How to get a Boarding Group for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge isn’t just the most ambitious attraction Disney has ever created — it’s also the hardest to actually get the chance to ride. Disneyland has reopened and access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will be managed using a Virtual Queue system. Follow these tips for your best chance to get a Boarding Group for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland.

For Walt Disney World guests, read How to Get a Boarding Group for Star Wars Rise of the Resistance at Disney World.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need a valid Disneyland park ticket or a Park Hopper ticket starting in either Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure, plus a valid theme park reservation for the day you play to visit.

When You Can Join the Virtual Queue

Guests will have two opportunities each day to join the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Virtual Queue. At 7 a.m. PT, guests with a theme park reservation for Disneyland park can join from anywhere outside the park — in other words, from your hotel room or home.

Guests with a Disneyland theme park reservation who did not secure a Boarding Group at 7 a.m. as well as guests with Park Hopper tickets who began their day in Disney California Adventure have the opportunity to join the Virtual Queue at 12 p.m. PT, but must have entered either Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure in order to join. Note: If you secure a Boarding Group at 7 a.m., you are not eligible to join a second Boarding Group at 12 p.m.

How to Join the Virtual Queue

The day before:

Make sure your Disneyland app is updated

Ensure that you’ve downloaded and installed the latest version of the Disneyland mobile app. Make sure your ticket is linked and that your theme park reservation appears on your home screen.

Link your Friends and Family Under ‘Tickets and Passes’

Linking family members and friends in your app is the only way to get a Boarding Group with others you plan to ride with. Link them under “Tickets and Passes” in the app.

The app should auto-select everyone in your group that has a Disneyland Theme Park reservation that day (or a park hopper ticket for the afternoon Virtual Queue opportunity).

Be warned that having people you don’t plan to ride with linked in your app can slow you down. To clean up your list, be sure to unlink any friends or family members with whom you don’t plan to get a Boarding Group (you can always add them back later).

Once you click join on the app, only the people with theme park reservations should be selected and you should immediately click join.

*An Important Note About Legacy Passports and ‘Select All’*

If you have a Legacy Passport on your account, it will show up like a ticket in the above screen. If there are any Legacy Passports linked to your account, make sure you do NOT click “Select All.” Those Passports won’t be considered eligible tickets and you will have to de-select them before you are able to join.

Who should try for a Boarding Group

Every member of your group who is planning to ride can try simultaneously to join the Virtual Queue. Each of you should attempt to join a Boarding Group on behalf of your whole group. The app should auto-select everyone who is eligible and you should immediately click “Join.” Once one of you is successful on behalf of the group, the rest will get an error message that those in the group have already joined a Boarding Group.

The morning of your visit:

Unless you are confident you have lightning-fast Wi-Fi, or have terrible cell service where you are, turn off Wi-Fi and use your cell service, especially if you’re staying in a hotel where Wi-Fi can be extra spotty.

Double-check that your Disneyland app is still updated and that no updates have happened overnight that you need to implement.

Quit all apps on your phone, log out of the Disneyland app, relaunch it and log back in. Make sure you’ve done all of the above by 6:55 a.m. to be ready. Review and walk-through the following steps on your phone ahead of time.

1. Select Virtual Queues on your Disneyland app home screen.

2. Select “Join Virtual Queue”

Author’s Note: There are two strategies for steps 3 and 4, which I’ll call A and B. Choose whichever you’re more comfortable with.

3A. This is the screen you’ll see leading up to 7 a.m., before you’re able to join.

From here, either pull the screen down to make this page refresh, or toggle back and forth between this screen and the previous. Most people pull down to refresh, but I prefer to toggle. Either work so try it and see which you feel like you can do more quickly. I practice for a minute or so at 6:58, then start aggressively toggling from 6:59 until 7:00.

4A. When it hits 7:00 a.m., you should see the “Join” button show up. Click it immediately.

Alternate (and my preferred method):
3B. Count down with a digital clock.

Using a smart watch or other internet-enabled device like an iPad or computer, pull up a clock with a second-hand. I use the Workout face on my Apple Watch, but beware — it sleeps quickly.

Stay on this screen while you count down to 7:00:01.

4B. Watch the countdown and click “Join Virtual Queue” as soon as your clock hits 7:00:01.

Technically you should be able to click at 7:00:00, but wait for that :01 to make sure you don’t click too early and have to go back. Once you click “Join Virtual Queue” on the screen above, you’ll be taken to this screen and the blue “Join” should show up. Click it immediately.

5. Confirm your group.

You’ll be taken to a screen showing your linked tickets. Because you will have ensured ahead of time that everyone with a linked ticket is coming with you and has a valid theme park reservation, you should quickly hit “Join” without reviewing those selected. Only click “Select All” if everyone in the group has a valid ticket and theme park reservation and there are NO Legacy Passports linked.

6. Get your Boarding Group and return at your designated time.

If you’re successful, you’ll be given a Boarding Group number and an estimated wait time until your Boarding Group is called. Once your group is called, you’ll have one hour to go to the attraction and be let into the standby queue to board the ride.

If you do not get a Boarding Group at 7 a.m., you can try again at 12 p.m., provided you’ve already entered Disneyland park or Disney California Adventure and have a park hopper ticket. Follow steps one through six, replacing 7 a.m. with 12 p.m. An additional tip: When attempting to join the Virtual Queue from inside the parks, be sure to turn off the in-park Guest Wi-Fi and use your cell service instead.

If you have a Park Hopper ticket and started your day in Disney California Adventure, you’ll be able to park hop to Disneyland Park after 1 p.m.