Rise of the Resistance and Lightning Lane: The Rules

By · Mom of five · Winter Park, FL

Published August 19, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

Here’s the short answer, and it’s the one that reshapes your whole Hollywood Studios day: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a Lightning Lane Single Pass attraction. It is not part of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and buying Multi Pass will never unlock it. If you want to skip that line, you pay separately, à la carte, for that one ride.

So the question isn’t “will Multi Pass ever cover Rise?” It’s “do I buy the Single Pass, or do I beat the line for free?” Both are legitimate. Most people pick wrong because they don’t understand what Rise actually does to a park day.

Single Pass vs. Multi Pass, in plain English

Disney World has exactly five Lightning Lane Single Pass rides, and they’re the heaviest hitters in the resort:

Everything else on the Lightning Lane roster is Multi Pass. That means your Hollywood Studios Multi Pass gets you Slinky Dog Dash, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania and friends — a genuinely strong lineup — while Rise sits outside it, sold on its own.

The practical read: Multi Pass and the Rise Single Pass are two separate purchase decisions. Don’t let a Multi Pass purchase make you feel like Rise is handled. It isn’t.

Why Rise still commands the longest lines, years in

Rise of the Resistance opened in 2019 and it still posts one of the highest average waits at Walt Disney World — routinely out-waiting attractions that opened much more recently. That staying power is the whole story here.

Two reasons matter for your plan. First, it’s a long, multi-stage experience with a big capacity draw and a fan base that treats it as a bucket-list ride, so demand doesn’t decay the way it does on most attractions. Second, it’s a complex ride system, which means it goes down more often than a simple people-eater does. A Rise breakdown mid-day can dump hundreds of guests back into the park and scramble everyone’s touring plan — including yours.

That downtime risk is the single most underrated variable in a Hollywood Studios day. It’s also why “I’ll just get it whenever” is the worst plan on this ride.

The rope drop play: still the best free option

If you don’t want to pay for the Single Pass, the classic move is the one veterans still run: be at Hollywood Studios before the gates open and walk straight to Rise. Not “arrive at opening” — arrive ahead of opening, with your party through security and standing at the tapstiles.

A few refinements that separate a good rope drop from a wasted one:

The lesser-known windows: meals, parades, and the last hour

The free tricks that actually work aren’t secrets so much as they’re ignored. Waits soften at three predictable moments:

  1. Meal times. Get in line while everyone else is eating. Eat at 11:00 or 2:30 instead of noon and you’ve bought yourself a shorter standby.
  2. During the big nighttime show or a parade. The crowd migrates to the viewing spots and standby lines drop across the park.
  3. The last hour before close. As families start filtering out, waits often crater. Get in line before the posted closing time and you’ll ride — Disney lets you through as long as you’re in the queue when the park closes.

Extended Evening Hours is the bonus round here if you’re staying at a Deluxe or Club-level resort: fewer guests, same rides, dramatically shorter waits. If your resort tier includes it, plan a night around it and skip paying for a Single Pass entirely.

When paying for the Rise Single Pass actually makes sense

Here’s my honest call. Buy the Single Pass if:

Skip it and rope drop instead if you have multiple Hollywood Studios days, a group that can move fast at opening, or a low-crowd stretch on the calendar. The math is simple: value the time you’d save, compare it to the à la carte cost on your date, and be honest about whether your family actually gets up that early.

One caution: Single Pass inventory for a given date is finite and the headliners sell through. If you’ve decided to buy, decide early — don’t treat it as a day-of impulse.

How to actually book any of this

Lightning Lane Multi Pass is bought per day, and you choose your attractions in advance — Disney resort guests can start making selections 7 days before arrival for the whole trip, off-site guests 3 days before, with the window opening at 7:00 AM Eastern on your eligible day. You book an initial set, then once you use one (or its window passes) you add the next, one at a time, through the day in My Disney Experience.

This is the part casual planners get wrong: it’s not a day-of scramble. It’s buy it, book your selections in advance, then keep refilling. Your 7:00 AM job is to lock the fast-moving picks — at Hollywood Studios, that’s Slinky Dog Dash first.

And keep your two clocks straight: Advance Dining Reservations open 60 days before arrival at 6:00 AM Eastern. Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections start at 7:00 AM. Different windows, different mornings, both in My Disney Experience.

Where SupaPark fits

This is exactly the kind of decision that rewards live data over guessing. supapark.com tracks live wait times and ride status across Walt Disney World, so you can see the moment Rise goes down — or comes back up, which is when standby is often at its softest of the day. The best-time-to-ride forecaster shows you when Rise historically runs shortest on a day like yours, and Lightning Lane availability and refill predictions tell you whether that Single Pass is still sitting there for your date or evaporating.

On paid tiers, live alerts find you: a push when a ride craters toward walk-on, a push when it goes down, and Drop Watch pings you the second a hard-to-get dining reservation frees up from a cancellation — you then grab it yourself in My Disney Experience. SupaPark never books anything; it just catches what you’d otherwise miss.

The one thing to remember

Rise of the Resistance is Single Pass, full stop — Multi Pass will not get you on it. Decide early whether you’re paying for it or rope-dropping it, then build the rest of your Hollywood Studios day around that one choice. Everything else in that park is easier than Rise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass?

No. Rise of the Resistance is a Lightning Lane Single Pass attraction, sold separately and à la carte, so a Multi Pass purchase will never include it.

Which Disney World rides are Lightning Lane Single Pass?

There are five: TRON Lightcycle / Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios, and Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. Every other Lightning Lane attraction is Multi Pass.

What’s the best free way to ride Rise of the Resistance?

Rope drop it — arrive before Hollywood Studios opens and head straight there, using Early Theme Park Entry if you’re staying at a Disney resort. Otherwise, target meal times, the nighttime show window, or the final hour before close, when standby waits typically soften.

When can I book Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Hollywood Studios?

Disney resort guests can start making selections 7 days before arrival for the whole trip and off-site guests 3 days before, with the window opening at 7:00 AM Eastern. You book an initial set, then add more one at a time through the day in My Disney Experience.

Should I buy the Rise of the Resistance Single Pass?

Buy it if you have a single Hollywood Studios day, young kids, a high-crowd date, or someone in your group who would be crushed to miss it. Skip it if you have multiple park days and a group willing to rope drop.

Go deeper — the full guides: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’s Queue: Where to Snap Photos · Avatar Flight of Passage: The Big-Rider Guide · Will Your Kid Hate Soarin’? How to Decide (And Where to Sit)

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.

Go deeper: the full guides