UPDATE: Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Construction Progress, Including Millennium Falcon and Gate Speculation (September 2017)

At our last construction update for Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge we saw how the Millennium Falcon attraction is really coming along with two more circles of the ride system being installed and also the First Order Battle Escape attraction being closed up.  In our latest Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Construction Progress report we’ll take a look at the entrance to Galaxy’s Edge, as well as progress on the attractions and the rest of the land.

Here’s an overhead look at all 14 acres of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

On the right you can see the two buildings under construction are the First Order Battle Escape and the Millennium Falcon attractions.  On the left you see the border with Toy Story Land, and at the top you can see the new Grand Avenue, also under construction (more on that coming).  Also on the bottom left you’ll see a tan building that is the last remnants of the buildings from the Backlots days:

Now why is the gate important you ask?  When looking at an old photo of the concept art for Galaxy’s Edge we found something interesting.  If you look at the picture towards the middle bottom you see a entryway with 2 gates.  Obviously that’s not what we are seeing in the construction at Hollywood Studios.  In fact because of the theming difference between Grand Ave and Galaxy’s Edge, a more gradual transition is needed, it wouldn’t look right walking down the streets of L.A. and from there seeing the world of Star Wars.

When you look at the walls coming back towards Galaxy’s Edge from the gate you notice it’s a very high entryway, very dramatic.  The most likely scenario is a tunnel designed like the Figueroa Street Tunnels in Los Angeles, that brings you to a point further up into the land where you then see something like the gates in the concept art above.  That way the surprise isn’t ruined from Grand Ave.

Why the Figueroa Street Tunnels you ask?  First the design looks awfully similar to the gate being built right now on Grand Ave.  Look at them:

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Secondly did you see what the name of the old write-shop is where BaseLine Tap House is going?  That’s right: the Figueroa Printing Company:

I think it’s too much to just be a coincidence…

Onto the rest of Galaxy’s Edge.  Here you can see the Millennium Falcon attraction building.  Also of not is a new steel building at the bottom that will probably be a support building to the attraction or staging:

You can see the 4 circles in the ground, presumably representing the Millennium Falcon ride system:

A close-up of the ride system for Millennium Falcon:

There’s a lot of speculation on just exactly what this system is.  Some say it will be a simulation built like Mission Space in Epcot and will spin guests around at light-speeds fit for the Millennium Falcon to simulate flight.  Others however feel it will be more of a Carousel of Progress-type system where the whole room will spin from scene to scene (obviously a little more exciting that C.O.P.), and you will turn, others will load and your ride experience continues without really noticing that anything else is happening but what is going on in your cabin.

Whatever the ride system is, it will need to have a tremendous capacity as the park will be packed with people wanting to experience Galaxy’s Edge for a good while and the Millennium Falcon ride will have to hold a lot of people per hour.

Another interesting thought is how they will simulate flight to make it feel different than just a glorified version of Star Tours.  Flight of Passage in AK does a great job of this, but it also has effects like wind and water to make you actually feel like your flying.  The Millennium Falcon is closed up so I don’t think you’ll be feeling much wind.  I guess we’ll have to stay tuned until Disney clues us in a bit on what it will be like.

The two buildings in the foreground above are Great Movie Ride/Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (left) and Toy Story Midway Mania (right).  That just shows you how truly massive the First Order Battle Escape attraction is going to be!

Although a bit different, the First Order Battle Escape also has a big circle in the ground:

The building is almost closed up:

Lastly you’ll see the foundation for a new building coming to Galaxy’s Edge.

Don’t forget that if you look at the Model of Galaxy’s Edge from D23 Expo, you’ll see that these show buildings won’t really even be visible to the guests in the park as they’ll be covered by a mountain range over them:

Those are the updates for now, but stay tuned as there’s a lot of work between now and the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in 2019.

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Construction Progress for September.  What do you think the Entrance Gate will be like?  What will the Millennium Falcon ride system be like?  Let us know in the comments section below!

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