Never Tell Me The Odds! (7/16 Backlot)

[thecapells]

During a January 2011 family trip to “the World”, we upgraded to Annual Passes.
And those passes started burning a hole in my pocket.
What to do? What to do?
Why plan a Guys Weekend, of course!

My eldest son (9 years old at the time) is as close to a mini-me as one can get.
He is smart, shy, quiet, and into reading, stop motion photography, LEGO, and engineering.
He loves to experience Disney and try to see how it all works.
And, little by little, he is gaining an appreciation for Disney history.

Then there’s me.
Anal planner.
Child of the 80’s.
Huge Star Wars fan – it defined by childhood.

So when the possibility of a Guys Weekend arose, I immediately chose Star Wars Weekends.
That’s an event I’d been longing to try out.
This year was also the grand opening of Star Tours 2.0.
And the 30th Anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back.

We chose Weekend Four.
Hosted by Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka) with special guests Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Ray Park (Darth Maul)
We could not wait!
Come Join our Rebel Forces as we begin a trip report from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!

 

[dawnbu40]

Two TRs at once? Very ambitious

We've never been to SWW so I can't wait to hear all about your adventures

 

[thecapells]

Two TRs at once? Very ambitious

We've never been to SWW so I can't wait to hear all about your adventures

I'm gonna lean on J for one of them.
But Star Wars Weekends was a blast!
Lots of good stories on the way!

 

[wiigirl]

In for your TR!

 

[thecapells]

Hey gang!
Sorry for the delay but it's been a really hectic week.
Anyway, let's get back to the TR!

 

[thecapells]

It was a nice day in June  June 9, 2011 to be exact.
There was a week left in a school but we had other plans.
We donned our Baseball Mickey shirts and headed to the airport for a 4:00 flight.


We arrived about 6PM and headed to ground transportation.
As luck would have, the MCO monorail was waiting for us.
Then down the stairs and across the Magical Express red carpet.
Sure enough, a bus was boarding right to our destination.


After a quick stop at Coronado Springs, we arrived at All-Star Sports!
We checked in at 7PM  exactly one hour after landing at MCO.
The Disney Gods were with us today!!


We had never been to All Star Sports and thought it was worth a try.
We wanted to stay in the Home Run Hotel (hence the outfits) but they bumped us to the preferred Touchdown section.
And they threw in a balloon sword.


And, before you ask, we were both sporting (pun intended) Mickey shirts of our favorite baseball teams.
Im a lifelong Mets fan and DS is a fan of the Cards ever since his first away game at the old Busch Stadium.

Our room was right on the corner of the 2nd floor and offered a nice view of the resort.


DS got a kick out of climbing the inside of a football to get to our room.


I got a kick out of the light fixtures which remain a constant between all of the All Star resorts.


Inside our room, a Mickey towel was already waiting for us.
So we unpacked our carry-ons and decided to explore the room a bit.
Heres the tour!










I love the tiles in the bath/shower&






Outside the room, we had a perfect view of the football field which was pretty cool.
You can even see our next play all planned out with Xs and Os.


So after we got settled, we headed over to see what our first choice was like  the Homerun Hotel.
It turned out it was farther away and most of the theming was for the pool where Goofy was pitching with a water canon.
Very cute little details all around.
Take a look!








DS figured he could hit it anyway.
Here comes the pitch!




Stay tuned as we search for the legendary Mount Mickey!

 

[dawnbu40]

Thanks for the tour of All Star Sports. Looks like the perfect place for a Father and Son getaway

 

[thecapells]

Thanks for the tour of All Star Sports. Looks like the perfect place for a Father and Son getaway

Ah, but we're not done yet!

 

[thecapells]

Then it was back to Touchdown to play a bit on the field.
Okay, so it’s fourth and two and we need a first down.
You break left, and someone else go deep.
Ready? Break!














Then DS decided to run his own play.
Go DS Go!








Don’t worry folks.
He did manage to get up there.




We decided to continue our tour of the resort.
The next area was Surf’s Up.
We thought this an odd choice of a sport but let’s give the theming a look…




Then it was on to our ultimate destination.
We heard rumor of the infamous Mount Mickey and knew we had to pay homage.
At the back of the All Star Sports and within walking distance of All Star Music apparently is this wonderful little tribute.
It even has a Hidden Mickey lying beneath the statue.
We had to ask three different families to take our picture since the first two cut either us out or Mickey out.










And, of course, Mickey Butt


Stay tuned as we complete our tour!

 

[thecapells]

We decided to continue exploring after Mount Mickey and stumbled across Hoops Hotel.
Look out! You don’t want one of those to fall on you…


Then it was on to Center Court.
I really like the sports mix-up here.
Donald is standing on the court ready to play tennis but his nephews are on the far side ready to hit the ball back with a baseball bat!










I didn’t think he was being very nice to his nephews.
So we got into a bit of a fight…










After checking out the resort, we head back to Stadium Hall and grabbed some yogurt for breakfast the next day and some bottles of water.
Our luggage was waiting for us when we got back to room – gotta love Magical Express.


So we unpacked, backed up the pics on the computer, and went to sleep.
We needed a good night’s sleep for tomorrow we were blasting off to a galaxy far, far away!

 

[thecapells]

Sorry for the long hiatus.
Work got rough and then we blasted off to Star Wars Weekends.
And then I worked a bit on a side project.
Check out the resulting Capell Music Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y0oWzz6BRs

 

[boxmaster]

Sorry for the long hiatus.
Work got rough and then we blasted off to Star Wars Weekends.
And then I worked a bit on a side project.
Check out the resulting Capell Music Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y0oWzz6BRs

Great video. SO jealous that I wasn't down there with you guys. (I know, I had my chance.)

 

[thecapells]

Great video. SO jealous that I wasn't down there with you guys. (I know, I had my chance.)

See all the fun things you miss?

 

[thecapells]

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for!
We woke up at 6 and were at the bus platform for a 7:00 bus.




By the time we got the Studios, it was 7:30 and the autograph fastpass lines were insane.
Luckily we weren’t concerned about those so we headed right for the turnstiles and found a spot dead center between two columns.
Official Park Opening was 9AM but we had heard that they were actually opening at 8 so we were prepared!


Shortly after arrival, bounty hunters began to arrive.
”Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?


<AUTHOR’S NOTE>
Okay, fair warning – I grew up on Star Wars.
Star Wars was my childhood.
There shall be many a Star Wars reference or quote thrown into this trip report.
You have been warned.

Anyway, after the appearance of Fett, there was some commotion atop the roof.
Looking up, DS’ face (and mine) lit up.
Lo and behold, Imperial troopers were guarding the turnstiles!!









The Troopers (and Fett) proceeded to perform a great little pre-show.
At one point, they even made fun of us all standing around below them.


Basically they were protecting the park from us guests and did not plan to let us in.
However, they wanted to go see the new Star Tours 2.0 as well.
They even had some of the 3-D glasses…




So they decided if they let us in, they’d have to run in after us.
Win-win situation!


So the turnstiles opened about 8 and off we went.
While most people usually head to Toy Story Mania at DHS rope drop,
Star Wars Weekends is another story all together.
And those people showing up at 9 were really pissed when they realized the park had been open for an hour.

Anyway, after a quick restroom break, and grabbing a fastpass, we took a ride on the brand, new Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.


Inside C-3P0 was working on the Starspeeder 1000 and Captain Rex was boxed up in the corner.




There were also lots of colorful R2 units all around the terminal.


And then this Short Circuit-looking droid was running security.
It would be easy to infiltrate this spaceport…


Finally it was time to board!
We were ready to fly!


Stormtroopers attacked us in the launch bay but R2-D2 flew us safely away and right into a…pod race on Tatooine?
After defeating Sebulba, Yoda appeared to tell us about a Rebel Spy.
He told us to proceed to secret coordinates which led us to a rebel base on Naboo.
After almost killing Jar Jar, we arrived at the base – just barely.
What a great upgrade to the ride!!






Next up - Will somebody get this Big Walking Carpet out of my way?

 

[dawnbu40]

It looks like your day was off to a fun start.
We have to make it to SWW sometime but until that happens, this is a good substitute

 

[thecapells]

It looks like your day was off to a fun start.
We have to make it to SWW sometime but until that happens, this is a good substitute

Star Wars Weekends is definitely alot of fun.
Hopefully this TR can show off some of the highlights!

 

[thecapells]

After our tour of the stars, we headed over to speederbike area and hopped on line.
But first, a quick pic…


You see, at 9AM the great Wookiee Chewbacca would be appearing and that is one photo op we could not miss!!
At about 9:30 it was finally our turn and it was worth it.
Boy is that guy fuzzy!!











After meeting our favorite Star Wars character, we headed over to the Animation Courtyard to snag some Toy Story Mania fastpasses.
But first, a date with a Photopass photographer.





We grabbed the fastpasses and then headed down Sunset Boulevard.
It was hot and we were hungry.




We grabbed some yogurt at Fairfax Fare and then headed to what used to be backstage behind Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster.
Instead stood a temporary merchandise location – Jabba’s Hutt!
Luke & Leia were doing meet and greets in here with droids and the landspeeder but the lines were insane.
We looked around for some souvenirs but all the passholder stuff was already sold out.
So we grabbed a couple of shirts, a magnet for the fridge, and a pin for our princess back home.
And took some pics of the cool details in the shop.









Then we headed back to the front of the park.
I had some inside information that many Bothans died to protect.
We tried the codeword on several Photopass photographers but no luck.





Then, I found the right Photopass photographer!
Seconds later – we were dueling with the Dark Lord of the Sith himself.


How’s that for Star Wars Movie Magic!
Next up – it was was time for lunch and then the Empire invades!

 

[jpmandan]

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the pics with Chewie

The special pic with Vader is really cool. I've never seen that before.

 

[thecapells]

I love the pics with Chewie

The special pic with Vader is really cool. I've never seen that before.

It's actually more common these days.
But back then it was hard to find.
Thanks to the DIS, I need where to go ahead of time!