Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland Park

has opened its gates, and we’ve explored the planet of Batuu and its pock-marked village, Black Spire Outpost, to bring you the Ultimate Guide to this brand new land.

Know the Lingo!

The citizens of Batuu (a/k/a cast members!) use many unfamiliar expressions when interacting with each other and with guests. You might start your visit hearing “Bright suns”, which is Batuu for hello. “Till the Spire” is one way to say good-bye. But if you’re leaving Black Spire Outpost to return to Earth (i.e. Disneyland Park), you might hear a citizen ask if you’re “going off-world”.

There are some Star Wars-themed expressions that contribute to the spirit and backstories of the land. These include “For the Order”, used when in the First Order area of the land to show your loyalty (even if you prefer the Resistance — keep that under wraps of course). Lightsabers are contraband in Batuu, so if you want to build yours at Savi’s Workshop, try asking a citizen for some scrap metal. And if you’re asking for something else — like, say, directions to Milk Stand — a citizen might frame his response as “lots of rumors are flying everywhere, so this is just what I’ve heard…” Those Batuu residents can be a little cagey…

Logistically, you really need to know these two: “Refreshers” are restrooms, and “Galactic Credits” are the currency (thankfully and conveniently the equivalent of US currency).

Don’t look for signs!

Black Spire Outpost has five eateries and beverage purveyors, almost a dozen shops, and (for now) one major attraction. But what this village on Batuu doesn’t have is signs. You won’t see a clear sign for Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, or Resistance Supply, or Savi’s Workshop, or anything, really. In this way, you could find yourself wandering, trying to find your destination. When you’ve only got four hours in a land — as is the case to begin with in Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge — this could really be a time-waster.

On the flip side, not having clearly marked signs encourages ‘visitors’ to look around, to explore, and to reach out to the citizens of Batuu for some help. 😉

It also encourages theme park guests to use that immersive Play Disney Parks app, which transforms into a Datapad in Galaxy’s Edge and will help guests translate the symbols that are used in place of signs.

Do it all! Here’s HOW!

For the first few weeks that Galaxy’s Edge is open in Disneyland Park, guests will be limited to four hours in the new land. This amount of time — and the restricted number of guests assigned to each time slot — is designed to provide enough time to experience Black Spire Outpost. But those pesky lines will complicate things a bit. Still, you can do it all — if you plan ahead.

Know that lines are expected to be long (prohibitively so, at times) at Savi’s Workshop — Handbuilt Lightsabers, Oga’s Cantina, and Millennium Falcon. But if you can prioritize Savi’s and Oga’s and save Millennium Falcon for the second half of your time slot, you should be able to complete all of these experiences.

The trick is this: most guests are going to make a bee-line for Smugglers Run when the group is let into the land en masse. That means a swollen line for the simulator at the beginning of the four-hour-block that typically diminishes over time. So if you use your first hour or two to build a lightsaber and/or grab a drink at Oga’s, the Millennium Falcon line should be short enough to allow you some time to explore shops and restaurants (not to mention drinking in all those atmospheric details).

Lightsabers don’t come cheap! And neither does anything else.

Savi’s Workshop is disguised as a scrap metal shop, but you’ll be paying top dollar for your glowing contraband. It’ll cost you $199 to design and build your own lightsaber, but we know that for Star Wars fans, this is an ultimate experience and one on which you can’t put a price.

Still, know that this experience is an investment of more than just money. You’ll also be investing time. To enter Savi’s, you’ll need to pay for your lightsaber outside with one of the “Gatherers”. Once you’ve paid, you’ll receive a colored piece of cardboard that will serve as your ticket in when it’s your color group’s turn to build. While you’re waiting, you’ll select your hilt — and in doing so, you’ll select your theme: Peace & Justice, Power & Control, Elemental Nature, or Protection & Defense.

Savi’s has a build table in the center of the shop, and that table has a capacity for 14 total people — 7 builders and their +1s. We saw about three groups get in per hour, so factor that in when you’re calculating how much time it’ll take for you to even enter the shop. Once inside, you’ll be part of the ‘show’ put on by the Gatherers, who will play up all aspects of your top secret lightsaber-building experience.

And note that everything else in the land is priced…really highly…as well. Including the $99 Droids…

…$8 Blue and Green Milk…

…and $15 drinks (plus those pricey souvenir containers) at Oga’s Cantina!

Being a pilot totally rocks!

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

is a simulator in which six riders work together to safely maneuver the Millennium Falcon ship through a series of obstacles. But the way the cockpit is designed, the pilots are the only riders who can take in all the visuals. Plus, the pilots have plenty of tasks that including pushing necessary buttons and controlling the up/down/side-to-side motions of the ship. In this way, being the pilot makes for a more engaging experience.

That’s not to say that the Gunners and Engineers don’t have cool roles, too, just that they can phone it in a little more. Gunners have an option to hold one button that automates all of their tasks. And engineers are only needed insomuch that the ship requires repairs during the ride.

During the first few weeks of Galaxy’s Edge, guests can likely fit in more than one ride if they use their time wisely. (We only waited about thirty minutes for our ride!) So if you’re not the pilot on your first ride, try another go ’round, and barter with your fellow riders if you must to try to score that pilot’s seat!

And another fun note: the outcomes of Millennium Falcon are dependent on your group’s performance, and even your exit from the ride may change depending on how you do. Plus, your performance can follow you throughout your Black Spire Outpost visit, with citizens of Batuu even commenting on how well (or poorly…) you did when you do things like belly up to the bar at Oga’s!

Know The Secrets of Batuu

Black Spire Outpost has lots of little surprises — but you’ll need to know what you’re looking for and where to look in order to find them! If you’re a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, be on the lookout in Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo for the numbers 77, 80, and 83.

Prefer your surprises one-eyed and gigantic? Visit the water fountains near the “Refreshers” in the Marketplace area of the land. You just might meet a dianoga!

Yikes!

And look for the Ark of the Covenant in Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities!

We’ve got LOTS more to tell you about soon, but those are some fun ones to start with!

Eat like a Citizen of Batuu…Even When Your Mouth Goes NUMB!

Galaxy’s Edge has five new places to eat or drink, including Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo for quick service, Kat Saka’s Kettle for popcorn, Ronto Roasters for hand-helds, Milk Stand for classic Star Wars sips, and Oga’s Cantina for drinks (alcoholic and non-). All of these locations serve up creative options, often with unfamiliar ingredients or treatments. We noted lots of pickled elements, which can be hit or miss for diners, and plenty of (overly) sweet beverages.

So while we weren’t galactically impressed by the food in Batuu, there are some things you’ll for sure want to try. Braised Shaak Roast is on the dinner menu at Docking Bay, and it’s awesome!

Kat Saka sells the signature Outpost Mix which tastes an awful lot like Fruity Pebbles.

The Ronto Wrap at Ronto Roasters is a celebration of meat! We loved it!

And many of the drinks at Oga’s Cantina are colorful, creative, and fun. We especially liked the Bespin Fizz and the Fuzzy Tauntaun! Be prepared when your mouth goes numb from that Fuzzy Tauntaun! It’s made with buzz buttons — a botanical that is often referred to as a painkiller for its numbing properties!

Drop those Galactic Credits!

Shopping in Galaxy’s Edge is a unique experience

. Much of the merchandise is exclusive to the land (although there will be limited Galaxy’s Edge merch available in other areas of Disneyland Park, including Passholder exclusives and opening day merch), and prices are usually high ($25,ooo for R2-D2?!). There are two build-your-own options: astromech droids at Droid Depot and lightsabers at Savi’s Workshop. These cost $99 and $199, respectively (with the option to buy more accessories, of course!).

We LOVE looking around Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities!

But the fun/confusing bit about shopping in Black Spire Outpost is the Marketplace area of the land, where most of the shops are small and open-air (no doors, just wide open entrances that open to one another), and none of them are labeled with signs. It’s truly like being dropped in a market or bazaar where you might stroll and browse all the wares before making selections.

And browse you should because the sheer variety and creativity of some merchandise is impressive.

Get those cameras out!

Photo opportunities are everywhere in Galaxy’s Edge

. From the inventive rooflines and rock outcroppings in the background to the tiniest details of bullet holes in the walls, Black Spire Outpost is begging to be photographed.

One challenge of the land is that it’s a lot of grey and brown, so do be looking for moments of contrast that provide visual interest. And then, of course, there’s the more obvious photo ops: a blue X-wing and an A-wing fighter in the Resistance area, a TIE Echelon in the First Order Area, the 110-foot Millennium Falcon, and more!

Characters don’t have traditional meet-and-greets in Galaxy’s Edge, so be ready at all times to snap a pic of your favorite. You may find Chewbacca working on ships in the Resistance Area or Rey walking around the Market. Kylo Ren can interact with the TIE Echelon, and Stormtroopers talk (with prerecorded dialogue, it seems). (They may even be deployed to kick visitors out of Black Spire Outpost when they’ve overstayed their welcome!)

You will find PhotoPass photographers in Galaxy’s Edge, but we didn’t spot any with the characters, so be prepared for potentially more organic interactions that aren’t documented by Disney PhotoPass.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was both what we expected and not, for better and for worse. But there’s no denying fans of the Star Wars canon will finally step foot into a place brings so much of that world to life.

Will you be journeying to Batuu and exploring Black Spire Outpost this summer? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited a media event for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. In Galaxy’s Edge, much of the food we ate was purchased by US at a preview last week and not provided by Disney. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ