Ever since Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the Star Wars land expansions to Disneyland and Disney World, fans have been promised an opportunity to not just visit the galaxy far, far away, but to become part of the story. On the eve of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’s opening, I asked a Lucasfilm rep what any true, self-respecting lore junkie must know: will a park-goer’s personal journey be official Star Wars canon?

During a press preview of the new Disneyland land, I spoke with Matt Martin, a creative executive for Lucasfilm’s story group. His answer on canon is a little complicated and unexpectedly involves the seminal 1993 Bill Murray comedy, Groundhog Day.

“[The events at Galaxy’s Edge] are meant to be canonical,” Martin explained. “I wouldn’t say that you as an individual, dressed in Earth clothes, are now part of actual canon, but the storytelling is meant to be really part of Star Wars, down to its place on the timeline. I can’t get into it, but I know the specific day that the events of this park take place.”

Yes, the events of Galaxy’s Edge take place on the same day in Galactic Standard ABY (After the Battle of Yavin) time, over and over and over again. “It’s kind of like Groundhog Day,” said Martin. “Obviously there are things that lead up to it. There will be things that lead out from it. But in terms of how [the events at Galaxy’s Edge] interact with other [Star Wars] fiction, this is kind of a day.”

“That may change as the land evolves,” Martin adds.

The same way cast members won’t play their roles every day, handing over their character to another performer on day’s off or if they eventually surrender their jobs, suddenly applies to guests. Individual guests won’t visit the park every day, but the general role of guests will remain consistent. Which is to say, guests are canon in the same way background characters are canon. We will probably never hear from them, their stories won’t be expanded or adapted into spin-off films. But they’re there.

For fans who have dreams of becoming Jedi legends in the official Star Wars lore, there’s something refreshingly grounded about Batuu, a feeling that while anyone could become the next Luke Skywalker, most folks will simply be a part of this universe, not the center of it.

“[The cast members] went through some really cool immersive training to learn their parts,” said Martin. “They actually got to create their characters. So, if you want to know more about the experience of what it would be like to live as a villager in this land, you can talk to one of them. Because they live here. That is their story. They can tell you all about the things that are outside of Black Spire Outpost. All of the day-to-day life.”

The cast interactions make the Groundhog Day comparison particularly apt. When I visited Galaxy’s Edge, I found myself — story-wise — exploring a small town in the middle of nowhere full of locals just getting by. A few members of the Resistance roamed Black Spire, but most folks I met waxed about the beauty of Batuu’s moons or talked about the weather. It was small talk on another planet, and it made me feel, for a moment, like a small part of an impossible grand universe.