While Disney World’s version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is opening later than its California counterpart, Florida is getting the 14-acre land’s bigger attraction sooner.
Disney announced that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will open first at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Dec. 5. The Disneyland version won’t be ready until Jan. 17, 2020 — even though Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger had previously stated the ride would open later this year.
Rise of the Resistance has been hyped as the longest attraction Disney has ever built with a ride vehicle.
“When it opens, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will blur the lines between fantasy and reality and will put guests in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance,” Disney Parks editorial content director Thomas Smith wrote in a blog post. “Guests will be recruited to join Rey and General Organa at a secret base. Along the way, they will be captured by a First Order Star Destroyer. With the help of some heroes of the Resistance, they break out and must escape the Star Destroyer, protect the secret base, and stay one step ahead of Kylo Ren.”
No official reason was given for why Disney World’s version of the ride will open first. Galaxy’s Edge is already open in Disneyland, with construction having been several months ahead of Florida from the beginning of the project. Disney’s desire to get Galaxy’s Edge up and running Disney’s Hollywood Studios for its Aug. 29 opening — earlier than had originally been planned — reportedly led to another major addition to the park, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, being delayed until spring 2020.
When Galaxy’s Edge opens in Florida next month, the lone ride in the land will be Milllennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.
While Disney prepared for huge crowds to swarm Disneyland for Galaxy’s Edge, with Iger even saying the land was “not going to take much marketing,” the reality has been much different. According to Touring Plans, a subscription service offering customizable plans to avoid long waits at theme parks, Disneyland saw record low waits throughout June outside of Galaxy’s Edge.
“Although Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is very busy, the rest of the park is absolutely dead,” wrote Touring Plans’ master statistician Fred Hazelton. “You can ride Space Mountain on a Saturday afternoon in summer with less than a 30 minute wait. That hasn’t happened before. Ever.”
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