squeezing in as much fun as we can

sunday morning saw us up bright and early for our galaxy's edge reservation.  our window was from 8 to 12, and we were hoping to get into the cantina and go inside the antiquities shop and get all the photo ops we'd passed on the week before. 

good morning, california adventure!

we got our stuff all packed up and dropped our bags off in the car since checkout would fall during our time inside galaxy's edge.  and then we got to use the special event entrance into disneyland, since we needed to check in at the launch bay and get our wristbands.  during this reservation period, check-ins began two hours before your window opens, which means people were arriving as early as 6am.  sheesh.

it's always so nice to walk down main street when the park is nearly empty.

we had to show our email confirmation to get past this point:

and this time, there was a fairly long line to get to the check-in counter.  there's fun stuff to look at along the way, though.

ready to go!

because it was so early and the park still wasn't actually open yet, we took advantage of the almost-never-heard-of empty starbucks on main street.

once we had our coffees in hand, we headed back to tomorrowland to get in the long line of folks waiting to get into galaxy's edge.

our goal was to secure a reservation time to get into oga's cantina, so once the line started moving towards the entrance, we followed the directions to stay to one side.  except that as we got closer to the front, a cast member was making the announcement that the reservation times were going really fast and the chances were slim that we'd score one.  and then a couple of minutes later, another cast member came with an update - all reservations for this time slot were taken, and since they weren't allowing walk-ins we'd just have to try another time.  bummer.

but at the millennium falcon, there was hardly a line.  and so we decided to ride it again, and this time we'd switch positions within our ship.

and this time, we had time to stop and take some pictures inside.

this time, i decided to try the gunner position.

in all honestly, this ride is really just kind of like a cooler version of star tours.  it's a simulated ride, with different buttons to push for the various duties (pilot, gunner, engineer).  still fun, but there's no way i'd wait for very long to do it.

we decided to join the line for the photo op with the millennium falcon in the background.  while we waited, a stormtrooper approached us and had a little chat with someone he thought might be part of the rebellion.

it really is fun to take pictures here.  everything is so realistic.

 inside the antiquities sbop, we marveled at the details everywhere.

stormtroopers were out keeping an eye on the shenanigans, making their way down to interrogate suspicious-looking characters.

droids were everywhere.

 we couldn't resist this super cool light-up blue/green milk jug.

at the black spire outpost, we checked out some fun merchandise and picked up some of kat saka's kettle corn, which was a little sweet and a little spicy.  delish.

more stormtroopers!

as we made our way out of there, we saw chewbacca posing for photos.

look at the crowd chomping at the bit, waiting for their turn to check out galaxy's edge!

back out in the park, we hopped aboard the disneyland railroad and took it all the way around before getting off in tomorrowland.

we wanted to head to trader sam's at the disneyland hotel for some lunch, so we caught the monorail and even got to ride in the very front.

as we pulled up at the downtown disney station, the bean spotted a tiny dinosaur sitting on the lightpole.

next time we stay on property, i'd like to do it at disneyland hotel again.  it's my favorite of the three hotels.

trader sam's had just opened for the day about a half hour before, but all of the tables inside were already taken.  no biggie though...we managed to find a nice table near the pool that was probably better anyway.  the menu had some pretty fun offerings, and we decided to try all of the things that caught our eye.

cocktails!  we would've loved the souvenir mugs, but the upcharge was something crazy like $20 ersumshit.  no thanks...just the alcohol, please.

kalua-style poutine.

fried spam musubi.

pork gyoza.

the parks had gotten pretty busy by then, and so we decided to head back to the car and get outta there.  on our way we came across one of the wedding gazebos and took some silly pictures because why not?

peace out, disney!  for now, at least.

we made one more stop before heading home.  the old lady and her special friend love this place.

 you get to put together big cups of fresh fruit with all sorts of fun toppings.

of course, this is not the bean's nor my jam, and so we just hung out while the kids placed their orders.

i do wish this were my jam though...it sure looked good.  bright, fresh and colorful with lots of spice and flavor.

it was a great way to cap off our super fun weekend.  i don't know when we'll get to do this again...maybe for my birthday?  we'll see.  that'll be here before we know it.  yikes.