Five years ago, Disneyland opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and while early attendance wasn't what we expected, it was a pretty amazing new theme park land. While it would be several more months before Rise of the Resistance, one of the best attractions at Disneyland today, opened and made the new land complete, there was a lot to like about it, but there was also a lot that was missing.
Last night, some of what we expected to see at Galaxy’s Edge from the beginning finally appeared. A special event called Blaze Your Path: The Finale took place. The live show was the culminating event of a multi-day experience at Disneyland for a group of Make-A-Wish kids and their families, but everybody got to see the end, which included an epic lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren on a catwalk above the land. Check out the clip posted by Touring Plans Guy Selga below.
I just watched Blaze Your Path: The Finale in Galaxy’s Edge. It was neat to see a little taste of the show that what would have been in this area every night. pic.twitter.com/2hwcqlrFRtSeptember 12, 2024
A similar show was performed as part of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge grand opening event when the land opened in 2019, but that’s the only other time we’ve seen anything like this, and the first time it was available to the general public. This was apparently a one-off event for Make-A-Wish, but needless to say we need more of this at Disneyland. I can only hope this won’t be the only time this show takes place. It should be added as a new attraction at Disneyland and become a regular part of the Disneyland schedule going forward.
This is especially true because there’s nowhere else to see anything like this right now. A similar performance was part of the finale of the story on board the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World, using the incredible extendable lightsaber designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot. Of course, that experience was limited to those who could afford it and the Galactic Starcruiser is closed now, so even if you wanted to pay the money, you can’t.
Early concept art and discussion of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge included references to some sort of show like this, as well as a table-service dining experience. Neither ever materialized in the land, and it’s speculated they were cut from Galaxy’s Edge in order to be created, and sold, as part of the Galactic Starcruiser.
Now that Galactic Starcruiser is dead, it’s time to bring those elements into Galaxy’s Edge. Live entertainment is one of the highlights of every Disney theme park, and nighttime entertainment even more so. Disneyland will be celebrating its 70th anniversary next year. It seems to me that even if plans were to do a show like this only for a year, it should still happen.
