Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Uses New Virtual Queue on Opening Day

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at the Disneyland Resort ended its reservations-only period Monday and quickly reached capacity after opening to the full public.

Officially opened May 31, early Galaxy's Edge attendees could visit the land through reservations made when booking a stay at any of the three Disneyland Resort hotels or by winning a reservation in a first-come, first-serve basis online. Those reservations were quickly exhausted just hours after going live in early May.

Disneyland introduced innovative digital planning tools and a virtual queue system to manage anticipated crowds, which came out in full force Monday as Galaxy's Edge opened for the first time without the reservation system in place.

As reported by THR, guests were met with a three-hour wait time for the land's star attraction, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and the land was forced to turn away walk-ins less than an hour after opening at 7:30 a.m. The wait time for Smugglers Run, currently the sole ride anchoring the land, was down to 40 minutes by 10 a.m.; the official Disneyland app now has the E-ticket attraction at a 65-minute wait.

Park goers planning to enter Galaxy's Edge can still enter the land and are encouraged to reference the designated section of the Disneyland app, which now lists the land status as accessible through boarding group only. When the virtual queue system is in place, guests are required to join a boarding group through the Disneyland app to receive a designated return time.

Guests are then free to explore the resort while the virtual queue holds their place in line. When it's time for guests to embark on their Star Wars adventure, push notifications through the app will alert guests when their boarding group is allowed entry to the land. That boarding group will then have two hours to make their way to Galaxy's Edge.

Signage throughout the park and in the app will keep guests updated on the land's status at all times.

Disneyland notes capacity is limited and entrance to Galaxy's Edge and its experiences is not guaranteed. Due to high demand and limited capacity, hot spots Oga's Cantina and Savi's Workshop - Handbuilt Lightsabers remain reservation-only. Reservations for these experiences must be booked on same day of visit with valid credit card, beginning at 7 a.m.

As reservations for both the Cantina and the lightsaber building experience will allow access into Galaxy's Edge at the time of the reservation, joining a boarding group is not necessary if the digital queue system is activated on that day.

Read ComicBook.com's extensive Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge review and stay tuned for further coverage as the Disneyland Resort readies the land's second major attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, expected to open before end of year 2019.