Long ago, in a theme park not so far away…
Last April, Disney’s Hollywood Studios had their first Galactic Nights, a hard ticket Star Wars event that allowed guests to wear costumes to the park and meet special Star Wars characters, like Star Wars Weekends did, before their cancellation. They had a second one in December timed with the release of The Last Jedi. We were unable to go, due to prior commitments, so when the third Galactic Nights event was announced for May 27th, I hurried to buy tickets.
We’d be going straight from MegaCon to Hollywood Studios! That meant our last day of cosplays would be our Star Wars day. Jay has a full Sith outfit he designed years ago, of an original character he created named Darth Valice, so that was easy enough. I, on the other hand, had the option of rocking my Jedi Korra I created for Star Wars Weekends, or finally getting a Rey costume. I had a bad feeling there would probably be hundreds of Reys, and I prefer when my outfits are a little more unique, so I decided to do a different Star Wars crossover: Kingdom Hearts Rey. Jay designed and made me a BB-8 Keyblade, and as with all Kingdom Hearts crossovers, the rule is to add belts, buckles and zippers with overly large footwear. This actually made Rey easier, because then I could wear my Bearpaw boots, instead of trying to find ones that were the right height, and I stole some accessories from Jay’s new pirate gear.
Exhausted from a full weekend of cosplaying, Jay and I were almost dreading Galactic Nights. We hadn’t had time to see Solo, and the weather forecast looked rough. Determined to make the best of it, we left the last day of MegaCon around 2:00 pm to get a big lunch before heading towards Hollywood Studios. The event officially started at 7:00 pm, but you could get into the park as early as 4:00 pm. We didn’t need to be there that early, but I wanted us to have plenty of time to scope out the park in advance and plan our evening, before the official event start. I’ve been to hard ticket events at Hollywood Studios before, and planning is everything, because it’s not always super well organized.
I am happy to say that Hollywood Studios has clearly learned from their mistakes!
We rolled into the park around 5:00 pm. I was the tiniest bit worried that security wouldn’t let Jay’s Lightsaber in since the costume guidelines say plastic, but no one stopped us (or really even noticed that his Lightsaber is metal).
They were already handing out the lanyards when we arrived, and we both hung them from our belts instead of wearing them so they’d be less obvious in pictures. On the back of the lanyards were a bunch of outlines of ships, and instructions for a scavenger hunt.
Jay and I headed towards Star Wars Launch Bay. I wanted to see BB-8 during normal park hours, since he’s always out, because I wanted a picture with him and my Keyblade. He was only a twenty-minute wait, and I spent our time in line going through the Galactic Nights Passport, which was basically a multi-page times guide, listing all the happenings and food options for the night. I had already scoped out the menus and decided to pass on the special food offerings. I didn’t spend that kind of money to come to the park to eat! We were mainly there for in-costume photos we’d never get otherwise. I read through the shows listed in the Passport, and there honestly wasn’t much we were interested in. The Galaxy’s Edge preview sounded cool, but I also knew all of the information would be online in less than a day. Everything else either involved celebrities we weren’t particularly excited about or shows that were part of the park’s normal line up. (I once helped Warwick Davis off a Jungle Cruise boat. Seeing him on stage pales in comparison!) The one thing at the top of my priority list was the Star Wars overlay on Aerosmith Rockin’ Roller Coaster. It hadn’t been listed on the website, and I’d been so worried they weren’t doing it for this event.
When it was our turn for BB-8, the poor little droid didn’t know what to think of my Keyblade, or the Sith I was hanging out with!
We walked out of BB-8’s meet and greet and found a Photopass Photographer standing around in the area where you sometimes find the Jawa traders. We asked him if he could take our photo, and I’m so glad we did! After taking a fantastic couple shot, we were about to walk away when he asked if we wanted to do one fighting.
I kind of wish I had dropped the Keyblade and just used his Lightsaber, but they still turned out fantastic!
This is possibly my new favorite photo of us.
After leaving Launch Bay, I talked Jay into going to see Mickey and Minnie. Their line was posting half an hour, but it moved a little quicker than that. Minnie and Mickey were both super excited about our outfits, and I let Mickey hold the Keyblade for an awesome photo opportunity!
We left Mickey and Minnie and went to the Sci-Fi Dine In to see if they had a water dispenser out. Heat, humidity, and Star Wars costumes aren’t the best combination! They were just about to put it away since the park was now officially closed and they were sweeping the day guests out, so we made it just in time.
I had the brilliant idea of trying to “open” Star Wars Land with my Keyblade for a photo so we headed that way, only to discover there were photo spots already up and fully operational. We jumped in line for K2-SO and were handed our first stickers for the scavenger hunt! I was worried about how long the line was, but I didn’t need to be! Hollywood Studios has really stepped up their efficiency game. They were running two separate Photopass Photographers with two cameras, and were prestaging guests like loading a ride vehicle. It took no time at all!
After K2-SO we looked down at the line for the picture with the Star Wars Land wall, and there were Stormtroopers at the end. We decided to check back later, and headed towards the center of the park, planning on getting in line for Aerosmith.
The key word being plan. A lot of our night was making a plan and then starting to walk somewhere, then forgetting where we were going. We were a little over tired from our long weekend of adventures!
Walking past the Chinese Theater, I saw the photo backdrop for Luke’s Hut and got excited. I’d seen photos of it from the previous Galactic Nights, and the photo in the Passport showed people holding Porgs! I dragged Jay into the line, only to find out when we got to the photo there were no Porgs. We asked the Cast Member where the Porgs were, and he said they’d be out later. A little annoyed we’d have to do the line a second time, we took the photo and moved on.
Now we remembered our original plan, and we made our way towards Sunset Boulevard for the Aerosmith overlay. It was just before 7:00 pm, and a line was already forming. We ran into a former Skipper Jay knew, who advised us to skip it because he’d heard from the Cast Members who tested it that it wasn’t great and he estimated the line was about an hour. A little heart broken, I asked Jay if we could do it anyway. He said yes, and we jumped in line.
7:00 pm hit, and the line started moving quickly. Without the pre-show, there was no back up, and the line never really stopped moving. We were up in no time! A Cast Member took Jay’s Lightsaber and my Keyblade since they couldn’t go on the ride, and said they’d be waiting at the exit.
We loaded up in the second to last row, and the train rolled around to the launch point. Suddenly, I got a knot in my stomach. Did different audio mean no count down? Then a voice that I assume was the “driver” came over the speakers.
“Don’t worry folks, I’ll get you there on time. I know a shortcut that’s out of this world. Let’s count it down!”
Thank the Force. There are plenty of launch coasters in this world without a countdown, but I usually can tell when they’re going to launch.
Zero to sixty miles an hour in three seconds is even better with Star Wars music! All of the normal signage and visual points were dark, and there were projections of various characters and ships on the walls, and the music was a variety of scores from the different Star Wars films. I could hear Jay laughing beside me the whole way through, and I was so sad as the coaster came to a stop in the “back alley” it holds in before you pull into the unload area. The driver’s voice was back, “Told you I’d get you here on time! You have a great night!”
The entire train was buzzing, and a little kid’s voice said, “THAT WAS AMAZING!” We all burst out laughing as we pulled into the unload station.
Jay and I retrieved our Lightsaber and Keyblade, and made our way out. Behind the entrance to Rockin’ Roller Coaster is an area usually open only during busy season or special events, where the short-lived Club Disney Character Dance Party was located. For Galactic Nights they had fit three different photos inside the building and a fourth right outside!
Outside was the Sith Temple with the Seventh Sister, who is apparently from Star Wars Rebels because neither Jay nor I had a clue who she was. Jay was super excited for the Sith Temple photo but wanted to wait until it was dark so we headed inside. There were three photo opportunities set up: Jakku, Tusken Raiders, and a Rancor. Jakku had practically no wait, so we jumped in line there first.
We wound up deciding to skip the Tusken Raiders and the Rancor, having seen both at Star Wars Weekends previously, and not caring enough for a second go at them. Instead we started to head back to the main part of the park and stumbled across a Photopass Magic Shot opportunity. Unfortunately, while they were shifting the line, my Keyblade had a rather disastrous run in with an immobile object and Jay and I lost about fifteen minutes finding a way to patch up BB-8, but got to watch the March of the First Order while we did so. We went back to the Magic Shot, where the one of Photographers now had masking tape to mark the spot to stand on.
“Where was that ten minutes ago?”
“I’m sorry! It was over there!” She pointed at Tower of Terror. We laughed and got our photo.
It wasn’t even 8:00 p.m. yet, and we had already knocked out half the photos and ridden Aerosmith with the Star Wars overlay!
We began to make our way back to the Star Wars Land wall, when we saw people heading into the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Theater. We stopped over to see what it was, and discovered it was the Galaxy’s Edge preview, and there was still room. We thought about it for a moment, but decided getting photos while the sun was still up was more important, so we kept going.
As we walked past Star Tours, we noticed a lot of motion happening under the tree house area. We went over to find two Ewoks running around! There was no line, just two character attendants explaining if you wanted a “hologram” all you had to do was ask. Jay and I waited our turn for Wicket, who then tried to eat my Keyblade.
Nowhere on the passport listed Ewoks, so I don’t know how we got that lucky!
We then jumped in the line for the Stormtroopers at the Star Wars Land wall. It moved quickly, even though different waves of Stormtroopers were switching in and out. As they marched by, one of the Empire Officers stopped to glare at Jay, “Anyone found to be helping a rebel will be arrested by the Empire!”
Whoops! Somebody’s in trouble. I just wish I’d gotten it on video.
We got our photo with the Stormtroopers and then ducked to the side so I could see if the Keyblade would open the door. Sadly, it didn’t work.
The last photo spot we hadn’t found yet was the Emperor’s Throne Room, and, of course, that was the one Jay wanted the most. So, I checked the passport, and finally realized it was right outside the Frozen theater. The wait was decently long so Jay jumped in line and I ran to Starbucks, since we hadn’t had anything to drink since the Sci-Fi Dine In water. It was the shortest line I had ever seen in a Disney Starbucks, and I still barely made it back in time because they were doing such a good job moving the lines.
The guards weren’t there when we took the photo!
After the Throne Room, we stopped back by the Luke’s Hut to see if the Porgs were out yet. They weren’t and I asked the Cast Members there if we should keep checking or just give up. They advised we stop wasting our time, there would be no Porgs at this Galactic Nights.
Sad Chelsea.
We walked over to Launch Bay, and thought about jumping in line for Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma, but since they were almost an hour, we decided against it. Instead, we decided to head back to the Sith Temple for that photo since it was dark out now. We jumped in line, and thankfully it moved quickly because we had one of those guys who has to prove he knows more about Star Wars than everyone in line behind us. Rarely have I ever heard someone work so hard to fit voice actors’ names into a conversation.
We got up to the Seventh Sister and stood on the X where they prestaged us. I looked at the Photopass Photographer.
“I am sorry for how long this about to take.”
Jay wanted a group photo, and then a photo with just him and the Seventh Sister. Then he kicked her out of her own photo spot so he could have a photo by himself in the Sith Temple.
I’ll admit, it turned out pretty cool.
We stopped in front of Aerosmith to find it at only a half an hour wait, and we double checked the passport again. We could ride Aerosmith, and then hurry over to the next presentation of the Galaxy’s Edge preview.
Now they had a full Lightsaber check set up in the preshow area, where you could put your name on your Lightsaber. I assume some got mixed up because most Lightsabers look vaguely similar, unless you’re us and have a custom-built Lightsaber with axe blades and a Keyblade.
We’re not dorks or anything, it’s fine.
Aerosmith was just as good the second time, and I was able to pick up on a lot more of the projections. This time when the driver said “Told you I’d get you here on time! You have a great night!” someone behind us said, “You too, sir!”
We made it out of the ride with plenty of time to spare to get to the Galaxy’s Edge presentation, but we decided to skip it anyway. The first one was already on YouTube after all! Instead we went over by Tower of Terror to see if they ever got the second Photopass Magic Shot set up, and they did! There was no wait either, so we did that real quick.
There were two hours left in the event, and we were dragging. We might not have gotten to Hollywood Studios until almost five, but we’d been up and getting ready for MegaCon at 9:00 am. The fireworks were fireworks we had seen before, and we were both on board with leaving early if we had everything we wanted to accomplish done.
We decided to head back to Star Wars Launch Bay to see if Kylo and Phasma’s line had dropped any. Theirs hadn’t, but Chewbacca and Rey were down to half an hour so we decided to try that instead. While we were waiting, a Jedi Pikachu and Raichu got in line for Darth Vader, and I practically sprinted after them to take their picture.
Rey and Chewbacca’s line wound up being a bit more than half an hour, but it was fine. We passed the time as best we could, and I wound up completing my Field Research to catch a Legendary Pokémon in line, so that made for a cute photo.
Chewbacca and Rey were great! I honestly hadn’t met Chewbacca at Launch Bay since they put in his new meet and greet, and I had no idea he growled! Rey told Chewbacca he needed to get a Keyblade like mine.
As we headed towards the Launch Bay exit, we encountered a couple of Jawas out and trading. I looked at Jay and joked, “I wonder what they’d give me for my Keyblade.”
“Oh, you should so trade it!”
“What!? I was kidding!”
“I can make you another one!”
So, I went up to the Jawa, and had what might be one of the best character interactions I have ever had at Disney. We got the whole thing on video, although it’s a little hard to hear over how hard we were laughing. Other people started filming too, but I haven’t had a chance to look and see if any of those ended up online yet.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgENLW7tKcc[/embedyt]
We had to hang around for about fifteen minutes to hear from the Character Attendant that everything worked out the way we wanted before we headed out. While we were waiting, I managed to steal a basket of Porgs for a photo.
DJ Elliot had a dance party in full swing as people waited for the fireworks, but we were done. We made one final stop to pick up an AT-AT Popcorn bucket, and got our souvenir posters at the park gate, before we started the long walk to the car.
Galactic Nights was so much fun. As I said in the beginning, with the weather forecast and how tired we were from our long weekend, we were almost dreading Galactic Nights, and it wound up being the highlight of our mini vacation. I’m still rather upset the Porgs were missing from the official photo spot, but I’ll get over it eventually.
My favorite thing, excluding the ridiculously wonderful Jawa encounter, was absolutely Aerosmith’s Star Wars layover. Mostly it just makes me excited for the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster at Epcot, because I feel like this was a great preview for that!
We might do Galactic Nights again once Galaxy’s Edge is actually open to get pictures there in costume, but unless they add a ton more stuff, I don’t see us spending the money to do it again anytime soon. (Disney, you want my money, bring Hyperspace Hoopla back and I’ll buy a ticket in a heartbeat.) It’s a fairly steep price tag for a five-hour event, even though we managed to do everything we wanted and more.
Seriously, watch that Jawa video if you haven’t.
Cost: Tickets were $129 plus tax per adult, $119 plus tax with Annual Passholder Discount.
Value: A must do at least once for Star Wars fans, especially if you like dressing up!
Duration: The actual event is five hours from 7:00 pm – 12:00 am, but you can get in as early as 4:00 pm for a total of eight hours. They had some of the photo spots available before 7:00 pm too!
Add Ons: They had a “Galactic Tasting Sampler” package where you could get any five of the specialty food items and reserved seating for the Galaxy’s Edge Presentation for $30. I was more concerned with photos than eating.
Check out the full report on the rest of our weekend at MegaCon.
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