"Enjoy these moments; they are precious"-Lesley's EPIC May TR!-COMPLETED-10/2-Last stops at Flower & Garden and Wrap Up

I know I'm watching the thread, but I don't know if I told you Lesley. If I didn't, I am. If I did, in the immortal words of Rosanne Rosannadanna....NEVER MIND. :lmao:

Also, if I didn't already say, it was great meeting you.
 
Hello and welcome to everyone! I haven't gone thru all my photos (or everyone else's) yet, but I figured I'd get this TR started! Also, 2 weeks before Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opens! EEEPPP! I'll be there on opening day with all the crazies! I can't wait!

Oh, and I'm trying out using Google Photos instead of Imgur, so let me know if it works well for people!


Saturday, April 27 -
Day 1 - Where is the TV screen??


Up to about a month before the trip, this morning would have started with me sleeping in. Maybe seeing Endgame for a second time (I saw it in one of the Thursday night shows). And packing for the trip which I was leaving for on Wednesday morning. Well, of course life takes a different turn!

Somehow I ended up discovering that there was a work conference that fit perfectly into my engineering specialty in Orlando on the Monday and Tuesday! At first I expected it would be too late and there wouldn't be the budget, but after talking with some co-workers/higher ups at the company, we realized it would work out nicely. One of my actual office co-workers was schedule to go to it, but she actually didn't really want to due to family matters, so was happy I could take it over! And for me, that would give me the opportunity to attend one of the Orlando Informer Universal Studios meetups, which I have been wanting to visit for a while! In theory, I should have flown in on Sunday, but because I'm a deal sleuther, I was able to show that flying in a day early, plus staying at different hotels than the conference, would actually save $600, despite the extra night! Woohoo! So, this way I was able to get my company to pay for my airfare, hotel for the first 4 nights, and food for those days! Much appreciated!

giphy.gif


Okay, that's very cool! I need you to give me pointers on how to get my company to pay for Disney trips!
Ok, anyways, back to the actual trip!

I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning (way too early - about 3:30am for my 7am flight). My mom agreed to drive me to the airport, despite me being willing to get an Uber/Shuttle. I had no problems at security (yay for pre-check), and ended up picking up a few snacks for the flight.


Ugh! Way too early.


Boarding was uneventful (well, after I shoved people out of the way who were blocking the boarding aisle even though they had a late boarding group number >:()
Two things
Teach them people to get out of your way when you're going to Disney.
I never have understood why it takes people so long. Find your seat, put your carry on in the bin and sit down! It ain't rocket science people. Same for getting off the plane. How it takes people so long to stand up, get their luggage from the bin and leave the plane I just don't understand. Grrrr!


Before long we were approaching Orlando. And for the first time I was able to spy Walt Disney World from the air! Epcot is the first thing and easiest to see with the World Showcase. Then I picked out everything else from there! You can check the first images, see if you can pick everything out (actually pretty much the entire Disney property is in these photos), then check my markups afterwards!
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My markups:
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Oh, and I kept looking and was able to see Universal Studios too!
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That's very cool. You obviously were flying in from the South. Only way you can get those pictures. Most times the planes are landing from the North and while one can see (from the right side of the plane) the area where Disney is, not normally well enough to make out parks or resorts.
Cool (and GOOD) photos!


I want so much to reply more, but I have to head off to work.

One last thing re: the minon. Kevin?
 
OK. I'm caught up now. I think this was the last TR that I needed to come back and read, so I'm now just reading TRs in progress, but there was way to much here for me to multi quote and such.

Where did you fly out of? LAX? it seemed like you had a non-stop flight, but I didn't know there was a 7AM non stop out of LAX. We stopped flying American about 2 years ago when their FF miles became ridiculous for our manner of flying.

We have always stayed at the Loew's RP when we were at Universal, it's nice enough.

That event sounds like a pretty good deal, but I don't know how you stayed up for nearly 24 hours. I would have had to fly in on Friday to do that event. Then again I'm a bit older than you are! :lmao:
 
I am definitely going to check out the next OI event. And even without a special event, you’ve encouraged me to explore all that is Harry Potter.

The speakeasy sounds cool but I’m certain I wouldn’t have figured out the code either.

Think you may be at Galaxy’s Edge as I type.... so excited for you and anxious to hear your thoughts.
 


You got so much done during the OI event! My sister and I are hoping to make a trip down for the December one.

Unfortunately there was a limited number of slots (it’s a very low capacity ride) and despite not handing out the return times until 4:30, they ran out by 5pm. Pretty much, if you aren’t in line about 1 hr before they hand out those return times, you aren’t going to get one.

Oh man that's frustrating! That's one of the things I'm looking forward to most during the event!
 
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: This may be the best shirt I have seen in a long time. They need to make a disney version for Monsters University :earboy2:

The events give you free reign of the parks and very low lines, which is awesome! And, something better than Disneyworld’s After Hours events – you get free food! It does cost money, but pretty much the same as a 1-day park-to-park ticket for Universal.
I had no idea what this was. I thought you all were going to some sort of comic-con like thing. :P It sounds awesome and a great way to see the parks. I'll have to look into that to see if its ever an option to see the dark side.

This may be the artiest photo of chicken fingers I have ever seen!

Steve didn’t quite understand that you are supposed to continue going thru the wall! Meanwhile, I decided to take it at a run, which surprised Su-Lynn, who was filming me!

giphy.gif
Now where is that video? That I would like to see.

Lesley: “Oh, nevermind. I suck at this”
Spiderman: “No, no. we are going to figure this out. What were you trying to say?”
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: This would totally be me. I wouldn't have a clue what to say to spiderman ever!

And we proceed to get soaking wet! Then Kari goes – Oh right, you are supposed to do the opposite of the song! Thanks Kari!

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While I'm not sure I'd want to get wet at night this looks like a ton of fun

It was decent, as expected for QS Italian food, and helped me carbo-load (to be fair - I only a had a couple bites of each thing, I more was craving pasta, then saw the cannolis, and the pizza looked relatively good on the serving line; if I had more hands I probably would have gotten the spaghetti and meatballs too)!
It is your duty as a good trip reporter to carbo load on as many things as you can in the name of good trip reporting!

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They even asked at the end if I wanted another one and I was like – um, I can’t carry another one! I got some laughs juggling everything out of there and thanks to Kari for the photo!
Speaking of good trip reporting....You went above and beyond with this one 🍦🍦🍦
 
Love hearing about new things at universal Orlando! I haven't been there since 2014, but I'm pretty sure FJ doesn't go upside down- just hangs you in weird ways! What a fun event! Someday!
 


And I liked the tree that was over the canal!

That is a really cool tree, and the canal is just pretty in general.

One of the things they do at the OI Meetup is allow solo adults to ride Pteranodon Flyers! This is a ride at Islands of Adventure where you fly above the treetops.

What! That is so cool! I wanted to ride that so badly. It's a bummer that you weren't able to, but that means you'll just have to return!

Love that ride – yes, many portions are screen based, but it still is so well executed and includes set pieces and other effects so it doesn’t really feel that way!

Agreed! Gringotts is a great ride... think I actually like it more than Forbidden Journey.

(also, I get nightmares from the movies – no way I’m meeting a physical Raptor)

ME TOO! I had recurring nightmares about T-rexes throughout my childhood because my parents took little first grade me to see it in theaters.

So, we start going, and the ride song goes “red fish, go up high, blue fish, stay low”, so I go up high (we were red), all good. Then “red fish go low, blue fish, go high”, so I make us go low. And we proceed to get soaking wet! Then Kari goes – Oh right, you are supposed to do the opposite of the song! Thanks Kari!

HAHA, this sounds like a great ride! The spitting camel is actually what makes the magic carpets so fun, so I bet I'd love this too.


That pizza does look really good! I'm impressed.


This is too great, and absolutely necessary when it's free!
 
Next time you want to stay at Universal, let me know! I have a trick I can help you with!
Yes, please! I actually would like to know since we are thinking of tacking on a day for UO next June ::yes::

Steve didn’t quite understand that you are supposed to continue going thru the wall! Meanwhile, I decided to take it at a run, which surprised Su-Lynn, who was filming me!

giphy.gif
:rotfl2:

On our way out we saw Spiderman meeting (without a line). I, of course, decided to be my awkward self, so here is a summary of our interaction:
Lesley: “I saw your.. um, today, um… your Miles”
Spiderman: “Um… My what?”
Lesley: “Oh, nevermind. I suck at this”
Spiderman: “No, no. we are going to figure this out. What were you trying to say?”
Lesley: “Um, … Spiderverse”
Spiderman: “Oh! You got introduced to my pal, Miles Morales!”
Lesley: “YES! That’s what I meant”
Spiderman: “He’s a great guy, and you must also have seen my other friends”
Lesley: “Yes, also Gwen”
Spiderman: “She’s great… ok, what about a photo” (and I can only imagine – let me get rid of this weirdo!


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:rotfl:It's not just you, I find it awkward to talk to characters too. I do think the furry ones are easier, but I never know what to say. I'm sure they get that all the time.

They have both soft serve and scooped ice cream. I ended up getting 3 of the soft serves (that wasn’t actually my intention as I thought the butterbeer was a scooped flavor). The soft serves are basically vanilla swirled with a different flavor. I got chocolate, strawberry, and butterbeer. And asked for small servings, with this hilarious result.

F2rCv8qxagaFFRhga4rcpB5kre7dx2vIAiqqQTmCOglPQQirSugiffK76LbHiPCc16u9hjBjARWv7yu_Ln4WKL6q-XLAUgIO_6ln6sNhcgOOISXG699v9DO6lIfHM4NjrH-i1_YRUCsxI_s5dEAqzInFJJgueGJvQBqzC-zEF4Y-h279GNfWTuH1EALMdjiKdTJhwuaR__47PFgPZ06Ww3rsXM7OxuK45J7euUT4CcDhiutFWhYom18lyldn0lJc3U2I6OKRhUmMApy_-IbiREZ0DBsGPg6I6IvxjgyJJSSwFaDa1EIYUvZDXRZs7K05Izu2KGsn8V56TeppxhmGcC7EalkErByh8UNdNZ3XMVHtPhsu5sIlEqBw4-_2eYtKOCmk-uz1PauN-7R_pOOQGBDg3C4NaHxWenx9VdyFruj-O9eVSW2GGZgUpTc3-ORGu-Tf4MKMClA3hhpRSyFdikbYAXMSGQLburVB_Vz0RyQbyt5yHKKL-Y3Naw5RYYqtKsXp2nXwqvJSGUmTSn8dbo0OeNbTQJP7KHJuTv3J_dKXAQQr_5vaggiqqdDYYD6cN61EfAzZn8DNHoyY4DeHJ_02nocRw1Yz6N4pmeyzSs0oSiNuBxAVBZllAW-7V1lofd6jRix1Zp0zITKwEJ1va3sgRnCdTd4=w638-h479-no
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Yum! I love that butter beer ice cream, but maybe I'll try the strawberry next time.

At that point, we were both done! We ended up walking out of the park via the Simpsons Land (to see lights), and caught a boat back to the resort, where we briefly cleaned up and then totally crashed to sleep! A fun and exhausting night!
What a fun night! I can see why you were exhausted!
 
Well, I'm back from a Galaxy Far, Far Away. And it was AMAZING!

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I'm still working up my photos and everything, but I will probably post them on this thread this week! And I can't wait to head back to Batuu on Saturday for another round!

Ah man, I would love to ride that one someday. I need to borrow a random kid someday. :rotfl2:
If I had a kid, I could probably pay off my park ticket just renting him/her out at the entrance to the Flyers!

Ugh I quoted a bunch the other day and lost it all! Anyway as a true non-Universal fan I do have to say the event does look fun! I may even do it if it ever corresponds with one of my Disney visits.

I always forget about the Mummy! I do like the Hulk but I think the Mummy is my favorite Uni ride :)
Most definitely give it a try! It really improves the experience when there are no lines and free food/ice cream! I don't think it changed my opinion enough to make me want to give up multiple Disney days to do USO, but I will probably do a day here or there.

I know I'm watching the thread, but I don't know if I told you Lesley. If I didn't, I am. If I did, in the immortal words of Rosanne Rosannadanna....NEVER MIND. :lmao:

Also, if I didn't already say, it was great meeting you.
Welcome! And it was nice to (briefly) meet you!
Two things
Teach them people to get out of your way when you're going to Disney.
I never have understood why it takes people so long. Find your seat, put your carry on in the bin and sit down! It ain't rocket science people. Same for getting off the plane. How it takes people so long to stand up, get their luggage from the bin and leave the plane I just don't understand. Grrrr!
UGH! I know! Seriously people - be prepared!

That's very cool. You obviously were flying in from the South. Only way you can get those pictures. Most times the planes are landing from the North and while one can see (from the right side of the plane) the area where Disney is, not normally well enough to make out parks or resorts.
Cool (and GOOD) photos!
Yeah, I don't know if I've ever flown in from the South before! It was definitely a nice surprise!
Where did you fly out of? LAX? it seemed like you had a non-stop flight, but I didn't know there was a 7AM non stop out of LAX. We stopped flying American about 2 years ago when their FF miles became ridiculous for our manner of flying.
It was American. They have an earlier morning flight (advertised around 8am) which I've booked the past several visits. In December, that flight was changed to an hour later, which was annoying, but better than other options. For February and May, it was changed to an hour earlier, which sucks for leaving, but is nice for arriving earlier and getting more Orlando time. I'm booked on that 8:10am flight again for this upcoming December, so we'll see if it the time changes!
That event sounds like a pretty good deal, but I don't know how you stayed up for nearly 24 hours. I would have had to fly in on Friday to do that event. Then again I'm a bit older than you are!
I don't know either! At least I crashed to bed quickly!
I am definitely going to check out the next OI event. And even without a special event, you’ve encouraged me to explore all that is Harry Potter.

The speakeasy sounds cool but I’m certain I wouldn’t have figured out the code either.

Think you may be at Galaxy’s Edge as I type.... so excited for you and anxious to hear your thoughts.
Yes, definitely check it out! The next event is in December, so there will be the Christmas stuff up too!
You got so much done during the OI event! My sister and I are hoping to make a trip down for the December one.



Oh man that's frustrating! That's one of the things I'm looking forward to most during the event!
Fingers crossed you guys get on the ride! Make sure to get in line very early for it!
 
This may be the best shirt I have seen in a long time. They need to make a disney version for Monsters University :earboy2:
YES! That would be awesome!
I had no idea what this was. I thought you all were going to some sort of comic-con like thing. :P It sounds awesome and a great way to see the parks. I'll have to look into that to see if its ever an option to see the dark side.
Most definitely!
This may be the artiest photo of chicken fingers I have ever seen!
Well, it was Fish and Chips!
It is your duty as a good trip reporter to carbo load on as many things as you can in the name of good trip reporting!
Exactly!
Speaking of good trip reporting....You went above and beyond with this one 🍦🍦🍦
Haha - I enjoyed that part of the event very much!
Love hearing about new things at universal Orlando! I haven't been there since 2014, but I'm pretty sure FJ doesn't go upside down- just hangs you in weird ways! What a fun event! Someday!
Yeah, I did look it up afterwards. I guess it does flip you onto your back! I must have just felt like I was upside down! Which I guess means they did their job correctly!
Agreed! Gringotts is a great ride... think I actually like it more than Forbidden Journey.
Agreed! I like Gringotts more! Though my legs are always killing me when I get out of the restraints!
HAHA, this sounds like a great ride! The spitting camel is actually what makes the magic carpets so fun, so I bet I'd love this too.
Haha, yeah maybe! This definitely is more water than the camel though!
It's not just you, I find it awkward to talk to characters too. I do think the furry ones are easier, but I never know what to say. I'm sure they get that all the time.
I always find I start to mime things out when talking to furry characters!
 
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge - Opening Weekend Mini-TR!

I got the chance to visit Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge on opening day and it was completely amazing! Like seriously - wow!

Obviously - this whole thing is a big SPOILER! So, skip past if you don't want to see anything!


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First, the land itself - the scale is unlike anything you can imagine! And the various vlogs/videos around just don't do it justice. The level of detail is so great and every so often you hear (and feel) a ship flying overhead). The Imagineers really pulled out all the stops. And it feels lived in. Like when Chewbacca comes out and inspects the Falcon, it feels right! And Rey walks through the marketplace - I almost didn't realize it was a character!


The ride - I loved it! I got to ride it sooo many times, in all different positions. Pilot was my favorite. Engineer wasn't half-bad. Gunner was my least favorite, though I would still do it again in a heartbeat!

The food - Yum! Some very great options!

The park operations - oh wow. The reservation system was outstanding. We had so much freedom to see everything we wanted in the land. And then the rest of the park - absolutely dead! If I hadn't been so physically and emotionally exhausted, I could have easily ridden every ride in Disneyland that day! I know some bloggers/people online are saying it means SWGE is a disappointment, but I don't see it that way AT ALL! Low crowds and lines = happy guests. And you know where those happy guests are instead of waiting in line at the ride - buying things! Disney made BANK last weekend! Ok...anyways I ended up deleting half my rant because it's been frustrating me to no end! On with the TR!

Oh, and it was soo funny because EVERYONE said I was crazy for going opening weekend! And I thought I was too! But it was THE BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!

(Also some of these photos aren’t in the exact order, like a lot of the merchandise photos are from back in the hotel room, but I made them fit).

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"Trip" info:

Who: Me, my friend Dina (@dina444444 ) and our friend Matt. Dina's uncle and his husband also showed up and were great fun!
When: Thursday, May 30 - Saturday, June 1
Hotel: Paradise Pier Hotel
SWGE Reservations: May 31, 8am-12pm; May 31, 8pm-12am; June 1, 11am-3pm

On Thursday, May 30, Dina and I checked into the Paradise Pier Hotel. This is the cheapest Official Disneyland Hotel, but is still extremely expensive, at about $450 per night.

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Some room photos:

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I would NOT recommend this hotel to anyone coming to visit Disneyland. It is way too expensive for what you get and nowhere near the quality of the WDW hotels (Disney didn’t actually build this – they bought it in 1995 in preparation for the DCA crowds). It is sorely in need of renovations, and really doesn’t feel that nice. There are many many many more non-Disney hotels that are actually closer to the parks for ¼ the cost. But for us, we knew we wanted an official hotel to guarantee a SWGE reservation. And this was a better financial decision than the Disneyland Hotel (>$600/night) or Grand Californian (>$800/night). Also you’d think with a beach theme they’d do better than a basic rectangular pool…

I also got to check out the completed castle that afternoon which is soooo gorgeous!

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Not an exciting evening as we had an early morning on Friday!


Friday, May 31, 2019

Today was the day!

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I was sooo excited! Dina and I woke up at 5am, which is way too early for me, but I made the sacrifice for Star Wars!

Feels busy!

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We were let in and the people with an 8am reservation was held at the entrance to Tomorrowland while they walked over people who were just in line for exclusive opening-day merchandise. (Note – I don’t think anything sold out that quickly, so they really didn’t need to camp out overnight to be there!)

I call this the March of the E-Bay Resellers (I took video, but my videos are being annoying and not working right now)

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What is this – a land for ants?

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After a short wait (maybe 20 minutes total), we got our wristbands! Sooo excited!

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We went over to the holding area which was between the Matterhorn and the Finding Nemo submarines. Despite there being a lot of people, everyone was in a very good mood and acting very civilized – no elbows being thrown or people pushing to the front!

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At one point Josh D’Amaro, the President of Disneyland, made his way through the crowd, saying “hi” and taking photos. He stuck around SWGE for most of the morning.

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We were held at the holding area until about 7:45, when we were walked through Fantasyland to the Big Thunder Trail. Again, very civilized, no one running, some walking faster than others, but not too bad. (Oh and at this point our group of 5 ended up adopting a solo guy to make a group of 6 and fill up a whole Millenium Falcon cockpit; Dina’s uncle and his husband ended up really bonding with him and they hung out most of the morning and exchanged contact info.)
 
I don’t have many good photos because I decided to do a Facebook Live video – I know a handful of people tuned in! So these are mostly screenshots from that video

Approaching the entrance – for years I’ve been able to get under the bridge and no further… it was an exciting moment when we could see beyond it!
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They did a countdown until 8am and people cheered and began walking forward!
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And we had entered Batuu
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It was just sooo surreal!

One of the coolest moments was as we entered the land, the Imagineers and designers and park people were all lined up waving and cheering us on. It really felt special!
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I think my first audible “Wow” moment was coming around the corner to see Kylo’s command shuttle. I’m not even a Dark-Side person, but the scale of this was so outstanding!
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We followed the crowd and ended up getting in line for Smuggler’s Run (really – I should have gone straight to sign up for a lightsaber, but it all worked out in the end). The line for the Cantina was insane and had already looped around.
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First views of the Falcon. Another amazing Wow moment.
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My version of an “excited” face
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Ok – end of video screenshots

The Hondo animatronic is pretty cool! Oh, and if anyone doesn’t know who Hondo is – he is a smuggler from the Clone Wars and Rebels tv shows. He definitely is concerned about #1, but at the same time, he has a soft spot of the Resistance/Rebellion. It’s an interesting choice having him be the star of the attraction, but I think it works – if it was a more familiar character it would be pretty dated. And Chewbacca does make appearances too.
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I really liked the CM uniforms
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For the first ride I ended up getting assigned the Pilot position. Basically at a certain point the CM separates you into groups (this is also where the Single Rider line merges into the normal line). They have color-coded cards, each with a different assignment. The CM hands them out, pretty much in the Pilot-Gunner-Engineer order, with the instructions that if you want to change your assignment you can do so in the next room. (Single Riders usually end up with Engineer, but on occasion I got assigned Gunner and one time I traded for Pilot.)

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You get sent to board the Falcon and wait in the “Chess Room”. Here you are free to mill about (it’s not a huge room), including sitting down at the actual game table, where people normally take photos. You can also discover various easter eggs, like Luke’s lightsaber training supplies.

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The Falcon has seen better days :P

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The CMs in the room call forward groups by color (sometimes they find you in the room itself) and go over some basics before lining you up at one of 2 room exits.

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When it’s time, you proceed down the hallway and get to hear Hondo’s instructions on a smaller screen.

And get excited that you are about to pilot the Millenium Falcon!

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Boarding is simple and the restraint is a simple seat belt. On the ride, there are two of every role. My position controlled up/down and Hyperdrive. The buttons or switches light up green when you need to push them or do something

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You can see a video of our ride from Matt’s youtube channel! And see how much of a horrible pilot I was!


Yeah… I sucked big time (normally people get in the thousands, maybe even 10,000’s. I got 100…)

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Coming out I was just in a daze! It was just so much fun! I loved it so much!

After the ride, I decided to check out the line for lightsabers (1 hr, which I passed on), and then headed next door to the Droid Depot.

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I timed it well as I only had a 10 minute wait, but the line quickly built behind me. I decided to make a BB unit (Dina and her uncle also came over to watch – it wasn’t too crowded so they didn’t mind an extra person being there).

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So, I’d like to introduce you to BB-531! She’s still a baby but already a galaxy traveler!

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I ended up also getting the backpack and a Resistance personality chip.

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If you are curious – this is the original sound


And the sound with the Resistance chip


I also got the BB-8 headband, which lights up and makes sounds (I think it must be motion activated because it would only make sounds when I was moving around). I considered getting the R2-D2 one too, but decided to hold off for now!

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Loved how the cash registers are themed too!

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Now, it was time for breakfast. I got the Bright Suns Morning (Three-Cheese Egg Bite, Pork Sausage, Purple Potato Hash, Mini Mustafarian Lava Roll). It was all very delicious and I’d highly recommend it! Pastry was pretty much a cinnamon roll, but flakier pastry like a croissant. The egg bite tasted good and not too strong of cheese. The hash was yummy, and the sausage had a good bite to it without being spicy. I also got one of the themed water bottles (they didn’t sell the soda bottles here). I was also impressed how they used real metal sporks and dishes, not disposable ones.

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BB-531 hung out too

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And I loved all the details inside, plus ample amounts of seating! I need to do more exploring in here though!

After breakfast, why not do another round on the Falcon (it was Dina, her uncle, and me). This time it had only a 20 minute posted wait, which was about accurate. We didn’t meet up with the line until we were out of the repair garage.

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Part of the queue is pretty nice because it looks out over the top of the Falcon!

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Oh, of course BB-531 came with me – I carried her around like this all day so she could see places!

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This time I was assigned Gunner. I didn’t quite understand, so I set the guns to “Manual”, which means you have 3 buttons and need to select up, down, or straight. The Automatic control means you still shoot, but it automatically aims – definitely easier!

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Dina noticed a hidden mickey in the room (I’ll have a better photo of it with Round 3)

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After another crash landing, the three of us went over to find her uncle’s husband who was in line for a lightsaber with our new solo friend. They were about 2 people from the register and because I was standing with them I was able to basically cut the line and buy a lightsaber too! Woohoo! (Normally I don’t do that sort of thing, but for this I made an exception. If anyone had said something, I would have stepped out and not gotten one.)

We still had 1 hr before our appointment to build the lightsaber, so I wandered the land some more.

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I picked up some Blue Milk, which I actually really liked! Sort of like a coconut slushy

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The First Order area – they had some cool shirt designs, but I’m full Resistance, not First Order, so I didn’t get any of them.

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The line for the Cantina was still insane (on the right)

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The marketplace – so gorgeous and so much detail!

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I looove what this lady did to her Orange Bird!

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I did some shopping, including pins and some other souvenirs.

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Dina and I decided to walk down to the Resistance Base area, which is pretty quiet as Rise of the Resistance isn’t opened yet

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Where we realized it was 10:55am. The next group would be let in at 11am from that area of the land. Um – maybe we need to get away from here!

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(I have a video too, but again – my videos are being sooo annoying so I can’t upload it)

I tried to avoid most of the crowds, so hopped back into the Marketplace (the CMs were directing people around the side) and ended up buying Rey’s outfit from Ahch-To, which I love!

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The outside of Dok Ondor’s Den of Antiquities – I’ll have interior photos in Round 2

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And I decided to try out Green Milk. Definitely not as good as Blue Milk – a bit too grassy and floral tasting. I brought it over to the Lightsaber waiting area and the rest of the group agreed!

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After a little wait (maybe 30 minutes), we were allowed in to build our lightsabers. All 6 of us ended up entering, since you have one builder and one guest, and three of us made lightsabers.

The Gatherer “office”

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Matt filmed the whole experience and posted it on his youtube (which has gotten >100k views so far)!


Some random photos – I picked elemental and a purple crystal

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At this time it was around 12:30 and our time slot was up. No one actually kicked us out and we could have stayed to explore more, but I think everyone was exhausted! Plus, Dina, Matt and I were coming back at 8pm! And I was pretty weighed down with my park backpack, droid backpack, lightsaber, and a shopping bags!

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(I think at some point I did buy some coke bottles – probably on my way out of the land)

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On our way out, we ran into Josh again, so he took a photo with me and BB-531.

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Loved the transition from SWGE to Frontierland

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Before heading back to the room, I ended up buying some of the opening season merchandise (they don’t sell anything that says “Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge” in the land itself).

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So in all, a wonderful morning!

Some random photos I didn’t know where to post:

Special park map

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Reusable bags from SWGE

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Thank you so much for sharing!

I’m going to make a general comment in response to your rant... UGH! People are the worst, luckily I think Disney knows can’t please everyone! Everyone is a Monday quarterback, they could have done so much better, that’s why the vlog and aren’t imagineers. 🙄 Ok my rant is over now too!

I’ve been following along and read and frankly I think it looks amazing! I can’t wait to be able to check it out!! Unfortunately for me I had to adjust my August trip and won’t make it in August so will have to be October but can not wait!!!

I so want to make a droid and I NEED that BB-8 head band and probably the r2d2 one as well, I hope they aren’t limited time!
 
The level of detail is so great and every so often you hear (and feel) a ship flying overhead).

Wow, I hadn't heard that detail on any of the vlogs I watched - SO cool! I feel like I want to use that response for everything I quoted, ha!

And then the rest of the park - absolutely dead!

I had read this on the official SWGE thread here and couldn't believe it. Maybe a lot of people were scared that it would be craziness and steered clear of opening weekend for that reason. I doubt the opening in WDW will be the same since people plan those trips months in advance, before the opening date was even announced. I won't be in the country, otherwise I would be very tempted to go though!

One of the coolest moments was as we entered the land, the Imagineers and designers and park people were all lined up waving and cheering us on. It really felt special!

I love how some of them are filming you guys walking in - seems just as special to them as it was for you all. You really lucked out being in that very first group to enter the land!!

So, I’d like to introduce you to BB-531! She’s still a baby but already a galaxy traveler!

I love her! How cool that you can make them in different colors and with different personality chips!

Matt filmed the whole experience and posted it on his youtube (which has gotten >100k views so far)!

I'm one of them! :wave: It looked like such a neat experience!

On our way out, we ran into Josh again, so he took a photo with me and BB-531.

That's really cool that he took a photo with you!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience of opening weekend! I can't wait to check it out someday. The marketplace looks so detailed and amazing as does the rest of the land. Seems like they'll need another Cantina though to handle everyone who wants to go there!
 
OMG!!! I wasn’t going to read to stay somewhat surprised but I just couldn’t!

I am so excited for this Land now. It looks just like you are on a trading planet, the actual immersion into the Land looks amazing!

I am jealous, haha! I won’t see it until January, unless they let AP’s take a look in August. I would love that.

Your excitement really shows in your write up, have fun seeing it again this weekend!
 

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