When he’s not busy cooking up grub over at Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo in Black Spire Outpost, chef Strono “Cookie” Tuggs likes to get away… “far, far away…”
The character from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge can now be found in the queue for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
You can keep an eye out for him as you approach the loading area, by the droid running security checks. He’s listed as the chef at Maz Kanata’s castle, as seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He hails from Takodana, the namesake of the popular alcoholic Takodana Quencher served at Docking Bay 7. After the destruction of the castle and his centuries-spanning career with it, Tuggs left Takodana for Batuu.
Disney has stated it has no plans to close or alter Star Tours: The Adventures Continue with the addition of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, making this little Easter egg a clever way to further integrate this “off-planet” attraction and the land.
Of course, Star Tours has had references to the land before this, and vice versa. Batuu was added as a possible destination on the attraction back in 2017, well before Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened last year. Meanwhile, you can find DJ-REX, the former Star Tours pilot who took guests on a misadventure in the original incarnation of the ride—which closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2010—inside Oga’s Cantina.
It looks like another Batuu resident is also looking for a getaway. It’s Hondo Ohnaka, the host of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. I guess they never learned that he became a “legitimate” businessman, as he’s still wanted for piracy. (That would explain why he looks so young, as he’s seen as he appeared in the animated series “Star Wars Rebels.”)
The screens were initially designed to show guests as they walk through the queue, using data from MagicBands to match them to their name and hometown, but now they mostly show characters from across the Star Wars universe, though occasionally they’ll show a guest’s name and hometown, if not their picture.
Oddly enough, Tuggs is one of the few characters shown as art and not as a live-action character.
Luckily, if you’re still feeling hungry after your adventure, you can always visit Docking Bay 7 to grab something to eat, even if “Cookie” isn’t there!
Keep reading WDWNT for more on what’s going on at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!