The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme part has been open to the public for two days, but the black market in pilfered goods has been thriving since the soft opening last month. According to a report in The Orange Country Register, Galaxy’s Edge visitors are taking stuff home from the park and then reselling it on sites like eBay.
Sometimes these items are things you can actually buy in the park, such as the popular Legacy Lightsabers. These go for anywhere from $100 to $200 inside the park, but resell for hundreds of dollars.
Weirder are the items that people aren’t supposed to take, like a pilot assignment card for the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride. Staff members hand out these cards to people before the ride starts, so they know which part of the ship they’re supposed to operate during the mission. You’re supposed to return them when the ride is done, but one on eBay was going for $400.
Then there was one listing for “a Oga’s Cantina tiki mug, a laminated menu and assorted coasters, plus a map of the land.” You can buy the mug inside the park for $42, but everything is supposed to stay there. The whole set was selling for $250.
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Traditionally, the price of a good tends to even out to what people are willing to pay, and I’m not too surprised to learn that there’s some Star Wars fan somewhere who would pay $400 for a fancy name tag. That stuff probably isn’t hard for Disney to replace, but the problem is still bad enough that Disney has removed some items from circulation, include Galaxy’s Edge maps and “unique Docking Bay 7 (restaurant) sporks.”
No maps? How will people get around? And now will they eat food for which neither a spoon nor a fork is quite appropriate?
Despite the thievery, Galaxy’s Edge is thriving, with hours-long lines and a huge press of people trying to get in each day. This is a tiny bump in the road for Disney, and pretty much the price of doing business in the theme park space. It’s pretty funny, though.
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