Star Wars Land Virtual Queue Tips & Info
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been operating in its limited-capacity, reservations-only mode for nearly a month now. This week, it opens to the general public in full, with a virtual queue and boarding pass system beginning June 24, 2019 and continuing indefinitely, as dictated by demand. In this post, we’ll share how this will work, offer tips for experiencing Star Wars Land via the virtual queue, and offer some predictions about attendance.
Let’s start with the predictions. We’ll preface this the same way we’ve prefaced our last few crowds-related Star Wars Land posts: that we were very wrong when it came to opening weekend forecasts. Some possible explanations are covered in our Star Wars Land Crowds: What Happened & What to Expect.
Suffice to say, we’re anticipating a precipitous increase in Disneyland’s crowds starting this week and continuing through the rest of the summer. Prior to this summer, we expected that June and July would be the two busiest months in Disneyland’s history. That obviously proved untrue for June, and we’re now adjusting our expectations downward for July…
There are a few reasons for this. First, tourists who avoided the opening month of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are likely to do the same for July. Hotel occupancy numbers for the Anaheim Resort District remain down for this time of year. Even though crowds were not as bad as anticipated for June, most out-of-state tourists who feared the worst have already locked-in their alternative summer vacation plans.
Second, although there’s less barrier to entry for locals and word has gotten out about the low crowds, many are still likely reticent about capacity closures and general chaos because now things are different. Finally, new Annual Passholder and Cast Member blockouts are now in effect. Likewise, Grad Nites have ended. All of this will at least partially offset the influx of guests not dissuaded.
As for everyone else, we’re expecting that a lot of locals and tourists are waiting until the end of the year. As we’ve said before (a couple of times now) the back to back Halloween and Christmas holidays are huge attendance drivers for Disneyland Resort.
With those festivities, the prospect of Rise of the Resistance being open, 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. We were wrong about the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but don’t expect that to happen again with regard to large crowds for the holidays.
Moving on to the logistics of the boarding group system, Disneyland has released some new details. First, you’ll want to download the Disneyland app before arriving.
Also prior to entering, you’ll want to link the theme park tickets of everyone in your party together on the app to request the same boarding group for your entire party.
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 a near-certainty that Disneyland will utilize the boarding group system.
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 or MaxPass, but for the land itself (hence it being a virtual queue to enter the land). As with FastPass and MaxPass, you may use the Disneyland app to request to be part of a boarding group after entering Disneyland.
For guests not using the Disneyland app, a boarding group may be obtained with a park admission ticket at select FastPass locations. These are located at Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Matterhorn Bobsleds FastPass kiosks.
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 Disneyland 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 Disneyland 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.
Beginning June 24, reservations will be required for Savi’s Workshop and Oga’s Cantina, both of which have very limited capacity. Guests wishing to book a reservation for these experiences may do so on the same day of their visit, beginning at 7 a.m.
A non-refundable credit card guarantee will be required for the full cost of Savi’s or for $10 per person at Oga’s Cantina. Reservations for both experiences will allow access into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the time of the reservation, so it will not be necessary to join a boarding group to enter the land to participate in a reserved experience.
June 24, 2019 UPDATE: As of 7:18 a.m., all reservations for Savi’s Workshop had sold out for the day. The same happened for Oga’s Cantina at 7:25 a.m. Today is likely to have a lot of pent-up demand and both are very limited capacity, so it’s not much of a surprise they went fast.
(Update to the update: Availability has returned for both. Not sure if that was a glitch in Disneyland’s system or what, but we’d expect these reservations to sell out for the entire day before 9 a.m. with regularity.
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 Disneyland 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 days, Disneyland will quietly open the park before the published opening time. Arriving early helps you beat the crowds and also prepares you for that.
Second, if you want to do Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers, which we highly recommend, or Oga’s Cantina (also recommended), be in the app and ready to make a reservation for either or both of those right when spots open at 7 a.m. If at all possible, we’d recommend timing your reservations for around a 7 p.m. return time.
Third, if you aren’t doing those things, we would not necessarily recommend trying to enter Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at rope drop. We anticipate a disproportionate number of people doing this, meaning you’ll be in a herd heading all the way to the back of the park. Not a fun experience.
Additionally, there’s only one attraction currently operating in Star Wars Land, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Instead, we’d recommend following our normal Disneyland Morning Strategy & Rope Drop Tips, which is to say, start in Fantasyland. There are around a half-dozen rides in Fantasyland, each of which can be knocked out in quick succession (with almost no wait at rope drop).
Later in the day, these rides will have 30+ minute waits and all of their queues are boring. By contrast, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is only one ride, and it has an incredibly engaging queue. Waiting in line 90+ minutes in that interesting queue is far better than several 30 minute waits in uninteresting queues.
While doing the Fantasyland attractions, keep your eye on the Disneyland 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 7 p.m. reservations for Savi’s and/or Oga’s Cantina. If you enter the land around 7 p.m. and experience those, you’ll be there for the fireworks, and as Galaxy’s Edge 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.
Even if you’re not planning a visit to Disneyland, this should be interesting to watch. Walt Disney World still hasn’t announced its plans for handling crowds and entry into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and that could hinge on how well the boarding pass system works at Disneyland.
Obviously, the two parks are very different, but we think a modified version of this (more akin to FastPass+ in the sense that it’d be better booked in advance) could work very well at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and eliminate a lot of headaches and dispel some fears. Stay tuned!
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 comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide as well as 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? Will you try for Savi’s Workshop or Oga’s Cantina reservations? Do you agree or disagree with our preliminary strategy for best experiencing Star Wars Land and the rest of Disneyland? 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 made an advanced reservation for Oga’s Cantina (8:30am for party of 8-it was the only one left 11 days out), do we still need to be in the virtual queue in order to go into GE where cantina is located? or can we just head into GE to get into Cantina rsvp line? and can we ck out GE after our cantina experience w/o the virtual queue?
Thanks for the wonderful details. We are going early July.
Do you know if you need MaxPass to use the app to reserve a boarding group spot at StawWars GE? I’m not sure if i’m getting a MaxPass or not
I don’t think you have to have one, it just makes it easier. You’ll be able to ride other rides easier all day too. We found that 2-3 hours in GE was plenty for us.
Thanks for the tips! We are going after D23 Expo when I’m expecting most Expo goers are going to be there as well. I will keep an eye out to see if any info changes in the next two months. I want to be as informed about getting into GE (as well as Savi’s) as possible.
Currently in DL. Was here all weekend and in the park on Monday when the “reservation period” ended. We’ve been coming to DL nearly every year for the past 10 years and this was by FAR the least crowded we’ve seen it. Everywhere. We walked into Galaxy edge at 11pm last night and there were what seemed only a couple hundred people in there. Most rides like Space, Splash mountain were 15 min waits all day. ALL rides except Peter Pan we’re walk-ons at 11pm. Cast members were ready in force, but project Stardust was a huge success! Get here now ASAP! I don’t know how long this will last. Tip: the Cantina is the most popular thing in GE. Get there first if u want a chance of admission. Another tip: watch the fireworks from in front of the candy store on Main Street. It’s the best!
Wow all the reserving things at Disney is just a turn off to me. I can see this being very stressful! Now higher prices to visit Disney and if you can’t get a reservation you can’t experience things you came to do. I can also see when the land gets full having a virtual queue I would inevitably be on the other side of the park in line for a ride and have lunch reservations in 45 min. when it says my time slot is open. 2 hour window could be shot in the foot! Hard to figure out and mesh everything when your making restaurant reservations 180 days out, ride reservations 60 days out and same day reservations for galaxy edge!
I am not a planner and I can’t relax and enjoy the park staring at my cell phone. I used to not bring it in the park for a reason! Now The last time I went I was on it non stop checking everything! I guess this is the new normal but I long for the good old days!!!! I know people that are the big planners that love reservations but it’s not my style. I have friends that would reserve a time to go to the bathroom if they offered it!
We were there this weekend. The park was very busy Friday and Saturday even though many weren’t visiting Galaxy’s Edge. Large crowds at Fantasmic (even the second showing) and fireworks. I felt like it was a lot of people who generally come anyways on the weekend on a regular basis. Had hoped crowds would be lesser in the regular lands of the park. Fantasyland was packed so we had to skip that. I need contrast, California Adventure was not too bad, busy but not wall to wall people. I had hoped we could get through the rest of Disneyland without the cross but no luck. We couldn’t even get into the cantina on Friday night during our time slot in Galaxy Edge. My thought would be go on a Tuesday-Thursday for the best chance now. There are still a lot of locals who seem to come out on the weekend even though they aren’t going to Galaxy’s Edge. Especially since kids are out of school now.
How long will they be using the Boarding Pass system as well as reservations? We are visiting mid-August.
i have no great need to hang out in the cantina, although i’m sure some people will probably disagree. but i would kind of like to see dj rex for a few minutes for nostalgia’s sake. would i have any luck at asking a CM if i could go in for a few minutes to see him, and then come right back out? i don’t know why i would otherwise need a reserved timeslot, unless someone can convinced me of what i’d be missing. i’ll add i’ll be there with 2 very littles who won’t know where the heck we even are and who would have no great need to be there.
That might work, but if the reservations are made to the capacity of the cantina, they won’t (be able) to let you do that. What I’d do is make a reservation, go in and wander around, and leave.
The $10 reservation fee is to ensure you show up to your time slot. It’s waived as soon as you check-in at the front–you don’t have to buy anything. That also gives you a *precise* entry time to the land, rather than having to use the boarding groups.
Thanks Tom. I am travelling over from the UK to LA and have left Sunday/Monday the 21/22 September specifically/soley to see Galaxy’s Edge so this thread has been very useful.
It sounds like a good plan would be to arrive for rope drop, grab a reservation for Savi’s and Olga for late afternoon. Then enjoy the rest of the park(s) before heading to GE at 3-4ish and stick around until park close and repeat the next day? I’m a big Star Wars fan so a fair few hours in the land will be wonderful for me.
I guess there’s no benefit in MaxPass given my plan?
I always enjoy the thoroughness of your reports, so thanks for that. I am really wondering about crowd capacity for 2020 WDW because when the new prices came out, people just stopped booking. I had sent out quotes and some of those clients just disappeared – sticker shock!
Hey Tom, great report – I was in disneyland on opening weekend (I actually saw you eating dinner at the california grand but didn’t want to disturb and say hi lol) and the crowds were totally manageable and we had zero problems in the rest of the park – it was awesome.
anyway – are there rumors/reports on WDW’s opening of Rise of the resistance? We’re going mid-October – will we most likely only get Smuggler’s run?
The hubs and I are going to visit family back in Orange County next month and I’m considering extending our trip by a day or two so that we can do Galaxy’s Edge. I just want to clarify my understanding- if I get on the app right at 7 a.m. and make a Cantina reservation, that also serves as our admission into the whole land? They won’t just escort us into our reservation and then back out? I know that is a super dumb and paranoid question but I want to do this right!
“if I get on the app right at 7 a.m. and make a Cantina reservation, that also serves as our admission into the whole land?”
Correct.
Thanks, Tom. Do you know yet if there will be similar reservations available at WDW for the land, workshop, or cantina? Or is this strictly for DL?
As of right now, strictly for Disneyland.
For at least these two things, they’ll have to do something similar at Walt Disney World. The only question is whether it’ll be same-day only, or if it’ll be more akin to ADRs or FastPass+ (bookable in advance). The difference is that Disneyland locals are comfortable with same-day bookings, whereas Walt Disney World guests tend to be planners. We’ll see what happens.
Thanks. We’ve decided to do the insane thing and go opening weekend. Just the two of us so we have some ‘winging it’ flexibility. Sort of hoping for a slow start a la DL, but regardless, we let nostalgia win out. Any definitive word if the Skyliner will be open by then? We’re starting our stay at Pop Century hoping that it is.
“Second, if you want to do Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers, which we highly recommend, or Oga’s Cantina (also recommended), make a reservation for either or both of those right at 7 a.m. If at all possible, we’d recommend timing your reservations for around 7 p.m.”
We should make a reservation for 12 hours later?
I *think* he means that the reservations open up each day (for that day only) at 7a, but that *at* 7a, when you get into the system, you should select a 7p slot.
Correct.
Thanks for info! I’m watching and learning for DisneyWorld trip in September. When you say get tickets to Savi’s workshop at 7am, how do you do that? Is that something you can call in or go to gate? Thanks for your help!
Via the Disneyland app or site. We won’t know exactly how it all works until…well, right about now.
Thanks for the tips! My family and I are heading to California in August. I will see what kind of reservation I can get at seven, but if that doesn’t work, I will try to virtual queue.
Here’s a question, though: we are a group of three, and we’d only sign up for one lightsaber (for our son). Would all three of us be able to enter with that reservation? I read that the “experience area” is only for two people…
They just changed it! Now, it’s the builder plus 2 guests–perfect for your party of 3.
is droid depot still only 2 people? same as above, it would be fun for both mom and dad to go with kiddo
Will reservations for Olga’s canteen and the lightsaber workshop be made through the app like a dining reservation?
I want some sort of system for HS, that’s a given. But it needs to be separate from the FP system and not count against your allotment. Those of us with opening week trips are coming up fast on our fp booking window the first week of july, so they had better allow us a fair chance to book before our trips.