Galaxy’s Edge Night Photo Report

Over a weekend, I decided it was time to visit Galaxy’s Edge during the night. Additionally, with the reservation system no longer in use, it was a good reason to check it out. Once the reservation system ended, I read the Galaxy’s Edge was not a mess of people as it was predicted. I asked one of my friends, Kelsey, and she agreed to meet me at the park in the afternoon. 

Bright and early on Friday, June 28, I logged into the Disneyland website and made a reservation for Oga’s Cantina. As Oga’s was one of the busiest spots in all of Galaxy’s Edge (after Savi’s workshop), Disney executives put their brains together and required Oga to now be a reservation only establishment. No more massive crowds lining up at opening hoping to get in. Instead, at 7am each day, guests can log in to the website and pick a time. And if Galaxy’s Edge ever hit capacity, a reservation at Oga’s would guarantee access. 

Once I logged in, every single time was available, from 8am all the way up to midnight. I decided for a 5:20pm reservation. I easily secured my spot and carried on with my day. It felt weird not heading to Disneyland right at opening as I almost always do now. I told myself to relax and it should be fine to head to the park in the afternoon. However, I nervously checked the app throughout the morning to check on the status of the park. Overall, most rides hovered around ten minutes (as they did all week) and Smuggler’s Run was averaging thirty minutes. 

Although we planned for 1pm, I lagged and we meet up just after 2pm. In contrast to our last couple of trips, the park seemed a bit busier. The more popular rides were 30 – 40 minutes at this point, but Smugglers was only 45 minutes. We met in California Adventure and headed to the Carthay Circle Lounge for lunch. We had plenty of time before our 5:20pm Oga reservation and decided to take our time. 

Normally, the lounge is busy, but we got right in and the place was about half full. I ordered a stiff drink and as I am on a no carb diet, selected the Braised Wagyu Beef Sliders with lettuce instead of buns. And wow, those things were delicious. This was my first visit to the lounge in almost four years and I forgot about the great food. Trust me, order those sliders. Absolutely amazing and I couldn’t eat them fast enough. Kelsey ordered the Queso Chorizo Fundido, which was a cheesy queso dip with chips, also very good. 

After spending about an hour in the lounge, we decided to walk over to Galaxy’s Edge. As we left California Adventure and headed towards Disneyland, the esplanade between the parks was noticeably bare compared to a normal Friday night. I looked at the app one last time and Smugglers was only 40 minutes. We entered Disneyland and agreed to walk to Batuu through the Fantasyland entrance. 

It was just after 4pm when we entered Batuu. And it was painless. Honestly, it felt like entering any other land at Disneyland, minus a group of castmembers at the entrance, who I assume would block access if it got to the cut off point. But not today. We just walked in like it was nothing. 

In Galaxy’s Edge itself, there was a decent mass of people, but nothing crazy. With Oga’s and Savi’s as reservation only, there wasn’t a huge line of people outside like the reservation only days. The create your own droid workshop probably had six people inside building droids. Smuggler’s Run was now 35 minutes. In other words, empty. 

We headed over to some shops and looked around. One of my friends wanted a legacy lightsaber from Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Each lightsaber he wanted was sold out. I asked for four different ones and all sold out. Good to know Disney is still making money from lightsaber sales. I ended up buying a cool coffee cup and some patches. I wonder if the Air Force will let me place the patches on my OCPs? 

At 5:05pm, we headed to Oga’s, as you can check in fifteen minutes before your reservation. There was a small line of maybe six groups waiting to be called in. I can’t thank Disney enough for making Oga’s reservation only. It’s so much nicer to just place a reservation and not worry about a standby line. 

We checked in and were in the bar within ten minutes. Absolutely painless. We were escorted to a standing room table with a group of three. The server came out quickly and informed us the bar still had a 45-minute limit with a two drink maximum. She asked us to order all drinks at once, and so we did. 

Kelsey ordered the Outer Rim and Jedi Mind Trick. I ordered my two favorites, the Jet Juice and Fuzzy Tauntaun. After paying, all four drinks arrived shortly thereafter. And that was the last time we saw our server. We did not receive any coasters, napkins or water. I’m assuming she was still watching us for the time limit, but who knows. 

The drinks were delicious, as usual. The bar was much calmer then we’ve seen it before. It didn’t look overly packed or full of confused castmembers as before. Again, I applaud Disney’s decision to make the bar reservation only. It truly helped. 

You can find my full analysis of Oga’s under my review of the bar, but we had a good time and left after 45 minutes. Again, two drinks within 45 minutes is reasonable and plenty of time. Once we left the bar, it was just after 6pm. With the sun to set after 8pm, we still had lots of time to kill before it became dark.

We checked out Kat Saka’s Kettle, which serves sodas and a special popcorn blend, described as sweet and spicy. I ordered the Outpost Popcorn Mix. Served in a boring brown paper bag, the popcorn is multicolored and sweet (not spicy). After eating it for a couple of minutes, the flavor hit me. It tastes like popcorn mixed with skittle flavors. 

My popcorn was dry and chewy. Near the end of the bag, I forced myself to finish it. I’m glad I tried it but I would not order it again. Don’t waste your money on it. Tokyo DisneySea takes the cake as the best popcorn in a Disney resort. Bob Iger should make some calls and learn from DisneySea, in regards to popcorn and quite a bit else! But that a discussion for another time.

After sampling the popcorn, we walked over to the Resistance Forest. Since Rise of the Resistance is still not open and does not have an opening date, this area of the land is empty and painfully unused. Chewbacca was walking around and interacting with guests, but that was about it in terms of activity. As we were getting hungry, we left through the Critter Country entrance and headed to Hungry Bear, right across from Splash Mountain.

As we exited, no crowds waited outside and small groups would enter as we passed, again just like any other land in Disneyland. We arrived at the restaurant and I ordered a burger with no bun! Gotta avoid those carbs! As we ate, we watched people exit Splash Mountain, with most leaving soaking wet. And once we finished, we said let’s do it. Let’s ride Splash Mountain.

It was hot all day but once it reached 7pm, it cooled down significantly. And of course, we were placed right in the front. I was drenched halfway into the ride but right before the lift that takes you to the final plummet, the ride broke down and we were escorted off. It was cool as we were escorted backstage to leave the ride. We were given a complementary Fast Pass and we headed back to Galaxy’s Edge. 

At 8pm, we posted up at the balcony overlooking Smuggler’s Run in front of Docking Bay 7. After doing some research, we read this was the best place to watch the fireworks. With the fireworks scheduled for 9:30pm, we decided to just wait in order to have the perfect spot. Crowds began forming closer to 8:30pm and by 9:30pm the area around the Millennium Falcon was crowded. It was the most crowded we’ve seen the land, but once the fireworks ended, the crowd disappeared within minutes. 

Right at 9:30pm, the fireworks began. As the fireworks are the Disneyland Forever fireworks and not special Star Wars firework, there was no music. Every now and then you might hear some music from the castle, but otherwise it was just loud bangs as the fireworks exploded. However, I was able to take some great photos, which I included in this post. It was cool watching the fireworks explode over the spires, but without any music, the fireworks didn’t reach their full wow potential. But if you are in Galaxy’s Edge during the fireworks, definitely take the opportunity and view them. I’m glad we did it. 

Once the show was over, we took some more photos of the land during the night and left. As we departed, Smuggler’s was around a 40-minute wait. We left Disneyland easily and there was not a massive crowd on Main Street trying to exit as is common after the fireworks.

Final Thoughts

Galaxy’s Edge is beautiful at night. The spires omit a blue glow as the commercial sectors of the land light up. My pictures don’t do it justice, but we agreed the land looks better at night. Like the World of Pandora at Walt Disney World, you must see Galaxy’s Edge at night. And with crowds as low as they are now, it is doable. 

As we were waiting for the fireworks, Kelsey and I had plenty of time to talk about the current state of affairs. How are crowds so low for such a major expansion? Flight of Passage still commands three hour waits at Disney World (it opened two years ago). The new Harry Potter Ride at Universal Orlando had a TEN hour wait opening day and hovers around three hours on average. As I write this report, I saw Smugglers Run hit 70 minutes, the most I’ve ever seen it. So, what gives?

Well for one, we agree Disney overacted. And I believe any one of us would have made that mistake. And they especially overacted with regards to passholders. With passholders making up about 40% of their business, almost all are blocked, killing crowds significantly. And although Disneyland is finally a multiday resort, they are not drawing in the tourist crowds as they anticipated, or wanted. Is it the overpriced tickets and the gut-wrenching hotel prices? Is it that only half the land is open, with no opening date yet for Rise of the Resistance? Or is it that Disney World will open with the exact same land in August, and its better to wait to head to a resort with so much more to do?

At this point, we don’t know. It’s obviously a multitude of factors. Either way, the land isn’t performing the way Disney planned. Over the weekend, Disney announced passholders can take friends into the park for $99. And if your pass is blocked out, you can pay $99. That’s insane and a reflection of the reality Disney is facing right now. 

During my last three visits, the resort was empty. Most rides averaged ten to fifteen minutes, with the E-Ticket attractions hovering between 20 – 60 (Radiator Springs) minutes. It’s so empty it slaps you across the face. When I left Disneyland on Friday, it reminded me of the parks back in 2013 when one could arrive after work and ride almost every major attraction before close. It was nice and a reflection of how I would like the parks. But for Disney, it’s a loss of profit.

I still believed Disney made the right call in how it handled the opening of Galaxy’s Edge. There was no way to know what would happen, and I rather it be controlled as it is now than a complete mess, as it could have been. With the reservation system over, the next big event will be when lower tiered passholders are unblocked in August. Once they can come back to the parks, then we’ll see how Disneyland will be with Galaxy’s Edge. And when Rise of the Resistance opens, we’ll see again.

But for now, if you plan to visit, now is the time. Not only will you max out your time at Galaxy’s Edge, but at the rest of the resort. Crowds are slim and rides are wide open. Additionally, Galaxy’s Edge is beautiful at night and is still a gorgeous addition to the Disney parks empire. Based on my busy schedule, I probably won’t be back until August. But until then, ill do my best to provide updates and monitor the status of the land. Just keep in mind, now is the time to go!