Today the force was with me. While I love various different kinds of literature, sci-fi has never been my favourite (I want to change that!) and I never really got into Star Wars until curiosity led me to the cinema to watch the recently-released Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Two bars of "The Scavenger," as we are first introduced to Rey, and I was in. By the time she was taking the lightsaber away from Kylo Ren (I cry every time), I was a self-proclaimed Star Wars fan for life. So who should show up within my first few minutes at Disneyland but Rey herself, accompanied by Chewy. This was particularly lucky considering that they are currently only coming out in 15 minute increments and very soon had to leave for an important "meeting," but not before Rey and I used the force as we posed for a photo and Chewy waved me goodbye as I filmed him with my Dad's old video camera. This was a present from my Dad right before I left for California, and it means I can continue the family tradition of holiday videos (though you'd never confuse my shaky hands and nervous use of Zoom with my Dad's filming!).
The new Star Wars area is officially my favourite part of any theme park ever (and I'm a theme park person). From the market, to the Millenium Falcon, to the Cantina, the level of attention to detail was beyond anything I had ever seen before. Getting a booking for the Cantina was Jessica's idea, and an absolutely brilliant one, since it was one of the highlights of our day. It felt like we truly were in a galaxy far, far away; the decoration was amazing and both the Tarine Tea and the Five-Blossom Bread I had were delicious, and definitely some of the best food I've ever had at a theme park. A definite 10/10.
But amazing fun as the Cantina was, nothing could have prepared me for what we did next: ride The Rise of the Resistance. This is, without a doubt, the best, most immersive ride ever made, and it takes theme parks rides to a whole new level. You first board a Resistance vessel, only for it to be captured by the First Order, at which point you encounter the most in-character cast members ever. These members of the First Order take no prisoners (pun intended!). Some kids thought it would be hilarious to shout that they were in McDonalds, only to have one of the cast members disdainfully go: "Stop embarrassing yourself." Once we boarded the First Order Star Destroyer, the real fun began, as we went all around the Destroyer, with plenty of unexpected turns and even a drop, which completely took me by surprise. Best. Ride. Ever.
The other ride in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge was also stupendous and in a level of its own. In Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, we got to board the Millenium Falcon and fly it. Yes, fly it! Each spaceship had two pilots, two engineers and two shooters, and Jessica and I were pilots twice. I'm not sure I'm a very good pilot, but it sure was fun to move the controls and the lever to send us into lightspeed, as everyone kept enthusiastically shouting instructions at each other and cheering whenever we managed to escape an enemy spaceship. So much fun!
Other highlights included the Haunted Mansion Holiday, where I saw the Mansion filled with decorations from Nightmare Before Christmas, which was amazing, the castle walkthrough which told the story of my favourite Disney movie of all time, Sleeping Beauty, where my favourite detail was Maleficent's (my favourite Disney character!) shadow appearing at the end of the corridor, and meeting Alice. When I was growing up, we had a VHS tape with a marketing video of Disneyland Paris, which featured kids meeting Alice by the Labyrinth. Much as Alice was one of the characters I associated the most with Disneyland because of it, I hadn't had the chance to meet her until today! I couldn't believe my luck at being able to see both the castle in its full glory (it was under construction three years ago) and Galaxy's Edge, having even been able to ride both of the rides twice! Best. Day. Ever.
The castle in all its glory
The market at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Sunset at the Falcon
Dibs
The Haunted Manor: Holiday