The current entrance to Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios.
Recently there was a massive info dump from Disney and Lucasfilm regarding the opening of their new Star Wars Land at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. So here I am, sifting through that information in order to give you the juiciest details possible.
Firstly, if you didn’t already know, Galaxy’s Edge (one of the official names for Star Wars Land) will be opening in the Summer of 2019 at Disneyland California and in Fall 2019 at Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida. So those dates are coming up pretty quickly, and will both be open before the upcoming Episode IX releases at Christmas.
Galaxy’s Edge/Black Spire Outpost will open in Summer at Disneyland and Fall at Hollywood Studios.
Speaking of Episode IX, Black Spire Outpost (the other official name for Star Wars Land) will be canonically set between the events of The Last Jedi and the upcoming ninth installment. This means that you’ll come face-to-face with First Order Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren and some resistance members trying to them off. However, despite being set in this time, Disney has said that the land can be moved to a different time period if Disney chooses. This means that one day we could find ourselves being transported back to The Clone Wars, with clone troopers and Jedi Knights wandering the Outpost.
The land will be set between The Last Jedi and the as-yet untitled Episode IX.
In terms of the rides, the big draw for any new Disney land, Galaxy’s Edge will have two of them. The first being Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and the second (and possibly biggest) being Rise of the Resistance.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will feature a fully sized Falcon, said to be the largest and most intricate version of the ship to have ever been built. This Falcon will serve as the ride queue for Smugglers Run and will let guests explore the ship and even play some Holo-Chess. As for the ride itself, Smugglers Run will let you and five other guests pilot the Falcon. The ride will have spaces for two gunners, two pilots and two flight engineers, similar to how Mission: Space operates at Epcot at Walt Disney World.
In the ride queue for Smugglers Run you’ll be able to explore the little details of the famous ship.
The second ride, Rise of the Resistance, is the ride being pushed as Star Wars Land’s big E-Ticket attraction, and it’s easy to see why. Rise of the Resistance will be Disney’s longest attraction involving a ride vehicle, with rumours putting the total length around 15 minutes, which will put the ride at almost double the length of the current longest ride – Flight of Passage – at Animal Kingdom. However, although we know the ride will feature a mixture of practical and digital effects, not much else is known about the plot or what the full ride will actually entail.
All that is known of Rise of the Resistance is that you’ll be tasked with taking the fight to the First Order.
Coming on to food and drink now, and Disney is very well known for how good its theme park food is and Galaxy’s Edge will be no different. The land will offer five different vendors – Oga’s Canteen, Milk Stand, Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, Kat Saka’s Kettle and Ronto Roasters. Each location will offer a variety of different and unique food and drink with Milk Stand offering Blue and Green Milk, and Docking Bay 7 offering a Tip-Yip which is apparently the Endor version of Chicken. Prices are yet to be released but the Blue Milk will be sure to prove a popular choice.
The Blue Milk was originally seen in A New Hope and the Green Milk was recently seen in The Last Jedi.
Another big draw for the Black Spire Outpost is the merchandise and shops available. One such shop is Savi’s Workshop. Here you will be able to build your very own lightsaber. According to Disney, at the workshop you will be able to choose from four different paths – Peace and Justice, Power and Control, Elemental Nature and Protection and Defence – from these paths you will be given the pieces to make your own hilt and then chose your own Kyber Crystal (what powers a lightsaber) and this will decide the colour your blade will be.
Fans will finally be able to get a true experience at building their own personal lightsabers.
Finally, Disney has promised that you will be able to create your own legacy at Galaxy’s Edge. What this means isn’t exactly clear, but an example given by Disney is that if you were to do very well on the rides such as Smugglers Run, then your infamy will follow you around the park. This could mean that if you destroyed a lot of the TIE Fighters you would be getting hassled by the First Order Stormtroopers around the land but also congratulated by the resistance sympathisers as well. It’s expected that this legacy will follow you thanks to your Magic Band which Disney is constantly pushing for people to use instead of the plastic tickets you would normally receive during your trip.
The land will be populated not only with guests but also First Order Stormtroopers and Resistance fighters.
So that’s some of the juicy information we just received from Disney about Galaxy’s Edge. Is there anything you’re most interested in? Are you interested at all? And how bad do you think the crowds will be when this land finally opens? Let me know down in the comments or on social media.