When I realized May the Fourth was a holiday people celebrated, I immediately jumped on the bandwagon. Everyone, thank my parents right now for putting me on, because without them, I would never have found this insanely deep franchise that has, in so many ways, changed my life.
For those who don’t know, May the Fourth is officially Star Wars Day. Why? Simply because of the saying, “May the force be with you.” Get it?
Anyways, when I started going to college at UCF, I gained many opportunities by living in the City Beautiful, one of which was access to Orlando’s theme parks (Universal, SeaWorld, and, of course, Disney World). I did not grow up with a Disney pass; I actually didn’t go to Disney until I was in the fifth grade, and it was life-changing. What do you mean, I met Tinkerbell, Rapunzel, and Cinderella within the same weekend? Little me was sold, and Disney quickly became my favorite theme park to drop money at.
Now, living in Orlando full-time as a college student is a hassle, and I pay most of my own bills, so that leaves me with little money for days at the theme parks. However, once I started college, I decided to go to Disney (specifically Hollywood Studios) at least once on May 4th so I could see it with my own eyes.
And this year, I was finally able to make it happen. Shoutout to my friend Chris and his family for giving me the ticket; this article would not be possible without you!
We got to the parks around 9:30 in the morning, but were not able to get into Hollywood Studios until 2 in the afternoon. On that note, let me tell you: if you are an annual passholder with blackout dates, be sure to book ahead of time! We were lucky that with my ticket, I was able to park-hop so we could wait elsewhere. Reservations for this day usually fill up quickly, so if you are planning a May the 4th Hollywood Studios trip, you are kind of cooked unless you can park hop and get in later.
We decided to kill some time, so we went to Magic Kingdom to wait. I got to ride the Skyliner for the first time (10 out of 10 experience, it’s so much fun) and see the Cake Bake Shop on Disney’s Boardwalk outside of Epcot with my own two eyes. I had forgotten to eat in the morning, so I ended up going to the bakery and buying a cookie (it was 12 dollars, but it was worth it).
If you have the My Disney Experience app, it is a great tool for checking wait times, finding food, and more. It is a lifesaver if you are walking around the park all day.
The first ride we got to was obviously Tron, which had the longest wait time of the day. However, it is so, so worth it, and you have to ride it at least once! We also managed to ride Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Big Thunder Mountain, which recently reopened after remodeling. This particular Disney trip was my first time going on a Monday, and it was actually remarkably slower than average, an advantage for us because we were able to ride the most popular rides without waiting more than an hour and a half.
We went back to Hollywood Studios and got in around 5:30, immediately heading to Galaxy’s Edge to get Star Wars dinner. My favorite meal from Docking Bay 7 has been discontinued (count your days, Disney), so I settled for an alternative, and then we made our way to Smuggler’s Run. We wanted to do Rise of the Resistance, but the ride had been shut down since we returned to the park. A bummer, but it allowed us to watch a Galaxy’s Edge tradition.
The most special thing that happens at Hollywood Studios on May the 4th isn’t limited menu items, new merch, or virtual queues for comics; it’s Star Wars fans coming together underneath the Millennium Falcon to ignite their lightsabers as the sun goes down. This tradition started a few years ago, and it is pretty much guest-led. Chris and I were there for an hour before we ran out of patience, as we had seen people do it multiple times, so we went for one last ride, and then headed to watch the fireworks show by the entry.
While I will always love spending time at Disney, no matter the occasion, I mourn the lack of special Star Wars things throughout the park. When I was younger, I fought Darth Vader, and I watched a Stormtrooper parade. The sad part is that events and activities like that are now a thing of the past, at least here in Orlando. If Disney brought them back instead of just focusing on Star Wars cuisine and exclusive merch in May, they would most likely have record-breaking attendance every year. Oh, well.