Star Wars Land Virtual Queue for Disney World!
Walt Disney World has confirmed that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios will use a virtual queue and boarding pass system beginning August 29, 2019 and continuing indefinitely, as dictated by demand. In this post, we’ll share how this will work, offer tips using Star Wars Land’s virtual line, and offer some predictions.
This should come as great and very welcome news to many of you who were fearing the worst out of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World. This means no multi-hour waits in the sun or a long line wrapping throughout Grand Avenue just to get a peak inside Star Wars Land.
Now, this virtual queue and boarding pass system could mean larger crowds elsewhere at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but there are plenty of air-conditioned spaces around the park. Plus, if worse comes to worst with the crowds at DHS, you could always just use World Showcase and the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival as the de facto “waiting room” for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But we’re betting it won’t come to that!
This news of a virtual queue and boarding pass system comes thanks to fliers that have been quietly distributed in guest rooms at Walt Disney World resort hotels today. If you’re looking for an official confirmation via the Disney Parks Blog, you’re out of luck. In fact, we would not be the least bit surprised if Walt Disney World doesn’t publicly announce the virtual queue and boarding pass system, period.
If you’ve followed the saga of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge crowds (or the lack thereof) out west, you probably aren’t surprised by this. In case you’ve “muted” all news about Galaxy’s Edge until now, we’d (once again) recommend reading our Why Are Star Wars Land Crowds So Low? post.
Basically, one of Disney’s concerns is that their own constant stressing of reservations, attendance, boarding passes, and other crowd control measures at Disneyland with “Batuu West” played a big role in scaring guests away. In other words, hype of crowds caused fear of crowds…which caused people to stay at home…which caused low crowds.
That’s a very reductionist explanation and only part of what has happened with Batuu West. Nevertheless, it’s why Walt Disney World has more or less been mum about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge for the last couple months. In fact, since the Huge Hollywood Studios FastPass+ Changes (which were caused by Star Wars Land), it’s been pretty much radio silence in terms of operations at DHS.
Moving on to the logistics of the boarding group system, Walt Disney World has released zero details, but it’s almost certain to work identically to the Batuu West version. That worked really well (when it was necessary) and it would make zero sense for Walt Disney World to reinvent the wheel. However, it’s always possible there will be slight differences in the boarding pass/virtual queue process at Walt Disney World…
First, you’ll want to download the My Disney Experience app before arriving at Walt Disney World. If you already have it, be sure you’re updated to the most current version. (Functionality for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge virtual queue and boarding pass system was actually added to the app code last month.)
Also prior to entering, you’ll want to link everyone in your party together on the My Disney Experience (MDX) app to request the same boarding group for your entire party.
NOTE: If you already have reservations for Oga’s Cantina, Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers, or Droid Depot, you almost certainly will *NOT* need a boarding pass. Walt Disney World has not confirmed this, but we’re 97% sure this will be the case.
Check the app or in-park signage the day of your visit to find out if you will need to be part of a boarding group to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that day, and also which boarding groups are currently being admitted into the land.
Unless you’re heading to Star Wars Land right at rope drop, it’s highly likely that Disney’s Hollywood Studios will utilize the boarding group system–at least for the opening weekend of Galaxy’s Edge. (We wouldn’t be surprised to see it used for a longer period of time at Walt Disney World. Unlike at Disneyland, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has less “other stuff” to soak up crowds.)
The boarding group will save you a virtual spot in line during which time you can do other attractions, dining, etc. Think of it just like FastPass, but for the land itself (hence it being a virtual queue to enter the land). As with FastPass, you may use the My Disney Experience app to request to be part of a boarding group after entering Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
For guests not using the MDX app, a boarding group may be obtained with a park admission ticket at select FastPass locations. Walt Disney World has not yet announced where these will be, but temporary kiosks have been spotted around the park. Expect something at the front of the park, on Grand Avenue, and near Toy Story Land–at the very least.
We highly recommend that you go the in-app route, which will save you precious time when entering the park. We also recommend allowing or enabling push notifications on your mobile device for the MDX app so you will be notified when it is time to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Otherwise, you’ll need to incessantly refresh or check the MDX app or digital signage in the park to see when you’re up. Once your group is called, you’ll have up to two hours to enter Galaxy’s Edge.
In terms of strategy, it’ll take us a couple weeks of assessing crowd-flow and demand, but some of you who are visiting sooner might not have that luxury. Since we’ve already done everything in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and have a pretty good understanding of Disney’s Hollywood Studios touring efficiency, here are a few preliminary recommendations…
First, arrive before rope drop. This should be a given. We’re expecting that for at least the first few weekend, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will quietly open the park before the published opening time. Arriving early helps you beat the crowds and also prepares you for that.
Second, consider doing something else at rope drop. I know this seems contrarian, but there’s only one ride currently operating in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and that is where everyone is going to head straight at rope drop, causing an early morning spike at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Lines will peak for that early in the day, and drop thereafter.
By contrast, other attractions around Disney’s Hollywood Studios are likely to see their wait times of the day at rope drop and climb gradually over time. This is exactly what we saw play out at Pandora – World of Avatar…and also in Batuu West. Plus, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has an incredibly engaging queue. Waiting in line 90+ minutes in that interesting queue is far better than several 60 minute waits in uninteresting queues.
We’d recommend starting in Toy Story Land, then moving to Sunset Boulevard for its two thrill rides. While doing the attractions elsewhere at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the morning, keep your eye on the MDX app and snag a boarding group for later in the day. Don’t wait too long, as these might very well ‘sell out’ early in the morning for the entire day.
Finally, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is best at night. Hence our recommendation for evening reservations for Savi’s Workshop or Oga’s Cantina. The other upside to these reservations for these experiences is that’s your guaranteed ticket into Galaxy’s Edge!
If you enter Star Wars Land around 6 p.m. and experience Savi’s or Oga’s Cantina (or both), you’ll be there Galaxy’s Edge transforms at sunset and comes alive at night. Additionally, you can stick around until the bitter end as the crowds clear out…when Smugglers Run should once again see its shortest waits of the day.
Of course, this is far from a fool-proof strategy and there are a lot of unknowns since the boarding pass system hasn’t debuted as of the time of this post. (And even once it does, there will likely be adjustments made to get it working smoothly.) However, this is what we’d recommend–and will be doing ourselves–for now.
As for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we’re still of the belief that September 2019 will be the best remaining month of 2019 to visit Walt Disney World. We made that prediction back in April (before Batuu West opened), and have stuck to it since. Opening weekend will undoubtedly be busy, but we just don’t see heavy crowds after that. What we do expect is Halloween through Christmas to bring progressively higher crowd levels.
With those holiday celebrations, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opening on December 5, 2019, and erroneous belief that Star Wars Land’s popularity will “die down” after a few months, October through December are probably looking more attractive to a large segment of the potential guest population. Of course, we were wrong about the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge out west, so we could once again be totally off in terms of September crowds. Just don’t expect to “wait out” the crowds by visiting in December. It’s hard to envision any scenario where this Christmas is less busy than this September. But we shall see!
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 planning on visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge now that the boarding pass system is debuting? Do you agree or disagree with our preliminary strategy for best experiencing Star Wars Land at Walt Disney World? 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!
Just to confirm what others have said (and debunk a few rumors to the contrary), from the MDX app: “Guests with an existing reservation for Oga’s Cantina, Droid Depot, or Savi’s Workshop can proceed directly to the Grand Avenue entrance up to one hour prior to the reservation time and do not need a boarding group.”
My 2 sons have a Savi reservation but my daughter does not. I know my wife and I can get in with our boys but will they let our daughter in Galaxies Edge too? I would hope so.
Has Disney confirmed this or just here say
Yuppers, what I did on the 29th, BUT I can also tell you that I only saw the VQ in use during the AM on opening day, the other 2 days the land was open with no VQ needed, BUT get ready for the lines!!
Got here at 5, went through the land. Then got into virtual que about 6. In group 25. It says late morning. Wait time for smugglers run over 6 hours.
Ok update at 7:30. Says boarding groups 5-16 now. My group 25 estimated for afternoon.
Wondering how this could impact existing fastpass selections. Would hate to lose a slinky dog fastpass because I was given a reservation to Star Wars land at the same time. Dining reservations as well. Seems like Disney is throwing these policies at the ninth hour. So much for trying to plan.
You will have a 2 hour window to enter GE once your window opens.
We spoke with concierge folks here at Wilderness Lodge and they told us there will be grab and go items for breakfast at the quick service starting at 2:30 am and buses to Hollywood starting at 3:30 am just for opening day.
Our plan is to head over at about 5. If it’s a mad mess, then we bail and go to Magic Kingdom. Luckily we were able to see the new land during passholder previews. We also have fast pass for slinky dog at 8am so we do have other things to do if we can’t get in right away.
Just talked to a person at bell services who read us the email the staff at the resort received, confirming the 3:30 buses. He also mentioned the unannounced opening of star wars land at 4:00 am. Guest services at Hollywood studios will be open 1:30 am.
This is good news. Hope I can get in there. Would be awesome if you didn’t have to physically enter HWS to reserve. I couldn’t get any reservations for the cantina so I’m going in on a new hope.
Tom, good luck tomorrow. Please let us know how it went. Guessing you may be putting on your PJs now or setting up a tent (:
My wife and I have Savi reservations for our 2 sons. That being said, we also have a younger daughter that won’t be building a light saber. Will all 5 of us be allowed into Galaxies Edge? I know my wife and I can go in with our sons but obviously we would also need our daughter to go with us as well.
Has anyone confirmed that the HS FP tiers are in fact changed starting tomorrow? My window opens next Tuesday, when my vacation planner sent me a reminder it was with the old FP tiers. When I inquired she didn’t know what I was talking about and said there was never any announcement on this by Disney. I’ve looked but only see the info on blogs and all the comments stop before the 60 day window with the change opened. Just curious if anyone has any firsthand experience so I can get my plan in place.
Just looked in the app, and YES, the tiers really do change tomorrow. Tier A (1 advance selection) is Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Saucers, Rock & Rollercoaster, Midway Mania, and Tower of Terror. Tier B (2 advance selections) is Star Tours and the seven various shows. Smuggler’s Run is standby-only for the foreseeable future.
I booked my FPs on August 1st for my October trip and the tiers were in affect for the selection process.
Hi Jill!
I did my fast passes August 10th for my October trip & the new fast pass tiers for HS are indeed in place. Good luck!
Hey Tom we’re all trying to find this boarding pass system and it’s not showing up on our Disney Experience app. We’re missing something? Can you walk us through it? Thanks Elizabeth
It won’t appear until tomorrow, and even then you won’t be able to go through the various steps until you’re *inside* Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Thanks Tom!
The folks that think SWGE will ‘die down’ – bet they are the same people that said that about FoP! 🙂
(When I was talking to a FoP CM last year she said – the only thing that will down the wait time is Star Wars, and we can’t even be sure of that!)
Suggest Mr.Bricker write a 1, 2, 3, etc. summary of specific steps you will need to take to get in to Galaxy’s Edge. I read the entire article and comments & still not clear to me. Thanks
1. Enter Hollywood Studios
2. Look in Disney World app to find SWGE’s “current land status.”
2a. If the current land status is “Open,” proceed to Galaxy’s Edge at your leisure.
3. If the current land status is “Reservations Required,” join a boarding group through the app. You will be given a boarding group number.
4. Continue with your day. You are not required to remain in DHS once you are in a boarding group, you’re free to head to Epcot or elsewhere.
5. The app will notify you when your boarding group can be admitted into SWGE, and you have 2 hours from that point to get to and enter the land. The app will also show which boarding groups are currently being admitted, so if you leave DHS, you can keep an eye on that to gauge when you should head back to the park.
*ALL THAT SAID,* Disneyland in Anaheim had this exact same system set up, and used it for a grand total of less than one day. I don’t know when you’re visiting DHS/SWGE, but if it’s more than a week from now, keep an eye online. You/we may find that the boarding pass system is just as irrelevant in Orlando as it was in Anaheim.
I AM SO EXCITED. That’s all.
We are currently staying at the Polynesian and have 3 reservations for Savi’s’ Workshop on 8/31.
We did not receive any information sheets in our room today. I inquired about this with guest services – worries we had missed out – but they said there was no distribution.
The CM with while we spoke did confirm that anyone with a reservation in GE (droid, lightsaber or Oga’s) would be automatically admitted at the designated time – for example, with the light sabers, 15 minutes prior to your reservation time. She called HS guest relations to confirm while I was there talking to her.
The virtual queue will apply to those who do not have reservations within GE and/or those who wish to arrive at a time other than their reservation time.
Good luck, Jedis!
I really hope that is the case. I was so excited to get Savi’s and Oga’s reservations for our day there in October… I don’t want to miss out because I can’t get a land reservation for the time of our activity reservation.
And if that’s the case, Disney better believe I’m not paying the $200 for a missed Savi’s reservation…
If you have reservations you will be admitted, I’m pretty sure it was mentioned when the reservations were made, and Tom mentioned it above.
Wondering if there will be a separate line for those with ressies in SWGE, or just how that will work. I am excited to have ressies at night at OGAS so I can see the land at night…this coming from a girl who almost cancelled trip when opening of SWGE was announced….silly me. And thanks Tom for the post!
Lorraine, yes, we had a 3PM Ogas on the 29th and there were 2 lines, the LOOOOOOOONG line for walkups and a much smaller one for reservations, I checking in at 2:45 and was in Ogas before 3! HAVE FUN!
@ Theresa & Lorraine: if you have a reservation for Savi’s/Oga’s/Droid Depot, they will just let you into the land, no special line or anything. You can completely ignore the virtual queue/boarding passes, your reservation IS your pass.
In fact, in Anaheim’s setup, having a reservation for Savi’s or Oga’s meant you could NOT join a boarding group – it was a one-or-the-other thing. Of course, Anaheim’s boarding pass system saw less than one day of use, but that was how it was explained in the days leading up to opening.
My husband has a reservation at Droid Depot. Will my two kids and I be able to get in with him? We plan on rope dropping at 6 am, so I’m not sure if it will be an issue anyway. Anyone have an answer to that?
Tom, do we have confirmation that you must be in HS to get a boarding pass? I wasn’t sure from your comment about using Epcot as a de facto waiting room if you meant that you could request a boarding pass while outside of HS and then head to HS as your time got closer!
If they’re using the same system as Anaheim’s, then yes, you’ll need to physically enter DHS in order to join a boarding group. Once you’re in a group, however, you’re then free to leave the park and go to Epcot or wherever else. You just need to show up at SWGE within 2 hours of your group being admitted.
Earlier this month my husband and I went to Disneyland Galaxy’s Edge, we are in our mid 40’s with grown children and grew up ourselves immersed in Star Wars movies, toys etc. we enjoyed the “ land”, however it stopped there. We waited 90 minutes to try the ride, ultimately we ended up being pilots, yet felt you had to focus so much on our own responsibilities that we didn’t get to enjoy the ride. In actuality, we enjoyed the original Star Tours ride a lot more. It’s nice they are having a virtual que for DHS, maybe that will make it more worth someone’s time. Interestingly enough, many people we spoke to felt the same way about the ride., they also enjoyed Star Tours more as well.
We didn’t go to the cantina or anything, but folks who did said they wouldn’t return. Food presentation looked great, but it supposedly tasted like card board and the adult beverages tasted like slime. They said for the money paid they couldn’t believe it, one sip and their very expensive drink was ready to be dumped out. Granted I’m getting this information from other guests, but the sad thing is, Disney has so many fans (our family included) that they don’t need to worry about repeat customers at their cantina, so unfortunately they can keep making food and drinks that are gross and more people will still come. After hearing others reactions to the food and drinks I know I won’t be dropping any additional $$$ in that particular establishment., at least until I hear from others many times over that the food and drinks have vastly improved.
Disney, in my opinion normally exceeds my expectations, in this case I feel they truly missed the mark.
In terms of the boarding pass v. Oga’s/Savi’s/Droid Depot reservation debate, a few things:
1) On days when parks have reached capacity closures, an ADR still gets you into the park. (Think of these as ADXRs.)
2) At Disneyland, reservations for those experiences guaranteed entrance into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Logically and logistically, it makes zero sense for Walt Disney World to handle admission to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge any differently. In fairness, WDW has done things that make zero sense before, but I cannot imagine this mistake being made here given that there’s clear precedent *not* to make this same mistake. (As for what CMs are saying…CMs are wrong all the time. I don’t put much stock into that.)
Thanks! That puts my mind, and I’m sure many others, at ease. I was so upset when someone said a CM said you’d have to have a boarding pass to get in to your reservations. I have 3 different reservations there and those experiences are completely booked now so no way to try and reschedule.
I can’t find this in the my Disney experience app. Will you do a post on how to get to the screen shots you show above, please?
A reservation at the cantina within Galaxy’s edge will only cost you $10 per person if you do not show up for your reservation or cancel your reservation.
I have a question. IF Savi’s is guaranteed entry, is it just for the person holding the reservation do you suppose? In our case my husband and brother in law have reservations so I’m curious if we will have to wait for them outside of the land with the kids.
Sorry! I’m not sure how I made this a reply
@Kallee
4 Savi’s workshop the person that’s building a lightsaber can bring a guest just to observe well they are building their lightsaber.
Anyone have any info or ideas for this scenario…
Here’s our dilemma (and I say that lightly since it’s a pretty cool dilemma to even have):
I was able to get reservations in early December for Savi’s, Droid Depot and Oga’s, in that order. Savi’s is around 11am. We will be a party of four, including a toddler, and the reservation is just for my husband and older son. I wouldn’t want to join them as guests for that special experience with a toddler–just, nope. I was told that should the land be at capacity around 10:30am for check in, that the four of us couldn’t enter, only my husband and son with the reservation. Our Oga’s reservation isn’t until after 4pm, but that’s for all of us. Would this virtual queue system alleviate this, and allow us all to enter IF there’s space for before say 10am? I’d love to get to Tower of Terror and Toy Story Land at some point. I’ve been visualizing us all needing to be there before rope drop to then get into Galaxy’s Edge, and then needing to stay there the majority of the day for our reservations.
I’m curious what time people will show up on opening day…..
Me too. 6 am is crazy stupid early.
we are going in October for our honeymoon and my fiance’ is planning to get in line by 4AM.
I hope you are right about having reservations meaning we Don’t need to be part of the virtual queue…. on a Facebook group earlier today there were people claiming to be cast members that claimed they had just been part of a training that a reservation would 100 percent not get anyone in. We have reservations for 245 with nighttime fastpasses and fantasmic show so it would not work out to have to go at 6 am to get entered into the queue… I am getting tired of Disney making guests plan so far in advance then making changes which mess those plans up. Going with 2 seniors and 3 children so don’t have the luxury of staying from opening till close.
This is interesting considering that Disney CMs on the phone are reading from a document and stating that you will be allowed entry up to 1 hour prior to your reservation time.
Also, there are legit CMs on the Disboards who are very involved with the opening of SWGE and they are also stating that a reservation will guarantee entrance.
This is interesting considering that Disney CMs on the phone are reading from a document and stating that you will be allowed entry up to 1 hour prior to your reservation time.
Also, there are legit CMs on the Disboards who are very involved with the opening of SWGE and they are also stating that a reservation will guarantee entrance.
So you get the boarding pass the Day you plan to go to GE, or the day you check into your room at Disney World? We are planning to arrive at rope drop in late October. Do we even need a boarding pass? Can we get one just in case? Early early hours mean it opens at 6 a.m. ….so are boarding passes for that day available at 6 a.m. or actually midnight before this? As you can see, I am still confused.
Linda, we were told you had to physically be IN DHS to get your boarding pass on the day you planned to be there.
While this is contradictory to what we were told last week, **THIS seems more likely**, especially if you’ve called more recently than Tuesday of last week, which was when we talked to the CM.
I could also see people sacrificing the $10 no-show fee at Oga’s to skip the boarding pass process, which is a bummer for people who actually want to go to Oga’s but can’t get a reservation.
The concierge CastMember we spoke to at our resort said the same thing. You must have a boarding pass to get to your reservation as your reservation does not supersede a boarding pass.
This is interesting. If they follow this, all the preplanning will get bumped off if you can’t get in the queue. Opening those reservations up for those who are at GE and forcing those who lost the reservations to do other not so popular things to fill in the park gap. At that point, if you can’t get in the queue and GE, how likely are you to get FPs and dining reservations the day of? Need to see how this plays out.
There is no way Disney turns people with reservations away if they do not have a boarding pass. Reservations carry penalties for not showing up – so Disney will have to program its system to recognize that someone did not get a boarding pass that covers the time frame of their reservation(s) so it can make sure it doesn’t charge them. Or force people with reservations late in the day to be at HS first thing in the morning to hopefully get a boarding pass that covers the time frame of their reservation. Suppose you have a party of 4 all going to Savi’s and spending $800 on lightsabers and they’re told they are not allowed to enter because they don’t have a boarding pass. Can you imagine how irate they would be? Same scenario, but maybe you can’t get a boarding pass that covers the time of your reservation(s) so while you can get into the land, you are required to leave prior to your reservation time or can’t get in until after your reservation time.
Some people only go to Disney once and it’s a big splurge for them. Disney’s going to crush their excitement by telling them “we know you have a reservation, and you made that reservation months ago, and you’ve been thinking about this trip for months (if not years), but you did not get to HS early enough to get a boarding pass that covers the reservation we allowed you to make 6 months ago. Don’t worry, we won’t charge you for missing your reservation. Have a magical day.”
Again, I see no scenario where a reservation doesn’t get you in without a boarding pass. It would be a logistical nightmare for Disney as well as create some serious ill will while also placing cast members in some very unenviable situations with irate customers. If a reservation doesn’t get you in, I don’t think Disney would have opened up reservations in the first place and would have made everything first come first served for each boarding group.
Does this touring plan assume you are entering HS at 6am or 9am?