Star Wars Weekend Tips ~ 2011 Update

[OB1]

Well I find that the first Friday is quite well atended. The real fans take their little ones out of school and take their vacations around this event.

Saturday will not be better attendance wise. If Disney plans it, they will come.

My first full day in the parks will be the first Friday of SWW. We will stay until the following WED. Sounds like your advice would be to go on Sunday and skip this first Friday. Would you agree with that statement DisGal??

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Anyone have the link to last years map or times guide?

We are mainly interested in the charecter meets and seeing Hoopla at 7, maybe seeing the Motorcade parade. What time is that generally?

We will be there for 2 weekends: a Sat/Sunday and a Friday/Sat the next week and plan on hitting SWW multiple days, my kids are SW freaks.

 

[Zoebear]

Star Wars Weekend is really THE reason we are doing Disney at all this year...

We can make one day of SWW only, Sunday May 30. Our priorities are:

See the star wars parade at 11 (?)

Go on Star Tours, Toy Story Mania and maybe Muppets / Playhouse Disney
Lunch at Sci Fi (2pm ADR)

See the characters/actors around and generally enjoy the vibe. We won't be doing autographs...

We'll probably leave and come back to see the Hoopla at 7pm.

We plan on getting there for rope drop and as it is not an EMH day, hopefully see the Storm Troopers opening up.

My questions are:
1. When do you think we'll have to find a spot for the 11:00 parade and the 7pm show ?
2. Do you have any recommended spots for parade viewing ?
3. Did I read somewhere that it is possible to be IN the parade somehow ??

Thanks. I'm new to the SWW stuff...

 

[jngwright]

Star Wars Weekend is really THE reason we are doing Disney at all this year...

We can make one day of SWW only, Sunday May 30. Our priorities are:

See the star wars parade at 11 (?)

Go on Star Tours, Toy Story Mania and maybe Muppets / Playhouse Disney
Lunch at Sci Fi (2pm ADR)

See the characters/actors around and generally enjoy the vibe. We won't be doing autographs...

We'll probably leave and come back to see the Hoopla at 7pm.

We plan on getting there for rope drop and as it is not an EMH day, hopefully see the Storm Troopers opening up.

My questions are:
1. When do you think we'll have to find a spot for the 11:00 parade and the 7pm show ?
2. Do you have any recommended spots for parade viewing ?
3. Did I read somewhere that it is possible to be IN the parade somehow ??

Thanks. I'm new to the SWW stuff...

The very first post of this thread has the answers to your questions!!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Anyone have the link to last years map or times guide?

We are mainly interested in the charecter meets and seeing Hoopla at 7, maybe seeing the Motorcade parade. What time is that generally?

We will be there for 2 weekends: a Sat/Sunday and a Friday/Sat the next week and plan on hitting SWW multiple days, my kids are SW freaks.

Here is a link to the SWW map: http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/StarWarsWeekends.htm

Last year the parade was at 11:40, so I'm assuming it will be the same this year. This parade is not to be missed, especially for big star wars fans!

Have a magical time! I'm sure your kids will absolutely love it!!

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Here is a blog about the 2010 SWW Pins: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/04/star-wars-weekends-2010-pins/

They look really sweet!

 

[Zoebear]

Thanks jngwright- duh. I must have missed it in my excitement !

 

[bgsnmky]

Just curious as the thread started in 2009 - are all the tips applicable for 2010. This is AWESOME..thanks.

Some of the links on the first page were for 2009...so I just wanted to make sure.

 

[webbmom]

Just curious as the thread started in 2009 - are all the tips applicable for 2010. This is AWESOME..thanks.

Some of the links on the first page were for 2009...so I just wanted to make sure.

Absolutly

 

[turtlebean]

?
2. Do you have any recommended spots for parade viewing ?
QUOTE]

We got an awesome spot last year. We parked ourselves right under a tree near a walkway by the big hat, on the side near the big dinosaur and boat, and diagonal from the AI Experience. The CM just said we needed to be behind this gold line in the cement. (I'll have to look at home and see if we have a pic of where we were sitting. If I do, I'll post it). It was the best spot. No one was in front of us and we didn't have to worry about people pushing up on us b/c we had a tree behind us. Best of all it was shaded, so we got to keep cool in the sun. We were also in a great spot for character interaction during the parade.

 

[mamasha]

?
2. Do you have any recommended spots for parade viewing ?
QUOTE]

We got an awesome spot last year. We parked ourselves right under a tree near a walkway by the big hat, on the side near the big dinosaur and boat, and diagonal from the AI Experience. The CM just said we needed to be behind this gold line in the cement. (I'll have to look at home and see if we have a pic of where we were sitting. If I do, I'll post it). It was the best spot. No one was in front of us and we didn't have to worry about people pushing up on us b/c we had a tree behind us. Best of all it was shaded, so we got to keep cool in the sun. We were also in a great spot for character interaction during the parade.

how early did you have to get there for this spot

 

[tksbaskets]

Star Wars Weekend is really THE reason we are doing Disney at all this year...

We can make one day of SWW only, Sunday May 30. Our priorities are:

See the star wars parade at 11 (?)

Go on Star Tours, Toy Story Mania and maybe Muppets / Playhouse Disney
Lunch at Sci Fi (2pm ADR)

See the characters/actors around and generally enjoy the vibe. We won't be doing autographs...

We'll probably leave and come back to see the Hoopla at 7pm.

We plan on getting there for rope drop and as it is not an EMH day, hopefully see the Storm Troopers opening up.

My questions are:
1. When do you think we'll have to find a spot for the 11:00 parade and the 7pm show ?
2. Do you have any recommended spots for parade viewing ?
3. Did I read somewhere that it is possible to be IN the parade somehow ??

Thanks. I'm new to the SWW stuff...

Hi,
I did a trip report from our SWW trip. Post #39 tells you our most excellent place to view the parade.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1507149&page=3

Hope this fires you up for a most excellent Star Wars weekend!!!

 

[turtlebean]

how early did you have to get there for this spot

We got there just as the HSM show was ending and leaving. I would probably say about 30 mins or less before the parade started. We were probably about a little past midway through the parade route. So it took a little longer to get to us. Once we found our spot, I got us some snacks and it was nice to relax in the shade for awhile.

 

[mommyintn]

I have a question as far as maps of everything going on for SWW will there be something pre-released? I saw a couple of websites that had the maps from last year. We are going the first weekend so I'm thinking we may have to wing it the day of, any thoughts?

 

[4under4]

We will be there for the last SWW. This is our first trip, and my kids (DS8, DS6, DS4, DD4) are Star Wars Crazy! Can I get some feedback on our Touring Plan?

Friday
Arriving around 7:00 [EMH]
Get FP for Star Tours
Concentrate on getting Character Autographs, seeing the SWW shows/parade, and [hopefully] getting the kids picked for Jedi Training
Leaving around 4:30 for a 5:30 ADR

Sunday
Arriving around 7:50 for ADR Hollywood & Vine
As soon as park officially opens, send DH for TSM FP, (or go straight there if we're done eating), then do ToT and RnR {FP if necessary, but hopefully we will be ahead of the crowds and can grab FP for later while arriving guests are concentrating on SWW stuff!}
Spend time on "regular" HS attractions & shows until Trooper Parade, then fill in any missing gaps in our SWW autograph book
Go back to Resort early afternoon for a break, return in time for Hyperspace Hoopla & Fantasmic

Any thoughts?

 

[DisGal520]

I have a question as far as maps of everything going on for SWW will there be something pre-released? I saw a couple of websites that had the maps from last year. We are going the first weekend so I'm thinking we may have to wing it the day of, any thoughts?

don't worry - there will be maps after entering the park. Everything is toward the 'left'. That is, nothing for SWW will be going on at the TOT / Beauty & Beast side of the park.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

We will be there for the last SWW. This is our first trip, and my kids (DS8, DS6, DS4, DD4) are Star Wars Crazy! Can I get some feedback on our Touring Plan?

Friday
Arriving around 7:00 [EMH]
Get FP for Star Tours
Concentrate on getting Character Autographs, seeing the SWW shows/parade, and [hopefully] getting the kids picked for Jedi Training
Leaving around 4:30 for a 5:30 ADR

Sunday
Arriving around 7:50 for ADR Hollywood & Vine
As soon as park officially opens, send DH for TSM FP, (or go straight there if we're done eating), then do ToT and RnR {FP if necessary, but hopefully we will be ahead of the crowds and can grab FP for later while arriving guests are concentrating on SWW stuff!}
Spend time on "regular" HS attractions & shows until Trooper Parade, then fill in any missing gaps in our SWW autograph book
Go back to Resort early afternoon for a break, return in time for Hyperspace Hoopla & Fantasmic

Any thoughts?

That sounds like a very good plan. Just remember that it is usually very hot in June, so you will probably need to take frequent breaks, espcially since you have small children. Also, SWW activities usually don't start until 9, so you might just want to go on some attractions or eat breakfast on Friday before you start the autographs. Good luck and have a magical first trip!!

 

[reelmom]

We have an 8:00 ADR for Hollywood and Vine on Sunday, June 6th. I was wondering if we should keep it or not. I'm worried that they might let the crowds in early for rope drop and we would be in the back of the pack when we were finished eating. We are really only doing the character meet and greets , not the autograph sessions, and the parade. What do you think? Should we keep the adr or not?

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We have an 8:00 ADR for Hollywood and Vine on Sunday, June 6th. I was wondering if we should keep it or not. I'm worried that they might let the crowds in early for rope drop and we would be in the back of the pack when we were finished eating. We are really only doing the character meet and greets , not the autograph sessions, and the parade. What do you think? Should we keep the adr or not?

Keep it.... other than Darth Vader (and maybe Chewbacca) alot of the characters weren't out until 9:30 or 10am last year.

 

[reelmom]

Keep it.... other than Darth Vader (and maybe Chewbacca) alot of the characters weren't out until 9:30 or 10am last year.

Thanks. I was worried that we would be stuck in long lines. The only must have picture is with Darth Vader.