Thursday, August 29, 2019

Bright Suns! A visit to Batuu in Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort

There's nothing quite like turning the corner and seeing the Millennium Falcon!

A few weeks ago we were able to visit Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World as a part of the Passholder Previews.  We knew that the invitation emails would be coming but we didn't know when or if we would even get one. On the day the emails came out I was back at work (we go back to school VERY early) and I was in a county wide meeting.  I wasn't even thinking about Galaxy's Edge, but Carlos came through -  He got us registered for Saturday so I wouldn't have to take off several days of work to attend!

It also happened to be the weekend before Carlos' birthday, so we took advantage of the weekend to celebrate him with great food, fun friends, and of course, Star Wars!  Carlos has always been a huge Star Wars fan, and amazingly, he married me even though I had never even any of the Star Wars movies!!!!  It took some time, but he finally converted me to the Star Wars fandom!  So when it came time for us to visit Galaxy's Edge I was as excited as he was!!


When we walked into Galaxy's Edge we got a map and rounded the corner into Batuu.  We were awestruck. When you are in Batuu, it's easy to forget that you are inside Hollywood Studios. You can't see any other attractions and it feels like you truly are in another world.  Everywhere you look there are details and things to see.  As a newbie Star Wars fan I didn't notice nearly as many details as Carlos did.  He said that it was like walking into one of his Star Wars video games and geeked out several times!!

Carlos 'owns' several of the speeders in his Star Wars video game
Looks sir, droids!  
We loved seeing all the little details in Batuu - including these droid "footprints" 
Things to know while in Batuu: 
What to say:
"Bright Suns" / "Rising Moons" = Good morning/afternoon and Good evening.
"Travelers" = guests
"Holoscan" = photo
"On planet" = in the land of Galaxy's Edge
"Refreshers" = bathroom
"Credits" = dollars/money
"Only the ancients know" = I don't know
"Til the Spire" / "Good journey" / "May the Spires keep you" = goodbye
"Ignite the spark" = a greeting for the resistance.  The proper response is "Light the fire"
"Youngling" = child
"Youngling transport" = stroller

What to drink:
It's hardly a trip to Batuu if you don't sample the blue and/or green milk!  They are both made with rice and coconut milk, have a slushie consistency and are pretty refreshing!
The blue milk has a fruity taste and contains pineapple, dragonfruit, lime, and watermelon.  If you choose to get it with alcohol it comes with rum.  The green milk is less fruity and contains mandarin orange, passion fruit, grapefruit, and orange blossom.  If you choose to get the green milk with alcohol it comes with tequila.

Blue and Green Milk  overlooking a First Order TIE Echelon



Ahh - Smuggler's Run.  It is SO COOL to walk on to the Millennium Falcon! As you enter the ride area, you are given a card with a color and a job.  While you are waiting, you can sit at the dejarik table and look around the Falcon.  Once they call your color group, you line up to enter your cockpit.  There are 6 people per cockpit - 2 pilots (right and left), 2 gunners, and 2 engineers.  The pilots actions actually affect the ride and Carlos' favorite part was (That is the job of the right pilot.)  The first time we rode it it was just the two of us as we hadn't caught up with our friends.  Carlos was a gunner and I was an engineer.  The second time we rode with our friends and it was a LOT more fun with a big group of friends!  This time Carlos got to pilot and his favorite part was pulling the control to go into hyperspace!  I was fine with not being the pilot because I did not want to be the person who crashed the Millennium Falcon!!!  :)  Our friends The Princess and the Bear did a double POV of the ride - both when they rode it the first time and when we rode it with them!  You can check out that video here!






The best part of Star Wars is that there is no shortage of books to make sure you know all the details of every character, world, and setting!  Galaxy's Edge is no exception!  There are already several books solely devoted to the world of Batuu!  




A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova is set in Batuu and follows the story of two people who were best friends as children and then are reunited as young adults.  


This second book introduces you to Vi Moradi, a Rebel General Leia Organa's top spy that you can see wandering around in Galaxy's Edge!  It is Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire by Delilah Dawson and it offers a lot of background information on Batuu.  



Finally, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is a graphic novel that will be released in October!  


So whether you are planning a trip to Batuu, or just want to read about it, I hope you check it out in some form - it's just too cool to ignore if you are a Star Wars fan!


"Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're My Only Hope"

When in Batuu dress the part. We disneybounded as Leia and R2-D2! 








1 comment:

  1. This is a great guide to Galaxy’s Edge! We haven’t been yet but everything I’ve seen has looked fun!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to the Library Lady Life!

As many of you know, I am a Library Lady and very proud of that fact! This blog has evolved several times over the years as I have g...