MrToadsWildRide
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2009
- Messages
- 106
We just got back from Disney World, we were at Hollywood Studios on Friday for the Star Wars Weekend event. While I would not consider myself a huge Star Wars fan, we did plan our trip around this weekend to see what it was like.
I've never been to DW during events like Halloween, but looking at photos I would say that Disney puts a lot more effort into Halloween decorations than the Star Wars weekend. For SW weekend, they have some banners out front, some new character greet kiosks and they play SW music all day long. It's not much of a SW transformation/makover of the park.
In the morning, before they let you into the park, they have a little pre-show with Storm Troopers and Boba Fett. The are on top of the roof over the ticket booths at the entrance to the park. It's kind of amusing, but you have to be there before they let you in. For a 9:00 AM opening, they were on the roof at 8:20 AM when we got there.
The parade was OK. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald kick it off. There's Chewbacca and Darth and storm troopers along with the celebrities. I kind of expected the parade to be a little more extravagant. Like more storm troopers, or something. It was cool to see what there was, but kind of short an sweet.
The parade ends at the big hat, it doesn't continue on around the park, as the other parades do. I would have thought they would have ended at Star Tours, especially since Star Tours was just re-opened. But instead, the parade ends at the Sourcer's Hat, where they have a big stage right in front. If you're not a Star Wars fan, this stage might be somewhat of a disappointment. If you want your picture in front of the hat, you'll wind up with the Star Wars stage right in front of it. And if you're not a Star Wars fan, you probably don't even know the event is happening.
Just before the parade started, they had a dance show, right in front of the stage. But, it wasn't a Star Wars themed show, just a bunch of dancers dancing to some music. Nothing wrong with it. It just seemed kind of out of place. It almost seemed like whoever was in charge of planning the daily "dance in front of the hat" show didn't know it was Star Wars weekend. It made it feel like we were there on the wrong day.
The one negative comment I'd have about the parade were the two MC's they used. Two people came out (after the dancers, just prior to the parade) to "warm the crowd up." I'm not sure if die-hard Star Wars fans need warming up. Anyone walking around with Cin-A-Buns on their head is probably warmed up enough. But what I didn't care for was (at least what I thought) was the fact that it was kind of corny. They told (again what I thought) were lame jokes followed the sound of a drum and cymbal. Like a cheesy night club act. I felt it would have been better to have an act that made the event feel more special, as opposed to tongue in cheek. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. We were standing at the end of the route, near the stage. What made it worse, was they kept up their "act" during the parade. I have no idea why. They talked over the music, again with jokes, drum and cymbal effects. The had music (in sync of course with what you were looking at) and they had an announcer (most likely recorded) that was perfect. There was no need for them, no matter what they were saying. Someone should have gotten the hook for those two.
The celebrities they had were OK. The person that played C3PO was there, but you needed an impossible to get Fast Pass to meet him. Most of the rest were voices from the animated Clone Wars, which I've never seen.
The character greets were pretty cool. Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, etc. However, getting your picture with them was tough. I was talking to one of the Cast Members at the Chewbacca greet and she told me some people waited almost two hours in line and then Chewbacce left for a break. (it was almost 90 degrees that day) They stayed in line, waiting for him to get back and eventually got a photo. Pretty cool, but I wouldn't wait that long. Get up close, take a picture and photoshop yourself in.
We heard that Jabba's tent was a place to get limited edition SW's stuff that you would not find anywhere else in the park. It was located by Rock'n Roller Coaster, actually outside the park. You get an interesting view of the Tower of Terror from this location. We went there right after riding Star Tours first. (not sure why we did that, as we had already seen it all several days ago). I'm really glad we went. You have to wait in line to get in, to keep the crowds inside at a manageable level. It wasn't a long wait. We got in and found C3PO at the charter greet inside the tent. (who knew) Plus, he was standing in front of Luke's Land Speeder (or whatever it's called) The line was short, so we waited. Plus, the tent's air conditioned. Just before our turn, R2D2 came out. Having our picture with R2 is cool, but C3PO would be cooler. Oh well, just our luck. Turns out, R2 joined him and we got our photo with both. Awesome. What luck. (I'll post some comments about the pins I got separately)
One thing I thought was odd, was the fact that you could not get a flyer for the weekend's activities in the park until the Thursday night before. I went to guest services at the front of Hollywood studios on Wednesday (two days prior to the event) and they did not have any flyers. However, I was talking to a woman outside guest relations (she was doing surveys) and she gave me a Xerox copy of the flyer I couldn't get. Seemed like they were treating the flyer like some kind of SW's collectable.
Even more odd, was the crowds. During the day, things were packed. Lines for characters and Star Tours. That Friday was an extended hours night, open until 1:00 AM. My son and I went back around 10:00 and it was still really crowded. But, after 11:15 or so, it really emptied out. At 12:00 there was no line for Star Tours. I would have expected the loyal fans to still be filling the queues, but it was empty.
All in all, it was interesting to see. Nothing over the top, but it was fun. Plus we got some great photos.
I've never been to DW during events like Halloween, but looking at photos I would say that Disney puts a lot more effort into Halloween decorations than the Star Wars weekend. For SW weekend, they have some banners out front, some new character greet kiosks and they play SW music all day long. It's not much of a SW transformation/makover of the park.
In the morning, before they let you into the park, they have a little pre-show with Storm Troopers and Boba Fett. The are on top of the roof over the ticket booths at the entrance to the park. It's kind of amusing, but you have to be there before they let you in. For a 9:00 AM opening, they were on the roof at 8:20 AM when we got there.
The parade was OK. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald kick it off. There's Chewbacca and Darth and storm troopers along with the celebrities. I kind of expected the parade to be a little more extravagant. Like more storm troopers, or something. It was cool to see what there was, but kind of short an sweet.
The parade ends at the big hat, it doesn't continue on around the park, as the other parades do. I would have thought they would have ended at Star Tours, especially since Star Tours was just re-opened. But instead, the parade ends at the Sourcer's Hat, where they have a big stage right in front. If you're not a Star Wars fan, this stage might be somewhat of a disappointment. If you want your picture in front of the hat, you'll wind up with the Star Wars stage right in front of it. And if you're not a Star Wars fan, you probably don't even know the event is happening.
Just before the parade started, they had a dance show, right in front of the stage. But, it wasn't a Star Wars themed show, just a bunch of dancers dancing to some music. Nothing wrong with it. It just seemed kind of out of place. It almost seemed like whoever was in charge of planning the daily "dance in front of the hat" show didn't know it was Star Wars weekend. It made it feel like we were there on the wrong day.
The one negative comment I'd have about the parade were the two MC's they used. Two people came out (after the dancers, just prior to the parade) to "warm the crowd up." I'm not sure if die-hard Star Wars fans need warming up. Anyone walking around with Cin-A-Buns on their head is probably warmed up enough. But what I didn't care for was (at least what I thought) was the fact that it was kind of corny. They told (again what I thought) were lame jokes followed the sound of a drum and cymbal. Like a cheesy night club act. I felt it would have been better to have an act that made the event feel more special, as opposed to tongue in cheek. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. We were standing at the end of the route, near the stage. What made it worse, was they kept up their "act" during the parade. I have no idea why. They talked over the music, again with jokes, drum and cymbal effects. The had music (in sync of course with what you were looking at) and they had an announcer (most likely recorded) that was perfect. There was no need for them, no matter what they were saying. Someone should have gotten the hook for those two.
The celebrities they had were OK. The person that played C3PO was there, but you needed an impossible to get Fast Pass to meet him. Most of the rest were voices from the animated Clone Wars, which I've never seen.
The character greets were pretty cool. Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, etc. However, getting your picture with them was tough. I was talking to one of the Cast Members at the Chewbacca greet and she told me some people waited almost two hours in line and then Chewbacce left for a break. (it was almost 90 degrees that day) They stayed in line, waiting for him to get back and eventually got a photo. Pretty cool, but I wouldn't wait that long. Get up close, take a picture and photoshop yourself in.
We heard that Jabba's tent was a place to get limited edition SW's stuff that you would not find anywhere else in the park. It was located by Rock'n Roller Coaster, actually outside the park. You get an interesting view of the Tower of Terror from this location. We went there right after riding Star Tours first. (not sure why we did that, as we had already seen it all several days ago). I'm really glad we went. You have to wait in line to get in, to keep the crowds inside at a manageable level. It wasn't a long wait. We got in and found C3PO at the charter greet inside the tent. (who knew) Plus, he was standing in front of Luke's Land Speeder (or whatever it's called) The line was short, so we waited. Plus, the tent's air conditioned. Just before our turn, R2D2 came out. Having our picture with R2 is cool, but C3PO would be cooler. Oh well, just our luck. Turns out, R2 joined him and we got our photo with both. Awesome. What luck. (I'll post some comments about the pins I got separately)
One thing I thought was odd, was the fact that you could not get a flyer for the weekend's activities in the park until the Thursday night before. I went to guest services at the front of Hollywood studios on Wednesday (two days prior to the event) and they did not have any flyers. However, I was talking to a woman outside guest relations (she was doing surveys) and she gave me a Xerox copy of the flyer I couldn't get. Seemed like they were treating the flyer like some kind of SW's collectable.
Even more odd, was the crowds. During the day, things were packed. Lines for characters and Star Tours. That Friday was an extended hours night, open until 1:00 AM. My son and I went back around 10:00 and it was still really crowded. But, after 11:15 or so, it really emptied out. At 12:00 there was no line for Star Tours. I would have expected the loyal fans to still be filling the queues, but it was empty.
All in all, it was interesting to see. Nothing over the top, but it was fun. Plus we got some great photos.
