DAY 34 - 14TH JAN : STAR WARS GUIDED TOUR PART 1
The day had finally come, for when we could all nerd out on all things Star Wars. As soon as this guided tour became available we were quick to book, we did not want to miss out on this. There was a bit of negative talk about this tour before it had even started, but hey it's a long trip for us and we would not be back for a long time so this was a must for us.
The tour did not start until 1pm, so it was good to not have to rush to the park. However we were up pretty early as we were just excited. By 10am we thought we might as well just get going. All nerded out in Star Wars gear it was time to head to the car. We spotted a friendly Hammy (Squirrel) on the way and had to stop to watch his antics. Oh how we love squirrels, always good for a laugh.
Off to Hollywood Studios, a quick 5 minute drive, before we knew it we were back in our favourite park. It was only 11am and check in for the tour was around 12:45pm so we had a bit of time. Check in for the tour was at the Chinese theatre so we headed over that way to suss it out.
The weather was overcast today, still warm , but we did not care even if it would be pouring rain. Today was going to be awesome. It was perfect timing as we approached the Chinese Theatre as the Star Wars Characters were coming out for their stage show. Time for snaps and video.
Nothing better than seeing the good old Stormtroopers with Vader. And Chewbacca is always a crowd favourite. Plenty of people yelling out Chewy as he walked past. Vader and Chewbacca are bloody big guys. The Star Wars nerd fest was off to a great start. We headed back around to the front of the stage area to just have a look around. The show was about to start soon so we did a full lap of the stage and headed back towards the theatre. Of course we did not get far before the 1ST Order Stormtroopers stopped us once again, to check out the backpack.
The were poking him with their blasters, having a good old time with him yet again. All our experiences with these guys had been because of our backpacks. Not once on our trip did we approach them, they would always come up to us from behind and scare the crap out of us all. Always a pleasure seeing these guys, I love how they just roam around, not stopping really for photo's just teasing or hassling people in the park.
We made our way around to the Theatre and asked a CM where about's check in for the tour would be. They would be setting up a booth near the theatre booth on the left. We still had plenty of time left before check in so we just stood around for a little. One thing we noticed was a lot of 501st members in the park. Plus plenty of people dressed like Princess Leia and some in dapper clothes. We had heard that many people would be in today in memory of the passing of Carrie Fisher. There were a few people in a group around the Chinese Theatre. One of the organiser of this get together came up and spoke to us for a bit. Pretty cool idea and nice to see that heaps of people came out to support this event. A tribute was to be held on the main stage later tonight.
We then grabbed a quick drink and just hung out in the check in area. Why not pose for a fun pic. Yeah woo, awesome. Hahaha. It was a good time to check out all the Celebs hand prints outside the theatre. It was pretty cool to go through pretty much all of them. Yes Bec took pictures of all of them hehe. Was good to see a few Star Wars people in there.
So even after looking at all the awesome hand prints etc, time had really not moved at all. Still an hour before check in, it was looking like it was going to start raining soon.
And well it did. Not to heavy just a light spit. This was not going to ruin our fun. We found shelter in under the small theatre booth. No one else was really in this area, and we could not see anyone else really waiting around for the tour. Yes we were keen as mustard and probably way too early but oh well. It was then we heard a door open behind us, and to our surprise, BOBA FETT!!!. We quickly got out of his was, as all of them where coming out this door to prepare for the next stage show.
The rain had stopped and the booth behind Boba was where we were standing when he surprised us. What an awesome little spot with no one around. We could get an awesome look at everyone coming out.
Wow that was awesome. India was over the moon to see Captain Phasma. She does look pretty cool. Kylo was following behind and was looking very mean. About 10 minutes later we had noticed a few more people turn up for the tour and start waiting around as well. We had no idea what the tour limit was, but we were tipping it to be at max due to it being sold out. It was getting on to 1pm so it was already running late. Finally a few CM's turned up and started setting up their little booth.
While they were setting up we could hear that the Stage show was finished. That could only mean one thing, that they would be walking back around to go through that door again. So back to our spot again to catch them all on the way back.
Vader and his buddies were first. Vader meant business and was probably on his was to the Death Star. His Stormtrooper guards however where more interested in yes, the backpack. Haha. You can see 1 pointing already in the picture.
They were happy to see the bag again. Actually they were happy to see all 3 bags, as they pointed at India and Bec and slowed down to check out the BB8 and Chewbacca bags. Ah gotta love Stormtroopers, my favourite for sure. Boba Fett was next, and him being from New Zealand and us from Australia kind of makes us neighbours.
And he was happy to see his neighbour, and yes he got very close indeed. We love Boba.
Lucky Bec was next to me taking video and pictures as well, as he got too close, haha. I said hello Boba, and he nodded as he stood in front of me. The he moved along. Ok this was getting awesome. We were all having a Star Wars freak out hahaha. This was like being a kid in a candy store. And it just kept coming and getting better.
Kylo was next and he had his sights on something from a distance. He was walking slow and was walking straight to Bec. I did not know at this stage but Bec had taken her BB8 backpack off and held it up in front of her so Kylo could see. When I turned and looked at Bec she said to Kylo, I found the droid you are looking for.
He stood and stared not moving. Then in true Kylo fashion he got grump and walked off, waving his hand about as if to say pffft. Maybe he was angry because he could not find BB8.
Ah Kylo we still think your awesome, just like an angry little teenager. Phasma and Chewbacca were soon to follow. India got very excited seeing them both again. It was great to the excitement in India's face. She had deserved this holiday as well, such an awesome daughter. So seeing her smile was gold for us.
It had honestly felt like already we had a full day at the park. Seeing all these characters up close was a treat. It was a case of right place at the right time. The booth was setup and everyone on the tour was pretty much here. I took a quick head count and there was about 30 people for the tour. Time to check in. The CM handed us our passes. They were pretty cool and it was on a lanyard so you could put it around your neck. We were given a menu and told to make our lunch selection now. This was to obviously have everything ready for everyone when it was lunch time. When we made the booking on the phone we were asked are we light side or darkside, Darkside of course. The reason for this was they gave you a custom badge as well. They were the same style as the ones we had made previously in Launch Bay. We made our selection for lunch which was going to be the chicken and Vader Waffle's. The food looked pretty average but we would see what it was like later.
We were all sorted, and all checked in. Now we just had to wait for the group to be checked in. The tour guide had already let us know it was going to be a late start, but that was nor problems. It was already a great morning just hanging around waiting.
The tour had not even started and already this was just awesome. How much more awesome was this going to be?
NEXT : PART 2
)
