Disney Fixes Long-Broken Effect on Star Wars Rise of the Resistance Attraction We Never Thought Would Return

Disney has a long history of launching attractions with ambitious effects. Sometimes though these special effects just can't stand up to the wear and tear of everyday operations. Decisions have to be made about if having a certain effect not working means that the entire attraction should be closed.

We have seen many broken effects at Disney go away and never return (see them all here). Previously I would have listed off the Yeti at Expedition Everest and the effect that we have news about today as key examples of these elements. The item that we are talking about today is actually number two on that broken items list mentioned.

Today, we have great news about the return of a favorite opening day effect on Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, one of the most popular attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Disney Finally Fixed an Opening Effect

In one scene of the Rise of the Resistance attraction, the fleet vehicles dart into the Star Destroyer's cannon room. When the ride first opened the cannons were moving forwards and backwards as they shot out into space. The vehicle then darted between the cannons as they moved. It put guests right in the center of the action.

The cannon feature has been missing from the attraction for a long time. I personally saw it on opening day and a few visits after that, but it quickly was turned off as it was said to be causing lots of downtime for the ride. As we described in our look at broken effects linked above, “this portion of the ride became less immersive since the cannons no longer move like this. Instead, they remain stationary. While Guests can still hear the cannons firing and see the light effects that go along with the shots, the movements of the cannons are missed.”

Today, we just received word that this special effect has been restored for the attraction at Disneyland. According to a Disneyland official, the Disney teams have done lots of hard work to restore this feature. Here's a look at a video of the effect as it was seen on opening day of the attraction. This is how it is again operating today.

At this point, the special effect is only back for Disneyland but we anticipate that it will return for the Walt Disney World version of the attraction also at some point. When that happens we will update everyone on our Disney newsletter where we share the latest news.

I'm not surprised that this change originated at the Disneyland team. This update reflects a solid ongoing pattern from Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disneyland team to find the small improvements that they can make to existing attractions to improve the experience. Clearly, the members of the team who spent all of this time on what could be perceived by some as a project that won't move the needle for the success of the theme park are passionate people who care about the parks.

Recently we also saw a key detail within the Indiana Jones Adventure attraction restored that had been missing since the pandemic closure. That fix was also noteworthy. It was something that didn't need to happen but did because of passionate Cast Members. I want to recognize all of those people working behind the scenes to make these small things right and to deliver the best possible Disneyland experience. I know how hard it can be to get budget and time approved for projects that won't have a financial impact. These are projects that needed to be done to make the experience the best possible.

As we move into the coming years with plenty of new Disneyland rides planned and a new Disneyland President arrives, I hope that we can continue to see these small incremental improvements to areas throughout the theme parks. They are important. We hope that Walt Disney World also looks to these improvements at Disneyland and carries this spirit into their four parks, but we know that there is a different perception of how those parks work vs Disneyland. Disneyland is the original and will always get the most care and protection from those working on it. At Disneyland, we didn't see the Rivers of America closed for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, while at Disney World they are being turned into a massive new expansion. Two different approaches. That said, there are still incremental improvements from plenty of people at Walt Disney World who care. I'm thikning of the changes just made to Soarin' in EPCOT that we are still waiting for at Disneyland.

What do you think?

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