Black Spire Outpost on Batuu is the setting for Galaxy’s Edge, the newest world at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that opened this past summer. You’d think the name comes from the black obsidian outcroppings that litter the landscape, but it’s actually named after trees that surround this spaceport for smugglers and traders. While the land is not perfect, it’s full of pleasant surprises. The same can be said of the new Rise of the Resistance ride, but we’ll cover that in a later story.
It’s no secret that Disney needed Galaxy’s Edge to be a hit.
Before Galaxy’s Edge debuted, Disney had been losing ground to Universal Studios in the eyes of many visitors. Whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or not, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are astoundingly immersive lands built by Universal Studios Orlando. They are meticulous in detail and authentic to their sources. Everywhere guests turn they see sights from the novels and movies as if they really were in the wizarding world. The painstaking work that went into recreating these magical sites did not go unrewarded. Both lands were huge successes that brought record increases in attendance for Universal Studios Orlando.
Why didn’t Disney follow this winning model when designing Galaxy’s Edge?
Instead of choosing a fan favorite locale from the Star Wars universe, Disney chose an obscure outpost featured most prominently in a novel, and only as a throw away line in the Solo movie. Fans of the movies will have to ride Smuggler’s Run or Rise of the Resistance before that can truly feel like a rebel fighting against the evil empire.
But there is one thing Galaxy’s Edge provides. Stunning and surprising views.
Surprising in the sense that when you least expect it, turning a corner, looking up at the horizon, or peeking through a window, at those moments, the Star Wars universe comes to life. While not familiar in the sense they are identifiable from the movies, they are easily recognizable as Star Wars scenery. This is what keeps us coming back to Galaxy’s Edge.
If you’re making your first visit to Galaxy’s Edge or returning to ride Rise of the Resistance again, take a moment to glance up from the crowds and the staged props scattered around the land, and appreciate the beautiful and distinctly Star Wars skyline, and get that feeling that you are on an alien world where a rebellion is underway to restore the Republic.
