Star Wars Nite at Disneyland

Please note: This is a photo heavy post!

Going to Star Wars Nite on May the 4th at Disneyland was my first time experiencing an After Dark event at the parks! What better way to celebrate Star Wars Day, right!? I knew going in that there wouldn't be enough time to do everything (the event is from 9pm-1am), but I had a great time! There is one more Star Wars Nite taking place this month on May 27th. I think there is a chance that this one could be slightly different due to the admission price being higher than the May 3rd and 4th dates, AND it's taking place during Star Wars Celebration. This event is sold out!

Experiencing Disneyland in this way, with every single attendee being a Star Wars fan, was an entirely new vibe. So many people were dressed up, there was a massive lightsaber meet-up, a DJ, Captain Phasma and the First Order Stormtroopers marched through Tomorrowland, and even Sleeping Beauty's castle was covered in stars! Themed food, character sightings, photo ops and new merchandise also added to the excitement of the night, and I felt like we got to do and see a little bit of everything. It was so fun to share it with our friends Ash and Bryan from Always Believe. Their Anakin & Obi-Wan cosplays were out of this galaxy! Check out their vlog of the night here.

Before you attend Star Wars Nite, please read through all of the information available on Disneyland's website.

BOUNDING

Jason and I bounded as Dark Rey and C-3PO! I had been planning to do Dark Rey all year but Jason decided on C-3PO earlier in the month. We decided to style him as 3PO from The Rise of Skywalker so we could have a whole theme going. It was so, so great bounding together!

While it's fun to dress up, remember you can't pretend to be the character in such a way that a guest could confuse you for a paid character actor. You can take photos with other fans, but you cannot allow a line to form for photos. Read all about the costume guidelines here.

WHAT I WORE:
Asymmetrical Blouse: Amazon
Skirt: White House | Black Market
Tights: Unknown
Rogue Hood: Amazon
Faux Leather Half Finger Gloves: Amazon
Leather Cuff: Amazon
Boots: Po-Zu
Lightsaber: Hilt: KR Sabers | Internals: Sabers Forever

WHAT JASON WORE:
Gold Button Down: Amazon
Gold Joggers: Amazon
Gold Hat: Amazon
Gold Sunglasses: Amazon
Red Sunglasses: Amazon
Tie: DIY
Nike Shoes: Dick's
Babu Frik Talking Plush: Target
Sling: From the Jawa Galaxy Pals Plush at Target



ARRIVING

Your Star Wars Nite admission gets you access to the park at 6pm, 3 hours before the event starts. I chose to get us reservations for the park that day as well so that we could get there around 4pm to do photos on Batuu before it got dark but also so that we could check in at the Starcade in Tomorrowland versus the Disneyland entrance because the lines are shorter. Keep in mind, I said "shorter" not "short". We waited until about 7pm to get in line at the Starcade to check-in because before that, it was super long! If you are not able to get reservations for the park on top of your Star Wars Nite admission, I suggest arriving to the park at least an hour before 6pm.

You'll receive a fancy lanyard and a pamphlet with information including a map, food guide, photo ops list, character sightings and special events happening throughout the night.

(I recorded the full show for you all here!)
FIREWORKS

The Star Wars fireworks show begins at 9:30, just 30 minutes after the event starts. I highly suggest making this your first experience of the night! It's an incredible 6 minute show that includes several iconic themes. It was my favorite part of the night!

I like to stand in the middle of Main Street when I watch the fireworks so that I'm not too far but not too close. If you're sensitive to loud noises like me, bring a pair of earplugs!

PHOTO OPS & CHARACTER SIGHTINGS

There are two photo op opportunities inside the Starcade: "Jabba & Salaciou"s and the "Sarlacc Pit". These are probably the shortest photo op lines you'll find! I think we got lucky when we did the "Trash Compactor" and "Facing Off with a Wampa". We got in line about 30 minutes or so before the park closed and managed to get both! These photo ops are right next to each other near the Fantasyland Theater. If you really want to get one or two photo ops in, waiting until almost the end of the event might be your best option. Otherwise, prepare for them to take up most of your night! Also, keep in mind that while you're in line to see, for example, C-3PO and R2-D2, C-3PO might not be there by the time it's your turn to take your photo. The characters come and go!

You can take photos with your phone but Photo Pass is part of the ticket price so I would absolutely utilize that and ask the photographer for a Photo Pass card so that they can transfer the photos that they take for you to the card. You can then scan the card in the Disneyland app and download your photos!

(Photo Source)
EXCLUSIVE MERCHANDISE

It was difficult to tell what merchandise was exclusive to the event and what was new to the park to celebrate Star Wars month (there's A LOT, especially on Batuu). Star Wars: Launch Bay, located in Tomorrowland, was partially open for guests to shop the new merchandise (it seems that for May 27th, specialty merchandise will only be located at Galaxy's Edge according to the pamphlet). The exclusive merchandise mostly consisted of clothing and pins, some of which said, "May the 4th Be With You" (like this cute Grogu pin) but there was nothing that specifically said "Star Wars Nite 2022" which was strange. They also had the new Star Wars Wishables there (not exclusive) and a cool new line featuring the Kenner Vintage Action Figures including a Spirit Jersey and Water Bottle. The Spirit Jersey I've seen elsewhere since but the Water Bottle I have not. I picked that one up which you can see in my compilation video of the night here.

Over at the Pixie Hollow located in Fantasyland, guests who are Magic Key holders can pick up an exclusive button from 9pm-1am. There is a different button for each night. The one featured for May 27th is of Wicket on the planet Endor. I never got to pick mine up when I was there on the 4th. I checked the line about halfway through the night and it was extremely long. I planned to go back later but totally forgot with everything else we were doing.

FOOD

There are so many food and drink options, and we only tried two items! I highly suggest eating before the event starts just so you're not too hungry. Save room for snackies like the "Snacky Mac", a large blue macaroon sold at a few places throughout the park. We got ours from Pizza Planet in Tomorrowland. It is filled with blackberry cream cheese frosting and passion fruit curd. I'm not big on passion fruit but this was pretty good. It's one of the cheaper snacks at only $4.49. I totally forgot to take a photo of it but I did get a quick shot in my video here.

Of course, Batuu was also celebrating the night! We tried the Glazed Tip-Yip Legs (roasted chicken legs) for $12.99 from Ronto Roasters. You get 2-3 small legs which is an outrageous price but I gotta say, they were delicious!

I hope that this helped to excite and prepare you. Please let me know if you have any questions! You can find more coverage of the photo op and food options on my friend Aubree's blog post!

Disclaimer: Affiliate links were used in this post meaning if you purchase something from Amazon, Target or shopDisney, I will receive a commission.