Meredith, her husband, and their son stayed at Bay Lake Tower in a studio room. They flew from Philadelphia and used a car service to transport to and from the airport.
They celebrated their son’s 7th birthday, had some wonderful restaurant reservations, and spent two days at Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser!
Post-trip timestamp: 50:55
Starcruiser portion: 2:20:30
The Basics
Meredith, her husband, and their son are Disney Veterans and DVC members. This trip is over Easter and their son’s 7th birthday. They experienced a lot of their favorites including staying at Bay Lake Tower, eating at San Angel Inn and The Plaza, and riding lots of rides. They are a big fan of rides!
They also tried out some new things: Space 220, the after fireworks dessert party, and of course Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser
Arrival Day (April 15)
Meredith and her family flew out very early in the morning and while waiting for the flight to take off, her husband booked an individual lightning lane for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and a Lightning Lane for Peter Pan’s Flight.
This was a great start of the day! Her husband also booked lunch at Skipper Canteen because that’s one of his favorites.
They landed at 9:30 a.m., grabbed their bags, and were in their private car by 10:10 a.m.! They checked their bags with Bell Services and walked over to Magic Kingdom.
While they entered, they were eligible for another Lightning Lane, so they got one for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They activated their annual passes and got pretzel and spring rolls before watching the parade!
While they were watching the parade, Meredith’s son lost a tooth! Meredith carried the tooth around for the rest of the day.
Around 12:30 p.m. they did their Peter Pan’s Flight and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Lightning Lanes back to back with very little wait. Meredith’s husband got another Lightning Lane for Pirates of the Caribbean as soon as they scanned in for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
They went to Mickey’s PhilharMagic and loved it. Before their Skipper Canteen reservation, Meredith’s son and husband did the Swiss Family Treehouse. Then they did their Pirates of the Caribbean and stopped for their lunch.
Skipper Canteen was a little behind but it worked out because although they were in there for a while, the missed a storm! When they got out, there were still some rides down because of the storm.
Then they went over to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and PeopleMover. Their next Lightning Lane was for Haunted Mansion. They figured out that if you refresh the app several times, a better time might come up!
They missed another rain storm while they were in Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train came back up after being down for the storm and they rode that with their Lightning Lane. Then they went to Haunted Mansion before heading back to Bay Lake Tower.
Meredith’s husband stopped by the front desk to see if they had anything for lost teeth. They didn’t but they told him they would let Tinker Bell know that he’d lost his tooth.
Meredith’s son put the tooth under his pillow to see what might happen. It turns out that Tinker Bell left a pin for him! She ended up coming twice – there was another pin when they got back that afternoon.
Hollywood Studios (April 16)
They woke up early this morning for a 7:30 a.m. opening and experienced the Tinker Bell excitement. It was also her son’s birthday!
They were at the bus stop by 6:10 a.m. and the bus came fairly quickly – more than an hour before park opening. They were the 3rd group at the Tapstiles at 6:30 a.m.
They were reviewing the Genie+ things as they were let in toward Toy Story Land at 7 a.m. They got an Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance and a Lightning Lane for Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.
They got to the queue for Slinky Dog Dash at 7:27 a.m. and then went to Toy Story Mania by 7:50 a.m. Their next stop was Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and waited about 30 minutes to ride.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was their next stop and they waited about 30 minutes for that. They took a break next to apply sunscreen and got a Lightning Lane for Alien Swirling Saucers for 10 a.m. to complete the rides in Toy Story Land.
This is when Meredith’s son expressed his birthday challenge – 7 rides for turning 7! They met his challenge and added Alien Swirling Saucers as 8!
Before Alien Swirling Saucers, they went and met Mickey and Minnie, which was very cute. As soon as they tapped in for Alien Swirling Saucers, they got a Lightning Lane for Star Tours. After Alien Swirling Saucers, they went to Smuggler’s Run to use that Lightning Lane.
Before their Smuggler’s Run Lightning Lane it was time to tell her son about their Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser experience! They did this with a boarding pass that Meredith had printed and laminated. They gave it to him under the Millennium Falcon.
They went to Smuggler’s Run at 11:20 a.m., got lunch at ABC Commissary, and tried to do Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Unfortunately they got there a little bit late and it was standing room only, so they opted to go to the Star Tours gift shop and built a light saber before Star Tours.
Meredith’s feet were so tired but she it was exhausting thinking about walking to the front of the park! It was time for their Rise of the Resistance Individual Lightning Lane. Meredith’s son wasn’t scared and they enjoyed it!
They were ready to head to Epcot so they got some Lightning Lanes for Epcot. While they waited to hop over to Epcot, they got a snack and enjoyed wandering Hollywood Studios.
Around 2:30 p.m. they took the skyliner to Epcot. They used a Lightning Lane for Journey to the Imagination and Meredith’s son enjoyed the pay area. They also saw some characters.
They took a break in the DVC lounge in the Imagination Pavilion. It was then time for their dining reservation at San Angel Inn. Meredith politely requested a table by the water and they were able to do that.
Meredith ordered the margarita created by Neil Patrick Harris called Black Magic. It was very good! Their meal was great.
They went to the festival playground for the Flower and Garden Festival before riding Soarin’ and Remy’s Ratatoille Adventure. Sadly, Remy’s was down for a while and then when they were finally able to ride, the timing was off. It wasn’t the best experience.
Thankfully, they were given another Individual Lightning Lane by cast members at the front of the park to use another day. On their way out, they watched the show on Spaceship Earth. They LOVED it.
They saw fireworks on the monorail on their way back to the hotel.
Animal Kingdom (April 17)
Animal Kingdom opened at 7 a.m. so Meredith and her family got to the bus stop at 5:49 a.m. It was very early!
They got to security at 6:06 a.m. and into the park by 6:45 a.m. and they were able to walk to Pandora at 7 a.m. This is not the most ideal timing because this is when you can get your lightning lanes as well!
Meredith’s husband got a Lightning Lane for Na’vi River Journey and purchased an Individual Lightning Lane for Flight of Passage. This gave them the opportunity to do standby for Flight of Passage, standby for Na’vi River Journey, and then use their lightning lanes to ride them both again!
They got a Lightning Lane for Expedition Everest. They didn’t push Meredith’s son to ride it, so they walked over to see if he would be willing to ride. It was Meredith’s first time on the ride in a decade or so. But they all rode it and it was fine!
Their next ride was Kali River Rapids and the wait was 15 minutes. Meredith wore a poncho in an effort to not get soaked, but she ended up getting wet anyway. Thankfully her son was fine riding just once.
The Maharaja Jungle Trek was their next stop before Feathered Friends in Flight. It was a lovely show with some bird guests! Their next stop was KiteTails and it was cute.
Meredith’s husband thought they could accomplish a lot in a short amount of time so they went to Dino Land to play games. Meredith’s son wanted to get some specific dinosaur prizes.
They ran over to Tusker House and arrived for their lunch reservation. The meal was still family style and it was good. Meredith says she wishes there had been more of a variety.
After their lunch, they enjoyed some of the musicians and had a Lightning Lane for Kilimanjari Safaris. They left Animal Kingdom around 3 p.m. for their resort.
Meredith was starting to feel very tired and sent her son and husband to the pool to take a nap. It was perfect for everyone!
That evening there was a big storm so they decided to do some things on the monorail loop. They saw Easter eggs at the Grand Floridian and got some dinner there. They did some shopping at the Contemporary.
As they were going to bed, they heard the fireworks that had been postponed and watched them from their room before going to bed.
Epcot (April 18)
Epcot had Early Theme Park Entry 8 a.m. so Meredith and her family got to the monorail at 7:30 a.m. and were at the tapstiles to get into Epcot right at 8 a.m.
They went right to Test Track and while some said that it was down, they went there anyway and got on at 8:07 a.m.
After Test Track, Meredith’s son wanted to try Mission: SPACE. They did the green side and he loved it so they rode again. They got some snacks, checked out Club Cool, and did some shopping.
As they walked to Frozen Ever After, they looked for Easter Eggs for the scavenger hunt. Meredith tried to find sunscreen because they’d left their’s at the room and couldn’t find it anywhere.
They went to Remy’s to use their lightning lane and it was a better experience. Then it was time for their Space 220 reservation! It was a longer meal, but it was a nice experience.
Meredith’s son wanted to play on the play area by Mission: SPACE. At the same time Meredith’s husband was stacking Lightning Lane options for Magic Kingdom. They took the monorail back over to the Magic Kingdom at the very end of their lightning lane window.
Meredith opted to go back to the resort while her husband and son used their Big Thunder Mountain Railroad lightning lane before going to the arcade at the Contemporary. Meredith was taking a nap when her husband called to let her know he’d gotten a walk-up reservation for Chef Mickey’s!
She got ready and came down – this was the first day where characters could hug again so it was very exciting. It was so nice to see the characters interacting with kids! The food was good and was still family style.
After dinner they went back over to Epcot to watch Harmonious. They enjoyed that a lot and had a good viewing spot at the front of the World Showcase.
They had Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at Epcot that night from 9-11 p.m. They found the last Easter egg for their scavenger hunt. Then they asked Meredith’s son what he wanted to do and he wanted to ride Mission: SPACE two more times. After that, they rode Spaceship Earth on their way out.
Magic Kingdom (April 19)
This was their last normal park day before checking into the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser! They woke up and got a lightning lane for Splash Mountain and an Individual Lightning Lane for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Early Theme Park Entry was for 8:30 a.m. and they arrived around 8:20 a.m. The standby line for Peter Pan’s Flight looked very long by the time they got over there, so they decided to go to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh first.
They wanted to ride Jungle Cruise next but everything was very crowded. Jungle Cruise had a wait time of 65 minutes!
They decided to skip Jungle Cruise to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and only waited 20 minutes. They used their Lightning Lane for Splash Mountain next before getting a snack and watching some cavalcades.
They got a Lightning Lane for Barnstormer and rode that. Then they rode standby for Dumbo the Flying Elephant. They were happy to wait so that Meredith’s son could play in the play area.
After Dumbo the Flying Elephant they went to Journey of the Little Mermaid and waited for 30 minutes. It was very busy but they didn’t mind waiting because it was cool in the line.
They watched the stage show before their reservation at The Plaza. This is one of Meredith’s favorites! After lunch Meredith coordinated with some work friends to take some photos.
They left the park after this and Meredith packed up their room while her husband and son went swimming at the Contemporary.
Around 7 p.m. they went back to the Magic Kingdom and mobile ordered Casey’s Corner. Then they used their Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Individual Lightning Lane for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before it was time to check in for the dessert party!
They checked in around 8:20 p.m. for the Disney Enchantment After-Party and it was already full but there was still plenty of room. They loved this experience. They were glad to have some space and a good view. The fireworks were at 9 p.m. and after the fireworks they enjoyed their desserts.
They went to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin after the dessert party. The ride broke down for a long time and they were evacuated! Meredith was excited to get to walk through the ride.
It was very cold as they were leaving so they had to buy some sweatshirts before riding the PeopleMover to end their night!
Starcruiser (April 20)
Meredith and her family were given a late checkout at noon due to their Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser reservation. They went down to breakfast at Steakhouse 71 and really enjoyed it.
They went back up to their room to pack up and get dressed in their Star Wars clothing. They went down to the front desk to have a van called. They said it might take a little while, but it ended up taking a long time.
Finally they just grabbed another cab and went to the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. The cab was paid for when they arrived and they checked in. They’d hoped to be early but they didn’t arrive until 1:30 p.m.
They went and saw a safety video and had lunch at the lunch buffet. Before things officially started at 4 p.m. there were a variety of things to expore.
You could have a tour of the ship, explore on your own, or learn how to use the data pad (Disney Play App). Everyone was to be back at 4 p.m. for when things got started. It’s very similar to a sea cruise.
From 4-10 p.m. there were things to do on the ship – quests and other activities for different ages. There are two different dinner seatings and Meredith’s family had the first seating at 5:30 p.m. There is excellent dinner entertainment.
The food was incredibly delicious and presented in a beautiful way. The food wasn’t exotic but it was presented in a new way.
Meredith and her family dressed in DisneyBounding-esque costumes. They saw people in full costumes and some in just regular clothes. They liked dressing up because it put them into them action.
They were really pleased with their room. Meredith said it was bigger than they expected and they loved that there was a data pad in the room. They didn’t spend much time in their room and wished they’d spent more time there!
Star Cruiser (April 21)
Meredith and her family got up and had a wonderful breakfast. They could go to Batuu anytime beginning at 8 a.m. so they headed over around 9:15 a.m.
They scheduled a visit to Oga’s Cantina and do the missions while at Batuu. It was time consuming doing all of the missions and did have a technical difficulty with her husband’s phone. They were given a dining credit to use in Batuu but they didn’t end up using it.
As part of their mission, they were able to ride Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run using the Lightning Lane.
They’d booked a photo package back on the ship so they wanted to get back by 2 p.m. to change their clothes before their photos. They had a great experience with this and highly encourage everyone to do this.
The transportation to and from Batuu is like a box truck that you sit in but because you’re in a hallway, you never see it on the outside. It feels like you’re flying to Batuu and you land near the Milk Stand. While you’re in Batuu you have pins to indicate you are there on your mission.
Again, from 4-10 p.m. everyone should be back on the ship. Meredith and her family did the captain’s table with a seven course meal. It was wonderful! Everything was very immersive and comfortable.
They loved this experience and were so sad to leave. They all went to bed sad to leave the next day. Meredith doesn’t think you need to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this experience.
While the experience is expensive, Meredith was very happy with it. She’d even consider doing this experience in place of a week-long Disney trip. It was that good and she has no regrets.
Hollywood Studios (April 22)
They had breakfast and got packed up to get checked out by 10 a.m. They were going to take a cab when they leave, but everything was backed up. They ended up getting their own ride and they were credited $50 to cover the cost.
They took an Uber to The Riviera. They were able to leave their bags at any Disney resort, so they opted to choose The Riviera to take the skyliner over to Hollywood Studios.
They got some coffee and picked up some Lightning Lanes for Tower of Terror and Slinky Dog Dash before they headed off to Hollywood Studios.
As soon as they tapped in on Tower of Terror, they got a lightning lane for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. They did Slinky Dog Dash next and then grabbed lunch at ABC Commissary. They were able to apply their dining credit for lunch.
After lunch they did Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. While it was hard to acclimate to Hollywood Studios after the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, this was a wonderful end to the trip.
They took the skyliner back to the Riviera to repack their bags and their car service took them back to the airport.
Key Takeaways
- Be sure to check the times when booking a lightning lane because the times change between choosing and confirming.
- If you’re looking for a reasonably priced Light Saber, the gift shop outside of Star Tours offers a great experience! Bonus if you need it to function more as a toy!
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