10 Tips to survive a visit to Galaxy’s Edge Star Wars Land

Galaxy’s Edge (Star Wars Land) is opening earlier than expected for both Disneyland, Anaheim (May 31^st 2019) and Disney’s Hollywood Studios Walt Disney World (WDW) (August 29^th 2019). Both are ‘soft openings’ which means that not all rides and restaurants will be open. 

What is Galaxy’s Edge?

Otherwise known as Star Wars Land. This new land is themed as a planet ‘Batuu’ (not seen in any Star Wars movies yet). It will do for Disney what ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ did for Universal Studios. It will be totally immersive into the world of Star Wars, full of rogue traders, aliens and more.  There is a 1:1 replica of the Millennium Falcon.  

The Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run – This is a flight simulator attraction which will be open on the soft opening dates. Apparently each time you ride it there will be a different storyline.

Star Wars: The Rise of the Resistance ride – is the most technologically advanced ride Disney has ever produced It will open at a later unspecified date. It is also rumoured to be quite a long ‘pre-ride and ride’ to justify a longer standby wait time. 

As seen on social media, there is enormous excitement about this land. The crowds are expected to be huge and the lines will be long. There is nothing you can do to avoid this. You can only rethink your expectations and plan for the crowds as much as possible.

For those who have never visited a Disney park before, Disney lines are a little different than normal ride lines at other theme parks. I sometimes think that the ride operators must do some kind of course in constructing these rope pathways as the pathways can be quite elaborate and even go up and down stairs! 

In Disneyland the actual ride experience starts whilst you are in the actual line for most rides. In Walt Disney World, the pre-ride themed entertainment is well demonstrated in the Winnie the Pooh ride. There are tonnes of activities for the kids to do whilst they are still in line. There are things to play with, open, move and LED screens of honey to write on.  The ride has not yet begun! Unbelievably, I have been in some lines where we have rushed through the ‘pre-ride’ entertainment, as the ride was only 5 minutes waiting time!

The Flight of Passage ride in Disney’s Animal Kingdom (WDW) often has 3 hour lines (standby line). Disney actually built in 3 hours of entertainment for people in the line. The scenery in the line changes, you enter caves etc, see waterfalls and as you get closer there are props from the ‘Avatar’ movie. All this pre-ride queue entertainment is missed if you have a Fast Pass. I imagine the pre-ride entertainment in Star Wars land will be much the same. The pre-ride line will have things to entertain you along the way.

The excitement and anticipation alone will create enormous record crowds at both Disney Parks. How can you survive the crowds? the lines?

Below are my tips on how to survive Star Wars ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ in the Disney Parks:

1. Stay on site at a Disney Hotel to get a reservation.

WDW – There are so many perks staying on site such as early park entry and the ability to book FastPasses 60 days in advance (this is for Walt Disney World only). Disney says no reservations will be required at the soft opening of Galaxy’s Edge in August although obviously capacity will be limited to this new land. Select Walt Disney Resort hotels will also have access to Extra Magic Hours (early entry into the park) – check the official websites for more information closer to the date.

Disneyland – There are fewer perks staying on site at Disneyland then WDW, but you do get ‘magic hours’ of early entry into the park. Between May 31 and June 23, guests will need to make a reservation to access the Star Wars section of the park. There is no additional cost to make a reservation.  Guests staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel during those dates will get a reservation to access Galaxy's Edge. Details of these reservations will appear on the Disney official websites closer to the time.

2. Book FastPass (WDW) and Maxi Passes (Disneyland) and make sure you use them to their full capabilities.

Always make sure you have a FastPass going.

WDW – You can book FastPasses 60 days in advance (in entirety). If you stay off site you can only do this day by day as you approach 30 days of your Park date.

Disneyland has Max Passes. These cost $15 per day, but they include unlimited photos and your FastPass selections can be made on your mobile on the day of park entry (rather than chasing paper passes).

It makes more sense to book the high demand rides as much as possible. Decrease your wait times for other rides as much as possible.

3. Go early to the parks or stay late (until closing).

Many people go to ‘Rope Drop’ which is the beginning of the Park opening time. Often, the Disney Parks open before the scheduled time. I would recommend going as early as possible to beat the crowds as much as possible. Crowds at the parks generally peak from about 11-3pm. Factor this into your day. Where will you be?

4. Don’t go to Galaxy’s Edge on a public holiday or weekend.

Disney parks are already busy on the weekends so avoid. You should also check out the Anaheim Convention Centre calendar to see what big events might be occurring during your time at Disneyland as these conference attendees tend to spill over into Disneyland. This will keep your overall waiting times low in general and are a good start. 

However, I did go to Universal Studios once on a Sunday at the end of Spring Break. It wasn’t that crowded in the morning at all. It was at the end of Spring break, and the first few hours of that morning were not busy at all. Was everyone sleeping in? Maybe. It did get busier later, but we were able to ride a number of rides with little wait first thing. You may need to be a bit strategic on when you go. 

5. Plan extra days at the Disney Parks – just to do Galaxy’s Edge.

I would plan 1 day at least specifically for Star Wars land just to experience this new land without feeling like you have missed out on other areas of the Disney parks.  Just allocate one extra day for it. The rest of the time – steer clear!

6. Temper expectations

Keep your expectations to what is realistic and achievable. Be realistic on what you can do in one day. This especially applies if you have kids with you.

7. Utilise the Single Rider Ride

We kind of stumbled upon this one by accident in the Radiator Spring racers line. The Fast Passes were long gone and the waiting time was incredibly long. Someone told us to do the Single rider line and that it was only 20 minutes long. So that’s what we did. We did this numerous times and the wait was very short. In Tokyo DisneySea we also did this for the Indiana Jones ride. The wait was 5 minutes, and that was because we had to get through all the roped pathway to get straight to the front! 

8.  Ride the big rides during the Fireworks/Parades.

Our daughter A.J was a little afraid of fireworks when we first went to Disneyland in 2015. So, when the fireworks began, we went on the Indiana Jones ride twice in a row, with only a 5 minutes wait each time. Once again, the 5 minutes was the walk through the rope pathway to get to the front.

9. Utilise the Child Switch option on rides

Also something to be aware of, if you have a young child who doesn’t wish to ride a particular ride, you can do a ‘Child swap’. This means the whole family lines up together. You get to start of the ride and one parent stays with the child and the other parent gets on the ride. Once the ride is over, the parents swap roles and the other parent gets to ride the ride and the other waits. We did this for the Indiana Jones ride in Anaheim after A.J refused to ride the same ride 3 times. This ‘child swap’ saves you from having to line up twice and will save you time. Rides that have this feature are listed on the Park Maps.

10. Know and seek quiet areas of the Disney Parks.

There are quiet areas in both WDW and Disneyland. Tom Sawyer’s island is a good one to escape to too get away from the crowds and a bit of ‘quiet’ time. There are rope bridges, caves, tree houses, streams and greenery to explore.  California Adventure Park has Redwood Creek Adventure Trail – it has some great activities to do and is also another quiet area. 

Quiet areas in Disney’s Hollywood Studios? There are a few pockets of quiet areas. There is a little green courtyard area within Star Wars Launch Bay – although apparently the Storm Troopers do march through there at times. There were movies showing about the Star Wars Franchise. Very comfortable, air conditioned seats – so I would recommend hanging out there for a while to get some ‘quiet time’ and enjoy the air conditioning for a while too.

Another good area is the side areas of the castle in Magic Kingdom WDW or Disneyland. For some reason there are enormous crowds directly in front of the castle, but if you head towards the sides (180 degrees out) you will find not many people at all (if any). I am talking where the wishing well is for both WDW and Anaheim.

I hope you enjoyed my tips on surviving Star Wars Land ‘Galaxy’s Edge’.  This is a very exciting time for Disney fans - and if you are lucky enough to go - enjoy! Embrace the crowds and immerse yourself in the world of Star Wars.

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Until next week, have a magical week!

KJ 


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You can read about other Disney Parks below:

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20 Need to know tips for Magic Kingdom (this is really part 1 of this post!!)

How to save money staying at Walt Disney World
Disney's Hollywood Studios - what to see and do before Star Wars Land opens
Why Halloween is the best time of year to visit a Disney Park 
My top 6 theme park rides in Orlando and why
The rides and attractions at EPCOT
EPCOT World Pavilions Part 1
World of Pandora at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 1

Tips and Advice from WDW Castmember Part 2

A foodies guide to WDW
Disney Springs - Where to eat and what to do

Pandora and Animal Kingdom

What’s inside the Disneyland Castles Part 2
How to plan a Disney Wedding 
Planning Tips for Someone without a Car
Interview with an Annual Passholder -WDW

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