Over the course of 10 movies and four decades,
The hottest vacation spot is about to open in a galaxy not so far, far away.
On Friday, Disney finally opened its first Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge location in Anaheim, California. The expansion to two of its parks, which cost about $1 billion each, has been highly anticipated by “Star Wars” fans and theme park adventurers since it was announced in 2015. Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida will give its guests a chance to visit Batuu at Hollywood Studios later this summer.
Foreseeing massive interest in the new park, Disney instituted an online reservation system about a month before the Disneyland park opened. Within two hours, all reservations slots to see Galaxy’s Edge during its first month had been filled. Reservations won’t be needed after June 23, but if the crowds get too big, Disney said some experiences will be restricted or unavailable.
For those who didn’t get reservations or don’t want to brave the crowds, there are plenty of destinations around the world where “Star Wars” fans can get their fix — you’ll just need a passport.
Over the course of 10 movies and four decades, “Star Wars” has been filmed in dozens of countries from Tunisia to the Maldives. Many of these locations are open to the public and an exciting way to relive fan-favorite moments from the iconic saga.
Here are 10 worlds you can visit without having to rev up your hyperdrive:
The dusty, hot planet of Tatooine is a central to the “Star Wars” saga. Home to both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, audiences have come to easily recognize the sandy dunes and shelters of this outer rim planet.
Over the course of several films and decades, California and Tunisia have both been used as locations for scenes in Tatooine.
In Tunisia, the Island of Djerba, Ksar Hadada, Tozeur and Matmata, among other locations, were used to create the Mos Espa slave quarters, Mos Eisley spaceport exterior and the courtyard of the Lars family homestead.
Death Valley National Park in California was also used interchangeably for scenes in “A New Hope,” “Return of the Jedi,” “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones.”
To visit these set locations in Tunisia or California, it’s best to rent a car as the filming areas are spread out. It should also be noted that the quality of the roads in Tunisia are not always ideal for travel and navigating around its cities can be difficult because not all streets have names.
The watery island planet of Ahch-To became a place of refuge for Luke Skywalker until Rey arrived at the end of “The Force Awakens” to call him back to aid the Resistance.
Ahch-To was the birthplace of the Jedi Order and is currently home to a group of female aliens, the Lanai, known as the Caretakers and bird-like creatures called porgs.
The real shooting location is on Skellig Michael, an island in Ireland.
Since “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi” hit theaters, the island has seen a massive influx of visitors seeking to cross the water to visit the majestic stony mountain tops where Mark Hamill (Luke) and Daisy Ridley (Rey) shot key scenes.
