Rise of the Resistance and the boarding group process is one of the most frustrating experiences that guests face on a daily basis at Walt Disney World…and this was before the ride capacity was cut by more than 75% in some cases.
Now, Disney is looking to increase the pandemic-era capacity of the attraction by installing Plexiglass barriers between the first and second row of the ride vehicle, allowing both rows to be filled by separate traveling parties. As you may know, Disney is only loading one party per ride vehicle due to physical distancing restrictions. If you’re traveling as a party of two, this represents a 75% reduction in capacity, not counting downtime for cleaning. Other safety measures such as physical distancing within the queue and pre-show areas would remain.
Introducing Plexiglass could get the attraction capacity back up towards 100% if Disney is able to find two parties of four. With this change, Disney is looking to double the theoretical minimum capacity for Rise of the Resistance.
Increasing the capacity of the ride vehicle is only half the battle though, as the attraction still faces reliability issues and a frustrating boarding group virtual queue process.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
I am less happy with Disney here. The effectiveness of masks in an enclosed space decreases as the number of breathing bodies in that space increases. And how many people once in a car and on their way are cheating? Plus, doubling capacity doubles the chance that infected people are inside the attraction.
I am thrilled with this development! We just went last week and so I am speaking from personal experience. People are spending thousands of dollars to visit the resort and aren’t able to get on the newest ride even after trying multiple times.
Guests that are hyper concerned about being exposed to COVID-19 should not be at the parks right now. Let people who are willing to take this risk go to Disney and have a good time. This supports Disney and the cast member’s jobs.
If Disney does not continue to make these forward changes, there won’t be anybody to ride the rides.
I was also there last week and just got home. We made sure we were in the park BEFORE 10 am and was primed and ready to hit that button when it was time. Sadly, we lucked out. 🙁 We did try again at 2 pm and was lucky to get a back-up boarding group. It was a very high number so I thought it was a 50/50 chance that we would get on. The ride must have been operating well that day because we were able to join the physical queue with fifteen minutes before HS closed. Phew! We were boarding group 118 and 123 was the last called for the day. We did get through the queue with no downtime. Unfortunately, our second day at HS was not so lucky. We were not able to secure a time. It was not so bad since we had already experience ROTR. It will be nice to see the capacity for this ride go up and more people have the chance to experience it. It is a “not be missed” attraction! Disney has outdone themselves!
We had a great time and it was good to see people back at the parks. I have to say though, I was getting annoyed with the few groups behind us that were completely ignoring the social distancing markers. There was a lady behind my mom that was on her phone and completely bumped into her. Her kids were running around in front of us and climbing on things. I had another party behind me that ONLY obeyed the markers when a cast member was present. 🙁 I did almost say something to the cast member. Most people did seem to be following the rules though. I do have to say that I felt safer at WDW than my own grocery store. Even though the lines seemed longer than normal, there did seem to be less people in the park. HS was the exception.
We will be back in December so it will be interesting to see how things are then.
I’m the OP Mike above. We went two weeks ago so I am also speaking from personal experience. We found HS to be the worst park in terms of compliance with proper masking and social distancing, even in ride queues.
Risking yourself is one thing. Risking others is another, and the more capacity increases, particularly inside attractions, the more risk goes up for everyone attending and for those they then interact with. We did not eat inside any WDW restaurant, and followed good practices to protect ourselves, those around us and those we might come in contact with outside the parks (and have voluntarily remained isolated since our trip; the 14 days since our last day on the road home ends this Saturday). At some point, though, increasing numbers and higher density inside attractions, shows and dining venues will make WDW unwise even with safety rules, particularly as more people flout them.