Disneyland's Rise of the Resistance, widely considered to be one of the world's best rides, has seen a significant increase in downtime due to its own immense popularity. According to data released by Disney, ride stoppages on Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland rose from an average of 80 minutes a day in 2021 to 122 minutes a day in 2022.
A company called Thrill Data, who analyzes metrics in rides such as Rise of the Resistance, shows that downtime on Disneyland's $450 million Star Wars trackless dark ride has increased by 52% from 2021 to 2022. The data was compared from May to December 2021 with the same period in 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic closed Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for over a year, with the theme parks reopening in late April 2021. Crowd sizes were restricted during the first few months when California theme parks initially reopened, and the Thrill Data ride stoppage data reflects the positive impact of lighter crowds on Rise of the Resistance downtime. However, as more and more visitors returned to the park, the ride's downtime increased.
It is not surprising to most Disneyland fans that Rise of the Resistance has downtime issues. The wildly-popular ride breaks down frequently, which can disappoint riders and wreak havoc on wait times when Genie+ Lightning Lanes swell after the ride reopens. Depending on the cause of the downtime, resetting the ride can take more time than other Disneyland attractions.
Disneyland guests may only know that a ride is closed, but not the reason why. Stoppages can result from various factors such as bad weather, ride breakdowns, maintenance needs, dropped cell phones and riders who need extra assistance. In rare cases, the delay is a result of a wait time sign glitch on Disneyland’s end or a data collection issue on Thrill Data’s end.
Rise of the Resistance has been the darling of the theme park industry since debuting in 2019, with accolades showering the ride from industry organizations and fan sites alike. Theme Park Insider readers have named Rise of the Resistance the world’s best attraction every year since. The Wall Street Journal reported that the identical Rise of the Resistance rides at Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida cost $450 million each. Behind the scenes, the state-of-the-art ride is powered by 5 million lines of code running show systems and special effects on 50 computers.
Image: Disney
