Disneyland Does Star Wars Better

I'm from Florida and Disney World has a lot of great memories attached to it, but we've grown to love Disneyland more and more over the years.  As a Star Wars fan, I just have to say:  Disneyland does Star Wars better!

What makes Disneyland the better place for the die hard Star Wars fan?  Both world and land have Galaxy's Edge...
​Let me break it down for you.

Disney World only had two major plusses compared to Disneyland.  One was the Star Wars Galactic Hotel which closed down, I'm still both mad and sad about that one.  And it's easier to access alcohol in World.  Several drinks that can be found in Galaxy's Edge can be purchased spiked in Hollywood Studios, which you sadly cannot do over in Disneyland.  But I will gladly take a better overall Star Wars experience over being able to get a buzz easier.

Disneyland celebrates Star Wars throughout April into May, the Season of the Force. 

You can find a giant cake dedicated to Star Wars in the lobby of the Grand Californian.  One year it was the Millennium Falcon, last one I saw was the Death Star.  They also sell themed cookies/treats at the little stall near the display. 

Disneyland goes all out for Star Wars.  There are also Disneyland After Hours parties just for Star Wars.  I'll dive deeper into Star Wars Nite after I cover the stuff you can find just with your normal admission.

Outside of Galaxies Edge, in Disneyland you can of course still ride on Star Tours.  But they also have a retheme during the Season of the Force for Space Mountain.  It becomes HYPERSPACE Mountain, with the classic score from Star Wars playing while in the dark of the ride you will see Tie Fighters and X-Wings flying by and shooting at each other.  I already enjoy Space Mountain better in Disneyland, but this just takes it way over the top for any Star Wars fan!

When Galaxy's Edge first opened up, it was firmly set in the time period between Episode 8, (the Last Jedi) and Episode 9 (Rise of Skywalker).  This has not changed in Disney World, you can still see Rey, Chewie, Kylo Ren, and the First Order Storm Troopers.  Recently they introduced the Mandalorian and Grogu.  Disneyland though they had been introducing additional characters for a while, having characters from the TV shows pop up in Disneyland was always a great surprise.

But now Disneyland has done a whole split of the time space continuum and has Galaxy's Edge split up with part of the World being dedicated to the original Trilogy and the rest for the Sequels.  You can still meet the Sequel characters over by Rise of the Resistance.  Characters from the Mandalorian like Mando with Grogu, Ahsoka, Boba Fett, and Fennec  Shand can also be spotted around the shops on most days.  Near the Millennium Falcon you can run across Chewie, Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker.  The First Order side of the world has been brought back to the classic Empire, with classic Storm Troopers and Darth Vader making appearances.

It's a real treat getting to see so many classic Star Wars characters in the parks now!

There is also the nightly entertainment,  Shadows of Memory is the projection mapping spectacle they display on the Spires of Batuu and Fire of the Rising Moon is the nightly fireworks that you can see above the castle, but done to classic Star Wars music when seen from Galaxy's Edge.  My previous  Parks blog covered those two and the special dining package thoroughly.
Previous Blog

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Star Wars Nite is its own special event.  There are usually only 4 Star Wars After Dark parties each year and they do sell out often, with May the 4th being the first one to sell out each year.

​Disneyland has a variety of After Dark events each year that close the park early for a limited number of guests.  This is great for going on rides as a smaller crowd means lower wait times for rides.  But where these events shine is in the special events and characters that only are available during the party!

There is also exclusive food items and merch that can only be purchased during the party.

The biggest lines during Star Wars Nite are always to meet the characters.  There are character meet and greets located all over Disneyland.  With the lines being pretty long you will probably have to pick and choose which characters you really want to meet.  Most characters are a full on meet and greet experience, while most of the villains are more of a walking past them and taking a selfy scenario.  Each year there is a wide variety of characters from across all the shows and movies.

Getting to walk by Darth Maul was certainly a cool experience.  I found out later that his voice-actor has been on stage with him earlier that evening.  A lot of Star Wars celebs show up randomly for these events, so you can potentially run across a celebrity.

There are a few events special to the party that you can enjoy, most of them are scheduled 2 or 3 times during the party, so you can try and plan around them with your character experiences.  The energy at the Lightsaber Meet-Ups are phenomenal!  You can just feel how excited everyone is to be there.

You can also take in some Lightsaber Training while you are the party.

You can always stop and take in a performance from Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.  You may know there famous music from that Cantina on Moss Eisley.

There are also a number of great locations set up to take photos with elaborate back drops.

There is a lot of fun to be had at Star Wars Nite.  I've been to 3 of them over the years and can definitely see myself going to a few more in the future.  That about covers the parties...

There has been a recent addition to the Star Wars Trading Post in Downtown Disney.  They have added a couple of machines that will create a Star Wars ID badge for you.  There are 6 styles to choose from.  There was only one machine when I did it, so the wait was pretty bad as it takes a couple of minutes per badge.

We've always had a great night at the Star Wars Nite parties.  If you are a BIG Star Wars fan, like I am, you need to find some time to make it to Disneyland.  Especially if you can squeeze out time in late April or May for these parties.

As always Mouse O'Clock is here to make the planning easier, even in a Galaxy Far Far Away!  When it's time to plan your next Disney vacation remember:

It's Mouse O'Clock!

PS What's a party without a DJ dropping the tunes down Disney's Main Street.  Check out these special effects.