Here in Florida, we’ve waited patiently while we watched friends in California post pictures from their Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experiences. We’ve avoided detailed reviews so that we don’t encounter any spoilers and painstakingly counted down the days until our own planet Batuu arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Well, that day is finally here. Previews started a few weeks ago, and the land will officially open on August 29. But does the ride live up to the hype?
First of all, the Galaxy’s Edge area is truly fantastic. You enter the land through a “gateway” that transports you to the far away planet of Batuu. Galaxy’s Edge is opening with several stores, a couple restaurants, Oga’s Cantina, and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. A second ride, Rise of the Resistance, will open in a few months. As you might imagine, there’s incredible attention to detail, and the scenery is simply beautiful. The only thing that feels a little awkward is that the Star Tours attraction is definitively located outside the land in its same location near the Backlot Express. Even though Galaxy’s Edge is just a short walk down Grand Avenue, they definitely feel separated. However, it would make sense that the Star Tours attraction is said to exist in a different part of the galaxy and therefore cannot exist within the Galaxy’s Edge land.
The attraction is located near the back of the land next to the Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo Restaurant. You’ll know it by the large Millennium Falcon at the entrance. The queue line isn’t the most entertaining queue experience I’ve ever seen, but it does have some pretty great sights. In the beginning of the queue, you’ll have views of the Millennium Falcon from the ground. You’ll then move into a repair bay. You’ll see a large ship in the center, tools scattered around, and hear conversations pertaining to the repair. After the repair bay, you’ll be upstairs and you’ll get some great views of the Millennium Falcon from above. Once you pass this area, you are almost to the preshow.
You’ll be separated into two sides and sent into a room where Hondo Ohnaka explains that he is performing some less than legal activities on behalf of the resistance. He’s made a deal with Chewbacca to lease the Millennium Falcon to retrieve and deliver supplies necessary to battle the First Order. You are his chosen crew and will receive a payment of “credits” for your trouble. Your total payment will be calculated, of course, after deducting Hondo’s portion and payment for any damage incurred. The animatronics and effects used in the preshow are very impressive. We’re used to seeing amazing animatronics, of course, but the combination of awesome animatronics, amazing sets, and screen effects really created an immersive and impressive experience. You can see a short video of the preshow below.
After you leave the preshow area, you walk through a few hallways before being given your position assignment. There are six guests per flight, and each are given a position. There are two pilots (one drives the ship left and right and the other drives up and down), gunners (responsible for defense against enemies), and engineers (they repair any damage done to the ship during the flight and shoot the harpoons). Once you receive your mission card, you are sent into the interior of the Falcon to await your call to the bridge.
After a few moments, you’ll be called, seated, and your adventure will begin. The detail in the bridge of the Millennium Falcon is incredibly impressive. I don’t know Star Wars very well, but even I felt like I walked into the movie when boarding the ride vehicle. While there is very little instruction given beforehand as to how to achieve your goals, buttons will flash and Hondo will give audible instructions as you ride.
Honestly, the ride itself is not incredibly exciting. Yes, it is kind of like a big video game in that your actions have some bearing on the outcome of the ride, but any effect seemed minimal. I rode the ride three times, and each time had pretty much the same sequence of events. There were small changes in the movement of the ride and your final score at the end. One time, we did get to retrieve a second canister of supplies, but this did not majorly effect the experience. The biggest difference was Hondo’s reaction to your success at the end of the ride.
However, the ride does react to the time of day. After completing your mission, Chewbacca remotely pilots your ship back to a landing point in Batuu. Depending on when your ride actually occurs, you’ll either land in daylight or dusk.
Otherwise, this really just felt like another simulator. Of course, graphics are always improving, but I didn’t feel any different riding this ride as I do riding Star Tours or Mission Space. The “gaming” aspect to the ride was dramatically effected by which position you held. I had the opportunity to experience both engineer and pilot. Engineer was borderline boring. There wasn’t much to do, and when I did push a button or two it was difficult to see any actual effect of those actions. Pilot was a lot more fun. You were constantly flying the ship or pushing buttons, and there were noticeable changes in direction based on my piloting skills – even though there were slight.
On another note, I was told that our performance on the ride would effect the rest of our experience in the land. This did not happen for us. My group did not visit the Cantina, so it’s possible that those effects only happen in that venue. However, we did eat at the Docking Bay and visited plenty of stores before we left the land. No visible reactions.
My final thoughts? If you’re a Star Wars fan, this ride is probably awesome! You definitely feel like you’re flying the Millennium Falcon. If this ride was Star Trek themed, I’m sure I would have been nerding out and loving life the whole time. As it was, however, I just couldn’t get into it. At best, it felt like a large video game, and at worst it felt like just another simulator. Even though I wasn’t impressed with this ride, I’m holding out hope that Rise of the Resistance proves to be a more unique and enjoyable experience. Luckily, we won’t have to wait long to find out as the announced opening date is December 5, 2019!
