February 10th, Part 2
As we were sitting there eating, the light was shining through the Marketplace, it looked really pretty so Rob took a pic...
I should mention now that this was the trip that I fell in love with the camera on Rob's phone.
I gave him a bit of a hard time on the last trip because he kept going on and on about how good his camera was, compared to mine. While I saw the results when I was editing photos from that trip, it wasn't until I actually used his phone on this trip that I realized just how much nicer it was.
There were so many times where I wanted/needed my subject to fit into my whole frame and it couldn't or when I wanted to zoom but couldn't do so without losing a lot of quality. Because I took so many photos and videos on this trip, I actually killed my battery twice every single day so using his phone started out as a need. Once I realized how awesome it was, I often just asked for his phone, even when I had tons of battery life left.
So, you will see a combination of photos he took with his own phone, photos I took on my phone and, especially towards the middle of the trip, photos I took with his phone.
Editing the photos were a pain in the butt so please bear with me if I post same/similar photos or post a few out of order.
After we were done eating, we headed over to the Millenium Falcon for the first time. We tried to take a selfie and then another guest offered to take one for us...
I then pointed out to Rob where the hidden Milleunium Falcon is. Yup, there is a tiny little MF hidden
on the Millenium Falcon!
One example of where his camera came in handy!
We had some time to kill so we popped into Droid Depot to check it out...K-2SO from Rogue One, among many other familiar droids...
A few more recognizable droids here...
Even the cash registers are themed and you pay in "credits" not cash.
Back outside to find even more droids...probe droid in netting LOL!
Walking further, we come across the First Order area of Black Spire, where we see Kylo Ren's TIE Echelon...
This is where the blue and green milk stand is located. We didn't try the green milk but we did, however, try the blue milk, more on that the next day.
And back around to the MF.
Smuggler's Run was still posting a massive wait time.
We walked over to Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities, where you will see the dark petrified tree trunk on the right, which is where the outpost's name of Black Spire comes from.
I checked the app and we were almost at group 22, so we slowly headed over to Rise of the Resistance and by the time we got there, our number had been called.
WARNING: HUGE SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you don't want to see and read details about Rise of the Resistance, STOP READING NOW!!!
They scan your Magic Band or ticket and then you join the queue...
The queue is both awesome and long. Rob used his stopwatch to time how long it takes to do the entire thing once you scan your bands.
This hallway was favourite place in all of Galaxy's Edge because the A/C was blasting and it was freezing!
This is the first room that they group you together with other people. There is no line, they ask you to crowd together close to the door.
I was taking video this first time so I am posting pics that Rob took along the way....
Once you go through those first doors, you are grouped together in another room where BB-8 and a holo-transmission from Rey explain how they need resistance fighters to help them rescue Finn. You will also see Lieutenant Bek and Poe Dameron, who is in his X-Wing with BB-8. They will be escorting you on your mission. Once those doors open, you are rushed to your shuttle, which is then captured by a First Order Star Destroyer. The door opens and a FO officer comes on board telling you that we have all been captured and we will be sent for interrogation.
This is the most impressive part of this ride! You walk off your shuttle into this massive hangar filled with 50 stormtroopers, a TIE fighter and several FO officers. They all give you dirty looks, which makes it fun and eerie and you can't help but burst out into laughter!! They let you linger just long enough to take some photos and video and then they escort you down a hallway.
Once here, they put you in groups of eight, all while staying perfectly in character.
Once you go into the interrogation room in smaller groups, you are rescued by the resistance and busted out of that room. You are put on 8-passenger trackless ride vehicles, piloted by an R-5 unit.
This is the "ride" part of this attraction and is unlike anything else you've ever ridden at Walt Disney World. The sets are just unbelievable!!
R-5 leads you through the destroyer, looking for a way out, zigging and zagging everywhere.
This ride was ridiculously amazing!! So many elements to it, you go through it quite fast and you can easily miss things so it has a huge re-ride-ability aspect to it so it's definitely not a one-and-done kind of thing. In fact, the first time through, neither of us even saw Finn in the AT-AT room!
I have more photos to share with you from the next two days and will talk more about it when I post them.
Here is the end of the ride where Lieutenant Bek, in his escape pod, is awaiting your arrival...
From MB scan to ride exit, it took just over 30 minutes so it's much more of an experience than just a ride.
We were both grinning ear-to-ear when we made our exit from the ride and by the time we made it out of the exit queue completely, I was in tears! I think it was a combination of joy, excitement, accomplishment and awe that I just couldn't hold back. I had goosebumps on both arms, something I hardly ever get.
The total experience was better than my expectations and I knew it was great so my expectations were quite high! As sad as I was last week not to ride it with my co-workers, I think it just added to my overall experience that I was able to do it for the first time with Rob.
Two very large thumbs up for Rise of the Resistance
Well done, Disney, well done, indeed!!