SWGE Opens August 29!

[ELLH]

All these posts about people canceling their vacations but yet, this is the text exchange between my wife and I just minutes ago...

Me - Did you see the news about SWL opening dates?
Wife - Yes
Wife - It's going to be insane
Me (at same time) - It's gonna be insane
... 5 minutes goes by ...
Wife - Well, this just happened...
Wife - (insert picture of computer screen here, showing where she has booked our family a trip from Aug 28 - Sep 1 at one of the AS resorts)
Me - You panicked, didn't you!? lol​

And there it is.

And, FWIW, we had zero intention on going this year since we have another vacation planned and Disney wouldn't fit in our budget. Not sure we will keep the reservation and go through with it but we will see.

I just couldn't help but chuckle at the stark (no pun intended) contrast between those I'm seeing here and on twitter who had a vacation planned but are now considering canceling vs my wife ,who is not a SW nut and had been pretty adamant that WDW wasn't in our budget this year, doing a complete 180. That's when you know you've married a Disney nut.

 

[familyman123]

I just couldn't help but chuckle at the stark (no pun intended) contrast between those I'm seeing here and on twitter who had a vacation planned but are now considering canceling vs my wife ,who is not a SW nut and had been pretty adamant that WDW wasn't in our budget this year, doing a complete 180. That's when you know you've married a Disney nut.

I totally understand both sides of this. We specifically planned for September 2018 and September 2020 because I didn't want to be near those crowds with 4 children. But just hearing all the news the past couple of weeks makes me want to go now. (We won't as I purchased a cruise instead).

 

[AEA1127]

Right, "select", this could be interesting. Like I said I have no interest in SW, but I do have interest in how Disney is going to handle all of this. Will they give priority to Deluxe resorts, or give priority to the higher end Deluxes or what?

I'm sure someone else knows for sure but I think it always says "select" resorts for extra magic hours. I'm assuming that this is going to mean that any Disney resort guest will have access to any extra magic hours they offer, but who knows

 

[PrincessV]

I noticed that the release they sent had this disclaimer:

Capacity is limited. Access to the theme park, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and its experiences may be restricted or unavailable depending on guest demand and other factors.

I'm taking this to mean that they could close just the SWGE section due to capacity. My question is, how will they be able to determine capacity for just the land? It will have no turnstiles or anything obviously. And if it were to close due to capacity, will be interesting to see how they manage the throngs of people that will be wanting to just stand around and wait until it re-opens.

This is exactly what happened for Pandora and WDW managed it beautifully. There was a standby line to enter Pandora for folks without FPs, while folks with FPs could enter at the time of their FPs. IDK how - or if - CMs kept a running count, or if they just had a system of letting X number of people in per Y time, but once in Pandora, it was not packed to teh gills. Busy, yes, but I had plenty of room to move around and see everything I wanted to on Day 2. I'm sure they can manage crowds equally well for SW:GE, especially minus FPs.

 

[chaoskids]

This is from Disney’s website regarding EMH
Each day, Guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels have the opportunity to enjoy select attractions in at least one of our 4 theme

This is from the Disney Parks blog announcing SWGE opening

Additionally, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be available during Extra Magic Hours. During Extra Magic Hours guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels can spend extra time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios enjoying select attractions.

So both say select hotels.

 

[rteetz]

This is from Disney’s website regarding EMH
Each day, Guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels have the opportunity to enjoy select attractions in at least one of our 4 theme

This is from the Disney Parks blog announcing SWGE opening

Additionally, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be available during Extra Magic Hours. During Extra Magic Hours guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels can spend extra time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios enjoying select attractions.

So both say select hotels.

That is how Disney always speaks in regards to EMH and stuff like that.

 

[samsonjs]

I think that’s exactly the plan. Try to create two “opening dates” to attempt to diffuse the crushing crowds.

It may not work.

I also wonder if Disney resorts have a good amount of people booked then for free dining already then it will take pressure off swge. Those people would be more likely to go and spend money throughout all the parks.

If you have all these Star Wars people booking up hotels and waiting in lines all day they aren’t spending money elsewhere?

 

[philliplc]

It will be interesting to see how slow the 2 weeks prior to opening in mid-late August are now. End of August was already becoming one of the slower times of year.

 

[AEA1127]

How do you think they will handle Rider Swap? We visited Pandora within the first 6 months it was open but I was pregnant so we didn't attempt it, my husband just waited in line alone at park close to ride FOP. I know these lines will be longer so if my husband wanted to wait in line, do we think they'll stick with having the rider swap within a certain window? I feel like the time it takes to wait in line would be so excessive that having a return window rider swap may not be feasible for those of those of us with really small kids. We're there September 4-13th so I don't think theres any way we would attempt to wait in line more than once (if at all).

 

[NickDubs34]

Are we sure Rise of the Resistance isn’t going to be open in Florida when GE opens? The release from Disney seemed to be more talking about Disneyland in terms of the staggered attraction openings. Maybe Disney doesn’t even know yet which is why it’s ambiguous but it seems like a bit of a guesstimate that the WDW version won’t be fully operational when it opens. Unless, of course, I missed something. Which is entirely possible.

 

[vinotinto]

Are we sure Rise of the Resistance isn’t going to be open in Florida when GE opens? The release from Disney seemed to be more talking about Disneyland in terms of the staggered attraction openings. Maybe Disney doesn’t even know yet which is why it’s ambiguous but it seems like a bit of a guesstimate that the WDW version won’t be fully operational when it opens. Unless, of course, I missed something. Which is entirely possible.

I know, that's what I thought too, but this is what it says on the WDW site now:

Know Before You Go
Capacity for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and its experiences is limited. Access to the park, land and experiences may be restricted or unavailable depending on guest demand and other factors.

Park tickets, Annual Passes, vacation packages and Walt Disney World Resort Hotel stays do not guarantee access to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Disney FastPass+ service is unavailable for the attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will not be available at the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and will open later this year.

Here is the rest of the FAQ:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/d...udios/star-wars-galaxys-edge/#drawer-card-7-3

 

[We'reGoingToDisney]

We booked BC with free dining for the last week of August, hoping for low crowds for our first ever trip to Disney World. We'll be at BC from Aug 25 -31 (but 31 is our flight home, so we're just checking out and going), and I've made our ADRs already and was planning on HS for Aug 26 (booked a Fantasmic! dining package). We were going to have a slow day on Aug 29, doing Cape May Character breakfast at BC and then hitting up Typhoon Lagoon before Sci-Fi Diner in HS for dinner. We'd planned to take advantage of the late EMH at Magic Kingdom on Aug 28, and figured we would not get up early on the 29th. So .... back to the planning board!!! I am going back and forth between being filled with dread at the thought of the crazy crowds, and being completely surprised and happy that we might get to see some of the new Star Wars land!

We can't cancel the trip, so much else is also planned around it (visit to Kennedy Space Center, 5 nights/4 days at Universal before Disney, airline tickets purchased with points that will not be easy to change).

 

[NickDubs34]

I know, that's what I thought too, but this is what it says on the WDW site now:

Know Before You Go
Capacity for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and its experiences is limited. Access to the park, land and experiences may be restricted or unavailable depending on guest demand and other factors.

Park tickets, Annual Passes, vacation packages and Walt Disney World Resort Hotel stays do not guarantee access to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Disney FastPass+ service is unavailable for the attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will not be available at the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and will open later this year.

Here is the rest of the FAQ:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/d...udios/star-wars-galaxys-edge/#drawer-card-7-3

Thanks for this, definitely didn’t see that. So probably a good barometer will be when Disneyland opens it’s version of the ride. So if it takes two months in California, maybe we’d tack on two months to Florida as an approximation. I’m not planning on going til June of 20 anyway but figure the longer the entire land is open before my arrival the better.

 

[familyman123]

Thanks for this, definitely didn’t see that. So probably a good barometer will be when Disneyland opens it’s version of the ride. So if it takes two months in California, maybe we’d tack on two months to Florida as an approximation. I’m not planning on going til June of 20 anyway but figure the longer the entire land is open before my arrival the better.

I am wondering if they will open ROTR at similar times on both coasts. In building the attraction there is the assembly side of things (such as building the show buliding) that takes a certain amount of man hours to be completed. But there is probably some serious tech - Computer software, Animatronic figures - that are being developed. If its the tech side of the attraction that is the hold up, they may complete those at similar times.

 

[DLgal]

I am wondering if they will open ROTR at similar times on both coasts. In building the attraction there is the assembly side of things (such as building the show buliding) that takes a certain amount of man hours to be completed. But there is probably some serious tech - Computer software, Animatronic figures - that are being developed. If its the tech side of the attraction that is the hold up, they may complete those at similar times.

They have already begun ride testing at Disneyland, from what I have been told. I think it is a crowd control strategy.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I think you read my post as more literal than intended.

I think folks underestimate how much impact Star Wars will have on attendance. Avatar may have been a successful movie but it doesn't have anywhere close to the pop culture attraction of Star Wars. The first Star Wars movie was issued in 1977, there have been multiple movies since, and they are making more still. My kids LOVED Star Wars growing up in the 90s and 00s, and I still see more Star Wars memorabilia than anything else. Haven't done any research, but Star Wars as a brand strikes me as much more popular than the Disney brand. I think it is going to be hugely popular for many, many years. Nothing Disney has ever done will compare. Of course, I could be incredibly wrong, but that's just my take.

 

[vinotinto]

They have already begun ride testing at Disneyland, from what I have been told. I think it is a crowd control strategy.

For RotR?

 

[Rickat96]

Im sorry- But- Am I excited to got to GE when its open- yes.

Not having a AP or being local want to pay to see a half opened version of GE- NO

AP and local folks will flock to the early open and the crowds will be miserable for a half baked potato.

 

[mshanson3121]

This seriously just ruined my day. We were going Sept 12-17. There is no way my kids can cope with the crowds. So I now have to either reschedule for August or cancel and either way hope we can get a refund on our MNSSHP tickets. Seriously cursing a blue streak in my head right now. I am in total shock. I never expected this.

 

[Je-Ree Olenik]

Thank God I am booked Aug 1-8 and will avoid the crowds!