Star Wars Galaxys Edge Disneyland California June 2019 Review

Bad Pink Tink · 11 Aug 19, 07:10 PM

I bought an American SIM card and put it into my European phone. This way I was able to use the Disneyland APP with Data as the Wifi is not park wide and is very hit and miss. In previous years I had my phone on Airplane Mode, with data roaming switched off and I would hardly use my phone. 2019 was very different.

Now that I had proper data use, I downloaded the Disneyland App. When I was there in June 2019, Ogas Cantina , the build a lightsaber at Savis and build a droid were on the day reservations only. As of 1 August 2019 Ogas Cantina is now 14 days in advance.

Disneyland Day 1 Sunday 30 June
The park opened at 8am. I got the 6.20am bus and was at Harbour security for about 6. 30am. I took a quick detour to Starbucks in Downtown Disney. I went back to the entrance turnstiles and managed to find one with only 5 people in front of me. By now it was about 6.55am so time to get on the Disneyland website and get my Cantina reservation.

I opened up Disneyland website on my phone, on my browser, not the App
1.There was a page for Cantina reservations so I clicked into that
2.It was about 6.45am and I was put into a holding page which refreshed automatically
3.At around 7.05 am it refreshed and the reservation page came up
4.I could choose an hourly reservation time, and then when you selected the hour it gave you a few times during that hour
5.I first selected 3pm and then 3.05pm
6.I had had to say how many were in the party ( 1)
7.I had to put my first name and then my last name
8.I had already added a payment card but I needed to manually input the 3 digit security code
9.I had to put in my phone number
10.I put in the wrong phone number so I dont know if I received a text alert for my reservation.
11.When my reservation was confirmed, it showed up in the App where my restaurant reservation was
12.I heard from people throughout the day that all Cantina reservations were gone by 7.15am.

Cantina Arrival / Check In
1.The App says to check in for your reservation 15 minutes before your time
2.However, I picked a very busy time and the CM's would not let anyone check in before their time.
3.There were about 3 CM's working the line and they were very strict about not letting anyone check in before their time
4.They also explained the rules to us, 2 drinks per person, 45 minute time limit, limited seating area, bar snacks only, not a a restaurant, loud music and dark atmosphere
5.The check in line reached from the Cantina door down to the water / drinks cart
6.There was a CM with a Tablet at the end of the line
7.He checked me in at exactly my reservation time of 3.05pm and gave me a Blue ticket and wrote my party size on the ticket
8.I then waited in line for about 20 minutes
9.When I got to the top of the line, another CM took my blue ticket and put me in a group with 5 other people, a party of 3 adults an a party of 2 adults.
10.We were led in a group into the Cantina and brought to a standing table

Cantina Ordering and Drinks
When we arrived at the table, a server appeared to take our orders.
As we were 3 separate parties, he took 3 separate orders.
When we ordered the drinks we had to give our credit cards to the server.
I ordered my 2 drinks at the same time. The other people at my table just ordered drinks one at a time
I had
Fuzzy Tauntaun - $15
Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, "Buzzz" Foam

Blue Bantha - $13
Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookie

Overall thoughts
I entered Batuu from Fantasyland entrance at about 2.30pm
Walking up I just loved the first sight of the land
The Millennium Falcon is just WOW, seeing it for the first time from the Cantina side , with the rock backdrop is a real heart stopping moment
While I waited for my Cantina reservation I sat in the shade under the bridge and did some people watching.
The majority of the people were NOT the typical Disney family, it seemed alot more males, alot more older teenage and upwards couples.

Some citizens of Batuu came by and many people did not know how to interact with them. People were trying to talk to them like regular CM's and couldn't understand why they didnt know anything off land
I couldnt fully interact with the land as my phone is not compatible with Disney Play App

I loved the uniqueness of the land, I loved that it wasnt like the other land, I loved the sounds, the plane noises. It felt more real and immersive WITHOUT the music. Its like when you travel to a new country, people speak a different language, there is new food to try, new experiences, and things are not like what you are used to.
I loved all the tiny details, however I feel that the details are lost on many people. You really need to look up, look at different angles, and explore everything. There really is so much to see, but again it seems than many people are not really fully appreciating or experiencing the land.

Smugglers Run
I did Smugglers Run 3 times, each time single rider and waited no more than 20 minutes, when standby was 55 minutes
Again I think this is getting a rough time in reviews
All 3 times, very few people actually realised about the chess table, and I saw hardly anyone taking photos. Alot of the time, it was empty, most people not even realising the significance of this seated area.
I was engineer all 3 times
It didnt seem to matter that I was a single rider, everyone got into the spirit of the ride and it was great fun
The engineer has a a button console on the side and its basically like Simon Says, when the buttons light up you press them
The ride itself is just awesome, sitting in the cockpit, with that view then lightspeed, it wow.

My second day at Disneyland I spent the who day in California Adventures Park

Disneyland Day 3 Tuesday 2 July
General park opening 8am, Early Access Opening 7am
I had Early Access as I bought my 3 day 1 park ticket online.
I again got the 6.20 am bus and was through security by 6.40am. I walked down a bit and found a line with about 5 people in it.

I hadnt planned on a second day to SWGE as I was expecting huge crowds and boarding groups etc. As that didnt happen I decided as I waited in line to try for another reservation for Oga's Cantina. I had the the reservation page open at around 6.55 am.

At 7.00am the CM's opened the gates and the rope drop stampede began. I decided not to to do the stampede and once I was scanned in I sat down on the wall just inside the turnstiles and completed my reservation for the Cantina.

This time I made the Cantina reservation for 6pm.

Cantina Arrival and Check In
It was the same system as the previous day. There was a line outside the Cantina and a CM with a tablet who was checking peoples reservations. He gave out different types of tickets, which were collected at the host stand. This time the line was shorter and I was at the top of the line at the host stand in 15 minutes.

Cantina Ordering and Drinks
This time I was put into a group of 6 people and we were led to the bar. This time I was able to order my drinks directly from the bar tender. I had a great interaction with the bar tender, who stayed in character.

This time I ordered
T-16 Skyhopper
Tito's handmade Vodka, Bols Melon Liqueur, Kiiwi and half & half $15
Jabba Juice
Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Cantaloupe juice and Blueberry popping pearls $6.50.

I had a great conversation with a mother and her adult daughter standing at the bar.

Overall Thoughts
I entered Batuu from Critter Country entrance. at about 5pm
On the way in from this side you pass the entrance to what will be Rise of The Resistance ride. As this is not due to open until January 2020, they have merchandise kiosks set up in this area.
When you enter from this side of the land, the Black Spire Market Place is the first main thing you pass. Again I just loved wandering through the various shops and the total immersion into the land. I wish though that I could have used the Disney Play App and could do all the interactive things.
The evening is a much better time to experience the land, its cooler and there are far less people.

Smugglers Run
I did the ride twice and managed to get engineer and pilot

Both times were single rider and this time there were alot more people in the single rider lines. The standby times never went below 60 minutes while I was there.

400ixl · 11 Aug 19, 08:59 PM

We were there last Monday. Within 30 minutes of park opening the queue was at 90 minutes for standby and didn't drop below that all day.

It's an ok ride, not that.impressibe if I am honest but not something I would prioritise over some of the other rides.

The Millennium Falcon is a good sight and great that the Star Wars land wasn't absolutely rammed due to the block out still being in place.

Clearly you did enjoy it as you come across very enthusiastically which is great.

**Mexy02** · 11 Aug 19, 09:06 PM

Great review , thank you

Bad Pink Tink · 11 Aug 19, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by 400ixl

We were there last Monday. Within 30 minutes of park opening the queue was at 90 minutes for standby and didn't drop below that all day.

It's an ok ride, not that.impressibe if I am honest but not something I would prioritise over some of the other rides.

The Millennium Falcon is a good sight and great that the Star Wars land wasn't absolutely rammed due to the block out still being in place.

Clearly you did enjoy it as you come across very enthusiastically which is great.

Park opening is the worst time to go to Star Wars Galaxys Edge. After 3 pm is a much better time.

Millennium Falcon has a single rider line, which is way faster than standby. A lot of the time they pulled 2 and sometimes 3 people from the single rider line , so there is a high possibility you could ride with some of your party in the single rider line.

400ixl · 11 Aug 19, 10:00 PM

Yep, just stating what the standby lines were like the day we were there. Only at a couple of points throughout the day did it drop below a queue time shorter than pre 9am. 3pm was actually at its peak on that day. It was still over an hour a 9pm.

Even with the single rider lines none of us felt the desire to go back on. Partly as we were only doing one day this year and wanted to do other rides, partly because it was a whatever ride for us.

They missed a big opportunity to make it a much richer augmented reality experience than they have.

I guess if you are a die hard Star Wars fan I could see why it would be an experience as the area and some of the build up is far better than the ride itself. Hopefully the new ride to open is better.

miss_mouse · 12 Aug 19, 05:36 PM

Great review, thank you!

Peko · 13 Aug 19, 04:19 PM

I thought being an engineer was the short straw on Smugglers Run.

If you are looking at the buttons to press on the side, you miss most of the view to the front, which was for me the best part of the ride. I gave up pressing the buttons and just enjoyed the view. The pilot and gunner (?) positions are better, IMO.

11 Aug 19, 07:10 PM	#1
	11 Aug 19, 07:10 PM Bad Pink Tink Imagineer
Bad Pink Tink Imagineer Join Date: Aug 19	Star Wars Galaxys Edge Disneyland California June 2019 Review I bought an American SIM card and put it into my European phone. This way I was able to use the Disneyland APP with Data as the Wifi is not park wide and is very hit and miss. In previous years I had my phone on Airplane Mode, with data roaming switched off and I would hardly use my phone. 2019 was very different. Now that I had proper data use, I downloaded the Disneyland App. When I was there in June 2019, Ogas Cantina , the build a lightsaber at Savis and build a droid were on the day reservations only. As of 1 August 2019 Ogas Cantina is now 14 days in advance. Disneyland Day 1 Sunday 30 June The park opened at 8am. I got the 6.20am bus and was at Harbour security for about 6. 30am. I took a quick detour to Starbucks in Downtown Disney. I went back to the entrance turnstiles and managed to find one with only 5 people in front of me. By now it was about 6.55am so time to get on the Disneyland website and get my Cantina reservation. I opened up Disneyland website on my phone, on my browser, not the App 1.There was a page for Cantina reservations so I clicked into that 2.It was about 6.45am and I was put into a holding page which refreshed automatically 3.At around 7.05 am it refreshed and the reservation page came up 4.I could choose an hourly reservation time, and then when you selected the hour it gave you a few times during that hour 5.I first selected 3pm and then 3.05pm 6.I had had to say how many were in the party ( 1) 7.I had to put my first name and then my last name 8.I had already added a payment card but I needed to manually input the 3 digit security code 9.I had to put in my phone number 10.I put in the wrong phone number so I dont know if I received a text alert for my reservation. 11.When my reservation was confirmed, it showed up in the App where my restaurant reservation was 12.I heard from people throughout the day that all Cantina reservations were gone by 7.15am. Cantina Arrival / Check In 1.The App says to check in for your reservation 15 minutes before your time 2.However, I picked a very busy time and the CM's would not let anyone check in before their time. 3.There were about 3 CM's working the line and they were very strict about not letting anyone check in before their time 4.They also explained the rules to us, 2 drinks per person, 45 minute time limit, limited seating area, bar snacks only, not a a restaurant, loud music and dark atmosphere 5.The check in line reached from the Cantina door down to the water / drinks cart 6.There was a CM with a Tablet at the end of the line 7.He checked me in at exactly my reservation time of 3.05pm and gave me a Blue ticket and wrote my party size on the ticket 8.I then waited in line for about 20 minutes 9.When I got to the top of the line, another CM took my blue ticket and put me in a group with 5 other people, a party of 3 adults an a party of 2 adults. 10.We were led in a group into the Cantina and brought to a standing table Cantina Ordering and Drinks When we arrived at the table, a server appeared to take our orders. As we were 3 separate parties, he took 3 separate orders. When we ordered the drinks we had to give our credit cards to the server. I ordered my 2 drinks at the same time. The other people at my table just ordered drinks one at a time I had Fuzzy Tauntaun - $15 Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, "Buzzz" Foam Blue Bantha - $13 Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookie Overall thoughts I entered Batuu from Fantasyland entrance at about 2.30pm Walking up I just loved the first sight of the land The Millennium Falcon is just WOW, seeing it for the first time from the Cantina side , with the rock backdrop is a real heart stopping moment While I waited for my Cantina reservation I sat in the shade under the bridge and did some people watching. The majority of the people were NOT the typical Disney family, it seemed alot more males, alot more older teenage and upwards couples. Some citizens of Batuu came by and many people did not know how to interact with them. People were trying to talk to them like regular CM's and couldn't understand why they didnt know anything off land I couldnt fully interact with the land as my phone is not compatible with Disney Play App I loved the uniqueness of the land, I loved that it wasnt like the other land, I loved the sounds, the plane noises. It felt more real and immersive WITHOUT the music. Its like when you travel to a new country, people speak a different language, there is new food to try, new experiences, and things are not like what you are used to. I loved all the tiny details, however I feel that the details are lost on many people. You really need to look up, look at different angles, and explore everything. There really is so much to see, but again it seems than many people are not really fully appreciating or experiencing the land. Smugglers Run I did Smugglers Run 3 times, each time single rider and waited no more than 20 minutes, when standby was 55 minutes Again I think this is getting a rough time in reviews All 3 times, very few people actually realised about the chess table, and I saw hardly anyone taking photos. Alot of the time, it was empty, most people not even realising the significance of this seated area. I was engineer all 3 times It didnt seem to matter that I was a single rider, everyone got into the spirit of the ride and it was great fun The engineer has a a button console on the side and its basically like Simon Says, when the buttons light up you press them The ride itself is just awesome, sitting in the cockpit, with that view then lightspeed, it wow. My second day at Disneyland I spent the who day in California Adventures Park Disneyland Day 3 Tuesday 2 July General park opening 8am, Early Access Opening 7am I had Early Access as I bought my 3 day 1 park ticket online. I again got the 6.20 am bus and was through security by 6.40am. I walked down a bit and found a line with about 5 people in it. I hadnt planned on a second day to SWGE as I was expecting huge crowds and boarding groups etc. As that didnt happen I decided as I waited in line to try for another reservation for Oga's Cantina. I had the the reservation page open at around 6.55 am. At 7.00am the CM's opened the gates and the rope drop stampede began. I decided not to to do the stampede and once I was scanned in I sat down on the wall just inside the turnstiles and completed my reservation for the Cantina. This time I made the Cantina reservation for 6pm. Cantina Arrival and Check In It was the same system as the previous day. There was a line outside the Cantina and a CM with a tablet who was checking peoples reservations. He gave out different types of tickets, which were collected at the host stand. This time the line was shorter and I was at the top of the line at the host stand in 15 minutes. Cantina Ordering and Drinks This time I was put into a group of 6 people and we were led to the bar. This time I was able to order my drinks directly from the bar tender. I had a great interaction with the bar tender, who stayed in character. This time I ordered T-16 Skyhopper Tito's handmade Vodka, Bols Melon Liqueur, Kiiwi and half & half $15 Jabba Juice Orange juice, Pineapple juice, Cantaloupe juice and Blueberry popping pearls $6.50. I had a great conversation with a mother and her adult daughter standing at the bar. Overall Thoughts I entered Batuu from Critter Country entrance. at about 5pm On the way in from this side you pass the entrance to what will be Rise of The Resistance ride. As this is not due to open until January 2020, they have merchandise kiosks set up in this area. When you enter from this side of the land, the Black Spire Market Place is the first main thing you pass. Again I just loved wandering through the various shops and the total immersion into the land. I wish though that I could have used the Disney Play App and could do all the interactive things. The evening is a much better time to experience the land, its cooler and there are far less people. Smugglers Run I did the ride twice and managed to get engineer and pilot Both times were single rider and this time there were alot more people in the single rider lines. The standby times never went below 60 minutes while I was there.

11 Aug 19, 08:59 PM	#2
	11 Aug 19, 08:59 PM 400ixl Imagineer
400ixl Imagineer Join Date: Mar 12	We were there last Monday. Within 30 minutes of park opening the queue was at 90 minutes for standby and didn't drop below that all day. It's an ok ride, not that.impressibe if I am honest but not something I would prioritise over some of the other rides. The Millennium Falcon is a good sight and great that the Star Wars land wasn't absolutely rammed due to the block out still being in place. Clearly you did enjoy it as you come across very enthusiastically which is great. Edited at 09:17 PM.

11 Aug 19, 10:00 PM	#5
	11 Aug 19, 10:00 PM 400ixl Imagineer
400ixl Imagineer Join Date: Mar 12	Yep, just stating what the standby lines were like the day we were there. Only at a couple of points throughout the day did it drop below a queue time shorter than pre 9am. 3pm was actually at its peak on that day. It was still over an hour a 9pm. Even with the single rider lines none of us felt the desire to go back on. Partly as we were only doing one day this year and wanted to do other rides, partly because it was a whatever ride for us. They missed a big opportunity to make it a much richer augmented reality experience than they have. I guess if you are a die hard Star Wars fan I could see why it would be an experience as the area and some of the build up is far better than the ride itself. Hopefully the new ride to open is better.

13 Aug 19, 04:19 PM	#7
	13 Aug 19, 04:19 PM Peko Imagineer
Peko Imagineer Join Date: Sep 16	I thought being an engineer was the short straw on Smugglers Run. If you are looking at the buttons to press on the side, you miss most of the view to the front, which was for me the best part of the ride. I gave up pressing the buttons and just enjoyed the view. The pilot and gunner (?) positions are better, IMO.