Earlier this year, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opened at Walt Disney World in Florida, giving visitors the opportunity to feel as if they're actually part of the world of Star Wars. We experienced it this month and it was so exciting we want to share it with you, especially as the amazing finale to the trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is still enjoying enormous success in theaters.
As you walk into the 14-acre land, you'll be totally immersed as you feast your eyes on a number of familiar vistas. You'll find Resistance and First Order encampments, a spacesport and a bustling marketplace, where at Black Spire Outfitters, you can buy robes, tunics and belts in order to dress up as a Star Wars character for maximum authenticity.
At Savi's Workshop, you can create your own unique and beautifully handbuilt lightsaber. Choose from four lightsaber themes: Peace and Justice, Power and Control, Elemental Nature and Protection and Defense.
Droid Depot offers you the chance to build your own droid -- you choose the parts from the conveyor belts and assemble it yourself. Once you're happy with your creation, you can place your droid in an activation station to bring it to life.
You'll soon run into Stormtroopers, and beware: you may be singled out and given a warning. Don't worry, it's all in good fun and the encounter will leave you smiling (even though -- or maybe because -- Stormtroopers are very serious). Other Star Wars characters you may run into include Rey, who recruits Batuuan locals and visitors to the Resistance cause; Kylo Ren, who marches through Black Spire Outpost in search of the Resistance; and Chewbacca, who can be seen rounding up recruits just outside the Resistance encampment in the ancient ruins.
If you love the unique ships and vehicles of Star Wars, you'll be thrilled to spot A-wing starfighters, an AT-AT Walker, Poe Dameron's T-70 X-wing starfighter, landspeeders, a Star Destroyer and more, including the Millennium Falcon, which measures more than 100 feet long.
Making the experience truly authentic is the inclusion of several actors from the Star Wars movies, including Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron and Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux. Their scenes were filmed during production of the final two movies in the trilogy.
If you're excited about trying out Star Wars food, there are numerous options awaiting you. You'll get the chance to try Green Milk (Luke Skywalker drinks this beverage in The Last Jedi) and Blue Milk (Luke enjoys this at breakfast in A New Hope), both of which are absolutely delicious -- and dairy free. You can enjoy both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at Oga's Cantina (a very popular place, you may have to wait for your turn inside and once in, you won't want to leave). Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo offers the latest from Chef Strono "Cookie" Tuggs, inspired by his time working for Maz Kanata on Takodana. Ronto Roasters offers a large podracing engine firing up a barbecue pit for mouth-watering Ronto Wraps. Wash the wraps down with exotic non-alcoholic drinks such as the Sour Sarlaac or Tatooine Sunset.
There are two fully immersive rides to experience at Galaxy's Edge. The first is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, in which you get to ride in the cockpit of the famous ship, as either a pilot, gunner or flight engineer. Everyone has a part to play and the success of your run depends on teamwork.
The ride begins with smuggler Hondo Ohnaka, who has made a deal with Chewbacca to borrow the Millennium Falcon in exchange for making some repairs. You'll enter via an access hatch and then spend time in the ship's main hold and lounge, until Hondo assigns you a task, along with five other visitors. Once inside the cockpit, you take off from Black Spire at lightspeed to a distant planet to collect precious cargo from a space train, then return home to the planet of Batuu. The success of your mission very much depends on the ability of your six-member team, and each ride can be completely different. Hondo will let you know at the end how well your objectives were accomplished.
As amazing as Smugglers Run is, the newest ride, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, is in a league of its own. It opened December 5, 2019 at Walt Disney World and opens at Disneyland Park in California on January 17, 2020. From the moment you enter the ride, you're transported on an exciting adventure that takes you from place to place, using multiple ride systems as you find yourself in the middle of a battle between the First Order and the Resistance. As you enter the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer, you may be speechless when you suddenly come face to face with 50 Stormtroopers. Click here to read more about the ride -- we were blown away by it.
If you'd like to experience this amazing new theme park or any of the other attractions found at Walt Disney World, Canadian residents can click here to save 20% on 4-day or longer Walt Disney World Theme Park tickets from now to 2/7/20 with no block-out dates. Enjoy! ~Photos and article by Alexandra Heilbron
Cool photos. This is on my to-do list for 2020.
It’s incredible what Disney comes up with, I went to see Pandora last year but this sounds even more amazing. We will definitely be going to see it once the crowds die down a bit. I have a feeling the lines are going to be really long for awhile.