Our adventures this past Sunday took us to the realms of Star Wars and beyond! When my alarm went off at 5:30am, I didn’t want to get up. But I did because I knew it would be an exciting day! I got to the Toy Story Parking Lot around 7am, boarded a bus to the Parks, and waited for friends to arrive. Around 7:20am, the wait at the Disneyland gates began. It was an exciting time because once the gates opened at around 7:45am, everything was starting to get real.
I hadn’t rope dropped Disneyland, meaning getting to the Park before official opening, in well over a year, but this was completely different. Thanks to some generous friends, I got invited to the Cast Member preview for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
We waited near the Tomorrowland entrance for the ropes to drop. Once they did, we headed towards the Buzz Lightyear FastPass area. This is where we got our boarding group pass. We got boarding group 5, and since we were near Star Tours we began our adventure there. There is a tie in to ‘Rise of Skywalker’ in the attraction, which is a slight spoiler to the movie.
From there, we made our way to Main Street and the Market House for some much needed coffee. After we got our drinks, we made our way to Galaxy’s Edge for breakfast. Most of us got Ronto Morning Wraps from Ronto Roasters. The Morning Wrap has scrambled eggs, grilled pork sausage, shredded cheddar, peppercorn sauce, and is wrapped in pita bread. It is $12.49, available via Mobile Order from Disneyland opening until 10am, and discounts apply. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to having another one soon.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – SPOILER ALERT
After we ate, we waited for the boarding groups to open. They did open around 9:40am, and around 9:50am our group got called. We made our way to the entrance of Rise of the Resistance, showed our boarding passes and park tickets, and in we went. From the time we entered the queue to the moment we exited the attraction, the entire experience was between 28 and 32 minutes. Here are photos from the queue and the first part of the attraction. I did not take photos or video while on the ride vehicle because I wanted to enjoy the experience.
Here are my thoughts on Rise of the Resistance. You will enjoy this attraction even if you are not a Star Wars fan. I appreciate the characters and the movies, but I’m definitely not a Star Wars fan. There were definitely a lot of ‘wow’ and ‘OMG’ moments for me while riding the attraction that it was mind blowing! Once on the main ride vehicle, put your phone and camera away and just enjoy the experience. And Rise of the Resistance is definitely an experience!
After Rise of the Resistance, we made our way back to Main Street and Coke Corner and sat there for awhile. We soon made our way back towards Galaxy’s Edge but made a stop at the Castle as the Disneyland Band was performing. They started playing a Star Wars medley so that was definitely fun!
Once back at Galaxy’s Edge, we were looking for R2-D2 but we didn’t find him. So we made our way towards Disney California Adventure. We found Goofy neat Carthay Circle so we took a group photo with him. Then we waited for Five & Dime where Goofy would dance one song with Dime. Goofy was definitely having a lot of fun, and why not because he’s Goofy!
After seeing Goofy and Five & Dime, we headed towards our favorite Sunday hangout – Sonoma Terrace. On our way, I got some construction photos of Avengers Campus. Once at Sonoma Terrace, we sat there for awhile before heading back to Disneyland. This time we were determined to find R2-D2, and we definitely did! He was hanging out by Docking Bay 7 and Cargo interacting with guests of all ages. Kids loved talking to him, which was great to see!
Our Star Wars filled day soon continued with a ride on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. It was great to wait in the standby line and get some different views of the Falcon. I was an engineer yet again, which I don’t mind at all. It’s the easiest position for me. I’m able to push some buttons while getting the enjoy the action happening all around.
And since we ate food from Ronto Roasters earlier in the day, it was only appropriate to have dinner at Docking Bay 7. I had never eaten here before since the price point is a bit high for the portion size. The food was pretty good. I got the Batuuan Beef Pot Roast which consists of braised beef pot roast, cavatelli pasta, wilted kale, and mushrooms. This dish is $18.99, available via Mobile Order, and discounts apply. For dessert, we shared the Batuu-Bob dessert. It consists of a chocolate cake, while chocolate mousse, and coffee custard. This dessert was the best part, and we all loved the coffee custard. So I highly recommend this! It’s $6.99, available via Mobile Order, and discounts apply.
After dinner, we made our way towards Main Street before going to Tomorrowland for some pretzels. And since we started our day with a Star Wars experience, we definitely had to end our day in Batuu.
It was a very memorable day, and I could not be more grateful for such awesome friends! More adventures are coming soon, and I will be at Walt Disney World this week! There’s a lot to check out while there, especially at Epcot with new and returning favorites! And of course, there’s Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! I can’t wait to share my adventures so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram – @rgrrabbit1 – for all the fun and excitement!