May the Fourth Be With You 2023

Michaela and I have been wanting to go to Star Wars Day at Disneyland for years. It all came to a head in 2022 when social media was flooded with people’s photos of their time at Disneyland during that day in May when Star Wars fans converge upon the Magic Kingdom. I told Michaela “we ARE going in 2023!” I wasn’t about to let another year pass us up. My little Star Wars nerdy heart couldn’t take it anymore.

I searched for when tickets would go on sale and there really was no concrete answer. I remember one year the event being announced and tickets being sold as far back as 6 months from the time of the event in May. So I started to religiously following popular Disney accounts – official and not official – for any clues to the big event in 2023. To be honest, those non-official accounts are fun but they get their info pretty much about the same time as anyone else following the official accounts. So if you’re watching Disneyland’s official social channels on Facebook, X and Instagram, you will be in the know immediately. They announced that Star Wars Day would be returning in 2023 in January. Tickets went on sale soon after. The coveted May 4th event tickets were the first to go and naturally, those were the ones I wanted. If we were going to do this, we were going to do it right. In hindsight, does it matter if you go on May 4th or not? No. Not really. With the exception of the park opening excitement on THE DAY, I think any Star Wars Night will give you the same type of experience no matter which night you choose. Since they charge more to attend on THE DAY, you may be better off budget wise going on a day that isn’t as popular.

The Planning

As Han Solo would say, we had “delusions of gradeur” when it came to going to our first Star Wars Day. Our plan was to Disney Bound our outfits that night – so not necessarily dress up but at the same time make sure our clothes fit the theme – I was attempting to channel my love for Han Solo while Michaela opted to go for Kylo Ren. We found ourselves some super cute ears on Etsy – Millennium Falcon for me and Kylo Ren for Michaela. I’d love to share the link to the shop where I got them but it appears they no longer exist and I am guessing they may have been the victims of corporate copyright. Huge bummer because the ears were cute, on theme, affordable and comfortable. The name of the store was Little Ears Boutique.

Our next priority was to rope drop the day. We consider ourselves veteran Disneyland visitors – me having been visiting the parks since 1973 and Michaela having been introduced at the ripe old age of 15 months. We go as often as we are able although budgets sometimes dictate that we space our trips out to sometimes only once a year. I know to some who may only go once in a lifetime this is still a lot. I agree. We are blessed to go as often as we do.

When I mention rope dropping, it is natural to assume that everyone knows what I am talking about but for those who may not know, rope dropping is being in the park before it officially opens and upon the moment the recording welcomes you into Disneyland and either the real rope that holds back the crowds from entering the main part of the park drops or the proverbial rope drops, you are one of the first to enter the lands, ride the rides, etc. We didn’t want to miss a moment of this day but if we’re being honest, we are rope droppers any time we go. This day would be no different. Our days in Disneyland always begin with a brisk walk to Space Mountain. It’s the first choice of a lot of people and it’s a solid plan. In the days of Fastpass, we’d go straight to the Fastpass kiosk, get a pass for later in the morning after things got busy and we’d get in line right after in stand by which had historically been less than a 5 min wait. I would say that barring any days when Space Mountain was experiencing technical issues, we were able to ride it at least TWICE before 10am. It’s been a tradition that we like to stick with. We did try rope dropping Rise of the Resistance once. BIG MISTAKE. Do NOT do this. Rise is all the way back in the furthest corner of the park in Galaxy’s Edge. There are three ways to enter Galaxy’s Edge – through Critter Country, Frontierland and the back pathway through Fantasyland. The sheer volumes of humanity that make a run for it through any of these entry points will guarantee a line into Rise of the Resistance that will make you question the wisdom in rope dropping. If you rope drop anything other than Space Mountain, let it be Indiana Jones. Trust me. You can get on Rise later in the day when the line becomes a more manageable 60 minutes or less (what? Wait an HOUR?! YES. This isn’t a ride. It’s an experience. I would wait an hour for Rise and I usually don’t wait an hour for ANY ride at ANY Disney Park ANYWHERE). Like in visits past, on this day, we hightailed it to Space Mountain and what a treat! We were greeted by Cast Members that created a walk way through Tomorrowland with light sabers and Star Wars Day signs. It was so fun to see their excitement for the guests coming to visit on May 4th and the added photo ops specific to the day made it all the more special. Would you get this on May 3rd? Nope. I am pretty sure you wouldn’t!

Other than the day specific photo ops, the only other thing that I could tell was “special” for that day was the merchandise that dropped. You’re going to get better access to this merchandise when you shop on the day it drops, of course but everything we picked up that day was also available the next day. So nothing sold out. If I had to guess why, in my opinion it was because of the lack of variety and how the best shirts were for the kids. I think my biggest argument when it comes to merch is that Disney sometimes misses the mark by not catering to the right demographic. Kids like Star Wars but know who LOVE Star Wars? People like me who saw and loved the original trilogy when they were first released to the theaters and those who grew up playing with the original Star Wars toys (I still have my 1983 Millennium Falcon). And know who spends the money? Us. The original nerds. The 30+ somethings who either saw the original or grew up watching them and were there when the prequels landed.

Other than that, the DAY of the Star Wars Day / After Hours Event was pretty much the same as any other day at Disneyland. We left the park mid-day to change for the the night’s events and we thought get some rest. This is where we made our biggest mistake of the event. If we had to do this again, we would NOT hardcore visit the parks during the day and expect to enjoy the After Hours Event with the same type of energy and vigor as earlier in the day. I’m 51. I thought I could do it but we were running all over the place during the event trying to hit everything on our “to do list”. I was tired already but this just made it worse. Even my 20 year old was weary and we actually ended up calling it a night a little early.

The Event

As mentioned above, we Disney Bounded our outfits. This was fun but if I did it again, I wouldn’t do it. Even though I wore shoes that were really worn it, they weren’t my “you’re walking 10 miles a day shoes” and my feet definitely reacted in kind. That fun hip bag that I strapped to my side and leg to look like Han Solo was a cheap piece of garbage from Amazon and it broke before we entered the park. We frantically tried to piece it together with a carabiner that we had on our water bottle because without this bag, I would have nothing to hold my things. It was bad planning. Poor execution and it became a distraction for a lot of the evening. It was nobody’s fault but my own and one I wish I could re-do!

My biggest piece of advice when attending the Star Wars Night event is to pick your priorities. The crowds are big. The lines are long. If there is a character you want to meet, get there first and be prepared to wait knowing that you may not get to do another meet and greet. Do not expect to do it all. You won’t be able to. For me, I wanted to experience the moments – the lightsaber meet up in front of the Millennium Falcon (kinda chaotic, not really sure anyone knew what was happening and then it happened and it was awesome. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.), the march down Main Street with all the other Star Wars Fans – TERRIBLE execution. They told us to be there at a certain time. We showed up at that time and we were the only ones there. We asked around and nobody knew anything. We didn’t want to miss it so we hung out and waited… were the first ones there, marched out front when they finally did show up and announce the parade and when it came time to take our picture with Mickey and Minnie we were pushed to the back despite having waited the longest and in the rain. Can you see us in this picture? We’re there. We got stuck behind one of the people who turned their lightsabers sideways. Yeah, don’t get me started on THAT.

The other stuff we wanted to do were the one of a kind photo ops such as the Mandalorian Skull, Han Solo in carbonite and Jabba the Hutt. There were others but sadly we didn’t make it. The rain. The crowds. Our aching feet and knees made us realize quickly that we had set our sights and expectations too high. Is it Disney’s fault? No. Could they have done a little better with crowd control and communication? Yes.

The Bottom Line

1. Buy your event tickets early – 2024 dates are announced! More nights than ever! Get info here.
2. Watch for the event schedule & foodie guide. Disney releases this ahead of time and it helps with planning.
3. Pick your top 3 things you want to do. Get to your #1 EARLY.
4. Be prepared to wait.
5. Be flexible.
6. Don’t try to do it all. If you can avoid visiting the parks earlier in the day and make the night event the only thing you do that day, then you will likely have a better experience and not be as tired as we were.
7. Will we do it again? Yes. Some day. Not in 2024. We have bigger and different plans for 2024. Stay tuned….