Reflections on Galaxy's Edge

As summer comes to a close, I could not wrap it up without sharing some of the highlights from one of my bucket list destinations, Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, also known as Galaxy's Edge at the Disney Parks. The first week of June my whole family took a much delayed and much anticipated trip to California, including two days at the Disney Parks. Now that I have had some time to process the trip and reminisce fondly, I want to share some of the highlights, thoughts, and experiences from that trip.

Batuu at night is definitely worth a visit. The lighting is incredible!

Overall Impressions

• Walking into Batuu was incredible. I thought I might get a little emotional, and I believe there is video confirmation somewhere of my face contorting in odd ways while my emotions made their way to the surface.
• No amount of pictures could convey the level of detail and theming all around this area of the park. I also intentionally tried not to have my phone out to take photos and video all the time to better focus on immersing myself in the moment and the environment. Most of what I saw will live happily in my memory.
• Coming back to Batuu at night was a great way to experience it in a different way. I highly recommend it.

The Disney PhotoPass gave us super fun photos like this!

The Rides

• We missed Rise of the Resistance at rope drop, so instead headed to Smuggler's Run. One of the benefits of doing Smuggler's Run first was the shorter line, but mainly crowd free viewing and pictures in front of the Millennium Falcon!
• The queue for Smuggler's Run was a pure joy, especially getting a close up of both the outside and inside of the Falcon.
• We rode Smuggler's Run twice: The first time was with my kids, who were the pilots and crashed us a lot. The second time was at night after the kids were in bed, and I got to be the pilot who makes the jump to lightspeed. If you are a Star Wars fan, the right side pilot seat is a must. I may have vocalized my emotions a little when pulling the hyperspace lever.
• Rise of the Resistance was the best theme park ride I have ever experienced. The way the queue and the ride work seamlessly together provides an immersive fantasy experience like no other. I don't really have any good pictures from Rise of the Resistance because the storyline was so engrossing.

Exploring the inside of the Falcon was a highlight of the ride.

Experiences

• ​Shopping in the marketplace was another immersive experience, as well as a magnet for my wallet. I avoided the temptations this time, since I had already spent money on building a lightsaber, but my son walked away with a new pet Lothcat. Once again, the level of detail and in-universe feeling was pervasive, down to the shop owners and the type of merchandise in the stores you cannot find anywhere else. On my next visit, I have my eye on you Kowakian Lizard monkey and Dejarik game table...
• Between my son and I, we experienced both the droid building and lightsaber building experiences. My son had a great time building his droid and was very excited to carry it around the park and hear it talk to other droids. I had a great time building the lightsaber and once again got a little emotional at a certain point toward the end of the experience. There was really a lot of dust getting in my eyes during this whole visit...
• The character interaction was also a highlight, especially for my son. He got to talk to Boba Fett for a bit, who is a unique character to Disneyland for now, and we both followed Kylo Ren and some stormtroopers around for a bit.

Go ahead and take all of my money, glorious Star Wars marketplace.

Food

• We ate lunch at the Ronto Roasters quick service restaurant, and the wrap was delicious. The only complaint I had for the whole experience here was that our large group was not able to find anywhere good to sit.
• I also, of course, had to try the milk stand and took a little taste of both the blue and green milk. The blue milk is definitely better. I also couldn't resist the souvenir bantha cup, because I'm a nerd like that.

Blue bantha milk is super refreshing on a hot summer day.

Final Thoughts

• Mostly, I can't wait to go back. There were several places and experiences I missed or did not get to stay and soak up because of our limited time. I would love to explore Dok Ondar's shop more, and we didn't get a reservation for Oga's Cantina unfortunately.
• I could easily spend the better part of a day in this part of the park alone just wandering around and exploring the little details.
• This experience was a dream come true as a lifelong Star Wars fan. A friend of mine described his experience as his childhood come to life, and I could not agree more. I loved everything about being on Batuu and do not feel ashamed or embarrassed that I cried grown man tears at a theme park.