5. Uhh… do I have to participate in the role-playing elements in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?

Nope! While the role-play elements of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are loads of fun (a bit like a Star Wars Renaissance festival), Disney fans come in all shapes and sizes, and it isn’t required for guests to pretend to be part of the story. If you just want to enjoy the spectacle of a beautifully made theme park land and some fun rides, you totally can.

The cast members at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are trained to remain in character at all times, but they have a perfect way of handling guests who aren’t comfortable with playing pretend—they just treat you as a confused tourist from a strange world. This is actually a pretty popular in-world thing on Batuu, and this strategy isn’t that different from other parts of Walt Disney World where cast members walk the thin line between being helpful and staying in character. Just be yourself, and the cast members will pick up on that.

6. Is there anything for small children to enjoy at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?

Some parents were understandably apprehensive when plans for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge were announced, mostly because the land’s two attractions are really only suitable for kids old enough to not be scared by harrowing space adventures (the height restriction for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is 38” and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is 40”). While Disney remedied some of this concern with the opening of both Toy Story Land and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, that isn’t to say that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a bust for families with kids.

We have seen children of all ages have fun at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. If your little ones like Star Wars cartoons like Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, or Forces of Destiny, they’ll definitely have a great time and may enjoy dressing up. We’ve seen a number of adorable encounters between Rey and small kids, and some little ones even like Chewbacca if they’re familiar with him. For kids who aren’t familiar with Star Wars, the land is just another fascinating place in the many realms of Walt Disney World.

The biggest hit with children that we’ve seen is the Droid Depot—this place seems to always be full of smiling kids. While building a droid is an expensive gift (around $200!), the process is a blast for children, and their fully customized droid may even interact with elements in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Kids may also like the Toydarian Toymaker shop in the marketplace which includes toys that are made to look like they could actually exist in Star Wars.

7. What is the best job on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run… and what is Chewie Mode?

The core mechanic of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is essentially an extremely elaborate video game. Every crew has six positions: two pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. Pilots fly the ship, gunners shoot bad guys, and engineers fix all the stuff the pilots break. Previously, you had little control over what crew position you got when riding Smugglers Run, but with COVID-19 prevention policies, guests have been able to enjoy private flights on the Millennium Falcon where you can pick whatever crew position you like.  

What the best job is will vary from person to person. The most coveted position is usually pilot, and I find that the left pilot (who controls the horizontal motions of the ship) has the highest level of control. The right pilot position (which controls vertical motions) is also a lot of fun especially since you get to “punch it” to initiate the hyperdrive.

The other two positions are gunner and engineer. While I know a number of people who enjoy gunner, it can prove a little underwhelming—you’re essentially doing a lot of button mashing rather than controlling specific trajectories for the guns. It’s essentially just three buttons (not like the turrets in the film). Engineer is fun if you like pushing lots of buttons but don’t want the stress of piloting—you push buttons whenever the ship breaks, as well as to launch the torpedo.

What is Chewie Mode, you ask? In short, it is a secret mode that some guests learned how to initiate where Hondo’s voice is replaced with Chewbacca roaring throughout your flight. Unless you will be visiting with a full party, it may not be possible to initiate Chewie mode, but for full details how to do so, check out this helpful guide.

8. What do blue milk and green milk taste like?

Blue milk is the most classic drink in Star Wars. It was Luke Skywalker’s favorite beverage back on his uncle’s moisture farm on Tatooine, milked from Banthas. Decades later as an embittered old man on Ahch To, he took to guzzling nastier-looking green milk from the planet’s Thala Sirens (I still think Disney missed a perfectly good opportunity to make Luke a “moof-milker”). Guests visiting Batuu can partake in either of these drinks at the Milk Stand near the First Order outpost. You can also get a larger glass of Blue Milk with a cookie inside Oga’s Cantina, which is a nice treat.

While I can’t comment on the alcoholic versions of blue and green milk, the non-alcoholic versions both have their merits. Most guests prefer the blue milk which has a creamy, almost smoothie-like consistency with a noticeable berry flavor (from dragonfruit). Personally, I like the green milk (even though some guests think its nasty) which tastes a bit creamier and more “milk-like” with a subtle hint of citrus flavor. For a full Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experience, both types are worth trying at least once, though blue is the safer bet for picky palettes. Before closing due to COVID-19, Batuu West (Disneyland) also offered a version with sweet and spicy Tajin, though this version never made its way to Batuu East (Walt Disney World).

9. What is a Batuu Spira chip, and where do I find one?

One of the coolest souvenirs in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theoretically costs almost nothing.

The Star Wars saga features several types of currency like Republic or Imperial credits and Calamari flan. Guests can acquire a special Batuu Spira credit chip within Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge that functions as a real Disney gift card. The Batuu Spira chips are about 2x1 inches and are made of metal like a coin, with a good amount of heft. The first version had a bronze sheen while the newer ones look a bit like titanium or silver. All in all, they’re a great souvenir, and they really only cost a few dollars more than the cost to load them.

There are a couple catches to getting a Batuu Spira. First off, you have to find them. While they can show up several places in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the most common place we have seen them is in the side room of the Droid Depot (where the cookware and jewelry is located). You can ask the cast member at the counter if they have any.

The second catch is that you can only get a Batuu Spira if you load it with at least $100. While that may seem high, keep in mind that the average visitor to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios will probably spend that much, especially if you are planning to get a lightsaber. Just take the funds you planned to spend during the day and put them on the Spira chip instead. The only frustrating catch left is that you cannot use Disney Gift Cards to load a Batuu Spira—which is a bit of a bummer. However, if you have non-Disney gift cards like Visa and American Express that operate like normal debit cards, you can use those.

Once you have a Batuu Spira, you can reload it in the park in the future or online by transferring the balance from another Disney Gift Card (I know, it’s convoluted, but they are so COOL).

10. What is Star Wars Datapad, and how does it work?

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge actually features something like a secret attraction that most guests miss—Star Wars Datapad, a game within the Play Disney Parks App that allows guests to interact with elements throughout Galaxy’s Edge including droids, ships, speeders, panels, crates, and transmission towers. By using Bluetooth technology, it essentially turns your smartphone into a functioning Datapad from the Star Wars Universe.

We did an extensive guide on the details of how to get the most out of Star Wars Datapad, but here’s a quick rundown. Once you’ve initiated the game within the Play Disney Parks app, you are able to interact with different spaces and elements throughout Galaxy’s Edge using a number of functions. The main four are Hack, Tune, Scan, and Translate. Hacking allows you to “Slice” panels, droid, speeders, and ships throughout the Black Spire Outpost to gain hidden information. When you do this, most of these elements will actually light up, react, or make sounds in real life (even the speeders and X-wings). The Scan function lets you scan barcodes on crates throughout the land (even inside attraction queues) to see what’s inside. Tune gives you access to communications frequencies, and Translate lets you automatically or manually translate Aurebesh writing and alien languages.

While these four functions are neat, they are all nicely tied together by a range of “Missions” you can do for denizens of the Black Spire Outpost. By doing missions, you can gain reputation with The Resistance, The First Order, or as a Scoundrel. You also can access special missions for the queues of Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance that expand on the stories behind those rides.

In short, Star Wars Datapad is a delightful tool for those who want to explore the Black Spire Outpost at a leisurely pace and really lean into the story taking place on Batuu.

11. What is a Black Kyber Crystal and how do I get one?

In Star Wars, Kyber Crystals are special gems that make both lightsabers and superweapons like the Death Star work. They can be imbued with the Force, and they even play a key role in passing down Jedi and Sith wisdom through their use in holocrons.

One of the cleverer souvenirs you can pick up at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities is a Jedi or Sith holocron. These repositories of ancient wisdom are pretty neat as far as toys go—different Kyber crystals collected from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cause the holocrons to share different quotes from throughout Star Wars history, and they open and close just like in the Star Wars saga. Most of the Kyber crystals can also change the blade color for lightsabers from Savi’s Workshop (though not the legacy lightsabers).

The rarest Kyber crystal color is black—you can’t just pick one up off the shelf. They are found at random inside red Kyber crystal cases at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities and Star Wars: Trading Post in Disney Marketplace (and Downtown Disney in Anaheim). Some fans used to track them down by shining a flashlight at the cases, but Disney squashed this practice by putting a liner inside and placing the crystals next to a cast member.

Really, it’s totally random if you’ll get a black Kyber crystal. They act similar to the red crystals with one exception—if placed in a Sith holocrons, it invokes the voice of Supreme Leader Snoke. While it may not be worth it for the average fan, collectors may enjoy the hunt for this rarest of souvenirs.

12. How do I get a lightsaber at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge?

The lightsabers available at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are particularly good quality and come in two varieties—customizable and legacy sabers.

Customizable lightsabers are only available as part of the all-inclusive lightsaber-building experience at Savi’s Workshop. For around $200, guests are ushered into a hidden workshop where a secret society of tinkerers have been collecting lightsaber parts in hopes of finding Force-sensitive individuals. Guests are given four choices regarding what type of saber they wish to build, with freedom to choose individual parts within those categories as they like (you can purchase “scrap metal” pieces from other categories later if you want to mix and match).

Peace and justice sabers look similar to Luke Skywalker’s or Obi-Wan Kenobi’s. Power and control sabers have a distinctly Sith look about them. Protection and defense sabers include elements with a distinct feel of the Old Republic (similar to Luke’s reforged saber from The Rise of Skywalker), and Elemental Nature sabers include parts like wood pieces and rancor teeth. An experience at Savi’s includes the full theatrical saber-building experience, a customizable saber and blade, your choice of Kyber crystal (blue, green, violet, or red), and a carrying case which can prove very helpful when touring the parks.

The other option for buying a lightsaber is to purchase a legacy saber at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities—these are lightsaber replicas based on familiar sabers from throughout the Star Wars saga. They are extremely well-made and have a strong heft to them. Currently, the choices available include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kylo Ren (the heaviest choice), Ben Solo, Asaaj Ventress, Luke Skywalker, Luke’s reforged lightsaber (that Rey wields), Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Jedi Temple Guard, Rey, Count Dooku, and two varieties of Ashoka Tano’s lightsabers (which can prove very difficult to get right now). In coming months, we’ll also get Cal Kestis’ unique saber from Star Wars: Fallen Order.

Legacy lightsabers range in price from $109 to $200 (for the new Ashoka Tano pair). Blades cost an extra $35-$50 depending on length (the longer blades look much better), and for some sabers, you may want to spend extra for a belt clip and/or premium carrying case. During the continued lockdown, guests don’t currently have to go into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to get ahold of a legacy saber. The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Trading Posts at Disney Marketplace (Florida) and Downtown Disney (Anaheim) are also selling legacy sabers and Kyber crystals.

Enjoy this article? Keep reading to hear 9 Things We Never Expected that Happened at Disney Parks this Year… or the insane story of the real life fairy castle that inspired Cinderella Castle...