D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

[midnight star]

Where did you see them? Link? I haven’t seen that yet and I’d be over the moon to get a picture with a porg!

Someone posted their pic on the facebook group I am on..so I am not sure if I can post it since it's someone's personal picture.
If you check for gothic rosie on facebook or instagram, she has a post explaining the Porg shots, so you can see them there.

 

[EmJ]

I don't think I'm senior enough to start a mega thread, lol, but would those who have visited SWGE be able to review their food, drink, and snack choices here? Looking at the menu and YouTube videos, it looks like there are so many interesting options not seen at other Disney locations. So I thought this could be fun (and help us latecomers decide what to try!). At a minimum, post:

1. Where you ate/snacked/drank
2. What you had
3. Whether you would order it again

Bonus credits go to anyone describing what the food or drink was like, and/or posting photos

 

[dina444444]

You won’t be able to avoid seeing people with the droids in backpacks and people walking around with the light sabers they built at Savi’s. Avoiding savi’s is easy, droid depot might be a bit hard.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Personality chips are in the $15 range. If you want all kinds of extra accessories then I can see where they got the $200-300 range but you can get a complete working droid for $100. The backpacks aren’t even really necessary as they give you a cardboard carry case. They do have a BB unit that has either purple/pink on it

So, a decent unit costs less than I feared, but now I have to get two, one for my son's and one for my daughter.
Decent real-person demo video of a BB unit in action where you can see the color against a brightly lit, white background. The color is very grape Kool-Aid.

 

[kpd6901]

If anyone has any stroller experience, or at least have the opportunity to notice someone else's stroller experience, can someone please post where we might find stroller parking areas? I heard it is limited, and rightly so, but any info on that front would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Could someone please let me know what the check-in process looks like for 8AM reservations? How early should we plan on getting to the parks and when will they let us in the park to check in? Trying to decide of we should get a hotel for the night before or just drive down that morning. Thanks!

 

[dina444444]

Could someone please let me know what the check-in process looks like for 8AM reservations? How early should we plan on getting to the parks and when will they let us in the park to check in? Trying to decide of we should get a hotel for the night before or just drive down that morning. Thanks!

You can check in starting at 6am. I recommend being there then.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

You can check in starting at 6am. I recommend being there then.

Thank you!

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

So I guess we won't really know how it'll be later on until a week passes, but how has rope drop been for the park outside of SWGE? What time have you guys arrived for rope drop and how many rides have you gotten done in the typical "short line morning" period?

Also does spending 11:30am-2pm in SWGE sound like enough time out of a 11am-3pm reservation? We're interested only in the C3PO at droid depot, some of the merchandise in stores (toymaker store specifically, but other stores as well that we might wander into), blue milk, and the ride. Right now I have us using mobile ordering to get blue milk once we enter, doing some shopping, hopping on the Falcon ride single rider (but standby if wait is short enough), then heading out at 2pm-ish for a lunch reservation.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I’d still book.

They’ve published “NO STANDBY LINE” so many places (including all of the traffic signs around the resort) that I just don’t see them implementing one. They’d lose out on even more hotel sales - I mean, we’d cancel our hotel reservation that we booked to get my husband in (he had a work conflict come up and can’t make our free reservation anymore). They’d piss off a lot of people.

They might do something to try to get more people into the parks if the current deadness continues. But I don’t see that extending to getting more people into SWGE. I could be wrong! But I just don’t see how that would make a lot of sense for them.

That is what I'm counting on. I'm going to screenshot the "no standby line" stuff so that if they change something I can cancel or complain, LOL. Probably won't help but makes me feel better

I would be so upset if they did this. The only reason we’re going now is to avoid the mad crush of people! Why would I pay to stay onsite for a SWGE reservation if I could get in for free via standby? If we decide not to go I’d have to cancel my hotel reservation tonight to avoid penalty. Ugh!

That's the only reason we are going to go now, too. We've had existing reservations for July 2-4 and Dec. 22-25. The only reason I'm booking for Thursday is because of the manageable crowd reports. It's going to end up costing me, but I hope it will be worth it.

Check for sources other than hearsay and speculation on someone's fb group before doing something like that. I highly doubt Disney would do something like this that would have major PR issues for everyone else who already booked their stays, too.

I hope you are right. The reports I'd mentioned before on another board were from alleged CM. But we know how those kind of reports go.

Thought I would write up our experience. We had 3 reservations between day 1 and day 2. I'm also going back on Saturday with another friend.

PPH Check In:
Checked in around 2:15pm on Thursday afternoon. They confirmed names on the room and directed us to the conference room they had set up to make any changes to the SWGE reservation. They did not charge an additional fee for adults 3, 4, and 5 which was nice. Only 2 of us were actually staying the room but we had another friend join (was with us for all reservations) and I had 2 relatives that came with us just for the hotel reservation. After that we hung out at the hotel for a bit, went in to Disneyland, had dinner at Surfside lounge, and then called it early to head to bed.

Day One

8am - 12pm Reservation
We left our hotel room at 5:40 and walked to the security tent for DLH/DTD. Waited a few minutes since only one tent was open and there were a couple of people in front of us. We were in the Disneyland gates just before 6am, there was no wait to get in (Sidenote: Maxpass didn't work for anyone in our party until we exited and re-entered Disneyland after our SWGE reservation since the system didn't catch that we entered when we did). After that we were directed up the Main Street bypass to head to launch bay to check in. They were sending the merch buyers down Main Street. We got held by Plaza Inn right at about 6am as they moved the merch people to wait on the ramp and outside area for the second level of launch bay. after they passed they had us go to the check in line. We waited about 20ish minutes to check in. It wen super smoothly. They scanned the QR codes, checked all of our IDs, put on the wristbands and then sent us on our way. On our way out they were scanning the QR code on the wristbands. After that they were holding us by the Matterhorn till they walked us over to the entrance about 10/15 minutes before 8am.

We got walked in on the Main Entrance, which is the big thunder side of the trail. We were held there for a few moments and then they did a countdown and let us in. Our group headed straight for Smugglers. We waited about 20/25 minutes to ride. After that we split up and explored a bit. Some of our group got in line for Savi's and one person built a droid. We also checked out the shops and some of the dinning, I didn't eat anything though. For Savi's it took a little over an hour to get to the register and pay and be given a return time which was an hour from then. Before that we got a second ride in on Smugglers and it was less than a 10 minute wait. We then walked around some more before returning to Savi's. We then waited about 40 minutes after checking in to go in for the expierence. After we finished it was about 12:30 and I was ready for a nap so we started make our way out.

Our group completely split at this point. Two of us went to launch bay to check out the merch there. We waited about 15/20 minutes to get into the shop. They still had the LE pin set I wanted to pick up which made me happy. After that I grabbed lunch in DCA, got a ride in on GRR, and then went to take a nap.

8pm - 12am Reservation
We headed back into Disneyland around 5:30pm. My first stop was in the shops to get more of the LR merchandise (Was picking up pieces for friends and to donate to the Dis GKTW auction). We then went to launch bay to check in for our reservation. We waited about 5/10 minutes to check in and it was the same process as above. After that we kind of just hung out till our reservation time. In the morning we pre made a mobile order for Docking Bay 7 that was for the very beginning of our reservation time so we would eat during the overlap of the two reservation times. We entered the land right at 8pm and headed straight to eat dinner. After dinner I road Falcon via single rider then we just walked around. We did watch the fireworks which the view from Batuu is absolutely insane, best fireworks view but no music/projections and they don't dim the lights. I got a few more single rider rides in on Smugglers and called it a night and got back to my room just after midnight.

Day Two

11am - 3pm Reservation
We got to the parks at about 8:45ish that day. Made some merch stops again, they still had all of the LR merch available all over the place. We checked in for our reservation and then 2 of us headed over to DCA to ride Soarin twice. We then headed back to Disneyland. I went and got a ride in on Hyperspace via the single rider line. Realized about 25 minutes before we were suppose to head into SWGE that I had left some stuff in our room and check out was at 11am so I hightailed it back to the room to get the stuff and then made it back into SWGE at about 11:25am. Before we entered the parks we did mobile order for lunch. We ate lunch at Docking Bay 7 and then walked around a bit. I got some single rider rides in on Smugglers and we did it twice via the standby line with minimal waits each time. I left the land at about 2:30ish with one friend while the other stayed behind. We then headed over to DCA to get some rides in before I had to take my friend to the airport and headed home

Overall Thoughts

I am thoroughly exhausted and sore today but I had a fabulous time in SWGE. Disney did a wonderful job with the land and I can't wait to see it again next week.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post about your experience. Sounds amazing. Any thoughts on whether specific time slots are better or worse? I'm not sure I'll have any choice, but I'd love to know your thoughts. Thanks!!!

 

[midnight star]

I will say that these lightsabers are very heavy duty and not something I would personally get for a child.

How old would you say the lightsabers would be good for? Coworker has a 7 year old son who is obsessed. Is that too young? Do they have cheaper options available inside SWGE just in case?

 

[dina444444]

That is what I'm counting on. I'm going to screenshot the "no standby line" stuff so that if they change something I can cancel or complain, LOL. Probably won't help but makes me feel better



That's the only reason we are going to go now, too. We've had existing reservations for July 2-4 and Dec. 22-25. The only reason I'm booking for Thursday is because of the manageable crowd reports. It's going to end up costing me, but I hope it will be worth it.



I hope you are right. The reports I'd mentioned before on another board were from alleged CM. But we know how those kind of reports go.



Thank you so much for taking the time to post about your experience. Sounds amazing. Any thoughts on whether specific time slots are better or worse? I'm not sure I'll have any choice, but I'd love to know your thoughts. Thanks!!!

I think the 8am and 8pm are the best in terms of crossover hours, but 8am starts out on a clean slate if that makes sense.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

How old would you say the lightsabers would be good for? Coworker has a 7 year old son who is obsessed. Is that too young? Do they have cheaper options available inside SWGE just in case?

The Savi’s one are more on the collectible side than I would give to anyone under 12ish. They have cheaper plastic replica blade options that are somewhere between savis and the cheap ones that are available in Tomorrowland. I think they had Kylo and yoda ones but I didn’t look at the prices

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I think the 8am and 8pm are the best in terms of crossover hours, but 8am starts out on a clean slate if that makes sense.

It does indeed. Thanks! I'm not sure i'll have a choice, but I was trying to figure out whether it was "worth" getting up super early on our one-night stay to try for the 8 am slot. Sounds as if it might be.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

5/31/19 . Lunch

1. Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
2. We ordered:
- Felucian Garden Spread (Falafel, Hummus and Pita)
- Smoked Kaadu Ribs (Pork Ribs w/ Blueberry Corn Muffin)
- Fried Endorian Tip-Yip (Fried Chicken w/ Mashed Potatoes)
3. I would eat here again, it's a better than average counter service restaurant. The Kaadu Ribs were okay, it's country style rib with lots of small bones. The muffin was light and fluffy (a little too much IMO) and a little bland. The Tip-Yip was very good, the chicken was juicy and had a nice crust and the potatoes were fine. The Felucian Garden Spread was also good and a nice value. The falafel was decent and the hummus was pretty good. If we went back, my wife and I would probably split the Garden Spread and try the Yobshrimp Noodle Salad and the kids would go with the Tip-Yip and Ribs again.

 

[l4dyj8]

Could someone please let me know what the check-in process looks like for 8AM reservations? How early should we plan on getting to the parks and when will they let us in the park to check in? Trying to decide of we should get a hotel for the night before or just drive down that morning. Thanks!

We left DLH at 7. (For today, Sunday 6/2) We were totally fine with time. You aren’t first in line by any means but check in is easy. Obviously not front in line for anything.

At the turnstile you have to find the entrance to Special Events at the other end so they let you through. You’ll see lines for regular guests. Go past them. Cast members will direct you through

 

[l4dyj8]

If anyone has any stroller experience, or at least have the opportunity to notice someone else's stroller experience, can someone please post where we might find stroller parking areas? I heard it is limited, and rightly so, but any info on that front would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

There’s plenty of stroller parking. I would say the tricky part is finding ramps. More so because, since it’s all new, Im not sure where to go and you are sort of following the herd the second you walk in.

There’s parking next to the entrance of MFSR. To the left, near the ramp.

The Resistence area is open. Doesn’t obstruct photo opps and is well marked for strollers.

It rained this morning, so everything was a bit scattered. We may have seen more strollers under walkways just to stay dry. But there’s plenty of designated spots to park.

 

[EmJ]

5/31/19 . Lunch

1. Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
2. We ordered:
- Felucian Garden Spread (Falafel, Hummus and Pita)
- Smoked Kaadu Ribs (Pork Ribs w/ Blueberry Corn Muffin)
- Fried Endorian Tip-Yip (Fried Chicken w/ Mashed Potatoes)
3. I would eat here again, it's a better than average counter service restaurant. The Kaadu Ribs were okay, it's country style rib with lots of small bones. The muffin was light and fluffy (a little too much IMO) and a little bland. The Tip-Yip was very good, the chicken was juicy and had a nice crust and the potatoes were fine. The Felucian Garden Spread was also good and a nice value. The falafel was decent and the hummus was pretty good. If we went back, my wife and I would probably split the Garden Spread and try the Yobshrimp Noodle Salad and the kids would go with the Tip=Yip and Ribs again.

Thank you! You get the first review golden star award How old were the children who were dining?

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Thank you! You get the first review golden star award How old were the children who were dining?

Daughter 10 and Son 12.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

How old would you say the lightsabers would be good for? Coworker has a 7 year old son who is obsessed. Is that too young? Do they have cheaper options available inside SWGE just in case?

I haven't been to Galaxy's Edge yet, but have some experience with high end replica lightsabers. It's not that a 7 year old is too young, it's more that Savi's is a very expensive experience that may not be right for a child.

In April 2017, I bought the Skywalker replica (Anakin in the prequels, Luke in the original trilogy, and Rey in the sequel trilogy) lightsaber at Walt Disney World that was around $175. It's a metallic hilt with a detachable LED blade. The description of the lightsabers sold in Savi's are nearly identical to the one I purchased at Disney World and they are $200. For lack of a better word, this is not a toy lightsaber to play with. The box that mine came in says 8+ as the age range. Honestly, I only let my nephews even touch this lightsaber under my supervision and only after they've regularly demonstrated the maturity to me that they respect items belonging to other people and realize that it's a privilege to play with this lightsaber as opposed to a right. Most of the time when I play Star Wars with my nephews, we use plastic lightsabers and have a great time.

I'm not trying to convince anyone here to not allow a child to do the build your own lightsaber experience. I just hope that people understand that the $200 price point is because we are talking about a high end prop replica that may not be right for a child or may be more than a parent wants to spend. As @Gaugersaurus said, there is a build your own lightsaber station in Tomorrowland that is perfect for children.

The Savi’s one are more on the collectible side than I would give to anyone under 12ish. They have cheaper plastic replica blade options that are somewhere between savis and the cheap ones that are available in Tomorrowland. I think they had Kylo and yoda ones but I didn’t look at the prices

I think the prices on these build your own in Tomorrowland are around $30. The children select their blade color and the pieces they want to use on the hilt. They can also use multiple colors if they choose the right kind of hilt (such as Kylo Ren or Darth Maul). There are also plenty of other non movie plastic hilts available for children to choose from. They light up if you purchase batteries for them as well.

Obviously, the ones sold in Savi's look incredible and much more movie real than the toy ones sold in Tomorrowland, but to get that level of realism means paying a lot more. The build your own outside Star Tours is also a hands on experience where gift shop CMs assist the children. And it can be done in 5-10 minutes as opposed to the hours that people are waiting to build one in Savi's. As an adult collector, I am excited to have the experience in Savi's. But if I were buying lightsabers for my nephews, we're going to Tomorrowland. Maybe if they still love Star Wars in 10-15 years, they can build their own in Savi's with me but given how quickly children's interests can change, they get plastic toy ones for now. Of all the toys that I played with in childhood, only Star Wars still remains a part of my life today.

Or seeing the very well done Transformers ride and walk around Transformers in Universal is nostalgic. But Galaxy's Edge will be a dream fulfilled from childhood. Both are well done, but only one still has meaning to me.