Disney World Is Testing A New Line Option, And As A Frequent Single Rider, I Don't Love It

When you go to Disney World, the one aspect of the experience that you know is going to happen is that you’re going to wait in line. Even with the current Genie+ and its forthcoming replacement, Lighting Lane Multi-Pass, which can help you skip some lines, there will be lines. This is why a new option to skip what is regularly the longest line at Disney World might seem like a good thing but, honestly, I kind of hate it.

Over the weekend, guests revealed on X (previously Twitter) that Disney's Hollywood Studios opened a Single Rider line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The Galaxy’s Edge attraction is the most popular ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and routinely has the longest line of any ride at Disney World. Single Rider lines are used at several attractions to help fill in empty seats on rides that frequently end up with single empty seats. But, even though I do a lot of Single Rider lines, I might skip this one.

Rise Of The Resistance Single Rider Line Skips Some Of The Best Parts Of The Attraction

As a professional theme park writer, I make most of my trips to the parks for work and, as such, I find myself in the parks alone a lot. When I do have time to just do some rides for fun, I frequently take advantage of Single Rider lines when they are available. I’ve done all the Single Rider attractions at Disneyland Resort , and most of the ones you’ll find at Disney World.

But I’m not sure I’ll ever take advantage of a Single Rider line in Rise of the Resistance, because the line skips some of my favorite parts of the experience. There’s a lot that makes Rise of the Resistance one of the best theme park attractions in the world, and much of that is technically part of the queue.

There’s an entire sequence where guests receive a transmission from Rey and then board a transport meant to escape Batuu. The transport gets captured by the First Order and the guests then get in a second queue to be locked into an interrogation room. It’s only after the bombastic intro that the ride properly begins.

In short, the Single Rider line bypasses the entire transport sequence and dumps quests directly into the Star Destroyer set, similar to what happens if the transport portion of the ride is down. This kinda sucks. The queue is an important part of any attraction, and many of the rides that Disney World does better than Disneyland are all because of the queue.

The Rise Of The Resistance Queue Has Some Of The Attraction’s Best Elements

While the core part of Rise of the Resistance is still an amazing attraction, the queue is honestly one of the best parts of the experience. The transport ship is essentially a motion simulator attraction on the way to the main ride. There's even an appearance from Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameront's great.

It also includes what might be the single best moment of the whole attraction. The transport ship appears to have two doors so, when guests enter through one on “Batuu” and then the ship gets captured, new riders all expect to exit through the second door to arrive inside the Star Destroyer. However, the ride tricks you, and the First Order arrives through the same door you entered. It’s a minor effect, but it’s well done. And after you get fooled the first time, it’s a blast to watch new riders get wowed the next time you ride it.

I’m not going to lie, if there’s a day that I really want to ride Rise of the Resistance, and there’s a Single Rider line available, I’ll probably use it rather than wait an hour and a half to go on it, but it won’t be the same. It will be a lesser experience.

At this point, the Single Rider line appears to be a test but, if it's successful enough, it will certainly become permanent. No test is being run at the Disneyland version of the attraction right now, but you can bet that if the test goes well in Orlando, the line will be a new addition to Disneyland Resort before too long.