A Former Disney Imagineer Is Sharing Behind-the-Scenes Hollywood Studios Secrets on Social Media

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been one of the biggest additions to Disney World and Disneyland Resort in the past decade.

The land increased capacity at Disneyland Park and Hollywood Studios, adding two new rides, multiple dining locations, several shopping options, and lots of additional park space. Not to mention the fact that it has drawn in countless fans with the appeal of building your own lightsaber or piloting the Millennium Falcon. But there’s something MISSING from Galaxy’s Edge that was originally part of the plan.

When Galaxy’s Edge was first announced, Disney had shared that there would be giant alien creatures who would carry guests around the land, similar to what the Main Street Vehicles do on Main Street, U.S.A.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Concept Art ©Disney

This was ultimately scrapped because Disney needed to save some money on the project, according to former Imagineer Frank Mezzatesta. Mezzatesta was one of the Cast Members who worked on the project. He said the creatures “would have been awesome.”

Yes we worked on this for over a year and was pretty far along but it got cut as a cost saving move. It would have been awesome. https://t.co/SLsaCAtgQi

— Frank Mezzatesta (@FrankMezzatesta) February 18, 2024

Disney Imagineer Jim Shull elaborated on the project’s cancelation, noting that the archways in Galaxy’s Edge show how far along the project was before it was scrapped. All around the land, the archways are tall enough to accommodate the large beasts and their riders.

The architecture of the land documents how far along the ride project was. Arches connect buildings in several places at a height for the creature vehicles to cross underneath. #StarWars #GalaxysEdge #WDW https://t.co/mpt3scz5M8 pic.twitter.com/jWhIWLrJmm

— Jim Shull (@JimShull) February 18, 2024

Another problem Imagineers faced with this project is that transporting guests high in the air would raise sightlines up significantly. How much more of the land would’ve needed to be built out in order to keep the illusion? Mezzatesta shared a photo of Imagineers mapping this out 9 years ago.

9 years ago facing the 5 freeway adjacent to the ABC building in Glendale for all to see, how big would the beast (as we called it) be and how high would the guests be? New problem, how much more of the land would have to be finished out from their point of view? pic.twitter.com/MxvJYt9rLL

— Frank Mezzatesta (@FrankMezzatesta) February 19, 2024

Ultimately, we still ended up with two very cool rides in the land, and it has still drawn in visitors and Star Wars fans from around the world. We’ll be interested to see if Disney changes Galaxy’s Edge at all in the future.