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Posted
  On 12/28/2018 at 1:43 PM, mdmost said:

Caught some glimpse of the Star Wars Land construction from Big Thunder Mountain and the Tarzan Treehouse. That place is going to be so kickass, bros. We're not going back till a good 6-12 months after that thing opens because you'll need at least a day or 2 to go through it. I read that the wait time for the Millenium Falcon ride will be 6 hours the first day it opens. Here's a video that came out on Christmas Day about it.

 

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I saw it back there as well. Looks incredible 

I hope they put a couple of California screaming level rides back there. They badly need some more adrenaline reviving rides.  

Posted

Saw today that DLR was at peak capacity at noon PST. Not sure if that meant turning away guests or not. We had a great time. Please don’t get me wrong but I don’t plan to go at that time ever again unless we go in early December. I damn sure not going till Star Wars Land is well broken in and frankly probably going to the WDW version in early to very late summer 2020.

Posted (edited)
  On 12/29/2018 at 4:25 AM, pepper brooks said:

I saw it back there as well. Looks incredible 

I hope they put a couple of California screaming level rides back there. They badly need some more adrenaline reviving rides.  

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It will only have 2 E Ticket attractions. The Millenium Falcon ride where 6 people pair up to pilot, be gunners, or be engineers to keep the Falcon flying. Supposedly based on how well you do, you’ll get either additional missions later or get special side missions with some of the “characters” roaming around the land. The other ride is a 6 seater dark ride where you take part in the battle against the First Order. It’s more like the Harry Potter rides in Universal. The rest is walking around and being immersed in the land, like Harry Potter land at Universal. But being Disney, there will be character interactions, robots roaming around and a cantina where you can get adult drinks. It will be pretty great if it’s in any way like Cars Land which also really only is two rides too(I don’t count that dumb Mater ride as a ride).

Edited by mdmost
Posted
  On 12/29/2018 at 4:32 AM, mdmost said:

It will only have 2 E Ticket attractions. The Millenium Falcon ride where 6 people pair up to pilot, be gunners, or be engineers to keep the Falcon flying. Supposedly based on how well you do, you’ll get either additional missions later or you will special side missions with some of the “characters” roaming around the land. The other ride is a 6 seater dark ride where you take part in the battle against the First Order. It’s more like the Harry Potter rides in Universal. The rest is walking around and being immersed in the land, like Harry Potter land at Universal. But being Disney, there will be character interactions, robots roaming around and a cantina where you can get adult drinks. It will be pretty great if it’s in any way like Cars Land which also really only two rides (I don’t count that dumb Mater ride as a ride).

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That totally sucks. I am not a fan of the virtual rides. The Harry Potter one of pretty solid, but not what I like in a ride. 

Flying back right now with a sporty 144mpg tailwind pushing this thing to 635mph. 

Posted

Smooth sailings, brother. We had a hell of a time getting back to DFW out of SNA due to the storms in Dallas. Our 5:30 pm departure was pushed to 7:30. When we arrived at 1am, we had no gate till 3am. The moron at the gate in SNA made us check our bags even though they are always carry on and fit fine, also flight was half full so I could’ve put an entire bag in its own overhead alone. So 3am becomes 5am as DFW has very few baggage handlers at that time to get bags off planes. So we get home around 5:30am after getting up at 5:30am the day before to start our last day. So I woke up yesterday with a fever of 102.7 and am just now not feeling like total ass. I wished terrible things on that gate bitch.

Posted
  On 12/29/2018 at 4:49 AM, mdmost said:

Smooth sailings, brother. We had a hell of a time getting back to DFW out of SNA due to the storms in Dallas. Our 5:30 pm departure was pushed to 7:30. When we arrived at 1am, we had no gate till 3am. The moron at the gate in SNA made us check our bags even though they are always carry on and fit fine, also flight was half full so I could’ve put an entire bag in its own overhead alone. So 3am becomes 5am as DFW has very few baggage handlers at that time to get bags off planes. So we get home around 5:30am after getting up at 5:30am the day before to start our last day. So I woke up yesterday with a fever of 102.7 and am just now not feeling like total ass. I wished terrible things on that gate bitch.

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I got the flop sweats reading this and pondering the possibility of its occurance during a trip with my children.

I have been through some shit traveling for work, but thank god not so far with my family.

  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

Later this year Disney will open a Star Wars land at both Disneyland and Disney World.  In this, the first of a series, we look at what to expect when Galaxy’s Edge opens.

The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed lands coming to Disney theme parks in Florida and California will let visitors pilot the Millennium Falcon, wander through a smuggler’s alley, drink cocktails in a disreputable cantina and interact with aliens and droids.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in summer 2019 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and late fall 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios near Orlando, Florida.

See also: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge debut could bring 200,000 people, 10-hour lines to Disneyland

Walt Disney Imagineering has crafted an elaborate backstory for the immersive themed lands. Visitors will step into a spaceport outpost on a remote planet at the distant reaches of the Star Wars universe. A pair of E-Ticket attractions will drop visitors into the middle of outer space battles.

Themed lands

Restaurants will serve a menu of alien food and drink rather than theme park staples like churros, corn dogs and funnel cake. Marketplace shops will sell “in universe” merchandise that appears to be hand-crafted by local vendors. Familiar and lesser-known Star Wars characters will interact with visitors throughout the day in an ever-evolving storyline. And in Florida, a Star Wars hotel will welcome guests to an all-inclusive virtual journey to a galaxy far, far away.

The twin Galaxy’s Edge projects are the latest Disney themed lands to create a walk-through world that lets visitors step into a movie scene. Disney scrambled to create immersive themed lands based on a single intellectual property after Universal Studios built a string of popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands in Florida, California and Japan. In response, Disney added Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in 2012 and Pandora: World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017.

Let’s take a closer look at the backstory, setting, attractions, restaurants, shops, characters, aliens and droids that visitors will find in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Disney World:

kylo ren at star wars land star wars galaxys edge.

1. Backstory & Setting

The 14-acre Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge themed lands will be set in the Black Spire Outpost on the remote planet of Batuu, located on the outer rim of the Star Wars galaxy. Disneyland and Disney World will have nearly-identical Star Wars lands.

Imagineering worked with Lucasfilm to create a detailed backstory for the outpost and the planet. That story guided designers from the “blue sky” development phase through construction of the lands.

In Star Wars lore, Batuu is known for towering lush trees and mountain spikes. The remote planet on the galaxy’s edge once served as a busy crossroads along popular trade routes. The once-bustling planet was left behind with the birth of lightspeed and the rise of hyperspace travel.

The last frontier at Star Wars land?

The decline of the planet left Batuu home to smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers. Batuu became the last frontier between the known Star Wars universe and uncharted space. The still-thriving spaceport of Black Spire Outpost became a safe haven for those looking to avoid attention.

star wars land special effects galaxys edge disney.

Black Spire Outpost is surrounded by the stumps of once-towering petrified trees that became spire-like rock formations. The outpost takes its name from one of the petrified stumps known as Black Spire. Construction crews created the massive tree stumps out of extensive faux rock work.

Circular buildings and marketplace alleyways are built onto and around the tree stumps in Black Spire Outpost. Throughout the lands, visitors will spot familiar Star Wars spacecraft and war machines — from from the Millennium Falcon to X-Wings to AT-ATs.

Original theme music recorded by “Star Wars” composer John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios will serve as the soundtrack for Galaxy’s Edge.

2. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run flight simulator ride will serve as the marquee attraction of Galaxy’s Edge.

Smugglers Run puts riders in the cockpit of the fastest ship in the galaxy as they battle Imperial tie fighters during a secret mission with multiple story lines. The goal: Bring back a pile of loot to a vengeful space pirate. Riders will be tasked with a mission by Hondo Ohnaka. He is a space pirate from the “Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” animated television series.

star wars land millennium falcon

Each member of the six-person crew will be assigned a task. Pilots sitting in the front will navigate the ship through an intergalactic battle. Gunners in the center of the cockpit will fend off tie fighter attacks. Engineers stationed in the rear must maintain the flight systems and repair any damage to the ship.

Han Solo’s iconic spaceship

The E-Ticket attraction will use real-time video rendering technology that responds to the way riders manipulate 200 cockpit controls.

The Millennium Falcon flight simulator ride, codenamed “Big Bird” during the development phase, will be housed in a 115,000-square-foot building, according to Anaheim building permits. City records put the cost of constructing Smuggler’s Run at $55.7 million.

See also: Breaking down the costs of Disneyland’s $1 billion Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

The attraction interior will feature at least 20 scenes, with several “A/B scenes” suggesting multiple storylines.

Before entering the attraction, visitors will walk through a full-sized replica of Han Solo’s iconic spaceship. The Corellian YT-1300 light freighter will be docked within a semi-circular spaceport at Galaxy’s Edge.

3. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Imagineers have described the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance trackless dark ride as the most elaborate and immersive attraction ever built by Disney

The Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction promises a race-against-time battle between the First Order and the Resistance. A portion of the attraction passes through the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. At one point, riders will encounter two giant AT-AT walkers. The climax of the ride will feature a face-off with villain Kylo Ren.

rise of the resistance star wars land .

The 8-person ride vehicles will be designed to look like First Order fleet transport carriers. Astromech droids programmed with ship schematics and security access codes pilot the transport vehicles.

The Rise of the Resistance trackless dark ride was codenamed “Alcatraz” during its development phase. It will be housed in a 165,000-square-foot building, according to Anaheim building permits. The attraction interior will feature at least 18 scenes. City records put the cost of constructing Rise of the Resistance at $77.9 million.

Before boarding the attraction, visitors will walk through a full-sized replica of a Resistance troop transport vehicle.

4. Restaurants

You won’t find any fast food kids meals, buckets of popcorn or Mickey Mouse-shaped pretzels in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Restaurants, food stands and snack kiosks will serve a menu of alien fare not found in any theme park.

The food and beverage locations at Galaxy’s Edge will include Oga’s Cantina, Bantha Tracks and an upscale dinner club.

Oga’s Cantina will be run by alien proprietor Oga Garra. Costumed actors portraying Oga are expected to “work” behind the bar at the Galaxy’s Edge tavern. Star Tours droid RX-24, aka Rex, will serve as DJ.

oga's cantina star wars land

Early concept art depicted droids serving other-worldly cocktails to “truly adventurous” customers in the local tavern.

Oga’s Cantina will be the first public location to serve alcohol in Disneyland history. Oga’s cocktail list will include a drink called Blurrgfire.

An exclusive dinner club will offer local delicacies of the outer rim and feature live entertainment by alien performers.

Luke Skywalker drank Blue Milk in the first “Star Wars” movie, and it will be served at Bantha Tracks.

Docking Bay 7 is expected to serve as a counter-service restaurant. A weathered and battled-damaged food freighter cargo ship carrying “tasty fare” is docked atop the restaurant.

star wars land millennium falcon detail

5. Shopping

All of the Galaxy’s Edge merchandise in Merchant Row and Smuggler’s Alley will look and feel like it belongs in the Star Wars universe rather than a Disney gift shop.

The retail shops in the street market will sell story-specific merchandise. Concept art shows merchants selling futuristic pots and rugs from their small shops beneath red and orange canopies strung between sandstone buildings.

Marketplace cost of Star Wars galaxys edge.

A Toydarian vendor, presumably in animatronic or virtual form, will preside over the The Toydarian Wares toy shop. The winged junk dealer Watto from “The Phantom Menace” was a Toydarian. The toy store will sell stuffed dolls designed to look hand-made by local vendors. Among the dolls: Chewbacca, Yoda and Kylo Ren.

Cute and cuddly (as well as creepy and scary) creatures will populate The Creature Stall shop in the marketplace. Imagineering promises some of the caged creatures will appear to “come to life,” likely with the help of animatronics. Customers will be able to purchase loth cat dolls from the Star Wars Rebels animated television series.

millennium falcon interior star wars land.

6. Character Interaction

Disney will be putting a heavy emphasis on storytelling and character interaction in the Galaxy’s Edge themed lands.

Imagineering plans to create an immersive and interactive environment that allows every visitor to live their own Star Wars hero story.

star wars land actors interactive

You never know what you might see in Black Spire Outpost. First Order soldiers patrolling the small town. Rebel fighters camping out in the nearby forest. Smugglers hiding from bounty hunters in secret passageways.

The new lands will feature walk-around characters and creatures that interact with visitors. Each character will play a role in a continually-developing storyline that evolves and progresses throughout the day.

Visitors play a role, too. Fail in your mission aboard Smuggler’s Run and a bounty hunter might tap you on the shoulder looking for Hondo’s lost loot.

The cast of interactive characters will include: Space pirate Hondo Ohnaka, pilot and smuggler Nien Nunb, cantina proprietor Oga Garra and bounty hunter Harko.

Like other areas of Disneyland, Kylo Ren and Chewie will be on hand to pose for meet-and-greet photo opportunities.

Galaxy’s Edge will also be filled with familiar Star Wars characters. These will include those that roll (BB-8, R2-D2), walk (C3-PO, Dok-Andar) and crawl (cuddly loth cats).

7. The Star Wars Hotel

star wars hotel lobby

The Star Wars hotel planned for Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida takes the cruise ship notion of a captive audience and applies it to a landlocked themed hotel.

See also: How Disney magic and Imagineering tech make the Star Wars hotel possible

The Star Wars starship hotel will draw upon Disney’s theme park and cruise ship know-how. It will add Walt Disney Imagineering’s next-gen technology and cutting-edge patentsto create a first-of-its-kind immersive storytelling experience.

Think of the Star Wars hotel as an intergalactic cruise ship docked at Galaxy’s Edge that embarks on a virtual journey.

The fully-immersive experiential voyage begins as soon as guests step into the starship-themed hotel and leave the real world behind. Employees dressed in alien costumes staff the front desk. Remote-controlled butler droids assist with luggage. Stars and planets hover in virtual windows as spaceships fly past. Visitors don jedi robes and join the rebel resistance. All in support of a continuously-evolving story that unfolds over multiple days and nights.

star wars land concept art.

A Disney survey for a potential Star Wars land

Disney conducted a survey before they officially announced the Star Wars hotel. They asked respondents about their thoughts on a two-day story-driven entertainment experience paired with a two-night stay in a starship-themed hotel room with virtual views of outer space.

The survey described character chance encounters, lightsaber training, ship explorations, personalized secret missions, inclusive meal service and signature dinners. It also outlined dinner shows, live entertainment, cantina bars and exclusive theme park admissions.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek referenced the survey when he announced the Star Wars hotel at a D23 Expo and the questionnaire appears to have served as a blueprint for the project.

Edited by LonghornSean
Posted

I saw a crazy rumor that the Rise of the Resistance ride could have you on it for over 20 minutes. I'm not talking queue and loading. 20+ minutes of actual ride time. 

Disney has an earnings call today. Iger usually spills some details on the parks during those calls. 

Posted

One day? Multiple days? If you have any link to Disney, Magic Kingdom would be the answer. 2 days, I would add Epcot so you could do some drinking around the World Showcase (different nations like Germany for beers, Mexico for margaritas, etc.) There's more thrill rides at Universal though. Depends on what you're looking for. 

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
  On 2/5/2019 at 7:21 PM, mdmost said:

I saw a crazy rumor that the Rise of the Resistance ride could have you on it for over 20 minutes. I'm not talking queue and loading. 20+ minutes of actual ride time. 

Disney has an earnings call today. Iger usually spills some details on the parks during those calls. 

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I heard like 27 minutes, including pre-show(s).  That wouldn't be too much longer than Flight of Passage overall, but who knows with the actual ride time.

Edited by LonghornSean
Posted (edited)
  On 2/5/2019 at 7:21 PM, mdmost said:

I saw a crazy rumor that the Rise of the Resistance ride could have you on it for over 20 minutes. I'm not talking queue and loading. 20+ minutes of actual ride time. 

Disney has an earnings call today. Iger usually spills some details on the parks during those calls. 

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Most assume that means it will be FoP(Flight of Passage) style, which has two interactive pre-ride/mission briefing rooms included in the story telling, being included in that time.

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
Posted
  On 2/7/2019 at 7:46 PM, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Most assume that means it will be FoP(Flight of Passage) style, which has two interactive pre-ride/mission briefing rooms included in the story telling, being included in that time.

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Did the FP line get all of the interactive pre-ride stuff? I feel like I might've missed part of it.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Going to Disneyland next week. Going to the park for 2 days and may go for a half day in case there are other things we want to do again. Taking my 5yo for the first time. Suggestions on stuff to do in the area?

Posted

The area around Disneyland? There's a Roscoe's at Harbor Blvd and Orangewood. My brother's a fan of Out Of The Park Pizza. Take him to Downtown Disney. There's a giant Lego store and some awesome ice cream at Salt and Straw. 

Posted
  On 2/20/2019 at 2:33 AM, mdmost said:
The area around Disneyland? There's a Roscoe's at Harbor Blvd and Orangewood. My brother's a fan of Out Of The Park Pizza. Take him to Downtown Disney. There's a giant Lego store and some awesome ice cream at Salt and Straw. 

  On 2/20/2019 at 2:40 AM, Brew said:
If you have a vehicle, the Aquarium of the Pacific is worth a visit. We spent quite a while there.

Yup we have a car for the first day so we’re going to roam around the area.
Thanks for recs. Any last minute tips? We have most things booked and have a general idea of what stuff to do. Especially with some areas closed due to remodeling during the week.
Posted (edited)

If you have a vehicle, take him to Huntington Beach or Newport Beach. It's about a 40 minute drive to the southwest. The first time we went to DLR, we went to the park in the morning until about 1pm and then headed to Huntington Beach and stayed out there for 2-3 hours. Came back, showered, finished up at the parks that night. Kids loved the beach time. Not sure how warm it is right now though.

As far as last minute things, if you think he'll like the Monorail and you want to ride it, when you get to the top where they start to let people get to the boarding area, ask a cast member if you can sit up front. They usually take the first 4 people and let them sit up front with the driver. We did it last time and the kids really enjoyed it. You may have to wait a little bit but it's enjoyable. You can take it round trip. 

Edited by mdmost
Posted

Supposed to be good weather in terms of no rain and in the 60s. Beach is an idea. Looking forward to DLR cause none of us have ever been. Me and the wife have only been to WDW. Also this is going to be a surprise to my daughter. Good ol surly thinking I had a boy.

Posted (edited)

Ha. Dad of 2 daughters. You can always do the princess shit at the boutique next to the castle. Check the character schedule. I think a lot of them have moved around since a lot of stuff is down for refurbishment. 

See if any of these are open. If she has a favorite character, it can be fun. My oldest loves Stitch so we did the one breakfast where he and other characters come by and meet the kids. 

https://disneylanddaily.com/a-complete-guide-to-character-meals-at-disneyland-resort/

In general, I'd say to check the above site. Lots of good things to look over. She's pretty good at finding the little things some might overlook in the rush to get everything in. I would highly, highly recommend watching the Flag Retreat at around 4pm in DLR. It's a very cool ceremony. 

If you get there at opening and they haven't started letting people in, head for the gate that's just to the right of the center opening. There's a tree and planter that blocks people and once you pass it, you can get into a much smaller line. I think it's Gate 14. Every time we've been there's Mickey, Minnie or Goofy near the Fire House or Opera House and most of the crowd rushes by to get in line for rides so you can get a quick photo before you start your day. 

Edited by mdmost
Posted

Yup dad of 2 girls as well. Thanks for the link. Sadly my daughter latched on to the one princess you can’t find much of...Tiana from Princess and the frog.

Posted (edited)

Actually, check with the cast members at the Mark Twain Riverboat and around New Orleans Square. If the boat is docked, she has her meet and greet there some times. Otherwise, she may be on the boat if you take a ride. Just ask the cast members and they'll give you a good idea. We ran into her on accident when we took a ride on the boat. And then this incredible moment happened. She hung with them for most of the ride. 

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Edited by mdmost
Posted

2 girls here as well. DL was a different experience for them than WDW. I think being older for their first visit to DL, they enjoyed it more for the rides and how it is laid out and enjoyed WDW more for the experience. They really enjoyed the lighted parade (it’s a pain to get set up somewhere you can actually hang out and wait for it to start) and the different character experiences from what they did at WDW.

I second the beach trip. We went down to the Santa Monica pier, the beaches, and the aquarium one of the days in the middle of the trip for a break. They are also older so they wanted to go see Rodeo Dr, Hollywood Blvd, and every other touristy thing you can think of.

Posted

That’s cool. Didn’t think we would find her. I’ve left most of the planning to the wife so I’m not up with all that is planned other than breakfast with Minnie.

Posted

Headed to Orlando today. Gonna be busy till Friday afternoon. I was told I should just hit Islands of Adventure since it has all the big rides that I would be more into. Anyone have any tips for discount tickets? I am not really finding anything online. Do they do bring a coke can or anything like Six Flags? 

Posted

First-of-its-Kind Play Pavilion, New Park Entrance Part of Epcot’s Historic Transformation

Thomas Smith

by Thomas Smith, Editorial Content Director, Disney Parks

As many of you know, we’ve got BIG plans for our multi-year transformation of Epcot, with new experiences that’ll “Wow!” guests while keeping true to the original vision of the park. Today, we’re excited to share even more of what’s to come.

The ongoing evolution of Epcot includes plans for a play pavilion that’ll be unlike anything you’ve ever seen at the park. This new space will be devoted to playful fun and feature an innovative city that’ll come to life under the dome of the un-named pavilion previously known as Wonders of Life. The pavilion’s city will be bursting with interactive experiences, your favorite Disney characters, hands-on activities and engaging entertainment when it opens just in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort!

“This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot,” said Zach Riddley, portfolio executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Built on the power of play, it introduces an immersive and interactive ‘city’ where you can explore, create, and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters. This is an experience worthy of our bold vision for Epcot – and another signature element of our transformation.”

eeb1029380498234234fi-613x345.jpg

There will also be exciting changes to the way you come and go at Epcot! As you can see above, changes are coming to the Epcot main entrance, where the plaza will welcome guests with new pathways, sweeping green spaces and a newly reimagined fountain. This new design will pay homage to the original park entrance with fresh takes on classic elements.

As part of the new entry experience, Leave A Legacy photos will be moving into a beautiful setting just outside the park’s gateway. Additional significant redevelopment will begin between Spaceship Earth attraction and the World Showcase Promenade. More details about the transformation of this area will be announced at a later date.

And if you’re as excited as we are about these upcoming projects, you’ll soon be able to look into the future with us at a new Experience Center coming to Epcot later this year. The Experience Center will be located in the Odyssey Events Pavilion and feature interactive exhibits to help visualize park projects throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.

Here are some of the other exciting Epcot experiences we’ve shared:

Keep checking the Disney Parks Blog for more updates on the continuing transformation of Epcot.

Posted

They should take Journey Into Imagination back to its original design. That place was so incredible when I was a kid. Supposedly, the original track is still there. It was shortened during one of the renovations. 

Posted (edited)
  On 2/21/2019 at 7:09 PM, LonghornSean said:

 

As many of you know, we’ve got BIG plans for our multi-year transformation of Epcot, with new experiences that’ll “Wow!” guests while keeping true to the original vision of the park. Today, we’re excited to share even more of what’s to come.

 

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Image result for idi amin gif

Edited by SimonBolivar
  • Like 1
Posted

Ok i should read the whole thread, don't have time. Help me with this.
Going to Disneyland one day and California Adventure another with our 5 yr old and almost 3 yr old.  We purchased tickets through an agent type person that a friend recommended, but she didn't purchase any max pass or fast pass thing.  What do I do now?  We have a 3 day pass because it was cheaper than a 2 day, and we have magic morning one morning.  What's the difference between maxpass and fastpass, and can we purchase day of?  So annoyed - thought I had it all figured out!

Posted (edited)

I wrote this for a friend who asked me the same question when she was planning her trip to DLR.

Maxpass is a digital version of the paper Fastpass system. Instead of going to a Fastpass dispenser to get your paper Fastpass and then having to return to the ride later, you spend $25 per person per day to have the ability to get your Fastpass remotely via the Disneyland app. It makes grabbing a Fastpass a lot easier, especially if you go park to park with the Parkhopper ticket. For example, we spent the day at California Adventure but had dinner reservations in Disneyland. While at the hotel, I used the Maxpass to book a nighttime ride on the Matterhorn. Under the paper system, I'd have to go into the park and get the same thing. It adds flexibility to your day. We also used a person's Maxpass strategy to get most of the rides we wanted in each day with minimal waiting. You also get free digital photos for any of the rides you go on by entering the code into the Disneyland app (we would just take a picture of the picture and enter the code later) and any roaming Disney photographers like at say the Castle or with characters.

When they scan your park ticket at the gate, you can go into your Disneyland app (make sure the tickets are linked in the app) and purchase the Maxpass for your party for that day only. You then are able to start making Maxpass reservations. 

This is a good site that helps with planning and talks more about Maxpass and other items. 

https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at.../

Edited by mdmost
Posted

My wife and I arrived in Orlando on Sunday (two days ago) and checked into Port Orleans French Quarter. An early flight allowed us to get to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. We were able to  get in Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and a few minor attractions. Dinner was at Be Our Guest. The service was fine, but I classify the food as "upscale cafeteria." We were seated in the Beast's room, which I think was a far better experience than if we were in the ballroom. I wouldn't go back, but I don't have a young daughter who is into Belle. I think Be Our Guest is the only place to meet and greet the Beast, and the wait was only about 5 minutes. We booked the dessert party for the Happily Ever After show, and that was a good decision even if we didn't eat many of the sweets.

Monday was back to Magic Kingdom and dinner at California Grill. We opted to skip watching the show from the deck because we had seen it the night before and so much of the presentation is now projections onto the castle. We ended up have a good view of the fireworks from the bus stop.

Posted

Thank you mdmost!  If we get it at the beginning of the day, will we be able to get fast passes to the stuff we want? My boys aren't really thrill seekers so no magic mountain for us, but I think they'd like the Cars Land ride and other small ones.  I have literally no disney experience at all so this should be some kind of experience (disaster?).

Posted (edited)

I may be in the minority but I much prefer the Disneyland Fastpass and Maxpass system to the Disney World one where you're booking months in advance. I think it works better for both people like me who try to maximize their day and get everything in to someone like you who is going to need to take things a little slower. Definitely take a look at the site I linked as she has good ideas for going to the parks with younger kids. 

If you can angle to be there when the park opens at 8am then you shouldn't have a problem with booking the rides your kids would like. For instance, you get to the gate before 8am at California Adventure. They scan your park tickets, you walk in and either head to the Radiator Racers Fastpass dispenser or buy Maxpass and do it on your phone (I'd recommend the latter). You go to book the Maxpass, say which park you want, and the available Maxpasses are shown by time. You click on it for your party and that's it. When the time pops up, you go to the ride and there's a separate line for Fastpasses. They'll scan your app there (barcode on the screen) and in you go. The nice thing is say you go to book Radiator Racers and the times are a couple hours later, you can take that Maxpass and go do other rides. The app will tell you the next time you can book another Maxpass. It's normally 30 to an hour before the previous Maxpass is good for. We used this to go from Maxpass to Maxpass and did some fill in rides in between. I just think it's a lot less stressful than going from end to end trying to grab paper that you then have to keep track of.

I will say at their ages, you're going to be limited on rides but you could book that same ride over and over again. We rode Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain over and over using Maxpass. The free digital photos is just an added benefit.

When are you going? If you don't have a hotel, I'd highly recommend the Embassy Suites off Harbor Blvd. Walkable, has a pool, waterslides, and a splash park. Plus you can get a room with bunk beds. My girls loved that when we went last Christmas.

Edited by mdmost
Posted

Thanks all for the advice. We got to Anaheim on Saturday before lunch. Drove around the area for the day. Had to hit up some breweries on my list before we went all in Disney for the next 3 days. Checked in on Sunday morning and headed to the park. We stayed at Disneyland hotel and it was a short walk to downtown Disney and the park. This was our first time and a surprise trip for our 5yo daughter. We booked the princess boutique and breakfast with Minnie. She loved both but she surprised us by really wanted to do rides. Her favorites were guardians, soarin, Star Tours. She wasn’t tall enough for some rides so we opted out of those. Maxpass helped a lot to book things on the app. Overall a great experience and worked well to go to DLR instead of WDW for a little one.

Posted (edited)

New ride details for Star Wars land (https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-galaxys-edge-ride-new-details-millennium-falcon-smugglers-run-rise-of-the-resistance/)

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What you can buy in Star Wars land (https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-galaxys-edge-merchandise-build-your-own-droid-lightsaber-toys-music-instruments/)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

What you can eat and drink in Star Wars land (https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-galaxys-edge-food-drinks-cocktails-menu-disney-parks/)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Edited by LonghornSean
Posted (edited)

Oh. My. God.

 

https://io9.gizmodo.com/weve-been-to-star-wars-galaxys-edge-and-life-will-never-1832878349

 

  Quote

There are several amazing things about this cockpit. One is that it feels like it’s the only cockpit. (Obviously, it’s not. If it was, it would be a very long wait.) We think there’s some kind of mechanism inside rotating the rooms from one hallway entry point but how Disney achieved that effect, they specifically would not say. Either way, it’s cool.

The other amazing thing about the cockpit is that being inside it is damn near a religious experience.

Every button and switch works. The handle you pull down for lightspeed has a nice weight to it. You’ll probably have to divert power to specific deflector shields. It’s glorious. But, like I said, there are six of you, and the way the ride works is two people are pilots, two people are gunners and two people are engineers. Pilots fly, gunners shoot, and engineers repair. And while it may seem like you’d really only want to be a pilot, working together ensures a more exciting ride and the ride’s designers assured us all three stations are equally fun and rewarding. (Then again, just touching the controls as a pilot gave me chills up and down my arms.)

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The doors to your transport open and you are no longer on Batuu. You are no longer out in space. You are inside a Star Destroyer. You walk into a massive, room (about the size of a high school gymnasium) that, even fully lit with almost none of the effects or props in place yet, brought tears to my eyes. It’s all-encompassing and completely overwhelming.

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Edited by Francisco 2.0
Posted

Saw where how you do in the MF ride carries with you when you go into certain shops. So if you crash, the lady behind the counter at the Cantina will talk shit about your flying skills. Or if you do well, you may get a character come up wanting to talk with you. The Disney Play app will hold your score or how well/bad you did. If you want to change the responses, you can go through the ride again and do better. 

Posted
  On 2/26/2019 at 10:33 PM, mdmost said:

I may be in the minority but I much prefer the Disneyland Fastpass and Maxpass system to the Disney World one where you're booking months in advance.

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Nope. I definitely prefer the DLR MaxPass and FastPass systems.  I may be in the minority on loving DLR/CA but really disliking WDW.  Headed to DLR in two weeks.

Posted

Thanks again mdmost for the tips.  We are going march 20-21 and staying that one night at Disneyland Hotel. Really trying to keep it low key. Little one won't be able to ride majority of the rides, and 5 yr old is a bit of a scaredy cat, so we're mostly going for the experience, the characters, etc. And we have a dinner reservation at Goofy's Kitchen, which I am dreading but know the kids will love.

Do you guys think the parade is "important"?  We were planning on doing our half day at DCA and then using our magic morning and longer day at DL, but we need to leave by about 2:30, so we'll miss the parade at Disney. If we wanted to, we could do DL the first day and do the 6:30 pm parade, but I have a feeling the kids are going to be super exhausted by then (8:30 austin time, plus we'll be traveling all morning and disney-ing all afternoon).  I want to just skip the parade stuff all together, but also don't want to miss out if people think it's super worth it.  Also have little desire to line up and wait for it to start.

Posted (edited)

It’s not Paint the Night which is really good. The other one’s okay. I mean you’ll see characters at the dinner. I’d skip if you only have a half day. World of Color, the nighttime show at CA is great so you could make that your last thing on that first day. I would do that for sure if you’re going to skip the DLR fireworks. Spend the magic morning at DLR. Jolly Holiday has some decent breakfast snacks. Kids always want to go there in the morning. And get the Mickey shaped beignets at the Mint Julip Bar in New Orleans Square.

 

 

Edited by mdmost
Posted
  On 2/28/2019 at 8:38 PM, CooterBrown said:

Nope. I definitely prefer the DLR MaxPass and FastPass systems.  I may be in the minority on loving DLR/CA but really disliking WDW.  Headed to DLR in two weeks.

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I prefer MaxPass as well. Going in we were worried about it because we just didn’t know whether we would get what we wanted or not. However, over the course of several days and several different arrival times, we never had any issues with getting times for rides. We pretty much just jumped from ride to ride and steadily booked times.

Posted

Planning a trip to DL in the first week of June.  Ideally I'd like to start with a half day when we arrive and then have the next day be a full day.  We went to WDW in 2016 so I generally know the drill about how to navigate with the app, Fastpass (although it looks like DL and WDW have different systems), dinner reservations, etc.  Any tips on when to look into securing tickets?  I tried through the website and you can't purchase single day tickets this far out.  Also, how likely are we to arrive right when the Star Wars stuff opens?  No one in my group particularly cares about it, but I'm wondering if we need to reconsider given the crowds.

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