Bright Suns!

Greetings and Salutations. Brights Suns from Batuu. It’s taken me a week to recover from our whirlwind trip to Disney and our AP Preview of the all new Star wars land, Galaxy’s Edge. If you follow any Disney blogs or YouTubers, certainly you’ve seen how incredible it is. On Thursday, we will find out how it will be when it’s “full.”

Our experience began with an email inviting us to come down and preview the land in a four hour window. Five days to select, beginning on a Saturday. I was the first one to get in the que, so I selected Sunday evening, from 5 to 9. Saturday was already booked solid, but I was lucky enough to have my pick of all the other days. To reduce time away from work (work update coming soon), I selected Sunday.

We arrived in Bay Lake on Friday around lunchtime. Our room wasn’t ready, so we headed to Disney Springs for some Blaze Pizza. Did you know Blaze pizza has a Keto crust? It’s awesome!!

We headed to Epcot for the evening to see the Illuminations show for the last time. Big changes are coming to Epcot and I am excited. I remember going when it first opened. It was so futuristic and exciting, but time and technology moves far faster than anyone realized at the time and now, a lot of things are outdated. These changes, though some may not like it, will be amazing.

None more amazing than Hollywood Studio’s Galaxy’s Edge. Immerse yourself in character when you enter Batuu. This place is amazing and I cannot wait to go back. Grand Opening ceremonies are tomorrow morning and the official park opening will be before sunrise on Thursday. It’s so well done and any Star Wars fan will love it. Not a fan? Prepare yourself…you will be.

The desert planet seemed just that when we were there. It was 94 degrees and sunny. Our designated time was 5 pm to 9 pm, so we actually had the best of both worlds. When the suns (yes, I said suns–there are two suns on Batuu) went down, it cooled off and land really showed off her beauty!

Rides? Oh, there will be two amazing rides here. The first one is already available. Have you ever wanted to fly the Millennium Falcon? I know I have. Like, since I was 7. I have wanted to jump to light speed and escape the Empire! Well, on Smuggler’s Run, you have the opportunity to be a pilot, or a gunner, or an engineer. My personal favorite is the engineer because you actually have to pay attention to make it work. I was not the best pilot, but I sure did love jumping to light speed! Let’s go, Chewie!!

First things first, Hondo enlists your help on his mission to smuggle some kyber crystals from the First Order. Unless you are familiar with the Clone Wars or Rebels, you might not be familiar with Hondo. That’s okay because the ride is still fantastic! You might not know what kyber crystals are. Again, that’s okay. I know I’m showing my Star Wars geeky side.

You enter the ship down a gangplank from inside. I really enjoyed the ride cue and spending time inside the Falcon before we took off on our adventure!

Next up, you are given your spot on this six person ride and you are ready for adventure.

I can’t leave out the food. We ate at Rondo Roasters, as well as enjoyed the Outpost Mix at Kat Saka’s Kettle (the best flavored popcorn I’ve even had with a mix of sweet and spicy).

And don’t forget the milk! Though most people love the Blue Milk, I found the Green Milk to be my favorite. I thought I would be grossed out by it, but I wasn’t. It was cold and delicious on a warm, summer evening.

Needless to say, we are already planning our next trip. We will be there for the Wine and Dine Half weekend and again next spring for the Star Wars Half weekend, but we think we might have to travel t Batuu one more time!

Till the spires, friends.