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.

Decked out the best way we can for Star Wars

Getting into the mood at Star Tours during Extra Magic Hour 

Positioning ourselves for when the park opens and the ROTR queue goes live. The only one with no device gets a rest!

Because we all need a porg

Monte Cristo Sandwich time!

So much caloric goodness...

Dole whip!

A truly phenomenal ride. We will share this photo as this is already widely posted on the internet

Completely immersive

Droid making

Jonah loved the experience

Younger children would need help as there are fiddly bits

The others got to watch as they finished earlier

Two very happy boys!

The backpack carrier

Rey!

Blue and green milk

The stormtroopers were hilarious

Yes we brought this home too!

The millennium falcon

Batuu is simply breath taking

Oga's Cantina

Night time was even more spectacular!

Photos don't quite do it justice!

Welcome Home!

The view from our 1 bedroom villa at the Grand Californian

The time had come. Another leg of our trip ended and the last began. And we had saved the best til last. Today we would be "going home" to our home resort of Disney's Grand Californian. Well one of our home resorts...We had to save our joy filled Disney fix for last as it was always a big emotional downer whenever our cruises came to an end! We ate our very last table service breakfast trying our hardest not to look depressed...

Back in Miami 

Savouring our very last full service breakfast

At 740am sharp, we were taken down via dedicated elevators to disembark the ship where we would then pick up our luggage and go through immigration. This was one of the privileges of sailing concierge that was worth its weight in gold. Fortunately my parents being platinum members meant they allowed us to disembark together as they had similar privileges.
By 8am we were by the sidewalk and climbing into our Lyft rides.
At 830am we were at Miami International airport checking our bags. This was where we encountered our first delay. The American Airlines lines for printing bag tags were disorganised and crowded. It was only at 0910 when we were done! We started lining up for security. The line was LONG...so long in fact that we had serious doubts about making our flight. We heard a faint voice saying "Come with me for a shorter security line" and we promptly followed the AA staff, moving our legs as quickly as we could. The few seconds pause that others took to look or think was enough to set them back significantly in the new line. We were so relieved for the "shortcut". By 0935 we were through security. It meant more time in the AMEX lounge which fortunately was not too busy. I enjoyed my free 15 min massage, and made sure my tummy was full before boarding our 12:10 no frills AA 5 hour flight to Los Angeles. We were grateful that it was on time and we arrived safely.

On arrival in LA, it was time to say goodbye to Oma & Opa. They would be spending time with family friends. We were picked up by a private van we had booked through primetime shuttle. The van itself was only just ok but the driver was friendly, he was there waiting for us on arrival, we didn't have to go to the shared ride area, and he drove us safely to the Grand Californian. Most of all, the price was good. All in all, a win!

American Airlines to take us westward

The children settled in very quickly. By now they have their routines...

Snack and show. The girl child's set up

The boy child's set up

Economy flight. Egad! Need to be creative with entertainment...

There was nothing better than to hear the words "Welcome Home!" other than our room being ready. The cast member assured us that it was worth waiting for. She was right. It was one of a handful on the 6th floor of the DVC wing and gave us a great view into DCA. We took the opportunity to sort out some minor problems with our light saber and droid making reservations whilst waiting for our villas. As soon as it was ready, we dumped our stuff and headed for the parks.

We had to go on Haunted Mansion as this was going to be the last day before the ride closed for refurbishment. There was a "holiday" overlay on that covered both Halloween and Christmas - it was not quite spooky enough for Halloween and not quite cheery enough for Christmas. A bit of cost cutting perhaps? From there, we made our way towards Galaxy's Edge.

We were cautiously optimistic about Galaxy's Edge. The prequels scar runs deep. A lot of the attractions required pre-booking so it was impossible to go in spoiler free, but we had avoided any ride run throughs or detailed reviews with photos. Where to begin...

Batuu is visually extremely impressive. We were immediately hit with sensory overload and had to consciously tell ourselves to look at one thing at a time and to remember that we had ample time to experience Galaxy's Edge over the next few days. The ships, props, shops and skyline are right on the mark. Disney have obviously put an incredible amount of effort in. The real challenge is to give the "offworld" vibe. It sounds like they will be taking this to the next level with the hotel. Here they do a good job, but I think there is still room for improvement. The background music is great and the characters play the role wonderfully - particularly the storm troopers with their tongue-in-cheek (or is it?) stern commands. It took me a while to figure out what was missing... droids! We wanted to see a mouse droid scampering around a corner or an R2 unit being frog-marched by a Jawa with a cattle prod. There are probably all sorts of logistical and financial reasons why there isn't a bit more of this sort of bustle on the streets, but hopefully Disney heads in this direction. To be fair there are early glimpses..Jonah built a droid which was able to "interact" with some of the props, but only in a minor way. If rumours are true, original intentions had been scaled down by Bob Chapek due to financial constraints and never made the final cut at the parks as it would not generate revenue.

Interactivity has played heavily in Disney's marketing for Galaxy's Edge. It is there, but like the character situation, it needs to be stepped up. There is an app which allows users to take on missions and scan various targets. The theming for this is good, but the "mission" component of it is a bit vague. There isn't any real sense of purpose or accomplishment. Still, it makes the lines "go faster".

OK, now for the feature items:

Food and Drink! We tried Oga's Cantina and Docking Bay 7. These have been described and reviewed ad infinitum already so we will just leave our opinion rather than try and reinvent the wheel. We had our very late dinner at Docking Bay 7. The food was tastier than expected which was a pleasant surprise. Oga's Cantina is reasonably well themed, but doesn't feel like a den of scum and villainy. The music and visuals are good, but the vibe is more Cosmic Rays. How to create vibe? That's a tough one for Disney but maybe a few staged bar fights and a few more stains and BO on the barman would help.

We were ecstatic to see that Smuggler's Run had a wait time of only 30min. We would later discover that this was always true in the evenings and this was the best time to go on the ride. The mornings were always the worst with lines spilling out of Galaxy's Edge. Now that Disney has made this a FP ride, we're not sure how that would change the demand for the ride and the best time to go on it.

When we finished smuggler's run, we had to listen to our bodies, still on east coast time shouting out "NEED SLEEP!" Until tomorrow when we tackle Disney's California Adventures!

I guess he's still not too big for those little chairs! A lifesaver at Disney check-ins for those with little ones!

The best selfie we could get when one is in a hurry! We're in Disneyland!

The impressive Batuu

A very late dinner at Docking Bay 7

Smoked Kadu pork ribs, Batuuan beef pot roast & Felucian Kefta & Hummus Garden Spread

Moof juice

Oi-oi Puff

PlayDisney at Galaxy's Edge was so addictive!

"Inside" the Millenium Falcon

Oga's Cantina

Jabba Juice & Blue Bantha

We shared a booth with another family

Oga's Obsession

Looks different with different lighting!

The Happiest Place On Earth

Trying to complete a blog post nearly one full year after the event is never a good idea... All the details are unfortunately gone from this near senile brain but the happy memories thankfully remain! So here is a quick photo journey of our remaining time at the Happiest Place on Earth before our trip back home to Sydney after what was another special and amazing holiday with family and friends.

Umm...did I say it was the Happiest Place on Earth?!? Obviously not to all!

One mountain conquered! Both very proud of tacking the Matterhorn

Lara also finally managed to psych herself to going on Space Mountain after much initial objection. She ended up loving it!

One of our most enjoyable meals every...

...because of this very delicious artery clogger. The Monte Cristo sandwich at Cafe Orleans. Battered turkey, ham and Swiss cheese sandwich deepfried then dusted with sugar and served with a berry puree

Almost like the real French Quarter

Couldn't handle her brother having so much fun pin trading so decided to use her Christmas money towards pins as well

Downtown Disney

Churros of different flavours!

Because of the rush towards Carsland, we were THE FIRST to get to Toy Story Mania! We went on it 3 times in a row. Our arms were barely functional after the last ride

A very quiet Luigi's Flying Tires. We're not complaining!

No line!!

Who would have thought such a silly ride could be so much fun!!!

The other so-silly-its-ridiculously-fun ride...Mater's Junkyard Jamboree

The Golden Horseshoe, a classic favourite for a quick bite with great entertainment

Never too old to post with characters

Can't go to Disney without watching a parade!

Still not happy!

Panicking...our three quarter day at Disneyland. Gotta squeeze everything in...

Early breakfast at the park

The new Fantasyland Theatre, another enjoyable hit with the family

We just love Disney shows

Mr Toad's Wild Ride, another oldie but goodie. So much fun!

Elliot thrilled to be able to play wreck it Ralph!

Storm trooper!And lots of merchandise...

One last look....sob

On the way home with Iron Man...