Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge: My Thoughts

I know it's been a long time. It's been interesting, learning to balance life and work and marriage, but I'm getting the hang of things.

Also, I've been busy. I've been on deadline for THE EXPLORER'S CODE, but that's done, and I recently returned from a trip to Disneyland!

It was a good trip, with my husband and our friends and not a care in the world. Our friend Spencer (not my husband) put together the trip a while ago because he wanted to visit the new Star Wars area of the park, Galaxy's Edge. So we all got in on this action and went.

Disneyland was great overall, of course. I went on a bunch of rides that I've never been on before, like Peter Pan's Flight and the Enchanted Tiki Room.

We went from opening to closing, practically, and I got to experience a lot of the park. Spencer (my husband, not our friend) and his family like to play hard at Disneyland, which is exactly how I've been raised to play. If you're going to spend the money, why not get every dollar's worth?

But I'm not going to talk about the rest of the park. It was a lot of fun, Spencer and I rode Star Tours 8 times and broke his personal record for number of rides on that attraction, and I heard a few new songs on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. I got ice cream and an excellent sandwich, and even did the Void attraction.

Okay, so I did a lot and it was fun. But I want to weigh in on Galaxy's Edge, specifically, and my thoughts on it.

I heard, before I went, that Galaxy's Edge is a storytelling marvel, and that's no lie. The first thing we noticed, when we went into that section of the park, is how isolated it is from the rest of the park. When you walk inside, you can't see the rest of Disneyland, and you can't even hear the rest. All you hear is ambient sounds of Blackspire Outpost. It's like you're in a completely different world.

That feeling continues the more time you spend there. The cast members all are in character as residents of Blackspire. What does that mean? It means all prices are given in credits, not dollars, you can expect to be greeted with "bright suns" instead of "hello," and if you ask where the "lightsaber workshop" is, you'll be greeted with suspicion since lightsabers are contraband.

It's a very immersive place. Even now, when I hear Blackspire mentioned in movies like Solo, I think, "Oh, yes, I've been there." Like I've been to Tatooine. Because I have. This place is a canon location in the Star Wars galaxy but it's also a real place you can visit. It blurs the lines between reality and fiction so that you truly feel like you're inside Star Wars.

One way they do this is with their datapad game. The Disney Play app has games you can play all over the park, and Galaxy's Edge is no exception. This game, though, turns your phone into a datapad that can communicate with other Blackspire figures, like bounty hunters and scoundrels, Resistance agents, and First Order officers. You can take jobs for them all and earn credits and gear, you can hack doors and communication systems, you can scan crates and get what's inside them (virtually, of course), and you can use it to translate the Aurebesh writing everywhere. (Although, I admit, I learned to read it earlier to save battery power. The datapad game is way fun, but you'll want to bring a battery pack to recharge your phone because it will eat your power.)

Another way was the food. I spent a bit of my food money here. All menu items are listed as "Fried Endorian Tipyip" instead of fried chicken, for example. I had roasted Endorian tipyip on a salad and Felucian Garden Spread (kefta and hummus).

The flavors are good, but they mostly just do a good job of providing food that tastes, well, out of this world. It's a new experience.

 My favorite things I ate there were the Oi-Oi Puff (cream puff filled with raspberry cream and topped with passionfruit frosting) and the meiloorun juice (the deep pink juice with the tipyip salad, not the orange juice above - that's the moof juice). As for the blue and green milk, I tried both and liked both. They're dairy free, but they have a good, smooth texture and refreshing tropical flavors. Blue is a pineapple/coconut drink, and green was more like mango.

Okay, I need to talk about the experiences. I'm starting with Smuggler's Run, the Millennium Falcon ride. We rode it three times, and I got to do all three jobs: engineer, gunner, and pilot. Engineer is the easiest job, and pilot is the hardest but most fulfilling. The line moves fast and is interesting (especially if you do the datapad game), and once they put you in a group of 6 to ride (2 of each job), they give you a card with a color on it, and then let you wander a room inside the Falcon. It's great! You're not standing in a boring queue and you can explore the Falcon's sitting area. Then you go in and fly.

As for the ride, imagine Star Tours but as a video game. You fly the ship, you fix the ship, and you shoot at anyone who gets in your way. It's not too hard (kids ride this), but it is possible to fail. We never did, though. We had a good run when I was pilot, which was nice. Even better, I was the pilot that got to jump to hyperspace, so WHOOOOO!


But the highlight for me was getting my own lightsaber. Yes, I spent the money and built my own lightsaber in Savi's Workshop. I don't want to give away what happens, because I went in fresh and unspoiled and I think that's the way to go. But I will say that you decide on one of 4 different hilt styles right at the start, and get one of 4 kyber crystal colors later (red, green, blue, or purple - they determine the blade color). The actual building is an experience that is mystical and emotional, and they do a great job. I built a blue saber and I was feeling goosebumps and actually laughing with the thrill of it all by the end. If you're a Star Wars fan and you've always wanted to be a Jedi, I recommend it. A lot.

That's our friend Eric. He got a LOT of Star Wars merch when we were there. We took this epic picture immediately after getting our sabers.

The saber itself is high quality, with a heavy metal hilt and it's made for dueling. You can pretty easily take off the blade and dismantle and reassemble the hilt, which is good because you can replace the crystal with another one, which will change the color and the sound effects. Seriously, the crystals are pretty legit technology.

It was a really fun place, and it's not even done yet. I look forward to seeing what Rise of the Resistance, their next ride, will be like when it opens. For any of you who are Star Wars fans and want to go inside the world and story, Disney did a great job. I think you won't be disappointed. It has me wondering about the future of the Disney Parks and if immersive lands, like this one, will be a focus in future developments. If it is, I wouldn't mind at all.