This year, Star Wars Nite at the Disneyland Resort expanded its run with multiple dates of the popular, separately ticketed event geared toward fans of a galaxy far, far away. And let me tell you, I am so glad they did this to meet the demand from previous years.
Last spring, the limited event felt packed to capacity. It was hard to do much as content creators and influencers flocked to get the first looks at character interactions and food—to the point where it was hard for regular park-goers (including a very pregnant me at the time, and the friend who’d invited me along) to do anything. Even with four-ish hours to do it in, if you just wanted to try the Star Wars-themed food or meet characters from the films not usually available during regular park hours, it felt impossible. I only got to try one ration of the special food items hidden deep in Tomorrowland that was not that great, and waited in a really long line to meet an Ewok.
This year, Star Wars Nite expanded to last a few weeks, happening on select nights between April 8 and May 6. Disneyland invited io9 to attend one of the nights and we knew to pick something smack in the middle to avoid the rush of Disney influencers competing to their firsts in. It was a much better experience than before and far more accessible.
The overall experience was enhanced by allowing Star Wars fans more opportunities to gather over the course of the park’s “Season of the Force” celebration (March 28-May 11), and get to experience shorter wait times for all the offerings. It was such an enjoyable experience to be able to do more and spend an evening without the kiddo—my eight-month-old is not ready for late park nights—and get a redo with my friend.
It was so much easier to get food and try different things for a Star Wars food crawl. I started out with my new favorite, the Fried Falumpaset cheese skewer, which is a Korean hot dog-inspired cheesy treat (no meat) that comes with a fantastic mustard cheese sauce. While it’s available during the day too at Ronto Roasters in Galaxy’s Edge, it’s an item we hope stays a staple year-round.
Before the night exclusives became available I also got the Fried Chicken Baos for a small bite to hold me over before trying the event’s specialty noms. First up was the new honey chipotle-glazed Kalbi Ribs, which were perfectly charred on the surface and tender like Anakin’s face on the lava shores of Mustafar. It was served with with a side of steamed broccoli, purple cabbage, and blue rice. I’d definitely have this again because it’s hard to find themed foods that aren’t predominately carb loaded.
Before wandering off for rides and character lines, I was intrigued by the vague description of Cafe Orleans’ themed offerings as “small bites and drinks.” It was a cold blustery night as we made our way to New Orleans Square as the sweet metal sounds of the Imperial March played from the stage on the Rivers of America by a cover band. Yes, they played Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” too, and you know what? It was easy to get into the vibes. When we got to Cafe Orleans, the Star Wars Menu had an item that seemed to really be what the night needed for dessert: the sipping chocolate.
Originally I was going to have the Galactic Princess Sundae but I didn’t want to feel Hoth-level cold so this new option was perfect and such a hidden gem. It was perfectly rich and warm, and came with sweet biscuits and a marshmallow that should have been Rebel emblem or Yoda shaped. It made me wish it had been part of a Star Wars themed high (republic) tea because that would have been so fun to dress up for. Disneyland already had the makings of it, with a Coruscanti salad with a Hawk-bat egg and the Galactic Republic flatbread.
There was also a boozy option, the Rebel Refresher— it could be liquid courage to keep you warm and take on the Empire, but you might need to go to the refresher soon after. Dining at Cafe Orleans for their themed warm drinks and teas was such a nice way to not feel like you had to go-go-go, and it had a great vantage point to listen to the sounds of Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes playing live on the river.
This year, the atmosphere was so much easier to bask in. The DJ parties were fun to roam around as we made our way to various meet and greets. The lines were so short for all the Star Wars rides it made it really worth the admission for the evening event; during the day with regular park guests they just get so crowded.
The only thing that was really missing was the use of the theater next to Hyperspace Mountain, which could have had an Andor season two preview going. But there was so much to do including costume parades, “A Gathering of the Resistance” with Rey to unite in lightsaber igniting, and also a lightsaber how-to at the Fantasyland Theater.
Merchandise was still a little hard to come by as Star Wars Nite exclusives ran out quickly in sizing, and the previously teased remote controlled Mouse Droid still hasn’t been released.
The highlight of the night was meeting Queen Padmé Amidala. The line last year didn’t allow for stopping for a pose, you had to grab a selfie and keep moving. It was better facilitated this time and we actually got pictures with (and of) the incredible face actress who was a dead ringer for Natalie Portman. The only bummer was when we met Padmé, Anakin was not out to meet folks, meaning I missed him for the second year in a row. They have a great Jedi face character for him we’ve seen online. Ah, well next time!
The Skywalkers had such a great presence at Star Wars Nite which makes sense as this year marks the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The film marking the end of the prequel era has seen so much love from fans who grew up on it and the energy of the Y2K gen was felt throughout the night. There was so much excitement when Darth Maul showed up with his double-edge light saber and even Sheev Palpatine somehow returned.
It was however the beautiful re-telling of those three films through Shadows of Memory: A Skywalker Saga through projection lights and narration by the lore weaver which capped off the night perfectly at Galaxy’s Edge. While there weren’t too many new-for-2025 attractions, it was a great change of pace to be able to finally do a lot more of what’s been offered and hoping that the next slate of events offers more exciting updates and characters from Andor, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. Because if the prequels are any indication, fans of Star Wars love it all and outnumber the loud angry fans who gatekeep the content to just the original films.
For more information on Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite and tickets visit here.
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