May the Fourth at Disney World 2026
With the first Star Wars movie in theaters since 2019 later this month, Disney World is celebrating May the Fourth and the anticipation for The Mandalorian and Grogu with a wider scope than the previous recent annual events. Although Disneyland and Batuu West have featured a Season of the Force for the past several years, the offerings in Florida have been comparatively thinner. Fortunately, 2026 brought much more to the table.
Most notably, Hollywood Studios has expanded its slate of special food and beverage offerings and associated merchandise. A new option this year, the Your Chosen Path cupcake, includes the fun of discovering which lightsaber color appears in the interior frosting. (We got blue both times, but other alternatives include green, red, and purple.) Some recurring classics returned, like the Wookiee Cookie and longtime favorite Lightsaber Churros, as well as the Chosen One Cooler (green) and Sith Lord Libation (red) beverages accompanied by a light-up lightsaber swizzle stick and the option for adults to get an alcohol-infused version. Wisely, given the usage Star Wars fans tend to make of their light-up memorabilia, this year’s version of the lightsaber swizzle sticks contain a rechargeable battery that can be powered up with the included USB cord.
Over in Batuu East, new special offerings also appear this year. The Pink Milk, previously offered only in Batuu West, is now available at the Milk Stand. We preferred its flavor to the location’s other item, the Kerkoiden Blue Cake, which did not impress. We were similarly underwhelmed by the Keshian Spiced Chips at Ronto Roasters, but fortunately the classic Ronto Wrap itself remains a reliable success. (Sadly, still no Meiloorun Juice in Batuu East.) Docking Bay 7 also has several new menu items for May.
On the other hand, the merchandise shopping at Hollywood Studios on May 4th was uneven and at times frustrating. For some items with easily anticipated high demand, such as the Bantha sipper and multiple new popcorn buckets, guests could include them in a restaurant mobile order to pick them up after only a short wait at the scheduled time (with or without additional food and beverage in the order). For other items for which the Parks team equally should have anticipated extreme interest, massive lines wrapped all around Galaxy’s Edge that forced guests to wait hours to purchase limited edition action figure comic packs from the Market or newly released collectibles from Dok Ondar’s. When we returned several weeks later, these items could be purchased immediately with no wait at the same locations. In previous years, such limited edition or exclusive items also had been made available at the primary May the Fourth store as well as in shops in Galaxy’s Edge, significantly mitigating the overcrowding in Battu. This year, however, the previously used location for that store – the Studio 1 space in the Muppets area – no longer exists, and the replacement store was set up in a much smaller space, the exit area for the Vacation Fun animated shorts theater adjacent to the Frozen Sing-A-Long. While that space may be workable for a limited-attendance ticketed event like Jollywood Nights, when it served the same purpose, it was not feasible for the much greater usage on May the Fourth. This year guests waited an hour or more in line to get into the shopping space after their group was called in the virtual queue; in previous years, such waits usually lasted 15 minutes or less. This year’s store also had many fewer cashiers available for guest purchases, with the mobile checkout apparently not serving as effective an alternative as the Parks team had predicted. Hopefully the Parks team realized the shopping failures of the 2026 iteration of May the Fourth and will implement solutions to improve the guest experience next year and beyond.
Finally, Hollywood Studios is offering a larger number of Star Wars-themed Magic Shots from PhotoPass photographers. Some anticipate The Mandalorian and Grogu with the young green alien available in several poses – using the Force to summon a blue macaron is especially cute. Others connect to different Star Wars tales, including Leia’s droid Lola from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and Chopper from Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka.
Although Batuu West now features Original Trilogy characters – Luke, Leia, Han, and Darth Vader – as of April 29, that change has not yet been implemented for Batuu East. Fortunately Mando and Grogu will continue to appear in Batuu East before and after the release of their movie on May 22.
Most of the May the Fourth special food and beverages run through the end of the month, overlapping with additional The Mandalorian and Grogu offerings beginning May 22. Other elements, such as the Magic Shots, will continue into the summer. Details can be found on the Disney Parks Blog for those with upcoming visits to Disney World, as well as information about the offerings, some the same and some different, at Disneyland and Batuu West during the same timeframe.
Related Links:
- Disney Eats: May the 4th Foodie Guide 2026 (Disney Parks Blog; Apr. 23, 2026)
- New Star Wars Day Merch Coming to Disney Store and Disney Parks (Disney Parks Blog; May 3, 2026)
- Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Brings the Original Trilogy Leads to a Newly Updated Batuu (FANgirl Blog)
- Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Timeline Soon Expands at Disneyland (Disney Parks Blog; Apr. 17, 2026)
B.J. has served as editor of FANgirl Blog from its inception, as well as contributing reviews and posts on a range of topics. He edited Tricia’s novel Wynde, and is collaborating with her on several future projects set in that original universe.
Currently a tenured law professor in Florida, B.J. has been a practicing lawyer in Washington, D.C., a law clerk to a federal appeals court judge, and a law journal editor-in-chief. He is also a proud geek dad whose son who is a big fan of Star Wars and The Clone Wars.
- Star Wars at D23 2026 - August 19, 2026
- Join a Mission with Mando and Grogu on Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run - May 29, 2026
- May the Fourth at Disney World 2026 - May 6, 2026
