Anyone attempting to go to Galaxy's Edge in the first few months/year of opening? Do you have a plan/strategy?

[jabrabu]

I will be traveling to FL for work with my travel day on Sept 24th, and I have one day left on a multi-day ticket. The earliest flight arrives at 9:45am, so I won't be arriving at DHS until around 10:30. I'm hoping to at least walk through SWGE, but if it's totally mobbed and there is a long wait I will just do some other attractions at DHS and go to EPCOT for Food and Wine.

 

[toasterstrudel]

We will be at DHS on Labor day (Monday 9/2) We are planning on going for EEMH (probably arriving at 6 and knowing there will be tons of people ahead of us) We will see what is going on and decide if we will do GE or TSL once we get there. We are mostly planning to skip GE, BUT if for some unfathomable reason they aren't mobbed, we will go into the land. If it is mobbed as we expect, we will do tower of terror/rocknroller/toy story stuff until 9. Then we have 2 fast passes (tier 2) and then go back to the hotel for a nap around 10:30. Back before dinner reservations at 5:30, and a 7pm SDD fp. Staying through fireworks

 

[MarkinNM]

We will be there on the 29th opening day and did plan on showing up super early BUT...........................

With being able to book reservations for all 3, lightsaber, droid and Oga's planning on NOT being there at the crack of dawn! Hopefully this does mean we will be able to get into SWGE now without waiting in HUGE long lines.......

 

[dagored]

We will be there on the 29th opening day and did plan on showing up super early BUT...........................

With being able to book reservations for all 3, lightsaber, droid and Oga's planning on NOT being there at the crack of dawn! Hopefully this does mean we will be able to get into SWGE now without waiting in HUGE long lines.......

Same here. 2 droid builds and a light saber. Going about 8, first build is 10:20. No need to rush now.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Well, now I have a droid build and Oga’s reserved for my birthday. That may help to decide when to arrive. If I really do have to check in an hour early for the droid build.

 

[YawningDodo]

With the reservations up, a lot of the uncertainty has been removed from my planning. The droid build was my #1 must-do and I've got it booked! I think I'm going to second-guess myself into eternity about the time slot, but I'm just going to commit to what I got. I'm doing the build at 9:35 (on a 9:00 opening), so my plan is to rope drop SWGE...but at the back of the rope drop crowd without any aim to actually get in line for a ride. I'll probably just wander the land until I can check in at 9:20 (assuming the website info is correct and it's 15 minutes ahead, not the crazy 60 noted in the emails), take in the atmosphere, and then see what mischief I can get into with my new droid buddy afterward. I feel like I'm forfeiting the RD advantage by doing that, but on the other hand it sounds like a more relaxing morning, plus half the point of building a droid is to put a personality chip in it and carry it around to see how it reacts to things around Batuu and this way I'll have all morning for that. I'll do whatever else I can manage in SWGE that morning, then leave whenever it stops being fun--I'll have a second morning later in the trip dedicated to doing RD and hitting anything I missed but still really want to do.

 

[Plumeria89]

I will be coming all the way from Switzerland from 09/04-09/14 and i am super excited (and nervous)as it will be my first Solo Trip to WDW and the US as well
My plan is to do EEMH for 9/5 as i will probably be awake anyway due to Jetlag. I managed to get reservations for that day for Oga's and Droid Depot. However i am wondering how those reservations will work exactly. Lets say you have a 9am Reservation for Droid Depot but the crowds at the Entrance of HS are crazy, how will they manage to make sure that this Person can arrive on time? As it says that if you do not cancel your Reservation 1 day Prior you have to pay the full amount. i personally think they must have a Special entrance for People who have reservations that day. What do you guys think about that? if they do so, it would make quite a difference on when People arrive at HS.

 

[Shughart]

I will be coming all the way from Switzerland from 09/04-09/14 and i am super excited (and nervous)as it will be my first Solo Trip to WDW and the US as well
My plan is to do EEMH for 9/5 as i will probably be awake anyway due to Jetlag. I managed to get reservations for that day for Oga's and Droid Depot. However i am wondering how those reservations will work exactly. Lets say you have a 9am Reservation for Droid Depot but the crowds at the Entrance of HS are crazy, how will they manage to make sure that this Person can arrive on time? As it says that if you do not cancel your Reservation 1 day Prior you have to pay the full amount. i personally think they must have a Special entrance for People who have reservations that day. What do you guys think about that? if they do so, it would make quite a difference on when People arrive at HS.

I am guessing they will probably have a separate entrance/tapstyle for ADR/Reservations and make sure people know somehow whether there is a sign or announcements while waiting. Otherwise there would be a lot of upset people, if they didn't realize they had a separate entrance. Because while some Disney people were savvy enough plan ahead, not all are on here and would think far enough ahead to separate lines/entrances etc.

 

[Plumeria89]

I am guessing they will probably have a separate entrance/tapstyle for ADR/Reservations and make sure people know somehow whether there is a sign or announcements while waiting. Otherwise there would be a lot of upset people, if they didn't realize they had a separate entrance. Because while some Disney people were savvy enough plan ahead, not all are on here and would think far enough ahead to separate lines/entrances etc.

They Kind of have to, i mean just imagine people are getting to their reservations late because of the crowds at the entrance and they will charge you 100 USD People would go crazy. If you miss a FastPass because of the large crowds, the Problem won't be that bad as no costs are involved.

 

[Shughart]

They Kind of have to, i mean just imagine people are getting to their reservations late because of the crowds at the entrance and they will charge you 100 USD People would go crazy. If you miss a FastPass because of the large crowds, the Problem won't be that bad as no costs are involved.

Exactly

 

[MarkinNM]

With the reservations up, a lot of the uncertainty has been removed from my planning. ......

That is very simular to my new plan, no need to RD and be there @ 4+ in the morning now, the mass of craziness has gotten a bit tamer now that the reservation system is alive and hopefully well! I think this was WDW way of crowd control as what they had in DL would not work in WDW with the HUGE amount of resort guests and add the other hotel in the areas, that would have been pure panic and madness and to add that I will be there on the 29th I was getting a bit worried that it was going to be a day of stupid lines, heat, frustration etc.......

 

[Helvetica]

Right now my plan is a Wednesday Morning Extra, Extra Magic Hours in October. I'll be solo, so if the solo rider line is open at that time I'll use it and hope for the best. My plan is to be done with DHS before rope drop and back to my resort for a nap.

If it's too crazy, then I'll just avoid DHS like the plague. I don't really plan on buying a lightsaber or a droid at this time. I'm a bit worried about quality control issues.

 

[monkeymostpurple]

Here's our plan for mid-October. We're going on a Friday, because we're flying in the day before and will be up really early for that flight, so early to bed and then early to rise the next day sounds the most doable in terms of making EEMH and not being grouchy about it (none of us are really morning people, but can be for the right motivation).

We have a Droid Depot reservation at 11:40 am, and an Oga's Cantina reservation at 4:55 pm, so the day is going to look roughly like this:

* be at DHS for rope drop, and go to Jedi Training sign up first, then straight to Smuggler's Run.
* depending on crowd size and wait times on rides when we finish Smuggler's Run, may have breakfast next at Dockbay 7, or may head out of SWGE if wait times on our non-Fastpass rides are short. If we do that, then breakfast will follow a few rides squeezed in before volume builds in the park. If volume is already high, then we'll eat more leisurely and just enjoy the atmosphere.
* Rest of Morning: check out non-SWGE areas, hopefully do Jedi Training here.
* RETURN TO SWGE FOR DROID BUILDING at 11:00ish (or whenever we really need to return and get in queue for that, be it 10:40 or 11:25)
* After droid building, explore a bit with them, let them interact with the world if it's not chaos, and then ...
* HOTEL NAP TIME 1:00-3:00 -> get away from the heat and crowds and chill out for a bit
* 4:00 return to DHS and go straight to Oga's for a drink, then assess what the various ride wait times are. Maybe ride some stuff, maybe grab dinner. Hang out until fireworks at the end of the night.

The real key to this plan is that we have the next day completely off, so it doesn't matter if we're wrecked. And if we don't get a morning Jedi Training slot, and have to do an afternoon one, then we will probably forget about the nap and fireworks, and stay until our drinks in Oga's and head home after that.

Anyway, that's my plan, and if it all goes bust, that's fine, too. My kids are over the moon excited and will love anything SW they get to see and do.

 

[MarkinNM]

If it's too crazy, then I'll just avoid DHS like the plague. I don't really plan on buying a lightsaber or a droid at this time. I'm a bit worried about quality control issues.

huh.....................DL has been opened with no huge QC issues noted.......

 

[yorkieteacher]

We had our September 6-12 trip set for 7 months before they announced SWGE opening, and at first planned on totally avoiding that part of HS. We were just going to HS for a half day for TSL . Now that we were able to get Oga's Cantina reservations for 8pm, we are going to go EEMH for TSL, take a long midday break, come back for our SDD and Star Tours fast passes at 6 and 7pm, then see if we can go ahead and get in GE about 730. We plan on just looking around before and after our cantina visit, and maybe trying MFSR if the line isn't ridiculous. DGS wants a Porg. Since we weren't expecting to be able to get near GE, its all good!

 

[Helvetica]

huh.....................DL has been opened with no huge QC issues noted.......

Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought that I read that there have been issues with the $100 droids. I figure it would be better for me to wait just in case. It’s not like I won’t be back again in 6 months.

Plus, I want a hot pink BB-8. I don’t think that’s an option right now.

 

[YawningDodo]

That is very simular to my new plan, no need to RD and be there @ 4+ in the morning now, the mass of craziness has gotten a bit tamer now that the reservation system is alive and hopefully well! I think this was WDW way of crowd control as what they had in DL would not work in WDW with the HUGE amount of resort guests and add the other hotel in the areas, that would have been pure panic and madness and to add that I will be there on the 29th I was getting a bit worried that it was going to be a day of stupid lines, heat, frustration etc.......

Honestly, I'm glad that right now it looks like they're just going to be back on regular park hours during my visit in January, no EEMH madness. I'd feel obligated to take advantage of that time, and with the time change (I live in mountain time) a 6:00 RD would feel like 4:00 in the morning to me! Especially since I'm doing my reservations on my first park day (so I have time to go back at RD later in the trip if I miss things), that's a big no thank you.

I also ended up getting a 12:30 Oga's reservation for the same day, so it looks like I'll be there until lunchtime. That should give me two, two and a half hours between reservations to explore, which is hopefully enough time to ride an attraction but not the end of the world if I end up needing to do both attractions on my second pass later in the trip. Not going to reserve anything for the second day I hit SWGE, since that'll be a weekday and the name of the game will be non-FP+ experiences.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought that I read that there have been issues with the $100 droids. I figure it would be better for me to wait just in case. It’s not like I won’t be back again in 6 months.

Plus, I want a hot pink BB-8. I don’t think that’s an option right now.

The issues I've read about have all been with the BB-series droids. Some have reported that the two halves of the ball fall apart when it's in motion; others have reported that the two halves of the ball are too hard to twist open to get at the actuator inside (and therefore the on/off switch!). While I'm sure that for everyone who's had an issue there's someone else who's perfectly happy with the purchase, that's part of why I plan to build an R-series droid--that and I just like the classic look. I'm not convinced the BB issues are likely to ever be fully resolved; it just seems like a design that's never going to work as well in real life as it does onscreen.

Re: hot pink, though, they sell decals you can add to your droid at the end in case they didn't have the full color scheme you wanted. Not sure if they come in pink but maybe someone else can pipe up.

 

[LarrySos]

We will be there on the 29th opening day and did plan on showing up super early BUT...........................

With being able to book reservations for all 3, lightsaber, droid and Oga's planning on NOT being there at the crack of dawn! Hopefully this does mean we will be able to get into SWGE now without waiting in HUGE long lines.......

I’m really hoping they have a solid plan for the first few days after opening. We scored 3 droid and 2 Savi reservation on the August 30th. Ours aren’t until 4:35 and 6:25. I really do not plan on getting there before rope drop if we do not have to as we already plan to do HS earlier in the week. I don’t know.......maybe we will still have to get there early and wonder around HS until later???? We are so excited! Extended our trip by a few days to try to get into SWGE..... I’m really hoping they will give more details on how/who/when they will let people in.

 

[MarkinNM]

I’m really hoping they have a solid plan for the first few days after opening. We scored 3 droid and 2 Savi reservation on the August 30th. Ours aren’t until 4:35 and 6:25. I really do not plan on getting there before rope drop if we do not have to as we already plan to do HS earlier in the week. I don’t know.......maybe we will still have to get there early and wonder around HS until later???? We are so excited! Extended our trip by a few days to try to get into SWGE..... I’m really hoping they will give more details on how/who/when they will let people in.

I am sure that is to come.......WDW has been way tight liped about SWGE as the reservation thing just showed up with ZERO notice, I was messing around on the web page and happened to click the right link and BAM.........hope my luck continues to hold up......

 

[Bradster1067]

We have a mid-December trip. We have 3 and a half days planned solely for Galaxy's Edge since we're huge Star Wars fans and really want to do everything there. Thankfully, reservations went up for Savi's, the Droid Depot and Oga's Cantina, so we might not need all those days anymore. Since Rise of the Resistance is opening 10 days before our trip, we plan on getting to the Park early for opening so we can just run to the rides and hopefully have a fairly short wait. Then just explore and dine between reservations.