Rise of the Resistance - Any Fanfare?

I will be there for the media event on December 4 and plan to post a review on the front page, as well as video coverage of the opening ceremony that night. (The rumor is... flying X-wings!)

So... if you are visiting WDW, expect Galaxy's Edge to be closed to the public that day.

Everything sounds like it is on track to open on December 5 - CM previews and live testing are occurring right now. There is reportedly a media preview on the afternoon/evening of December 4 (I assume Robert will be flying back to Orlando again after being there last week for IAAPA).

The anticipation is definitely growing within the fanbases (both Star Wars and Disney/WDW), and Disney has extended park hours across the resort for next week to accommodate the expected surge in crowds.

I think Disney is slow playing it right now so that if the attraction does run into some technical issues (almost inevitable), they will not have built the anticipation so high that guests facing long lines are not frustrated and disappointed. From all indications, RotR will be a landmark attraction that will be every bit of the "F" ticket status it has been unofficially given.

I'm definitely excited, especially since we're visiting WDW next January almost explicitly because of RotR (we visited Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland over the summer). However, I don't think the opening of the attraction will be the "missing link" of the land, because I believe even after RotR opens, Disney will still not fill the land with enough characters and stories for guests to enjoy without relying on them to role play for others. One ride is not going to change the fact that Oga's is still overcrowded, rule-bound, and operated like a cash register, and the rest of the land puts too much of the burden on front line CMs in lieu of costumed character actors. The ride almost certainly will improve the overall perception of the land (assuming it's as good or even better than FoP), but it won't address my primary criticism of Galaxy's Edge as a whole.

The 3 people in my area at work, who have CM spouses, say that they have not had an invite to preview RotR. Not to say they won't, but nothing as yet.

No pass holder previews as yet either.

I can't see it being more than a 1 and done ride, and once we get thru the madness of Christmas and New Year, I'm pretty sure MFSR will hold a bigger draw than RotR.

Maybe next week things will ramp up, but for now I don't know any pass holder that's overly excited about the new ride. It's all very oddly blah, if I'm perfectly honest.

I am hoping those X-wing drones stick around long after the premier for other uses. They look interesting, and would look like they could be great additions to making GE much more immersive.

@Makorider - From what I've been reading, the CM previews have been (and will continue to be) limited to Galaxy's Edge CMs.

Also, it's been rumored that Disney will offer an AP-exclusive event for the attraction after the new year. I'm guessing the timing of this opening just before the holiday rush along with the questionable reliability of the attraction has persuaded Disney to delay AP previews. Also, I think Disney wants those APs to visit the park during regular operating hours for the next week or 2 to make sure the attraction is properly stress tested prior to the intense holiday crowds that will come at the end of the month.

@JC - Talk to the FAA. If Disney could actually control and manage the airspace over their property 24/7, I think they would have been flying these X-wings on day 1 of Galaxy's Edge. However, the fact of the matter is that getting clearance for airspace, particularly for hovering maneuvers, is very complicated and expensive. It would be one thing if the drones could fly at a relatively low altitude (under 100 feet), but it's likely Disney would need clearance to fly to a maximum ceiling of 500 feet to make the drones convincing to ground-based guests. Also, if Disney flew these as part of a "show", it would ruin the organic feel of Black Spire Outpost as a hub of activity. X-Wing drones flying overhead at a specific time each day, which is what would be necessary under FAA, would turn it into a scheduled performance instead of something that just happened at random times each day. Even if Disney didn't publish a schedule for flyovers, guests would catch wind through FAA published flight plans and start camping out to get the best views of the performance like a parade or fireworks show. That's not what Imagineers want guests to do on their visit to Batuu.

I'm not surprised it's only SWGE CM's, in a way I suppose it's a 'thank you' from Disney to the people who work there. And with all CM's going, it would be overly chaotic, not that it isn't anyway !!

I may go over to DHS one night w/b Dec 9th. Hopefully they will add RotR wait time to the app, as per MFSR at the moment, so I'll have some idea what it's like before I head out. That week is usually one of the small windows we get with fewer people, but with RotR open, that may not be the case this year.

I'll be interested to see if the virtual boarding rears it's ugly head again. I'm pretty sure it will over the Christmas period.

If nothing else, I'm hoping RotR will take people away from MFSR for a while, so I can go and play pilot on the Falcon again ... :)

Can only speak for myself but as an AP I have never been more excited for the debut of any Disney attraction than this one, and I anticipate it becoming the best theme park ride in the United States. It's a trackless dark ride with an ambitious pre-show and a motion simulator/physical drop finale, filled with elaborately detailed sets and what seems to be a fairly compelling storyline. It sounds like they've nailed the idea of placing guests right in the middle of a Star Wars movie. The preview for it on the ABC Thanksgiving show only made me more excited, though if you're looking to avoid spoilers it shows basically the entire ride.

Between Falcon's insane throughput, the new factor of RotR, and my guess at the respective quality of the rides, I also think it's fairly insane to think that Millennium Falcon will have the longer queue, but we've been wrong about virtually every crowd prediction for Galaxy's Edge so far, so I guess we'll see. FWIW (very little, probably), I think it will open Thursday morning to about a 5-6 hour wait and then calm down to 2-3 hours in the evening, followed by a solid 120-150 minute posted wait for the rest of December. The real wait will probably be about 60-75% that length. No FP+ means double the queue capacity!

Not entirely on topic, but I was in GE last night and I'm starting to warm up to the place a bit more. We talk a lot about the lack of streetmosphere or interactivity, which is part of what I think everyone's main issue is: there's relatively little to do if you're not willing or able to spend money. It's a fair criticism and one I share, but it is Disney's prerogative to charge whatever they wish and the customer's prerogative to pay or not pay it. But just spending time in GE is starting to bring me a little more joy; we ended up just walking through it a couple times and taking in the sights. The detail is overwhelming. Chewbacca hid from some Stormtroopers behind one of our party while we were waiting for a Ronto wrap. I tried the Green Milk (it wasn't bad! better than the blue if you don't like sweets as much). Falcon sat between 75-90 minutes most of the day, but it was down to a posted 40 during the utterly wretched Jingle Bell Jingle BAM show, and we ended up waiting about 25 before the pre-show. I get the mixed reviews from people who don't enjoy simulators, but for me it remains a top 5 attraction at WDW after at least a dozen rides. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with Galaxy's Edge as is once RotR is open, even if I'd be absolutely thrilled to see more live entertainment and interactivity added. But Disney is never going to get the majority of guests to LARP, and it was silly for them to think they could.

Whether it was intentional or due to technical issues, it may turn out to be a good thing to gradually roll out RoR. Staggering the crowds may be smart. Also, watching the Imagineering Story has made me think of several things and recall others. Star Tours had a four hour wait upon its debut. No reason to think this will be less. I know many have held off returning until it is completely open, including me. But one other point was mentioned: When Eisner took over, he brought his son in to the park to see what he thought was fun. I also recall during that time the chefs would test out certain food dishes on children, like macaroni and cheese to see what they liked best. In other words, the management was always highly deferential to the guest's likes and desires and they would admit mistakes like not serving wine in France. So RoR is opening soon. Without FP+. Perfect time to fix a system that was created that does not help the guest's overall enjoyment.