Disneyland has undergone a procedural change in how guests can enter Oga’s Cantina, the bar inside the Star Wars-themed Galaxy’s Edge. Where previously you could make reservations online or make a day of reservation at the venue and come back when the slot was ready, the new process is completely based off a stand-by line.
The most obvious change in visiting is actually psychological, perhaps some sort of mind trick from the Jedi forces running the cantina. When you make a reservation that’s good for 90 minutes you often would stay for the full 90 minutes. But when it is standby, you have no specific expectation of a time slot and so we saw many guests leave after one round and we ourselves were in and out in less than an hour. All of which means that the line moves fairly quickly, which we think is an overall net-benefit for this venue which is still a lot of fun.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I were on a quick half-day visit to see the Halloween offerings at Disneyland but we took refuge from the muggy conditions. We absolutely loved the Garlic Cheese bread and revisited some favorite cocktails that we thought were pretty good. The Outer Rim with tequila and a puree topping no longer includes the salted rim but is still well done, as is the Coruscant Cooler with bourbon. Julie’s Jet Juice came in a little glass, similar to those little orange juice glasses you get at brunch, and my Jedi Mind Trick featured grapefruit in the best of ways.
The standing table we were at wasn’t too bad, we made friends with the first group but found the second to not able to understand how to fit people into the available space, and our server was right on top of everything. We enjoyed DJ Rex and the music which thankfully wasn’t too loud, so this was a very successful mission.
