Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel

As someone who has been fortunate enough to be able to go to Disneyland for most of my life, I was very much looking forward to the day where I could visit the happiest place on earth again. I missed it so much! In some ways, it felt like I had never left, and in other ways, it seemed like I hadn't been there in much longer than 13 months. Today I'll be sharing with you my experience at the park as well as some tips for any of you who will also be visiting soon!



ARRIVAL

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
(I met Josh D'amaro, the President of Disneyland!)

The parking lots opened 3 hours prior to the parks opening (Park hours: 9am - 7pm) for opening weekend but will only be opening 30 minutes early from now on. We arrived at the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure just after 8am. After waiting in the parking line, getting a parking spot, going through bag checks and temperature checks, and taking the 10 minute walk through the tram route (they're currently not running), we walked right into the opening gate just after 9am. It worked out perfectly! For us, there was just no reason to get there any earlier. It would only mean waiting in crazy lines for a park that wasn't even open yet.

I've been receiving a lot questions asking if I was asked to see my I.D. upon entering to confirm that I live in California but I was not. I am wondering if maybe when they scan your ticket, that information comes up on their end? I'm not sure, but since Disneyland is only open to California residents at this time, I'm curious as to how they're keeping track of this.

TIP: Lockers are available but only in the Esplanade so plan accordingly!



REUNION

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
(A scoop of No Sugar Added Buter Pecan ice cream from the Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor.)

Walking down Main Street was definitely an emotional experience. I had no idea that Cast Members would be lining the sidewalks waving and welcoming us back home. I shed a few tears and felt incredibly happy. Everyone was cheering, clapping and waving! This will probably be forever my favorite memory of walking down Main Street.

Throughout the morning, the park felt very empty but as the day progressed, it honestly felt like an average day at the park. There were a lot of people there even at 25% capacity. The only ride lines that were short were the Fantastyland attractions. Some were as short as 5 minutes, which is unheard of. We took advantage of a couple of them and went on Alice in Wonderland and Casey Jr.

TIP: Don't let the "look" of the lines deceive you. With social distancing set-up and the fact that there are no lines indoors, some of them will look much longer than they are. Always use the Disneyland app to check ride times!



CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
(Our good friends Ash and Bryan from Always Believe!)

I was smiling, laughing, and again, I shed a few tears going back to Batuu. The way the atmosphere, scents and even the music transition from your typical Disneyland experience into a galaxy far, far away as you're entering the land is absolutely amazing! It's something I will never get tired of. We truly missed it so much!

Although the park did get busier, as I stated above, Batuu didn't seem to be affected by it too much. This might have been due to the fact that there wan't really anything new to experience there compared to the rest of the park (ex: new merch, the renovated Snow White ride, etc.). But that didn't bother us. We couldn't be happier to be there!

Jason and I had planned to visit Batuu immediately upon arrival and to conclude our trip there as well but we actually ended up being there for most of the day! 7 hours to be exact. It was just the perfect day and a great example of how to just let the magic happen. In my opinion, it's too much work to have every moment planned out and while it's nice to have some ideas of what you'd like to do and experience, I'd recommend allowing yourself to have a free spirit there so that you don't experience stress and disappointment in your plans possibly not going the way you expected them to.



WHAT TO EXPECT ON BATUU

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel (The Ronto Wraps are one of the best things you can get from Galaxy's Edge!)

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel (Reunited with my favorite, Blue Milk!)

Fans can expect to see Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, Rey, Stormtroopers, and Vi Moradi on Batuu but they won't be walking around as usual. Still, it was exciting to see them! I don't think it would've felt the same without their presence.

Since the crowds on Batuu were minimal and with social distancing in place, the Marketplace was so much calmer. The small shops were much easier to browse without feeling rushed or worrying if a hand is going to reach over you at any point to grab a plushie. It was a pleasant experience!

Docking Bay 7, Kat Saka's Kettle, and Oga's Cantina are currently closed though you can still find seating outside of Docking Bay 7, which is nice. Ronto Roasters is open, and with more seating which they desperately needed. You can now grab a Blue or Green Milk and find floating tables to enjoy them nearby. Please be aware that both places mentioned are mobile order only spots!

You will find the droid carts stationed that carry drinks and a couple of snacks that you can grab quickly without having to mobile order. We somehow were unaware that mobile ordering was featured heavily at the parks for most of the food options until we were hungry enough for a Ronto Wrap. I'm not sure how that happened! I highly recommend bringing some of your own water and a few snacks, especially if you have little ones, as mobile ordering can take 30 minutes to 1 hr. Also keep in mind that you can make dining reservations outside of Batuu througth the Disneyland app 60 days in advance!

The day that we were there, April 30th, they had no thermal detonator drinks available, instead, fans were given regular soda bottles. Hopefully, this is something that they will get back in stock soon! It's one of the cheapest and coolest souvenirs from Galaxy's Edge.

Although many indoor experiences are temporarily closed at the parks, fans can still make reservations in the Disneyland app to build a custom lightsaber at Savi's or a droid at the Droid Depot! Reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance.



WHAT'S NEW ON BATUU?

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel (Water, Galma Garlic Puffed Cheese Chips, and Chocolate Popcorn with Crait Red Salt.)

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel

In the Toydarion Toymaker shop, my friend Ash pointed out this wooden X-Wing toy. It seems this little starship was released at the Batuu East location in October of 2019. I'm not sure it made its way to Batuu West before the pandemic hit but if it did, I don't remember seeing it!

I also don't remember seeing this L3 shirt at the Droid Depot so I was sure to take a photo of it for you all to see! It's not very often that you see any, if at all, officially licensed L3 merchandise.

While Kat Saka's Kettle is temporarily closed, you can find the Chocolate Popcorn with Crait Red Salt on the droid carts! If you've never had it before, it tastes like CoCoa Pebbles popcorn. It's quite delicious!

A CM at Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities told us that there was zero chance of receiving a black kyber crystal when purchasing a red kyber crystal as they're not included in the mix right now. I am not sure how permanent this is.

Some time ago, there was a point in which you could purchase extra scrap metal for your custom lightsaber at Savi's. As you may know, they took that opportunity away but it's available once again! It's $20 per part when you buy two, otherwise it's $24.99 each.

TIP: If you find yourself purchasing a lightsaber or other collectibles from Galaxy's Edge but don't want to carry them around with you all day at the park, you can check-in your merchandise at the Droid Depot. They will hold it for you until the end of the day. We took advantage of this option and it was such a breeze!



RISE OF THE RESISTANCE

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel

Neither Jason or myself had been on Rise of Resistance until this day and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to experience it together along with Ash and Bryan. The Virtual Queue System has returned once again as it's still a very popular attraction. In the Disneyland app on the front page is where you'll see where you can join a boarding group in an attempt to get on the ride. There is a 7am slot and a 12pm slot. Both were gone in literally seconds! The first time, we didn't get through. However, the second time we linked our tickets on all of our accounts with our friends so that we had quadruple the chance of getting in. That seemed to do the trick!

I've been nervous to ride it ever since it opened. I don't do well with motion simulator rides or rides that have drops. After talking with Ash and Bryan they informed me that the drop was very short and that the ride moved in a different way compared to other motion simulator rides. With it being so difficult to get on this ride, I figured I'd better take my chance at experiencing it!

There is a part before the actual ride in which you board a transport. They allow so many people inside at a time. I was advised by Ash and Bryan that it is best to stand in the middle of the transport to help with motion sickness as you're watching the screen. It ended up being exceptionally smooth and I did ok! I'm thinking that because guests are standing, it couldn't be anything too crazy.

Now, the actual ride was a bit crazy and intense! It constantly moves in all directions which further triggered my fear of the unknown. It was overwhelming to the point where I couldn't really keep up with what was happening within the story that we were in. My heart was definitely racing! Overall, I think that this was worse than the part where it shoots you up an elevator really quick and then quickly drops you back down at a later time which is saying something because I literally hate drops. It was very short though! I also closed my eyes after the drop near the end as the vehicle moves along with a screen similar to Star Tours. This can help me with motion sickness.

Since my heart was racing so fast, I was shaky and a little dizzy afterwards but very happy I gave it a shot because it was an AMAZING experience. There is literally not another attraction at Disneyland like it. I do think it's worth at least one try, especially if you're a massive Star Wars fan.

TIP: At around 6:30pm, this attraction was a walk-on. I wasn't aware about it until after I had left but it seems that as it's getting close to closing time, it could be a good chance of getting on if you didn't get in the virtual queue.



WHAT I WORE

Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
Going Back to Disneyland & Batuu | Anakin and His Angel
(Most of these pins are no longer available from their sellers but if you have any questions about them, let me know.)

I wore my Anakin and His Angel T-shirt that I designed tucked into a Star-printed Tulle Skirt from Unique Vintage that I'm so obsessed with. Of course I paired it with my infamous Black Fedora, white sandals and one of my favorite necklaces from Make it Minnie.

Backpacks are the way to go for me at the parks because since I'm usually there a while, I like for the weight of whatever I'm bringing to be evenly distributed so that it's more comfortable. Decorating my backpacks with pins is always fun and they often start up conversations with other fans!

With it being so hot that day, it really helped wearing a skirt! I also tried out a new athletic mask from this Etsy seller that worked out pretty well. With as much as I was sweating, the mask never felt "wet" or gross. Jason also had a good experience with wearing this mask.

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my day and that some of the information and tips helped you plan for your own visit! Please let me know if you have any questions in a comment below or get in touch with me on Instagram or Twitter.

3 comments

  1. Oh hey, up until today I was the only person I knew who dislikes drops. Great to know that I'm in good company!

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  2. What a fun time! I still haven't been to Galaxy's Edge yet, but I'll have to check out your posts when I plan on going

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    1. Oh, I am sure that you will love experiencing it when you do get to go! Thanks for reading :)

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