Disneyland theme park Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in Los Angeles recently opened to the public, and even with reservations the wait to get in for some fans was over two hours.
The fact that fan excitement levels were stratospheric was no surprise; months of growing hype burst into a deafening crescendo this week when Disney brought in the big guns to officially cut the ribbon on their new attraction.
The Godfather of the franchise George Lucas, actor Billy Dee Williams aka Lando Calrissian, Mark Hamill slash Luke Skywalker and none other than Han Solo himself Harrison Ford gathered in front of the flagship Millennium Falcon.
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When Chewbacca appeared in the cockpit of the Falcon the crowd went bonkers, but it was Ford's emotional tribute to the actor who played the Wookiee which reverberated across the fandom.
"Peter, this one's for you," said Ford, as the sound of the Falcon's engines roared into action and fireworks shot out into the night sky.
Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew died just a few weeks ago aged and was a lifelong friend of Ford's.
Newshub Entertainment editor and self-diagnosed Star Wars super-fan Kate Rodger was among the select international media and VIPs invited to the launch and described the epic gathering of the original Millennium Falcon crew as an incredible experience.
"Rumours had been running rife all week that we might get a surprise guest at the launch but when one by one these legends of the galaxy walked up it was quite honestly hard to fully process.
"We were all looking around at each other looking stunned, none of us could believe it was really happening! Then as we watched them up there together, it slowly dawned on us all that someone was missing; Carrie Fisher," Rodger said.
Hamill later summed up that feeling with a heartfelt tweet.
The new Disneyland attraction will likely become a pilgrimage for fans all over the world along with another Galaxy's Edge also opening at Disneyland Florida at the end of August. The final film in the latest trilogy of movies "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" will open in December.
Newshub.
