Disnerdy

Hey Everyone, Beans here.  I’m taking over from Titch’s sterling work to write about our next Walt Disney World Day,  as it was an particularly special day for me. 

After four and a half years, I was finally going to get to Batuu!!  Last time I was here, there were still construction wall up, it was 2 months from opening and those rude cast members wouldn’t let me in for a preview! (I jest, no cast members are ever rude).

Our Day started out as the others had, and following a quick trip along Buena Vista Drive we soon arrived at Hollywood Studios ready for our day.  Whilst I was absolutely desperate to get into Black Spire Outpost, we had planned our itinerary to check out some other areas of the park first, as there was something special planned for the afternoon.

We casually strolled up Hollywood boulevard, when our Magicband+ started vibrating!!!  A 50th Statue was nearby, and we spent a little time in the area collecting the statues that we could see before heading over to the Star Wars Launch Bay to see who was available for Meet’s and Greet’s.   After a short queue we headed to see the mightiest hero of the resistance.  He’s rave, fiercely loyal, and sometimes even makes happy beeps!  It was of course BB-8.

After seeing everyone’s favourite BB unit, we headed back out to find some refreshment and grabbed a frozen lemonade outside Animation Square.  Whilst sat on the bench, we realised that we might get a chance to spot some of the naughtiest characters to come out and play in a Disney park.  It wasn’t very long until Chip and Dale appeared, dancing and playing on the grass.  They gave us a wave and moved on, leaving our phones safe on this occasion!

It was time for one of the genuine “firsts” of this trip.  We were finally getting a chance to ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway for the first time.  When we’d visited in 2019,  it was still under construction, and very much still a controversial change from The Great Movie Ride.

We were both impressed by the queue and theming and thought pre show was excellent.  No spoilers, but it was one of the more unique pre show’s in recent times.  The ride itself was very enjoyable, using the trackless system similar to Ratatouille:  The Adventure that we’d first experienced in Paris (or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in France Pavilion in Epcot).  A definite ride again!

Returning back out into the sunshine we were stuck for something to do before our afternoons plans…  Time for a real guilty pleasure of mine;  For the First Time in Forever:  A Frozen Sing-a-long Celebration.  Thanks to some ex-colleagues I have a real love to singing along to the Frozen soundtrack and this is the perfect chance to embrace that along with everyone else.

Lungs bursting from the singing, it was now getting on for the time I was really looking forward too.  The first stop on this journey was to ride the original Star Wars theme park ride…. The One, The Only, Star Tours!   After failing to be the rebel spy (I’ve never been picked and I must have ridden Star Tours over a hundred times between parks, since the ride was updated).  C-3PO did his job and landed us safely on Batuu, and we disembarked.  Usually I’d spend quite a lot of time in Tatooine Traders, seeing if there was some interesting bit of merchandise that I needed, however I was getting a little too excited.  It was time.  We were heading to a galaxy far far away, (or through a wall that was shut last time I came) to Batuu!

Titch was highly amused by my need to hug the entrance.  Last time I was here I was hammering on the walls to let me in, but this time I could walk straight in.

Bright Suns!  I had finally arrived on Batuu, and it was a scorching time!  We grabbed some strange beverages from a vendor.  They tasted very familiar but looked somewhat dangerous.  After looking at some carelessly parked vehicles, we queued up for Rise of the Resistance.

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!  Not just the ride, but the entire pre-show experience is so immersive and all-encompassing that it goes beyond all other rides.  This shows what Disney Imagineering can do with a concept to elevate it beyond just a ride.  This was the first of 4 rides in total

Leaving our resistance compatriots behind, we decided to walk through the market place, seeing the wares the local vendors were offering, looking for those choice items (Titch was desperate to find a plush Maz Kenata which we still didn’t find).  I tried some Jedi robes on, but having not yet made a connection with the force, didn’t feel like I could purchase them.  However we were soon distracted by the silhouette of a familiar sight.  It wasn’t just any YT-1300, it was the “Fastest Hunk of Junk” in the Galaxy.     That’s right, the ship that made the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs*, the Millennium Falcon itself.

We queued up, ready to ride Smugglers Run.  The theming is excellent, although not quite as impressive as Rise of the Resistance.    The pre-show is still really enjoyable, and the background audio is exceptionally funny so it’s worth listening as you walk through the ride.   It wasn’t long until we were queued in the living area, and had a chance to sit at the djarik table, before being allocated to our crew for our flight.  Titch and I were allocated as Pilots, which was what I wanted to try first.  I took the co-pilot’s seat on the right, with Titch filling Han’s spot.  After our briefing from Hondo, we were ready to launch.  Again avoiding spoilers, the ride was escellent.  A slightly more standard ride, but with some fun participation from the riders akin to Mission: SPACE, it was great fun.  The best bit… I got to pull the lever to send the Falcon in Hyperspace.  Bucket List item ticked.

Having travelled several Parsecs, and also plenty of time passing from our breakfast, it was time for some food, and we tried the Batuu equivalent of fast food in a Ronto wrap.  Thoroughly delicious, and experienced as a nice break in Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo.

After lunch, we had a short walk through the rest of Blackspire outposy, thankfully avoiding any First Order complications, but luckily getting to spot our Resistance friends in both Vi Meradi and Rey.  We then headed towards an anonymous courtyard where we registered for our clandestine visit to Savi’s Workshop.  We checked in, and I selected the theme of the scrap I would use to build something… Unique.

Soon we were ushered into the darkness of a workshop room,  where one of Savi’s scrapper technicians explained why we had been called to them.  That feeling, that pull, was the force urging us to build something for ourselves.  Soon, by some divination, or drive we were selecting our own Khyber crystals.  I was urged to choose a violet crystal.  Perhaps it was that Master of Vapaad, Mace Windu, confirming the lingering darkness that balances my light, or perhaps I just thought it was the coolest colour!

Crystal selected,  we started building our hilts, selecting emitters, pommels and grips that suited our style.  Whilst my crystal reflected the darker side of the Jedi, the hilt was a tribute to a Temple Guardians saber.  Finally fully constructed, we reached out to the force, and Master Yoda himself visited us.  We activated our sabers, and raised them aloft!

Once activated and raised, we were giving sleeves to store our hilts and blades, and ushered out of a rear entrance.  The whole Savi’s experience is excellent for any Star Wars fan.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Batuu and Blackspire Outpost for a while, and venture into the other newest addition to Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land.  This was newly opened when we last visited, and had grown and developed slightly from then.  Thankfully it was cooling off, which is good as there’s little shade in Toy Story Land.   We headed to the oldest Toy Story ride, Toy Story Mania (formally Midway Mania) where I thrashed Titch!  I still didn’t score that well, but it’s always fun and a workout on your arm.

We had an evening reservation for Oga’s Cantina, so we started walking back into Batuu, and as we had a small amount of time to kill, we rode Smugglers Run again.   We were Engineers, and our crew were awful… Never mind.  We scored well despite that.  We also managed to get some shots with Photo Pass photographers with my lightsaber which was great fun.

We rounded the evening off with a visit to Oga’s.  When we entered and had been show to the bar, we were approached by the Dad of a family we’d seen met on our second day in Epcot when we were queuing for Soarin’.   He just wanted to thank us again for our advice as the boys really loved riding Soarin’ and it had made their holiday.

We placed our order, with Titch getting her first taste of a Fuzzy TaunTaun.  I’m told they taste nice on the inside!  I had the non-alcoholic Blurrgfire, and we shared a Happabore Sampler to round out the day.

Tired, Happy, and now on my path to becoming a Jedi it was time to head back to the hotel.

TTFN (and MTFBWYA),

Beans!