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Today we visited a galaxy far, far away, saw Indiana Jones nearly get killed by a giant boulder, built some real robots with our own hands, drank blue milk, made friends with a movie heroine,
Not everybody was thrilled to be up so bright and early.
Can you tell which one of us?
But things took a turn for the better when we started to fell like we were in a real Star Wars movie.
The hologram of Rey pleaded with us to help save the resistance. The Resistance needs your help! Hidden in the forest outside Black Spire Outpost, the Resistance is gathering recruits for a secret mission. With the First Order desperate to extinguish the spark of the Resistance, the mission is bound to have unexpected twists and turns. When your transport is captured by an imposing First Order Star Destroyer filled with legions of stormtroopers—and even Kylo Ren!—you’re going to need all the help you can get. Fortunately, a covert team of Resistance fighters—including Rey and BB-8—is at the ready to give you a fighting chance to escape… and a chance for the Resistance to rise.
Naturally we all agreed to do our part.
So we headed outside to board our transport vehicle.
This resistance outpost has everything a freedom fighter might need.
Bill is ready to go off to war.
Right this way. We who are about to die salute you.
Bill is starting to wonder what he has gotten himself into.
Poor things have no idea what we're up against. Just look at those innocent expressions.
Bill would really like to know where they are taking us.
That imperial guard back in the corner allows no touristy funny business.
The tourists move when she says move.
Personally I was delighted this tourist youngling brought her lightsaber. Maybe we could get out of this mess alive.
I'm pretty sure Artoo Deetoo gave that youngling fashion advice.
Here's a video that gives a pretty good idea of what this attraction was like. As you'll see, it is extraordinarily more elaborate than any carnival ride you've likely ever seen before.
We survived!
Bill is wondering how he can fit one of these in his condo parking garage.
This looks a lot like the Mos Eisley space port, which, as everyone knows, is a hive of scum and villainy.
But the actual name of this town is Black Spire Outpost, part of the Galaxy's Edge section of the park.
I think Rocky pushed every button in Galaxy's Edge.
Now that looks like an interesting shop. Wonder what's inside...
It's a department store for all things Star Wars. Rocky knew exactly what he wanted but Lily told him he already had enough lightsabers back home.
Here...you can marvel at Jedi Rocky's lightsaber technique. Clearly this youngling has practiced his art.
But look, Lily, they're having a sale.
Take your pick.
Here's some geeky Star Wars fan humor for you. In the movie The Empire Strikes Back, some unnamed character is seen fleeing with what looks like an ice cream freezer under his arm. This seemed so bizarre that the ice cream freezer prop became part of Star Wars lore and people began showing up with duplicates at Star Wars conventions. Funny, right?
Well if you've got the money, now you can have one of your very own. Disney insists the device is called a camtono and it's a safe for securing valuables. But I know an ice cream freezer when I see one.
This alien emporium had lots to offer.
All the way from large trophy heads for the den.
To little squirmy creatures.
Want to see it wiggle?
It really is the Millennium Falcon. I think it's about to take off.
Bill could stay right here for the rest of the trip.
Uh oh, stormtroopers are coming our way.
It's probably not best to get in their way.
Joe, don't get so close. I wonder what he's showing on his iPhone?
Whatever it was, Joe was amused.
Now everybody knows Luke Skywalker's favorite beverage is blue bantha milk.
Of course Joe just had to have some.
But would he share?
Of course he would.
Lily agreed that this stuff was tasty indeed. Sort of like a frosty blue citrus smoothie. Yum.
Rocky ensures that robot is the real deal.
Let's go take the Millennium Falcon for a spin.
Smuggler's Run is located in the center of Black Spire Outpost at the entrance to Ohnaka Transport Solutions. The queue begins outside, wrapping around behind a life-size Millennium Falcon parked outside. The queue continues through an engine room/mechanic shop which then leads to the command center where Audio-Animatronics of Hondo Ohnaka and R5-P8 explain what the ride is about. R5-P8, a yellow, red and white R5 unit assassin astromech droid, is one of Hondo's guards. Both characters were first seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Each player can have one of three jobs—pilot, gunner, or engineer.
Guests are grouped into six riders (two of each job) and given a color which is then called when ready to board. While riders wait for their color to be called, they get to explore the inside of the Millennium Falcon. Once their group color is called, riders walk down the corridors of the Millennium Falcon to the flight deck where the ride begins.
Riders begin their ride experience by loading into the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. The two pilots sit in the front row–the left side moves the ship left and right, and the right side moves the ship up and down. The next row holds the gunners who press buttons to shoot down enemies and obstacles in the way. The back row seats the two engineers who work to repair the ship during the flight. Similar to Epcot's Mission: SPACE, Smugglers Run is an interactive ride, with every guest having a role in the mission. Lasting about four and a half minutes, the ride takes the guests on a mission led by Hondo Ohnaka and R5-P8 to steal precious cargo from the First Order TIE fighters. How well each rider performs determines the success of the mission. Furthermore, any "damage" afflicted to the ship during the run will affect the lighting conditions in the exit corridor.
We survived!
And we even got to meet the Mandalorian and Gro...I mean Baby Yoda.
Bill was worried about being stepped on.
We took a brief break from Star Wars to watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Lily says this is one of the few things about Disney World she remembers from when I brought her here with her mom at age 10.
Well I'm not surprised she remembers. There were some pretty elaborate stunts and explosions in this show.
Now back to Star Wars. I'd scheduled a visit for the boys to the Droid Depot where they would build their very own toy robots.
Bill had no idea how tough it would be to decide just what droid to build.
There were just too many choices passing by on the conveyor belt.
Rocky had a particularly hard time of it.
But finally he settled on just the perfect parts.
Joe favored blue and yellow, a nice combination.
While Rocky went for classic red and black. His droid is an R Series, like R2-D2.
Joe's is a C Series, like the droid character Chopper.
The boys had to do all the work themselves putting the droids together from the parts they'd selected.
And when they were done, they loaded up the droids in personal backpacks.
Will Rocky really carry his droid in a backpack for the rest of the day? Nah.
Look who Joe ran into just outside the droid shop: Rey!
Joe wasn't a bit shy.
Neither was Rey.
Joe realizes it's not every day you run into a genuine hero of the resistance.
Especially one who'll give you a hug.
Rey had eyes for Rocky too.
It was getting hot and we were getting tired and the sky was not turning black in the afternoon for once and we all started thinking about that cool pool back at the hotel. That's Bill's "thinking of the pool" look.
The boys liked their new droids.
In fact, playing with them seemed like more fun than that pool.
They couldn't even make it to the room.
And when they finally did get there...more droids.
Finally the pool beckoned.
Bill avoids droids, because the pool is cool.
Bill never dreamed he'd take an expensive iPhone into a pool, but this thing is supposed to be waterproof within reason and he's feeling lucky, so let's see what his first underwater filming attempt looks like. I think he could use a little practice on how to aim the camera when he's not looking at the display.
I think Rocky is feeling much better now.
He certainly loves the pool.
This really was a good idea.
Lily and the Boys
Rocky and Lily are having fun.
Everybody likes to slide.
Fun fun fun.
What a happy wet group!
Bill, you look old and fat and infirm. What has happened to you?
Time to eat by the pool.
Rocky hadn't had much to eat all day and he was more interested in playing with that wiener than eating it. But Lily gave him a Mom talk and he finally ate some food.
When we got back to the hotel we found giraffes outside!
Rocky and Bill were pooped, but Lily and Joe rode the bus back to the park for a few more thrills like this. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is a roller coaster that opened in 1999 and uses electromagnetic technology to accelerate riders from 0 to 57 mph in 2.8 seconds. It features three inversions, including a corkscrew and a sea serpent roll. The ride also includes recorded music and appearances from the American rock band Aerosmith. Don't they look like they're having fun?
And the Tower of Terror. The ride is set in the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel, a 13-story building at the end of Sunset Boulevard. The ride is inspired by the television series The Twilight Zone and places riders in an elevator where people have mysteriously disappeared. The ride is a series of randomized drops from different heights after traveling through an elevator shaft. The drops can be intense and disorienting, especially for first-time riders. The ride falls at 39 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest rides at Disney World.
Disney creates Tower of Terror clips like this free of charge. Look for Lily and Joe in the crowd.
Didn't see them? Photoshop to the rescue. I think they may have screamed a little.
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