For Disney parks guests, the adventure of a lifetime will begin sooner than expected.
The House of Mouse announced today that
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the massive
Star Wars-themed expansion for its parks, will open ahead of schedule.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will officially welcome visitors to Black Spire Outpost on May 31 at Disneyland Resort in Southern California, and on August 29 at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.
Disney is actually debuting
Galaxy's Edge in two phases. The first phase, mentioned above, will include the
many shops and restaurants that have previously been detailed as well as the attraction,
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Later this year, phase two will debut
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the second planned attraction.
Specifics for both attractions have been kept under wraps, but Disney did tease Rise of the Resistance to be
"the most ambitious, immersive and advanced attraction ever imagined that will put guests in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance and will blur the lines between fantasy and reality."
On opening
Galaxy's Edge early, the official Disney Parks Blog wrote:
"In light of tremendous demand, Disney made the decision to open the land in phases to allow guests to sooner enjoy the one-of-a-kind experiences that make Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge so spectacular."
Disney is taking steps to ensure a smooth opening. To address the issue of overcrowding, which is expected when opening a park of this magnitude, guests planning to visit
Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland between May 31 June 23, 2019, will be required to make a no-cost reservation to access the land. Reservations are subject to availability with more information on how to secure your spot made available at a later date. However, Disney has already stated that guests staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels during these dates will receive a designated reservation to access
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge during their stay.
Surprisingly, there are no plans at this time to implement a similar system for
Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World Resort, which I find shocking considering how crowded it'll likely be. I just can't imagine how Disney plans to manage the crowds if there is no reservation system. Is Disney really just going to allow guests to camp out in line hours early? That seems like a huge risk since we all know how rabid some of these tourists can get.
There is a maximum capacity for Hollywood Studios, which I assume will be hit rather early in the day, so if you plan on visiting anytime in the first few weeks, you're going to have to get there early. To accommodate for the crowds, Extra Magic Hours will be available for
Galaxy's Edge to those staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels.
If you thought two-hour-plus waits for
Frozen or
Pandora were bad, just wait until
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens its gates. It's going to be hot. It's going to be crowded. It's going to be expensive. All that said, I can't wait to experience
Star Wars in real-life.