The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is impacting the entire planet, and now it the latest global pandemic has gone intergalactic. No confirmed – or even suspected cases – of coronavirus have been reported in the Walt Disney World area, but the Disney Parks team is taking precautions throughout the resort. This includes Galaxy’s Edge.

Hand Sanitizers Added

Map of hand sanitizer locations in My Disney Experience — How the map looks in My Disney Experience

Disney added two new hand sanitizer dispensers to Galaxy’s Edge as part of a larger rollout of dispensers in all parks and hotels. As expected, the dispensers are located near food establishments. One is placed just inside the line at Ronto Roasters, with the other at the queue entrance inside Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo. Both dispensers take a second to find if there are crowds.

While I understand the (assumed) logic of Disney here, keeping the dispensers in the lines prevents easy access to sanitation procedures for all guests. With there being so few dispensers available, the two run out of liquid faster. This puts a strain on the custodial staff to fill them, causing delays. On our most recent visit, the Batuuan stationed inside Docking Bay 7 said they’d been waiting over an hour for a refill.

Safety Over Theming

One unfortunate side effect of the rapid response to this crisis is the dispensers are not themed to Batuu the way soap dispensers and hand driers are in the restrooms. Given the hopefully temporary nature of these dispensers, this makes sense. Even if they become more permanent, their function needs to be obvious and marked for safety reasons. While this could eventually be themed, we’ve already seen enough issues surround food theming to expect that Disney will avoid that issue in the future.

Other Sanitization Options

With there only being two stations, you’ll want to be aware of alternative options. Washing your hands with soap and water is far more effective against the coronavirus, and thankfully there are two bathroom areas located near the entrances. If you find yourself needing to sanitize, consider the bathrooms instead.

Galaxy’s Edge wasn’t the only area to receive sanitizers. You can now filter the maps on My Disney Experience to show all the locations. For more on that process, check out our friends at Florida Sun Adventures and their full breakdown.

Just remember to practice regular sanitization, cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing, and we’ll all get through this crisis together.

May the Force be with you, always.