How Disney’s Preparing for Star Wars Land Crowds

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Why Annual Passholders May Have to Wait 2 Months Before Seeing Star Wars Land

There’s no official opening day, but a recent survey suggests Disney’s already preparing for massive Star Wars Land crowds by increasing park pricing and blackout dates. To no doubt help address potentially disastrous wait times, Disney conducted a recent survey of Annual Passholders. In the survey, passholders were asked to choose from the following options:

  • Purchase a regular park admission ticket during a two-month blackout period after the opening of new attractions
  • Upgrade to a pass without blackout dates to be able to view attractions on opening day
  • Wait out the two month black-out period

The survey appears to be an attempt by Disney to determine if current passholders will upgrade passes to be able to avoid a potential two month black-out date period once Star Wars Land opens or if they will purchase a one day ticket to be able to view attractions as soon as they open. There has been no official statement made by Disney, nor any confirmation that this is the case.

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While this may feel like bad news to Disney annual passholders already paying hundreds of dollars a year to enjoy the parks, if true this shows an effort on Disney’s part to provide a better visitor experience and reduce Star Wars Land crowds. Annual passport prices increased across the board this year.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Disappointed Guests on Opening Day

When the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened in Universal Studios Orlando, it was meant to bring the beloved books to life – fulfilling the dreams of thousands of Potter fans. Unfortunately, the park wasn’t prepared for the massive crowds that gathered on opening day. Guests waited for up to four hours in the hot Orlando humidity to simply be able to make it through the park gates. That didn’t include attraction wait times which took several hours. Flash forward to two years later, and wait times are still around 3 hours long for Harry Potter attractions. That hasn’t been the case at Universal Studios Hollywood, where Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has a wait time of around 30 minutes. Star Wars Land crowds will no doubt match that of the Wizarding World.

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Addressing the Crowds

Popular attractions don’t just mean long wait times in the heat, it can also mean ride closures. One of the biggest complaints about Epcot’s Frozen Ever After, is that is has been breaking down often. Guests have waited up to 5 hours in line, just to have the attraction shut down for repairs. This is a common problem for new attractions, and during days with high park attendance. The Radiator Springs attraction in California Adventure’s Cars Land broke down several times during it’s first few days of operation.

Disney is smart to their best to control park attendance, and prevent ride closures when Star Wars Land opens. How do you feel about the two month blackout date? Would you upgrade your annual pass, purchase a one day ticket during the blackout period or wait the two months?

 

Michelle McKinley is a journalist and digital marketer from Los Angeles, CA. She earned her Journalism degree from Pepperdine University, and has been writing for the web since 2003. She’s a life-long Disney fan who travels and writes about her experiences for fun.

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