Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide At Walt Disney World


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Ever since my husband was a little kid he dreamed that someday, someone with a lot of money would build a Star Wars Land that he could go play in. Well, with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge his dream finally came true.

So with this post, we hope to unpack all of the tips and tricks that we have learned about how to make the most of your time on the planet of Batuu. That way, even if you are a beginner to Galaxy’s Edge, you’ll know enough ahead of time to get you pointed in the right direction.

First, I’m going to talk about the three experiences that offer reservations and that’s Oga’s Cantina, the Droid Depot, and the build a lightsaber experience at Savi’s Workshop. All three will technically take walk-ups on the day you visit, but the availability for each is very different and it will vary throughout the day.

Oga’s Cantina

Without a doubt, Oga’s Cantina seems to be the most difficult thing to experience inside galaxy’s edge without a reservation. It’s easier to get on the Millennium Falcon ride a few times than it is to grab a drink at Batuu’s premier bar. If you want to see DJ Rex and enjoy some space cocktails and you didn’t get a reservation the best time to try your luck is bright and early first thing in the morning.

I asked cast members throughout different points of the day if they were taking walk-ins and the answer I always got was no. You may get lucky in that last hour of the park being open but if the cantina is important to you do it first.

I know that drinking at 6 a.m. sounds nuts but try the bloody rancor (Bloody Mary) it’s a great way to start a day at galaxy’s edge. Oga’s Cantina was by far my favorite experience on Batuu, it so much fun and perfectly themed.

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Droid Depot

The one experience out of the three that’s easiest to do without a reservation seems to be the Droid Depot. Park guests are able to walk up and wait in line to build their own droids. I managed to score a last-minute reservation the day before visiting for 7:30 p.m. and when I arrived I walked right in with no problem.

The reason the Droid Depot seems to be easier to do is that the store is broken up into sections. Those with a reservation walk in on one side of the main entrance while the standby people stand on the line outside.

Those who don’t want to build a droid but still want to see what other merchandise items are available can enter the store at a second entrance. It’s important to understand that you can still go home with a droid without waiting in line or making a reservation at all.

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If you’re not concerned with building your own then you can purchase a pre-built R2-D2 Droid and DJ Rex as seen in the cantina, I even found a C-3po droid. The R2 unit is the same price as the build your own version at $99 and all of the accessories are compatible with both versions.

The personality chips will determine if your droid is part of the resistance or the first order and these are priced at $12.99. If you’re getting these make sure you look at the display case because it will tell you which color is assigned to each personality and you can listen to a sample of the different sounds they make as well.

You’ll probably have to wait about 20 to 30 minutes to get inside and after you build the droid you can walk through the second part of the store and check out the accessories. If all of this sounds way too expensive at $99, there are smaller droids you can take home too.

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I must say that the droid Depot seems to be a really big hit with both the hardcore fans and the more casual Star Wars lovers. The kids seem to absolutely love it as well and it’s a fun experience being able to build your own droid.

Savi’s Workshop

I have to talk about lightsabers because the big fans will surely want to get their hands on one of these. Out of the three experiences that take reservations, Savi’s Workshop seems to be in the middle when it comes to availability. It’s a little harder to score a reservation here than Droid Depot but not as exclusive as Oga’s Cantina.

During my visit, they were not taking walk-ins for the first half of the day. The only exception was right at 6:00 a.m., while everyone’s heading straight to the Millennium Falcon you may be able to slip inside here without waiting at all.

But after 4PM they were taking walk-ins on and off for the rest of the night and the wait wasn’t too bad. So if you’re trying to do it all, then the Cantina is still the first thing to do. Savi’s Workshop is a good option for later in the day when the crowds lower a bit.

Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities

Speaking of Light Sabers, remember that you can get legacy lightsabers inside Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Of all the shops inside Galaxy’s Edge, the hardcore fans will love this one because it is absolutely packed with details and nods to so many beloved characters and creatures in the Star Wars universe.

If you can’t get into Savi’s Workshop for one reason or the other then you can go here and pick up other lightsabers like Luke’s green lightsaber as seen in Return of the Jedi without any sort of reservation inside Dok-Ondar’s.

So, if you are a hardcore nerd like my husband then consider your options first. Do you want to build your own or do you want a specific character’s lightsaber? If you are like my husband and want a very specific lightsaber, then don’t worry about reservations and visit Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.

Otherwise, try to do Savi’s Workshop towards the end of the day if you don’t have a reservation, and remember you can purchase extra kyber crystals inside Dok-Ondar’s and that will change the color of your lightsaber. Whether you want to wear Queen Amidala’s headdress or take home Yoda’s illuminator you’ll definitely want to make a stop at Dok-Ondar’s, it’s the best shop in my opinion.

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Meeting Characters

It’s important to understand how the characters work in this land. While visiting galaxy’s edge you might see Rey, Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, a few stormtroopers and a few extra characters dotted around.

But the big difference here is that this is not your traditional character meet-and-greet, these characters are just freely roaming the land and interacting with guests. They won’t necessarily stop and take pictures, but trust me if your little one is dressed up in costumes they will definitely interact with you and you’ll have a great time.

So if you’re a big star Wars fan and you’re hoping to get that family picture with Chewbacca, then remember that Star Wars Launch Bay is still open at the moment. In the Launch Bay, you can meet three characters right now BB-8, Chewbacca and for the first time, you can now meet Darth Vader at Star Wars Launch Bay.

In the past, you could only meet him during Star Wars weekends so it’s been a long time since you could take a photo with him. Now he’s taken over the spot where Kylo Ren used to meet inside Star Wars Launch Bay and the good news is all of them have very short wait times at the moment.

Can You Wear Costumes?

I think it’s important that we talk about costumes because big Star Wars fans will probably want to dress up as their favorite character when they visiting Galaxy’s Edge. For anyone under the age of 14, the same rules apply as they do at all of the other parks. You can wear full-blown costumes on Batuu, even masks, but they must provide good peripheral vision. Cast members must be able to see a younglings eyes even with the mask on.

For those of you who are 14 and up, you can’t quite wear a full costume but you can get away with a few things. You can wear normal clothing that is inspired by different Star Wars characters; for example, ladies can wear a dress that pays tribute to their favorite droid and anyone can wear muted tones and pieces of clothing that kind of resemble what the residents at galaxy’s edge wear.

What you CAN’T do is wear a full suit of armor, you can’t dress up like a stormtrooper for example or put on that full Chewbacca costume. You’re not even allowed to wear a pilot jumpsuit with a helmet.

But I saw plenty of people wearing tunics similar to what the Jedi and Sith wear and a few outfits that look really close to what Han Solo wears. Anything beyond that is a no-go and if you’d like you can check Disney’s official rules on this one just to be sure.

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Photo Credit : Disney

Play Disney Parks App

Really quickly I wanted to mention the Play Disney Parks App and how you can use it for an added bit of fun in Galaxy’s Edge. There are antennas and several other things around Galaxy’s Edge that provide an interactive experience with the datapad on your Play Disney Parks App.

The datapad can be used to hack into different conversations that are taking place all over Galaxy’s Edge, for example, Oga’s and Dok-Ondar or Hondo, etc. You’ll find that when you get near the Antennas you’ll be able to use the datapad to hear these conversations.

The Play Disney Parks App also allows you to collect different items and earn credits in the app. This is just for fun, you don’t actually get anything from it, but it can be a lot of fun.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Guide At Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios 7Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is the one ride currently open at Galaxy’s Edge because Rise of The Resistance opens later this year on December 5th. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is a fantastic attraction, unlike anything you’ve ever experienced at Disney. Once inside you are recruited by Hondo Ohnaka to work for Ohnaka Transport Solutions. But you’ll learn that Chewie has landed the Falcon on Black Spire Outpost to do some repairs.

Hondo and Chewie have struck up a deal that in exchange for parts Chewie has agreed that Hondo can use a falcon to carry out some smuggling missions and that’s where you come in. I was lucky enough to ride the Falcon several times and each time I got to play a different role. So here are a few tips to best experience Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

After the pre-show, you’ll be escorted into the main hold of the Falcon where you can roam around a little bit and explore before sitting in the cockpit. So make sure you get that picture by the chess table and spot the hidden easter eggs like luke’s training helmet and Seeker droid as seen in Star Wars: Episode IV.

Once inside the cockpit, you’ll be assigned a different position either the pilot, gunner, or engineer. If the idea of pressing buttons and making things work on the ship is a little too much for you then I’d suggest trying to be the engineer.

It’s the easiest role to play and the buttons you have to press will light up when the time comes which makes it very easy. Now if you’ve been dreaming of flying the Falcon for years then you’ll want to sit in the right pilot seat because you will be the one to make the jump to light speed.

I found the role of right pilot quite easy and I’m not a big video game person. Besides making the jump to Lightspeed you’ll also steer the ship up and down. The Left pilot is the one who steers the ship from left to right and I think the left pilot actually has a little bit of a harder job to do. I know that there are tons of Star Wars fans out there will want to be the pilot, but I think a rather underrated role to play is being the gunner.

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What’s interesting about this role is that it can be both easy and difficult depending on the settings you choose. At the start of the mission, you can choose to go into automatic or manual. Automatic is almost as easy as being an engineer but it’s a little bit more engaging. Going into manual mode is actually really hard and I think the most fun to do out of all the positions. But it’s best to do this role after you’ve ridden at least once or if you’re an experienced gamer.

You might feel overwhelmed as you’ll want to watch the screen and enjoy the ride just like you would on Star Tours. But Hondo will keep reminding you that you have to shoot the harpoon or you’ll fail the mission. So yeah, there’s a bit of pressure with this ride.

I absolutely recommend riding this more than once, by the third ride you’ll really get the hang of it and get to appreciate it in its full glory. Right now it’s way easier to ride more than once than you might think too. The worst I saw was when the wait hit two hours, but on average the wait time has been hovering between 75 minutes and 90 minutes

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Star Wars : Rise of The Resistance

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is here and it’s the largest, most epic Disney theme park attraction ever to arrive. It can be found inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

It is a Star Wars fan’s dream come true, but it is also one of the most technologically advanced attractions of its kind, with four rides and animatronics, as well as a life-size theater set. Rise of the Resistance has many guests who say it is more than just a ride, it is an experience.

But there’s a catch. The Rise of the Resistance isn’t just a ride you can go on. The standby queue doesn’t even exist! Unless you’re George Lucas or Bob Chapek, the only way you can ride is with a Boarding Group.

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Conclusion

If you are wondering how to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in conjunction with everything else in Hollywood studios then I would say download the my Disney experience app and just keep an eye on the wait times throughout the day. Slinky Dog Dash still seems to be the most popular attraction outside of galaxy’s edge.

Star Tours and Tower of Terror have been seeing very low wait times now. I think Tower of Terror is best to do stand by and I would only get a fast pass for Star Tours if you just don’t want to use a tier 2 fast pass on another show.

But the wait times at Star Tours now have been comfortably sitting at 10 to 15 minutes. I think once Rise of the Resistance opens and even later in 2020 when Mickey’s Runaway Railway opens everything will change once again. I’ll definitely keep you updated on the best ways to visit the park. I hope you have a great time visiting this new land and I think you’re going to love how all-encompassing this new land is…  it’s absolutely incredible!

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How Much Does It Cost To Go To Star Wars Galaxy Edge?

Prices vary depending on the day, but an adult ticket starts at $129 and a child ticket (ages 3-9) at $122. Not only that, but… Galaxy’s Edge guests must have an advance reservation between May 31 and June 23. The land will be open for four hours between May 31 and June 23.

How Often Are The Characters Out At Star Wars Galaxy's Edge?

It seems to be completely random. We have seen Rey in the Resistance area on the way to the Millennium Falcon and Chewbacca near the Rise of Resistance ride. Also, we’ve noticed Stormtroopers paroling in groups of two in the same Empire area that Kylo Ren can be seen.

Does Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Cost Extra?

In short, no. There is no additional cost to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. However, you will need to have a valid Disneyland Park or Disney’s Hollywood Studios ticket in order to enter.

How Do You Get The Rise Of The Resistance Boarding Pass?

The My Disney Experience app is required to join the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. If you want to be ready to go first thing in the morning, make sure you download the app from your phone’s app store before bedtime.

Do I Need Reservations for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

No. The entrance to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is free, and you can walk right in. But you still have to reserve a spot to experience either Oga’s Cantina or Savi’s Workshop.

Heather

Heather Noyes, the visionary behind this website and a former Disney travel agent, has woven her lifelong passion for Disney into the fabric of her daily life. Nestled just 3 miles away through the enchanting trees lies Cinderella's Castle, a magical neighbor to Heather's everyday adventures. From her earliest days, Disney has captured her heart, and this enduring love has translated into the meticulous planning of numerous trips for her family, friends, and cherished clients, all destined for the enchanting realm of Walt Disney World.

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