A look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge reopening procedures
Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopened to cast members and their guests today as part of a preview ahead of its official reopening on July 15, 2020. While we were there, we took a stroll through Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to check out the land’s reopening procedures.
Here’s a glimpse at our walk into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge from the Grand Avenue entrance. Thanks to the park’s limited capacity, this was a spacious walk.
15 minute wait for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance! pic.twitter.com/n7k5PEblxg
— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) July 13, 2020
The wait for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was just 15 minutes when we got in line! Not bad for what most guests would consider the most popular attraction in the park.
Plexiglass barriers are set up in the queue for Rise of the Resistance to help keep guests physically distant in its tight spaces.
When Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopens to the public on July 15, there will be a virtual queue system in place for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. During today’s cast member preview, however, cast had their park entry cards scanned to make sure that they could only ride one time.
The part of the pre-show that features Rey’s transmission has markers on the ground for specific groups to stand on.
There are also markers on the ground in the second part of the preshow with Lieutenant Bek and Nien Nunb.
Here is a view of the Star Destroyer hangar. There are no social distancing markers on the ground in this room, and as a result, things got a bit crowded.
However, keep in mind that this was the first day back with “guests” for cast members in months, and we anticipate much of these issues to be corrected by the time the park officially opens.
Here’s a look at the queue leading to the prisoner interrogation room. Some guests are following the social distancing guidelines, but others are crowding up on each other.
Hand sanitizer is available before every prisoner interrogation room for guests to use.
The shops in the Black Spire Outpost marketplace didn’t open until 11 a.m. this morning. Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers is temporarily closed at this time, however.
Chewie and Rey can be spotted above the speeder garage waving to guests as they walk by.
The First Order shop was also not open when we walked by this morning. We assumed it opened at 11 a.m. alongside the shops in the marketplace.
Even the social distancing reminders in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are themed!
Safety spiel as heard in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. pic.twitter.com/uEqtmXs7DQ
— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) July 13, 2020
Troopers are commanding their area! Be wary of suspicious behavior. pic.twitter.com/n01Cx2fgWZ
— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) July 13, 2020
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has plenty of ground markings for social distancing, but didn’t really need them as the wait time was just 5 minutes.
Oga’s Cantina now offers only day-of reservations. We walked up and got a return time for 1 hour later.
Guests are kept very spaced apart in Oga’s Cantina. We got a table and were asked to keep our face masks on until our drinks arrived.
Here’s a view of the crowd level in Galaxy’s Edge just after 1 p.m. this afternoon.
We walked by Star Tours — The Adventures Continue around 1:20 p.m. and the walkways were practically empty.
On Star Tours, dividers are in place with only three rows in use, and guests kept to groups of two.
Overall, the changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge appear to not change the experience in the land too much, and while there were sections of the land (specifically in the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance queue) that did suffer from occasional crowding, we hope that these kinks will be worked out before the park opens to the public on July 15. We also live-streamed during our time at the park, which you can watch the replay of below:
You can see even more coverage from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot by heading to @Attractions on Twitter.
Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom reopened to guests with Park Pass reservations on July 11, and Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will reopen on July 15. You can check out our FAQ on everything you need to know about visiting Walt Disney World post-COVID closures here.