Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge hasn’t been nearly as crowded as anticipated since the gates of Black Spire Outpost opened to the public earlier this summer, and this has led many a Star Wars fan to believe it isn’t worth the trip to Batuu.

That, in my opinion, would be incorrect.

The reason Galaxy’s Edge hasn’t been at capacity is threefold: the Disney parks have raised their prices across the board, meaning one-day, single-park passes are now in the prohibitive range for an average family of four; the company had blacked out the early days of Galaxy’s Edge for local, annual pass holders; and the astronomical expense has induced would be travelers to wait until the second ride, Rise of the Resistance, opens in December rather than make a second trip.

This has stopped a huge number of people who would have happily passed through the gates of Black Spire Outpost from doing so. Indeed, we wouldn’t have gone had we not been planning a family trip to Disney for nearly a year no matter how badly the kiddos, hubs, and I wanted to experience our own Star War.

We did have those plans, however, and, since we were headed in that direction…

Photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Yes, it was the first thing we did on our first day in Disney. Yes, I made the kids walk past other rides, including Star Tours with a five-minute wait; the Matterhorn; and every damn thing in Fantasyland because I never, ever ask for anything when we’re on vacation but damn it, I was asking this time and I was getting what I wanted.

So we hauled butt through the park and hit those gates, and I am going to be honest with you: there were a few tears because walking under the archway and banners and into the space was like walking into every Star Wars story I’ve ever written or imagined myself into or watched for the last 41 years of my life.

Yes, it’s true, there is only the Falcon ride at the moment and, even when the place is fully operational, it will be limited to that and Rise of the Resistance. The wait for the attractions can be long and can get longer while you’re in line; my brother-in-law got into a 70-minute line that turned into a 90-minute line that he ended up having to pull my nephew out of to make a character breakfast reservation for said nephew’s birthday. (Lesson: do not get in line for the Falcon ride if you have somewhere you have to be at a specific time thereafter.)

We went back later and, yes, the wait is 100% worth it for animatronic Hondo and the chance to pilot, act as gunner for, or engineer of the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. I got to pilot and I only crashed, like, four times). But the rides aren’t really the point.

Photo by S.W. Sondheimer

The point is the experience of spending time in the Star Wars universe. I know, I know – it sounds cheesy but what Disney has done is craft something that’s truly immersive and no matter how you feel about the House of Mouse, you have to acknowledge that’s something they’ve always been good at and have only improved over time.

The detail on the buildings, the ships, the food stalls, and in the market are incredible down to the smallest details. The Falcon has the wiring you’ve seen on her since 1977 and jets steam at intervals. The animatronic loth cat has individual hairs and moods, and the glowing snail blinks. The signs are all in English and Galactic basic. The water fountains are attached to pipes that “refill” after you drink, bringing bobbing critters to the surface. The shops in the market place look like they’re carved out of rock.

If you’ve read Zoraida Córdova’s A Crash of Fate, then you recognize every inch of Hondo’s shipping company space and half expect Izzy and Jules to come racing through. (Seriously, I kept looking for cast members dressed as them.)

Rather than character meet and greets, Kylo Ren and his troopers patrol the streets, interacting with guests on an improv basis, making for a much more fun, much more interactive experience. Rey and Vi Moradi, a Resistance spy featured in Delilah S. Dawson’s Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, randomly join groups of guests asking for assistance escaping the First Order or carrying messages to other members of the Resistance. Chewbacca runs with Rey, helping her on missions and giving the galaxy’s best, and furriest, hugs.

Photo by S.W. Sondheimer

And yes, there is blue milk. It’s very sweet, but I enjoyed it. The green milk is even better and both are coconut based so even the galactically lactose intolerant can partake.

We didn’t get to eat at Ronto Roasters or the Cantina, though I’ve heard both are excellent. Alas, we also didn’t get to hit Dok Odnar’s House of Antiquities (I really wanted that Jedi Temple Guard mask, damn it) since there were 12 of us that day and, seriously, have you ever tried accommodating 12 people, only half of whom are Star Wars fans?

Still, we wandered and gaped and oohed and ahhed and the kids were disappointed that we did California Adventure on our second Disney day because they wanted to go back (though the disappointment was mitigated by meeting Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel). The littlest did make a custom droid, though. And, well… I’ll let that experience speak for itself:

So, do I recommend Galaxy’s Edge? It may not be worth the expense for casual Star Wars folk (my parents thought it was cool but didn’t get why we wanted to stay all day and really wanted to go back), but for even the most chill Star Wars fan, it really is a dream come true and, for the geeks among us, of which I am certainly one, well… I can’t wait to go back to Batuu.

Photo by S.W. Sondheimer