Marathon Weekend 2026

[jmasgat]

SAFD: I like SW.....Original and some of the new content (Andor, Mandalorian). I saw the original movies in the theater (although hazy, I do remember the mistake of going to Return of the Jedi on a Sunday afternoon and regretting this as the theater was full of kids). And maybe it's because I remember the start in the 70's, that I don't have any association of Star Wars and Disney. I enjoy what they did with Galaxy's Edge, and I will always have a soft spot for hearing Captain Rex say "Welcome Aboard", but nothing wowza.

 

[pluto377]

SAFD: I like Star Wars, but I'm not a superfan. My youngest DS is. My favorite moment was our most recent trip in February when he got to meet Darth Vader. He looked stunned the entire time. The video I have is great, but here's a pic.

Also not strictly related to Disney World, but we just went to see Revenge of the Sith in theaters for the 20th anniversary and that was an amazing experience for him (the rest of us were dozing off, lol).

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

SAFD: So, I had to make a Top 10 list because there's no way to narrow it down just to one. I don't talk about it as much here, but Star Wars has been a huge part of my life since I was 11 years old and it's not an overexaggerating to say that most of the best friends in my life - including my husband - came from loving Star Wars. My fandom isn't quite what it used to be thanks to some disappointments in the direction of the saga lately, but it will always be my number one. (And if you're not watching Andor, it's incredible.)

You rang?
Oh, my bad.... ;-)

>> So there you have it, my extremely long-winded answer. I'm sure you all will never ask me about Star Wars again!

A lot of cool detail there, and thanks for sharing. To that I will add more of the 12 year old me in my adult body....
1. Seeing a full-sized Millennium Falcon in the plaza. Wow.
2. When the hangar bay door opens and you see all the Stormtroopers standing in formation, and with subtle movements due to Disney's usual attention to detail. So totally wow. I had to just stand there a minute to take it all in (while personnel from the Empire were yelling at us to move along....)
3. Stepping into the interior of the Millennium Falcon and seeing the holo-chess board. In person. As if I was on the real MF. How many times have I seen that setting on both the big screen and small screen, and now it was right there in front of me? Again, I had to just take it in. And then jump over there for a picture before the line moved again.
And this past August, being on the coast of Ireland, where if the clouds had cleared we could have seen the Skellig Islands where Luke Skywalker was being a hermit...
As for the battle during MW, I'm totally jealous that I missed it, and hoping that it occurs again in MW 2026.
So, similarly, it has been a big part of my life over the years. Not quite to the degree it has been for you (I had to look up who Eckstein is), but big enough. Again, thanks for sharing.

 

[nancipants]

And this past August, being on the coast of Ireland, where if the clouds had cleared we could have seen the Skellig Islands where Luke Skywalker was being a hermit...

Skellig Michael is a total bucket list trip for me! I need to climb the Jedi Steps.

I also want to visit Lake Como where they filmed the lake house scenes in Attack of the Clones.

@DianaMB333 We were there yesterday, too! It was SO crowded. But I loved the atmosphere and it reminded me so much of Star Wars Weekends.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Kudos on the scholarship and not having a house divided, something so very important, particularly during football and basketball season.
Someone else has already posted a link for charities. My experience with them is that as they near the race date, they will want to sell any unused bibs (or the bibs from people who didn't raise any money) to cover their costs. I've gone with charities where I like their mission, so I've been good with buying the bib and also making a contribution. The downside to this is that you are banking on them having a bib available. The two times that I've found out on short notice that I'd be in Orlando on a race weekend, I emailed the charity, told them my predicament, and offered to buy a bib and make a contribution if they had any unclaimed. Did just that for the Princess Half a couple of years ago, and was set to do the same for SS last month, except I managed a last minute registration through rD based on a Telegram alert.

Which brings us to setting up a Telegram account and joining the rD account that monitors the race availability. As rD sorts through entries, they periodically open up registration for a small number of bibs. As others have noted before, they typically do so right before/during/after a race weekend. I was able to score a SS bib right before this year's Princess weekend. The key is to be ready to jump on the registration link as soon as it pops up, and even if Telegram has already sent a "registration closed" message, if that link works, stay with it until you can't. I learned that the hard way. Keep refreshing and you may get through. I keep my personal computer off to one side of my desk at home and just kept clicking the refresh for appx 15 minutes and eventually was able to register. Note that if you want to submit a POT, you need to do it right then or you won't be able to do so later without going to the runner help counter at the expo. I ran into this with the SS 10-miler, and the line at the expo was long enough that I just said the heck with it and was content with the corral I was assigned. (I think I may have moved up one corral is all, so it wasn't worth standing in the line).
Besides around race weekends, there also seems to be some time during the summer when additional bibs are released, as noted by an earlier post on this thread. So set up the Telegram account and set the notifications so that you aren't unduly spamming yourself. For instance, you'll see a notice and get all excited, only to see that it is for yoga, or a race that you aren't interested in. And while the registration open/close messages often come in seconds apart, there are times when the window of opportunity stays open for minutes, sometimes as long as ten minutes. So you may see bibs come available around W&D, but also periodically during the summer. Have all your rD profile updated and ready, and then necessary entry data (like your cc number) on notepad so that you can quickly cut-n-paste it, as speed if of the essence to get registered when the opportunity presents itself.

It's a bit of effort, but there is a better than even chance of securing a bib through those two methods. YMMV. Good luck with it.

Thanks! We did end up securing a charity bib, very excited to get to do Dopey with her in January.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: I like SW.....Original and some of the new content (Andor, Mandalorian). I saw the original movies in the theater (although hazy, I do remember the mistake of going to Return of the Jedi on a Sunday afternoon and regretting this as the theater was full of kids). And maybe it's because I remember the start in the 70's, that I don't have any association of Star Wars and Disney. I enjoy what they did with Galaxy's Edge, and I will always have a soft spot for hearing Captain Rex say "Welcome Aboard", but nothing wowza.

Same. I don’t make the connection between Disney and Star Wars. I grew up on the original cuts, Han was the only one to shoot, and the other two trilogy sets are just meh.

I’ve wondered why Disney hasn’t released the original cuts, on any format - DVD, Blueray, or streaming. I would buy that in a heart beat.

 

[The Expert]

I’ve wondered why Disney hasn’t released the original cuts, on any format - DVD, Blueray, or streaming. I would buy that in a heart beat.

George Lucas won't allow it. His explanation is that they are how he wanted them made from the start, but they didn't have all the technology. We have kept our original trilogy in OG format on Laserdisc because we aren't sure it'll ever be available again (and at least its digital).

 

[garneska]

@FFigawi i still think your story of Rogue II is the most awesome!!!

 

[radiodome21]

SAFD: We watched A New Hope Last night with my 14 year old last night. He’s only seen the two most recent movies which he didn’t care for which makes sense since he knew nothing about the story line. He said he did like A New Hope and the plan is watch them every Sunday night for movie night. My favorite Disney Star Wars is walking through A Galaxy’s Edge and having a few different cocktails they offer and just soaking it all in. We love Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run. I’m a big Star Wars fan too and I’m always happy walking around GE. It’s a blast.

 

[mmm_texas]

George Lucas won't allow it. His explanation is that they are how he wanted them made from the start, but they didn't have all the technology. We have kept our original trilogy in OG format on Laserdisc because we aren't sure it'll ever be available again (and at least its digital).

You deserve to know the truth.... Laserdisc is not digital. (Well, the audio can be digital or analog, but you're probably listening to digital.) But the video is always an optical analog format.

It is, I'll grant you, an awesome format. I bought my first player and discs in the 80's, and still have a player and a decent collection of LDs (including the original Star Wars trilogy).

 

[matt and beth]

Skellig Michael is a total bucket list trip for me! I need to climb the Jedi Steps.

I also want to visit Lake Como where they filmed the lake house scenes in Attack of the Clones.

@DianaMB333 We were there yesterday, too! It was SO crowded. But I loved the atmosphere and it reminded me so much of Star Wars Weekends.

We were on the coast but the island was closed because of the nesting birds. Check the seasons for planning your trip

Edit: Don’t wear white NB in Ireland. I stuck out like a sore thumb. American tourist for sure. It was like a shining beacon. Everyone kept staring at the white shoes

 

[The Expert]

You deserve to know the truth.... Laserdisc is not digital. (Well, the audio can be digital or analog, but you're probably listening to digital.) But the video is always an optical analog format.

It is, I'll grant you, an awesome format. I bought my first player and discs in the 80's, and still have a player and a decent collection of LDs (including the original Star Wars trilogy).

Fair point, but it is far superior to the VHS copy we had. We also still have a functional LD player and about 25 LDs we moved with. Thankfully we also have a handy friend who knows how to 3D-print parts and fix the players should we ever need it!

 

[LSUlakes]

If I had to, would I be allowed to bring my luggage with me into the expo to pick up my bib? I plan to fly in Saturday morning and would prefer to drop my stuff off at pop first, but you never know what kinda delays could happen.
The last time I flew to WDW, the magical express was a thing... Is shareride the best option to save time these days to get to Pop?

 

[The Expert]

If I had to, would I be allowed to bring my luggage with me into the expo to pick up my bib? I plan to fly in Saturday morning and would prefer to drop my stuff off at pop first, but you never know what kinda delays could happen.
The last time I flew to WDW, the magical express was a thing... Is shareride the best option to save time these days to get to Pop?

Yep, I've done it. I used to take a redeye flight from SLC and go directly to the expo in an Uber. I wheeled my luggage all over the rD merch area and up to bib pickup without issue. Just make sure what you have is manageable on your own as there really is nowhere to store it there.

 

[UNCBear24]

Late SAFD: My favorite is my only SW race. It was the 2019 Rival Run 10k. I had so much fun racing from character stop to character stop. I got lots of great pictures from that race.

 

[Zutroy]

Fair point, but it is far superior to the VHS copy we had. We also still have a functional LD player and about 25 LDs we moved with. Thankfully we also have a handy friend who knows how to 3D-print parts and fix the players should we ever need it!

As the original owner of all three Star Wars movies on laser disc, while it is superior to VHS, Return of the Jedi comes on two discs. So you would watch for 45 minutes, flip the disc, watch another 45 minutes, pop out the disc and put the second one in. Still worth it to see Yub Nub and avoid Jedi Rocks.

 

[The Expert]

As the original owner of all three Star Wars movies on laser disc, while it is superior to VHS, Return of the Jedi comes on two discs. So you would watch for 45 minutes, flip the disc, watch another 45 minutes, pop out the disc and put the second one in. Still worth it to see Yub Nub and avoid Jedi Rocks.

Unless you had a dual-sided player! We never did invest in one. The flip was a good excuse for a drink refill/potty break.

 

[accm]

SAFD: I'm not a Star Wars person, but somehow my kids LOVE it. My 5 year old is obsessed with the First Order, so I have so many good memories from Galaxy's Edge. On our last trip, one of the First Order officers spent a while talking to both my sons one night, and then the next morning, recognized them and spoke to them again. The other big one was a few trips back when my youngest was 4, one of the officers asked if he wanted to join them, and that his post would start the next morning. The next day, when we were going to Epcot, my son said we couldn't or else he'd miss his first post

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I finally found one of the photos with Darth. Can't believe how long ago that was....

 

[huskies90]

I am also old enough to have seen A New Hope in the theater. The original trilogy was amazing - especially for its time. And having to wait years between movies and seeing them all in a theater probably seems crazy in today's instagram, netflix, amazon, binge watch, get it now world, but the anticipation made it so much better.

I give George Lucus a break on the pre-quels because while not that great, they do at least tie things together for the original trilogy. Which is why I do really like Rogue One and to a lesser extent, Solo.

After that, I cannot believe how badly Disney has destroyed the franchise. Let’s start with the sequels:

Force Awakens somehow worked. But I cannot figure out why. Oh yeah! I know why…because it is basically a carbon copy of A New Hope. 10 years and one of the most anticipated movies ever and they could not come up with an original story?

And speaking of stories, any resemblance of one would have been nice in The Last Jedi. I’ve seen that movie several times and I still don’t know what the story is supposed to be. The only thing that was decent in that movie were the scenes with Luke and Rey. They should have developed that story more rather than developing Rose…probably the most gawd awful character in the franchise - a franchise that includes Jar Jar Binks, btw.

I figured the story could not get any worse but along came The Rise of Skywalker. The movie is pretty much unwatchable, in my opinion.

As for all the TV shows, it just seems Disney feels they need content for Disney+. Maybe the shows are good. I have no idea. Who has time to watch them? I watched the first season of the Mandelorian. I thought it was really good. Finally…stories. But by season 2, it lost its way and was hard to finish season 2. I did, but I have no interest in season 3. I love Bobba Fett and Obi Wan. But I can’t bring myself to watching those shows. Or any other character I wasn’t previously invested in like Ashoka or Skeleton Crew. I thought I may watch Andor because I do like the character and feel like it would help develop Rogue One which was a good movie. But again. Season 2? Why? These should be 2+ hour movies. Not several seasons. I mean Andor is 24 freakin’ episodes…ummm…no friggin’ way!!

I am still a Star Wars fan. But less since Disney sunk their teeth in. I shifted to Marvel more because although I feel Disney is doing the same thing with over saturating so there is plenty of Disney+ content, at least they have mountains of great stories and characters to pull from the comics.

And as for those who are not fans at all. I get it. I have no idea why people like Harry Potter. I made it through the first and then half way through the second movie and was like, “nope, I’m done.”