I was lucky enough to visit Galaxy’s Edge a few weeks after it opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Orlando. We were staying at The Royal Pacific a Universal Hotel but had already decided to include Galaxy’s Edge in our holiday itinerary as my husband first saw Star Wars when it premiered in 1977 and our son was obsessed with all things Star Wars as a child.

Myself, I’m not a huge fan in fact I don’t think I’ve seen the latest movies but I knew Universal had done such a good job with the Wizarding world of Harry Potter that Disney would try to beat or at least equal it.

I wasn’t disappointed. Although there’s only one ride at present – Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the 14 acre site based on the Planet of Batuu at Hollywood Studios will take your breath away. A second ride – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opens in December. Around every corner there’s something amazing to see; full size space ships and fighters, droids, land craft, authentic market stalls ( gift shops), multiple dining opportunities and the highlight of it all The Millennium Falcon. I can only try to imagine how much it cost to build it all.

If you’re lucky you’ll get to see the Stormtroopers totally in character, see Chewie and engineers working on the Millennium Falcon and other craft. Even the floor sweepers and shop assistants are in character and costume. The water fountains and restrooms are also highly themed – I had to ask how the soap dispensers worked after waving my hands around trying to activate them.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Due to the long waiting time we opted for the single riders line which we have used occasionally at Universal. This cut our wait time to about 10 minutes, getting to queue together but knowing we’d most likely get split up to join the ride as they use the single riders to fill in, for example if there are 5 to a party they’ll take a single rider to fill the sixth seat. The other drawback is that the single rider line takes a different route to the general line and so much of the theming is missed out on.

As you reach the end of the line an assistant hands out boarding cards – 6 at a time; 2 pilots, 2 Gunners and 2 engineers. On our first time we actually got to ride together and both of us were engineers. The groups of six have boarding cards all the same colour with the job description on the bottom. You then enter the Millennium Falcon with other groups and have the opportunity to take photos sat at the chess table before your groups colour is called. An assistant groups you into two’s according to your position – Pilots first.

You are then escorted to the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon and seated into your positions. Here there’s a dazzling display of control levers and switches. It is a motion ride so you have to fasten your seat belt. The effects are very good and you feel like you are in control. We rode twice and had different endings so i’m not sure if I was actually controlling the ship of not when I got to be the pilot. We got split up on our second ride and my other half got a gunners position – I keep reminding him that I Piloted the Millennium Falcon. The right hand pilot has the up and down controls and the left hand pilot the sideways controls. As the cockpit moves in conjunction with the screen it may affect some people with motion sickness (similar to the Simpsons ride at Universal ).

Market place shops at Black Spire Outpost Village

There are shops selling Storm Trooper uniforms and Imperial Military uniforms from the first order and the Resistance robes seen in the early films. You won’t find the usual figures and models we’ve come to expect but you will find everything you need to survive on the Planet of Batuu. From cute and not so cute alien animals to essential supplies, musical instruments to play in the Cantina and even kitchen implements.

I just wanted to buy everything I saw but as we were mainly on a Universal Holiday and had already splashed out on a one day ticket to Disney’s Hollywood Studios we had to rein our spending in. Tip – It’s gets cheaper the more days you buy. I hate to admit to it but all we bought was a few Galaxy’s Edge Coke, sprite and diet Coke bottles modelled on thermal detonators from the films. I believe these were initially banned by some airlines due to their shape. The brand is written in Star Wars language Aurebesh. I felt a little stupid when i asked how much and was told 6 Credits. It was 6 Dollars. Reminded me of Gringott’s Money Exchange at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter where you can change your dollars to Gringott’s notes to spend at Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

These bottles make a great souvenir to display when you get home. We had to drink them though as we couldn’t put them in our hand luggage. I believe several people have been stopped at airport security due to their shape.

All in all a great day. We arrived at 9am and left about 7pm exhausted from all the walking. We only spent about 2 hours at the most in the rest of Hollywood Studios for a sit down and a Funnel cake. A one day, one park ticket was $109 plus tax each at the gate. The scenery and theming were amazing and yes we’d go again.

Guide to shops and places to dine

Have you been to see Galaxy’s Edge – please leave a comment and we can compare notes.