Why do we have to wait to ride? It has been announced that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will open on May 31 at Disneyland Park and on August 29 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is of course great news for Star Wars fanatics like me. With the same announcement we have learned that only Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will open as far as new rides are concerned. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will open, according to both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World websites “later this year”. The automatic question is why the wait? There are two schools of thought on that, and both are speculation.
First, here is what Disney has to say. This is taken from the Disney Theme Parks FAQ page.
We are pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology with these signature attractions and will not open an attraction until it exceeds our expectations. We also know the level of excellence our Guests expect from Disney and we take that very seriously.
There will be lots to see and do at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and we look forward to the future opening of the epic attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, later this year!
That doesn’t really tell us much about what is going on. It leads some people to the first school of thought; that there are major technical issues with the ride. They think that Disney is trying to go too big, and they have no idea how to get the ride that has been promised to the point where it will live up to the hype.
The second thought is that Disney is opening Galaxy’s Edge in phases for crowd control. This will allow people to come in and explore the new land, as well as ride one of the new rides. When Rise of the Resistance opens, those who have already been will just hit the new ride, because they’ve already seen everything else. Of course they’ll probably also grab a glass of blue milk, but it won’t be as urgent to see it all. Everyone else will get in the line for Smugglers Run, since it will be (slightly) shorter.
I think the answer lies somewhere in between. If there were major issues with Rise of the Resistance and the Imagineers were all scratching their heads, no one would say that the ride will be open by the end of the year. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some minor things that they are still trying to work through. As far as crowd control is concerned, I do think that’s the case. There is no reason why the Florida version has to open in August, especially since we were originally looking at December.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is rumored to be the best ride ever created. It will supposedly last 27 minutes from start to finish. If we have to wait a few extra months to make it the best ride possible, I’m more than willing to wait. Until then, you can find me in line for Smugglers Run.