Oga’s Cantina is a bar in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and has been one of the land’s most popular attractions since it opened over 5 years ago at both Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World and Disneyland. But demand has been dying down, and Disney is finally making meaningful changes to Advance Dining Reservation rules. This covers the changes, plus our commentary about the why of this and whether WDW will soon follow suit.
Here is the alert from the Oga’s Cantina page on the Disneyland Resort website: “Incoming transmission: Beginning August 19, Oga’s Cantina will transition to walk-up availability with a traditional standby queue and will no longer offer new reservations. Any existing reservations will be honored.”
Note that this change only applies to Disneyland in California. Oga’s Cantina at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World (Florida) is still accepting Advance Dining Reservations. There are no changes to Batuu East, the outpost in Florida. At least, for now. We’ll cover that in greater depth deeper in this post…
Also note that both versions of Oga’s Cantina still have several policies in place, most notably:
Guests may be asked to wait in a traditional standby queue.
Keep in mind, all members of your party must be present before seating, and hosts must bring your entire party to the table at one time. At least one person in the party must be 14 years of age or older.
This experience takes place in an enclosed space with low lighting levels and high activity, and is limited to 45 minutes per party.
Oga’s Cantina consists mainly of standing room, with limited seating. Seating is not guaranteed upon entry.
Separate parties may be seated together, and large parties may be separated.
Limit 2 alcoholic beverages per guest per transaction.
A limited menu of snack offerings is available at Oga’s Cantina.
We’re drawing your attention to all of these points, as they are common complaints about this Star Wars Bar. We routinely get reader responses to our 25 Best Bars & Lounges at Walt Disney World, which ranks Oga’s Cantina very highly, that it shouldn’t even be on the list, period, because [insert one or more of the above bullet points]. Those make it a non-starter for many guests.
This is not the first discrepancy between Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World. Most notably, there’s a major pricing difference at Savi’s Workshop between the two coasts, with the Walt Disney World version costing $249.99 and the Disneyland version costing $219.99. Neither version of Savi’s Workshop offers Annual Pass or other discounts.
Savi’s Workshop at Disneyland did cost $250 for a brief bit, but fell from that price back down to $219.99. When it comes to Disney, any drop is a big one, as prices typically only go in one direction–up. That’s still up from the $200 price tag on the Savi’s Workshop lightsaber building experience when it first debuted, but pretty much everything at Disneyland is more expensive than it was ~5 years ago.
The price went down at Disneyland because demand dropped. It’s as simple as that. Disneyland is more dependent upon a local fanbase, and the California park largely exhausted demand for lightsaber building among locals, and is now reliant on the smaller slice of tourists that visit Disneyland. By contrast, Savi’s Workshop is still a popular reservation at Walt Disney World thanks to a steady stream of new tourists. Even so, it’s not as popular there as it once was.
We bring this up because it’s an almost identical story with Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World.
Due to the aforementioned bullet points, Oga’s Cantina is not exactly a popular bar at Disneyland Resort. Ask the average local to make a list of their favorite watering holes at Disneyland that they frequent most often, and I’d be shocked if Oga’s Cantina tops many lists. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s left off most lists.
There are Star Wars superfans, sure, and the aforementioned smaller slice of tourists. Oga’s Cantina is a must-do for first-timers and still seems sufficiently popular with Star Wars fans. But there aren’t enough of either to sustain demand. The dominant demographic is locals, and they’ve gotten their fill of Oga’s Cantina.
Honestly, I’m surprised that it took this long to make the change. There have been plenty of times in recent months when Oga’s Cantina hasn’t had much of a line at Disneyland, period, and I’d pretty safely assume that tables were going unfilled. I’m one of those locals who has mostly gotten my fill of the Star Wars bar, so I don’t go in to check things out too much, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me the 45 minute time limit wasn’t being enforced–or was only loosely enforced on busy dates.
As for whether the same change could come to Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World, the above discussion should more or less address that.
Already, it’s worth noting that Advance Dining Reservations for Oga’s Cantina are nowhere near as competitive as they once were. As I sit here typing this, every single time slot for today–and any day into the future–is available for booking. The Walk-Up Waitlist is also open, and shows a 45 minute wait for some reason (assuming that’s accurate, you’d be better off booking an ADR ~20 minutes into the future; but it probably isn’t accurate).
Between the new lounge smell wearing off and pent-up demand being exhausted, this is the norm. There’s also the fact that Oga’s Cantina is usually open for a full hour after Disney’s Hollywood Studios closes, which the extra time helping absorb more demand.
Nevertheless, I also feel like it’s the norm for chaotic crowds outside Oga’s Cantina at Walt Disney World.
You can get in same-day, but you’ll have to wait most of the time and, judging by the line outside, it’s presumably still busy inside. Disney likes to pack restaurants to the greatest extent possible, and that seems especially true at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Beyond that, I also wouldn’t expect Walt Disney World to ditch ADRs at Oga’s Cantina for the simple reason that vacation planners largely love the certainty of advance bookings. This news is being met with thunderous applause (okay, maybe it’s not quite thunderous, but the response is pretty much “good, this is how it should’ve always been”) among Disneyland diehards.
If the announcement were made for Walt Disney World, I’d hazard a guess that reactions would be much more mixed. There are few things Walt Disney World planners disdain more than uncertainty. Even if the end result is exactly the same (e.g. I can book an ADR for Oga’s Cantina ~20 minutes from now and be seated at the same time as someone who booked ~60+10 days out), WDW guests love the clarity offered by advance planning.
For this guest demographics gap on full display, look no further than the approaches to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World vs. Disneyland. By popular guest demand, Walt Disney World switched from same-day Genie+ ride reservations to pre-arrival Lightning Lanes last year.
Disneyland also made the switch to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass…but in name only. The system is functionally identical to the Genie+ service, with guests not making same-day line-skipping selections until actually entering the park.
Ultimately, the one change that I could see coming to Oga’s Cantina at Walt Disney World would be relaxing that 45-minute time limit. And honestly, it’s entirely possible that this has already happened on a case-by-case basis. There’s really no reason to give guests the boot if tables are empty, ADRs are going unclaimed, and there are no Walk-Up Waitlist guests waiting.
This could also mean other informal policy changes, such as not seating separate parties together or giving guests greater choice over where they stand or, ideally, sit. Decreased demand could also ease up the burden on Cast Members to turn over the space faster, allowing for an expanded menu of food and maybe even drinks that aren’t premade.
There are a number of incremental improvements that could be achieved at Oga’s Cantina so it’s more worthy of being considered among the top bars at Walt Disney World (or Disneyland).
Even today, Oga’s Cantina is a cool place to experience, and spending some time there can be satisfying. It’s not your typical relaxed lounge experience, but it has a lot to see and appreciate. The enthusiasm of other patrons is contagious, and the sick beats from DJ R3X will be felt in your bones. It ranks among the better things to do in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is saying something given that this is a land of highlights.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
Thoughts on Disney ditching ADRs for the Star Wars bar at Disneyland? Have you visited Oga’s Cantina recently? What was your experience like? What did you think of the theme and atmosphere? What about the drinks? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Looking forward to experiencing Oga’s Cantina, or is it low on your list of Star Wars Land priorities? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
