Disney World is full of immersive, technologically innovative attractions.
But, if there’s one thing we know about technology, it’s that it can be a fickle beast. Even the magic of Disney can’t stop a ride from occasionally going haywire, and we experienced it firsthand at Hollywood Studios on a pretty popular attraction!
Picture this: you’ve waited in that long standby line or have finally made it to the front of the Lightning Lane line for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. You’re in awe all throughout the preshow and have officially sat down in your ride vehicle. But then, all of a sudden — nothing happens. Uh oh.
This was exactly the case for us one fateful morning at Hollywood Studios. We waited and waited, and it soon became alarmingly clear that we weren’t going to be off fighting the First Order anytime soon. Soon after, a Cast Member made an announcement that the ride was down and we would start to be evacuated from where we were.
Rise of the Resistance has gone down at Disney’s Hollywood Studios 😕 pic.twitter.com/Jj1cpDsvdI
— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) May 15, 2023
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to complete our journey this time around, but in situations like this Disney will often provide guests with another opportunity to ride the attraction if it comes back up.
That happened to us but get this — when we went back to Rise of the Resistance, it broke down AGAIN while we were on the ride! We did not expect to hear alarm sounds like this when the ride went down, so here’s a look at what you can expect if this happens to you.
Rise of the Resistance goes down all the time…but we got stuck on it TWICE yesterday, and apparently this is what happens when it goes down in this spot! 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/yRjJckb1oc
— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) May 16, 2023
Depending on how a ride has broken down or malfunctioned and what time of day it occurred, there is a chance that it could be back up and running the same day. But sometimes the fix isn’t quite that simple and the attraction has to remain closed for a longer period of time.
If there are some absolute must-do rides on your list, prioritizing those can give you the best chance possible to work them into your day while they’re open and operating. Then, if they close early due to a scheduled early closure or a sudden early closure, you’ll have knocked them out already, leaving you feeling satisfied!
Checking the My Disney Experience app can also be key. The app shows ride wait times and other information, so if a ride temporarily goes down, it’ll show you when that ride is set to open up again. It will also show you the hours for that ride, so you’ll see if it is scheduled to close early.
Luckily, there are plenty of things to see and do throughout Galaxy’s Edge no matter what kind of Star Wars fan you might be — whether it’s a casual viewer or a die-hard fan.
Head over to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run for another ride experience, or consider stopping by Docking Bay 7 or Oga’s Cantina for some out-of-this-world food. Make your robot dreams come true at Droid Depot or check out some of the other merch shops!
No matter what, you can count on us at AllEars to bring you the latest news and tips from Disney World and beyond, so stay tuned for more.
7 Shocking Disney World Ride Malfunctions
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Have you ever been evacuated from a ride? Let us know in the comments!
Crazy idea to prevent this type of issue from ruining someone’s day in the parks…what if Disney would actually maintain their attractions at an acceptable level? Yes – of course – things will happen occasionally even if everything is done right, but the maintenance level in the past several years has deteriorated to the point where it’s almost inevitable that every guest will deal with unplanned downtime to attractions in such a way that it will impact each and every day of their vacation.
Things like Genie+, paid Lightning Lanes, and Park Reservations pretty much force you to plan almost every minute of every day in the parks well ahead of time. Constant downtime for multiple attractions every day all but ensures that even the most carefully made plan will almost be thrown totally off. It’s become pretty much inevitable that most guests will miss at least one of their “must do’s” every day, even as it has become obvious that Disney is perfectly OK with that.