Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—What You Need to Know

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland® Park

​By David Platt, your Mouse Master specialist to Disney Destinations and beyond

We’re just over a week into the time period when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open to the public at Disneyland® Park without a hard-to-get reservation. How’s it working so far? 
 

Getting into the land
At park opening, any guest is welcome to enter Galaxy’s Edge. Once the park has reached capacity, a ‘boarding pass’ system will be implemented. Using the Disneyland app, you can request entry. You’ll then be assigned a boarding group number. When capacity allows, they’ll start letting boarding groups into the land. You’ll be notified both via the app and by electronic signs in the park which boarding groups can enter; you have a 2-hour window to enter once your boarding group is called. 
 
So far, the boarding group process has been a complete non-issue. Surprisingly, Galaxy’s Edge has only reached capacity on June 24, the first day that it was open to everyone. I’ll be keeping an eye on this system and report back with any issues or concerns. 
 

Getting on the rides
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is the hot-ticket ride right now—because it’s the ONLY ride until Rise of the Resistance opens on January 17, 2020.. There’s no FastPass access for Smuggler’s Run, so everyone uses the standby line or single-rider line. Except for right at park opening, wait times have been very manageable in this first week; wait times have rarely been over an hour, which is unheard of for a brand new attraction. 
 

Building a lightsaber
Building a lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop is for sure one of the hot-ticket items at Galaxy’s Edge. Demand has far outstripped capacity, so they’ve instituted a same-day reservation system. At 7:00 AM, you can use the Disneyland app to get a reservation, at which time you enter your credit card info to get a return time. If you don’t show up, you’re charged full price for the experience ($199.99).  Reservations have gone EXTREMELY fast in the past week, with slots for the entire day completely filled an hour or two after park opening. 
 
If Galaxy’s Edge has reached capacity and is using the boarding group system that day, your confirmed reservation acts as your boarding pass. 
 

Enjoying the cantina
The absolute hottest thing at Galaxy’s Edge has been enjoying a tasty beverage at Oga’s Cantina. The popularity of the small cantina has taken everyone by surprise, and Disneyland appears to be scrambling to come up with a system to accommodate as many people as possible. Right now, the reservation system is identical to the one for building lightsabers: at 7 AM, you can make a reservation for later that day. If you no-show, you’re charged $10/person.  Oga’s reservations are also completely gone by the first hour or two of the day. 
 

Buying other food and merchandise
There aren’t any special considerations to take into consideration when buying any other food and merchandise; there aren’t any other reservations or inside knowledge needed for anything else in Galaxy’s Edge. While building droids is very popular, it has a much higher capacity than the lightsaber experience so no reservation is needed there.   


Wrapping it up
If this past week is any indication, Disneyland has done everything right with crowd control at Galaxy's Edge. Only time will tell how things play out with crowds levels and line lengths in the future, but it's been extremely pleasant overall so far. I'm betting that Walt Disney World® Resort is keeping a close eye on how things are going on the other coast and that we may see some of these same processes in place when their version of Galaxy's Edge opens in a couple of months.