On May 31, the most-anticipated Disney opening in more than a decade will be happening at Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will bring the famous Star Wars movie franchise to life for Disneyland guests. Guests will be able to pilot the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, build their own lightsaber or droid, spot Kylo Ren or Rey, drink blue milk, and much more.
Photo credit: Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks
I’ll be visiting the land myself on Thursday, May 30 – the day before it opens to the public – for the media preview. And on Friday, May 31, I’ll be braving the opening day crowds as a regular guest to report back on real world strategies other guests can use to tour the land most effectively.
But in the meantime, Disney has shared some never before seen facts, figures, and Easter eggs to get us all excited about the land. There are also a TON of new never-before seen photos just released too. So I couldn’t resist writing a pre-opening post to pass along some of these images and fun facts to you.
If you can’t wait to know everything there is to know about Black Spire Outpost and the planet of Batuu, here are a few new details to whet your appetite.
Photo credit: Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks
HOT! — Save on a Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Vacation from Get Away Today!
If you want to experience Galaxy’s Edge for yourself, I have a very limited time exclusive extra discount code available to you. Book by end of day June 1, 2019 through TwT partner Get Away Today and use my exclusive code “Tykes20” to save $20 on all 2019 vacation packages. You can combine this deal with Get Away Today’s other specials. These specials currently include an awesome Adults at Kids Prices ticket deal (on 3+ day tickets for travel through September 5, 2019), a 5th day free ticket offer, and hotel specials that include 3rd, 4th or 5th night free. Get Away Today also has plenty of availability for the three Disneyland on-property hotels. Remember that staying in one of these hotels for all stays until June 23, 2019 entitles you to a free 4 hour reservation time to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
11 Fun Facts about Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland
1. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge spans more than 14 acres, making it the largest single themed land in Disney Parks history. There are three entrances into the new land at Disneyland Park, and will be two at Disney’s Hollywood Studios when the land opens there August 29, 2019 (otherwise, the lands are nearly identical).
2. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge marks the first time a full-size, 100% complete Millennium Falcon has ever been built. Docked at Black Spire Outpost Spaceport, it measures more than 100 feet long.
Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh/Disney Parks
3. Disney didn’t stop with just a full-size Millennium Falcon. There are many other familiar vehicles and starships in the land for fans to enjoy. Look for both an an A-wing Starfighter and X-wing Starfighter at Resistance Mobile Command Post, a First Order TIE echelon at Docking Bay 9, Landspeeders at Black Spire Station, and a Sienar-Chall Utilipede-Transport at Docking Bay 7.
Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh/Disney Parks
4. There are more than 120,000 possible combinations for constructing a lightsaber using all the available pieces in Savi’s Workshop.
Photo credit: Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks
5. There are nearly 280,000 possible combinations for constructing an R-series or BBseries astromech droid using all the available pieces in the Droid Depot.
Photo credit: Joshua Sudock/Disney Parks
6. Remember the chess-type game played on the table in the Millennium Falcon? It’s called is called Dejarik. Guests can sit at that very table inside Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Plus, the game is available for purchase in the Toydarian Toymaker marketplace stall.
7. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the first land in a Disney park designed from the ground up to fully integrate with the Play Disney Parks mobile app. The app turns your device into a Star Wars Datapad that allows you to hack, scan, translate, and tune as well as enjoy a multiplayer game “Outpost Control.” Certain functions performed with the app may even trigger physical effects within the land.
Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh/Disney Parks
8. Movie Easter eggs and references abound. Look for a mural on the wall of Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities depicting an ancient battle between the light and dark sides of the Force. The original bas-relief of this mural was seen in Chancellor Palpatine’s office in “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.”
9. Love characters? They’ll be in Galaxy’s Edge. Expect appearances from Rey, Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, Resistance spy Vi Moradi, and plenty of Stormtroopers.
Photo credit: Richard Harbaugh/Disney Parks
10. You can go hunting for R2-D2 tracks in the land! Imagineers took rubbings from the feet of the R2-D2 droid used in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and turned those into a set of three-dimensional wheels. Then they built a trolley with those wheels and rolled it through the land before the concrete pathways fully dried to leave behind authentic droid tracks that guests might spot as they explore the outpost.
11. Want authentic merch? Disney went all out to make that happen for the super-fans. In developing merchandise, Imagineers were granted access to the Lucasfilm archives to study original props and costumes. In many cases, a special scanning tool was used to take 360-degree digital pictures of these artifacts, then 3D prints were made of new models for items sold in the lands. Nine different retail locations in the lands offer nearly 700 unique items.
Disclosure: I was honored to attend a pre-opening media event thanks to an invitation from Disney. While I had special access that day, I did not accept Disney comps for that event. I paid for my own hotel, park ticket, airfare and other costs, some personally and some reimbursed by another outlet for which I was creating content. I also paid my own way to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on opening day, May 31, when it was first open to the public. (Check my post about truth in travel blogging for more on my mission in this regard!)