Arrival Day
From June 6, 2019 – June 7, 2019, Stella, myself and four friends had the privilege of visiting the Disneyland Resort, staying at the Disneyland Hotel and exploring Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during the reservation period. This trip report will detail our experience and how we felt after visiting Galaxy’s Edge during its “soft opening”, before the reservation time period ends on June 23, 2019 and becomes a free for fall starting June 24, 2019.
Back in April, Disney announced their upcoming Star Wars land would require a reservation for its first three weeks. There would be two ways to score a reservation: either by signing up for a reservation during a specific date and time, or through a hotel reservation at one of the three onsite Disney hotels. Always looking for a reason to stay onsite, we opted to book a hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel. We also asked four friends to stay with us, to help split the cost of a room and allow all of us to experience Galaxy’s Edge together.
Based on work schedules, we booked a one-night stay at the Disneyland Hotel for June 6 – June 7, 2019. With six adults, we booked a one-bedroom suite. Although suites for the onsite Disney hotels are expensive, a military discount was applied, resulting in about $132 per person for the one night. Overall, still expensive compared to hotels in the Anaheim area, but reasonable for Disney prices. But, $132 allowed us to stay at the beautiful Disneyland Hotel, use its pools and secure a reservation into Galaxy’s Edge. In my opinion, it was worth it.
A couple weeks after booking our hotel, I received an email from Disney with the details regarding our Star Wars reservation. It stated our reservation would be June 7th from 0800 – 1200. All guests would need to be present, with valid government ID and canceling our hotel reservation would also cancel our Star Wars reservation. Lastly, it stated another email would be sent shortly before our trip with more details.
About three days before check in, we received another email about Star Wars land. This email restated the above information. It also said we could check in two hours before our reservation time and that we would need to check in at Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland. And although Disneyland did not open until 8am on June 7th, we would still be allowed in at 6am. With that, we were all set for our trip.
Bright and early on June 6th, we arrived at the Disneyland Hotel. We parked and checked in around 7am. We waited in line to check in for about twenty minutes as each family checking in spent a fair amount of time talking to the receptionists. From what I could hear, they we were all asking questions about Star Wars.
Our check in process was simple. As passholders, we didn’t need to buy tickets or ask questions about the park. Additionally, half of us had been to Galaxy’s Edge previously and were familiar with the process. However, I asked if it was really necessary to arrive at 6am and if a formal line would be created at that time. From word of mouth and Reddit posts, it didn’t seem like a line generated until closer to 8am. Our receptionist was unsure and stated it was better to arrive early than later.
Additionally, we asked to upgrade to Club Level service. Since we had a suite, we were told we could and paid an additional $40 per person for the night. As it was now past 7am, the E-Ticket Club, the club level lounge was open for breakfast. With California Adventure on our schedule for the day, we went up for breakfast. Our room was not yet ready and we were told we would receive a text once it was ready. We said thank you to the receptionist and headed to the lounge on the top floor of the Adventure Tower.
The lounge was quiet, compared to past visits. From past experience, the lounge is usually full around breakfast time. However, upon entering, the lounge had two other families. Both families were already eating and finished shortly thereafter, leaving us as the sole group.
The breakfast offerings were similar to past offerings. They included: fruit, pastries, deviled eggs, mickey waffles, bagels, meats, cheeses and cereals. I grabbed plenty of deviled eggs, a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon, and of course, mickey shaped watermelon. As I was starving, it was an excellent breakfast, as we looked at Downtown Disney below and the parks off into the distance.
Once we finished, we asked one of the lounge hosts for a round of mimosas, which came out promptly. We cheered to Star Wars land, grabbed some more food and departed the lounge towards California Adventure. So far, an excellent start to the day.
With our room keys, we decided to head to California Adventure through the Grand Californian entrance. As this entrance is reserved for guests of the Disneyland hotels from parking opening until noon, we wanted to capitalize on having a key! Once we arrived at the entrance, they did not ask for a key and we were allowed in. There was no line and the entrance was very quiet.
Once in the park, we headed straight towards Soarin. For the month of June, the ride was back to Soarin Over California. I couldn’t wait to see it again. Soarin Over California became Soarin (or Soarin over the world) back in 2016. Despite riding Soarin Over California countless times, the three-year difference erased my memory of the ride and I was eager to see it again.
With a ten-minute wait posted, as was every ride in California Adventure, we got on right away. Just walking from the Grand Californian to Soarin showed us the emptiness of the park. We entered the park one hour after park opening and the place was dead. Only Radiator Springs Racers posted a significant wait time. However, using our Max Pass, we secured a Fast Pass for later.
We got on Soarin Over California and it was awesome to see it again. It felt like a new ride as we soared over Yosemite, Palm Springs, the California coast, and of course, Disneyland. Soarin (Over the World) is a great ride, but it was fun to see the California locations once again as California Adventure was originally meant to showcase California, a theme it is slowly losing over time (for the better).
After Soarin, we headed to Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. Like Soarin, it was only a ten-minute wait. Essentially another walk on, we rode it right away. Next, was the Incredicoaster, again with a ten-minute wait.
After the Incredicoaster, it was time for Radiator Springs, the only ride with a long wait time (60 minutes). After racing around Radiator Springs and winning the race, we decided to ride Grizzly River Run before heading back to the hotel for lunch. By this time (just before 11am), it was hot, but the ride only posted a five-minute wait time.
Again, we got on right away and cruised around the river. Somehow, Stella and I managed to escape being soaked. However, one of our friends wasn’t so lucky. We departed the ride and we were ready for lunch at Trader Sam’s. With the bar opening at 11:30am, I wanted to get in line before it opened, as it can be hard to find a seat!
We tried exiting through the Grand California entrance. However, it was blocked and we were told it wouldn’t reopen until 2pm (no reason was given). So, we had to take the long way and walk out the main entrance and all the way through Downtown Disney before reaching the Disneyland Hotel. We arrived at Trader Sam’s by 11:25am.
And, for the first time ever, there was no line. Five minutes before the bar opened, it was empty. When the bar opened five minutes later, two other groups had entered. We easily grabbed a table and throughout our time in the bar, it never filled it up. For the first time in my life, Trader Sam’s was a walk-on. Who knew that was possible? I guess everyon
e was at the Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge, rather than at a tiki bar at the Disneyland Hotel.
And, not only was the place empty, but Trader Sam’s had every souvenir glass in stock. For the first time ever, I could take the Shrunken Zombie Head glass home. I couldn’t resist and paid the $37 dollars for the glass. It could have been the Sea Monster’s Embrace (new drink at Trader Sam’s) talking, but as I write this trip report, it still seems like I made the correct decision.
As we finished our drinks and food, I received the text that our room was ready. We would be in room 2956, on the top floor of the Adventure Tower across from the Mickey Mouse penthouse suite. We quickly paid our bill and headed to the room! And man, was she gorgeous!
We slowly opened the door to our suite. In the living room, we had a couch, two chairs and a dining room table. The living room also included a bathroom. The bedroom included two queen beds and large bathroom with two showers. We had a view of the pool area and out towards the city of Anaheim. Although I wish we could have stayed in the Frontier Tower, since they have balconies, staying in the Adventure Tower was great for its proximately to the lounge.
Once we received our bags from bell services, we changed for the pool. We arrived at the pool around 2pm and it was empty. We grab a table by the waterslides and noticed maybe two other groups in close proximately. I wonder if everyone was still at Star Wars land?
I immediately took off my shirt and headed to the waterslide! The monorail waterslide at the Disneyland Hotel is one of my favorite waterslides, behind the slide at Stormalong Bay (located at Walt Disney World). Now, it isn’t anything like Summit Plummet, which might be a good thing. But it is still fun, and you can gain lots of speed before plunging into the pool below.
Our group was easily the oldest riding the slide as we fought (metaphorically!) children from cutting us in line. We went down three or four times before heading to the E-Ticket pool, the largest of the Disneyland Hotel pools. We swam in the pool before relaxing in the hot tub. From there we played some corn hole, enjoyed another drink and rode the waterslide one more time. At this point, it was time to get ready for the evening. We had a dinner reservation at Steakhouse 55 at 7pm, but wanted to visit the E-Ticket Club for the evening’s appetizers.
After spending a couple of hours enjoying the pool, we left and headed back to our suite to shower and change. I could easily spend more time at the pool but knew we had other things to do. It was great that it was so empty, which led to a more enjoyable experience. The line for the waterslide was never too long, the hot tub was open and servers were idly standing by to help and chat.
We showered and changed and headed to the E-Ticket Club. For appetizers, they served the normal cheeses, beards, salads and fruits. For the hot portions, they served macaroni cheese balls, mini pizzas and mini hot dogs. The food was decent and helped conquer our hunger from the pool. But, with dinner soon, we couldn’t eat too much!
In my opinion, the lounges at Disney World (especially Animal Kingdom Lodge) serve much better food for the evening appetizers than the Disneyland Hotel. But, since first staying at the hotel in 2014, the evening food has improved. The food felt fresher this time and they added salads to the offerings. But the hot apps still feel like frozen finger food heated up. Still, I recommend the lounge for: offering food all day, a central place to hang out, beer/wine available all day and a great place to watch the fireworks.
Once we finished eating, we headed to Steakhouse 55, the Disneyland Hotel’s signature service restaurant, located by the ballrooms across from Goofy’s Kitchen. We checked in and were told it would be a couple of minutes before our table was ready. We sat in the Steakhouse 55 lounge, which was empty except for two people at the bar. Ten minutes later, I received a text that our table was ready and we rechecked in. The hostess then promptly escorted us to our table.
Dinner was excellent. We had a great server who allowed us to sample a variety of wines before committing to one. For dinner, we had a wedge salad, filet mignon, 16 oz prime rib and the Steakhouse 55 ribeye. For sides, we went with the macaroni and cheese and the potatoes au gratin. All were excellent. The food came out perfectly. No complaints from our service. Steakhouse 55 is one of my favorite Disneyland restaurants and our experience that night reflected why I feel this way.
We had plenty of leftovers when we finished dinner. We headed up to the room, dropped off our food and reentered the lounge. The firework show was starting in about 15 minutes and we looked forward to watching it from the lounge. Although it felt windy outside, we were assured the fireworks would still commence. And, right at 9:30pm, the show began! As always, watching it from the E-Ticket Club, with the music piped in and desserts located all over the lounge, it is hard to not see value in paying for Club Level. Plus, if the fireworks show is canceled, at least you can grab a dessert and head right to your room. Imagine being stuck outside the castle and having to walk back with disappointment?
Once the fireworks finished, we headed back to our room to prepare for bed. With a 5:30am wakeup call the next day and a full morning exploring Galaxy’s Edge, we needed sleep.
Visiting Black Spire Outpost
At 5:30am, our hotel phone went off. Still in a daze, I ignored the phone and headed to the restroom. The phone was still ringing when I got out and luckily Stella answered it. It was official, Mickey told us it was time to wakeup and get ready for Star Wars!
We quickly got our things together as we prepared to checkout out of our room. We all would have liked to stay longer but with our reservation time from 8am to 12pm, we had to depart our room before we headed to Galaxy’s Edge. Just after 6am, we called Bell Services and they collected our things. At 6:10am, we left our room and headed towards Tomorrowland to check in and receive our wrist bands.
As we walked through Downtown Disney, the shopping district was empty, minus the employees preparing to open their various shops. We eventually reached the gates of Disneyland, with those with an 8am reservation slot to check in at the far gates, closest to the Harbor Blvd entrance. Once I approached the gate, the cast member asked for my reservation number, which I provided. We were let in and allowed to head to Tomorrowland.
Cast members lined Main Street, directing us towards Tomorrowland and preventing anyone from walking to other areas of the park. It was cool to walk down Main Street in the early morning hours and view the castle without hordes of people. We arrived in Tomorrowland and entered Star Wars Launch Bay.
Once inside, we were directed to a check in area. It was about 6:30am and there was no line. We approached one of the cast members. Despite the emails stating all members of the party would need to show government ID, she only asked for mine, as I was the primary guest. Once she verified my reservation number, we were all provided wrist bands with our reservation time. Once we received our wrist bands, another set of cast members scanned and activated them. We were then free to wait in Tomorrowland or head upstairs and check out Star Wars merchandise.
With time still to kill, we headed upstairs and checked out the merchandise. Nothing too crazy but I did end up buying a baseball cap. By this time, it was just after 7am and as we exited Launch Bay, we noticed a line starting to form between Finding Nemo and Galactic Grill. We headed over there and waited in the queue of guests. Galactic Grill was open and we mobile ordered a breakfast burrito as we waited.
At 7:55am, the line began to move as we made our way to the middle entrance of Galaxy’s Edge behind Big Thunder Mountain. We arrived just before 8am as our wrist bands were scanned one last time. Right at 8am, we were let loose into Galaxy’s Edge!
Immediately, a massive line began forming for the Cantina. Two members of our group sprinted to the forming line and secured places for us. I’ll discuss more of this experience at the end but we were able to enter the Cantina within fifteen minutes. We were escorted inside and placed at a standing table to the right of DJ Rex. Despite it being 8:15am, we all ordered a round of drinks!
Service was slow but we received our drinks in a respectable amount of time. And, continuing to the norm in Galaxy’s Edge, you pay before you receive anything. Whether it be drinks at the Cantina or the lightsaber experience, you must pay Disney first. We paid for our drinks and they came out a little bit later.
I ordered the Fuzzy Tauntaun. For $15, the drink has a top layer of foam that will numb your lips and mouth. Labeled on the menu as “buzz foam”, it slightly numbs your mouth and lips, leaving behind a tingling sensation. Its weird at first, but after a couple of sips, you get used to it. Once I finished my drink, the numbing feeling wore off a couple minutes later. It does make the drink feel more “alien” and helps with the Star Wars experience. I highly recommend, along with my personal favorite, Jet Juice.
After our drinks, we headed to the Millennium Falcon to ride Smuggler’s Run. By this time, it was 9:30am, a full hour and half into our reservation, and the listed wait time was ten minutes. But when we left the Cantina, we could not see the end of the line to enter the bar. Obviously, everyone was heading to the Cantina over the ride. Thankful we hit the Cantina first, and literally walked on to Smuggler’s Run.
After already riding it three times prior in my first visit, piloting the falcon was easy and we grabbed two containers of coaxium (the max) and didn’t really damage the ship. We rode a second time and our friends were given the chance to pilot. As their first-time piloting, they crashed the Falcon numerous times, owed Hando tons of credits, and the ship was falling apart as we departed. But, by far, piloting is still the best role of the three.
After riding two times, we spent the rest of the time walking around Galaxy’s Edge, enjoying the ambiance and checking out the different shops. We stopped by Ronato Roasters and snagged a sausage pita, which was excellent. Given the choice of eating at Docking bay 7 or Ronato’s, eat at Ronatos. The food is cheaper and superior in taste. I could have eaten three of four of those pitas. Plus, they left behind a little numbing feeling like the Fuzzy Tauntaun.
At 11am, the next group was let in and increased the amount of people in the land. But Smuggler’s Run never peaked beyond fifteen minutes, as everyone either headed to the Cantina or Savi’s Workshop to build their own lightsaber.
At 11:30am, we decided to leave and exited through the Critter Country exit, next to the Resistance Forest. Its amazing how well Disney designed the entrances/exits to Galaxy’s Edge. It’s a seamless transition. One second, you’re in Galaxy’s Edge and then out of nowhere, you are back in Disneyland and Galaxy’s Edge truly feels like a world away. Disney Imagineering definitely scores high marks for building a land in Disneyland that doesn’t feel like its in the park. Overall, we had a great day and enjoyed our time.
Final Thoughts
Seeing Galaxy’s Edge a second time gave me a different perspective compared to my first visit. As I wasn’t in shock like my first visit, my second visit allowed me to observe and analyze my surroundings. All six of us came to the conclusion that Star Wars land is a major money market for the Walt Disney Company. As we walked down the detailed streets of Black Spire Outpost, we would find a family of four EACH with their own $215 lightsaber. Additionally, one or both kids would have a build your own $100 droid and maybe some other merchandise. As our reservation time was reserved for hotel guests, this same family paid at least $300 a night for a room at a Disney Resort Hotel and at least $150 for a park ticket.
Of all current available experiences in Galaxy’s Edge, the top two are either drinking a $15 drink at the Cantina or building a $215 lightsaber. Smuggler’s Run, the ride, which is free, did not have more than a 15-minute wait time for our four-hour window. People were too busy spending their money to collect coaxium for Hando.
When we visited the Cantina, which was a mess to get in, Stella ordered the Yub Nub. The menu states the drink is served in a souvenir glass. Based on prior experience, we assumed we could order the drink without purchasing the glass. However, once the drink was served to Stella, the server stated she had to pay for the glass in order to have the drink. We asked if we could just have the drink and not pay for the glass, and we were told no. We either paid for the glass to have the drink, or she could pour the drink out and make us a new, different drink. Deciding we did not want to pay $42 for a drink and glass, the server took back the drink and brought Stella a Jedi Mind Trick. I’m assuming it’s the same protocol for the beer flight, a $75 item with a souvenir beer broad.
Galaxy’s Edge is a beautiful and amazing land. It’s easily the best designed land in the entire Disneyland Resort. Once you enter, you immediately forget you are in Anaheim and instead immersive yourself in the Star Wars universe. However, once it becomes clear Disney expects your hard-earned money for the full experience, it pulls you back into reality.
I love Galaxy’s Edge and it will be a staple of my Disneyland trips in the future. Smuggler’s Run is a fun ride and once Rise of the Resistance opens, I’m sure it will be the best in the Disney arsenal, if the hype is correct. But I can’t back the ridiculous prices Disney is charging and expecting guests to pay for Star Wars specific items.
The lightsaber is high quality and the show is pretty cool, but $215 for a lightsaber that doesn’t retract? If you really want a lightsaber, buy one on Amazon. The show lasts 15 minutes and once its over, you have a very expensive toy that doesn’t do anything outside the parks. For $100, you can spend some time building a droid. That’s pretty cool, but what are you going to do with it at home? And $42 for a rum based drink? C’mon Disney.
My whole life, I’ve loved Star Wars. Although Disney has decreased the quality of the films since taking over for George Lucas, it hit a homerun with Galaxy’s Edge. The moment you see the Millennium Falcon, in all her glory for the first time, is a memory you will have for the rest of your life. But do yourself a favor, don’t spend $215 for a light up toy. Instead, look for all the details Disney’s Imagineers have hidden throughout Black Spire Outpost. Look out for the mini scenes as either Kylo Ren wanders by or a Resistance Pilot needs help hiding from Stormtroopers. Think twice before spending $100 on a little robot toy and instead collect as much coaxium as you can and help the Resistance. I guarantee you’ll have a much better experience, especially when you check your finances at the end of the month. Until next time Galaxy’s Edge, ‘Till the Spire!
