Day 5 - Saturday the 7th - Part 3 - D-Tech Me and Mark Hamill
Well, I got the cast removed yesterday. Huge milestone. I've got to wear a splint for a couple weeks, but I can't begin to tell you how good it felt to be able to rub and scratch my arm. And, I can type much easier now too
All right... after the parade finished up, we headed over to use our FP+ for Star Tours. My dad decided that he preferred to relax on a bench while my mom and I went on the ride.
There really wasn't much of a wait, just a few minutes. Hello C3PO
Selfie time
My mom is the best!
This was my first time riding the new version at Hollywood Studios, but I had ridden the new version in
Disneyland a couple times last year. Basically the same thing, but the queue in WDW is MUCH better. I miss pee-wee herman driving the old one, but the new ride sure is awesome!
After Star Tours, we decided to go find my dad and eat lunch before heading over to Darth's Mall for a 1pm "D-Tech Me" experience. We grabbed a couple photos of the banner by his bench...
We didn't have a lot of time to eat, so we decided to just eat at what was closest... Backlot Express. This is possibly my least favorite restaurant in all of Disney, but sometimes you eat for pleasure and sometimes you eat because you'll die if you don't
I never order this kind of stuff, but on an impulse I ordered spicy buffalo chicken nuggets. They actually weren't too bad.
My parents decided to split a pressed turkey club. They seemed to enjoy it well enough.
All right, now that we got the sustenance taken care of, it was time to head over to Darth's Mall, which is basically next door to the Toy Story ride. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Darth's Mall is the big temporary shopping area with tons of Star Wars merchandise.
We had an appointment for D-Tech Me, so we got to skip the line and go straight inside. Awesome!!!
We headed straight to the back.
And checked in at the D-Tech Me booth.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, well they basically scan your head (using 3D imaging technology) and then put your head on a Stormtrooper, X-Wing Fighter Pilot, Carbonite Block, Princess Leah, etc. figure.
Here are some of the samples.
My mom wanted to see what it was all about, but didn't want to do it herself, so she offered to treat me to the experience. Sounds fun to me!
We didn't get any photos of the experience, but it was cool. We decided to go with the X-Wing Fighter costume. And then had to decide if I wanted hair or not. I'm fairly bald and had shaved my head before the trip, so I thought the bald version would be OK. Also, they had me remove my glasses. So we verified our shipping information and payed. They would make the figure off site and mail it to you in a couple weeks.
And.... drum roll.... the figure arrived this past weekend.
Impressive box and packaging!
I'm not so sure how much it really looks like me, especially without glasses. But there is indeed a resemblance. Pretty cool! And thanks again mom!
So after we paid for the custom figure, we spent a good while browsing around the mall. After about 15 minutes, my dad had enough and decided to go wait outside. We eyeballed a lot, but ultimately only purchased some trading pins. After checking out, my mom decided that she wanted to look at a couple other items. My wrist was throbbing, so I decided to go find a seat outside with my dad.
We were just sitting there waiting for my mom when a FastPass photographer walked up to take our picture.
We didn't notice Zam Wesell sneak up on us. LOL.
After that, it was about time to get in the FP+ line for the "Conversation with Mark Hamill". We decided to get in line a little early to ensure good seats. At that point, my wrist was REALLY throbbing and I was pretty tired. My mom let me sit in her wheel chair while we waited, and my dad got us a frozen lemonade to share. Nice!
Eventually, we made our way inside the theater and were able to get fairly decent seats on the right hand side of the auditorium.
Dude... this is so cool! Mark Hamill was awesome. Really down to earth, animated, and jovial. The talk was about 45 minutes, and he shared a lot about his experiences acting in Star Wars, his interests as a kid, shared a lot of stories about most of the major actors in the movies, etc. He couldn't say anything about the upcoming movie, but he did say that he normally shaves, but needed to start growing a beard for his upcoming filming. So at least we know that he'll have a beard in the new movie.
They had big screens off to the left and right of the stage. They were also simulcasting the event in other areas of the park, like the American Idol Experience theatre.
The 45 minutes flew by and it was time to say good bye.
Truly a highlight of the trip!
At that point, we were all hot and tired, and it was about 4pm, so we decided to head back to the resort to regroup with the rest of the family and get ready for our dinner plans.
Stay tuned as Stephanie will be writing a couple guest posts about their day at Animal Kingdom
.
The D-Tech Me is really cool! And you had great seats for the Mark Hamill talk!
Well, a minute to see a real-life anteater never hurt anyone, right?
