*Episode VI: Droid-Building & the Walk-Out
DH wasn’t able to abandon the popcorn line fast enough to get into the droid line before the hoards arriving but after securing popcorn he secured us a spot in the droid line bc we decided we needed at least 1 marquee souvenir for this experience. When we finished, we joined DH in the long & un-shaded droid line. The CMs manning the droid line told the party behind us that it would be about an hour’s wait. It was more like 40 min before we entered the relief of the shade just in front of the entrance where a CM informed us which of the pieces were currently out of stuck before sending us inside to queue up by a display of all the different color options.
We were now faced with picking from the BB-series or R-series. We had loosely decided on the BB series since the kids really like BB-8 (not that they don’t like R2-D2 but they know more of BB-8). But when faced with the color options we found we preferred a lot of the color schemes of the R-series but wanted the cuteness of the BB-series still. So what to do? Yes, we did it, we got one of each! This ended up working out really well as it allowed each kid (that was old enough) to have the experience.
At the end of the queue following the display of options, you select which series you will get, pay for it as well as any accessories or personality chips that you want to purchase at that time. You’ll get instructions and a basket to take with you to gather your parts. The parts you gather come off a conveyor belt FULL of ALL the options (minus of course any out of stock ones), and it is a lot of fun to grab them as they come & a bit of a scavenger hunt of sorts. After getting all your parts, you move to a bay to assemble them with the assistance of CM’s behind the counter. They also pare & help activate your droids. All of which is so fun. In this store more than any other part of Batuu (and I’ll bet it’s even moreso in the light saber experience) the CM’s were so completely in character in dress, hairstyle and persona. I was impressed by how many of the girls had their hair in hairstyles you would only see in a Star Wars universe & all of it really added to the atmosphere and fun.
DS2 had stayed napping through the line & gathering of the parts waking up just until we got to assembling/activating the droids which was perfect timing as he was just in time to help hit the activate button. The droid-building experience was SO fun & worthwhile & we have zero regret in getting 2 of them. So moral of the story, bring your spending credits with you (or don’t if you don’t want to be spending credits).
We exited droid depot about 20 min past our res window & since we had a) not made our way anywhere near the resistance area bordering Critter Country & b) my plan for DS2 was getting him on the Winnie the Pooh ride (one he enjoys with a short wait) as well as scoping out the Winnie the Pooh character meet (while he loves Minnie/Mickey more he does love Pooh as well) ASAP since he had done so well (better than DD6 at times) in putting up with us in GE, so we elected to exit from the Critter Country pathway.
The walk out was quiet & this side appeared so peaceful with tons of greenery and the first music we’d heard in the land. My biggest tie to Star Wars emotionally is the music and so I was immediately glad we chose to exit at this end. As the Rise of the Resistance ride plus one market stall of Resistance gear is all that is on this side, there isn’t a ton to explore but still a great area. But boy was I glad that we had back-up reservation made for the next day just in case something happened preventing us from attending the first morning’s reservation. Upon leaving GE the first time, we were still undecided if we would come back or not. On the walk-out again we noticed again the CMs every few paces or so, bidding us farewell and it was here we noticed that they were ALL taking note of every guest on the walkway so it was here we realized that the CMs were all positioned to ensure the right crowds were in the right place & no one was sneaking into GE.
Episode VII: The Check-In Minus Waiting
The next day we decided that we would love a picture of us with our newly adopted droids in front of the MF and we were curious to see the interaction with the Storm Troopers as we had bought Resistance personality chips for them so we would use our reservation set for 2pm-6pm. From our first experience we learned that nothing we really wanted to accomplish (on either of our days) required copious amounts of waiting so we decided we would check in whenever worked best for us in the 2 hours before the reservation but wouldn’t enter the land until after the first hour when the 11am-3pm reservation were filtering out and that we wouldn’t stay the full hour from 5-6pm when the 5pm-9pm reservations were arriving. Our one other priority was to get another shot at riding SmR.
Prior to check-in we went to look for the confirmation email for our reservation to have it ready for scanning the QR code. We had made this reservation with a back-up email address that we don’t check frequently and since it was a back-up that we weren’t set on using, before we left home we completely neglected to check we had ever received the confirmation email with QR code. We did see however, that we got an email to that account from 5/28 explaining all that was needed to check-in for the reservation and I was fairly certain we had completed the process to obtain the reservation minus seeing a confirmation email.
We were about to go the Launch Bay with just that 2nd email with instructions to bring our QR codes & IDs to plead our case before the check-in CMs when we smartly realized we should call the dedicated GE reservation team first. Five min later we had a new confirmation email re-sent to us & were on our way to check-in with a QR code. Check-in was similar to yesterday minus except this time we were instructed to go to Hungry Bear restaurant to queue and were told there was no need to arrive really early if we wanted to do other things. Again the CM made sure we knew where Hungry Bear was offering to provide specific directions. After check-in we still had about an hour before the reservation time started and had planned to use that time to hop to DCA for a few things before coming back to GE closer to 3pm.
We came back to DL and entered GE just a few minutes after 3pm. It was so nice to completely avoid the scrum & we were the only ones at the wall of CMs to scan our bands. We noticed how closely they stood to make an effective blockade so no one was able to get through. On our way in we again saw the CM’s every few paces greeting (& monitoring for wristbands- we’re onto you!) & also noticed a lot of 11-3pm reservations on their way out.
If you don’t think you need 4 hours and don’t have the first reservation of the day, coming in a hour later was nice. We didn’t come right into a GE full of 2 overlapping groups.
Episode VIII: Our Quick Round 2 of GE
On our way in, we encountered Chewie on the Resistance side of the land and got the kids giving him a quick hug. We followed to see if he would go up to a “stage” of sorts that we had seen him on when exitig yesterday doing what appeared to be a show about fixing the ship on the stage. He did go up so I ushered the family backwards to watch it but it was not the same as the day before. It was less show like & more Chewie tinkering with it while his handler followed him about vs. what had appeared to be a more organized show the day before with announcements about his progress on the ship/interpretation of what he was saying. It was also really hot and un-shaded in this part so we didn’t stay long & scurried over to our main priorities: SmR and photos with droids at the MF.
DS2 had fallen asleep on the walk over to GE so after obtaining a RS for SmR DH stayed with him sleeping in the shade near the SmR exit while I went with the 2 older kiddos first. This time the standby was posted 30 minutes and there was more resistance/stop time in the queue with the cargo and ramps so I spent at good 15-20 minutes attempting to get the Parks Play app working for the kids to experience part of it. I went as far deleting & re-installing the app and still no go. It would NOT register me as being located in GE. Oh well, I put the phone away once we reached the overlook views of the MF to enjoy that beautiful part of the queue that I will not likely see again with such a short wait as 30 minutes.
On our ride DS really wanted to be engineer (the only one he hadn’t been yet) so I had stay back in the circular room where assignments were made and we were totally given 2 gunners and 1 engineer. DD was also pleased as she was very nervous still to try anything else besides gunner. This time we rode with just the 1 engineer & while DS7 did everything he could to get all the buttons, we sustained a lot of damage which I suspect is the consequence of having just 1 engineer and maybe no one hit the relief button in time for us back in the MF waiting room. Our pilots on this flight were also the ones who ran into the most stuff and for the first time (for me), completed less of the mission than I had on other runs.
In comparing notes with DH afterwards, he said he had gotten the less completed version of the mission several times before they were able to successfully get the last part of the mission fully complete. And we determined it takes the pilots being skilled enough to not damage the ship while pursuing something, while the gunners take aim AND the engineers have to harpoon something as well and if one of those roles don’t come through, the 2nd part doesn’t get completely finished, but no matter what Hondo has you return to Batuu. While with the first part of the mission, it seems that no matter what, it completes successfully (or just has a lower bar of input across all roles to reach completion). Anywho, DH did the RS with the kids after we were done and again with no questioning from the CMs on how old DD was got pilot for him & DS and gunner for DD.
After we all joined up again, we decided to get an updated family photo in front of the MF since we now have 2 new family members that we would be remiss to not include. We decided to try to wake DS2 so he could be a part of it but with the heat of midday bearing down in front of the MF he was groggy still & spent the whole time burying his head in my shoulder, but at least in 5 years he can’t ask “well where was I?”
Following our photos, we hurried to find shade cover as many people were also doing because it was a very hot, humid day (81 degrees ath 49% humidity) and at the peak of its intensity too. We had planned to explore more with the droids and watch for their reactions to the land but with the oppressive heat and the fact that we weren’t successful in waking our BB unit, we gave up & hunkered in the bit of shade we found trying to figure out how much we wanted to pursue watching the droids react (we suspect that for the BB unit we needed the remote to be able to wake him since he doesn’t have a switch on the exterior but I told the kids to leave the remotes in the hotel room as the parks do not allow for the droids to be remotely controlled).
At this point DS2 fully woke up from his nap & the 5pm-9pm reservations had been brought in so the walkway we were next to become full again which facilitated our decision to say goodbye to our time in GE.
Episode IX: Final Thoughts, Impressions and a little FAQ
It was surreal stepping back into DL from GE, and a little sad, as if I had travelled to a place I loved & was coming back to the “real world.” Now, I don’t know about you, but to me DL is and always has been a wonderful escape from the real world, so feeling that way inside Disneyland was crazy and a testament to the level of detail & immersion. If I go back to my honest feelings leading up to SWGE on this thread I’m even more convinced that the universe would benefit from a WDI imagining of WWoHP. I know Disney turned up the chance and even if they hadn’t wouldn’t have the immersion then and I’m aware that the WWoHP we have is quite good, but GE is on a whole other level. As an example, my biggest complaint of WWoHP back in 2012 with just the Hogsmeade side was that while in the winter-dusted wizarding village sipping butter beer, I could see palm trees & neighboring lands’ structures which were obviously not a fit, disrupting my illusion and forcing me to face the reality that I wasn’t actually in a wizarding village. GE was built in a funnel where there is hardly any effort required in the suspension of belief that you are in a galaxy far, far away. They got that part right-on.
That being said, the sum of all the parts was 1 (pretty good, but not quite earth-shattering) ride and a giant shopping experience requiring you to spend money additional to your park admission to partake. I am excited to get the other ride eventually up to complete the wow factor of the atmosphere (remember, there are LIFE-SIZE AT-AT’s built into those cliffs and if you can’t be impressed by that, then I doubt much will impress you at all much less the fully immersive richly detailed whole experience of SWGE.
And now after a lot of talk, some of the pictures: https://imgur.com/a/i8Dmp6m
And a very few more pictures https://imgur.com/a/4pFP2aK
Lastly, when I posted initially about making the droids on the DLR Lines Chat, I got a few questions so I wanted to add my responses to forum-land as well.
Q: Which Droid do u think is better? Does the BB Droid move around like the R2? Does it have hidden wheels? I’ve only seen the R2 move via RC.
A: The BB droid is adorable when he moves!! I don’t know how it works but his movement is authentic to the movie & so so so cute. The R2 is a lot of fun to move tho too. So I couldn’t pick one over the other!! But I did like the coloring options on the R2 slightly better.
One other funny thing about the BB so the droids talk to each other every so often bc they “know” each other & the R-unit you can switch off but the BB has everything contained in his “shell” so we can’t turn him off but he’s supposed to just go into sleep mode after 5 min of non-activity. Well at the hotel he kept going off every 5 min instead so we were desperately trying to figure out how we make him sleep. We then realized he was getting set off bc he kept recognizing the R-unit so once that was figured out we moved him to the other side of the room & voila, he went to sleep!
Upon even further inspection, we realized we had NOT fully shut-off the R-unit as we thought & the next day while they were riding around in the basket of our stroller they stayed completely calm & quiet not trying to chatter amongst themselves.
We’ve only taken them out to play once with the remotes and we loved every second of it & still have zero regrets about the amount spent on them. I imagine we’d feel similar to a light saber purchase but as that one required a higher amount of credits we will save it (and save up for it) for a future trip.
Hope you enjoyed this not so snippety review & any questions, ask away!