Trip Report From Batuu to the Boardwalk...and Beyond!

We're back from an absolutely wonderful trip that involved many firsts! As many times as we have been to Disney, we are always looking to try new things and find new favorites, and this trip was no exception! If you read my PTR (here) you will know that we actually went on two trips back-to-back; many of you questioned my sanity when I posted about the short trip, but you'll have to keep reading to find out exactly how crazy it was. If you're ready for food, drinks, and DRAMMA, you have come to the right place!

 

[bee]

1-2, cont.

After our Falcon adventure, we were quite hungry and ready to try Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo. The line was out the door despite the relatively light crowds in the land. But luckily the line moved quickly.

I ordered a Felucian Garden Spread while M searched for a table. OF COURSE there were none available inside (darn Californians!!!) so we settled for a seat outside. It seemed to take a very long time for my order in particular. I'm guessing not many people order the one vegetarian item so they make it fresh every time instead of having it sitting out premade like the more popular items. I have to say it was pretty cool how the food just "appeared" as it was ready from a conveyor belt and you didn't actually see the kitchen CMs preparing it or handing it off to the front end CMs.

I also experienced a weird moment while waiting for our food. Two guests were upset that their food order was wrong, and the CM helping them said something like, "Sorry, I haven't eaten all day." Now this was clearly a bit because the CMs are supposed to be in character as if they live and work in Black Spire Outpost, but it was really jarring coming from a Disney CM. Hopefully they find a way to continue the immersive elements while getting rid of some of the weird moments (there will be more later!).

Eventually I received this:

It was good but not especially memorable or repeatable. It honestly felt pretty heavy and would have tasted better INSIDE.

I did have a nice CM interaction while we were eating. I dropped the lid of my bee water bottle into a tree enclosure. The CM noticed and said, "Don't tell anyone" and climbed into the enclosure to retrieve it for me.

Some of the seating

So, Docking Bay 7 was fine, but not remarkable to me, and I will probably just eat before I go into GE in the future because there aren't a lot of other choices.

Up next: We don't have a reservation for Oga's...will we get in??

 

[Janir]

I love how this meiloorun fruit is so valuable that its bolted down!

 

[bee]

1-2, cont.

After eating we wandered around the land with no specific purpose in mind.

We found Oga's and asked a CM if we could go in; they pointed us to the line and put our names and party size in the system using an iPad. We waited less than five minutes before we were called inside! We actually skipped about ten other people, so they must have needed a party of two!

We were seated at a large table with two other parties of two and four respectively. Both groups were just finishing up and paying, and they left after a few minutes, then two other parties took their places shortly after.

For our first round I ordered a Jet Juice and M ordered the Jedi Mind Trick.

Jet Juice

Jedi Mind Trick

We both liked our drinks and decided to try something else for the second round.

Yub Nub and Bespin Fizz (and yes you can get the drink without the souvenir mug, which I did)

These were good too, but we both preferred our first drinks.

The atmosphere of the cantina was very loud and fun. The DJ droid played a remix of the cantina song from ANH among other music. We were glad to be seated at a table, as most of the room in the bar is standing room.

We were glad we got to go to the cantina with a minimal wait. We wouldn't rush to go back because the drinks are expensive (even for Disney) and we didn't love being seated with strangers. We do have a reservation coming up for three in a few months, and my brother will be joining us for probably his first time in the cantina.

Up next: Our encounter with the First Order

 

[bee]

1-2, cont.

After we finished up at the Cantina we continued exploring and ended up in the First Order area.

Ummm...who buys a Stormtrooper uniform??? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

We saw some Troopers come out to interrogate guests!

We kept wandering and there was just SO MUCH to see!

Up next: Back to the Future! Er...Back to the Falcon!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Ummm...who buys a Stormtrooper uniform??? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

I don’t have an answer to that but instead another question. There was a sign limiting one item per person. Who is trying to buy multiple stormtrooper outfits?

 

[LadyBelle]

Ummm...who buys a Stormtrooper uniform??? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

Well, if I had a spare $8,600 lying around that would not be my first choice to spend it on.

 

[fractal]

I've seen a ton of pictures of Batuu but you have so many of things and angles I've never seen before.

Great job and thanks!

 

[Swissmiss]

I've seen a ton of pictures of Batuu but you have so many of things and angles I've never seen before.

Great job and thanks!

I have been thinking the same - I feel like I’ve gotten a very different visual perspective from these pictures. And while I had been planning on skipping the land when we are there at Christmas, but these pictures are making me think about it.

 

[Nunu]

I will probably just eat before I go into GE in the future because there aren't a lot of other choices.

I felt the same way!

 

[bee]

I don’t have an answer to that but instead another question. There was a sign limiting one item per person. Who is trying to buy multiple stormtrooper outfits?

I mean...I think if you were going to buy multiples, there must be a better way???

Well, if I had a spare $8,600 lying around that would not be my first choice to spend it on.

Uh...SAME!

I've seen a ton of pictures of Batuu but you have so many of things and angles I've never seen before.

Great job and thanks!

Thank you! I was really glad we got to do the preview and explore at our own pace because it enabled me to see all these different angles and details!

I have been thinking the same - I feel like I’ve gotten a very different visual perspective from these pictures. And while I had been planning on skipping the land when we are there at Christmas, but these pictures are making me think about it.

Thank you! I think it's definitely worth a visit, whether or not you're a Star Wars fan!

I felt the same way!

Glad to know I'm not alone!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

I mean...I think if you were going to buy multiples, there must be a better way???

Yes. I for one plan on instead tricking the government into giving me the power to make a clone army of them. Much more cost effective.

 

[bee]

Side note: Sorry for my absence the last few days. Last week was my first week "back to school" at the performing arts studio where I teach. It was extra crazy (in a good way) because we are in a brand new location this year! Some of you will remember that there was a fire at one of the studio's buildings last year while I was teaching, and I was injured in the escape (If you want to read more check out my TR linked below called "BROOM BROOM!"). All of last school year we were using a borrowed space at the town's community center for certain classes, which was fine to get through the year but not ideal. The owners spent the whole year searching for a new secondary space, and ended up finding an even better location where all of our classes can be under one roof! We have three large studios, I have my very own music room, and there is an actual office for admin stuff instead of a cubicle! So last week was totally exhausting and busy, but I am thrilled to be teaching at the new location!

And now...BACK TO THE REPORT!!

1-2, cont.

We decided it was time to check out the Millennium Falcon again, and this time the posted wait was only 25 minutes!

We were both Engineers this time!

I think this time we were placed with a group of four friends and they were all REALLY serious about our mission! I was glad not to be a Pilot because the Gunners kept yelling at the Pilots, "Up!" or "Left!" We did a little better in our mission this time, so it was great to see that the way we "played" actually affected the outcome!

On the way out...

We decided to ride one more time because the wait was only TEN MINUTES!

Glad Batuu has nice sunsets!

Is this like...a reverse Hidden Mickey?

This time we both got Gunner!

We had a great time once again! Pro tip: If you are a Gunner you have a choice between manual and automatic control. If you do automatic, you just have to fire at the other ships, but if you do manual you actually have to aim AND fire. So, pick whichever suits your comfort with the gaming aspect of it!

On the way out again...

Up next: Closing out the land/park

 

[bee]

1-2, cont.

It was only 8:30 and technically our preview lasted until 9, but we were super tired already. Besides, we had gotten in half an hour early, so we didn't feel like we were missing out! So we made the decision to head out of GE and the park.

On the way out we stopped at one of the merch kiosks to pick a souvenir. We decided on a RotR magnet and a reusable bag:

The CM who checked us out asked if we had a "frequent shopper card." I said no, and she asked, "are you sure? It's yellow and it has some kind of animal on it..." THEN I got it! Do you get it??

Spoiler

Annual Pass!

The CM told us the amount as "credits" rather than dollars, which is a little weird since I am spending my REAL MONEY...but I get it.

We made our way out of the park and to the buses. The new bus area at DHS is very nice! We didn't have to wait terribly long for a bus and we both got seats. Woohoo!

Back at the resort, we were both quite hungry since we'd shared at Docking Bay 7, so we shared a veggie burger at the food court.

It was pretty good. We both prefer veggie burgers that aren't trying to imitate meat to ones that are trying to imitate meat, so we enjoyed this. It did take a relatively long time to receive the burger since it was grilled fresh and hadn't been sitting around, which is of course a positive! Oh, AND all value resort food courts (plus POFQ) accept Tables in Wonderland since they don't have TS restaurants!

We realized then that we did not have a DME tag on our door. Usually the DME papers arrive the day before checkout, but since we only stayed there one night that was also our check IN day. So I called the "front desk" (which is not actually the front desk but a general Disney resorts call center) to ask about it, and was greeted with, "How may I assist the (my last name) family?" I told the CM we needed our DME paper and she said she would send someone to our room with them. We weren't sure how long it would take, if they would knock, etc., but we eventually received it the next morning.

Totally exhausted, we showered and went right to bed!

Up next: Traveling home...for one day...

 

[bee]

Trip 1, Day 3: Thursday, August 22

We woke up to this hanging on the door:

But it didn't sting so badly, because we knew we'd be back VERY soon!!

We packed everything (not that there was much to pack) and headed to the main building for a late breakfast. We asked for two sides of eggs and a side of Mickey waffles, and the CM working at that station said, "Why don't you just get two kids' meals?" So we did!

And look! Purse grapes! @Tuvalu

It was all really good and a great value! We will definitely remember the kids' option in the future!

We made a quick stop in the ladies' room...

...and soon it was time to board the Tragical.

We had mobile boarding passes and we didn't need to check a bag, so we went straight to security. It didn't take long and soon we were at our gate area. We got some sandwiches from Jersey Mike's.

*insert "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton*

While waiting for our flight we bought some snacks for later. We boarded on time and took off soon after.

Wasabi peas!

JUST tomato juice...and hey, Dead to Me!

I played with the drawing app again...

...and soon we were arriving at St. Louis for our layover.

Up next: Dinner...and we really can't escape the flight troubles!!!

 

[riverside]

We both prefer veggie burgers that aren't trying to imitate meat to ones that are trying to imitate meat,

I totally agree with you!!

 

[bee]

1-3, cont.

We had a few hours at the St. Louis airport which was plenty of time for dinner. We ended up choosing Chili's, which usually has a few reliable vegetarian options for a reasonable price. M had the Mushroom and Swiss Burger with a black bean (which does not at all resemble meat @riverside!) and I had the veggie fajitas (they had some kind of fancy name but I don't remember it).

This was sooooo much food. I don't think either of us finished. But everything was good! Mine also came with a decent pico and an okay guacamole.

While we were eating we got the alert that our flight was delayed. We were originally supposed to land around 11:30pm, and now it looked like we would be landing well past 1:00am. At least we were flying into Newark so we would have a shorter (and cheaper) ride home than if we were landing at LaGuardia. So we shared a Starbucks drink to keep us awake and found a spot to wait for the late flight.

Apparently there was some kind of problem for ALL incoming flights to the NYC area. I considered changing us to an earlier flight into LGA, but I was glad I didn't when it was announced that that flight was cancelled!

The gate agent kept making announcements about the delay and saying they would try to get us on the plane as soon as possible but it wouldn't be before a certain time because they weren't allowed to leave before then. M and I took turns taking walks around the terminal. There was a family waiting to board our flight that consisted of (I assume) a grandmother, mother, and little girl who looked around 6. On one of my walks I saw the mom skipping while holding hands with her daughter to try and keep her occupied and wear her out. I made eye contact with the mom and we shared a smile.

FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINALLY we got to board, hours after the scheduled time. M and I went right to the back and got out of the way. Everyone was taking a reeeeeeally long time to pick their seats and put their bags away and the FAs kept making announcements to PLEASE pick a seat and sit down so we can all leave. One of the FAs came over to us and said something like, "You'd think everyone would want to go home and would just sit down!" We ended up having a really fun conversation with her about Disney, Universal, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. She and the rest of the crew are based in Phoenix, and she and her family are frequent visitors of the various Southern California parks.

We eventually took off and when beverage service began the same FA waved away our drink coupons and gave us free drinks! Woohoo!

Uhhh...oops

This was when I lost my very long game of BallZ.

Blurry skyline, plus we could actually see our street from here!

I like a lot of these cartoons. This one would be us the next morning.

We finally landed around 1:30am. Everyone and their mom was waiting for their ride home so we waited quite a while for our Lyft to arrive and we got home at 2:35. By the time we showered and got to bed it was about 3:30 and we both had to work the next day.

INTERMISSION: Friday, August 23

To say it was a rough day is an understatement. M had to be at work at 9 (she normally goes in at 10 because she is not a morning person, at all [neither am I!]) and I had to teach three students between 11:30 and 2:30, plus do most of the packing. When I got an email from my last student that she was cancelling I was secretly relieved that I only had to be "on" for two hours.

After I finished teaching I brought the suitcases into the living room and started placing piles on clothes in them.

Magnet!

I also repainted my nails in anticipation of our big day at Galaxy's Edge!

The glitter is holographic, so it makes rainbows in the light!

Once M got home we finished packing together.

We had also received a package from our from S (the one we visited in Japan) with a bunch of cool Japanese stuff, including some Kit Kats:

PS you can see the Quality Inn survey up on the screen behind...

AND she sent us some adorable Minnie sponges!

We went to bed earlyish in preparation for a 4:15 wakeup the next morning!

Up next: The Big Trip

 

[LadyBelle]

I want that magnet. Forgive me for asking (aka I’m lazy for not going back in the report) but where in HS did you find it?

insert "You'll Be Back" from Hamilton*

 

[bee]

Trip 2, Day 1: Saturday, August 24

That 4:15 alarm came way too soon! We brought premade coffee with us and the plan was to grab breakfast at the airport. All we had to do was get dressed and grab our stuff and leave.

The Lyft ride to LaGuardia only took 33 minutes since it was so early. We arrived a little after 5:00 and there was a very long line to drop off our bags at the Southwest counter. It took half an hour to get through the line, and then we had to face morning LGA security.

There was a woman yelling at all kinds of employees about how she was going to miss her flight because of the lines. What time was her flight? 6:00am. What time did she arrive at the airport? 5:00am! Whose fault is it if you miss your flight??? (And miss it she did. We saw her later running around the gate area).

Security was absolutely atrocious and we waited a full forty minutes. Finally, with just a few minutes before boarding, we made it to "the other side!"

@Darstarr takes photos of elephants, I take photos of giraffes for my MIL

We decided to get breakfast sandwiches at the Shake Shack near our gate. My right contact started really bothering me so I went to the bathroom to clean it and put it back in which M waited on line to order. In the bathroom I took out my contact and...DROPPED IT. On the floor of the LaGuardia bathroom. Luckily I ALWAYS travel with two extra pairs in case of such mishaps, so I threw out the floor one and put in a brand new one.

Soon after our sandwiches were ready and they were actually quite good!

M and I both got early B group numbers. In case you aren't familiar with the SWA boarding procedures, the planes have open seating and everyone is assigned a boarding number: A 1-60, B 1-60, and C 1-60. Passengers line up in the order of their boarding number and the A group boards first, followed by B and C. Between the A and B groups they allow family boarding, which lets families with children under 6 board together early in the process, regardless of their assigned boarding group with a maximum of two adults per family. This is done so that families can sit together without having to ask other people to move later. Usually the gate agents announce a few times that family boarding is ONLY for families with children under 6 and really enforce the two adults rule, but today it was a total free-for-all. There were multiple families with kids who were definitely middle school age and up, and there were families with one or two kids and up to SIX adults with them. Why have rules if they're not going to enforce them?

Anyway, we FINALLY boarded the plane and we did get seats together.

Somehow we managed to depart early!

Up next: In the air!

 

[bee]

I want that magnet. Forgive me for asking (aka I’m lazy for not going back in the report) but where in HS did you find it?

It was at a kiosk near the Grand Avenue entrance to Galaxy's Edge! And LOL!

These are awesome pictures! But I have a question (for anyone reading). When I post trip reports, I get a message that I'm only allowed to post 10 pics per post. If I go beyond 10, it won't let me post anymore. But this post had (I think) 17 amazing pics in it. But wassup? Anyone know?

Thank you! I don't know for sure, but how are you posting your photos? Are you uploading them with the "attach files" button or embedding them with the little picture icon at the top of the post? I always upload mine to a third party site and embed, so I'm guessing that's why I can post up to 20.

 

[bee]

2-1, cont.

Just me and the GWB

CWAFEE!!!

Up next: Still in the air!