To say that Disneyland’s new “Star Wars”–themed Galaxy’s Edge attraction is a big deal would be an understatement. The highly anticipated $1 billion, 14-acre immersive expansion was the biggest in park history. Since its June opening, visitors have been able to pilot the Millennium Falcon, build lightsabers and drink blue milk. The hype over the new attraction’s products has caused people to steal branded sporks, of all things. To ensure that the park wouldn’t be mobbed with “Star Wars” fans, Disneyland put crowd-control measures in place; Galaxy’s Edge was only accessible to those with reservations until June 23. But it seems that the measures may have worked too well, depending on whom you ask. Don’t miss:At Disneyland’s new ‘Star Wars’ attraction, brace yourself for $200 lightsabers, $42 cocktails and 4 a.m. lines Plus:Visiting Disneyland’s Star Wars attractions? Save yourself $200 by reading the fine print This week, long after the reservation embargo, the park is empty. Well, empty for Disneyland. That’s right — if you visit Disneyland these days, you’ll find a scene out of your theme-park dreams: strolling up to your favorite ride and hopping right on with little to no wait. It’s being called a “ghost town” by some visitors. Have people abandoned the purported happiest place in the world? Of course not. According to the Orange County Register, there may be a few factors beyond the reservation system that have contributed to the apparent lack of bodies. First, the obvious: Rather than hanging out in the rest of the park, everyone is heading to the hot new thing, which is Galaxy’s Edge. Second, another crowd-control precaution is that most annual passes are blocked out for most of June, July and August, which constitute a majority of the more than 1 million pass holders who would normally fill the space. Plus, across the way, Disney California Adventure has added some alluring rides. Lastly, there’s the fact that Disney has actually been working on how to cope with the increased capacity, with its Project Stardust examining infrastructure to see how traffic flow and access can be improved. So far the results have included getting rid of bottlenecks at lines, widening paths and moving obstruction-risk objects like planters and food carts. Disney doesn’t seem worried, saying in a statement: “We are incredibly focused on delivering a great guest experience for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This land has added 20 percent more capacity to Disneyland Park, and together with all of our new offerings, advanced planning and innovative technology, has resulted in incredible feedback and satisfaction from our guests.” Some outlets are promoting the shorter wait times, retweeting pictures of the underpopulated park. Even so, Disney DIS, -0.95% is slowly relaxing its crowd-control efforts to attract more people, like a $99 bring-a-friend incentive for passholders, which is usually priced at $149. (If you’re one of the blocked-out passholders, you can also purchase a pass for $99.) And park employees who were initially blocked out for the anticipated Galaxy Edge rush have since been welcomed, till midmonth anyway. Read on:Disney heiress ‘livid’ after going to one of the theme parks undercover This report previously appeared at NYPost.com.
Measures put in place to prevent overcrowding at Disneyland's Star Wars-themed attraction have caused visitors to complain that the rest of the park seems empty. The new "Star Wars" land opened on May 25, and has been plagued by complaints from guests who say they are unable to find a seat for their group or even an empty one. However, a combination of the limited number of visitors and overwhelming demand to explore the new attraction means other areas of the park have been left with scarce numbers of people.