Star Wars Launch Bay Review

The galaxy far, far away is actually just another name for Hollywood Studios

Are you a Star Wars fan? Save some time and come here. Wait, you don’t actually care for Star Wars? Ignore Famvia’s score and go do something else, like visiting the Rock N’ Roller Coaster or the Tower of Terror.

That could be our entire review, honestly. Star Wars Launch Bay is mostly a museum for everything related to Star Wars, where you can see memorabilia from the movies that include puppets, animatronics, outfits, X-Wing models and much more. It’s also a collection of posters, information, trivia and it even has a small theater with trailers and news related to the world created by George Lucas.

Oh yeah, we can’t forget that you can find Star Wars characters in a specific area inside the Launch Bay for pictures. Chewbacca, BB-8 and Darth Vader are all here and close to each other, so you can just move from character to character as you talk to that beautiful Wookie, say hi to that cute Droid and hope that you don’t get Force choked by the Dark Lord of the Sith.

The Good

I’m a big Star Wars fan, so I usually have a good time visiting the Launch Bay. It’s also cool that they don’t only have stuff from the sequels, but you can find stuff from the prequels and also the original trilogy. Last time I came to visit, there was the outfit used by Leia to infiltrate Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi and the beautiful Tie Fighter jumpsuits used by Imperial pilots in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s lovely to see something that isn’t from the sequels only, since Galaxy’s Edge usually focuses more on the adventures of Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren.

I don’t hate the sequels, by the way. I’m kinda… indifferent towards them. I prefer something like Andor on Disney+ or even Rogue One from the Disney-era of Star Wars, but I can’t deny that the visuals and designs of ships, weapons and aliens looked pretty cool in the new movies. You can also find a lot of things from movies like The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, like a model of Rey’s outfit from Jakku in Episode VI. As for Rise of the Skywalker… we don’t talk about Rise of the Skywalker.

There are even posters and exclusive artworks of the prequels, with Qui-Gon, the Naboo Starfighters and small models of Pod Racers on display. I failed on my quest to find anything related to Jar Jar Binks, but maybe he is also there somewhere.

One of the highlights is definitely the chance to get pictures with some of your favorite Star Wars characters. I think that only Chewbacca, Darth Vader and BB-8 are available in this specific spot, but there are rare times when Rey also comes by and Kylo Ren replaces Darth Vader. If you aren’t a big fan of meet & greets you can also enjoy your time in the store, where they sell lightsabers, stormtroopers, action figures and much more for the Star Wars fan.

The Bad

It’s safe to say that this attraction is only meant for those that love Star Wars. I mean “love”, not just like. You need to know how to spell Tatooine, know the species of Jar Jar Binks, and even be able to count the midi-chlorians in Anakin Skywalker's body. Just kidding. Kinda. 

This place is packed with props and info straight from the movies and TV shows. But if you've never watched Star Wars, it might all just seem like a snooze-fest. Just a heads up, it's not really a ride, so all you'll find here is the museum, a chance to meet some characters, and of course, the store.

Will Kids enjoy it?

That depends mostly if they are big Star Wars fans. Have they grown up watching the movies and being big fans of Han, Leia and Yoda? Then they will have a great time in the Launch Bay. Even little ones that don’t have that much of an interest in Star Wars might find all the different outfits and alien races on display fascinating. 

Oh yeah, they might also enjoy the meet & greets even if they have no idea who these characters are. Wait, maybe they won’t enjoy it as much? Chewbacca doesn’t exactly look like a Disney Princess and Darth Vader can look rather intimidating, so there’s a good chance your kids will be afraid of them if they have never watched Star Wars. Teenagers, however, will have a blast in this place if they have grown up with the movies or watching cartoons like The Clone Wars.