Walt Disney World Needs To Find A Solution For Galaxy’s Edge Opening
Image: D23
Is Walt Disney World equipped to handle the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge? Judging by how they handle crowds during the Christmas/New Years time, I’d say they’ve got a lot to work on.
Walt Disney World expects to open Galaxy’s Edge in time for the 2019 Holiday season. Arguably the busiest time of the year for Orlando tourism, an opening of this magnitude might be disastrous. You need to recall Walt Disney World’s recent openings.
Pandora opened at Animal Kingdom in May. The number of guests visiting was astounding. Some waited 2 hours just to enter the land. This doesn’t include the rides. Wait times went up to 6 hours for Flight of Passage and nearly 3 hours for Navi River Journey. This was late May, a full 7 months before the 2017 holiday rush.
The same issue occurred at Hollywood Studios with Toy Story Land in 2018. The area has been packed since it’s opening. Wait times during the Christmas/New Year’s holiday have been upwards of 4 hours for Slinky Dog Dash.
It wouldn’t be surprising if attractions at Galaxy’s Edge reached wait times of 7 hours. Given they are just opening around the holiday season, there will be a lot of guests. There are going to be issues with Galaxy’s Edge ( as there will be any new section of a park), hence, why it makes little sense to open the area right before the busiest time of the year.
While nobody wants to wait any longer for the opening of Galaxy’s Edge, it might be wise of Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World to delay the unveiling. Usually, you want to open these new attractions in early summer to prepare for the inevitable crowds in May, June, July, and August. With a new addition of this caliber, you’re better off debuting Galaxy’s Edge in February 2020, not the Christmas or Summer season.
Regardless of the opening date, there’s going to be mass amounts of guests visiting. The anticipation for Galaxy’s Edge is sky-high. To fully get everything in tip-top shape at Galaxy’s Edge, let all the kinks be worked out during the slow months. When the Summer and Winter season of 2020 approach, they’ll be ready to go.
There’s the benefit of having Galaxy’s Edge open first in Disneyland. Perhaps make that park the guinea pig. Test things out, develop a strategy there first to see what works and what doesn’t. This might be the only way Walt Disney World can have a successful opening on the intended date in Walt Disney World.
Too much is riding on Galaxy’s Edge. Walt Disney World and Hollywood Studios need to come up with a way to accommodate all of the guests coming to experience Star Wars. If they can’t, expect a lot of turbulence for quite some time
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
