VER SINCE THE Star Wars saga
blasted onto cinema screens in 1977,
movie lovers the world over have made
makeshift lightsabers out of broom
handles, pretended to open automatic
doors using the Force and engaged in
tense playground arguments about who
gets to be Han/Luke/Leia/Chewie. And
although many a committed Star Wars
fan has dabbled in creative cosplay to feel
a little closer to that fabled galaxy far, far
away, none have ever been able to visit
a place that lets you feel like you’re
actually in one of the movies – until now.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the brand
new billion-dollar, 14-acre land that was
unveiled in May at Disneyland Resort in
California (and soon to open at Walt
Disney World Resort in Florida on 29
August), and the Mouse House has spared
no expense when it comes to making
Galaxy’s Edge the most technologically
advanced and fully immersive land
expansion in Disneyland history.
To complete the fantasy, Lucasfilm has
created a canon-approved locale called
Black Spire Outpost located on the planet
Batuu, essentially the Wild West of the
Star Warsuniverse where shady
smugglers mix with the First Order and
hidden Resistance fighters. Every sight
and sound in the expansive land is
rendered in movie accurate detail, from
the piped music composed by John
Williams to the R2-D2 tracks embedded
in the concrete beneath your feet.
“I think grown men are going to cry.
I think people are going to fall to their
knees and start kissing the ground,” says
Margaret Kerrison, the Managing Story
Editor at Walt Disney Imagineering and
one of the many talented people
responsible for bringing Galaxy’s Edge to
life. “All these things sound like an
exaggeration, but I feel like it’s going to
happen. When we first started working on
Galaxy’s Edge, I remember thinking:
I want to walk into this land and be on
the same level as everyone else – from
the really hardcoreStar Warsfan, to
someone who knows nothing aboutStar
Wars. I want to have that urgency to
explore and to discover, and to run
around every corner and to meet every
single droid and alien in this land.”
Empirewas there for the opening of
Galaxy’s Edge and got to fully explore its
wonders before it was opened to the public.
Here are the key things you’ll find there that
will have you feeling like you’re inStar
Wars: Episode X – Where Do I Apply To
Become A Permanent Batuu Resident
Because I NeverWant To Leave Here...
FLY THE MILLENNIUM FALCON
“The fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy”
is brought to life withMillennium Falcon:
Smuggler’s Run, a jaw-dropping motion
ride that puts you right in the hot seat
of the ship that made the Kessel Run in
less than 12 parsecs.
Visitors are briefed on their mission
from an incredibly life-like animatronic
Hondo Ohnaka (a smuggler seen in the
TV seriesStar Wars: Clone WarsandStar
Wars Rebels) before entering theFalcon
via the iconic main hold of the ship
where Chewie once played Dejarik (space
chess, for the newbs) with Artoo.
Then it’s into the cockpit where teams
of six are given the role of pilot, gunner or
engineer, each crew experiencing the joys
of punching it into hyperspace, blasting
enemy TIE fighters to bits and feeling
every gravity-defying move of theFalcon.
It’s as close to flying a starship
through space as you’re ever going to
get, and much like Han Solo at the end of
A New Hopewhen he blasts Darth Vader’s
TIE fighter into a tailspin, you will
unquestionably be whooping with joy.
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is
currently the sole ride at Galaxy’s Edge,
but another calledStar Wars: Rise Of The
Resistance, which puts you in the middle
of on epic Resistance vs. First Order
battle that sees you escaping from a
Star Destroyer, is on the way soon
(5 December 2019 at Walt Disney World
Resort in Florida and 17 January 2020
at Disneyland Resort, California).GET A DRINK AT A CANTINA
Just like the dingy cantina full of alien
no-goods inA New Hope, Galaxy’s Edge
features its very own intergalactic hive of
scum and villainy / bar: Oga’s Cantina.
Oga’s is the only place in Disneyland
licensed to sell alcohol, meaning blurring
the line between fantasy and reality is a
cinch thanks to a range of space cocktails
with alluring names like Fuzzy Tauntaun,
Frozen Carbonite and Outer Rim.
In lieu of Figrin D’an and the Modal
Nodes playing tunes, the music at Oga’s
is supplied by DJ R-3X (Rex), a droid
voiced by Paul ‘Pee-Wee Herman’ Reubens
who was last seen as the pilot for
Disneyland’s original Star Tours
attraction. Disappointingly, he doesn’t
take requests.BUILD YOUR OWN
LIGHTSABER
Those keen to take home a lightsaber will
not be left wanting at Galaxy’s Edge. The
excellently named Dok-Ondar’s Den Of
Antiquities – home to a host ofStar Wars
easter eggs,including a full-size,
taxidermic Wampa – offers a wide range
of movie-replica lightsabers.
Those wanting to take it next level can
accept an invite from the mysterious
‘Gatherers’ to enter the covert Savi’s
Workshop where you can custom-build
your own lightsaber by choosing a
coloured kyber crystal and assembling
a hilt from a variety of parts – none of
which are mop handles, it turns out. ❯Clockwise from
above: Punch it!
Millennium Falcon:
Smuggler’s Run lets
you feel the force of
hyperspace; build
your own custom
lightsaber at Savi’s
Workshop; DJ Rex
laying down some fat
beats; enjoy a Frozen
Carbonite at Oga’s.