FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Boarding Group 15

Tuesday 21 January 2020

Boarding Group 15

We had one very important task this morning - get a boarding group to the Rise of the Resistance, Disney's much hyped new Star Wars themed attraction. It seemed like the study required to maximise the odds of success was akin to acquiring a university degree. We had been keenly following the reports from Walt Disney World visitors since Dec 5, but Disneyland was still a relatively unknown entity, with the ride only having just opened at Disneyland on Jan 17. To further increase the difficulty level, this past weekend was the Martin Luther King weekend. Dressed in our Star Wars T-shirts (the best we could do seeing as this was the last leg of a 6 week round the world trip) and armed with children who were technologically savvy and primed with the boarding group know how, we put our best foot forward. We positioned ourselves by the petrified tree near the Rivers of America about 5 minutes before official opening time, where there was only one other couple sitting near us. Half the family hopped onto Disney's wifi, the other half used mobile data. Just call us Fast Finger Albanys because we managed to get boarding group 15!

We had two special bookings lined up: Savi's Workshop Lightsaber experience and Droid Depot customised droid building experience. The number of assistants are limited for these experiences. To our relief the children were very co-operative and agreed that Elliot would build the lightsaber with Malcolm and Lara assisting while Jonah would build the droid with Belinda assisting. We managed to obtain similar time slots so it worked quite well.

By all reports the lightsaber experience was very atmospheric and the young Jedi were asked to choose components to suit their personality. It is not cheap and you end up with some an awkward piece of luggage to take on the flight home, but it was super fun and walking around the park at night with a lightsaber was amazing.

The droid experience actually had more options which suited Jonah perfectly as he loves customizing things. We forked out the extra cash for the backpack which turned out to be a great option because it is a bulky, fragile item that could then become his hand carry. Both experiences are very much one and done affairs, but if you are going all the way there it would be hard to pass up at least one of them. You can buy lightsabers in the park that, in some ways, are better than the build-your-own ones, but it's all about the story.

Before getting to the main event today - Rise of the Resistance, I need to discuss snacks. Today was a great food day. We were able to try some of the brand new items and revisit the classics. Whenever we discuss Disney food someone always mentions the Monte Cristo sandwich. Why? Because it is amazing! Some nostalgic items disappoint when revisited, but not this trusty sandwich. We always share one, as a whole one could well be fatal, so we all enjoy every bite. The next classic was Dole Whip. It is easier to find across the various parks than the Monte Cristo sandwich, but there are variations of flavours and presentation. Malcolm has concluded that Dole Whip is best served up as a float, but the jury is still out for the rest of the family. Funnel cakes would've made it a classic trifecta, but we decided to use up our remaining insulin on the new Galaxy's Edge drinks. The blue milk was a narrow winner over the green milk and it was decided that Coke tastes better when served in a thermal detonator container. Disney mind tricks!

OK. Spoiler alert! It's now time to talk about ROTR. The bottom line is that it is the best ride that we have been on in any park to date and is not over-hyped. It is in a completely different class to Smugglers' Run which we rated as good fun, but not mind-blowingly amazing. The ride involves a rollicking story with good live actors, a lot of moving between rooms and eventually a ride on a trackless vehicle through a massive complex. There are digital components and massive sets and it all comes together well. It is certainly not just a fancy 4D ride. Two thumbs up from all of us who now rate it higher that Flight of Passage and Malcolm even rates it above Carousel of Progress.

We were so glad that Galaxy's Edge didn't disappoint and that we had the opportunity to visit it. The vibe is captured almost as well Cars Land and, like Cars Land it gets better at night.