Time for a quick look at the latest (and probably last for awhile) attraction coming to Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure. 

​The Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind looks like it's getting some final touches and should be ready to greet guests soon. 

Will be nice to see an attraction in this area again. Check it out!! 

Alright everybody, here it is, the first of our reviews of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, which opens this week at Disneyland. 

Sent in by our good friend Andros, this is a highly detailed look at the new land. ​



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And as such, there are spoilers here. LOTS and LOTS of Spoilers. So if you don't want to get spoiled, we suggest you check out some other stuff on the site. There is a lot to peruse. 

​​But if you want to get spoiled, read on!! We'll have more updates once we're actually able to have people take pictures to share from within Galaxy's Edge. 

"You couldn't get from here to Black Spire without me, now you're going to make the Kessel Run? Ha!"
―L3-37, to Lando Calrissian

L3 was right. Without her, it would be quite impossible with no ways of navigating to the remote settlement named Black Spire.  However, with the help of those at Disney Imagineering, the remote outpost is indeed a place that all Star Wars fans should visit at least once or have on their bucket lists.

The new land located at the top of Disneyland did not disappoint this life-long Star Wars fan.  It was everything I expected and then some.  And then a lot more, then some.

We had our reservations just last Monday at 4pm and we were glad that we had arrived early that day. From the horrors of the Mickey and Friends parking garage, to it being an unusually, more-crowded-than-usual Disneyland park that day, our plan to arrive at Noon wasn’t such a bad idea.  We picked up some chimichangas from the Frontierland food kiosks and we were off to see if there was any sort of a line to get into Galaxy’s Edge. 

​Once again, we were surprised that there was a substantial amount of others who had reservations that were lined up on the pathway that runs behind Big Thunder Mountain.  It was just after 3pm and there were an estimated 200 people in line before us.  It wasn’t long until the line would move and we were staged a bit further off the path from Disneyland. That’s when it hit me. I could see the outlines of the buildings of what seemed to be outposts or buildings I may have seen in the films from past Star Wars movies. I wasn’t sure, but I could tell there were droids that seemed to be either on display or for sale straight ahead from where we stood and waited.  I continued to survey that portion of area with the droids.  “Easter Eggs,” I muttered to myself.  They’re Easter Eggs!  And I was right. Almost every part of the new area is filled with Easter Eggs from the films, novels, merchandise...  anything to do with everything that’s Star Wars.  But I digress..

The people who were part of the operations team were nice enough to allow our time slot into Galaxy’s Edge at about ten minutes before our designated time. There were cheers and tears by everyone there. Once you were past the barrier where you leave a world of the Old West and new frontiers, you felt it. You could hear it. Tie fighters passing you as you walked through an area filled with adventure where the First Order were searching for elusive rebels (Sabine Wren rushed RIGHT past us!) and every single one of us were filled with wonder in some sort of way. First thing first, we had to find Smuggler’s Run!

Smuggler’s Run is easy to find. All you have to do is look up. That’s right. Nestled at the base of the tallest spire of Batuu is where you will find it. We were filing through one small area where Kylo Ren’s ship was more than impressive. It looked as if he had just landed as you could hear the engines still running of his Command Shuttle. And then... I turned my head to the left and saw it. Immediately, I tried as hard as I could with a lump in my throat and as much excitement that the thirteen year old in me, (the same one that rode his ten speed bicycle a whopping fifteen miles to Hollywood at the first glimpse of his Summer vacation in 1977 two weeks after Star Wars opened in more theaters, namely the Egyptian Theater at least once a week) and I was a bit overwhelmed. I was a bit speechless upon seeing the Falcon, THE FALCON in person. It was something I never thought I’d see up close. I definitely wasn’t in Disneyland anymore.

We skipped the Cantina as the wait time was over an hour. We heard good things about it and we were going to return when the line was shorter (it never was). We were extremely lucky as our wait time for Smuggler’s Run was not more than 10 minutes. The queue line was great. It was very well themed and one can only hope it will survive the onslaught of the anticipated Summer crowds that will infest such an amazing place, overall.

A bit deeper inside we meet Hondo.  Sure, Hondo is an animatronic, but... wait.  He’s an animatronic..!?!  I thought it was a human in costume and very well done makeup that greeted us with a bit of a pre-show.  Hondo needs pilots and a crew to help him with a mission.  Hondo has a spiel where he convinces us all to help him and also some semi-detailed instructions on how to accomplish the smuggling mission assigned to you.  He also adds, “What could go wrong?”
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Once Hondo opens the doors for us to head to our spacecraft, it was obvious we were inside the Falcon. For some other reason, I was picked as pilot.  Twice. Our adventure broke down on us due to technical difficulties. However, the castmembers made our experience as smooth as possible and we were able to ride it once again.  This time - we were ready.    

Once all strapped in and ready to go with a small instructional video from Hondo, our adventure starts.  One pilot controls the ship left and right; the other controls it up and down. Yes, the controls DO work and the crew depends on you to fly this hunk of space junk through incredibly difficult scenarios.  It was stressful!  Two gunners also have the duty of manning harpoons as well as shooting down tie fighters. Engineers have the job of quickly eradicating as much damage to the poor shields to the Falcon.  When controlling the ship as a pilot,  the visual of the spaceport matches the motion exactly.  It was one of the most sophisticated theme park attractions I have ever experienced. You don’t do this alone.  Hondo is narrating the entire mission as he gives you hard tips on where to fly, who to shoot and what to fix.  To be honest, interactive level enhances our overall experience.  You can’t just sit back and enjoy what’s going on around you - you are in control! 

​Each crew member receives scores depending on performance at the conclusion of the journey.  Also, if you are a bad or sub-par crew, you can definitely see it as some parts of the Falcon might be sparking or heating up as you exit the cockpit!  This is a ride I can do over and over, forever.  Keep in mind, this is not like flying a flight simulator.  This is a ride in a theme park that you can walk right up be a part of.  An E-ticket? Not really.  If there is an “F-ticket”, this would be it. I would be ecstatic if there are more missions than just the one so far.

We filed out and went to check the wait time for the Cantina. It was still one hour. We all thought it was time for a refreshing glass of Blue Milk after surviving such a harrowing expedition.  When we ordered, we noticed there were both blue and green milk available.  Delicious?  Indeed.  The blend of coconut milk, rice milk and other fruit flavors were agreeable to the palate.  We then decided to seek more adventure and check out the marketplace and perhaps some badly needed food.

The wait time at Ronto Roasters was a bit more than we wanted to wait for.  It reminded me of Bengal Tiger in Adventureland... but with less of a menu selection.  Instead, we had lunch at Docking Bay Seven.  I had the pork ribs and my dearly beloved had the Tip Yip chicken.  We tried both and were pleasantly surprised as they were very good and kinda spicy to our taste.  In a galaxy far, far away, your eating utensils are metal sporks.  That’s right.  Sporks. At least they were made of metal and not plastic. Again, I digress...

I was pleased to see an Impossible Meat Loaf on the menu for my vegan friends who very well might be visiting in the near future. It looked great and I asked a guest as to how it was and the response was “delicious.”  We also had the Oi-oi Puff which was a raspberry cream puff with passion fruit mousse.  Even though the Batuu-bon (chocolate cake, white chocolate mousse with coffee custard) was delicious as well, my fave was the Oi-oi puff. An immediate favorite for me.  When selecting a beverage, I’d go with the Moof Juice.  It’s an exotic mixture of fruit punch, orange juice, pineapple juice and a bit of chipotle-pineapple.  Overall, we were pleased with this eatery.  I rank it up there with Plaza Inn, easily.  

We didn't try the popcorn, but I have friends who sampled it at the CM showcase. If I were here for a full day with family I would get a bag to share and enjoy together. Sadly, there were no special bottles of Coke, Diet, and Sprite--only Dasani (in Arabesh). The modified beverage logos were displayed on the video menu board at Docking Bay Seven and the credit card logos only appear on the guest input screen where you swipe your card.

We wandered back to the marketplace and we found tons of choices for merchandise in a wide array of different stalls and shops that gave hints of not being in Disneyland once again.  I was impressed there was nothing with the words “Star Wars” on it.  I was also impressed we saw no churro carts, no popcorn carts, nor any Outdoor Vending carts to be found.  The popcorn from the marketplace we didn’t have a chance to purchase.  But we noticed that it was served in a brown paper bag that was discreet and had no markings on it.    We found great merchandise and other souvenirs ranging from $1 to hundreds for perfect Sith or Jedi robes and other hard-to-find collectibles.  I was most impressed.  The Den of Antiquities was beyond great.  Besides fantastic merchandise there were more Easter Eggs to be found on the second level of the place.

At the rear of the marketplace, we noticed there was even more areas to explore!

We were thrilled to see both Rey and Chewie walking around the Resistance area. Chewie was interacting with guests around a blue and white X-Wing.  He was quite a busy Wookiee as he would interact with guests while fixing the ship as he was clearly frustrated with it.  There was a character escort with Chewie who at times would “interpret” what Chewie is saying.  I loved the fact that all the characters at Galaxy’s Edge were more interactive with guests, rather than be stuck at the end of a cue line for a meet and greet.  Near Kylo’s shuttle, stormtroopers were patrolling nearly everywhere.  They were also quite stiff and orderly when escorting Kylo Ren.  Yes, it was a great job by Kylo who interacted with the guests.

I chose the “spare parts” of Control and Power (the dark side) and there is a pin that corresponds with the destiny you choose or path you wish to follow.  There are four different pins and it is attached to the one who will be assembling the spare parts for it inside.  When the time is right, you are whisked inside by gatherers as they try hard to avoid any outside conflict by the First Order.  You are allowed to bring along up to two guests to experience what it’s like to follow the path of a Jedi or a Sith.  Once inside, the gatherers assist you by mixing and matching parts during your build session in order to assemble a very personalized and customized lightsaber. The lightsaber building parts are high quality and are nothing near the plastic parts found in the Hasbro Bladebuilder’s toys. 

I got to choose my own kyber crystal and of course, it was red.  Available kyber crystal colors include: blue, green, red, or purple. In addition to ‘powering’ the lightsaber, the kyber crystal may be removed and attached to a cube-shaped holocron.  Once attached, the kyber crystal will enable the Force user to hear the wisdom and guidance of ancient masters. I was told there are different voices you may hear at each session. 

​Once again... Worth. Every. Penny.

​Overall, I had the time of my life.  As an ultimate Star Wars fan, the place is beyond amazing and most definitely lived up to my expectations.  Whoever had the job to give castmembers wardrobe did a great job.  They are able to pick, mix and match from a range of separates available to them  I believe the four hour time slot was almost just enough for this fan to receive ample time to take it all in.  Well, except for the Cantina.  I’ll do that some other time when I arrive at the park early some day.  I look forward to Rise of the Resistance that will be opening soon.  For all toxic “fans” that exclaim that “Disney destroyed Star Wars”, I find their lack of faith disturbing.  I honestly believe that Disney did this right and has risen to the challenge presented to them.  I can’t wait to go again.  And when you do go, enjoy it all just as I did. 

​The Force is definitely strong with this one.

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This past week Renee made her way across the Atlantic Ocean to spend a bit of time at Disneyland Paris. 
As luck would have it, Phantom Manor had just reopened. Let's check out her report!! 

Written by Renée Girard 

Bonjour from Phantom Manor! ​

Phantom Manor Mickey is everything I ever wanted. ​