Rise of the Resistance opens at Disneyland: Here's what you need to know
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The new "Star Wars" ride opened at Disneyland Friday, drawing large crowds hours before the park even opened.
The theme park says Rise of the Resistance blurs the lines between fantasy and reality on a scale never seen before in a Disney attraction. The opening expands the attractions at the 14-acre addition to Disneyland that opened last year.
The attraction takes guests aboard a full-size transport shuttle before they are captured by a Star Destroyer and find themselves in the middle of a battle between the dark side of the First Order and the light side of the Resistance.
MORE: A first look at Disneyland's new 'Star Wars' ride
Eager fans were lined up by 11 p.m. Thursday, nine hours before the park was set to open. However, to the surprise of dozens of fans waiting in the rain, Disneyland opened about two hours early just after 6 a.m.
Video posted on social media showed a line for Starbucks wrapping around an entire block of Main Street.
For those planning a trip to the highly anticipated ride, a virtual queue will allow guests to explore other areas of the park while waiting for their turn, according to the Disneyland Parks blog.
The Disneyland app has a dedicated module for Rise of the Resistance available from the main page.
"That was completely epic, that was absolutely insane," said Gabriel Montoya with Theme Park Duo. "Literally everybody sitting there refreshing their phones. As soon as 8 o'clock hit, people started cheering and yelling and going crazy. Luckily, we got boarding group 50."
Disneyland officials say the virtual queue will not be available until park opening hours and ride admission will be subject to capacity, which means having an assigned boarding group will not guarantee entrance to the attraction.
Some fans said the possibility of not getting a chance to experience the ride isn't deterring them.
"I have a season pass, so I'm gonna come back, for sure," Leah Smith said.
The attraction at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge combines live actors, special effects, droids and motion simulation to immerse guests into a mission for the Resistance.
"You're just in the middle of a 'Star Wars' story and you're experiencing it firsthand," Executive Creative Director John Larena said. "There's so many things to look at. So many things are happening at the same time. You'll go on with a friend or a family member and you'll be on this side and they'll be on that side, you'll see different things...all these incredible things that happen around you. You can't get it all, you gotta go on it multiple times."
Anticipation for a new "Star Wars" ride has been building since the land opened in May.
"I've just been so excited since the opening of the land during the summer," Sammi Bryant said. "I thought it was going to be a whole thing with everything, but it was just the one ride and I was so sad, and then finally now we get to go on the second one."
Other attractions include Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run as well as a collection of unique food shops and merchandise.
More information about the ride, and how to reserve a boarding pass is available here.
For a longer, more in-depth look at the Rise of the Resistance, watch the YouTube video below:
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of Disneyland Resort and this station.
