Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Update December 2018 – Millennium Falcon Details Added

In this latest Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Construction Update for December 2018 we’re going to see what’s new in Disney’s most anticipated new land in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  There are tons of new details being added to the buildings and the land in general everyday and one of the coolest is the construction of the Millennium Falcon is well underway out in front of the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction.

Also lots of details have been added to the rockwork throughout Galaxy’s Edge, the Entrance to Toy Story Land, and even a Backstage Gate added near Black Spire Outpost.

Since our last update of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, we’ve learned a bunch of new stuff about the guest experience here including the official names of both attractions (Millennium Falcon: Smugger’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance).  Both of these look incredible and you better start getting used to waiting in line 5+ hours for them because they are that good!

In fact many experts on attraction wait times have anticipated that wait times for Galaxy’s Edge attractions could easily reach 6+ Hours in the first weeks and months of opening.

Thanks as always to @bioreconstruct over on Twitter, who gets some awesome aerial shots of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge for you to see what’s going on high above all the construction on the ground!  Let’s dive in and see what’s new in our Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge construction update for December 2018:

If you’ve already read this update before, Click Here for the latest photos

Here is a beautiful shot of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land from high up above.

It’s incredible to see the difference in size between the two lands.  Not just in sheer size alone as 11 acres to 14 isn’t really that big a difference, but in walking space it’s night and day.  Just look at the top photo and see how many more walking paths there are in Galaxy’s Edge.  It’s a good thing too because if you thought Toy Story Land or Pandora were crowded, you haven’t seen anything yet!

Speaking of Toy Story Land, we know there are going to be two entrances into Galaxy’s Edge, one of them coming from Toy Story Land.  Here we can see just where that will happen:

Notice the gorgeous rock work along the berm leading into Galaxy’s Edge.  Part of the berm though is left without rocks and that part won’t be visible to guests as it will be in a cast member area unless they continue laying rock further down the line:

Let’s move over to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.  Here we have a nice aerial shot from the Grand Avenue side of things with the tunnel entrance at the bottom middle of the photo:

The sheer size and cope of this project is incredible!  You can see a group of construction workers having a meeting at the bottom arrow:

If you missed it, this is what it will look like inside:

In “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.” On this attraction guests will be joining a two-part epic space battle between the Resistance and the First Order abroad a Star Destroyer and then facing off against Kylo Ren at the end.

A side shot from out in front of the Rise of the Resistance attraction shows the rock work along the berm and where guests will come in.  Essentially when they enter Galaxy’s Edge they are going to have this attraction right in front of them along with full-sized X-Wings in front!

More site work is being done at the from of Rise of the Resistance with some smaller buildings going up and a hill for the berm being put in place:

Let’s move over to Black Spire Outpost where the most dangerous villains in the galaxy will be hanging out soon:

Here you’re going to have your marketplace with shops and two restaurants (Oga’s Cantina and a yet-to-be-named quick service restaurant in Galaxy’s Edge).

The walking space inside here is awesome and I can imagine it will take some time to learn to navigate Galaxy’s Edge.  With a closer look we can start to see some of the details coming into Black Spire Outpost with domes being installed on the buildings and the beginning of building exteriors:

Here’s a good shot of the first space shuttle in Galaxy’s Edge which has landed on the roof:

This building is one of the most detailed ones so far with lots of the rough exterior already in place:

The level of detail again is really insane and they obviously need to make it look beat up and worn like it’s been here for at least hundreds of years.  I’d say they are doing an incredible job so far!

Here’s a side view of one of the domed roofs being installed.  You can see it in the bottom middle and the dome is visible on the right so far:

Here’s a close-up:

Lastly let’s move on to the Millennium Falcon attraction: Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and a giant replica of the iconic spaceship parked outside the entrance:

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is not only opening in Hollywood Studios, but first in Disneyland.  In fact they have already completed their full-sized Millennium Falcon outside the Smuggler’s Run attraction and it looks incredible!

While the Disneyland version of the Millennium Falcon was just completed this week, the Hollywood Studios version is a little further behind, though you can already see the skeleton of the Falcon pretty much all up already.  Imagine what it will be like walking past it for the first time!

A closer look above the Millennium Falcon gives us a look at the workers on the top level:

Lastly we have a behind view of the front of the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction and you can see the spaceship being built at the bottom.  The arrows are pointing out some of the small details throughout Black Spire Outpost that when it’s done are going to make Galaxy’s Edge stand out above the rest.

If you have any doubts whether Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is going to live up to the hype, I swear every construction update I do for it just confirms how much is going into this incredible land.  Disney knows they are being watched by the entire world for this project and they don’t have any intentions to disappoint!

UPDATE 12/18/18 – Millennium Falcon Progress, Backstage Gate Added:

Progress has been made on the Millennium Falcon construction in front of the Smuggler’s Run attraction, and lots of details added to Black Spire Outpost too.  Honestly what Disney is doing is unbelievably impressive and if some people weren’t all that thrilled with Toy Story Land, they are going to have a change of heart when Galaxy’s Edge opens up in 2019.

Let’s see what’s new:

Let’s first look down on Galaxy’s Edge in the area over the “Rise of the Resistance” attraction:

There is scaffolding everywhere in this area and you can start to see a lot of details being up into the rockwork on the walls near and above the attraction:

Where the wood forms are setup is in between the entrance and exit to Rise of the Resistance and should form a rock wall in that area:

Don’t forget that there are going to be full-sized X-Wings sitting there out in front of the Resistance base which you can only imagine how many cool photo opportunities there will be!

Right out in front of the Rise of the Resistance attraction is the main entrance into Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge from Grand Avenue.  The tunnel there will transport guests into this other world right at the top of the photo below:

Now let’s head over to the heart of Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire Outpost:

This is where the shops and restaurants are going to be, along with many hidden pathways, doors and all sorts of Star Wars goodies.  Let’s look at some of the cool details we started seeing from the Galaxy’s Edge model at D23 Expo 2017 and how those details are actually being implemented.  Here you can see in the middle of Black Spire Outpost a rock spire shooting up in the middle of the market:

Here is what it looked like in the model, right there in the middle:

Another one is the change in elevation on the pathways throughout Black Spire Outpost.  Here we have a ramp going up in the middle of the buildings:

Here you can see how that was though up in the model:

This is one of my favorite buildings in Galaxy’s Edge (Oga’s Cantina).  I love the open-air roof going through the entrance and leading to inside:

Again here it is on the model:

Here is another shot of the same area.  Look at how similar it looks to the model:

The domes on the tops of the roofs are really impressive looking too, especially the shiny silver one at the bottom arrow:

Here we have an interesting development as it looks like some sort of gate leading to a backstage area which will probably be used for cast members:

It’s right behind Black Spire Outpost and in between the two attractions:

In Disney’s Hollywood Studios Galaxy’s Edge is going to have 2 entrances.  The one previously mentioned leading in from Grand Avenue, and this one going off to Toy Story Land.  More work is being done on the hill between these two lands and also on the rockwork lining the entrance:

A cool touch are the trees in the middle of the path, giving it a really out-there feeling:

Lastly we head over to the second attraction: Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run:

As you know we are getting a full-sized Millennium Falcon parked out in front of the attraction and the construction on the frame of the spaceship is coming along nicely.  One look around the sides reveal the impressive rock spires shooting overhead.  Love the details on them, especially the paint work which give them a distinctly old, petrified look to them:

Here you get a better shot of both:

In the boxes on the ground are all the theming details which will be placed on the sides of the Millennium Falcon, giving it its patented shape and look:

 

UPDATE 12/30/18 – Details Added to Millennium Falcon and Petrified Trees:

Things keep rolling along in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge this month and we’ve had a ton of new updates and information come out.  One of our favorite details is the  theming being added to the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy (Millennium Falcon) and also the theming being put in Black Spire Outpost.  The more they do the more I’m blown away, it’s quite incredible!

Here is an aerial shot high above Galaxy’s Edge, with the two attractions on the left and the Black Spire Outpost at the top center:

Looking out in front of the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction we see more progress on the wall and the entrance/exit to the ride:

In this picture you can see where the main entrance into Galaxy’s Edge is towards the top left, and right in front of that the yellow arrow is pointing at a completed wall of some kind.  It’s unclear exactly what’s going out in front of the Rise of the Resistance attraction, but we do know there will be some full-sized X-Wings in the nearby vicinity.

Notice to the right of the tunnel entrance into the land is most likely where the entrance to the Rise of the Resistance attraction itself will go:

Also the orange construction fences indicate some new structures coming to the area.  

Now let’s move over to Black Spire Outpost:

This is where the majority of the shopping will happen in what will be a marketplace-like area:

This is a passageway leading through Black Spire Outpost:

More cool details are everywhere!  Where the arrow is pointing is where a huge petrified tree is going to go.

You can see that tree the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge model, right in the center:

Also near the other entrance into the land from Toy Story Land, there is going to be a petrified tree at the right arrow, greeting guests as they walk past:

You can see it better from this side:

On to my favorite current project in Galaxy’s Edge, the giant Millennium Falcon parked outside the Smuggler’s Run attraction:

The frame is up for it, but now all the details need to be added.

Speaking of details you’ve gotta take a look at how awesome this next set of photos are:

This shot is what really blows my mind about Galaxy’s Edge.  Just look at the wall, probably 50 or 60 feet above the Millennium Falcon, and the attention to detail that Disney is putting into this amazing land:

I mean no one can even see that from the ground practically, but it looks like Disney is going all out to make this the most realistic environment possible in the Star Wars universe!  Definitely more than Toy Story Land.  They know the whole world is watching and this is a great sign for us guests!

This is also a cool shot where we can see the theming elements being brought over to the Falcon before being installed.  All the small gadgets and things going on the outside of the Falcon are in those boxes:

It’s going to take a while still, but slowly, piece by piece it will be assembled, until it looks like the concept art:

Be sure to watch the amazing behind the scenes video Disney released during the Christmas Day parade.  You can see all new footage from the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attractions!

We don’t have an exact date yet, but Disney has dropped some clues for us that can help to answer the question: When is Galaxy’s Edge Opening?  We know it’s going to be Disneyland on May 31, 2019 and in Hollywood Studios on August 29, 2019, and that post goes into more depth in narrowing down the dates.

For more info read our Complete Guide to Star Wars Land in Disney for a detailed look at the attractions, dining, planning and touring strategies.

Other Disney World Construction Updates:

• Disney Skyliner Update (January 2019) – Gondola Cable Cars Being Tested in Disney World
• Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster Update (January 2019) – Attraction Building Closed-Up
• Epcot Forever Fireworks Show Update (January 2019) – New Work on World Showcase Lagoon for Illuminations Replacement Show
• TRON Roller Coaster Update (December 2018) – Disney World Railroad Tracks Torn Up for Construction
• Space Restaurant Epcot Update (December 2018) – Foundation Installed for Sphere Dining Room
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Construction Update (December 2018) – Canal Area in France Pavilion Closed for Construction

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Construction Update for December 2018…

• Are you excited for Galaxy’s Edge?
• Which attraction are you most looking forward to?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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Photo Credit: @Bioreconstruct