Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Disney’s newest theme park lands, are opening much sooner than expected. Guests can visit a galaxy far, far away at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, starting May 31, and in Orlando, Florida, starting Aug. 29.
The announcement of those dates, which came today during the Disney’s annual shareholder meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, is a full month earlier than previously expected.
There’s a trade-off, however. As CEO Bob Iger explained to a crowd of investors, Galaxy’s Edge will be opening with only one of its two proposed marquee attractions. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, which puts fans in the cockpit of Han Solo’s iconic starship, will be ready for opening day. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, a much longer ride, will not, and instead arrive later this year.
There’s another wrinkle as well. According to a post on the Disney Parks blog, access to the park at Disneyland will require a separate, no-cost reservation. It also stresses that capacity at the Disney World edition of the park will be limited, but will not require reservations to visit. From the post:
Guests planning to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland park between May 31 and June 23, 2019 will need valid theme park admission and will be required to make a no-cost reservation, subject to availability, to access the land. Information on how to make a reservation will be available at a later date on Disneyland.com and the Disney Parks Blog. Guests staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels during these dates will receive a designated reservation to access Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during their stay (one reservation per registered guest); valid theme park admission is required.
A reservation will not be offered or required to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the Walt Disney World Resort. And you should know that valid theme park admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is required to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge after its opening on August 29, 2019. Capacity is limited.
Read more about the Galaxy’s Edge theme parks, and the Westworld-like hotel experience in Orlando, in our explainer.
Disney staff at Galaxy’s Edge will all have a role to play when the parks open. They’ll be dressed in custom-made costumes and asked to participate in light role-play all throughout facility. There’s also an app-based alternate reality game, free to download on iOS.