Official Star Wars Weekends 2013 Tips and Tricks

[GeekyGirl]

Yes ,we were the 4 family... that's my favorite show.
For fans of pressed pennies. There's a machine inside that has Jedi mickey, Minnie Leia and Darth Vader. 51 cents

I wish I was able to say hi, perhaps another weekend lol.

That show is by far my favorite now.

 

[jedigirlama]

I just came out of the tent and there are plenty of them

Awesome. Thanks. eBay sellers are just trying to add more value to it, which is what I figured.

 

[yulilin3]

LOL...thanks...any chance there is a star wars penny press book?...I think we will need another one this trip.

Didn't see one.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

we were there yesterday and was very disipointed, it was are first SWW we had been there for may the 4th that was super! we were kinda expecting that yesterday. ( anyway the parade sucked we thought not worth waiting for 1;45 mins, the Maul shop was a waste of time not much at all that they did not have in other shops! ( at least that the average 13yr old could buy) and they LE stuff was crap I thought did get a 30 yr pin of ROJ but other wise (((((, the amount of people in the park was insane which we expected but it seemed like they were short on CM to handle the food lines, clean the bathrooms and tables etc we are AP and I have never seen the place so DIRTY! anyway I did say something to a cast member about the bathrooms! most were out of TP!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway we will go again and hope that the opening weekend has clamed it down some!!

I agree with you on the LE stuff... I only bought the 30 the anniversary pin and the figure of mickey speeder outfit with ewok chip and dale.

 

[delmar411]

we were there yesterday and was very disipointed, it was are first SWW we had been there for may the 4th that was super! we were kinda expecting that yesterday. ( anyway the parade sucked we thought not worth waiting for 1;45 mins, the Maul shop was a waste of time not much at all that they did not have in other shops! ( at least that the average 13yr old could buy) and they LE stuff was crap I thought did get a 30 yr pin of ROJ but other wise (((((, the amount of people in the park was insane which we expected but it seemed like they were short on CM to handle the food lines, clean the bathrooms and tables etc we are AP and I have never seen the place so DIRTY! anyway I did say something to a cast member about the bathrooms! most were out of TP!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway we will go again and hope that the opening weekend has clamed it down some!!

Most of the CPs have gone already which is why they are so short staffed. I'm not sure why they let the CPs go before the next batch have arrived but the short staffed issue is at all the parks with regular CMs filling in spots they don't know how to run.

The SWW issues are likely made worse by not having the usual crew running the show. Sorry your day was so bad.

 

[tschaan]

What time was rope drop this morning?

 

[yulilin3]

Just came inside the animation because it started drizzling. It's 2:00pm, the penguin from Mary Poppins and Pluto ate out... cast members " don't know" if any other characters are coming out

 

[yulilin3]

Most of the CPs have gone already which is why they are so short staffed. I'm not sure why they let the CPs go before the next batch have arrived but the short staffed issue is at all the parks with regular CMs filling in spots they don't know how to run.

The SWW issues are likely made worse by not having the usual crew running the show. Sorry your day was so bad.

Agree with your last statement... i don't understand why they would change cast and procedures when they have worked in the past

 

[tschaan]

is SWW merchandise only sold inside Darth's Mall? Or elsewhere in the park? Specifically, the autograph book and official pin ( with Mickey and chip and dale on speeder bike)?

 

[lovethattink]

It's raining, it's pouring. Just left Darth Mall, they are out of black name tags, so we ended up with green. They hope to have black in next week. Saw some mini cars star wars multipacks.

 

[yulilin3]

Daisy and Stitch just came out, also Jake and Handy Manny because it's raining.... this is inside the animation bldg

 

[lovethattink]

Several stores carry the ssw logo merchandise and some sww pins. The store near sounds dangerous, tatootine traders and the store closest to hallywood and vine add you are walking into the park, the outside store had some sww merchandise too, also a cart across from the chewie M&G

 

[Nole95]

We're planning on getting to the gate at about 6:15 on Friday May 31. JTA signup is a priority. In order to plan the rest of the morning, how long can we expect to take to get signed up for that.

 

[yulilin3]

We're planning on getting to the gate at about 6:15 on Friday May 31. JTA signup is a priority. In order to plan the rest of the morning, how long can we expect to take to get signed up for that.

If you're one of the first families going in the process should take no more than 10 minutes

 

[TygerHawks]

ughhh...can't determine if I really need Billy Dee Williams' autograph or not. Lining up before 4:00am...maybe earlier according to these reports.

 

[yulilin3]

ughhh...can't determine if I really need Billy Dee Williams' autograph or not. Lining up before 4:00am...maybe earlier according to these reports.

This is my dilemma for Tim Rose ad well, we have 3 things we would like singed and he had never been to sww, but waking up so early is rough

 

[JamiLeigh]

Don't really have much to report from Friday. Per the suggestions on here we got a cab from the contemporary to HS. Cost around $20, well worth it. Bought us a little extra time. Got there just as they were letting people through and got to see rope drop with the Stormtroopers. DH and DS signed up for JTA, got a 12:30 time, while other DS and I did TSMM and got FP's for everyone. Rode that and Star Tours twice. Missed the parade, never lined up in time for it. We only got to meet Jango Fett. Lines were just too long for my 5 and 2 yr old. My 5 yr old loved JTA. The emcee was awesome!! My son had to be pushed back twice, one he tried to light saber a Stormtrooper and then jumped out of line at the end to use the force. Super cute!! Spent a ridiculous amount of money on 2 Jedi Training robes, but my boys love them. Overall it was fun, if I do it again my kids will be much older and I will plan a longer trip so we can do 2 days. Even if we didn't fully embrace SWW, it was how the ball got rolling to come to that world after a 6 year absence. Can't argue with that.

 

[lovethattink]

We are back at the room taking a break. Here are some of my thoughts on rope drop, JTA, and celebrity autographs and planning in general.

1. Make sure you see the rope drop "ceremony" INSIDE the park once, if you can.

2. As for JTA at rope drop, some people are cut throat and rude. And then there's the rogue people who ran up the steps at Hollywood and Vine to cut in front with those who are in the front. The cm escorting everyone makes an announcement just before rope drop not to get in front of him/her, but some people who ran up after the announcement tried. One parent per child is allowed to enter the queue for sign ups.
The queue was long and winding and there were 3 cm signing kids up. You may pick your time for any of the times that are still available. You get a receipt with your child's name that tells you when and where to return for JTA.
Today there were technical difficulties so the 1st show started late. The 2nd show in turn started a little late, but was pretty much back to back with the 1st show to get back on schedule.
The first 2 shows had only 1 villian, Vader. But when we walked by around 11:45 we saw both Vader and Ahsoka.

3. Chip and Dale Ewoks came out at 8:30am today. Chewie came out a few minutes after them.

4. Yesterday the queue for the Rancor, Luke, Leia, R2D2, C3PO M&G was outdoors and indoors since it was so long; we skipped it. Today when we went, it was just indoors. For the Rancor they don't want you to step over the chain on the ground. The air-conditioning feels so good. Those air vents are super strong as you wait for the M&G. We waited 45 minutes and ended up seeing Leia. It was perfect for cooling down.

5. We discovered that even Jedi's have to do dishes at 50's PTC!

6. The jawas are trading for anything, but people are trading some awesome stuff. My son traded Star Wars Trading cards and got a toy from the one jawa and a valid fast pass for Star Tours for the 2nd.

 

[arlsdimples]

Quick question about signing up for JTA. My son did it last summer and I took him by myself before the park opened and had the rest meet us when they arrived. He had a blast and would like to do it again. Since we are going to be there next weekend and have never done SWW it seems like the perfect time.

My question is can my 16yr old be there to sign him up or do I or DH have to be the ones with him to do it. I'm of the assumption that I will need to be there which is fine.

The reason I am asking is because he would really like to meet Ray Park and DH and I are not going to the parks early enough to wait around for that. His 16yr old sister offered to go with if one of us is willing to drop him off. Which we trust her with him completely but have not given an answer yet. If she is there with him already though they would probably go get in line for JTA immediately afterword. My concern is being there in time myself if they get in earlier than expected. TBH if whether or not she can will determine what day he tries to do JTA.

I'm trying to set up some realistic expectation for DS. We are AP holders and are only going down for the weekend including the 24 hr thing (I'm a night owl but will not be staying the whole dang night). I am willing to try to do the JTA but not sure I want to commit to any other specifics and just try to enjoy whatever we can as this trip was unexpected.

OK that was a little long for a quick question, sorry.

 

[Nole95]

Can we get a recap of exactly what time the park opened on Friday, Saturday and Sunday?