According to a report in to BlogMickey.com, guests are being routed around two critical show scenes. Both the Rey pre-show scene and the IT-S transport ship are being skipped this morning. These scenes are critical to the storytelling of the attraction as they set up the mission and capture of guests.
Instead, guests are being routed through a backstage corridor and straight into the massive hangar.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Disney has skipped these critical show scenes. The first instance of this re-route occurred in January 2020, just about a month after the attraction opened to the public. Since then, Disney has re-routed guests around an inoperable I-TS ship on numerous occasions.
In our opinion, this is really unacceptable for guests who might be experiencing the attraction for the first time. The attraction is structured in a manner that each show scene builds upon the previous scene and the actual ride is just a portion of the experience.
If you’re unfamiliar with the attraction, the I-TS is the vehicle that guests enter to leave Batuu after receiving their mission from Rey. The ship (seen below), is a critical part of not only the storyline, but also for the guest flow into the next section of the ride.
As you probably have read countless times by now, Disney is billing Rise of the Resistance as not just another theme park ride, but as an experience. This experience begins in a pre-show where you are briefed by a hologram of Rey and then ushered into the courtyard seen above and eventually into the ship.
Skipping both of those scenes doesn’t live up to the promise of Rise of the Resistance. Of course, the operations team needs to find a balance when portions of the ride break down. In most instances, it is the ride vehicles that cause the attraction to shut down. However, it seems that when it is the I-TS ship that breaks down, it is acceptable to route guests through backstage areas in order to keep the ride operating.
For look at what the experience was like prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, check out our video below!
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 had this happen in December 2019 when I went to ride after my husband with rider swap. Guest services refused to help at all. Because I experienced the attraction. I finally was able to ride in it’s entirety last month and it now makes so much more sense.