2018 was the year that our family took our first Disney Cruise, and also experienced our first visit to Disney World. The Disney Cruise had been a bucket list item for a long time and the idea of the Star Wars Day at Sea was the tipping point to make it happen. While we love all Disney movies, the Star Wars movies are our absolute favorite. We own every one. Nine out of ten Friday nights are spent watching one during our family movie night. So, you can imagine our excitement over the emerging details of the 2019 Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at both Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in California. Peeking over to the construction site for Galaxy’s Edge at Disney World garnered a lot of excitement for our family.
Header photo: Courtesy Disney
Here are our favorite Star Wars experiences that already exist. But 2019 is surely to be a year to remember for Star Wars fans with the Galaxy’s Edge opening in both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Learn about what’s to come for 2019 Star Wars, that is even more exciting!
2018-2019 Star Wars Virtual Reality at Disney World
One of my favorite Star Wars experiences at Disney World was the VOID’s Star Wars virtual reality at Disney World. Here I got to don virtual reality gear and enter a hyper reality world of a Star Wars adventure. Our team stepped into an immersive world disguised as Storm Troopers to embark on a rebel mission to capture Imperial intelligence. So much fun! The great news is that now you don’t even have to be in Orlando to experience it. Families can currently experience the Void’s “Secrets of the Empire” in Anaheim, CA; Glendale, CA; Las Vegas, NV; and London, UK, in addition to Orlando, FL. And, it is coming soon to Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Dallas, TX; Hollywood, CA; Minneapolis, MN, Santa Monica, CA and Edmonton, Canada.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple
Our kids experienced Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple at the Star Wars Day at Sea aboard our Disney Cruise. Jedi Training is where Padawan wannabes can train with lightsabers and fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul. Every child is provided with a Jedi robe and light saber. They then participate as a group to train and then fight the Empire. This special Star Wars experience is also available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Star Wars Launch Bay at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Star Wars Launch Bay at Hollywood Studios is a central locale for fans celebrating all things Star Wars. It includes new scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, a reimagined Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, and “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular,” a dazzling Star Wars-themed fireworks, laser and special effects show set to memorable Star Wars music from throughout the saga.
Coming 2019 Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
This new visionary Star Wars-themed land is coming to both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. Disney promises it is “ultra-immersive” and a place where Star Wars characters and their stories will come to life. This is not hard to believe. The Galaxy’s Edge is slated to open in Disneyland first sometime around summer 2019 and then sometime around fall 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Black Spire Outpost is the name of the village inside of the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. As the largest settlement on the planet Batuu, Black Spire Outpost is an infamous stop for traders, adventurers, and smugglers traveling around the Outer Rim and Wild Space.
Highlights feature two signature attractions, including the ability to take the controls of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, on a customized secret mission, and an epic Star Wars adventure that puts guests in the middle of a climactic battle.
Luxury Star Wars Hotel near Disney’s Hollywood Studios
There aren’t many details that have yet been released on this new luxury Star Wars themed hotel in the works. There is no opening date, so likely it will be after 2019. But we do know that it will be a special experience for the Star Wars fan.
According to the Disney Parks Blog, “Families visiting this destination will board a starship that comes alive with characters and stories that unfold all around them during their voyage through the galaxy – and every cabin window has views of space! Guests visiting the multi-day adventure will also be welcome to participate as a resident of the Galaxy by dressing in Star Wars-inspired attire.”
For each Star Wars hotel guest, their individual story and movements follow them throughout Galaxy’s Edge and back to the hotel throughout the course of their stay. Hotel guests can accept personalized “secret missions” to further enhance their own individual stories.
What new Star Wars experience has you most excited? Disney’s 2019 Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with the planet Batuu? Star Wars Virtual Reality at the Void? Or, are you holding out for the new luxury immersive Disney hotel? Tell us in the comments below!
