A Most Epic Fantasy DISmeet Cruise-The bitter end 3/21, Bonus Feature, Completed Star Wars Galaxy's Edge 6/20

[franandaj]

I was going to drop you an e-mail soon with more details of our plans. Basically we are going to the parks from Sunday the 18th to Wednesday the 21st. (4 days) We plan on taking Thursday off before the grind of the EXPO. Would love to get together with you and Fran one or more days! Maybe we could finally watch those fireworks!

Hopefully you got my email, that may help you out with scheduling. Perhaps Monday or Wednesday we can plan to get together.

I can't wait to see SWGE in person!!!! 45 more days!

Jill in CO

Can't wait!

Great updates Alison!

I think SWGE missed the mark with the food. That chicken tasted like a big expensive Chicken McNugget. I like Chicken McNuggets when I am at McDonald's.

Actually Chicken McNuggets are better. That was one big chunk of pressed chicken. I tried to get a shot of what it looked like on the inside, but it was all blurry.

Mist.

It's a real thing!

Just to add to the mist-fun: There is a word in German that is written the same way: Mist. It means manure... And is often used as an exclamation when things go wrong.

Love your descriptions of the market area...I think I would find it hard to resist not buying everything!! The theming everywhere is amazing!

I thought so too. They did really well on making it feel like an outpost on the edge of the Galaxy.

I buggered up my last updates a bit- got some of my quotes in the quotes sorry bout that..a lot of them are in, you will have to expand to read

I just mentioned that in my reply!

 

[franandaj]

So back to us strolling around the Black Spire Outpost, we came upon this area.











We stopped for a few PP Pictures.







I’m assuming these speeders were “in the shop”.





Heading towards the Droid Depot shop.





These people are doing the Build a Droid Workshop.







These are some of the standard shopping areas where you can buy T-shirts, pins, etc.



Behind the lady in the pink shirt is the $25K droid that people are actually buying!



Now I took this picture just for aesthetics.



But since Fran was taking a long time in the store, I started to look more closely at it. Isn’t this one of the little guys from the pre-scene in Star Tours?



And this looks to me like the droid in Rogue One, even though he (and everyone else) were blown to smitherines.



Outside the Droid Depot, this walkway leads toward the place where the First Order does their speechifying.



Turning 180° you can see the entrance where we came in on the preview day. It doesn’t make sense to use this entrance for the reservation period because you can’t hold nearly as many people in a queue. I wonder if they will open it for the next phase of the virtual queue. They were letting people exit this way. In announcements that I've read today, this will be the entrance for people in "Boarding Groups".



These guys came strolling by, they were hassling various "travellers" as that is what the CMs are calling guests.







Heading into the area of the First Order, this seems to be an area where people sit and relax.



Here is where you will see Kylo Ren's Tai Fighter.



This area is kind of oppressive feeling, but I think that's the idea.



These guys showed up again.



And then they started a little show on the stage.







Kylo Ren is not a favorite of mine. I think he's a whiney little brat, so we went into the Stormtrooper store while he gave his little rant.





[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]







About this time (on the third trip) we had been wandering around for 2 hours. The Cantina is up ahead on the right in this picture.



We headed towards the Millennium Falcon and the wait was 20 minutes.



Looking backwards from the Falcon courtyard. The people waiting here must have been waiting for their "transmissions" from the Cantina as well.



We decided that if we got in line for the Falcon we would definitely get our text message. You have 15 minutes to return, although they didn't actually check to see it I really got it. So we got in line for a photo op in front of the Falcon.



It was at this time that we got our text, so I'll show you the PP photos we took on the preview day.





So once you get your text, you get to join the queue for the Cantina. The room is actually quite small, and for the most part it is standing room only. There are a limited number of booths around the edge, but for the most part, people mostly just stand around the bar.



While you’re in the line, a hostess checks with you (I suppose in our case since we were in scooters) as to whether or not you can stand for 45 minutes. Since we could not, they took us out of line and had us wait near the front door on our scooters. Spots at a booth opened up and they took us in. Now just because you have a booth doesn’t mean that you are getting privacy. When we sat down there were two other parties at the table. One of them left shortly after we were seated.



We took a look at the menu.





Of course you know that Fran was getting the souvenir mugs. Luckily we had managed to procure the Yub Nub mug earlier in the week. So she went with the beer flight and the drink in the Porg mug. There was no way I was gonna drink that one as it had Coconut. I’m not a fan of beer either, so she didn’t have to worry about me stealing her drinks.

Soon another party was seated at our table, and we really lucked out. They were a whole lot of fun, there were three gay guys who were just a hoot, and some of their women friends who were not lesbians. I deduced this when one of the guys said, “We needed a couple lesbians to fly that ship cause these wusses were crashing into everything. I’m surprised we made out alive.” <insert huge eye roll>



It was a whole lot of fun.

We placed our order for both of our drinks up front, and before they bring you out your order you have to pay. I suppose this helps to speed up the table turnover and helps to enforce the 45 minute, two drink maximum.

We ordered the Batuu Bits, which was basically the Asian style snack mix you can get out of the bulk bins at the grocery store. It was good enough to soak up some of the alcohol.



The drinks arrived and we had to take the obligatory pictures.





I was going to take a selfie, but our new friends offered to take the picture for us.



I took a picture of them, and even took one on my own camera, but since I don’t have permission to post it, I’ll just leave it there. Perhaps one day we’ll run into them again.

Rex is the DJ, and the music was kind of loud in there. I didn’t realize until about halfway through our time, that he was in the cubby right next to us. At one point, I got up to take pictures of him. I won’t tell you about his little spiels that we heard so there is something of surprise when you get in there.





When we got in there it was just before 5PM, and we were done with our drinks and snacks in right about 45 minutes. I noticed the crowds in the bar had thinned out just before we were leaving, and then I realized that the staff was too busy taking new reservations for the 5PM entrants to let more guests into the Cantina.





[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

I was hoping to get a ride on the Falcon, but the 5PM crowd had recently entered and pushed the wait back up to around 30 minutes. By the time we used the facilities and got our bearings it was 5:45 and at 6PM, they would stop selling us stuff, and denying us access to much of anything as we had the wrong color wristband. So we stopped by the soda stand and picked up a couple of these.





Since our time was about up, we just started to head out via the Rebel Supply area, so it was back that direction.





We noticed that a lot of the buildings have taken some fire at one time or another.



We pass by the exterior of the Marketplace as we head toward the Old Rebel Base.



Just meandering at bit



Oh, look! A sign, this is where we are going….



Looking back towards the Marketplace to whence we came.



There’s the outpost up ahead.



Now as I walked along I was seeing tracks and such back there in the foliage, but nowhere that I could get a good shot. I walked off to take this picture, and the CM who was “guarding” that area said to me, “Oh, that’s just some old ruins back there, nothing to see here.” Kind of like, “These aren't the droids you’re looking for.”



This will be the entrance for the other ride.



They had some rebel merchandise here.



I ended up getting this shirt.



And then there were some cool aircraft.











Another look at the ride entrance.



So back in here you can see either where the queue will go or where you actually enter the ride. It appears that you will go “inside” the mountain. This is one of Disney’s most ambitious rides ever and the entire experience is supposed to be 20 minutes long.





In my opinion, I think they did an awesome job. I really enjoyed the worn and dingy look of the place. Several times I ran my fingers across the various surfaces, and no matter how dirty they looked, they were the cleanest, dirty surfaces I’ve seen in my life. No dust or dirt whatsoever came off on my fingers.

I enjoyed the “streetmosphere”. Not only did they have Kylo Ren and stormtroopers going around, but they had a Rebel who was trying to spy on the First Order, and we saw Chewie and Rey on our various visits. I also enjoyed the interaction with the Cast Members. They were totally in character, they really (pretended) didn’t know about earthly things, and had some great comments to folks wearing Mickey Ears on their heads!

The ride was fun, and I had a great time at the Cantina. I’m hoping to experience all this with the friends who are visiting this summer and Fall, and anyone else of you who wants to plan a trip out here.

I accomplished everything that I wanted to do here. I had no desire to drop $200 on a light saber. You have no idea how many of those we have lying around the house, and all over varying quality. We have the $9.95 version they sell at the Hollywood Bowl, and the ones that are $100+ meant to be mounted on a wall and displayed.

I also didn’t want to build a droid, again with all the stuff we have at home, a special droid is just not something that we need. We did come home from this day with some somewhat large ticket items, but that was before we even got into SWGE. I’ll share that in another update.

While I really enjoyed the planet Batuu and I thought the Imagineers nailed it, "kicked it out of the park" so to speak. They got the feel of what I've seen in the movies and the CMs play along in a fun way that really does transport you to another land. But not everyone sees it that way.


Recently at an event (not related to SWGE) I had the opportunity to chat with a rather well connected mouse journalist who had the fortune of touring this new land with one of the few remaining Imagineers who worked with Walt directly. This particular individual was not pleased with the new land, saying such things like: “Walt would never have approved this. CMs are supposed to be happy and friendly, not walking about looking like homeless people. And there is no way he would have wanted a Nazi like square with the First Order and Stormtroopers going around hassling guests.”

Now that is rather contrary to what most people I know are saying about it, but it does give food for thought.

There is also an interactive app/game you can play on your phone, but as of yet, I have not gotten the hang of it. Monday the land opens to all, no reservations required. It will probably be a while before I go during this new phase, but I plan to go at least once in July to test it out.


I hope you’ve enjoyed this little sneak peek, and I hope I didn’t give away too many spoilers.

 

[pkondz]

Yikes! That's a lot of people. I haven't done that since I was in college.

Might not do it again.
Was... a bit of work.
But people left happy.

What's with that?

I don't know!

Lots of people seem to fall asleep.

Stawp. You're hurting my brain.

Sorry!!

And no pictures so did it happen?

Maybe I took pictures, but just forgot?
I'll have to check my camera.

Well I haven't seen it fly away yet....

Oh, no problem. Here you go:

It's not a real convenient place to drop change. You have to really toss it.

Maybe some poor sod accidentally tossed his change.

Well that's why I'll try it again, but it was my first ride and I did horribly. I was hitting all sorts of stuff. The controls were not responding like I expected. I had the folks behind me yelling, "Pull up! Pull up!"
I was like "I am! I am!"

But the controls weren't responding like I wanted. I had a much more enjoyable ride when I was the gunner, and then mostly the engineer. The engineer has a good view, and minimal responsibilities.
I'll try it again.
One of these times I want to go with a group and we all cross our arms and do nothing and see how that goes.

I can see it now
"Alison, after waiting for an hour, finally boards the ride. In the meantime, she's convinced the rest of the crew to do nothing. The ride starts... and immediately crashes. "Ride's over folks! Next!""

I'm not sure that there is spinning involved. It's a motion simulator. Do they show commercials about it up there? I probably forward through 5-6 commercials on it every day. It's like Mission Space in that you push buttons so its interactive. But it's like Star Tours because it's a motion simulator with on screen stuff. I'm not quite sure if there were scenarios in the ride where we were spinning, but there was a wide range of motion in the ride.

Do see the commercials up here, but... they can do what they want with those and it may be nothing like the ride itself.

I thought Lesley showed it in hers too.

I may be wrong, but I didn't notice those details in hers? Or I forgot. Probably the latter.

 

[pkondz]

Another offers Jedi clothing.

Betcha those will be hot sellers. Maybe not as hot as the stuffed toys, but...

The shop to the left of these replica speeders, had some really cool stuff (in my opinion)

Good to know. Although the one in Florida may be different.

Initially I saw these little plush things that look like really expensive dog chew toys.

Which is exactly what they would be if I brought one back home.

But then Fran found these musical instruments that “play themselves”. I immediately wanted one. She did too. There is a limit of one per person on all items, so she had to point me out to the cashier to buy two of them.

Huh. Funny. When I play with myself, it's limit one person too.

I heard this game sold out the first day or weekend.

Not surprised.

They just got more back in stock, so of course Fran had to have one.

Of course.

This creature is asleep in a cage in the front, but stirs occasionally. Lesley Wake mentioned what it was on her TR, but I can’t remember.

I think she called it a Loth-cat.

The critters you can buy here come complete with a carrying case, just like we might transport pets on earth.

Well of course. Can't have them running around the park.

Fran got a Tauntaun

Will she ride that instead of her scooter, now?

When we were on our way out a CM commented, "Nice, I see you got a tauntaun, they are best fried."

As we were passing the hoardes of people waiting to get in someone pointed and said, "How cute."

Of course you are. You probably get that a lot.

I replied, "The CM informed us that they're best fried." You shoulda seen the look on her face!

This guy walked by.

Looks familiar. Can't quite place him...

And while Fran was engrossed in her phone, a playful CM came by, I had to pull her out of it and tell her to smile.

Something is supposed to come up out of the tank when you drink out of the fountain, but we never saw it.

Yes, Lesley mentioned that.

I think that these panels may be part of the interactive game app on the phone.

Looks like them?

 

[pkondz]

Pretty sure I've seen Fran wear that shirt (or similar) before. Yours is hilarious!

I’m assuming these speeders were “in the shop”.

Tragically... off warranty.

Heading towards the Droid Depot shop.

We have those!


Wait... that's Home Depot. Nevermind.

Behind the lady in the pink shirt is the $25K droid that people are actually buying!

Nope!

But since Fran was taking a long time in the store, I started to look more closely at it. Isn’t this one of the little guys from the pre-scene in Star Tours?

Hey! I think you're right! I'm no expert, though

And this looks to me like the droid in Rogue One, even though he (and everyone else) were blown to smitherines.

I agree.

These guys came strolling by, they were hassling various "travellers" as that is what the CMs are calling guests.

Like that.

Here is where you will see Kylo Ren's Tai Fighter.

Cool!

Kylo Ren is not a favorite of mine. I think he's a whiney little brat

so we went into the Stormtrooper store while he gave his little rant.

Ughh… erff…. unghh…..

Cool shot!

When we sat down there were two other parties at the table. One of them left shortly after we were seated.

Huh. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, though.

cool table!

There was no way I was gonna drink that one as it had Coconut.

Ew. No.

I’m not a fan of beer either, so she didn’t have to worry about me stealing her drinks.

Nor am I. Fran can have all the beer.

I deduced this when one of the guys said, “We needed a couple lesbians to fly that ship cause these wusses were crashing into everything. I’m surprised we made out alive.” <insert huge eye roll>

Interesting presentation.

Whoa! That board is huge!

Kinda love that. Might get one of those. (I'm not big into souvenirs.)

We noticed that a lot of the buildings have taken some fire at one time or another.

Well, of course. There's a war on, ya know.

the CM who was “guarding” that area said to me, “Oh, that’s just some old ruins back there, nothing to see here.” Kind of like, “These aren't the droids you’re looking for.”

Perfect.

I like it.

This is one of Disney’s most ambitious rides ever and the entire experience is supposed to be 20 minutes long.

Really! Huh.

In my opinion, I think they did an awesome job. I really enjoyed the worn and dingy look of the place. Several times I ran my fingers across the various surfaces, and no matter how dirty they looked, they were the cleanest, dirty surfaces I’ve seen in my life. No dust or dirt whatsoever came off on my fingers.

Now that is an interesting observation.

We did come home from this day with some somewhat large ticket items, but that was before we even got into SWGE. I’ll share that in another update.

I had the opportunity to chat with a rather well connected mouse journalist who had the fortune of touring this new land with one of the few remaining Imagineers who worked with Walt directly.

No way! That's... freaking cool!

This particular individual was not pleased with the new land, saying such things like: “Walt would never have approved this. CMs are supposed to be happy and friendly, not walking about looking like homeless people. And there is no way he would have wanted a Nazi like square with the First Order and Stormtroopers going around hassling guests.”

Very interesting. I suspect he's right.

 

[Malia78]

Wonderful glimpses into SWGE...thank you @franandaj

 

[skier_pete]

Hopefully you got my email, that may help you out with scheduling. Perhaps Monday or Wednesday we can plan to get together.

I did reply - we'll talk off line.

One thing I reallly love is how spacious and lived in the land feels, and how the fact they are limiting entrance into the land will hopefully preserve that to a degree. I hope that when they get to this new "virtual queue" they don't go too crazy with allowing too many people in at a time.

It also seems like it was really designed for even MORE walking around characters than you showed. I wonder if as Rise of the Resistance arrives we'll see more going on in that area.

 

[pooh'smate]

Your pictures make so excited to visit SWGE in DHS on our trip in October. I love the Ew people shirt.I had one of those days today and that is how I feel at the moment lol.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ok, you lured me back over here with promises of Star Wars!

So by the time you're reading this I will have visited Galaxy's Edge three different times.

And we're still not jealous. Nope. Not at all.

In fact on that visit when we were sealing our phones away, the CM even suggested that we get a case of amnesia for the next few days.

A little over the top, I think. It's not like you're carrying nuclear secrets.

By the time our second visit to Batuu (that's the name of the planet) rolled around, they had changed all the procedures that we learned in the previews.

They're making this up as they go.

If that's a "not too bad" spot I'd hate to be in a bad one!

Fran and I had traded scooters because hers has more power and goes faster, since I weigh less, well because physics.

Plus hers is turbo-charged.

You have the Falcon parked in the Courtyard area as if it's ready to take off.

That really looks amazing.

Evidently when the crowd control measures are lifted they have made arrangements to open doors (which currently lead backstage) to an overflow queue area which will accommodate guests willing to wait up to 5 hours.

This particular guest is not waiting 5 hours for anything.

People are obviously willing to throw coins in almost any place!

As if Disney doesn't have enough money.

The CM came over to us and asked if any of us were engineers, cause the table had been broken for quite a while and they really wanted to see it fixed!

Love it!

The ride itself was fun, at least I thought so. I preferred being the Gunner or the Engineer, and Jenny felt the same. I'll try pilot again some day, but later, it was a little too much pressure, the one time I tried it.

The ride was like a combination of Star Tours (smaller scale) and Mission Space. For me it's quite an adrenaline rush. Not something that I can ride and then just jump back in line.

Sounds like a great time to me! Do you actually get to go into space, as opposed to Mission Space?

On to other subjects, our first visit to Batuu I really wanted to try the QS place, but nothing really floated our boats.

I had read the food generally wasn't all that.

The only problem was that they had peas and carrots in the mash.

...and I can see why. Blech! I really don't need them to try and make my mashed potatoes seem "exotic".

The shop to the left of these replica speeders, had some really cool stuff (in my opinion)

Those look like fun.

I heard this game sold out the first day or weekend.

Why am I not surprised?

As we were passing the hoardes of people waiting to get in someone pointed and said, "How cute."

I replied, "The CM informed us that they're best fried." You shoulda seen the look on her face!

Something is supposed to come up out of the tank when you drink out of the fountain, but we never saw it.

That sounds like a fun idea. Hope it's not broken already.

Behind the lady in the pink shirt is the $25K droid that people are actually buying!

That's when you have more money than you know what to do with.

But since Fran was taking a long time in the store, I started to look more closely at it. Isn’t this one of the little guys from the pre-scene in Star Tours?

Good eye.

Kylo Ren is not a favorite of mine. I think he's a whiney little brat

Unpopular opinion alert...

So is Luke.

We headed towards the Millennium Falcon and the wait was 20 minutes.

That's more to my liking!

Of course you know that Fran was getting the souvenir mugs.

I might die of shock here.

I think those look cool. But do they hold 12 oz. like a regular can or are they smaller?

So back in here you can see either where the queue will go or where you actually enter the ride. It appears that you will go “inside” the mountain. This is one of Disney’s most ambitious rides ever and the entire experience is supposed to be 20 minutes long.

I can't wait to hear about that one when it opens. That sounds like it will be the true attraction in Galaxy's Edge.

In my opinion, I think they did an awesome job.

Great! I'm so glad to hear that!

I had no desire to drop $200 on a light saber.

Yeah. I'm sure the experience is fun, but...man, that's a lot of money.

I also didn’t want to build a droid, again with all the stuff we have at home, a special droid is just not something that we need.

That I might be convinced to try out. Depends on the cost.

Recently at an event (not related to SWGE) I had the opportunity to chat with a rather well connected mouse journalist who had the fortune of touring this new land with one of the few remaining Imagineers who worked with Walt directly. This particular individual was not pleased with the new land, saying such things like: “Walt would never have approved this. CMs are supposed to be happy and friendly, not walking about looking like homeless people. And there is no way he would have wanted a Nazi like square with the First Order and Stormtroopers going around hassling guests.”

Now that is rather contrary to what most people I know are saying about it, but it does give food for thought.

I have a feeling I would agree with both sides. I think the land itself looks amazing. Seems like they knocked it out of the park in terms of the theming and the experience. It really looks like Star Wars in every way.

But I also think I agree that it doesn't really fit with Disneyland Park. If they could have put it in California Adventure I think it would have gone over easier.

 

[DnA2010]

I like it too, though it's been 30 years since I was there last. Need to get Fran there. She has never been.

Next summer sometime would be a good time

The only thing I actually like with raisins is English muffins.

I hate it when they show up in cinnamon buns...soy annoying!

Oh man the details! I haven't looked at all the pics in great detail, but this really caught my eye

So few people! I know that's changed as of today...

So fun!

I wonder what this looks like today...

So cool to have the random, unscripted interactions!

Kylo Ren is not a favorite of mine. I think he's a whiney little brat, so we went into the Stormtrooper store while he gave his little rant.

He does like to whine and snivel, that's for sure

Nice one!

Nice how you can get pics with no crowds

There was no way I was gonna drink that one as it had Coconut.

I only like coconut in drinks really if it's fresh coconut- I think we told you about the most amazing road side pina coladas we had in Cuba- yum yum

It was a whole lot of fun.

I think this was in regards to having nice tablemates- score!

Those look delish! I know you like your blue drinks too!

Sun fun!
Does Fran have a favourite drink?

Do they just have Coke and Sprite for pop flavours?

I even love the signage!

Even the garbage can fits in!

the CM who was “guarding” that area said to me, “Oh, that’s just some old ruins back there, nothing to see here.” Kind of like, “These aren't the droids you’re looking for.”

Love it!

This will be the entrance for the other ride.

Fingers crossed for December...

So many awesome ships!

the CMs play along in a fun way that really does transport you to another land. But not everyone sees it that way.

“Walt would never have approved this. CMs are supposed to be happy and friendly, not walking about looking like homeless people. And there is no way he would have wanted a Nazi like square with the First Order and Stormtroopers going around hassling guests.”

Interesting food for thoughts..fair enough

 

[Flossbolna]

This particular individual was not pleased with the new land, saying such things like: “Walt would never have approved this. CMs are supposed to be happy and friendly, not walking about looking like homeless people. And there is no way he would have wanted a Nazi like square with the First Order and Stormtroopers going around hassling guests.”

I am not a "What would Walt think" kind of person. But I do believe that in themed entertainment the choice of theme matters. It transports us to other places and those picking the theme can transport a meaning. Most of the time this might be very simple like: nostalgia for a by-gone era (Main Street), how wonderful California is (DCA), somtimes its more intricate like "conversation is important" (DAK). And while Star Wars had the theme of the Good winning the fight against the Evil, I feel that with the last films that theme was far less implored. And I do not like that the land is stuck in a place where the Good is currently surpressed. Harry Potter at Universal shows us the land after Voldemort has been defeated, I am not so sure I would enjoy it as much if I need to be afraid of running into You Know How around every corner.

And finally - and this might be my specifical German point of view - I don't think marching fascists should ever be part of entertainment. It normalises them and that's not good. Even for fictional one. (But I do see the easy counterpoint here: By creating a laughable comparison to real life fascists, we ridicule those who try this kind of behaviour in real life).

Sorry for all those heavy thoughts, but your quote really made me think and realise what my problem with the land is.

 

[franandaj]

Might not do it again.
Was... a bit of work.
But people left happy.

That's what's important! I don't even know 40 people I'd let into my house!

Oh, no problem. Here you go:

Great. Now I have to go back and see if it's still there.

Maybe some poor sod accidentally tossed his change.

He'd have to specialize in projectile tossing. That's a good distance.

I can see it now
"Alison, after waiting for an hour, finally boards the ride. In the meantime, she's convinced the rest of the crew to do nothing. The ride starts... and immediately crashes. "Ride's over folks! Next!""

It'd be a great story!

Do see the commercials up here, but... they can do what they want with those and it may be nothing like the ride itself.

Definitely no spinning involved. If they are the same commercials, the small amount that they show if the Falcon ride depicts it accurately.

I may be wrong, but I didn't notice those details in hers? Or I forgot. Probably the latter.

Hers was pretty detailed. I was feeling slightly intimidated in writing mine as she had so much knowledge of people's names and places.

Betcha those will be hot sellers. Maybe not as hot as the stuffed toys, but...

Not sure, adults can't wear them into the parks, but I guess they can be worn at various cons and such.

Good to know. Although the one in Florida may be different.

The website said that they were supposed to be similar, but I guess I'll find out in October.

Which is exactly what they would be if I brought one back home.

Funny how that works.

Huh. Funny. When I play with myself, it's limit one person too.

Not surprised.

And it was sold out again last Sunday when we were there.

I think she called it a Loth-cat.

Yup. She did.

Well of course. Can't have them running around the park.

True. Then again ours have not been very active since we got them home. Maybe because we aren't feeding them.

Will she ride that instead of her scooter, now?

It's only 12 inches tall. : laughing:

Of course you are. You probably get that a lot.

No I don't.

Looks familiar. Can't quite place him...

Cause an 8 foot Wookie is certainly forgettable! .

Yes, Lesley mentioned that.

She even got a picture of it.

Pretty sure I've seen Fran wear that shirt (or similar) before. Yours is hilarious!

It's actually based on this promotional video.

Tragically... off warranty.

They're best for parts.....

We have those!


Wait... that's Home Depot. Nevermind.

Not so different.....

Nope!

I know. Those people have way too much money.

Hey! I think you're right! I'm no expert,

We're going to go with "yes."

Interesting presentation.

It was pretty much just Asian snack mix. I didn't eat the wasabi peas.

Whoa! That board is huge!

That's why it's $75.

Kinda love that. Might get one of those. (I'm not big into souvenirs.)

It's an easy small one too.

Well, of course. There's a war on, ya know.

And it's obvious there....

Now that is an interesting observation.

I didn't think Disney would allow anything to actually be dirty, si I had to test it.

Very interesting. I suspect he's right.

I've had multiple discussions about this and some argue that the world has changed so much since Walt was alive that if he had lived through all that, he might have changed as well.

 

[pkondz]

That's what's important! I don't even know 40 people I'd let into my house!

That's what happens in a small town. You get to know a lot of people.

It'd be a great story!

Definitely no spinning involved. If they are the same commercials, the small amount that they show if the Falcon ride depicts it accurately.

Thinking I'll find out in September.

Hers was pretty detailed. I was feeling slightly intimidated in writing mine as she had so much knowledge of people's names and places.

I like the comparisons.

Not sure, adults can't wear them into the parks, but I guess they can be worn at various cons and such.

That's what I was thinking.

True. Then again ours have not been very active since we got them home. Maybe because we aren't feeding them.

You're starving them?!?!!?

It's only 12 inches tall. : laughing:

Easier to climb on and off of.

Cause an 8 foot Wookie is certainly forgettable! .

It's actually based on this promotional video.

Darn it. I'm at work all day and all night.
Can't see it today.

We're going to go with "yes."

Sure! Absolutely! What is this for again? But, yes.

That's why it's $75.

Did she finish it?

I didn't think Disney would allow anything to actually be dirty, si I had to test it.

Never would've thought of that.

I've had multiple discussions about this and some argue that the world has changed so much since Walt was alive that if he had lived through all that, he might have changed as well.

Interesting. Hmmm... Maybe? I mean he knew a lot (or seemed to) about human interests and human nature...

 

[franandaj]

Wonderful glimpses into SWGE...thank you @franandaj

You're welcome. I got your message and owe you a reply....

I did reply - we'll talk off line.

Yes I also owe you a reply....

One thing I reallly love is how spacious and lived in the land feels, and how the fact they are limiting entrance into the land will hopefully preserve that to a degree. I hope that when they get to this new "virtual queue" they don't go too crazy with allowing too many people in at a time.

I don't think that they will. I've been checking all week and there is only about a 45 minute wait for the Falcon and it seems that reservations for the Cantina are wide open. I even heard that in the afternoons they have dropped the virtual queue. I mean really there isn't a lot to do in there. Once you've seen it, been on the ride, had a drink in the cantina, unless you want to drop a ton of $'s on merchandise, the only thing left to do is PP pics.

It also seems like it was really designed for even MORE walking around characters than you showed. I wonder if as Rise of the Resistance arrives we'll see more going on in that area.

I'm sure that there were more that I didnt see. I wasn't looking very hard.

Your pictures make so excited to visit SWGE in DHS on our trip in October. I love the Ew people shirt.I had one of those days today and that is how I feel at the moment lol.

When in October? You mean WDW right? Yeah most everyone likes her "Ew People" shirt.

Ok, you lured me back over here with promises of Star Wars!

I guess the Holiday Booths and F&W weren't enough of a draw.

And we're still not jealous. Nope. Not at all.

Well that's good. I would hate for you to be jealous!

A little over the top, I think. It's not like you're carrying nuclear secrets.

I know, really.

They're making this up as they go.

Pretty much.

If that's a "not too bad" spot I'd hate to be in a bad one!

The red line shows where the guests were held to wait for opening time of the reservation window. We were about at the yellow arrow that was only a few yards back from where the rope was.

If you follow that long and winding path along the map, people were lined up all the way back to where the first yellow arrow was. Just as thick as you saw the crowds I was in. It was crazy!

Plus hers is turbo-charged.

I was wondering if you would take that reference from the other update!

That really looks amazing.

It is pretty awe inspiring.

This particular guest is not waiting 5 hours for anything.

Preach it, brother!

As if Disney doesn't have enough money.

You didnt see me throwing away money! I give them enough every month/year.

Sounds like a great time to me! Do you actually get to go into space, as opposed to Mission Space?

You even go to other planets!

I had read the food generally wasn't all that.

No. Way better options elsewhere.

...and I can see why. Blech! I really don't need them to try and make my mashed potatoes seem "exotic".

Just put blue food coloring in them, no need for weird veggies.

Those look like fun.

I would like it if they could actually make a ride where we get to ride hovercraft, but I can't see how they could keep it running consistently.

Why am I not surprised?

Nor was I.

That sounds like a fun idea. Hope it's not broken already.

I hope that we just didn't do the right thing to trigger it.

That's when you have more money than you know what to do with.

Yeah, how about share it with the folks who are living on the street and need real help?

Good eye.

Thanks!

Unpopular opinion alert...

So is Luke.

Well, yeah, but he's not quite as obvious.

That's more to my liking!

With the limits on letting people in, the wait hasn't been over 45 minutes that I've seen when I check the app.

I might die of shock here.

I think those look cool. But do they hold 12 oz. like a regular can or are they smaller?

I just checked the ones we took home, and they are 13.5 oz.

I can't wait to hear about that one when it opens. That sounds like it will be the true attraction in Galaxy's Edge.

Yeah, it sounds like it. That one is supposed to be really ambitious.

Great! I'm so glad to hear that!

YMMV.

Yeah. I'm sure the experience is fun, but...man, that's a lot of money.

And what are you going to do with a $200 play sword?

That I might be convinced to try out. Depends on the cost.

That's $100. Still pricey.

I have a feeling I would agree with both sides. I think the land itself looks amazing. Seems like they knocked it out of the park in terms of the theming and the experience. It really looks like Star Wars in every way.

But I also think I agree that it doesn't really fit with Disneyland Park. If they could have put it in California Adventure I think it would have gone over easier.

They used up all the land that they had over there just building the park. This was the only place where they had land left. They removed the stables, the petting zoo, the BBQ restaurant, and a ton of other backstage stuff to accommodate this. Time will tell how it goes over.

Right now they are feeling the burn with lower than expected attendance, people being scared off by the potential crowds and not enough to keep people busy in the new land. They are doing desperate measures to get people into the parks as I think International and people from around the US held off on vacationing to So Cal to "let the crowds die down".

 

[franandaj]

Next summer sometime would be a good time

Sorry, already booked for Portland, Oregon next summer.

I hate it when they show up in cinnamon buns...soy annoying!

Yeah, I agree. Definitely not in Cinnamon buns.

Oh man the details! I haven't looked at all the pics in great detail, but this really caught my eye

You can look at the pictures all you want, it will still be a surprise when you go there. I couldn't capture everything in the small camera lens.

So few people! I know that's changed as of today...

Well...actually no. In fact attendance is down so much that Disney is pulling out all the stops. They are letting AP Holders "bring a friend" for $99 for a day. They also took away the CM restrictions and opened up their passes for the rest of the summer, they were previously blocked from DL all summer. Then yesterday they announced that the MSEP would be coming back in August. I suppose that was the soonest that they could make that happen to bring back the crowds.

I wonder what this looks like today...

I heard that they even suspended the virtual queue in the afternoon of the first day.

So cool to have the random, unscripted interactions!

It was kind of fun to watch!

He does like to whine and snivel, that's for sure

So annoying.

Nice one!

Thanks!

Nice how you can get pics with no crowds

Well on the preview day there were only a few hundred people there, OK over 1000, but less than 2000. I thought it felt kinda weird with so little people in the land. I actually liked it better during the registration period visits. It felt more normal to be there when more people were there.

I only like coconut in drinks really if it's fresh coconut- I think we told you about the most amazing road side pina coladas we had in Cuba- yum yum

blech, I doubt I would like them. I've never liked Pina coladas.

I think this was in regards to having nice tablemates- score!

Yes, they were fun. The second time we didn't quite luck out so much, they weren't bad, but not so fun.

Those look delish! I know you like your blue drinks too!

I didn't know it was blue when I ordered it, but it's one of my favs since having been there twice.

Sun fun!
Does Fran have a favourite drink?

She likes Margaritas. They don't have any margaritas there, but The Outer Rim was pretty good, and it has Tequila.

Do they just have Coke and Sprite for pop flavours?

Well there is Diet Coke....that's it.

I even love the signage!

That may have been the only sign I saw....not sure, I wasn't looking really hard.

Even the garbage can fits in!

Disney makes special garbage cans for all their lands.

Love it!

The way the CMs speak to you is one of the funnest parts about visiting.

Fingers crossed for December...

Me too! I hope it's open in November when Flossbolna and her DH are there!

So many awesome ships!

So many great photo opps!

Interesting food for thoughts..fair enough

I get that, but then again time have changed a lot, but then have they changed that much.

I am not a "What would Walt think" kind of person. But I do believe that in themed entertainment the choice of theme matters. It transports us to other places and those picking the theme can transport a meaning. Most of the time this might be very simple like: nostalgia for a by-gone era (Main Street), how wonderful California is (DCA), somtimes its more intricate like "conversation is important" (DAK). And while Star Wars had the theme of the Good winning the fight against the Evil, I feel that with the last films that theme was far less implored. And I do not like that the land is stuck in a place where the Good is currently surpressed. Harry Potter at Universal shows us the land after Voldemort has been defeated, I am not so sure I would enjoy it as much if I need to be afraid of running into You Know How around every corner.

I totally get that. I'm sure the Imagineers had a lot of thoughts about how to present it. There is probably a reason that it is on a remote planet, so that there are not direct conflicts taking place.

And finally - and this might be my specifical German point of view - I don't think marching fascists should ever be part of entertainment. It normalises them and that's not good. Even for fictional one. (But I do see the easy counterpoint here: By creating a laughable comparison to real life fascists, we ridicule those who try this kind of behaviour in real life).

I do totally get that! The one thing I can say is that the stormtroopers traveling with Kylo Ren were actually providing comic relief to his tyranny. I get why there should never be fascists marching around, perhaps they are hoping that no one remembers that period. Unfortunately it may be coming back and many don't realize it.

Sorry for all those heavy thoughts, but your quote really made me think and realise what my problem with the land is.

I'm glad I can help, and no worries about heavy thoughts, I read Michael's FB posts every day!

 

[pooh'smate]

When in October? You mean WDW right? Yeah most everyone likes her "Ew People" shirt.

Yep we will be in WDW 9/29-10/15.

 

[franandaj]

That's what happens in a small town. You get to know a lot of people.

Hmm... I did live in a small town for a few months when I was younger, but I'm ni not sure I want to speak on a public forum as to why I met a lot of new people.

Thinking I'll find out in September.

Most likely you will!

I like the comparisons

Well thank you. I can only tell it as it is.

That's what I was thinking.

Yeah and since we are now registered for the Star Wars Con next whenever in 2020.....

You're starving them?!?!!?

Well they aren't complaining about food like the cats do?

Easier to climb on and off of.

That's true.

Darn it. I'm at work all day and all night.
Can't see it today.

Did you eventually get to see it? Pretty funny!

Sure! Absolutely! What is this for again? But, yes.

Definitely yes!

Did she finish it?

Well there were only a few "teeth" with beer in them. So it wasn't a lot of booze. The big price was fir the serving vessel.

Never would've thought of that

I always think of that. Disney are sticklers for cleanliness.

Interesting. Hmmm... Maybe? I mean he knew a lot (or seemed to) about human interests and human nature...

Thus is true, but people really seemed to enjoy the interactions with the folks.

Yep we will be in WDW 9/29-10/15.

We are there 10/5-12, we should say "hi"!

 

[Flossbolna]

Then yesterday they announced that the MSEP would be coming back in August. I suppose that was the soonest that they could make that happen to bring back the crowds

Michael says that he already knew about this a couple of months ago. It was designed to bring the crowds over to DCA. Just like Soarin over California (I really hope that sticks around until November! Couldn’t care less about MSEP). Of course now it looks like they are desperate. I really wonder if they overestimated the appeal of Star Wars and got too greedy with their ticket prices. If it costs a family of four 600$ just to enter the one park, many locals will wait for the land to be fully open. And for tourists who do a whole California trip, they might prefer to just do something else with the money.

I'm glad I can help, and no worries about heavy thoughts, I read Michael's FB posts every day!

I sometimes wonder what would happen if I read his FB!!