Landing

 

We went to Galaxy’s Edge on Day 4 of public access. Our level of “Star Wars” interest and expertise ranged from loving the first three movies and having seen the others to that plus some knowledge of comic books and books.

Our group got two reservations because there were 8 of us, and only 6 could go at a time. Children can be passed between adults, if you have a larger group.  Our kids were not that into it, so they toured only part of the time. Our check in was easy.

CANTINA WARNING: The day we were there, you had to line up to get a RESERVATION for the cantina. We thought the line was to actually get in, so we didn’t even try to line up until two hours into our reservation. We had done a lot of research and read that we should not line up right away.  We had several obsessive Disney park readers/podcast listeners, and had chatted with people who had already been there in days prior.

So when we were not able to have a drink at the cantina it was, needless to say, a real bummer.

A cast member did let us go in the cantina for a second to look and take a photo.  That was very kind of her.

We had to ride Hyperspace Mountain to feel better.  Hyperspace Mountain is incredible, incredible, the best thing that ever happened to you.

SHOPS: I also felt a little better when I bought my souvenir, a little plush Lando with bedroom eyes.

The shops were very cool.  There were fun things ranging from $10 to $25,000.  Or however much the real Stormtrooper suit and bespoke droid cost.  I wasn’t paying close attention, to be honest.

The creatures are cool.  The whole place looks real cool.

PLAY APP: The game on your phone was… a lot.  It was too much running around and phone time for us.  It did seem to do some interactive things, but we didn’t feel like we had time to mess with it much.

You earned credits for stuff, but we didn’t figure out what that meant.  I assumed it didn’t mean you could buy anything (haha like Disney would charge you less), but they do refer to money as “credits,” and photo pass people were fun to talk to, as they are in character.

CHARACTERS: Meeting Chewy was my greatest joy.  I just love meeting Chewy.  He’s a deeply empathetic, spiritual walking carpet.

We also met Rey.  Well, she met us.  We decided not to line up to meet her, and she approached us.  It’s cool how the characters mingle, though it could be frustrating for some not to know you will get your moment with the character, and the photo you want if you wait in line.

FOOD:

Blue milk is tasty.  Get some.

The popcorn we found gross to just okay.

The sausage sandwich our testers called “the weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten,” with a “sour aftertaste unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

SMUGGLER’S RUN: Look at the “windshield”even if you’re not the pilot.  Keep your job buttons in the corner of your eye.  What you do isn’t super critical.  We were just okay at our jobs, and we didn’t crash or anything.

If you want to be a pilot, stand to the left of the person passing out your cards. This is right after you are called from the room with the chess set. For both of our  rides, the first two people get pilot, then gunners, then engineers.

I enjoyed it, but in many ways, honestly, I like “Star Tours” better, because the original characters are in that ride, and there are no familiar characters in “Smuggler’s Run” (well, a tiny bit of Chewy, but that’s it).

We discussed how the land appealed to deeper “Star Wars” fans, and is probably incredible for them.  But it’s true, a lot could have gone over our heads.