To thank everyone for all the good info that helped us, here is our experience in the 8 am to noon slots on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9:
On Saturday we woke up at 5:00 am and departed the
Disneyland Hotel just before 6:00 am. There was a decent crowd walking through DTD but it turns out a lot of them were just headed to EMH. We went through the special event turnstiles and headed to Launch Bay. We waited inside the building for about 10 minutes before getting our wristbands. We headed out and waited by Nemo. They told us we would be moving forward at 7:00, but the line actually started moving at 6:45. My wife and I had both gone to the restroom thinking we had plenty of time, so our teenage daughter moved forward with the line. That worked out great for us because she was able to keep our place and even improve it a bit, and we caught up to her shortly after.
At a little before 8:00 they opened the gates to the trail and walked people forward. This caused a little bit of a stampede, but we did not participate in the panic because we were still very near the front. They scanned wristbands at the tunnel entrance and held people at the tunnel exit. Eventually they started walking people forward, and then we hit the point where they said "Savi's to the left, cantina to the right." We went right because of the reports of the cantina being the most immersive part of the land. When we got to the cantina there was a decent line, but they took my cell number and said to expect a 30 minute wait. However, we got the text at 8:15 and went to line up. We were inside by 8:25, and the place was packed.
We stood at a standing table near the bar, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively. While I can certainly see the advantages of sitting in a booth and taking in the scene in a leisurely manner, the booths were being held for large parties. But being at our standing table was also awesome, because we had a great time with the other people at our table. It was fun talking about the different drinks and food and how much fun we were having. The service was a little slow because the place was so hectic. When DJ Rex played an amped up version of the cantina music from A New Hope, the whole bar went nuts. Nearly everyone, literally almost every single person, was dancing around and cheering and waving their glasses in the air. It can be hard to just let go and enjoy the pretend when you are an adult, but drinking alcohol before 9:00 am has a way of getting people loose. We bought drinks for the Endor mug and Porg mug, but if what you want is actual alcohol go for the Jet Juice. Oga's Cantina is pure Star Wars. If you've ever dreamed of living in the Star Wars universe, you have to go there. But skip the Bantuu Bits, those tasted weird even for adventurous eaters like us. Also, prepare to spend an absurd amount of credits.
After that we went to the Falcon ride with at 25 minute wait, thinking that for our first time we wanted to see the full queue. Don't bother. If the wait is 15 minutes you will see all of the queue that is interesting, so do other stuff until the wait dies down. The "explore the Falcon" part of the queue was a bit of a letdown, because it feels like a crowded and chaotic space rather than the relaxed lounge that it is supposed to be. But still awesome. Others have reviewed the ride, I won't repeat that here except to confirm that engineer is the worst spot because the job is boring and the view is not great. Pilot has the best view but there is a lot of pressure in that spot.
From there we tried to go to Docking Bay 7 but could not find a table. We went to Ronto's Roasters instead and that turned out to be a great idea for two reasons. First, they had both breakfast and all-day menu going, so we could get the "real" wraps (though we learned on Sunday that the breakfast wrap is also good). The wraps are surprisingly delicious, but you'll have to be careful not to choke on the cost. I suggest finding a table then using mobile ordering, because the order will be ready within 5 minutes.
Our greatest bit of luck was getting a table on the railing by the giant pod racer engine doing the roasting. These tables overlook the walkway below, and there was quite a show going on the whole time. We could see and hear as stormtroopers hassled visitors. We saw Chewbacca enlist a group of visitors to help hide him from the stormtroopers (which was comical in a Bugs Bunny kind of way). We also saw Rey talking to little girls dressed as her, and enlisting them to help her sneak around the area to avoid the stormtroopers. It was delightful. The person playing Rey was a dead ringer for Daisy Ridley, except even prettier if you can believe that. Little girls were absolutely drawn to her. We spent half an hour just watching the events happening on the other side of the railing.
(Side note: the worst illusion breaking thing in the entire land is all the fall protection. In Star Wars you will never find a safety railing along a walkway, no matter how bottomless the pit next to it. I guess the Batuu OSHA is stronger than the First Order.)
Another ride on the Falcon with a short wait, and we went through the marketplace. This is amazing, if you can be there when the crowds are low. By 11:00 the next group was coming in, and then the shops became difficult because lines of people waiting to pay for their purchases blocked the walls with the stuff you want to see. Try to wait until the middle of your time slot to go shopping here. Once the new crowd came in, we left a little after 11:00 because we knew we had two more reservations for Sunday. More in next post.
I also think the jury is still out on how MM/EMH fits in with the SWGE entrance strategy, but that's been on my mind as well.
