Star Wars Weekend strategy???

[lovesdumbo]

I'm taking my DD to WDW to celebrate her 7th birthday. Friday 5/19 to Tue 5/23. Her birthday is Mon 5/22 and she wants to celebrate with dinner at CP. But she also really wants to go to Fantasmic when we are there. Would I be crazy to do Fantasmic on Sunday of the first Star Wars weekend? We aren't into Star Wars so we wouldn't be participating in any of those events. She would also want to do Tower of Terror at MGM but she wouldn't be heart broken if we didn't do anything else at MGM.

She said we could do breakfast with Pooh and Fantasmic at night but I was thinking Fantasmic on Sunday might work if we did the dinner package.

Would you do Fantasmic on Sunday or Monday?

 

[lovesdumbo]

Just wanted to add that we will have AP's so hopping won't be an issue.

Any thoughts on how CRAZY MGM will be that day? Will we be able to get around without fighting HUGE crowds?

Thanks for all insights!

 

[ptrbryant]

Dh and DS are big Star Wars fans, so we were in the thick of things! Others have said that if you are NOT at the Star Wars featured events, the rest of the park is fine. The crowds were so massive, though, I hope someone who actually managed that way will post as well!

Good luck!

Karla B.

 

[MessyJ]

We went to SWW last year, and I couldn't tell much difference between this weekend and a normal peak season weekend at MGM. The VERY notable exception to this is in the Star Tours area, where all of the special events took place. I wouldn't worry too much if you're just coming in for Fantasmic. Most of the special events die down before dark, and you will be way on the other side of the park anyway, and last May, there were two showings of Fantasmic on the weekends. One at 7, and one at 8:30. The later one seemed to be less crowded to us. Just leave yourselves plenty of time to get there early, and steer clear of the "left" side of the park.

 

[mm6mm6]

We were at MGM during a Star Wars Weekend last year. I didn't know it would be a SWW when I planned our trip and I didn't think about when we planned on our day at MGM on a weekend.

I'm not a big Star Wars fan but I was in sixth grade when the first one came out and I've seen all six films. My DW and DD8 didn't think they cared much but they enjoyed seeing some of the "characters." I did too.

In my opinion, the lines for all the regular attractions were shorter since so many people were attending the Star Wars attractions.

We actually got lots of pics with Star Wars characters and really enjoyed ourselves.

My recommendation is to not even worry about it and just enjoy.

Pics of our trip with some Star Wars characters at:

http://community.webtv.net/sktracy

 

[QuickGold]

Non-SWW attractions really aren't that busy. Most of the SWW crowd is really just about their SWW events and tend not to do much else. Fantasmic! should be do-able for you.

http://sww.mgmstudios.org

 

[lovesdumbo]

My recommendation is to not even worry about it and just enjoy.

Pics of our trip with some Star Wars characters at:

http://community.webtv.net/sktracy

Great advice! I think I'll do that. Maybe I'll even try to watch some of the movies before we go. I rode the Star Wars ride for the first time last Aug and really LOVED it but my poor DS(4) HATED it! I told him to shut his eyes but the poor little guy responded with "but I can still hear it!". I took my DD 2 nights early on our Oct family trip and rode Star Wars with her. She really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed your photos & trip report. I had a not so great experience with a waitress at 1900 Park Fare too. Not as bad as yours but she called my DH "Gramps". We are older parents (44 & 50) but not old looking. I was more offended by the comment than DH. I'm sure the fact that the ice cream machine was broken the night we went adds to my less than perfect opinion of 1900 Park Fare. I'm also looking forward to trying Boma for dinner for the 1st time on my early May trip.

Thanks to all for your insights. I guess I'll call and see if I can even make an ADR for a Fantasmic dinner package on that night.

 

[doombuggy]

I agree with what has been posted here. Most of the crowds are around the SW area. Last year I went to pick up the watch & pins the first weekend, and waited in line for almost 2 hours! The following weekends, I went to get the pins Friday after work and the wait was not so bad. Learned my lesson!

Anyway - have a great time!