The attraction known as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance can be experienced inside the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge themed lands of both Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Its debut occurred at Walt Disney World on December 5, 2019, followed by Disneyland on January 17, 2020.
A significant portion of the overall experience is the queue itself. Visitors enter through what is presented as a Resistance base. Inside the queue area, guests come across BB-8 and then receive a communication from Rey. She informs them that a team of Resistance operatives, including Finn, have infiltrated a Star Destroyer heading towards the Batuu system. Rey, considering the base compromised, tells the guests they will be transported to meet with Leia Organa on Pacara. Nien Nunb and Lieutenant Bek are assigned to escort the guests, with aerial support from Poe's X-wing squadron. The doors then open, and the queue leads to a Resistance Intersystem Transport Ship.
After boarding, the ship departs from the Forest Outpost. In space, TIE fighters attack the convoy, which is then ensnared by the Star Destroyer's tractor beam. Once aboard the Star Destroyer, guests are led through a hangar filled with a stormtrooper detachment. Continuing through the hallway, the queue leads to a prison cell where stormtroopers guard the riders, and General Hux and Kylo Ren interrogate them. After their departure to the ship's bridge, Resistance fighters breach the cell wall, guiding guests to the loading zone where they board First Order Fleet Transports each piloted by an R5 astromech droid.
Once aboard the transports, Finn explains that the droids have been reprogrammed to aid their escape, directing them to the escape pods for a return trip to Batuu. For the majority of the ride, Bek guides the guests during their escape attempt. Leaving the loading area, the guests pass several empty transports with their astromechs, avoiding suspicion as their vehicle's R5 units claim they are conducting a prisoner transfer. After entering a hallway, the vehicles encounter a First Order probe droid that nearly detects them. Turning a corner, they head towards the turbolifts, only to be spotted by stormtroopers on a catwalk, who open fire before sounding the alarm. The vehicle then enters a hangar with two full-sized AT-ATs, splitting up on different sides of the room. Finn instructs the riders to use the lifts to reach the escape pods, seeking cover either by a doorway or near cargo crates, depending on their location. However, due to the droids' incomplete reprogramming, the vehicles are mistakenly sent to an upper level, where they are attacked by the walkers and onboard troopers.
After escaping the AT-ATs, the vehicles infiltrate the Star Destroyer's bridge, where Kylo Ren is in discussion with General Hux. Kylo learns of the guests' escape just as the Resistance fleet launches an attack on the Star Destroyer. Spotting the riders in the hallway, Kylo ignites his lightsaber and lunges towards the vehicles as the turbolift door closes. Undeterred, he leaps onto the roof and begins cutting through it with his lightsaber.
In the subsequent room, cannons are firing at Resistance ships. To facilitate the riders' escape, a Vakbeor-class cargo frigate broadsides the Finalizer, resulting in the frigate's destruction. Evading the cannons, Finn orders the riders to abandon ship as they encounter Kylo Ren again. He threatens to extract the location of the Resistance base and then kill them. Before he can act, a TIE fighter strikes the ship's side, exposing it to the vacuum of space. Kylo Ren screams in frustration as the riders escape. As the air rushes around them, the guests' vehicles enter their escape pods, which are then launched in a freefall. With assistance from Poe, the pods descend back to Batuu. Flying over Black Spire Outpost, the pods crash-land within the wreckage of a destroyed ship, where Bek commends the guests and astromech droids for safeguarding the Resistance base from the First Order. Guests then disembark in the outdoor unload area before returning to the Forest Outpost.
Before the official name was unveiled at Destination D 2018, the project was internally codenamed "Alcatraz." The original plan was for it to debut alongside the rest of Galaxy's Edge in both parks during 2019, and then in Paris shortly after. However, on March 7, it was announced that the opening would be delayed to a later date as part of the park's "Phase 2" release. The Walt Disney World version opened on December 5, 2019, with an opening ceremony that featured life-sized X-wing drones. In the initial days, numerous guests reported evacuations due to ride malfunctions. The Disneyland version then opened on January 17, 2020.
In April 2021, it was announced that the ride duration would be reduced from 18 to 15 minutes to comply with a new California time restriction for indoor attractions. This reduction involved removing the ride's preshow. In June 2021, the preshow, including a hologram message from Rey, was reinstated.
According to Star Wars: Timelines, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is situated between the events of Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi and Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. However, Kylo Ren is depicted wearing his helmet, which was destroyed in The Last Jedi and only reconstructed in The Rise of Skywalker.