The Truth About Early Entry at Rise of the Resistance
Published June 30, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
If you ask casual Disney planners what to do first at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, 90 percent of them will tell you the exact same thing: arrive early, lace up your sneakers, and sprint straight to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
It makes sense on paper. Rise of the Resistance is arguably the most ambitious, mind-blowing attraction Disney has ever built. You’re dodging life-size AT-ATs, facing down a room full of Stormtroopers, and experiencing a mix of a trackless dark ride, walk-through, and thrill ride. The standby line routinely stretches into the triple digits. So, if you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel and have access to Early Theme Park Entry—which gets you past the tap-stiles 30 minutes before official opening—knocking out the biggest ride in the park first feels like a no-brainer.
But here is the insider reality: Rope-dropping Rise of the Resistance is the biggest gamble you can make at Hollywood Studios. Here is why that strategy can easily backfire, and the smarter moves you should make instead to keep your park day on track.
The Trap: Why Early Entry at Rise is a Massive Risk
To understand why running to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge first thing in the morning is risky, you have to understand how valuable those first 30 minutes of the day actually are.
During Early Theme Park Entry, the crowds are at their absolute lowest. This half-hour is the cheapest time savings in the park, allowing you to walk onto a major headliner before the general public even parks their cars. The problem is that Rise of the Resistance is a notoriously temperamental, highly complex attraction. It is very common for the ride to experience a delayed opening. There have been mornings where it simply does not open with the park, and sometimes sits closed until noon.
If you sprint to Galaxy’s Edge and the Cast Members are standing outside apologizing that the ride is down, you are stuck. You have just burned your most valuable morning minutes standing in front of a closed attraction. By the time you pivot and walk to another headliner, the Early Entry advantage is gone, and the standby lines for everything else have already spiked.
The Smarter Opening Play: Toy Story Land
If you shouldn’t rope-drop Rise of the Resistance, where should you go? The smartest opening play at Hollywood Studios is actually Toy Story Land.
Specifically, you should head straight for Slinky Dog Dash. Slinky has quietly become one of the most in-demand rides in all of Walt Disney World. It is incredibly reliable in the morning, meaning your chance of a delayed opening is very low. We frequently see Slinky open during Early Entry with a 30-to-35-minute wait, whereas by noon, it will easily sit at 90 minutes or more in the brutal Florida sun.
By knocking out Slinky Dog Dash first, you secure a massive time savings. Even better, because it shares a land with Toy Story Mania!, you can often pivot right next door and ride that highly re-rideable 3D game before the crowds build up, completely bypassing a line that will hover around 60 to 80 minutes later in the day.
How to Actually Ride Rise of the Resistance
So, if you are bypassing Rise of the Resistance in the morning, how do you ride it without losing half your day in a queue? You have two highly effective options.
Option 1: Buy the Lightning Lane Single Pass
Rise of the Resistance is not included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Because it is a top-tier headliner, it operates on the à la carte Lightning Lane Single Pass system.
If your budget allows, buying the Single Pass is the most stress-free way to experience this attraction. It completely insulates you from morning breakdowns and schedule disruptions. You buy it in advance, lock in your return window, and walk right on when it’s time. This frees you up to aggressively use Early Entry and your Multi Pass selections on the rest of the park, like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Option 2: The Late-Night Strategy
If you don’t want to pay extra for the Single Pass, the smartest standby move is waiting until the final hour before Hollywood Studios closes.
A massive portion of the crowd filters out of the park after dinner, or they go grab seats for Fantasmic!. Getting in line for Rise of the Resistance near park close almost always results in a wait time that is significantly shorter than whatever is posted on the marquee. Plus, you get to experience Galaxy’s Edge at night, which is easily the best time to see the land lit up.
The SupaPark Advantage
Hollywood Studios is a park where you have to think on your feet, and that is exactly where SupaPark comes in. The free tier at supapark.com gives you access to our live wait times and the best-time-to-ride forecaster, so you know exactly when the lines at Rise typically dip.
But if you want the ultimate edge, SupaPark’s live ride operational alerts are a game-changer for this specific attraction. Because Rise goes down so frequently, SupaPark acts as your personal radar. If the ride breaks down, we catch it and ping you instantly so you don’t waste time walking across the park to a closed ride. Even better, when the ride comes back online after a breakdown, SupaPark alerts you the second it reopens. If you can get there fast, you can often walk right on before the masses realize it’s running again.
The Smart Move: Don’t gamble your Early Theme Park Entry on a ride that might not open. Rope-drop Slinky Dog Dash for guaranteed time savings, and either secure a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Rise of the Resistance or hit it in the final hour of the night.
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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.