BIRTHDAY IN BATUU

This story begins in a galaxy far, far away….how far away exactly? About 30 minutes away. At Walt Disney World’s, Hollywood Studios. On a planet called, Batuu.

This year, for my 28th birthday, we had the privilege of visiting the highly anticipated, Star Wars – Galaxy’s Edge!

Now, I will admit, that I am not even a little bit of a Star Wars fan. I’ve tried multiple times and I just can’t get into the story line. However, Disney does an incredible job of adding a little something for everyone to everything that they do. And when they go, they go B I G!

Galaxy’s Edge was incredible! It was a truly unique and enthralling experience. You actually felt as though you had entered a different land.

From the lingo used throughout the park (“Bright Suns”, meaning “hello”, was repeatedly wished upon us throughout our visit), to the food (the blue milk and the tattoine sunset tea were my favorites of the day), to watching the characters parade around the park and interact with guests and each other (Rey was actually hiding from Storm Troopers and Kylo Ren, and never broke character. Not even when a guest tried to run over and take a selfie with her. She simply used him as a shield. haha), to soaring through the galaxy on the Millennium Falcon.

It was a magical experience for everyone, fan or not!

There a ton of cool photo ops and the shops are packed with fascinating gadgets and trinkets of every price tag. We saw a genuine, adult, Storm Trooper costume for $6,000! *jaw drops*

For anyone that knows my husband, Jacob, they know that this day was absolute H E A V E N for him. He has been a Star Wars fan since he was a kid and to feel as though he was actually walking around the city of Batuu, was mind blowing. His absolute favorite part of the day was when Kyle Ren and the Storm Troopers approached him and asked him to join the dark side. He was mad cheesin’. haha That childlike wonder in his eyes is what I love S O much about Disney.

We felt so grateful and lucky to have been able to score a spot for the preview as I know not all of the passholders were able to go. It’s a really cool feeling that we’ll be able to say that we were there for that!

Once our preview slot was over, we headed back home to freshen up before driving right back out to Disney’s Polynesian Resort for our Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show.

We arrived a little early so that we could walk around and enjoy the gorgeous evening and beautiful resort before making our way to the event pavillion.

As we walked around, we couldn’t help but feel as though we were on vacation! The smell of the hotel lobby and sunscreen by the pool. It’s one of our favorite parts of living here so far. When we get to do small things throughout our week and inject a bit of vacation into our daily routine. It’s so much fun!

And this luau dinner has been on my Disney bucket list for a while now. It was one of the first events that I booked when we moved here! I would absolutely love to be able to stay at the Polynesian at some point. We were really wishing that we had booked a room for that night but it was completely booked up (note: must book W A Y in advance if you want to score a room here).

The luau was fantastic! The food was really delicious (both our favorites was the roasted chicken, omg, so yummy), and we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to try all of the dishes on the menu in a family style dining arrangement. The pineapple cake and chocolate cake for dessert was divine!

The show was fun, upbeat and interactive! There were times when the audience was involved, such as bringing kids up to learn the hula and couples celebrating their love were brought up for a slow dance (which was so sweet), but the best part was the polynesian and fire dancers!

They really put on an educational celebration of their culture and it left us reliving the fun for days after! We can’t wait to go back again!

It was a really magical birthday and if the rest of the year is anything like that day….I think 28 will be alright.