Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Last Saturday, Stinky and I had the pleasure of visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios on opening weekend. It was the most epic Mommy/Son date ever!!!

Nestled in a secluded area, Disney created a galaxy far, far away with new, immersive experiences. While there, travelers sincerely feel like they’ve been transported to the edge of another galaxy on planet Batuu.

The land was not nearly as crowded as I expected, which was the sole benefit of Hurricane Dorian. I believe there were more people at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom the night before, but more on that in another post.

Attractions

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run was one of the biggest draws. This is a virtual reality attraction with a group of six flying the Millennium Falcon to transport precious cargo, all the while being attacked by the dark side. There are two pilots up front navigating the flight, two gunners in the middle keeping the enemies at bay, and two engineers in the back fixing ongoing mechanical issues. I should note here that the role of pilot is most engaging. The gunners’ role is ideal for little boys who love video games. The engineers have very little input overall but are still happily part of the action.

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The attraction was not yet accepting FastPasses, so our options were to wait in the regular line (which feels like it snakes around for miles), or to utilize the much shorter single-rider line. Waiting in the regular line, you go through interactive areas and have the option to choose one of three roles. In the single-rider line, you may be separated from your party and do not get to choose. Stinky and I choose the single-rider line and rode twice with respective wait times of approximately 30 and 45 minutes. We lucked out both times and ended up in the same group. This is very unusual though. Twice I was an engineer. Stinky was both gunner and engineer. He was bummed not to be pilot, but not enough to wait. Ha!

For true fans, flying the hunk of junk is a dream come true. Stinky was in his element! For mild fans like me, it was still very enjoyable. I found it very similar to Star Tours, except you fly yourself. Those prone to motion sickness may have issues on this attraction.

Opening 12/5/19 is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Travelers will be put in the middle of a climactic battle as you escape a First Order Star Destroyer with help from the heroes of the Resistance. Stinky doesn’t know it yet, but we’ll get to enjoy this at Disneyland next Spring!

The Characters

Another big draw is seeing the Star Wars characters roam freely. We saw Chewbacca, Ray, and multiple Storm Troopers. Many of them interacted with bystanders, mainly children. Stinky was recruited to help hide Chewy from a pair of Storm Troopers. Super cool!!!

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Merchants

Of course, Disney included an uber-cool shopping district where you can purchase otherworldly souvenirs including exotic creatures from around the galaxy, handmade toys by Black Spire Outpost artisans, and apparel.

At Savi’s Workshop, travelers can build a custom lightsaber. This experience is approximately $200 and requires an advance reservation. At Droid Depot, design and assemble your own droid sidekick. This experience is $100 and also requires an advance reservation. However, if you do not wish to customize a droid, you can bypass the line and simply enter the store. At Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, travelers can find unique galactic artifacts collected by a legendary antiquities dealer, who also happens to be the oldest citizen on Batuu.

The Market

The food in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is also out of this world. At Oga’s Cantina, travelers are seated next to other travelers. Exotic snacks and beverages sourced from ingredients across the galaxy are served here. There is a 45 minute, two drink limit to this shared table experience, and it requires an advance reservation. Though marketed to adults and children alike, this is very much a bar feel and probably best suited to adults.

The Milk Stand serves frozen blue and green milk. Stinky and I weren’t brave enough to try this. Instead, we opted for the custom round bottles of Coke and Sprite. (Also available are Diet Cokes and Dasani.) Look closely, can you read Aurebesh?

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At Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo is a Quick Service restaurant where travelers can feast on galactic specialties inside a working hangar bay. As they serve chicken fingers and mac and cheese, this is where I recommend going if traveling with kids. #justsayin

Another Quick Service option is Ronto Roasters, where observing the alien cook roast a wild carcass is fun to observe. This quick-service option offers grilled wraps and jerky.

Many hours later, with our legs practically falling off, we made our way back to the other two, who spent most of the day like this:

For this one day, I was literally the coolest mom ever!! I know, because Stinky told me multiple times. 🙂 I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to experience the opening weekend of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with the biggest Star Wars fan in the galaxy!

If you’d like a free, no-obligation quote to experience Batuu for yourself, please reach out. I’d love to help you plan an adventure to a galaxy far, far away!