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Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland)

So here’s my in-depth review of the land from my visit on Friday, June 21st.

First off, it was a beautiful day with a high of low 70s and mostly cloudy. Almost unheard of for the official start of summer.

Before entering, we rode Star Tours so we could later compare it to Smugglers Run.

Apparently, during the reservation period, they’re only allowing access through Critter Country. Understandable as it gives everyone a fair chance to access everything, especially Oga’s Cantina, Savi’s Workshop and Droid Depot.

We got to Critter Country around 10:50 am. About 5 minutes later, they let us into the walkway, but held us until 11 am. We were standing underneath the train overpass at that time. Once let in to the land, the crowd briskly proceeded and we headed straight to Oga’s Cantina for a return time. Sadly, they gave out all return times for our reservation period about 10 people ahead of us so we didn't get to visit the Cantina. Bummer. From just outside, it does sound like a nightclub is going on inside.

The land is incredibly detailed. I love the aged/weathered look. I didn't get to see Rey or Chewie, but did see Kylo Ren and some Stormtroopers. It's great seeing how they interact with guests.

Blue and green milk were fun to try, but not something I'll order again. It's hard to enjoy with its slimy aftertaste. I kept having to chase it down with water to get rid of that icky feeling in my mouth. For a signature drink to a land, frozen Butterbeer is way better.

The only food item we tried was the Ronto Wrap, which is pretty tasty. The sausage has a nice snappy bite to it, which I assume has a natural casing. There's a slight heat to it, but not too much since my kids didn't complain about it being spicy. Just wished for the price, the sausage was thicker. There was nothing else interesting enough for us to want to try.

My 10-year old son got to build a custom droid. We all love it. It's a fun gadget to mess around with our yorkie and watch her reactions. Priceless!

Now on to Smuggler's Run. The queue is amazingly detailed. Making it so you can see the Millennium Falcon from the ground and above was a brilliant design. Hondo's AA was fluid. Haven't seen Hagrid's AA in person, but judging from videos, it looks to be on par with Hondo's.

I rode it three times from all three roles on the right side. First time was pilot. Graphics were pretty good and smooth. Pilot gives the best view of the entire screen, especially the sides. You get to start up the ship and pull the lever for lightspeed. Best seat for the best experience.

Second time was engineer. This had the worst view obviously and had the most buttons to push, not to mention they're scattered far apart. This created the worst experience as you miss much of the action on the screen if you want to interact properly.

Third time was gunner. This allows you to focus more on the screen and less on the buttons as there's only two to worry about, all while still getting a decent view of the screen. Second best position.

Given how kids are brutally honest, I asked my kids (ages 5, 7 & 10) which ride they liked better, Star Tours or Smugglers Run. All three said Smugglers Run. I asked why. They all said because of the buttons. My wife said the buttons detracted from the experience. So there you go. I know it's a small sample size, but I think kids will enjoy this no matter what, yet adults will likely have mixed opinions depending on the role they play.

If you get to pilot, you should be able to thoroughly enjoy the ride. Any other roles will get mixed reviews. Overall, I think it can be fun, but it can also be a chore. It's not a must-ride attraction for me after trying every role. I'll go on it again if time permits, but won't go out of my way to ride it like I would for Indiana Jones or all the Mountain rides.

As the land sits now, most people are in the right side of the land. Other than a few photo ops and some merch carts, there's not much to do on the left side for now. This really makes the whole land feel incomplete. I'm fine with no music playing throughout and happy with just the ambient noises. We'll see how things are once RotR opens with more shows/entertainment. Looking forward to the final product.
Solid review. It will be interesting how the reservations will work out once they go online. We were lucky to get a reservation at Olgas but I know many who didn’t. Overall the opening weeks seemed to have been a success. Certainly not perfect but I like the way Disneyland is using the app and tech to solve line problem. No one wants to wait in a 10 hour line (cough Hagrids) for anything no matter how great it might be.
 
This is a... choice.



And boy does it look weird in real life.

Anyways my quick thoughts on Galaxy's Edge: absolutely gorgeous with stunning amounts of detail that's only hampered by the operational fact that almost everything has a long line except the marketplace because it's so spread out. It's unavoidable for now, but luckily you can keep busy by just walking around and seeing the sights. There really does feel like there's something new at every turn.

Smuggler's Run has a fantastic queue, one of the best in Disneyland since probably Indy. The chess room is almost hysterically different than Fallon in that you're taken out of it in what feels like a matter of seconds. I rode three times, once in each position. Pilot is the ostensibly the coolest position that's undermined by the fact that you're so close to the screen, making it a bit difficult to gather your bearings at times. Engineer is certainly the most divisive position. A member of my group said he loved it because constantly having the busy work is fun, but it can be very, very distracting. It's certainly a different experience. Gunner, if you can multitask and gather your fingers on the buttons while paying attention is probably the most level of the positions and can be fun if you're an experienced gamer. The motion was more than I was expecting, to be honest but I never felt motion sick. I did feel like it was a bit more jumbled due to the nature of it all, and felt almost too fast. Loved the depth effect in both the pre-show and the actual screens in the simulator pod. I'd give the attraction a solid B. Most people coming off of it absolutely adored it, I will say. Curious to see how the general public reacts.

Blue milk is actually pretty good! It has a very fruity flavor and interesting creamy consistency. The line was always busy until the last 30 min prior to the next overlap hour. I did not try any of the rest of the food.

Shops were gorgeous and never repetitious, always flowing with something new to purchase or see. Dok Ondar's had a constant line in it, and was mostly awesome for the animatronic. Of course the whole haggling thing never came into being, but the AA is just so cool. That and all of the other unique "species" and artifacts found in the shop.

Character interactions were numerous around the land. The stormtroopers were hilarious. I barely got to see the Kylo Ren show as we were heading into Oga's, but the ship is extremely impressive.

Oga's Cantina is bigger than one may think, but obviously still needs an expansion. The bartenders ranged from nice to curt, and it very obviously has a bar-like vibe to how people are enjoying it. If booze and drinking is your thing (and you have money to spend), this will be an essential. People were enjoying themselves, but I was amused to see many kids with their parties bored and on their phones. It simply is not a family atmosphere in the fact that it's not how people really behave when they're in a bar like this. They're here to party, even if they only can really get a little buzzed at best. DJ Rex is awesome and everybody loved him. (also I bought a DJ Rex from Droid Depot, which is also very cool, and the poor guy didn't even get a hello from his dad)

Loved talking with cast members in the land and asking about their backstory and who they support. The Resistance Supply people reluctantly supported the First Order because they do what Oga tells them to do. It was pretty hysterical. Also loved the sounds and subtle music in the land, which made it feel like a real place. Ships would fly randomly around you.

A minor complaint is signage. You have no idea what anything really is unless you walk up to it. I walked to an area late into my reservation asking what people were doing only to find out it was Savi's Workshop. Of course the restrooms are marked in English, the only real signage in the land aside from Docking Bay weirdly enough. This will be a huge problem once the land opens to regular guests tomorrow for sure. I expect WDW to pretty much add signage everywhere once it opens.

Anyways I loved it. What a wonderful addition. Even better is that it's extremely hidden away from Disneyland itself. The park is almost unaffected by its presence thematically, to the point where numerous times outside the land people were asking cast members what that Galaxy's Edge thing people were taking about was.
 
And boy does it look weird in real life.

Anyways my quick thoughts on Galaxy's Edge: absolutely gorgeous with stunning amounts of detail that's only hampered by the operational fact that almost everything has a long line except the marketplace because it's so spread out. It's unavoidable for now, but luckily you can keep busy by just walking around and seeing the sights. There really does feel like there's something new at every turn.

Smuggler's Run has a fantastic queue, one of the best in Disneyland since probably Indy. The chess room is almost hysterically different than Fallon in that you're taken out of it in what feels like a matter of seconds. I rode three times, once in each position. Pilot is the ostensibly the coolest position that's undermined by the fact that you're so close to the screen, making it a bit difficult to gather your bearings at times. Engineer is certainly the most divisive position. A member of my group said he loved it because constantly having the busy work is fun, but it can be very, very distracting. It's certainly a different experience. Gunner, if you can multitask and gather your fingers on the buttons while paying attention is probably the most level of the positions and can be fun if you're an experienced gamer. The motion was more than I was expecting, to be honest but I never felt motion sick. I did feel like it was a bit more jumbled due to the nature of it all, and felt almost too fast. Loved the depth effect in both the pre-show and the actual screens in the simulator pod. I'd give the attraction a solid B. Most people coming off of it absolutely adored it, I will say. Curious to see how the general public reacts.

Blue milk is actually pretty good! It has a very fruity flavor and interesting creamy consistency. The line was always busy until the last 30 min prior to the next overlap hour. I did not try any of the rest of the food.

Shops were gorgeous and never repetitious, always flowing with something new to purchase or see. Dok Ondar's had a constant line in it, and was mostly awesome for the animatronic. Of course the whole haggling thing never came into being, but the AA is just so cool. That and all of the other unique "species" and artifacts found in the shop.

Character interactions were numerous around the land. The stormtroopers were hilarious. I barely got to see the Kylo Ren show as we were heading into Oga's, but the ship is extremely impressive.

Oga's Cantina is bigger than one may think, but obviously still needs an expansion. The bartenders ranged from nice to curt, and it very obviously has a bar-like vibe to how people are enjoying it. If booze and drinking is your thing (and you have money to spend), this will be an essential. People were enjoying themselves, but I was amused to see many kids with their parties bored and on their phones. It simply is not a family atmosphere in the fact that it's not how people really behave when they're in a bar like this. They're here to party, even if they only can really get a little buzzed at best. DJ Rex is awesome and everybody loved him. (also I bought a DJ Rex from Droid Depot, which is also very cool, and the poor guy didn't even get a hello from his dad)

Loved talking with cast members in the land and asking about their backstory and who they support. The Resistance Supply people reluctantly supported the First Order because they do what Oga tells them to do. It was pretty hysterical. Also loved the sounds and subtle music in the land, which made it feel like a real place. Ships would fly randomly around you.

A minor complaint is signage. You have no idea what anything really is unless you walk up to it. I walked to an area late into my reservation asking what people were doing only to find out it was Savi's Workshop. Of course the restrooms are marked in English, the only real signage in the land aside from Docking Bay weirdly enough. This will be a huge problem once the land opens to regular guests tomorrow for sure. I expect WDW to pretty much add signage everywhere once it opens.

Anyways I loved it. What a wonderful addition. Even better is that it's extremely hidden away from Disneyland itself. The park is almost unaffected by its presence thematically, to the point where numerous times outside the land people were asking cast members what that Galaxy's Edge thing people were taking about was.
Great review! Looking forward to experiencing this out here in Orlando in just about 2 months now. Unfortunately, we don't have the privilege of it being hidden away from the park as much. Hell, the land can be seen from Slinky :lol:
 
A minor complaint is signage. You have no idea what anything really is unless you walk up to it. I walked to an area late into my reservation asking what people were doing only to find out it was Savi's Workshop. Of course the restrooms are marked in English, the only real signage in the land aside from Docking Bay weirdly enough. This will be a huge problem once the land opens to regular guests tomorrow for sure. I expect WDW to pretty much add signage everywhere once it opens.
.

They likely won’t because Avatar seems to be doing fine with no signage for anything but the drink stand pongu pongu.
 
They likely won’t because Avatar seems to be doing fine with no signage for anything but the drink stand pongu pongu.
Pandora is not a good point of comparison, imo.

Yes, it does have signs written in an alien language, but the land doesn't have a lot going on outside of the rides. Galaxy's Edge has a ton going on, especially with all of the shopping, Oga's, the Kylo Ren show, Milk Stand, etc.
 
Pandora is not a good point of comparison, imo.

Yes, it does have signs written in an alien language, but the land doesn't have a lot going on outside of the rides. Galaxy's Edge has a ton going on, especially with all of the shopping, Oga's, the Kylo Ren show, Milk Stand, etc.

^this. Pandora is fairly straightforward compared to Batuu, which is very intricate and filled with numerous different indoor shops and stands. For instance, the milk stand is obvious as it's marked by containers of blue and green milk. Dok's is less so. Savi's is practically tucked away.
 
^this. Pandora is fairly straightforward compared to Batuu, which is very intricate and filled with numerous different indoor shops and stands. For instance, the milk stand is obvious as it's marked by containers of blue and green milk. Dok's is less so. Savi's is practically tucked away.
Plus, after Pandora’s first week all day, and still every morning, Cast Members, stand in the land with directional signs pointing to the two different rides (otherwise every single guest will ask “which way to..”).
 
Just thought people would be interested in line times for this first day; 10:00 AM Millenium Falcon 140 minutes....Disneyland rides: looks like pretty long ride times all around.
 
If the park isn’t open then it’s a projection based on lines around noon. Says right at the top of the page.
Thanks....so that's what they're expecting then, though they also posted "posted wait times" besides the expected times. Thanks for clarifying. I'll check back in a few hours then. Completely forgot about the time difference :doh:, Monday morning and all. :lol:
 
App shows Land is open as of 7:45 am. Smugglers run is at a 45 min wait. Also checked for Olga’s reservations and there are sold out for today (as 0f 7:40am)

UPDATE: Olga’s reservations didn’t open until 8:00am. Checked and there are reservations available now. I still think reservations will go fast each day especially when people know what to do.

 
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As of 8:25 am: land is at capacity and ride wait time is at 4 hours. Rest of Disneyland is a ghost town with Space Mountain having a 10 min wait.

Estimate boarding Late morning.
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