It was announced several weeks ago that when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge open next month at Disneyland Park, guests who want to visit this brand new land will need to register for special time slots to visit this popular new Disneyland destination. And though details were scarce at the time, with just over a month to go before this new land’s grand opening, Disney has finally released some new information on how this reservation system will work.
Reservations will allow guests entry for 4 hours only and will not allow for re-admittance
Image: Disney
Beginning on opening day (May 31st) and lasting through June 23rd, guests at Disneyland who want to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will need a reservation. There will be absolutely no exceptions to this rule, and no one will be admitted without a return time. Guests who do secure a reservation will also only have a 4-hour window in which experience everything they can inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, after which they will need to leave to make way for other guests. In addition, guests who leave this land during their allotted time will not be able to re-enter once they have left, no matter how much time is left for their original reservation.
Though these rules seem a little harsh, Disney is trying to make room for as many guests as possible and keep things as fair as they can during the first weeks following the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Disneyland on-property hotel guests will have priority for reservations
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
Right now the best way to guarantee access to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is to be a guest at one of the Disneyland Resort’s three official hotels. Each reservation at a hotel grants one reserved space per stay for each hotel guest over the age of three. Of course, given the interest in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (and the scarcity of Disneyland hotel rooms) guests may not have this option on their travel dates. Fortunately, there is another way to reserve a spot inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but it will require a little planning…
Other guests will need to register for a reservation time on May 2
Image: Disney
If you are not staying at a Disneyland Resort hotel between May 31 and June 23, and would like to make a reservation to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you’ll want to make sure you are next to your computer on May 2, 2019, as Disney will be allowing guests to register for a free return time on this date via the official Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge page, with official instructions being published at 8:00 AM Pacific Time and reservations opening up later that day at 10:00 AM. In order to prepare for the onslaught of guests wanting to sign up for a reservation time, Disney is advising interested guests to create a Disney account before reservations open.
Your email is not your reservation
Image: Disney
Once guests have successfully secured a reservation, they will receive an email, outlining when and where they can enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and reiterating the rules about the 4 hour window and the no-reentry policy. However, though the email does confirm your reservation, it is not the reservation itself. Details on how to redeem the reservation itself will be emailed the day before it is set to occur, in an effort to prevent people from selling their reservations online.
Though the reservation system isn’t perfect and there are bound to be some guests who don’t get a reservation time and will be disappointed, this seems like the best way Disney can try and keep crowds manageable at this much-anticipated new land, opening next month at Disneyland. And while Disney could change their minds, it looks like this new system will ONLY be in use at Disneyland, and guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios who want to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge later this year, will not have to worry about this type of system.
