For this post, we wanted to give a thorough and detailed breakdown of the latest, and likely most permanent, Rise of the Resistance boarding group virtual queue process. We say “most permanent” simply because Disney recently posted on their own blog about the process, offering the only real official communication about the process since it was put in place back in early December. The most important question we can answer is: How do I ensure I get a boarding group?

With an attraction as impressive as Rise of the Resistance, it seems like everyone planning their upcoming trips is concerned about the boarding group process and how they can ensure that they get a chance to ride. We’ve been keeping a close eye on every operational change that Disney has been making to provide you with clear and correct advice so you can experience this wonderful new attraction yourself. Because this post will likely contain far more photos than is necessary to provide you with the info you need, we’ll provide the info up front and supply some photos after.

First, here’s a rundown of the new procedure that went into effect yesterday morning. No longer will the virtual queue open when the first guests enter the park. Instead, it will open at scheduled park open. Right now, that means 7am, but it will change to 6am in a few days. We’ll continue to keep an eye on park hour adjustments, but our first suggestion is that you make sure you know the exact hours for the date you’ll be visiting on.

What Time to Arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Trying to come up with a singular arrival time to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is like trying to hit a moving target. That said, we think that Disney has settled into an opening procedure and we’re comfortable giving some solid advice that will hopefully carry forward until the boarding group process is abandoned for a traditional standby queue.

Plan on arriving at Disney’s Hollywood Studios 45-60 minutes before park open. This is kind of the sweet spot between getting some sort of sleep and still getting there with enough time to not have to worry about getting a boarding group. Yes, if you want to get there over an hour beforehand you’ll find smaller lines and you might be able to ease any worry you have, but a commonsense approach to demands that you get some sleep on your vacation.

If you’re running a little bit late and get there 15-30 minutes before park opening, we’re still confident that you’ll be able to get through the sea of guests waiting to get into the park and scan in before boarding passes run out for the day. If you really don’t care about when you ride, but you’re happy with just a chance to ride, you can even show up at park opening or a little bit after. For example, boarding passes were still being handed out for an hour and 15 minutes after park opening. That means that you won’t be riding until later in the evening, but you have a good chance at riding.

Hopefully the 45-60 minute advice has given you the short, digestible information that you might have clicked this post to find. If you want an in-depth look at the crowd trends that we’ve seen over the past two days with the new procedure put in place.

A Massive Caveat

There is a massive caveat to our advice that we need to dedicate an entire section of this post to: Actual park open versus scheduled park open.

Our advice of a 45-60 minute arrival window before scheduled park open takes into account that Disney might not open the park at 6:30am. While crowds over the next few weeks will likely demand that they open by 6:30am, there is the possibility that they open even closer to scheduled park opening, and by extension, the hard open of the Rise of the Resistance boarding group virtual queue. The takeaway here is summed up in a single thought:

The earlier Disney opens the tappoints, the later you can comfortably arrive.

What that means is that if Disney opens up the tappoints 30 minutes prior to the “go live” time for the virtual queue system, you can show up later because the line between you and the tappoints will be shorter as Disney lets people into the park. The worry and huge caveat is that Disney might open the tappoints at 7am, which would essentially create a first come, first served system. We only have two days of data right now, but so far Disney has opened the tappoints 30 minutes before scheduled park open. That’s what we hope for. Either way, arriving 45-60 minutes before scheduled park opening will account for that uncertainty.

Again, it’s worth noting that this advice is for the guest who wants to try and ride before noon. If you’re ok simply riding at some point, you can safely show up at scheduled park open and secure a boarding group for some point during the day.

Rope Dropping Bag Check

With the implementation of the new opening procedure, less guests are showing up before 5am. As a matter of fact, we found only a handful of guests lined up at 4:30am this morning, as seen below.

The group barely grew enough to fill a boarding group before Disney opened up bag check.

The Crowd Builds

It only took two minutes before the crowd had completely made it through bag check and made their way to the tappoints. Here’s the scene just a few minutes before 5am. Of course, if you’re really dedicated to the cause, this is a much better scene than what we’ve seen in weeks past when the boarding group process was first come, first served. There is absolutely no advantage to being here this early from a boarding group perspective. The only advantage you’d find here is being towards the front of the mass of guests that will walk back to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Of course, there really isn’t a huge demand for that attraction anyway, so we’d recommend not showing up at all. Get some sleep.

Over the next 25-30 minutes, the group of guests would finally build back toward the ticket kiosks. The photos below were taken just before 5:30am.

The amount of guests coming in between 5:30am and 6am would be significant. Here’s the scene at 5:40am.

By 6:12am, the crowd had probably tripled in size, but things are still not out of control here. It may look crazy, but just about all of these guests will be inside of the park about 10 minutes after it opened at 6:30am.

Here’s a wider look at the crowd level at 6:28am. As you can see, it has started to fill in all of the available space, with just a bit of room at the back before it crowds the bag check area. This seems to be about the time that Disney decided that it would be a good idea to open the park and let guests mill about on Hollywood Boulevard. The crowd would slowly recede as guests entered the park rather efficiently.

Keep in mind, while we entered the mass of people around 6:40am, our advice calls for you to be in line by 6:15am. As a party of one, it was quite easy for us to maneuver through the still substantial crowd.

What Boarding Group to Expect

Since the change away from a first come, first served system, it’s impossible to create advice that would lead to an early boarding group. For example, we received boarding group 41 this morning within 60 seconds of the “go live” time. All of our advice should get you a boarding group that will allow you to ride before lunch. If you have any issues, please seek out a Guest Experience Cast Member in a blue polo as they’ve been exceedingly helpful. Here are some observations we made of the timing of boarding group distributions:

• 7:00am – Boarding Group 17
• 7:01am – Boarding Group 41
• 7:07am – Boarding Group 67
• 7:17am – Boarding Group 80
• 7:38am – Boarding Group 90
• 8:15am – Regular Boarding Groups gone
• 10:50am – Backup Boarding Groups gone

We hope that you found this Rise of the Resistance boarding group post helpful in your future planning. If we can answer any questions you might have that aren’t answered in our guide, please leave a comment below or reach out on social media!