Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge remains one of the biggest draws at Walt Disney World, largely thanks to the success of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Reservations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios continue to hit capacity, and it seems the excitement over this land will only continue to increase as more guests travel to the Most Magical Place on Earth in 2021.
Guests interested in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge tend to ask a lot of the same questions—understandably as Disney has put a lot into this incredible land, and it’s not always easy to sort through the details. The last two years, we have written a lot of content here at Theme Park Tourist about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and it can be difficult to sift through it all especially since the parks have seen so many changes throughout 2020.
Do you have burning questions about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Here are some of the most common ones we see again and again…
1. How do I get onto Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance?
There’s no point dilly-dallying—this is everyone’s top question regarding Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and its not necessarily a simple one.
Disney has had an interesting problem with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—it has truly proven to be their most exceptional attractions to date, an 18 minute adventure that utilizes multiple ride systems to take guests on a harrowing journey into space, onto a First Order Star Destroyer, and back again. The ride proved so successful that it broke established attendance patterns and drew staggering crowds to the park. Disney leadership stood their ground that they didn’t want guests to be forced to wait in 12-14 hour queues just to enjoy the ride, so the attraction is only accessible via a virtual queue.
While a virtual queue sounds like a great concept, the system has definitely had its kinks. Originally, the queue was essentially “first come, first serve”, which led to massive crowds showing up as early as 3 AM some days, forcing Disney to open the park early on some occasions. The system was adjusted to only allow guests to procure a boarding pass from inside the park after official opening time, and while this reduced the ultra-early crowds, it essentially turned the system into a lottery, meaning many guests have planned trips specifically to ride Rise of the Resistance and aren’t able to get onto the ride. After the COVID-19 lockdown, the system was adjusted again to include a 2 PM boarding pass distribution to spread out crowds further (this has since been changed to 1PM).
As of November 2020, Disney has landed on a reasonable compromise with guests—boarding passes are now distributed at 7AM, several hours before park opening, meaning you do not need to be inside the park to get a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass.
As long as you have a registered ticket and a parks pass reservation, you can conceivably try for a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass from anywhere in Florida (although we would only recommend trying this if you can get to the parks in no more than 4 hours—you only have an hour to check in once your boarding group is called). If that fails, you can try again for a pass at 1PM, but for that boarding call you do need to be inside the park. Once park hopping returns in 2021, do be aware that you cannot get a Rise of the Resistance boarding pass unless your main park reservation is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You also can only get one boarding pass per day.
Passes disappear extremely fast—usually within 15-60 seconds. While Disney has increased capacity on Rise of the Resistance using plexiglass dividers, there is still an element of luck to getting a boarding pass.
Here are the main tips we recommend to increase your chances of getting onto Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance:
1) Make sure everyone in your party is linked together in My Disney Experience well before you try for a boarding group. This process can be time-consuming, so don’t risk doing it the day of. Also make sure all of your tickets are registered on My Disney Experience and that you have a Disney parks pass reservation (which secures you a spot within the park’s limited capacity for the day).
2) Have the My Disney Experience app open a few minutes before 7AM (or the boarding group distribution time if it gets changed in the future).
3) Be connected to the fastest internet connection you have access to. In Disney parks, this will mean mobile data. At home, your Wi-Fi may be faster.
4) Use more than one device if you have the ability to do so. We have consistently seen that faster devices have a somewhat better shot at getting passes (my husband actually got Boarding Group 1 on our anniversary trip this year using a Samsung Galaxy S10).
5) A minute or two before 7AM, go to the Rise of the Resistance Boarding Pass screen and refresh every second or so by swiping down. It will tell you boarding passes have not been distributed yet. Keep doing this as 7AM arrives until the option to get a pass pops up. Add all the members of your party (if they don’t appear as an option, just get the pass anyways—you may be able to sort out the bug with the Guest Experience Team in the park). Move quickly, and you may very well get a boarding group, though nothing is ever guaranteed. If you end up in a “Backup Group”, don’t fret—Disney has been reaching pretty high capacities with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance lately, and we have gotten onto the ride later in the day several times from backup groups.
Under the new system, if you aren’t going to get a pass, at least you know early and can either try again in the park at 2PM or can change plans for the day. If do you try for a pass at 2PM, remember you need to be physically in the park. The steps are the same except for that we recommend that you turn off Wi-Fi and use mobile data instead—Disney’s Wi-Fi is pretty buggy.
2. Is this land only about the new trilogy? Why is Batuu important?
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is set on a special planet from the Star Wars Universe: Batuu, a quiet Outer Rim world not too far from Endor. This world was designed by Disney Imagineers to become a canon part of Star Wars, and many different stories from the new Star Wars canon now tie to it.
Your visit to the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu takes place on a specific day within the timeline of Star Wars—the day of the Battle of Batuu, when the Resistance has to evacuate their base on the planet to escape the First Order just before the events of The Rise of Skywalker. The backstory leading up to this day is quite interesting (such as the way Leia’s top spy, Vi Moradi, established the base and how Chewbacca has partnered with renowned swindler, Hondo Ohnaka, to lease out the Millennium Falcon to procure much-needed hyperdrive fuel for the Resistance fleet). In short, all of these preceding events come to a head on the day you arrive on Batuu, the same day the First Order catches up to Rey and Chewie. It’s particularly interesting that your participation on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is treated as a canon event that has significant effects on the story of The Rise of Skywalker.
Despite being set in the timeline of the new trilogy, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge isn’t just about that story.
Batuu was designed as a place that could tie to just about every era of Star Wars history. Fans of the Old Republic and The Mandalorian will recognize multiple nods to those tales in Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Fans of the classic trilogy will appreciate Batuu’s similarities to Tatooine and will especially enjoy touring the Millennium Falcon, as well as seeing Chewbacca, X-wings, Tie Fighters, Stormtroopers, and R2-D2. Fans of Clone Wars and Rebels will recognize Hondo Ohnaka, the Most-Interesting-Man-in-Star-Wars, on Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance does a great job appealing to the full range of Star Wars fans, and you can even spot R-3X from Star Tours at Oga’s Cantina.
In short, there’s a little something for everyone at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and both classic Star Wars fans and even those unfamiliar with the saga can enjoy it.
3. What characters can you see in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
Because we are dealing with a specific point and location in the Star Wars timeline, there are some limits to what characters you will encounter in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The most common ones seen are Chewbacca, Rey, Kylo Ren, Stormtroopers, First Order officers, Vi (the Spy) Moradi (from the books Phasma and Black Spire), and sometimes Finn. Some guests have also seen R2-D2 at the Droid Depot.
Because of the timeline limitations, you won’t necessarily see characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin (The Mandalorian), or Boba Fett—though as the Star Wars universe continues to evolve, more characters may arrive. While some character encounters are unavailable right now, once lockdowns lift, your best bet for seeing classic trilogy characters is actually over at Star Wars: Launch Bay on the other side of the park. When this wonderful museum of Star Wars lore is up and running, guests can enjoy up close character encounters with Chewbacca, Darth Vader, BB-8, Kylo Ren, and more.
4. Are you allowed to dress up in costume / Disneybound / cosplay at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
The answers is yes with some limitations.
Many Star Wars fans love dressing up for events and premieres. Disney wanted to embrace this, but the problem is that costumes generally are not allowed for guests over the age of 14 at Disney parks (because of the dangers that someone who isn’t an authorized cast member could be confused for one).
Disney found a really good middle ground for dressing up at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—guests can either Disneybound or “Batuu-bound”.
Disneybounding has been around a long time—essentially, it’s a workaround for the costume rules where guests are allowed to wear ensembles of modern or vintage clothing inspired by popular characters. In the case of Star Wars, we’ve seen fantastic Disneybounding outfits based on Padme Amidala, Kylo Ren, C-3PO, Rey, and Princess Leia—Han Solo is probably the most popular one for men. Star Wars Disneybounding is fun because you can really make it whatever you want—you’re just using that character’s look as inspiration rather than making a screen-accurate costume.
Batuu-bounding is something specific to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—essentially, guests are allowed to dress up as locals or visitors to Batuu by wearing clothes that could belong in the Star Wars universe. Generally, this includes lots of natural fibers, vests, belts, shrouds, etc. The special beauty of Batuu-bounding is that you can really make it your own and come up with your own character.
In both categories, there are some limits:
- Guests may not wear full face-masks (granted, there is some nice leeway with this rule now that facemasks are required—you can’t wear a Mandalorian helmet or a neck gaiter, but you can incorporate your approved mask into your costume).
- You cannot wear military gear (like X-Wing pilot suits) or full costumes (like a Wookie costume)
- No long robes that touch the ground. Jedi robes were originally banned, but we have seen these worn in the parks before, perhaps because they were shorter or bought inside Galaxy’s Edge.
- Elaborate headgear (like Twilek or Togruta head tails) and more specialized costumes are only allowed for guests with admission to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
We did an extensive guide for guests interested in Disneybounding and Batuu-bounding. The practice is a lot of fun, and it does open some neat doors for interactions with cast members in Galaxy’s Edge. If you enjoy potential role-playing components of a visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we’ve had the best luck with cast members at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities (where I’ve been accused of being a spy multiple times) and Docking Bay 7.
5. Uhh… do I have to participate in the role-playing elements in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
Nope! While the role-play elements of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are loads of fun (a bit like a Star Wars Renaissance festival), Disney fans come in all shapes and sizes, and it isn’t required for guests to pretend to be part of the story. If you just want to enjoy the spectacle of a beautifully made theme park land and some fun rides, you totally can.
The cast members at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are trained to remain in character at all times, but they have a perfect way of handling guests who aren’t comfortable with playing pretend—they just treat you as a confused tourist from a strange world. This is actually a pretty popular in-world thing on Batuu, and this strategy isn’t that different from other parts of Walt Disney World where cast members walk the thin line between being helpful and staying in character. Just be yourself, and the cast members will pick up on that.
6. Is there anything for small children to enjoy at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
Some parents were understandably apprehensive when plans for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge were announced, mostly because the land’s two attractions are really only suitable for kids old enough to not be scared by harrowing space adventures (the height restriction for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is 38” and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is 40”). While Disney remedied some of this concern with the opening of both Toy Story Land and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, that isn’t to say that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a bust for families with kids.
We have seen children of all ages have fun at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. If your little ones like Star Wars cartoons like Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, or Forces of Destiny, they’ll definitely have a great time and may enjoy dressing up. We’ve seen a number of adorable encounters between Rey and small kids, and some little ones even like Chewbacca if they’re familiar with him. For kids who aren’t familiar with Star Wars, the land is just another fascinating place in the many realms of Walt Disney World.
The biggest hit with children that we’ve seen is the Droid Depot—this place seems to always be full of smiling kids. While building a droid is an expensive gift (around $200!), the process is a blast for children, and their fully customized droid may even interact with elements in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Kids may also like the Toydarian Toymaker shop in the marketplace which includes toys that are made to look like they could actually exist in Star Wars.
7. What is the best job on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run… and what is Chewie Mode?
The core mechanic of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is essentially an extremely elaborate video game. Every crew has six positions: two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. Pilots fly the ship, gunners shoot bad guys, and engineers fix all the stuff the pilots break. Previously, you had little control over what crew position you got when riding Smugglers Run, but with COVID-19 prevention policies, guests have been able to enjoy private flights on the Millennium Falcon where you can pick whatever crew position you like.
What the best job is will vary from person to person. The most coveted position is usually pilot, and I find that the left pilot (who controls the horizontal motions of the ship) has the highest level of control. The right pilot position (which controls vertical motions) is also a lot of fun especially since you get to “punch it” to initiate the hyperdrive.
The other two positions are gunner and engineer. While I know a number of people who enjoy gunner, it can prove a little underwhelming—you’re essentially doing a lot of button mashing rather than controlling specific trajectories for the guns. It’s essentially just three buttons (not like the turrets in the film). Engineer is fun if you like pushing lots of buttons but don’t want the stress of piloting—you push buttons whenever the ship breaks, as well as to launch the torpedo.
What is Chewie Mode, you ask? In short, it is a secret mode that some guests learned how to initiate where Hondo’s voice is replaced with Chewbacca roaring throughout your flight. Unless you will be visiting with a full party, it may not be possible to initiate Chewie mode, but for full details how to do so, check out this helpful guide.
8. What do blue milk and green milk taste like?
Blue milk is the most classic drink in Star Wars. It was Luke Skywalker’s favorite beverage back on his uncle’s moisture farm on Tatooine, milked from Banthas. Decades later as an embittered old man on Ahch To, he took to guzzling nastier-looking green milk from the planet’s Thala Sirens (I still think Disney missed a perfectly good opportunity to make Luke a “moof-milker”). Guests visiting Batuu can partake in either of these drinks at the Milk Stand near the First Order outpost. You can also get a larger glass of Blue Milk with a cookie inside Oga’s Cantina, which is a nice treat.
While I can’t comment on the alcoholic versions of blue and green milk, the non-alcoholic versions both have their merits. Most guests prefer the blue milk which has a creamy, almost smoothie-like consistency with a noticeable berry flavor (from dragonfruit). Personally, I like the green milk (even though some guests think its nasty) which tastes a bit creamier and more “milk-like” with a subtle hint of citrus flavor. For a full Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experience, both types are worth trying at least once, though blue is the safer bet for picky palettes. Before closing due to COVID-19, Batuu West (Disneyland) also offered a version with sweet and spicy Tajin, though this version never made its way to Batuu East (Walt Disney World).
9. What is a Batuu Spira chip, and where do I find one?
One of the coolest souvenirs in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theoretically costs almost nothing.
The Star Wars saga features several types of currency like Republic or Imperial credits and Calamari flan. Guests can acquire a special Batuu Spira credit chip within Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that functions as a real Disney gift card. The Batuu Spira chips are about 2×1 inches and are made of metal like a coin, with a good amount of heft. The first version had a bronze sheen while the newer ones look a bit like titanium or silver. All in all, they’re a great souvenir, and they really only cost a few dollars more than the cost to load them.
There are a couple catches to getting a Batuu Spira. First off, you have to find them. While they can show up several places in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the most common place we have seen them is in the side room of the Droid Depot (where the cookware and jewelry is located). You can ask the cast member at the counter if they have any.
The second catch is that you can only get a Batuu Spira if you load it with at least $100. While that may seem high, keep in mind that the average visitor to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios will probably spend that much, especially if you are planning to get a lightsaber. Just take the funds you planned to spend during the day and put them on the Spira chip instead. The only frustrating catch left is that you cannot use Disney Gift Cards to load a Batuu Spira—which is a bit of a bummer. However, if you have non-Disney gift cards like Visa and American Express that operate like normal debit cards, you can use those.
Once you have a Batuu Spira, you can reload it in the park in the future or online by transferring the balance from another Disney Gift Card (I know, it’s convoluted, but they are so COOL).
10. What is Star Wars Datapad, and how does it work?
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge actually features something like a secret attraction that most guests miss—Star Wars Datapad, a game within the Play Disney Parks App that allows guests to interact with elements throughout Galaxy’s Edge including droids, ships, speeders, panels, crates, and transmission towers. By using Bluetooth technology, it essentially turns your smartphone into a functioning Datapad from the Star Wars Universe.
We did an extensive guide on the details of how to get the most out of Star Wars Datapad, but here’s a quick rundown. Once you’ve initiated the game within the Play Disney Parks app, you are able to interact with different spaces and elements throughout Galaxy’s Edge using a number of functions. The main four are Hack, Tune, Scan, and Translate. Hacking allows you to “Slice” panels, droid, speeders, and ships throughout the Black Spire Outpost to gain hidden information. When you do this, most of these elements will actually light up, react, or make sounds in real life (even the speeders and X-wings). The Scan function lets you scan barcodes on crates throughout the land (even inside attraction queues) to see what’s inside. Tune gives you access to communications frequencies, and Translate lets you automatically or manually translate Aurebesh writing and alien languages.
While these four functions are neat, they are all nicely tied together by a range of “Missions” you can do for denizens of the Black Spire Outpost. By doing missions, you can gain reputation with The Resistance, The First Order, or as a Scoundrel. You also can access special missions for the queues of Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance that expand on the stories behind those rides.
In short, Star Wars Datapad is a delightful tool for those who want to explore the Black Spire Outpost at a leisurely pace and really lean into the story taking place on Batuu.
11. What is a Black Kyber Crystal and how do I get one?
In Star Wars, Kyber Crystals are special gems that make both lightsabers and superweapons like the Death Star work. They can be imbued with the Force, and they even play a key role in passing down Jedi and Sith wisdom through their use in holocrons.
One of the cleverer souvenirs you can pick up at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities is a Jedi or Sith holocron. These repositories of ancient wisdom are pretty neat as far as toys go—different Kyber crystals collected from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cause the holocrons to share different quotes from throughout Star Wars history, and they open and close just like in the Star Wars saga. Most of the Kyber crystals can also change the blade color for lightsabers from Savi’s Workshop (though not the legacy lightsabers).
The rarest Kyber crystal color is black—you can’t just pick one up off the shelf. They are found at random inside red Kyber crystal cases at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities and Star Wars: Trading Post in Disney Marketplace (and Downtown Disney in Anaheim). Some fans used to track them down by shining a flashlight at the cases, but Disney squashed this practice by putting a liner inside and placing the crystals next to a cast member.
Really, it’s totally random if you’ll get a black Kyber crystal. They act similar to the red crystals with one exception—if placed in a Sith holocrons, it invokes the voice of Supreme Leader Snoke. While it may not be worth it for the average fan, collectors may enjoy the hunt for this rarest of souvenirs.
12. How do I get a lightsaber at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?
The lightsabers available at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are particularly good quality and come in two varieties—customizable and legacy sabers.
Customizable lightsabers are only available as part of the all-inclusive lightsaber-building experience at Savi’s Workshop. For around $200, guests are ushered into a hidden workshop where a secret society of tinkerers have been collecting lightsaber parts in hopes of finding Force-sensitive individuals. Guests are given four choices regarding what type of saber they wish to build, with freedom to choose individual parts within those categories as they like (you can purchase “scrap metal” pieces from other categories later if you want to mix and match).
Peace and justice sabers look similar to Luke Skywalker’s or Obi-Wan Kenobi’s. Power and control sabers have a distinctly Sith look about them. Protection and defense sabers include elements with a distinct feel of the Old Republic (similar to Luke’s reforged saber from The Rise of Skywalker), and Elemental Nature sabers include parts like wood pieces and rancor teeth. An experience at Savi’s includes the full theatrical saber-building experience, a customizable saber and blade, your choice of Kyber crystal (blue, green, violet, or red), and a carrying case which can prove very helpful when touring the parks.
The other option for buying a lightsaber is to purchase a legacy saber at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities—these are lightsaber replicas based on familiar sabers from throughout the Star Wars saga. They are extremely well-made and have a strong heft to them. Currently, the choices available include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kylo Ren (the heaviest choice), Ben Solo, Asaaj Ventress, Luke Skywalker, Luke’s reforged lightsaber (that Rey wields), Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Jedi Temple Guard, Rey, Count Dooku, and two varieties of Ashoka Tano’s lightsabers (which can prove very difficult to get right now). In coming months, we’ll also get Cal Kestis’ unique saber from Star Wars: Fallen Order.
Legacy lightsabers range in price from $109 to $200 (for the new Ashoka Tano pair). Blades cost an extra $35-$50 depending on length (the longer blades look much better), and for some sabers, you may want to spend extra for a belt clip and/or premium carrying case. During the continued lockdown, guests don’t currently have to go into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to get ahold of a legacy saber. The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Trading Posts at Disney Marketplace (Florida) and Downtown Disney (Anaheim) are also selling legacy sabers and Kyber crystals.
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