TRIP REPORT: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge & Other Tales From The Disneyland Resort

When we made our reservation for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, our time wasn't until 5e pm. Regardless, I went to Disneyland first thing in the morning to play around and, really, kill time before it was time to leave for Batuu.

I got there and was immediately greeted by Goofy at the Disneyland Fire House. I got to also meet with Dale and some members of royalty!

After meeting some characters, I headed over to Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland to check out how the reservation system worked in preparation for later in the day. I also checked out some of the "day of" merchandise for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

I noticed that the old Pizza Port is now fully a Pizza Planet. I didn't take pictures inside, but I think the redecor is a vast improvement, even though I was sad to see the booths go. The flow of the restaurant is much smoother and it feels a lot less stressful in there,

After lunch, we went to check out the new Toy Story 4 sneak peek. It was pretty funny and it definitely piqued my interest more for the film. The only thing is I wish they didn't show so much continuous footage. They pretty much showed us the first 15 minutes of the film.

Next, I crossed over to Disney California Adventure where I finally got to meet Fancy Nancy as well as some Marvel characters!

Now, to make a long story short, after awhile of just hanging around and chatting with each other, it was then time to make our way to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. We entered through the Critter Country way and, at first, the transition is very subtle with the light fixtures starting to change and the John Williams score playing in the background. Before we went in, a couple of the "residents" of Batuu approached us. They were worried about my shirt (I was wearing a shirt with General Leia and the Resistance symbol on it). There was First Order about and thought I should cover the symbol. Right away, we knew we were in some place different. We then rounded the curve and saw Chewbacca working on an X-Wing Fighter. It was at this point that I literally lost my mind. The biggest smile came over my face and I couldn't move for a few minutes because I wanted to see what was going on!

From there, we headed into the Black Spire Outpost with all its winding alleyways and shops. On some levels, it was claustrophobic, but almost in a good way. It added to the mystique of the place as being this den of activity in the middle of nowhere. At the end of this report, I have a video with some of the sights and feels of the land and would encourage you to watch it to get a feel of what I'm talking about.

The most breathtaking view in all of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is, obviously, the Millennium Falcon. It's like seeing your childhood jump before your eyes! I could have probably just spent 4 hours starring at it alone. And, it's really gorgeous no matter what time you go, day or night!

One of my favorite stores was Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities. It had so many cool things inside!

It even had a sophisticated animatronic of the store owner himself, an Ithorian by the name of Dok-Ondar.

Another cool piece in here was the baby Sarlaac. In the first issue of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge comic book, Dok-Ondar hires Han Solo and Chewbacca to get the baby Sarlaac!

I also wandered around to find the some of the most famous denizens on Batuu. The thing I like about the characters in the land is that they all roam around and interact with you rather than it being a static meet and greet area. It adds to the atmosphere. While the Resistance characters would stop for me, the First Order were a little surlier. So, I just got video of them. LOL

I also got to try some food at the Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo restaurant. I had the Fried Endorian Tip-yip (because I always want to feel closer to the Ewoks) which was a crispy chickem, roasted vegetable potato mash and herb gravy that was quite delicious. I'm normally not a gravy person, but this was nice and light and went perfectly with the potatoes. The chicken was beautifully tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. For a drink, I tried the Moof Juice which was a fruit punch and orange/pineapple juice blend with chipotle-pineapple. It was very flavorful and tropical with a spicy kick.

We waited until the 2 1/2 hour to try out the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run and it turned out to be a good idea because the wait time was minimal. The queue for the ride was cool with people testing an engine.

But, the best part was when we were treated to views of the Millennium Falcon from on high! We all literally gasped when we saw it.

Then, it was on to see Hondo Ohnaka the space pirate from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. He's one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I'm so glad he has a home here now in the form of one of the most advanced animatronics.

After meeting Hondo, you get your assignments, we enter the Millennium Falcon! You can only imagine how crazy we went seeing it.

The ride itself is a lot of fun. There are some unfair comparisons drawn to Star Tours. Yes, they are both simulator rides, but, because everybody has duties on the ship, if you don't do them, you crash the ship. So, there is so much more to Smuggler's Run. It is insanely fun, especially if you have 6 people with you to make up the whole cockpit area.

One of the nice things about choosing the 5 pm reservation slot is that you get to see Galaxy's Edge at different times of the day and night. It is beautiful no matter when!

On the way out, we also checked out the entrance to the Rise of the Resistance attraction opening up later this year!

Check out this video I made of some of what I saw at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge! I hope you enjoy!

Finally, here is some of the merchandise I picked up, starting with these lovely artisan dolls of Princess Leia and Ahsoka Tano. I tell people we're going to have a tea party and then defeat the Empire.

I also purchased a Puffer Pig from the Creature Stall. Even though he was a tiny pig, they put him in a storage container for safe passage. It's all part of adding to the ambiance.

Another thing I purchased were the Annual Passholder pins and another pin with the date on it.

And, I bought one of the thermal detonator Coca Cola bottles and a Dasani bottle.

I also got some maps!

The last thing I thought I'd show you is that even the PhotoPass Cards are Batuu specific. A very nice touch!