pass ride.

The Shows: Confirm Before You Plan Around Them

Two shows are tied to this land:

Neither runs on every date. Check the entertainment schedule in the Disneyland app for your day before you hold an evening slot for either one.

Where to Eat in Galaxy’s Edge

None of the four places here take reservations; they’re all walk-up. That matters when you’re planning 60 days out. Elsewhere at Disneyland Resort you can book dining on Disneyland.com or in the Disneyland app up to 60 days ahead, but nothing in this land can be booked in advance. A meal in Galaxy’s Edge is something you schedule around your rides on the day.

The smart play: with two American counters in the same land, you have a backup. If one line looks bad, check the other before you leave the land. Time your meal around Rise. Eat right after a standby ride at opening, or while you wait for a Single Pass return window, and avoid the peak lunch rush. Mobile order runs at select Disneyland Resort locations through the app’s “Order Food” feature, but which venues in this land accept it isn’t confirmed. Open the app before you get hungry. If one of these counters shows up, order while you’re still in a ride line.

In-park dining also requires a park reservation and admission for Disneyland Park that day, so it isn’t a way into the land without a park day.

What’s Worth It and What to Skip

Worth it:

  • Rise of the Resistance, planned around a Single Pass or standby at the start or end of the day.
  • Smugglers Run through single rider (if your group is fine splitting up) or the hotel Lightning Lane entry.
  • A slow walk through the land with no time pressure. A lot of the experience is the setting itself.

Skip or downgrade:

  • Arriving at midday with no plan for Rise.
  • Using your one hotel Lightning Lane entry somewhere you could get on easily anyway, when the Falcon is right here.
  • Waiting in a long walk-up line at peak lunch when the land’s second counter might be shorter.

How It Connects to the Rest of Disneyland

Galaxy’s Edge sits at the back of Disneyland Park, bordering Frontierland and Bayou Country. Use that for routing: do Galaxy’s Edge first or last, and pass through Frontierland or Bayou Country on your way in or out instead of crossing the park and coming back.

If you buy Multi Pass, your first selection opens once you enter the park. Remember that you can hold only one selection at a time: the next opens after you redeem it, or two hours after you made it. A Smugglers Run return booked close to your Rise timing keeps you in this corner of the park.

If you need both rides on a tight day, Lightning Lane Premier Pass covers one entry to each available Lightning Lane attraction in both parks for one day, with no return windows. Check the day’s attraction list in the app before you buy, because which rides are included varies by date. It’s sold in the Disneyland app up to 7 days ahead, starting at 7:00 AM Pacific, in very limited quantities, and the price changes with date and demand.

The One Thing to Remember

Decide on Rise of the Resistance before you enter the land: a Single Pass right after you’re through the gate, or standby at the start or end of the day. Smugglers Run has enough easy ways in (single rider, Multi Pass, the hotel entry) to fit around that choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I ride Rise of the Resistance or Smugglers Run first?

Plan Rise first. Its only ways on are standby or a paid Single Pass, while Smugglers Run also offers Multi Pass, a single rider line and the hotel-guest Lightning Lane entry.

Does Rise of the Resistance use a virtual queue at Disneyland?

No. As of November 2026, no ride at Disneyland Resort uses a boarding group. Rise runs on standby, and you can also buy a Single Pass in the Disneyland app after you enter the park.

Can you make dining reservations in Galaxy’s Edge?

No. Docking Bay 7, Ronto Roasters, Milk Stand and Oga’s Cantina are all walk-up, so plan your meals here on the day, around your ride times.

What are the height requirements for Galaxy’s Edge rides?

Smugglers Run requires 38 inches and Rise of the Resistance requires 40 inches. Rider Switch is available for groups with a younger child.

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