Star Wars has captured the hearts of fans for over four decades. The movies are blockbusters, the merchandise often sells out, and diehard fans continue to pack Star Wars celebrations/conventions/events around the world. As a result, the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland is going to be very popular. But not as busy as you might suspect . . . at least for the first month . . . then all hell will break loose.  

In this article, I’ll share the top information and tips you’ll need to make the most of your visit to a land a long, long time ago in a galaxy at the edge of Disneyland.  

(This article was originally published on May 23, but has been updated to reflect new information as of May 29th)

How to Visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Disney will be employing new systems to help curb the crowds that will come to Disneyland for Galaxy’s Edge. . . Reservations and Virtual Queuing: 

Reservation-Only Period

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

The reservation-only period will run from May 31st-June 23rd. There will be no standby options to enter Galaxy’s Edge; you must have a reservation. Guests will have two options for obtaining a reservation to enter the land:

  1. A no-cost advanced reservation. These were online reservations made on May 2, and ran out within two hours. These reservations are no longer available, so if you haven’t already made one for yourself, you’ll need to obtain a reservation via the second option.
  2. A hotel reservation at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels. If you book a stay at one of the three Disneyland Resort Hotels (the Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier Hotel, or the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa) during the May 31 – June 23rd period, you’ll receive a reservation. Keep in mind that due to high demand, rates have raised significantly on reservation-only dates.

Reservations last four hours and guests will be able to experience everything that Black Spire Outpost has to offer with one exception, the Rise of the Resistance attraction which will open at a later date. The “Reservation period” is essentially a soft-opening, meaning that certain aspects of the experience will be tested and adjusted over time. 

Virtual Queue

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Following June 23rd, in an effort to give guests the best experience during their visit, the Disneyland app will become your “boarding pass” to Batuu. Instead of a traditional standby line wrapping around the park, the “boarding pass” will keep your place in a virtual standby line for you.

Getting a “boarding pass” for Galaxy’s Edge will not be much different than obtaining a MaxPass on the Disneyland app, but adding yourself to the virtual queue will be available to all guests for free. What differentiates this from FastPass/MaxPass is that you’re not guaranteed a specific time to enter Galaxy’s Edge. The virtual queue will move you forward as capacity becomes available, not unlike waiting for a table at a full-service restaurant. Your wait could be minutes or hours, it all depends on how full Galaxy’s Edge and the virtual queue are. The other thing that differentiates virtual queuing from FastPass is that there will be NO STANDBY LINE to enter Galaxy’s Edge. 

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

When you reach the “front” of the line and it’s your turn to head to Black Spire Outpost, you’ll receive a notification through the Disneyland app. The notification will give you up to two hours to return to Galaxy’s Edge, which means guests will have plenty of time to finish meals, complete a current FastPass, or catch the parade. 

If you’re looking for the shortest wait time, arrive early to Disneyland. If Galaxy’s Edge isn’t full already, you’ll be immediately cleared to head to Batuu. If it is full, you’ll be able to add yourself (and your party) to the virtual boarding queue for Galaxy’s Edge. You won’t be able to add yourself to the virtual queue until you’ve entered the park, so the earlier you enter, the better your chances of actually getting to see Galaxy’s Edge during your visit.  

Disney hasn’t stated how long they’ll continue to use the virtual queue, but have stated they’ll use it “when needed.” We aren’t sure when it won’t be needed, but that it will be needed for some time. 

Day One Merchandise

In a shocking announcement, Disney has decided to allow queuing up for Galaxy’s Edge merchandise at 2am on May 31st. While all guests must have a reservation to visit Galaxy’s Edge, an early morning merchandise release outside of the land will create an unnecessary frenzy. 

The merchandise that will be released at this time will be the “evergreen” stuff that doesn’t fit in the land, i.e. shirts that actually say “Galaxy’s Edge” on them, although they’ll have some items smuggled in from Batuu like toys and creatures, limited edition items, and some annual passholder exclusives. They’ll be available on the upper level of Star Wars Launch Bay. Some other stores will have limited stock, including the Emporium, Star Trader, Pooh Corner, Elias and Co, World of Disney, and the shops at the Disneyland Hotel.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

If you’re only looking for authentic Black Spire Outpost merchandise, we recommend NOT getting in line early if you have a reservation. You have guaranteed entry into the land, and will have a chance to pick up any merchandise you want then. There is no advantage to arriving more than an hour or two before your reservation otherwise.

Getting to Batuu

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Parking

If you’ll be arriving by car, there are a few things you should know about parking at the Disneyland Resort:

  • May 31st, parking lots will open at midnight. 
  • June 1st and beyond, parking lots will open at 5:30am. 

No matter what day you’re showing up during the reservation period, there’s no point in arriving too early since there is no standby line. 

Lining Up During The Reservation Period 

There will be a queue outside of the Disneyland Park gates that will be where you’ll want to line up for your reservation. After showing your reservation, you’ll be given wristbands to show at the entrance to Galaxy’s Edge. The Frontierland entrance, the one behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and to the left of the Rainbow Ridge Post Office, will be the only entrance. The Critter Country and Fantasyland portals will initially be exit-only. 

Visiting Black Spire Outpost

Getting Your Wristband

What to Bring

When you arrive at Disneyland for your reservation, you’ll need three things: 

  1. Reservation confirmation QR code (already sent to you by Disney via email)
  2. Admission to Disneyland
  3. Government-issued photo IDs for everyone in your party over 18. Disneyland will not accept school IDs or other forms of ID during this period.
  4. The Primary Guest (the person who made the reservation)

Without these things, you will be unable to check-in, so make sure you’re prepared. 

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

How to Check In

Check-in for reservations will be on the first floor of Star Wars Launch Bay. Make sure all the guests who will be entering with you are present at check-in, those who aren’t there at that time won’t receive a wristband. You can check-in up to 2 hours prior to your reservation start time, even as early as 6am (although Launch Bay will be the only thing at the park open that early). The aforementioned list will be checked and everyone will receive a wristband.

Entering and Leaving Galaxy’s Edge

There’s no need to line up earlier than your reservation start time. If you’ve already checked in and it’s time for your reservation to start, just head to the entrance indicated at check-in. There’s no standby line at all, you’ll be walked by cast members who will ask to see your wristband and you’ll be told to “move along, move along.” At the end of your 4-hour reservation period, you’ll be asked to leave. 

Time Management Suggestions

During the four-hour reservation time-slots, it will be important to strategize in order to experience everything.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

You have guaranteed entry into Star Wars land with your reservation. The number of reservations is closely tied to the number of people who can reasonably ride Smuggler’s Run during the 4 hour reservation period. That means you should have plenty of time to ride the Millennium Falcon, shop, interact with the land, and take a million selfies.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

What is important to understand is that unless you have the earliest or latest reservation of the day, the first and last hours of your reservation are going to have the highest amount of people due to overlap from the previous or later reservations. On top of that, there’s no guarantee you’ll enter the land right at the beginning of your reservation, you may have to wait 15-20 minutes to avoid mobs of guests stampeding Black Spire Outpost. 

After June 23rd, you’ll be allowed to stay as long as you’d like, so there’s less necessity for prioritization, other than needing to get to the park early to assure you’ll gain entry to the land.  

As a reminder, here are all the things that will be available initially to further inform what to prioritize:

Attractions: 

  • Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run – Interactive simulator
  • Disney Play App “Datapad” – “Outpost Control” and interaction with the various hack, scan, translate, and tuning points

More information about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attractions available HERE

https://www.micechat.com/218612-disneyland-star-wars-land-attractions-technology/

Food:

  • Oga’s Cantina – Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (no food)
  • Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo – Various quick service items
  • Ronto Roasters – Wraps and specialty beverages
  • Milk Stand – Blue and Green Milk
  • Kat Saka’s Kettle – Specialty popcorn

Guests will be able to save a bit of time waiting in food lines by using Mobile Order on the Disneyland App for items at Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo, Ronto Roasters and the Blue Milk Stand. We recommend giving it a try. 

Shopping:

  • Savi’s Workshop – Custom building lightsaber experience
  • Droid Depot – Custom building Droid experience
  • Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities – Various “black market” items from all eras of Star Wars
  • Jewels of Bith – Accessories, patches, pins, etc
  • Toydarian Toymaker – “Handmade” toys, games, and figures
  • Creature Stall – Figures of different Star Wars creatures
  • Black Spire Outfitters – Batuu-style apparel
  • Resistance Supply – Various Resistance themed merchandise
  • First Order Cargo – Various First Order themed merchandise

Lightsaber and build a droid experiences are going to be very popular. Visit these early if they are a priority for you.  

Entertainment:

  • Roaming Star Wars characters and live actors

More in-depth explanations of restaurants and shops are available here.

The Shop Side: Your Guide to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Restaurants and Shops

Strategy

It’s expected that Smuggler’s Run will be limited to one ride per reservation period. It will also initially be the experience with the most capacity and more efficient wait time.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Optimize Experiences

While it might seem strange, you may want to start at Oga’s Cantina, Savi’s Workshop, or Droid Depot even if the lines are a bit longer. The cantina, lightsaber building workshop, and droid building store are the experiences with the lowest capacity and will likely always have the longest lines, the cantina longest of all. Savi’s Workshop only takes fourteen guests at a time and can fill up really fast, particularly towards the end of reservations so it can be almost as long as the cantina at times. Typical guest traffic patterns tend to start with attractions, so these other experiences will likely fill up more as the reservation period continues. Visit opposite the flow if you can by doing experiences first and then the Millennium Falcon. 

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Fuel Up

The next thing you should plan for is to grab some food. There are two restaurants and two smaller stands, so choose how much to eat at each location wisely. We recommend starting with a meal before picking up blue milk. To save some time, consider using mobile ordering.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Shop, Shop, Shop!

Now it should be time to do some shopping. If you’ve already spent $200 on a lightsaber and eaten a meal, you might be feeling a little light on funds, but we do recommend checking out the other seven shops and stalls since each one is intricately themed to the land. Consider that Kat Saka’s Kettle, Black Spire Outfitters, Toydarian Toymaker, Creature Stall, and Jewels of Bith are all right next to each other in a small open-air market.

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

While you’re visiting the two furthest stores, First Order Cargo and Resistance Supply, you’re most likely to find live entertainment. There are no scheduled shows in Black Spire Outpost, only organic experiences with roaming live characters and actors. Resistance fighters, including Rey, Vi Moradi (from the upcoming novel Black Spire) and Chewbacca, will be hanging out around the Resistance base on the furthest edge of the land while the First Order legion, the “Red Fury,” and Kylo Ren will be on the eastern part of the outpost. 

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

Get In Line!

The time to visit Smuggler’s Run will likely be in the 2nd half of your reservation. Typically, most guests during that reservation period will have ridden their one allotted experience and the line will be short. Though, we do recommend that you get in line before your reservation period overlaps with the next. Meaning, don’t wait to get in line in the last hour of your reservation. It’s important to note that if you want to actually receive your credits from Hondo once you finish your mission, you need to have the Play Disney app installed and set up (it doesn’t necessarily need to be currently running the Datapad).

, What You Need to Know BEFORE Visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland

The key to getting the full experience will be to use the Play Disney “Datapad” throughout the experience versus setting time aside to play it exclusively. If you see or hear anything in Aurebesh, pull out the datapad to translate to English. If you spot what looks like a special QR code, scan it with the datapad to see what it signifies. Droids, panels, and ships will be able to be hacked through the datapad. Satellite dishes and antenna will also allow you to tune in and eavesdrop on stories around Batuu. Just keep an eye and an ear out for details, and don’t be afraid to pull out your datapad and try things. If you’re unsure of what to look for, the app itself has a map to show you where to go.


Galaxy’s Edge Checklist: 

  1. Obtain a reservation to Galaxy’s Edge (if visiting before June 23rd)*
  2. Arrive at Disneyland prior to your reservation, allowing enough time to park, get through security and make your way to the main gate (allow 90 minutes – more on May 31st due to opening day demand)
  3. Check-in for your reservation and get your wristband (Disney will have signage and staff available to assist you).  
  4. Prioritize non-attraction experiences as they will have the lowest capacity. 
  5. Enter the queue for Millennium Falcon before the 4th hour of your reservation window.  

*After May 23rd, prioritize getting to Disneyland at opening to assure you get into the virtual queue to enter the land.  


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‘Til The Spire

We hope that the tips and information in this article will help you formulate your own personal strategy for tackling all there is to see in Galaxy’s Edge. Let us know in the comments if you have any Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge tips and tricks.  

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Scott Attula
Author, photographer, videographer, Disney Cast Member. Scott comes from multiple Disney generations and disciplines, including his Grandpa Fred and father at Imagineering and his Grandpa Bill and mother in Live Entertainment. For MiceChat, Scott focuses on other SoCal parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Universal Studios. He can be found at theme parks on a semi-frequent basis trying to get that perfect angle. Check out Scott on Instagram @AttulaPhoto