- I took my family to the opening day of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney World on Thursday.
- Disney World had a very different way of getting people into Galaxy's Edge versus how it was done at Disneyland in May.
- Once guests got inside Hollywood Studios, where Galaxy's Edge is located at Disney World, they were directed to go onto the Disney World app to see what time they are allowed to go to Galaxy's Edge.
- Here's a look inside my experience.
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On Thursday, the wait was finally over for fans of that galaxy far, far away who love going to Disney World. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the first-ever park dedicated to the "Star Wars" saga, had its grand opening at Disney's amusement park in Florida.
Three months prior, Galaxy's Edge opened at Disneyland in California and now east coast Disney/"Star Wars" fans finally got the chance to become immersed in the beloved franchise like never before. All Galaxy's Edge attractions, stores, and restaurants are the same at both parks, but there was a change in how Disney World got guests into Galaxy's Edge versus at Disneyland.
I was there with my family to take in all the madness (90-degree heat, thousands of people, my kids wanting to buy everything in sight) — here's what the experience was like.
Me, my wife, and our two kids (age 7 and 4) spent the night before at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. It isn't just one of the most beautiful Disney resorts, but you are provided an easy way to get to Hollywood Studios when staying there...
A boat! Some people take the bus, we decided to go in style through the lagoon to Hollywood Studios.
Why did we not rush to the park? We learned when checking into the Yacht Club that Disney was going to put guests in groups to get into Galaxy's Edge so it wouldn't instantly fill to capacity.
When you entered Hollywood Studios you were told to go directly to your Disney World app and select the Galaxy's Edge section. There you hit the "Join Boarding Group" button and after selecting the other people in your party you are told the group number you are in. Ours was 111. Around 10 AM, when we activated the app, they were allowing groups 25-90 inside Galaxy's Edge.
This is very different from how guests got into Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland when it opened. For its grand opening, you had to reserve a time online weeks in advance to enter the park.
So knowing we weren't going to Galaxy's Edge for a few hours we looked for other things to do. I know, free time at a Disney park! If you ever get this rare occurrence I suggest going to one of the blue "Guest Experience" tents. They suggested we go to one of the FastPass queues and see what rides were available.
What's great about the app is that you can check your group status. Only three bars, so onto the next ride!
We decided to head over to Toy Story Land and get on Slinky Dog Dash. We couldn't get a FastPass for it, and the standby line was an hour, but our kids were game.
Here's a picture of Galaxy's Edge from Slinky Dog Dash. (Still can't believe I didn't drop my phone taking this pic.)
And as we suspected, when we got off the ride we were notified by the app that we could enter Galaxy's Edge. The notification came at 11:30 AM and we were given two hours to get there.
There was a mass of people on the street leading into Galaxy's Edge. But the closer we got the more things thinned out as only people with a boarding time were allowed in.
The attention to detail is clearly the most striking thing at Galaxy's Edge...
It had Mini-speeders...
Statues...
Droids...
A landspeeder similar to the one Luke Skywalker had in "Star Wars: A New Hope"...
An A-Wing...
an X-Wing...
But the crown jewel is the Millennium Falcon.
However, I'll have to ride Smugglers Run another day. It was a 150(!) minute wait. Even if I wasn't with my kids I don't think I could wait that long. Till next time you bucket of bolts.
[Take a glimpse at what it's like to be on the ride.]
But it was all worth it. We got to see Chewbacca and Rey work on the X-Wing.
We narrowly escaped some Stormtroopers.
There was no time limit to stay in Galaxy's Edge (another thing that was different from people who went to the opening at Disneyland) so at a certain point, the crowds became unbearable. But the way Disney got everyone in the park was much better than I ever imagined. Can't wait to go back!
