Star Wars Land AP Preview Dates at Disney World
After Walt Disney World teased AP previews of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge 1 month and 6 days ago (not that we’re keeping track or anything), we have been “patiently” waiting, compulsively checking our inboxes–and spam folders–hoping for further details.
Well, now we have them. Walt Disney World Platinum, Platinum Plus and coast-to-coast Premier Annual Passholders will soon be able to register for previews during select time windows from August 17 to August 21, 2019. Per Walt Disney World’s official AP page, invitations will be sent soon via email.
As we previously noted, if one of us receives this email or if we see people talking about it via social email, we’ll send an email blast to our newsletter subscribers (you can sign up for free here) IMMEDIATELY. We did this most recently at 7 a.m. for the latest wave of Free Dining and have done it in the past for other AP events. These events often fill up fast, and Disney often doesn’t send emails to everyone.
To clarify, this email will come from us, not from Disney. You might already receive Annual Passholder emails from Walt Disney World, in which case there’s no need to register for our emails (unless you want other updates). However, many people do not receive Disney’s official communications, and have been unsuccessful signing up.
Unfortunately, there’s no good solution to this problem. Even contacting Walt Disney World directly may not yield results. Even after trying this, we still only receive some emails and some mailings from Disney. The good news is that normally the registration links contained in Disney’s sign-up email notifications are not unique, so you don’t need the official email to register. That’s where our notification email comes into play. So sign up for free here, and we’ll send you an email ASAP when this Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge AP preview registration opens!
Here are some other important ‘rules’ for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge AP preview registration…
Star Wars Land Annual Passholder Preview Registration Info & Requirements:
- Advance registration required. Eligible activated Annual Pass is required to register.
- Reservations for Annual Passholder previews are only available to Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Passholders.
- Reservations are limited. Limit one reservation per Annual Passholder.
- Reservations are nontransferable and may not be sold or bartered.
- No modifications to reservations.
- If an Annual Passholder would like to register a guest to accompany them, that guest must also be a Platinum, Platinum Plus, or Premier Passholder, be listed on your Family & Friends list in My Disney Experience, and have opted to share “All My Plans” with you.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Info:
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and other offerings will be available on a first-come, first-served basis (meaning no FastPass+).
- Annual Passholders who attend the preview event may not be able to experience all of the offerings during the event.
- Annual Passholders may experience wait times during this event.
- Offerings, prices, experiences and information are subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice.
If other info on this DisneyWorld.com page is accurate, it appears that all restaurants and shopping components of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be open during the preview. Most notably, both Oga’s Cantina and Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers will definitely be open, although there is no word on reservations for either (we’re going to take a wild guess and say it’ll probably be first-come, first-served).
Five days might not seem like much time, but we can’t help but wonder if the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge previews will fill up as quickly as the Pandora – World of Avatar preview, or even the post-opening Toy Story Land and V.I.Passholder Nights at Walt Disney World. All of those free offerings ‘sold out’ on the same day their registrations went live–some in a manner of hours.
The big difference between the Star Wars Land preview and those is that this one is limited to only Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Passholders. This means that Gold, Silver, and the various Select Annual Passholders are all ineligible. While we have no clue what the AP population breakdown is for Walt Disney World, we’re guessing it’s bottom-heavy. At present, a Florida resident would have to drop $899 for the lowest eligible Annual Pass, and a non-resident would be looking at spending $1119.
When it comes to Annual Passholders who are not locals (and thanks to Disney Vacation Club and general fandom trends, there are large numbers of these APs), there’s also the timing. The last date for this preview is over a week before Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens to the general public, which probably rules out about 95% of out-of-state visitors with previously-scheduled trips for opening day of Star Wars Land.
Being in late August, this is off-season at Walt Disney World during a time when Florida weather as about at its most undesirable. As such, it seems unlikely that a lot of out-of-state APs have trips booked that coincide with these dates–and also unlikely that there will be a huge number of people willing to book a last-minute visit to Walt Disney World solely for this.
That basically leaves Florida locals with the highest tiers of Annual Passes who are the main guest pool who will register for these previews. There probably also will be a lot of “wishful thinking” non-local APs registering, taking a slot first and then worrying about airfare and hotels later. (Which is to say, a lot of slots will be accounted for that’ll end up being no-shows.)
The other good news is that Cast Member previews occur before Annual Passholder previews. There’s also no reason for Walt Disney World to have any ‘veil of secrecy’ around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge given that the exact same thing opened a couple months ago in California. This all bodes well for the prospects of Soft Openings for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World.
None of this is to say that the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Annual Passholder previews will not fill up quickly. We’d be surprised if availability isn’t gone on the same day registration opens. However, there has been some speculation that these slots will all sell out instantaneously, and that’s what we have a more difficult time believing. On the plus side, unless Walt Disney World accounts for the no-shows (and we expect a not-insignificant number of those), there’s a decent chance that if you are able to get in, the crowds during the event won’t be as bad as during other recent Annual Passholder-exclusive offerings.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition. As for planning the rest of your trip, we have a thorough Walt Disney World Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Are you anxiously awaiting an email letting you know the Annual Passholder previews for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge have opened? Any bold predictions as to when they’ll be sent out? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the difficulty of getting into this AP preview? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I just received the Passholder email – it redirected to a waiting screen on the WDW site.
Any luck yet?
Nope – it’s just saying, “Thank you for your patience. Please keep this page open, as you will lose your place in line if you close or refresh this page.”
It worked!
So glad it worked! Ours was doing the same thing and we were worried. It finally worked for us after 30 minutes- phew!
Curious about registration – and I looked at the WD passholder site as well – do you register so you can get the email, or do you register if you are fortunate enough to get the email? (I’m a platinum AP holder since last November, and I NEVER get any of these emails even though I keep making sure my settings say that i should be getting all communications – color me bummed :-/ )
I have a question as a new AP. We activated our APs (Platinum) in June. So far, we have received our welcome mailing with the car decal, but I have not seen any emails. Should I be expecting emails regularly? Just wondering if we’ll even see anything related to the Star Wars preview.
I am there during these days (my trip is 8/15-8/19) and am a Platinum Passholder. Question: Does eery eligible passholder get the email? I get occasional AP emails from Disney so I hope this one will come. If we don’t get the email is there a way we can sign up without it?
Hi Tom-
This isn’t a question, per se, but I’d just like to vent. I’m an avid reader of the blog. I followed your advice about six weeks ago, getting an annual pass from Sam’s Club after the price went up. Then, I patiently waited and read your blogs about potential soft openings for Galaxy’s Edge. Taking a chance, I booked a trip (using the Priceline Express Deals method) for arrival 8/16-8/20. I figured this would be the most likely time for an AP preview. And yesterday, all of it was announced and I was instantly feeling like the smartest guy the room!
And then, I see that it says the annual pass MUST BE ACTIVATED in order to make a reservation when the system opens. Well, activating it on arrival on 8/16 means I’m going miss the chance to get a reservation.
Just like that, the smartest guy in the room quietly slinks back into the shadows. (Cue the sad music).
My family of 4 just happen to be there during this entire window and have Platinum Plus APs. I’m concerned about how to register all 4 of us so that 2 aren’t left out. We all register for FP and ADR’s under my MyDisney. My husband and two kids all share all plans with me. So does that mean that I’d be able to register with one as a guest but not my husband also registering for one and a guest? Can minors register on their own to be sure we all get in? They make this sound too confusing.
I am an out of stater as well but I DO already have a trip booked during this time so really hoping I get the email notice or find out fast enough to sign up. I will be watchful for your emails as they always come through!
We attended the Typhon Lagoon AP night. Worst experience ever. Ten minutes to walk in. CM saying they were close to capacity. 45 minute wait for the family raft ride. We went on two rides and wave pool. Wondering if this will be similar
I’ll be one of those out-of-state platinum AP’s who deserves my spot and then worries about airfare and hotel afterwards! August 21 is my birthday so I’m hoping to get in on that date. Plus I can make a business trip out of it with the Disney Analytics conference happening at the same time! I agree with an above poster though – I never get emails for APs??? How can I fix that?
My family will be flying home on Aug. 16. So I’m a bit let down that we miss this by 1 day. But if we would have been able to extend our trip, we sure would have! Just means we’ll be getting up early for our October visit!
Hi. I have the “lower” yet not cheap! Annual pass
When do you know this is going to be open and are they going to do reservations? I would like to know how to go when it’s less boiling hot!!!
Floridians know to stay away in 100 heat
Thanks !
How do we get emails??? I am an AP holder & have not received any emails from them….as such my son & I are there during these dates & really hope to partake in the soft opening!
I am curious about this too. I’ve been a passholder since November and have never received a single email from them. I’ve gone through all the steps via communication preferences but still nothing. We are also there during these dates and would love a chance at the preview.
Make sure you are opt’d in for emails. Its in MDE under profile. Good luck
Disney’s AP email system is pretty horrible (like so many of their online systems), so don’t be surprised that you and so many people don’t receive the emails.
Kind of bummed that the window is so short. We will be there August 24-29 and was hoping to take advantage of the preview. Any chance that once the original slots are gone that they may extend it to more days?
“Any chance that once the original slots are gone that they may extend it to more days?”
Highly doubt it. At this point, I’d say there’s a reasonable chance of soft openings, though.
So you’re saying there’s a chance? 🙂
I will keep my eyes open for that soft open and news of it then. Thanks Tom
Any news on Test Track being closed at the end of July? I can’t find any refurbishment announcements for it.
“Being in late August, this is off-season at Walt Disney World during a time when Florida weather as about at its most undesirable. As such, it seems unlikely that a lot of out-of-state APs have trips booked that coincide with these dates”— EXCEPT this guy who is flying from SoCal to MCO and will arrive at WDW on…wait for it…AUGUST 21ST!!!! And my whole family has Premier Passes. (No whammies, no whammies).
As a Premier AP, I’m guessing you make multiple trips to Florida per year, but still…visiting Florida in August as a Californian? AUGUST?!?!
Maybe it’s just me, but how does your body adjust from the delightfully dry and temperate weather of Southern California to the oppressive heat, humidity, and afternoon monsoons of Florida? 😉
Ha ha. I’m a SoCal resident and we’re going to Disney World in August as well. We did it back in 2015 and almost melted. For us, it’s just timing, with most schools back in session, and lower crowds, it works out for us.
I think we’ll pass on the preview, even if we get the invite though. We’re doing a pretty short trip and have already been to Galaxy’s Edge here a few times.
Excellent question Tom
1. My Dad lives in Central Florida so we combine are WDW Trip with a visit with family.
2. My body doesn’t adjust. We go early and late with a break in the middle of the day.
3. Flights are usually $250 or less this time of year.
Just curious why you wouldn’t just visit Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland, since it has been reported that the crowd levels are so low there? But good luck! It’s great when a plan comes together!
WELL EXCUSE ME !…….Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Passholders ONLY ! As an AP Holder and DVC member for several years in A ROW, and having mobility issues that disallow me from getting a Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Premier Annual Pass so I’m EXCLUDED from the PARTY. It just doesn’t seem FAIR.
For what it’s worth, the timing of this, Cast Member previews, and the media event leads me to believe that there’s a good chance of soft openings for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Of course, I could be totally wrong, but I think the odds are in your favor.
As Canadians we are unable to receive emails from Disney. They say because of the anti-spam law but I receive other newsletters from the US. So we won’t be able to go. Hope this changes one day. At least, we already have a reservation for September
Legitimate question (not trying to be snarky, just trying to understand your situation better)…. Why do your mobility issues prevent you from getting a Platinum, Platinum Plus, or Premier Pass?
Gosh I hope they do a reservation system like they did in CA version. Batteling crowds in hopes that they’re not already at capacity sounds AWFUL. We’re booked for Sept 18-23 and fingers crossed we’re able to at least meander around the land. I have no expectations of being able to do much else reservation or not. It would be WONDERFUL if I’m wrong though and crowds are low like they are in CA.
Sydney
As a SocAl AP holder you can meander around the land right now with the reservation period over. That may be different when it opens at DHS but right now you can meander like a Jedi at DLR.
Given that we’re a month out and no reservation system has been announced, I think it’s highly unlikely that there will be one.
In fact, I’d hazard a guess that Disney is now viewing what it did for Disneyland–as great as it was for guests–as a mistake.