It looks like Disneyland’s teams are working in hyperdrive: The theme park’s ambitious and transportive new land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, is set to open in phases, beginning on May 31, and reservations are (almost) open to the public. What’s more, now we know these reservations are for four-hour time blocks.
If you’re planning on staying at one of the park’s resort hotels, you can already book a slot (the system will automatically make a reservation for you, like you’re some sort of Naboo senator or royalty). Everyone else? Well, they’ll have to wait until May 2 at 10am, when registration begins. (UPDATE: Time slots for the reservations-required first month filled up within two hours.)
Disney CEO and Galaxy’s Edge news authority Bob Iger made the opening announcement in his annual shareholder meeting this March, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which also noted that Florida’s Star Wars land is set to open on August 29.
But here in Anaheim, before you can race through the whopping 14 acres of immersive, painfully detailed terrain of planet Batuu, you’re going to need a reservation. If you want to wander the streets of the new planet’s Black Spire Outpost settlement, peek into the village’s myriad curiosity shops, hop aboard the Millennium Falcon or sip bubbling alcoholic beverages in Oga’s Cantina bar, plan ahead, because space is limited.
For visits between May 31 and June 23, you’ll first purchase a standard ticket to the Disneyland park, then separately reserve your space for Galaxy’s Edge at no extra cost. According to the latest news release, the exact reservation procedure will go live on the Disneyland website on May 2 at 8am, with registration beginning at 10am that same day. We don’t know much about what’s entailed, but we do know that you’ll have to have a Disney Account in order to register for your no-extra-cost reservation, so you might as well create your account now, while you wait.
If you’re staying in one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels—the Grand Californian Hotel, Paradise Pier Hotel and Disneyland Hotel—during this time, you’re in luck: You’ll automatically receive a reservation for Galaxy’s Edge, one per guest staying at the hotel (and yes, standard Disneyland admission is still required).
According to Polygon, these reservations are for four-hour time slots, and should you exit the land before your allotted Galaxy’s Edge visit is over, you won’t be allowed to reenter.
And if you plan on jumping headfirst into the world of Batuu—whose easter eggs and rides generally revolve around the current movie trilogy of Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn and Poe—you might want to wait until later this year, when the full land is up and running. Galaxy’s Edge holds two major rides, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance. You’ll be able to pilot Han Solo’s famed ship from day one, but if you want to join the battle between the First Order and the Resistance in the latter attraction, you’ll need to wait a few months longer—an opening date for Rise of the Resistance has yet to be announced.
Our take? Why not go twice? Jedi patience is overrated anyway.