Travel Tuesday: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ushers in a new Disney experience
The highly anticipated Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened to huge crowds at Walt Disney World. As details and guest experiences emerge, Disney Parks has embraced a theme park trend.
While Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge has been open for a while, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance just opened last week. With much fanfare, the highly immersive Star Wars theme park ride looks to take Walt Disney World in a new direction. Will the success or failure of this ride impact future attractions?
As many people know, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is like stepping into another world. As you enter the corridor, it feels as if you have been transported far beyond a few steps from Toy Story Land and other areas of Hollywood Studios.
From the unique dining experiences to trinkets to purchase, all the little details add to the experience. Even the cast members play a part in your role as a visitor to this other world. Sure, everyone understands that this experience is part of a theme park, but it feels as if you have stepped into that movie set of your dreams.
While Millennium Falcon, Smugger’s Run opened with the grand opening of Galaxy’s Edge, many Star Wars fans were waiting to visit till both Star Wars rides were open. Both Walt Disney World and Disneyland had smaller than anticipated crowds in the opening months. Some people attributed that lower attendance to people waiting to experience both attractions.
Although Disneyland opened Galaxy’s Edge first, it will not open its Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride until next year. In many ways, that delay could be a big benefit for Disney. After hearing some of feedback from guests during the opening weekend, it’s clear there is a learning curve to any new ride.
This new ride was touted as being the most immersive, most impressive Star Wars experience. From its long experience time to the attention to detail, the ride is almost an immersive land unto itself.
As guests enter the experience, they are recruited to be heroes of the Resistance and rise up against the First Order. In many ways, this ride seeks to blend fantasy and reality. At some point, guests may not know if they are part of the ride or really inside the story. That attention to detail is where this ride seeks to set itself apart.
One of the key elements to making this ride more believable is the use of its pre-show. The interaction with real characters versus just standing in another long, weaving line impresses guests. More importantly, it brings guests back because each subsequent time is slightly different.
Additionally, Disney uses its animatronic technology to its advantage during this ride. As seen at last year’s IAAPA Expo, Disney is looking to push the animatronics further. The almost life-size characters add to the realism of the experience. If you cannot tell the real from the staged, guests keep coming back to solve those little questions.
Since there is so much technology involved in this theme park ride, opening experiences can experience growing pains. Even with all the testing, real guests, in large numbers, can cause issues. As some people saw on opening weekend, rides can shut down and wait times (if available) can be huge.
Still, Star Wars fans will line up and wait for this unique experience. More importantly, it presents a shift in theme park rides. No longer do guests just want to wind their way through a queue for another 90 second ride. Guests are demanding more.
Putting aside the thrill seekers who just want to hit top speeds, multiple launches, and big inversions, the family-inclusive rides need to offer that immersive experience. The ride’s story begins the moment you step onto the line and doesn’t end until you’ve exited.
Given the amount of details and builds in this Star Wars ride, Disney has set itself for comparison for its other experiences. For example, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy ride set to open at Epcot next year will have to have some impressive elements to follow Rise of the Resistance.
While the two rides are totally different, it does bring up an interesting thought. Themed rides extend beyond the ride car. The creators need to find a way to entice riders to come back time and again.
Even with a few growing pains in the opening days, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance proves that Disney is embracing these new theme park experiences. More importantly, Disney is putting other theme parks on notice that they need to step up their experiences. And guests will benefit from this new version of the theme park wars.
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