Star Wars fans can experience a different point of view of the holidays at Disneyland from Galaxy’s Edge with unique food and nighttime show experiences.
If sitting by Sleeping Beauty Castle all day waiting for the fireworks isn’t your thing, there’s a new way to see the show with a twist. Well, it’s not really so new (Magic Key pass holders have known about it for a while); essentially, you’ve always been able to see the backside of the fireworks from various parts of Galaxy’s Edge without the massive crowds down on Main Street and by the castle. This little hack has received quite the upgrade since Season of the Force earlier this year, which introduced a new droid narrator and music set to the summer fireworks at the park, and now had been spruced up for the holidays.
Now you can enjoy John Williams’ film scores during the “Fire of the Rising Moons” nighttime fireworks show in a not-so-secret way as part of the festive offerings at Galaxy’s Edge. There are a number of spots where you can check out the action, including TIE Fighter docking platform near the First Order area, around Droid Depot’s speeder lot, and around the Millennium Falcon (where the storyteller droid is nestled above the spaceport adjacent to Smugglers Run).
To make a night out of it, Galaxy’s Edge dining spot Docking Bay 7 is offering a package to give fans a taste of Batuu during the holidays. For $89 a person (reservation information here; io9 received a complimentary meal for review, but paid for park entry), plus extra for adult beverages, you can get fun themed space food, which are really just familiar flavors cosplaying as the sort of fare you’d see in the Star Wars universe.
Included in the ration boxes are:
- Unlimited fountain beverages including the fan-fave Black Caf cold brew
- Specialty nonalcoholic beverages in a souvenir novelty cup
- Fried cheeseburger croquette bites
- Apricot goat cheese with honey, za’atar, sour cherry glaze, cheddar, Monterey jack, and pita chips
- Dragon fruit yogurt topped with fresh blueberries and lychee popping pearls
- Cream puffs inspired by the Black Caf cold brew and blue milk beverages found in the Black Spire Outpost
The meal felt more like a snacking package than a dinner package, which makes the $89 (on top of rising park ticketing prices) feel especially steep. It sure looked the part though with an incredible design, and we were glad Disneyland offered up plant-based and gluten-free selections. But thinking back, the Galactic Starcruiser‘s Star Wars unlimited light bites stations during lunch were much more filling and savory.
Photo: Sabina Graves, io9/Gizmodo
This package definitely leaned more on sweets and fruity bites than on the hearty side. The burger croquettes were really good, but there are no seconds and we definitely could have eaten more than three or four. We did love the Black Caf creampuff and plant-based chocolate mint pudding, though. Overall your milage may vary on this package. At least you can get as many Cold Brew Black Cafs as you’d like if you wanna operate on hyperdrive for the rest of the night, but there aren’t any non-caffeinated warm drink options, which would have been welcome on a chilly winter night. We sorely miss the Black Spire Hot Chocolate with the lavender whipped cream which was available before the pandemic (please, bring this back!).
The biggest upside to the package comes with having access to the best viewing area for the fireworks at the Falcon overlook. The show runs for about 13 minutes and fills Galaxy’s Edge with the wonder of John Williams’ music accented by the fireworks. However, there are some awkward spaces where it feels like the show pauses for whatever is happening on the castle which we think could be remedied with a light show and projections in Batuu to go along with it all. With Life Day being the in-universe holiday, it’d be cool to see animations or more theming set to that too, and it could go on for the rest of the Christmas season.
For more information about special holiday offerings at the Disneyland Resort, visit here.
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