Disney Responds to Long Lines at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

[Stu]

Even though Disney is using a reservation system at Disneyland's Star Wars Galaxy's Edge there is still a large number of guests entering the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu at any one time.

On opening day it could be seen that long lines formed very quickly outside of Oga's Cantina, Savi's Workshop, Droid Depot and Smugglers Run.

Smugglers run can easily hold very large lines within the attraction queue system which snakes its way inside around the back of the Millennium Falcon on a lower and finally an elevated level.

Oga's Cantina, Savi's Workshop and Droid Depot have been designed to be relatively small areas to help guests feel they are on planet Batuu and not in a theme park. This means that large lines quickly spill out in to the main areas of the land impeding other guests trying to walk past.

On opening day these lines snaked back and forth two or three times outside and Disney Cast members did well to try and keep the lines as orderly as possible, however it was clear that something needed to change.

Disney responded very quickly to the issue of these long lines and have now implemented a 'Virtual Queue' system for attractions like Oga's Cantina.

You enter a line away from the attraction and a cast member takes your details and gives you a return time, at your return time you join a much shorter line at the entrance to the attraction. Whilst waiting for your return time you are free explore the other attractions at the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu.

We tested the Virtual queue at Oga's Cantina and it worked very well, the queue to get the reservation was about 10-15 minutes and the return time was 75 minutes from when we made the reservation. After 75 minutes we returned to an area outside of Oga's Cantina where our reservation was checked and we were given an entrance ticket. There was a short queue of guests which also had entrance tickets in front of us. After about 10 minutes we were escorted in to Oga's Cantina where were told that our time was limited to 45 minutes. We were also asked to stay in the area that we had been shown to.

If you were shown to a booth then you had to wait to be served at the booth and could not order at the bar. Similarly if you were shown to the Bar as we were then you could only order over the Bar and not move to a booth as one became empty.

Although nothing has been announced I would expect this virtual queue system to be employed from the outset when Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opens at Walt Disney World.