09/14/2026
This story has been shared before, but it is one of my favorite magical moments, and worth sharing again (and again, and again...)
It's long, but worth it 😉 In April, 2023, my son and I got to experience Hollywood Studios just the two of us, and had one of the best-ever experiences with a Cast Member.
The day started very poorly with vehicle problems on the way to the airport, an overly abrasive TSA official who confiscated and disposed of my 7 year old son's hockey stick (which is allowed on an airline, don't get me started) and a very busy Walt Disney World. Our first ride (Tower of Terror) went down to half capacity while we were in the 40 minute standby line, and resulted in waiting 95 minutes. (Thanks to my best Disney buddy Alyse for getting us Slinky Dog Dash lightning lane while we flew, we were able to get on and off our second ride in 10 minutes!) An Oreo milkshake at lunch brightened the little man's spirits and we were ready to roll.
Or so we thought, until we waited in line for Smugglers run one extra time (so Ry could be pilot 😉) and they had to shut it down. Rise had a 3+ hour wait, Star Tours was over an hour (any given day you'll see that under 20 minutes all the time). We went and saw Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, and the Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy show, both of which he loved but didn't help with the sting of the morning and the long waits everywhere.
Rather than wait in lines, we decided to explore Black Spire Outpost while we stacked our Genie+ for an incredible evening. We looked around, he played the Bounty Hunter game using his MagicBand+ and every now and then we'd look at ride times but opt to not get in line. We were hopeful we'd catch one of the Mandalorian's *random* patrols through the market, but the intermittent downpours were keeping him away, to protect Grogru. My boy was a trooper, but he was frustrated, and even the special Droid Sodas of Batuu couldn't cheer him up. ( )
The clouds finally passed and Rylan suggested he be my "personal photographer" and take photos of "Rey" around Galaxy's Edge. --it's humid, has poured off and on for 2.5 hours and my hair is atrocious, so naturally I respond "That sounds like fun buddy", with a smile.
My boy somehow managed to take a photo of "Rey" in front of the Millenium Falcon without another single Batuuan, youngling or human in the frame. Pleased with his work, he directed me over to another wall, where Disney's Photopass photographers stage guests for photos.
Enter photographer Harvey. Mr Harvey offered Rylan an "upgrade" to his device (mom's phone camera) and set Rylan up to use his camera. He gave Rylan suggestions on angles, showed him how to push buttons to make magic shots, and offered him a job, if Ry could report Monday 😉
As we were saying our goodbyes and thanking Harvey for the experience that turned our day around, he mentioned hearing the Mandalorian's patrols were adjusted for unforseen circumstances, but hinted that we should check back "asap". Boy are we glad we did! Just as we exited the Outpost, Mando came out, with Grogru at his side. Rylan was among the individuals Mando singled out to speak to and posed for photos with us before finishing his final patrol of the night.
Disney is magic, because of the amazing people who are there and make it magic. ✨️
