Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is the flagship attraction of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and one of the most ambitious experiences ever created for Walt Disney World. Opened on December 5, 2019, the attraction places guests inside a large-scale conflict between the Resistance and the First Order, using multiple ride systems, live performers, Audio-Animatronics, projection effects, full-size sets, and carefully staged transitions to blur the distinction between queue, preshow, and ride.
The experience begins at a hidden Resistance encampment outside Black Spire Outpost. After receiving mission instructions from Rey and BB-8, recruits board a transport commanded by Lieutenant Bek, with Poe Dameron flying escort. The mission quickly goes wrong when a First Order Star Destroyer captures the transport. One of the attraction’s most impressive reveals follows: the doors open onto an enormous hangar filled with rows of Stormtroopers, a TIE fighter, and a sweeping viewport into space.
From there, First Order officers direct guests into detention cells, where Kylo Ren and General Hux conduct an interrogation. A Resistance rescue operation breaks through the walls, leading recruits to eight-passenger trackless vehicles piloted by reprogrammed droids. The resulting escape moves through Star Destroyer corridors, beneath towering AT-AT walkers, past advancing Stormtroopers, and into confrontations with Kylo Ren. The finale combines the trackless vehicles with a simulator-like drop sequence that creates the sensation of plunging from the ship toward Batuu.
Historically, Rise of the Resistance represented the culmination of Disney’s transformation of Hollywood Studios from a park rooted in filmmaking demonstrations into one centered on immersive participation in established cinematic worlds. Galaxy’s Edge opened several months earlier, but Rise of the Resistance completed the land’s original attraction lineup and supplied the sprawling narrative adventure that distinguished Batuu from a highly detailed shopping and dining district.
The attraction is set during the conflict depicted in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and features Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, General Hux, Nien Nunb, and Lieutenant Bek. Unlike a conventional dark ride, it makes guests active participants whose capture and escape unfold across several distinct environments.
Today, Rise of the Resistance remains one of Hollywood Studios’ premier headliners and a benchmark for modern themed entertainment. Its notoriety comes not from a single technological trick, but from the way every element works together to make the adventure feel larger than a ride—more like stepping into a carefully orchestrated Star Wars film in which the audience unexpectedly becomes part of the action.
