The “galaxy far, far away” is about to get much, much closer! After years of excitement, the opening day for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Hollywood Studios is just around the corner—May 31 in Anaheim, California and August 29 in Orlando, Florida. This immersive land will whisk you away to the planet of Batuu where you’ll side with either the Resistance or the First Order to take part in your own Star Wars adventure. Galaxy’s Edge is unlike anything Disney has ever done before so there is a lot know before you blast off into Disney’s newest land.
- Getting in Won’t Be Easy
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While the Disney parks have made several new additions in the past couple years, none of them have a fan base as dedicated as Star Wars does. Opening crowds at Disneyland are expected to be so massive that from May 31 to June 23, you must make a reservation to gain access to the land in the first place. While the reservation is included in park admission, you will only be sent the information if you are staying at a Disneyland resort. As of now, entry to Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World will be first-come, first-serve but will fill to capacity quickly. And unfortunately, Jedi mind tricks won’t work to get you in once the land is full.
- Out-Of-This-World Immersion
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When you step into Galaxy’s Edge, you are no longer in Disneyland or Hollywood Studios—you are fully in the universe of Star Wars. So while you won’t see Mickey ice cream bars or ear headbands, you’ll find exclusive snacks and merchandise that actually exist in the Star Wars universe. From blue milk (aka a fruit smoothie) to handcrafted dolls of your favorite characters to specially designed Coke bottles, nothing in the land will take you out of the experience.
For those with a little more cash to spend, you can even design and build your own lightsaber! While this has been a staple of Disney parks for years, these lightsabers will have the look and feel of the movies and will be able to interact with various objects in the park, similar to the Harry Potter wands at Universal Studios. However, they don’t come cheap—the hilts start at $100 plus an extra $50 for a colored blade. If lightsabers aren’t your thing, you can also build your own BB-8 or R2-D2 to follow you around the park!
- The Galaxy at Your Fingertips
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Disney Parks have always been known for making you feel like you’ve left the real world behind and entered fantasy and Galaxy’s Edge takes that to a whole new level. With the Play Disney Parks app on your smart phone, you’ll get to interact with your surroundings—translating alien languages and completing quests for the Resistance or First Order. The app will also have games and trivia to keep you entertained while waiting in the inevitable lines you’ll experience in the land.
- Jump to Lightspeed on the Millennium Falcon
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While the restaurants and shops are attractions in themselves, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the signature ride when Galaxy’s Edge opens, is sure to become an iconic Disney attraction. As you board a life-size Millennium Falcon, you will be assigned a role to play in your mission, each with a different responsibility. As the pilot, gunner or engineer, your actions in the cockpit of the fastest ship in the galaxy will impact the outcome of your mission so each ride experience is unique! How you perform in the ride will also impact your “storyline” in the park as the characters will confront or congratulate you depending on the condition of the ship at the end of your quest. Fastpasses will NOT be available for Smugglers Run so be sure to arrive early! A second attraction, Rise of the Resistance, is expected to open later in 2019.
Disney has definitely outdone themselves with Galaxy’s Edge and the land will be unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed! So to anyone brave enough to face the crowds in the opening weeks… may the Force be with you.