So, Galaxy's Edge is awesome, and they should do reservations forever. The number of people per reservation is very reasonable, and with the 8 am time slot, we had plenty of time to do everything we wanted to do. The only place that looked crowded was the cantina, and we didn’t bother with that.
Tips: there is a dedicated entrance at the gate for 8 am reservation holders, and you can check in at 6 am at Launch Bay. You need your QR code and ticket/pass to get into DL, and your QR code and ID to get your wristband at Launch Bay. After getting your “credentials” (wristband), they tell you to “enjoy the park and check in by Red Rose Tavern at 8 am”, but of course everyone lines up on the path by Nemo and is held there until 7. They then held everyone at Red Rose until about 7:35, then at the Frontierland SWGE entrance until 7:50, and then they let us in. FYI - we arrived at 6:30, and there were at least 1000 people in front of us, but since we had magic morning, they actually let us go to the castle at 7 ( we could have been the first on Peter Pan), so we walked through the castle and were amongst the first at the Red Rose Tavern.
Wait to ride Smuggler's Run until at least 90 min into your reservation. We rode it back to back at 9:45 am with 15 min waits, but it was 70 min at 8 am and again at 11 am when the next group entered. The overlap period is not pretty.
Decide what experience you want to do, find it on the map while you're waiting, and go there FIRST. They cut the lightsaber line early - like before 9 am, and the cantina line, too, so if you want to do that, or a droid, do it first. We saw several people in tears outside Savi’s because they went to another attraction first and were told that the line was closed. We headed straight for Savi’s and had about 30 people ahead of us, which put us in the 3rd group (they do 14 ppl at a time). We waited 25 min to select and pay for our lightsabers and were told to return at 9:10 am for our 9:15 appointment. So, we had about 45 min to explore, and we checked out the Den of Antiquities, Rondo’s and the Forest. In total, it was a 75 min wait, but we weren't in line for most of it, which was wonderful. And the Savi’s experience was very, very cool. My kids are asking for droids now, since we walked into the droid depot, but it’s definitely a less intimate experience than Savi’s, and one we’ll save for a future visit.
If you don’t care about the cantina, lightsabers or droids, you can sleep in and still have a great time!
