The Force is Strong in This One: SWW and Celebration VI, Disney Done Differently

[lovethattink]

love the photos of Anakin and Goofy together
happy he got to meet Queen Amidala and how awesome the Cantina Musicians were to take a group photo!
we love eating at SciFi, so nice a cool....Goofy's hamburger looks like a heartattack waiting to happend can see how he couldn't finish it in one sitting

hope you all aren't getting hit too hard by the TS Debbie, stay safe!

Thanks! I think I will always be amazed and extremely grateful to this year's Cantina Musicians!

I had a little sliver of it back at the motel. That picnic burger is delicious!! The next day, Grumpy had some of it for breakfast, lol.

Our patio has overflowed once. The pool is filled all the way up to the tiles. It will be over the concrete in a couple more inches. Back in 2004, Grumpy got on a giant inner tube and splashed gallons and gallons out of the pool. That inner tube is long gone, but I've been out there dumping buckets and buckets of water from the pool.

Enjoying you TR. my son and I also do Disney Differently . We have never been able to do Star Wars weekends because of the timing, but we are headed down in a few weeks and cannot wait! I saw an article saying that they had a "freeze yourself in carbonite" keepsake at sww --- sooooo jealous! Would be our dream keepsake Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your adventures --- many happy thoughts!

Welcome!! Thanks. Always nice to meet someone else who does Disney differently!

The Carbon Freeze Me was very cool. We were going to skip it completely, but with all the hype and not knowing if this was a once in a lifetime thing or not, we caved in to the publicity pressure. Still waiting for it to arrive. There was an error and we had to redo it, so...Oh I'm getting ahead of myself...that will come in a bit....please stay tuned!!

Always a bonus when you have a trip to look forward to! Hope you have a great vacation! Be sure to check out the new Agent P adventure at Epcot.

 

[lovethattink]

She says to check out and memorize the schedule while you're waiting in line on the first day and plan accordingly. One man Star Wars Trilogy is fantastic, as is the costume contest, which her 1 year old will be in. Panel interviews are fun, but get monotonous, so pick the most important ones. Always know where you are in relation to a restroom, the convention center is gigantic.

Oh, and don't let security see your water bottles when you're heading into auditoriums, apparently they learned this the hard way

Thanks for the tips!!

Memorize, rofl!! My nickname is Dory.

Good to know about the water bottles.

 

[kaoden39]

Hmm. Thanks, I'll look into it.



So maybe you can help me?



That's understandable.

Under day 2 and day 3, the writing in red is a link to Attractions Magazine's blog with their youtube videos of the parade and Hoopla. Maybe Grace would like to watch them? Next best thing to being there.



Oh cool, I hope it works completely so she can avoid another surgery.

You can watch the hoopla show if you click the red link on day 3. Scroll down a little on the blog and the video is embedded. The song is at the beginning. The show is a dance off between the good guys and the bad guys. Chewy is hysterical. The last number is the best, but you have to stick around to watch it after they announce the winner.

Of course I'll help if you need it!


Love the latest updates. I cannot imagine how hard it is for Queen Amidala to learn to walk with her headdress on. The balance has got to tricky to learn.

 

[lovethattink]

Of course I'll help if you need it!


Love the latest updates. I cannot imagine how hard it is for Queen Amidala to learn to walk with her headdress on. The balance has got to tricky to learn.

I never thought of that, but I bet your right!

Also being careful not to bump into people while posing for pics. The headress extends out pretty far.

 

[kaoden39]

I never thought of that, but I bet your right!

Also being careful not to bump into people while posing for pics. The headress extends out pretty far.

I hadn't thought of that. Oh wow.

 

[photographymom517]

Just read the first few pages! Love all of your SWW pictures!

 

[jmskinner]

She says to check out and memorize the schedule while you're waiting in line on the first day and plan accordingly. One man Star Wars Trilogy is fantastic, as is the costume contest, which her 1 year old will be in. Panel interviews are fun, but get monotonous, so pick the most important ones. Always know where you are in relation to a restroom, the convention center is gigantic.

Oh, and don't let security see your water bottles when you're heading into auditoriums, apparently they learned this the hard way

These are great tips. We missed both the One Man Star Wars Trilogy and the Costume Contest last year. I think the schedule was posted online before the event, but I may be wrong since we only attended Saturday last time.

My biggest tip, bring lots of money!

I've been debating about the t-shirt, probably need to make up my soon.

 

[lovethattink]

Just read the first few pages! Love all of your SWW pictures!

Welcome!! Thanks. Everything was taken either by Photopass or my phone's camera. Dh and I would love to get a real camera but we don't know where to start. I keep seeing that Ashton Kutcher commercial for Nikkon and it looks like a good starter? What do you think?

These are great tips. We missed both the One Man Star Wars Trilogy and the Costume Contest last year. I think the schedule was posted online before the event, but I may be wrong since we only attended Saturday last time.

My biggest tip, bring lots of money!

I've been debating about the t-shirt, probably need to make up my soon.

I was hoping the schedule would be up before the event so we can browse through it. We are going all 4 days, or at least have tickets for all 4 days.

When you say bring lots of money, are there many things that take cash only? Also what about eating there? Our oldest has food allergies. Not sure if he can eat there or if we'll have to leave to eat? Do you know if we have to pay for parking once a day like at Disney, or do you pay each time you go in and out of the parking lot?

We are passing on it. Yes, looks like you'll need to make a decision soon as it's not going to be sold at the event.

 

[jmskinner]

When you say bring lots of money, are there many things that take cash only? Also what about eating there? Our oldest has food allergies. Not sure if he can eat there or if we'll have to leave to eat? Do you know if we have to pay for parking once a day like at Disney, or do you pay each time you go in and out of the parking lot?

I think all the booths took credit cards. I rarely have cash on me. There are ATM's around, but I'm sure the fees are through the roof.

I just checked the convention center website, Orange County Convention Center, and it looks like $13 per entry. Boy, they know how to get you. Glad you mentioned that because I hadn't thought of that.

By the way, since we attended only Saturday last time, which was the day of the George Lucas/Jon Stewart event, even though we were there by 9am, we had to park at the opposite location and wait for a bus, there wasn't any shade at the bus stop.

There is a food court area and there was a variety of food, but seems like there wasn't anything for my son, who only eats chicken nuggets. Of course, with his meds, he usually isn't hungry during the day.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Got a little behind .. but all caught up !

The Palms seems like a great stay .. our next trip will most likely be off property since we are going to do Universal .. so I'll keep this place in mind.

 

[EvangelineG]

So glad I stumbled on this this morning. It was so much fun reading about your Star Wars adventures!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Darn the Dis for not sending me email updates! Now, I'm five pages behind on your new report. I'm going to catch up now.

 

[Soarin4Disney]

Just joining in and love the TR so far.

Where did your husband get the Jedi outfit? I've been trying to find one for a while now.

 

[lovethattink]

I think all the booths took credit cards. I rarely have cash on me. There are ATM's around, but I'm sure the fees are through the roof.

I just checked the convention center website, Orange County Convention Center, and it looks like $13 per entry. Boy, they know how to get you. Glad you mentioned that because I hadn't thought of that.

By the way, since we attended only Saturday last time, which was the day of the George Lucas/Jon Stewart event, even though we were there by 9am, we had to park at the opposite location and wait for a bus, there wasn't any shade at the bus stop.

There is a food court area and there was a variety of food, but seems like there wasn't anything for my son, who only eats chicken nuggets. Of course, with his meds, he usually isn't hungry during the day.

Those things are good to know. We were going to stay at the Hilton, and walk but I cancelled our resies a couple months ago and booked a bounceback for Pop Century, but thinking of cancelling that. Either way, we will be driving each day.

Do they pizza or some other kind of chicken? That's all Anakin eats, plus apples and broccoli.

Got a little behind .. but all caught up !

The Palms seems like a great stay .. our next trip will most likely be off property since we are going to do Universal .. so I'll keep this place in mind.

The Palms is convenient to I-4, so either Disney or Universal would be ok. We did go to Walmart on Turkey Lake Rd (near Sea World) the one day. Traffic was backed up from exit 64 to the Sea World exit, but I think that was to stop and watch the smoldering from the brush fire.

So glad I stumbled on this this morning. It was so much fun reading about your Star Wars adventures!

Welcome!! Great to have you here!

Darn the Dis for not sending me email updates! Now, I'm five pages behind on your new report. I'm going to catch up now.

There is a handy dandy index on the 2nd page, might make catching up easier

I have email notification turned off. But when I get on the DIS I just click on user CP and it shows me all my subscribed threads. Every now and then some slip through the cracks though.

Just joining in and love the TR so far.

Where did your husband get the Jedi outfit? I've been trying to find one for a while now.

Welcome!! Thanks! He bought it online, I think ebay. Costumes for less also have some SW costumes.

 

[lovethattink]

We didn't get to DHS until close to 2pm. The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived. We were parked way in the back, and had a long trek to the entrance.

You may be wondering why we didn't just take the tram rather than walk all that way? The w/c just doesn't fold up well enough to squeeze it on the tram, and the foot rests are so heavy. They alone probably weigh as much as the whole rest of the w/c.

We headed straight to the queue for Stars of the Saga. We are huge Ray Park fans. He played Darth Maul in Star Wars. This was his last weekend at SWW and totally missed seeing him week 1.

Anakin met a guest in line named Kelsey. She must really like kids because she struck up a conversation with him and he talked nonstop. I think the hotter he got and the more crowded the queue got, the more he talked. We told her that if she was all talked out that it was ok to let him know. She said she was enjoying him and he was fine. So he continued to talk, and talk, and talk. He told her how much he liked her Hans Solo outfit and yoda bag. She was surprised he knew she was dressed like Hans because no one else seemed to "get" it. In between all his chatter, she was able to squeeze in that if he sees Boba Fett to be sure to tell him she wasn't there. He was looking for her. (His wheels were turning. Remember this for Day 5.) She also told him that it was ok to tell Chewy where she was though.

As he was talking we continued to put frozen waters on him, and behind his neck to cool him down. For most of the time we were in the shade. Then we were told we had to move forward into the hot sun as they tried to squeeze more people in the queue. It was around 10 minutes we were in the hot sun. We opened up umbrellas for shade. It helped a little. But the temps in the sun went from hot in the shade to sweltering in the sun.

Kelsey was in front of us and continued to engage Anakin in conversation. She was such a godsend!

The line moved and we crossed the street to the Premiere Theater.

Andy Secombe and Ray Park were the celebrities. James Arnold Taylor was the host.

The preshow is awesome!! It's a storm trooper show. They are hysterical! This itself would be worth getting in line and a show of its own!

Stars of the Saga is a question answer type show.

It ends with a tribute to Mickey!

The Premiere Theater is airconditioned. It feels so wonderful in there!! Great place to cool off!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh the hot sun of the line looks unbearable. That is dedication!!



I hope you guys are okay in all the crazy weather that is going on in your area.

 

[mommy2mrb]

how sweet of Kelsey to help keep Anakin entertained and that he did so well waiting in the heat, especially with his costume on

great you got to see the show and able to get cooled off for awhile!



saw your post on Judy's thread about your patio and pool flooding , hope the TS starts to blow through soon...stay safe!

 

[lovethattink]

Oh the hot sun of the line looks unbearable. That is dedication!!

I hope you guys are okay in all the crazy weather that is going on in your area.

We have gotten a ton of rain! But in between there was sun today. Tornado watch til 11pm.

how sweet of Kelsey to help keep Anakin entertained and that he did so well waiting in the heat, especially with his costume on

great you got to see the show and able to get cooled off for awhile!



saw your post on Judy's thread about your patio and pool flooding , hope the TS starts to blow through soon...stay safe!

He had frozen water bottles inside and outside his costume. If you look closely in the picture he is holding a frozen water bottle.

That was one of the bonuses of staying at The Palms. There was a full size refrigerator and freezer. We were able to freeze plenty of water bottles to take into the park with us. Where problems arose were queues where the air flow was blocked by buildings or where we were in direct sunlight.

That storm is stationary right now. Doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

 

[kaoden39]

I am praying that the tornadoes stay far away!

 

[lovethattink]

Once we were cooled off from the airconditioned show, we were ready to see some characters. The line for Anakin was short! We got in line and with in a couple minutes it was our turn!

Anakin taught my Anakin and my Jedi DH how to do a jedi trick. He did it in such a way that was so real to my Anakin. It was such a special moment, another sprinkling of pixie dust!

As we walked away, we spotted a clone trooper roaming. Do you see the guy in the back round? I don't know who he is, but he reminded me so much of my BIL. Years ago we went to Cedar Point with him. Someone was getting their picture taken and he walked right into the picture. We tried to stop him, and he said, at least I'm smiling. Here's a fellow who sure looks happy, and walking into the picture...at least he's smiling!

Anakin wasn't drinking enough. He was tired of water. He asked if he could have an icee. Dh is a sucker for icees. DH headed over towards Hollywood and Vine to get an icee while we stopped at the Queen Amidala queue. The line was small. But just as we got there she went on break and we were told she's be back in 10 minutes.

Anakin began telling the girls behind us all about the Jedi trick that Anakin taught him. He managed to capture the attention of these girls and everyone else around us. He was in mid-sentence when Ashley Eckstein (the voice of Ahsoka Tanno on the Clone Wars) walked by.

As if he's known her all his life, he called out to her like he would to any other close friend. She is such a friendly person that she waved to him!! Yet another sprinkling of pixie dust.

The people around us asked if he knew her. They meant personally. He being a black and white thinker said, "yes, she's my friend." He met her last year when she signed my Her Universe shirt and tag, so to him that made her his friend.

There was one family ahead of us, then it was our turn to see Queen Amidala. She remembered him from the day before. She talked to my Anakin about her Anakin. They talked a very long time. (Still no dh back with Icees yet.)

Dh still wasn't back with the Icee.

I called him.

Me: Hey Honey, where are you?

Him: In line for the Icee, it's long.

Me: Should we come to you? or are you going to come to us?

Him: I don't know where you are.

Me: We're at Queen Amidala M&G, near the Carbon Freeze Me booth.

Him: Ok.

Me: Coming to meet us?

Him: Yes, I got the drinks.

We wait, and wait and wait.

I call again.

Me: Did you get lost?

Him: No, I'm standing here waiting for you.

Me: I don't see you.

Him: I don't see you either.

Me: Where are you?

Him: Between the Icee stand and Hollywood and Vine. Where are you?

Me: Same spot, by Queen Amidala and Carbon Freeze Me.

Him: The icees are melting.

Me: I guess so.

Him: Should I come to you?

Me: Yes, I thought you were coming to us.

Him: No, I thought you were coming to me. The icee's melting.

By this time, we are hot again. DH found us. We decided to head to Darth's Mall. We were with friends who had never been to a SWW. They really enjoyed Stars of the Saga, even though they never saw a Star Wars movie in their life.

They were impressed with Darth's Mall. We walked around and cooled off again in there. Anakin made a build a saber. We noticed there were less parts there than at Tatooine Traders. Suggested Anakin build his saber there instead. He didn't understand what we were trying to explain to him. We walked around checking out the merchandise. Some how in all our trips to the mall, we hadn't come across the name tag stand.

Over these last couple weekends, Anakin had made friends with a photopass photographer. She had a light saber for magic shots, but Anakin somehow thought it was specifically for her to play with him. He could spot her a mile away, and she always remembered him. She sprinkled pixie dust too!

It was soon time for Visit to the Maul show. Our friends weren't interested so they went to Writers Stop for coffee while we headed to the Visit to the Maul Show. We got to the theater and the queue was HUGE. We found the end of it near the subway.

The theater holds 900 people if I remember correctly. It was going to be close. The line began to move. We moved forward quickly. We weaved through the back of the muppet area where the queue wound here and there. We crossed the street!! Oh it looks like we are going to make it!! There's about 20 people ahead of us then we are in the door!! And, out comes a cm who announces the theater is closed.

We all kind of hung around for a couple minutes, just in case they found seat somewhere. No luck. We didn't make it. There was still a huge line of people behind us too.

What to do? There weren't many people in line for a Clone Wars character. In fact, several people who were in line left when told that Ahsoka was next. Thanks to their leaving we ended up in the front of the line for Ahsoka!

Hot again, and with nearly 2 hours to kill before Hoopla we knew we had to get Anakin back indoors. We texted our friends and met them at Writer's Stop. Anakin was hungry and declared he already had a sugar snack so he can't eat there. We went to ABC Comissary to cool down and grab a bite to eat before the Hoopla.

The restaurant was empty. We got our food in no time. Dh and I shared the fish and fries, Anakin got chicken nuggets. We took our time eating and went out to the Idol screen just before it started.

Our friends enjoyed the Hoopla. Once again goes to prove you don't have to be a Star Wars fan, or even see any of the movies to enjoy the SWW things at DHS.

After the Hoopla, I realized that I had forgotten to get a SWW shirt for SL_underwood. Her son Luke was so heartbroken recently when his shirt from last year didn't fit. She asked me to get him one and picked out the gray one when she had seen my pictures. I'm not sure why, but we went back to Darth's Mall for the shirt. We could have just popped into one of the stores near the exit to get it. After this, we called it quits and went back to the motel.

Anakin was exhausted and went straight to bed. It was a long, hot day for him. He would end up sleeping 14 hours that night.


Recap of the day:

Shows:
1. Stars of the Saga
2. Hoopla (again)

Characters:
1. Anakin
2. Clone Trooper
3. Ahsoka Tanno

Amount of time to see those from 2pm-ish to 8:30-ish, due to all the time spent either waiting in the heat or cooling down from the heat.

Darth's Mall was a really great place to beat the heat. There was lots of merchandise to see. The character meet and greet. A video playing of the Carbon Freeze me. Artist signings. Her Universe signing.

It also became a place where Anakin took several long naps and cat naps over the 4 weekends. Seems we'd hit the air conditioning and bam he was out. Those power naps got him energized for whatever was next.