As with my recent meditation advice, this post is based on an email sent to (now multiple) friends starting to plan a trip to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland (or World).
Hello! Here are all the things I learned about Galaxy’s Edge, in the hopes that they may guide your way. Obviously, double-check everything in case there are material differences between the California and Florida parks, or anything that has changed since, especially in terms of booking experience.
The most important thing about tickets to Disney:
You need park access and, in some cases, additional access or bookings. I’ll note any of these below. Park access in California meant choosing between Disneyland and California Adventure Park (which are side by side). I think in Florida, there are five parks? I do not know which one contains Galaxy’s Edge, but I bet the internet will tell you.
Attractions
We were pretty lucky on ride lines and didn’t spend more than 60 minutes in a line at any point in either day at Disneyland. That said, your mileage may vary. Of the below, only the first two count as “rides” (i.e. have lines). Also, the lines are superbly designed: they’re part of the experience, so, we didn’t mind spending time in them.
- Smuggler’s Run: the Millennium Falcon ride. You’ll know it when you see it. Absolutely mandatory; in fact, I’d plan to do it at least twice (we did it three times). Groups of six are allowed into the cockpit to fly the Falcon, separated into three types: pilot, gunner, and engineer. All three types get activities, but only pilots (obviously) actually fly the simulator. That said, all three roles are fun. It’s “randomly” assigned by your ride handlers but you can certainly play the “I’m only here once please please please let me be X” if there’s something you really think will add to your experience.
- Rise of the Resistance: also mandatory. Here, I was told this was a separate booking (for specific entry timeslots) but that did not turn out to be the case (at least, in California). That said, this ride is busy as hell. And it breaks a lot. So if you were going to throw a Lightning Lane (i.e., fast pass) at anything, this would probably be the thing to throw it at.
- Savi’s Workshop: lightsabre building. This is an additional booking, as timeslots are limited, and it costs an additional $250 US. Is it worth it? Fuck yes it’s worth it. If you’re me, anyway. I love my lightsabre so much. Also, while it’s $250/lightsabre, it’s not $250 per person if one of you wants to just “observe” while the other builds their lightsabre. Observers are allowed to come in for free. See below for even more detail on Savi’s.
- Droid Depot: build your own R2 unit. This is also an additional booking, and is also $250 US. I did not do this, so I can’t yay or nay the experience; I will say, the droids are about 1/3rd scale, plastic, and they didn’t exactly blow me away when I saw them around the park. I don’t feel like I missed anything not doing it.
- The Market: Not an attraction per se, but the area of Batuu where the locals sell their wares; just be aware that if you’re like me this place will suck the money completely out of you. My credit card company called me twice.
- The Cast: there are actors wandering around as various key characters, at certain points during the day. You can take photos with them. Their locations/timing/activities were not predictable (to me). I saw Rey, Chewie, Kylo Ren, and Boba Fett. There’s also the Mandalorian with Grogu, Hera, Ahsoka, and Chopper these days. Oh, and plenty of Stormtroopers.
Food
Food at the park is expensive as shit. It’s loaded with sugar. It will literally kill you. But on day one of our journey, my brother and I tried to gobble as much of the Star Wars menu as we could. I’ll give you the highs and lows below; I’ll also mention that a) obviously, bring a refillable water bottle and use it constantly; and b) on day 2, my brother and I packed sandwiches, spending around $20 instead of the, maybe, $100 we’d spent the day before on food.
- Oga’s Cantina: this, too, requires a separate booking, for timeslot only (you pay for the food you get). I do not recommend Oga’s – neither the food, nor the drinks, are anything to write home about. You can get walk-up “seating” (it’s actually standing room) if you really want to try it. It’s also the only place in the park that serves booze, so, you might want it for that reason.
- Ronto Roasters: the Ronto Wrap, a hot dog on a pita, is the best food in the park. Bar none.
- Milk Stand: this is where you get blue and green milk. (They’re basically slushies.) They’re both terrific. Blue milk is better than green.
- Cargo Bay… I wanna say… 5?: A surprisingly enjoyable cafeteria style place, I had the Fried Endorian Tip-Yip and it was the second best meal I had at the park. Try it with a Moof Juice.
Wandering Around
Batuu is probably the length of 3 city blocks, end to end. It doesn’t take too long to get from one end to the other. The level of detail in the design work, though, is impressive. We spent a lot of time just… staring at things. There’s a sleeping lothcat in the market’s pet store that I could spend an hour with, he’s just so cute.
The experience is split between the town area (Smuggler’s Run, the market, Savi’s, Dock Ondar’s) and the jungle area (Rise of the Resistance, the “Resistance Base”). You can obviously get pictures of/with the Millennium Falcon, plus Poe’s X-Wing and an A-Wing down in the Resistance area.
After dark, the park is absolutely gorgeous. The spires are lit up and everything looks wonderful. Truly the happiest place on earth.
A bit more info about Savi’s workshop if you’re planning to do it:
- When you check in for your session on the day you will be asked to choose a theme. This restricts your access to parts once you’re building your hilt. The themes are peace & justice (classic Luke/Obi-Wan style); power & control (Sith style); Elemental Nature (earth objects – this is the one I chose); and protection & defense (High Republic style). They will show you some example parts at check-in. It’s just worth knowing this question is coming, because my brother didn’t, and he freaked out. (He chose peace & justice, and his sabre rules!)
- Once in the workshop you’re also going to be offered Kyber crystal colours, i.e., the colour of your blade. The important thing to know here is that ADDITIONAL colours are available at Dock Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, the gift shop next door. I think they’re either $20 or $40. So, I picked green when I was assembling but was really feeling yellow, so I bought a yellow crystal after I was done. (Yellow wasn’t available during my build.)
- I was able to carry my lightsabre on as a personal item on my flight home with no issues. I bet there are trillions of those things flying out of Florida (and California) every year, so, I doubt any of the major airlines would be like “whoa, what’s this?”
Have fun! May the Force be with you!