Share your story from visiting DHS’ SWGE!

[rteetz]

Share your take or review on your visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Just like the “just back” guidelines, keep it concise and not so much a trip report, make sure to include the date you visited. We’d love to hear what you were able to experience during your visit and any tips or tricks you have for others planning a visit to SWGE!

 

[rteetz]

Just wanted to note here that those visiting Disneyland before the SWGE opening at WDW it is okay to post your review of SWGE here as that would greatly help those planning for WDW!

 

[dina444444]

I’ll have a post for you guys after this weekend.

 

[rteetz]

 

[dachsie]

Does anyone have stories to share?

 

[dina444444]

Cross posting on various threads:

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.

Here are some videos one of my friends took:

 

[yulilin3]

@dina444444 thanks for the review. Did you notice any backstory from the Batuuese about the fireworks? Did they react to them in any special way

 

[dina444444]

Cross posting on various threads:

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.

Here are some videos one of my friends took:

Realized I missed one big point. Cantina stopped selling food and alcohol to new guests after 11pm but they were doing quick tours in for people to see and take pics so I did that.

 

[dina444444]

@dina444444 thanks for the review. Did you notice any backstory from the Batuuese about the fireworks? Did they react to them in any special way

No, we didn’t interact with any cast members during fireworks. They don’t dim the lights at all.

 

[Gaugersaurus]

Here’s my experience/impressions from the 8pm-midnight reservation on the 31st.

I got to the parks around 5:30pm and walked right into launch bay for merchandise. Most of the opening day exclusive stuff was gone by that time but they still had plenty of “on planet” stuff available. Check-in was really quick, the line forms outside launch bay and they let us in about 5:45-5:50. After getting my wrist band I did quite a few attractions (Astro blasters, Star tours, thunder Mtn, pirates was a walk on, and haunted mansion) then got in line by hungry bear around 7:15-7:20 and was about halfway up the ramp that leads to the restrooms/downstairs seating. Around 7:30 they led us into the forest a but then stopped us about halfway to the resistance area. About 7:50 they lead us up to the resistance area where the X-Wing is and held us there until 8.

From there I walked purposely towards Savi’s as my one goal was to build a lightsaber. The line forms quickly but it only took about 20 mins for me to choose my style and pay. It is very important to make sure they give you a return time when handing out your card and don’t miss that time. I was told to come back at 9 and wait for my build group to be called. I ended up getting into the build room around 10pm. I will say that these lightsabers are very heavy duty and not something I would personally get for a child. They have a good amount of weight to them and the parts seem pretty high quality for “scrap metal”. The experience and quality definitely make this worth the $200 price tag. If you want one this is definitely the go sooner item as I can only see the price going up as Disney realizes what demand is like. They stopped allowing people who didn’t have an “appointment” into the area at about 8:45.

From there I ventured out into the rest of the land. Walked through droid depot and contemplated getting a droid as well but ended up putting it off for my next visit. Droid backpacks are about $50 and the personality chips are $12-15(I can’t remember exactly) there are three different chips from what I saw, resistance, first order, and scoundrel.

The line for the cantina was absolutely ridiculous, I would skip it during the reservation period as I was talking to a couple later in the night that had been and said its hard to get a table and had to get service as well. They pack it full so I imagine it’s like trader sams gets at peak times.

There was a short line to get into Dok’s Den and the store itself is very small. To me the holocrons aren’t worth the $50 price tag as they’re just plastic and without a kyber crystal you don’t get the full functionality.

I was disappointed in the one food item I had. I got the turkey jerky from ronto and it was extremely dry and hard to chew. They give 3 good size pieces but my jaw started to hurt after I had about half of the first piece due to the amount of chewing involved.

Seeing the Falcon in person was life changing, it really is the most beautiful piece of junk in the galaxy. The line was about 75 mins at the start of the reservation period and died down to about 20-30 by 10:30-11pm. Single Rider is absolutely the way to go if you don’t mind skipping the entire queue and not being able to be selected by a CM as pilot (you can still trade to it with someone in your flight crew doesn’t want pilot). With single rider you pretty much walk on until you get to the place where you’re assigned roles I don’t think I waited more than 2 minutes when the standby wait was posted as 30. For those who want to just enjoy the ride make sure you get gunner or engineer and don’t press the button to activate your console. The 8-midnight time slot is allowed to get into line until park close so there’s some advantage there for having the last time slot.

@dina444444 thanks for the review. Did you notice any backstory from the Batuuese about the fireworks? Did they react to them in any special way

Not from the Bauuese but I was waiting with my group for Savi's and we all started joking that the First Order was attacking when the fireworks started.

 

[sponica]

@Gaugersaurus I wonder if the frenzy around Oga's is magnified by the lack of other "adult" establishments in that park...that's probably a topic for another thread though....

 

[reisdawg]

@dina444444 thanks for the review. Did you notice any backstory from the Batuuese about the fireworks? Did they react to them in any special way

I was in the land during the fireworks waiting to make my lightsaber. The castmember stated that there must be a battle going on somewhere.

 

[GeneralTso]

Just posted this on a different thread, so copying here:

I was at opening hour, opening day at Disneyland. I was expecting utter chaos and pandemonium. It was the opposite. They had it worked out so well. A very pleasant surprise. I think WDW management is taking notes and figuring out how to duplicate that on a much larger scale. They were adjusting and making improvements by mid-day of the first day. The line at Oga's. Cantina was insane within the first hour. We were inside and the servers were absolutely overwhelmed. They were running around with their heads cut off. By the end of the day, they had a fix in place.

I think the virtual queue will be how WDW does entry into the land. Same for entry into Oga's Cantina. The tip to riding the Millennium Falcon is to go during the lull between times new groups enter. We had the 8am-noon spot. It was a walk on at 10:30 before the 11 group was let in.

The other huge perk is that both Disneyland and California Adventure had the lowest crowd I think I've ever seen. Almost everything was a walk on or a 10 minute wait. People stayed away in droves. This might be the same at WDW, and certainly for Toy Story Land.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

This isn't me... Alex and Mollie are Star Wars YouTubers. They were at EA Play for the Jedi: Fallen Order game and got a chance to go to Galaxy's Edge through a friend who got reservations. Their review is from a perspective of Star Wars fans:

 

[NWOhiogal]

For those who want to just enjoy the ride make sure you get gunner or engineer and don’t press the button to activate your console.

What does not pressing the button do? Does it make that position go 'automatic' so you don't have to do anything? I thought you had to press the button to get the ride going, but maybe not??

 

[Gaugersaurus]

What does not pressing the button do? Does it make that position go 'automatic' so you don't have to do anything? I thought you had to press the button to get the ride going, but maybe not??

I may be wrong as it may need to be activated if someone is buckled in the seat. I know there’s a couple extra lines of dialogue if the seat is vacant and I assume it would be the same if your console isn’t activated.

 

[KayMichigan]

I think a CM comes into the cabin with you to set everything up and I would think they make sure everybody activates their consoles. If you didn't press the button, i could see the CM pressing it for you, unless you tell them you don't want it activated.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What does not pressing the button do? Does it make that position go 'automatic' so you don't have to do anything? I thought you had to press the button to get the ride going, but maybe not??

not sure about not pushing everything but I know for at least the gunner position they can be in full or automatic mode and in Auto mode you still have to push a button to fire, it is just your aiming is done automatically vs the full mode where you have additional buttons to press to aim the gun

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This isn't me... Alex and Mollie are Star Wars YouTubers. They were at EA Play for the Jedi: Fallen Order game and got a chance to go to Galaxy's Edge through a friend who got reservations. Their review is from a perspective of Star Wars fans:

pretty cool to hear their perspective - seems like they had some details of the land incorrect though (like the comment about "reservations for the Cantina were gone for the entire day")

 

[angai379]

In appreciation of everyone’s help I wanted to share my experiences at Batuu. I was going to be in California for a business trip and managed to tack on extra days for the opening of Galaxy’s Edge. Or, if you listen to my boss it was the other way around. I found a business trip to accommodate my need to be there opening day.
I’m a massive Star Wars fan and a more temperate Disney fan. I went to Star Wars Celebration and I use Star Wars as a verb. As in why don’t you Star Wars? I’m a WDW passholder.

I had a total of 3 reservations. No trouble getting into all 3.
5/31 11-3 Paradise Pier hotel stay
6/1 11-3 Paradise Pier hotel stay
6/1 8pm-12am open reservations

Friday 5/31
I was a silly Jar Jar and decided to get in the first day merch line around 6 am. Getting through security was a breeze and so was finding the line up. As lots of Disney fans know it was time to hurry up and wait. I was in the launch bay line and we moved slowly but surely. I was getting nervous around 9:45. You can check in to get your wristband 2 hours ahead of time and time was running short. I was out of the first day merch line at exactly 10:30 with my millennium falcon pin, my huge millennium falcon pin, and an art print. I was disappointed for me and elated for others to learn that much of the merch could be purchased at other stores.

I went down to launch bay proper, presented my qr code and received my wrist band. I did have to present my ID and reservation. My group was staged at Critter Country. My wrist band color was green. My planet was Metellos. I was explicitly told to see a CM before exiting launch bay so they could activate my wrist band. I then Disney sprinted (fast walked) over to Critter Country. We were told there was no need to line up and we could disperse until our reservation time. Low and behold we were queueing to get in seconds later. If I actually left I would have been too close to the back for comfort.