The first phase of Disneyland’s latest attraction — Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge — has officially opened. And while the lightsabers are expensive, and the lines are super long, the overall experience already sounds amazing. And for the official opening on Wednesday, several Star Wars celebrities stopped by for the opening ceremonies, including, a surprise appearance from a beloved actor; and the only man who could really get the Millennium Falcon up and running.
On Wednesday, May 29, at Disneyland in California, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and George Lucas were on hand to celebrate the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. For those old enough to remember, Galaxy’s Edge is not the first Star Wars ride at Disneyland. Back in 1986, Disneyland launched Star Tours, a ride in which C-3PO and R2-D2 took space tourists on an expected journey. (Who can forget when the Rebel pilot says “STAR TOURS! What are you doing here!”
For the new opening, Lucas called Galaxy’s Edge “Star Tours on steroids,” mostly because the scope of the new attraction is way beyond anything we got in the eighties.
“Can anyone fix this thing?”
Harrison Ford comes out to hit the Millennium Falcon and open #GalaxysEdge.
“Peter,” he said. “This one’s for you.” pic.twitter.com/A8MGkCUYq8
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) May 30, 2019
But the best part of the ceremonies came when it was time to start up the Millennium Falcon. And, just like in The Empire Strikes Back, the old ship’s engines sputtered and died. Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “this is kind of embarrassing, can anyone help us fix this thing?”
At that, a bearded Harrison Ford emerged, saying “She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts,” and then, before hitting the Falcon to “start” it, he sweetly said, “Peter, this is for you.” Peter, of course, is in reference to the actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca. Mayhew passed away earlier this month.
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