When our friends Tim and John let us be their guests for the cast preview of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we couldn’t have been more excited!!!
Nate and I went back and forth on whether to hire a sitter or bring Ollie, but ultimately, I wanted photos of him teeny tiny in front of the Millennium Falcon, and I knew it’d be worth the hassle knowing with the impending crowds, it could be months before we come back for a visit!
And honestly? Totally worth it!! Look at this photo!!! Buuuut… This wasn’t on our first visit to Batuu…
… THIS was. lol! Long story short, our first visit to the new land was in a hot, torrential downpour. Ollie was either screaming for Uncle Timmy to hold him, touch him, pay attention to nothing but him, or racing around with a full size umbrella knocking into guests, but looking like a tiny droid roaming the land!
I ended up bringing Ollie home after just an hour or so- He was so inconsolable and just not himself, so I left Nate in the land to ride Smuggler’s Run and take some photos!
I. Mean. <3
When I called my friend Veronica and told her what a bust our first visit was, she insisted we have a take two the following week and go with her family on *their* cast preview day. Lucky for us, it was sunny! And Ollie was happy! And all was right with the world! I love this photo of him checking out all the details. :)
Allllll week he became obsessed with all things Chewie. Wanting to watch montage videos of him, playing in our den, pointing at the carpet, and loudly demanding, “CHEWIE COME PLAY RIGHT HERE. COME PLAY WITH OLLIE.” We got him all pumped to MEET Chewie and it’s all he talked about that morning. So while we waited for our boarding group to go back to Galaxy’s Edge, we waited 35 looooong minutes with a two year old. Totally pumped to meet his new bestie. Could. Not. Wait.
And then… <3 Turns out he’s a liiiiittle bigger in person than someone was prepared for!!
LOOK. AT. THIS. STUD. MUFFIN. He’s not one for souvenirs, but it was love at first sight with Storm Trooper and they’ve been pretty inseparable since!
The planet Batuu is known for their three suns, and while we only saw the one on our visit, the other two were DEFINITELY felt!
I love all of your posts, but your family posts are especially precious. I am curious…what’s in your camera bag for a FAMILY Disney day in the parks? With all the stuff a mom has to carry around for a small child, what must-have lens do you pack to capture these amazing family images? Thanks!
Hi Traci!
Most often, Jensey will have her mom bag and I’ll just have the camera on a strap with a single lens. Often it’s the 50mm so we can get portraits but sometimes the wider 35mm if I want more scene shots or if we’re seeing other people too. Jensey might throw the 15mm fisheye (our selfie lens!) in her bag just so it’s handy if we want it.
If I don’t know what to expect for the day and want to document a lot, I’ll bring the more versatile 24-70mm lens. Not my favorite for portraits, but definitely good for something like our first day in Batuu!