Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Questions

So now that we have an opening date for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, a lot of questions have come up. A whole lot. I thought it would be appropriate to have a single page to answer questions instead of trying to look at a bunch of different pages.

So let’s dive in.

Oops, one quick thing before we get started. The day of the announcement I did a Facebook Live "Dad Talks" where I talked about the announcement and what it meant. You might want to watch it. (Dad Talks Galaxy’s Edge)

When will Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge open?

On March 7th, Disney announced that Galaxy’s Edge will open in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World on August 29th. They also announced that the Disneyland version would open on May 31st.

They also announced the the land would open in two phases. Phase one would include Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, where you get to play Han and Chewy and fly the legendary Millennium Falcon.

In phase one the food options are schedule to open. They are; Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, and Ronto Roaster (quick service restaurants). The other food options are Oga’s Cantina (lounge), Milk Stand and Kat Saka’s Kettle (food carts) .

Cool gift shops are expected to open in phase one also.

Phase two will be the opening of Rise of the Resistance a brand new ride where you get to battle against the Empire and maybe face Darth Vader himself. It’s the most technological complex attraction that Disney has ever attempted. No date has been announced or even rumored for phase two.

The Week Before Galaxy’s Edge Opens

This question came from Leslie from Rochester New York:

Hi Dad! We are booked August 16 to August 23. We picked it as it’s a GREEN week on your calendar. How do you think crowds will be that week, now that Galaxy’s Edge is opening on the 29th? Thanks!

Leslie,

I think that you’ve chosen wisely. Even if it’s inadvertent. That week will be one of the slowest weeks of the year. After Galaxy’s Edge opens it will be nuts, but before will be slower than usual and late August is always a slow time.

Congratulations. You picked the best week of the whole summer.

Summer Crowds

Here’s a similar question:

What theories do you have about crowd projections in the summer months leading up to Star Wars opening. Just announced that it will officially open 08/29. Do you think summer will be any less busy as a result of that?

I’m not changing any of my predictions prior to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. I think the summer will play out pretty much like normal. I haven’t heard about a lot of cancelations and rebookings to after the land opens.

Summers have become less busy over the last few years. Typical days are moderate to heavy but not crazy like they used to be. This year will follow that same pattern. Moderate to heavy but not crazy.

Dad’s June Disney World Crowds page
Dad’s July Disney World Crowds page
Dad’s August Disney World Crowds page

And one about July from Stephanee:

Hey Dad,
We have already booked our stay for July 9-16 at Pop and we were a little nervous to be going during Summer Break. We have previously gone during September but have read your posts about Summer being much better than it used to be. We figured the crowds couldn’t be horrendous with the Free Dining offer being available.

Now with SWGE scheduled to open at the end of August, I am wondering if we will see September like crowds in July? Perhaps it’s wishful thinking? I am very anxious about only getting to ride around 7-8 things a day with Summer crowds, so I am very hopeful everyone is delaying their plans until after SWGE opens!

Stephanee,

As I said above, I don’t think the summer will be a ghost town like September usually is. I do think crowds will be down a little but probably it will be a pretty typical summer.

The First Week

What will the first week be like asks Tasha from Groves Texas:

My husband and I are going to Disney world from Sep. 2nd through Sep. 8th. We chose these dates in order to enjoy Disney with the lowest crowds of the year and before the opening of Galaxy’s Edge. I am beside myself today when I learned that Galaxy’s Edge will open on Aug. 29th!

How bad do you expect the crowds to be our week? Will there be crowds all over Disney or do you expect it to stay in Hollywood Studios? Should we even go to Hollywood Studios? Do you think the crowds will impact the crowds at the Halloween party on Labor Day? Thanks for all your help!!

Hi Tasha,

That first week at Hollywood Studios will be totally nuts. I’d expect 6 to 8 hour waits just to get in to Galaxy’s Edge. It will be crazy.

As to the other parks, they will be busier than a normal early September day, but not crazy. Maybe more like a summer day. Moderate to heavy crowds.

The Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on Labor Day will probably be sold out, but that’s not terrible. I would still go.

As to avoiding Hollywood Studios. It’s a tossup. My guess is you’ll be able to get right on the rides that are not in Galaxy’s Edge. You’ll probably see the shortest lines for Slinky Dog Dash since it opened last summer.

Just remember all Dad’s tips to avoid Disney World Crowds and you’ll do fine.

Dad’s Top 10 Tips to Avoid Disney World Crowds page

September

Here’s one from Pamela in Tennessee:

With the opening of Star Wars land will September be crazy?

Yep.

I’ve created a new crowd calendar for September that shows the change. It’s a little tongue in cheek, but it is probably close to reality.

Dad’s September Disney World Crowds page

Will Crowds Wait for Phase Two?

This one comes from Wendy in Nashville:

Do you think most people will wait until the second phase of Star Wars Land is open before they visit Hollywood Studios?

Wendy,

Not a chance. The day that the announcement was made Disney’s phones melted (not literally, but almost). People can’t wait for Galaxy’s Edge to open. Most don’t even know about phase one vs. phase two. They are just excited. STAR WARS IS HERE!

We’ve created a new crowd calendar for September. It’s gone from all green to all red. That’s a little of an exaggeration, but not too much. It’s going to be a very busy rest of 2019 even before phase two opens.

What About the Other Parks?

Here are two questions about the opening week crowds and the other parks. From Jeff:

We were already booked for the week that Galaxy Edge is opening before the announcement. Typically that week is a very light/slow week. How bad will it be now? I know Studios will be bad starting on the Thursday and beyond, so we won’t be anywhere near it. But how will Studios be on the few days before it? What about the other 3 parks for the few days before and for the days after the opening. Will it be crazy or will everyone just be at Studios and since we won’t be there we will be ok?

From Jen,

Hi! We have our Disney trip planned for 9/2-9/6. I know 8/29 is the big opening. Do you think all the parks will be crowded or just that part of Hollywood? We chose this weeks because of lows crowds. Thanks!

Hey Jeff and Jen,

If Galaxy’s Edge follows the pattern of the recent land openings (Pandora and Toy Story), yes, the other parks will be less busy than normal and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be crazy.

But… Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is going to draw more people to Walt Disney World than even Pandora did. So while proportionally the crowds will be smaller in the other parks, the overall levels will actually be bigger than normal because the overall number of people that are at WDW is so much higher. Especially for that first couple of weeks of September which are typically the slowest of the year.

Before Galaxy’s Edge opens it will be quiet. After it opens it will be KAOS (yes I mispelled that on purpose).

Bottom line, sorry, I think you’ll find moderate to heavy crowds in the other parks and crazy crowds in Hollywood Studios.

September or early November

This one is from Courtney in Louisana:

We booked the free dining deal for the last week of September. We are not interested in Star Wars or the crowds it will bring! Will the opening affect all of the Disney World parks at that time or should we consider moving our dates to the first week of November? Will there even be much of a difference between the two dates besides the weather?

Courtney,

This is a tough question. There’s a lot of things to think about. First and foremost is the cost. If you move to November, you will lose your Free Dining and have to pay full price and prices have gone up since you booked. It will cost you a lot more.

The next thing is we have no clue what the crowds are going to be in early November. It’s typically a moderate time, but now that Galaxy’s Edge is open does that mean it will be heavy? Your guess is as good as mine.

Also, we don’t know when phase two, Rise of the Resistance, is going to open. My guess is either November 22nd or in 2020. I don’t think Disney knows yet. They are having problems with all the technology and it may take a long time to iron out the details.

Crowd wise I don’t think there will be a big difference between September and early November. That’s crazy to say historically. I think the rest of 2019 is going to be pretty busy. Money wise, stick with September.