The Smuggler’s Run attraction has already ed one million pilots at Star Wars theme park at Disneyland has only been open for just under two months now, with the second Galaxy’s Edge attraction due to open in Florida’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort on Aug. 29.
The two parks were first announced back in 2015, roughly four months before the Star Wars film franchise set off in a new direction with J.J. Abrams’ building their own lightsabers, one of the most popular attractions in the park is Smuggler’s Run, which allows fans to pilot the legendary Millennium Falcon.
In fact, the popularity of Smuggler’s Run has grown so much in the short amount of time it’s been open to the public that the actual numbers are stunning. According to Polygon, Galaxy’s Edge sees roughly 24,000 guests through its Smuggler’s Run attraction per day, with its millionth guest having recently taken flight in the Millennium Falcon. The heavy numbers are further proof to critics that Galaxy’s Edge isn’t suffering from any attendance issues whatsoever.
The millionth guest to ride Smuggler’s Run was 8-year-old Jonathan Ridgeway, who experienced the attraction on July 16. There’s currently no word as to what sort of celebration was thrown for Ridgeway after he completed his milestone journey, but there is a photo of the young Star Wars fan and his family, seated in the Millennium Falcon in the company of Chewbacca. Disneyland Resort also released other photos of the Ridgeway family and Chewbacca, one of which showcases the family toasting the occasion with Blue and Green Milks. The rather short wait time to experience Smuggler’s Run had previously been around 30-90 minutes, prompting some to suspect that the park wasn’t as popular as had been expected. On the contrary, it seems that Disney’s stellar crowd control was able to keep wait times short, while still managing to allow a huge number of people through.
Of course, it’s still very early days for Galaxy’s Edge, with the Disneyland park still only operating one of its two major attractions. The second attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is expected to be a major affair, though it won’t open in the Disneyland park until Jan. 7, 2020. Meanwhile, the new attraction will open on Dec. 5 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, just over three months after opening its Galaxy’s Edge doors to an undoubtedly very eager public.
Source: Polygon
