(Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens this week and it’s too big and too immersive to be contained in a single review. Our extensive coverage will be collected here.)
Walking through the eastern street of Black Spire Outpost on the Planet Batuu (but actually in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland), you will come across a big building with music blaring out the front door. It’s the Star Wars version of walking past a hopping club in the city. There’s even a long line of hopeful clubgoers lining the sidewalk, wanting to get in. The only thing missing is a huge bouncer standing in front of the door with his arms crossed wearing a leather jacket. (Disneyland, please add a big alien bouncer to stand outside these doors. It would be awesome.)
While Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has only two main attractions (only one of which will be open on day one), many cast members refer to Oga’s Cantina as the secret third attraction. And if you want to get into the Cantina, you are going to have to wait it out. I waited in line for 45 minutes to get into the Cantina during a preview day, and have heard of people waiting upwards of two hours to get into the bar. Yes, that is two hours of their four-hour reservation in the land spent waiting in line for a bar. Choose wisely, kids.
But honestly? What’s inside will be worth it for many Star Wars fans.
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Drinking in the Star Wars Galaxy
Not only does every Star Wars fan want to visit the Cantina, but it’s the first public space within Disneyland to offer adult beverages. Disney Imagineers wanted to keep the space intimate, just like we’ve seen of cantinas in the movies, so the maximum occupancy of the establishment is 276. However, I’ve heard that they will be trying to keep it closer to 200 so that it’s not uncomfortably crowded. It’s a shame that Imagineering didn’t anticipate the demand of this place and find a solution, like building a couple of cantinas or one building with two identical cantinas inside it with an entrance that switches.
Because of the Cantina’s size and the demand, there are some rules in place. Guests can stay in Oga’s for only 45 minutes and are limited to two drinks per ID. Also, most of the seating in Ogas are booths on the side that fit eight people, so if your group is smaller than that, you will be seated with strangers to fill up the seats. Some people will complain about this, but I think this only adds to the atmosphere of what the Cantina should be.
There’s a lot to look at in the Cantina. If you look at photos of any of the Cantinas from Star Wars canon, this one looks a lot cooler, at least architecturally. Behind the bar are all sorts of interesting devices, and even a tank with an interesting animatronic toad creature. A notice board at the front of the bar has all sorts of postings, all written in aurebesh – the alien language seen throughout the Star Wars Universe.
In a cool touch, the Disney Play app on your phone will allow you to use your camera to translate aurebesh throughout the land. When I was in the land, I didn’t have access to a datapad (i.e., my phone), but I ran into someone who did who was trying to translate the postings, but the dark light in the Cantina was not interacting with the app well. So just keep that in mind.
REX and Oga and Other Details
On one side of the Cantina is a DJ droid playing Star Wars-style cantina music. The droid may be familiar to Disney theme park fans because it’s REX, the former pilot who used to fly you around during the original Star Tours ride. Here, he has taken on the name DJ R-3X and Paul Ruebens (known to most as Pee-Wee Herman) reprises the role.
I’ve heard through the grapevine that this animatronic droid is actually surrounded with some screen-used props from Rogue One, so be on the lookout for those. And you shouldn’t get the same show twice from REX because he performs a three-hour loop of music. The music is awesome and seeing Rex moving around is very cool.
The proprietor, Oga, is heard but not seen. Since the First Order took up occupation on Batuu, she has not shown her face, but her orders can periodically be heard over the intercom system. The Cantina is powered by a hyperdrive, which you can see at the end of the bar near the entrance. It doesn’t always work correctly, so occasionally the power to the Cantina will go out before it reboots.
Everything Else
If I have one complaint about the Cantina (other than the line), it’s that it lacks the alien creatures and droids that we see in the movies. This is also a bigger complaint I have about the land itself. Everyone wants to visit a Star Wars Cantina, but without the alien locals, it’s just a cool sci-fi themed bar. That’s not to say it’s bad – it’s going to be extremely popular and for good reason – but I just wish that Disney could have somehow populated the place with a few aliens and droids to make it feel more like an otherworldly experience. Perhaps an animatronic alien bartender who just complains all the time. Or a table of alien creatures behind a VIP rope, so that guests couldn’t get near them. I know all of that takes up space, which is very limited already, but I feel like the lack of creatures is what prevents this from feeling like a true Cantina experience. Let’s just call it room for improvement rather than a real problem.
As far as the drinks, everything is pre-mixed, and they offer some selection beyond cocktails, including some craft brewed beer, cider wine, and mocktails. Drinks generally run in the $15 range, unless you want your cocktail served in a giant Porg or Endor-inspired tiki mug. Then you’re spending closer to $30 or $40. Yes, for one drink with a souvenir glass…and yes, they are cool souvenir glasses. They also have a Beer Flight, which lets you try all four beer options, served in a souvenir tray and in four rancor teeth glasses. That will cost you $75.
The Menu
Oga’s Cantina – Concoctions without Alcohol
- Hyperdrive (Punch It!) – $6.00 Powerade® Mountain Berry Blast, White Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Purée, and Sprite®
- Jabba Juice – $6.50 Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Kiwi, Cantaloupe, and Blueberry Popping Pearls
- Blurrgfire – $7.00 Odwalla® Lemonade, Pomegranate Juice, and Habanero-Lime
- Carbon Freeze -$7.50 Powerade® Lemon Lime and Wild Strawberry with Blueberry and Green Apple Popping Pearls
- Cliff Dweller – $32.00 (with Porg souvenir mug) Citrus Juices, Coconut, Hibiscus-Grenadine, and Seagram’s® Ginger Ale
- Blue Bantha – $13.00 Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookie
Oga’s Cantina – Provision
- Oga’s Obsession – $7.50 Odwalla® Lemonade, Cotton Candy Flavor, and Blueberry Popping Pearls with a bursting Dried Fruit Mixture
Oga’s Cantina – Snack
- Batuu Bits – $6.00 a light crisp Snack Mix from the galaxy
Oga’s Cantina – Concoctions with Alcohol
- Fuzzy Tauntaun – $15.00 Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, “Buzzz” Foam
- Dagobah Slug Slinger – $18.00 Herradura Reposado Tequila, Bols Blue Curaçao, Citrus Juices, Ginger, Herbs, and Bitters
- Jedi Mind Trick – $14.00 Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose Vodka, John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum, Bols Blue Curaçao, White Grape Juice, Lime Juice, and Grapefruit Bitters
- Bespin Fizz – $17.00 Bacardi Superior Rum, Yuzu Purée, Pomegranate Juice, White Cranberry Juice, and Cloud Swirl
- T-16 Skyhopper – $15.00 Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Bols Melon Liqueur, Kiwi, and Half & Half
- Jet Juice – $14.00 Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, Cedilla Açaí Liqueur, White Grape Juice, and Lemon Juice
- The Outer Rim – $16.00 Patrón Silver Tequila, Cedilla Açaí Liqueur, Lime Juice, and Pure Cane Sugar topped with Black Salt and Exotic Fruit Purée
- Yub Nub – $42.00 ( with Endor souvenir mug) Malibu Pineapple Rum, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, Citrus Juices, and Passion Fruit
Oga’s Cantina – Beers on Tap
- Gold Squadron Lager – $12.00 (ABV 5.0%) Golden Lager, Blue Point Brewing Co., Patchogue
- Gamorrean Ale – $12.00 (ABV 5.8%) Red Ale, New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins
- White Wampa Ale – $13.00 (ABV 4.5%) Hefeweizen, Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego
- Bad Motivator IPA – $12.00 (ABV 6.0%) IPA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico
Oga’s Cantina – Cider on Tap
- Spice Runner Hard Cider – $11.00 (ABV 5.0%) Cider, Angry Orchard Cider Co., Walden
Oga’s Cantina – Wine on Tap
- Toniray, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Sonoma – $13.00
- Imperial Guard, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Sonoma – $16.00
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