Star Wars Weekend Tips 2012

[lovethattink]

I assume you still have to have all members of your party present for each fast pass? Or had that rule changed. It's been years since we got a FP for a celeb M&G. Back then you got the FP at Star Tours for the celeb M&G.

 

[yulilin3]

We'll be there May 19 - our first SWW! DH hates crowds but is a big Star Wars fan so we'll try it. From what I've read in this thread, the counter service restaurants are insanely crowded so it might make more sense to get an ADR to cut down on wait time. What do you think?

They are crowded but if you get there when they open 10:30 to 11am you shouldn't have a problem. Just don't go at peak times. We usually go there when they open because we want to have as much time as possible for SWW and we don't like to wait for table service.
So at opening or after 2pm.

 

[Stitch123]

We'll do an early lunch then. Thanks for the advice throughout this thread.

 

[goofyredraider]

OK, so if you get a FP for an autograph, you can't get one for a ride right away (like TSM)? Is that right? Just trying to plan strategy.
Also, if you are going to try to do JTA, is it possible to get from the autograph line (in line by, say 5:30/6am) and be done in time to get in line for sign up for JTA?

 

[txtara]

Does the merchandise tent stay open with park hours?

 

[yulilin3]

OK, so if you get a FP for an autograph, you can't get one for a ride right away (like TSM)? Is that right? Just trying to plan strategy.
Also, if you are going to try to do JTA, is it possible to get from the autograph line (in line by, say 5:30/6am) and be done in time to get in line for sign up for JTA?

The celeb autograph fp is not linked with the regular attractions fp. So you can get a fp for a celeb and then enter the park and grab one for any attraction.
They distribute the celeb autograph fp's before park opening so you can go straight after opening to sign up for JTA.

Does the merchandise tent stay open with park hours?

Yes, last year's merch tent stayed open the same as park hours

 

[goofyredraider]

The celeb autograph fp is not linked with the regular attractions fp. So you can get a fp for a celeb and then enter the park and grab one for any attraction.
They distribute the celeb autograph fp's before park opening so you can go straight after opening to sign up for JTA.

Fantastic...thank you! I was wondering how we were going to balance it all...it made my brain hurt! LOL!

 

[feistyblue]

We've never done SWW before and my DS is a big fan. We will be at WDW from 15th May to 29th May so there for the first two SWW.

I wondered whether someone could give me some advice about which weekend to go to and specifically which day on which weekend based on the following:

1) I think my son is over the age limit WDW set for JTA and the Mind Challenge as he is 14, so we won't need to do those.
2) We won't be doing celeb autographs but will do some of the character ones.
3) We definitely want to see the Hoopla and possibly the parade but we aren't hugely fussed about the parade.
4) There will be lots of merchandise browsing going on and probably a lot of buying - particularly pins!
5) We want to see the storm troopers storming the park as it opens.
6) We will do rides on a non SWW day
7) I am willing to do SWW on more than one day
8) We plan to get to the Studios at 7.30 on whichever day we do first, but probably don't want to get up that early on the second or third days!

Any other tips for me would be gratefully received. I feel we need a strategy as I am not able to cope very well with standing around in direct sunlight. I also want to make it special for my DS as he loves Star Wars so much.

 

[yulilin3]

We've never done SWW before and my DS is a big fan. We will be at WDW from 15th May to 29th May so there for the first two SWW.

I wondered whether someone could give me some advice about which weekend to go to and specifically which day on which weekend based on the following:

1) I think my son is over the age limit WDW set for JTA and the Mind Challenge as he is 14, so we won't need to do those.
2) We won't be doing celeb autographs but will do some of the character ones.
3) We definitely want to see the Hoopla and possibly the parade but we aren't hugely fussed about the parade.
4) There will be lots of merchandise browsing going on and probably a lot of buying - particularly pins!
5) We want to see the storm troopers storming the park as it opens.
6) We will do rides on a non SWW day
7) I am willing to do SWW on more than one day
8) We plan to get to the Studios at 7.30 on whichever day we do first, but probably don't want to get up that early on the second or third days!

Any other tips for me would be gratefully received. I feel we need a strategy as I am not able to cope very well with standing around in direct sunlight. I also want to make it special for my DS as he loves Star Wars so much.

1)Your son is to old for JTA but he can still watch the show if at all interested.
2) Make a list of the characters you want to meet and find them first. As to not over expose yourself to the sun
3) Find a spot for Parade and/or Hoopla 1 hour to 1 1/2 early, so you can find a shady spot.
4) Merchandise tent is awesome and better Air Conditioned
5) Being there early will help you see the Stormtrooper, they are on top of the turnstiles and stay there an hour after park opening.
6) Smart thing
7) Great way is to prioritize what you want to do on each day.
8) So first day should be to catch the stormtroopers and character encounters.
The sun situation is a tricky one, but a great way to get out of the sun and enjoy SWW is take in the shows, they are indoors and last for about 30min. Get in line about 30 to 45min before and you'll get a spot.

 

[Karpkg]

We've never done SWW before and my DS is a big fan. We will be at WDW from 15th May to 29th May so there for the first two SWW.

I wondered whether someone could give me some advice about which weekend to go to and specifically which day on which weekend based on the following:

1) I think my son is over the age limit WDW set for JTA and the Mind Challenge as he is 14, so we won't need to do those.
2) We won't be doing celeb autographs but will do some of the character ones.
3) We definitely want to see the Hoopla and possibly the parade but we aren't hugely fussed about the parade.
4) There will be lots of merchandise browsing going on and probably a lot of buying - particularly pins!
5) We want to see the storm troopers storming the park as it opens.
6) We will do rides on a non SWW day
7) I am willing to do SWW on more than one day
8) We plan to get to the Studios at 7.30 on whichever day we do first, but probably don't want to get up that early on the second or third days!

Any other tips for me would be gratefully received. I feel we need a strategy as I am not able to cope very well with standing around in direct sunlight. I also want to make it special for my DS as he loves Star Wars so much.

Any Friday will be better than a Saturday or Sunday because the locals will be at work/school.

Choose the most popular/longest character line one to be done first thing in the morning. Off the top of my head that would be the VIP line(Mickey, Minnie, etc), Chewbacca line, Darth Vader line, Leia/Luke line. Reserve the other must have character line for your 2nd morning early rush.

If it's been like it was in the past, we've done the light side on one day, the dark side the other day.

I've stopped and asked CM's for schedules of the characters so I can get an idea of when I'll need to get in line. For instance, Mickey will be in the parade and won't come back till say, 2:30; then I'll not be in line till say, 1:50 or so.

Check out the parade time for that day, and keep an eye on main street. If you see it start filling up, then start hunting for a spot.

The easiest spots for the parade is closer to the entrance of the park vs. the stage where it ends. You'd be able to see the parade but not the ending where they meet at the stage and hear the speeches and such.

I tend to browse for merchandise/pins in the later afternoon when it's really hot; the air conditioned tents are fantastic and I don't see as many people.

 

[sam_gordon]

Choose the most popular/longest character line one to be done first thing in the morning. Off the top of my head that would be the VIP line(Mickey, Minnie, etc), Chewbacca line, Darth Vader line, Leia/Luke line. Reserve the other must have character line for your 2nd morning early rush.

Going off my memory from last year...

Mickey/Minne (I think rotated with Donald & Goofy) were between The Commissary and Grumman's Theater (Great Movie Ride)

Chewbacca was directly across from Star Tours (near the speeder bike)

Darth Vader was near the que for the Back lot tour.

Leia & Luke (rotated with R2D2 & C3PO) were in the Merchandise tent.

 

[PixiePoppins]

Similar to feistybule, I'm looking for a strategy for a SWW newbie family. We have 2 SW fans in DD15 and DS9, but DD12 not so much. In addition, I'd appreciate some tips for navigating with DD12 in a wheelchair. We are planning on going Friday of weekend 2. I'm a little concerned how hard it may be to get around in the crowds with the wheelchair, I'm envisioning crowds like the morning rush to get to Soarin...is that accurate? I'd appreciate hearing any experience on this. Also, I'm hoping they have areas reserved for viewing the hyperspace hoopla for wheelchairs...I'm guessing they do as Disney is pretty good about that for other parades and shows.

My tentative plan is to get there by 7:30. Does the park typically open earlier than the posted 9:00?

Our kids aren't interested in autographs, but we do want to get some pics with characters. Are there PhotoPass CMs taking pics like other meet and greets?

We also want to hit the parade, take a break and come back for the hoopla. Are there other shows that we should see?

With the exception of Star Tours, we'll probably save doing rides for our non-SWW days.

The last couple of posts have also been very helpful...thanks!!

 

[Karpkg]

Similar to feistybule, I'm looking for a strategy for a SWW newbie family. We have 2 SW fans in DD15 and DS9, but DD12 not so much. In addition, I'd appreciate some tips for navigating with DD12 in a wheelchair. We are planning on going Friday of weekend 2. I'm a little concerned how hard it may be to get around in the crowds with the wheelchair, I'm envisioning crowds like the morning rush to get to Soarin...is that accurate? I'd appreciate hearing any experience on this. Also, I'm hoping they have areas reserved for viewing the hyperspace hoopla for wheelchairs...I'm guessing they do as Disney is pretty good about that for other parades and shows.

My tentative plan is to get there by 7:30. Does the park typically open earlier than the posted 9:00?

Our kids aren't interested in autographs, but we do want to get some pics with characters. Are there PhotoPass CMs taking pics like other meet and greets?

We also want to hit the parade, take a break and come back for the hoopla. Are there other shows that we should see?

With the exception of Star Tours, we'll probably save doing rides for our non-SWW days.

The last couple of posts have also been very helpful...thanks!!

There will be a separate area for the autograph celebrity fast passes early in the morning. The CM's had us pushed to the right side. So if you're not interested in celebrity autographs, I'd be over to the left turnstile area.

We won't know if the park will be opening earlier than 9. They did open earlier last year because of the reopening of Star Tours, and I think they also wanted to cut down a bit on the people who were already there for the celebrities, but there's no guarantee that it will be the same this year. Precedents tend to be set with the first wknd when we get reports from people who report then.

Photopass CM's will be just about every character line but the roaming characters. Last year I did see one or two photopass photographers following a roaming character but that was only for a brief moment. If there had to be any time where you had to choose whether or not to preorder the photopass CD, this would be the time.

I can't help you with wheelchair areas. You'll have to ask the CM's ahead of the parade time and see what they say.

If you could see a show, I highly recommend Ray Park's Trip to the Maul. Kids love his karate moves, he's been in enough movies outside of Star Wars that the kids will say "I didn't know he did that character/movie!" and he's highly entertaining. We won't know the schedule until someone on the inside post it closer to when Star Wars Weekend is to start.

If you were to get there early, I'd consider JTA, or fast passes for rides, or positioning oneself to be in line for characters.

For my family; I was the designated one to be in lines; DH was fast pass runner. We alternated shows, celebrities time slots, character lines, parade and hoopla. SWW days can be a very filled day depending on what you want to do and see.

 

[PixiePoppins]

Thanks, karpkg!

Regarding JTA, do you get to pick your time or are you assigned the next available slot?

 

[Karpkg]

Thanks, karpkg!

Regarding JTA, do you get to pick your time or are you assigned the next available slot?

We were assigned the next available slot.

I don't have my notes at hand; but we got through the gate at 9:03, were in the JTA line by 9:06-ish and our time slot was in the afternoon.

YOU MUST HAVE THE CHILD/CHILDREN PRESENT. They constantly checked the lines, looked for the kids. They would periodically yell out what time slot they were up to, say 1:20 time filled, now 2:20 filled, etc. They will go down the line and say you're approximately at this possible point. They had a clicker in their hand and were constantly counting off kids to get a general idea where they'd be. Then they were warning when they line will be cut off and if you may not make any more slots.

edit: this was 2 years ago.

 

[goofyredraider]

We've never done SWW before and my DS is a big fan. We will be at WDW from 15th May to 29th May so there for the first two SWW.

I wondered whether someone could give me some advice about which weekend to go to and specifically which day on which weekend based on the following:

1) I think my son is over the age limit WDW set for JTA and the Mind Challenge as he is 14, so we won't need to do those.
2) We won't be doing celeb autographs but will do some of the character ones.
3) We definitely want to see the Hoopla and possibly the parade but we aren't hugely fussed about the parade.
4) There will be lots of merchandise browsing going on and probably a lot of buying - particularly pins!
5) We want to see the storm troopers storming the park as it opens.
6) We will do rides on a non SWW day
7) I am willing to do SWW on more than one day
8) We plan to get to the Studios at 7.30 on whichever day we do first, but probably don't want to get up that early on the second or third days!

Any other tips for me would be gratefully received. I feel we need a strategy as I am not able to cope very well with standing around in direct sunlight. I also want to make it special for my DS as he loves Star Wars so much.

I like the way you are thinking ...as a lot of it falls in line with what I initially thought about doing. Then, I found myself getting "caught up" in doing it all. I think I need to make a list of priorities as well and really talk with DH about what is most important and will be most enjoyable for us all. We will also be there for two weekends and have 2-3 days planned.

Any Friday will be better than a Saturday or Sunday because the locals will be at work/school.

Choose the most popular/longest character line one to be done first thing in the morning. Off the top of my head that would be the VIP line(Mickey, Minnie, etc), Chewbacca line, Darth Vader line, Leia/Luke line. Reserve the other must have character line for your 2nd morning early rush.

If it's been like it was in the past, we've done the light side on one day, the dark side the other day.

I've stopped and asked CM's for schedules of the characters so I can get an idea of when I'll need to get in line. For instance, Mickey will be in the parade and won't come back till say, 2:30; then I'll not be in line till say, 1:50 or so.

Check out the parade time for that day, and keep an eye on main street. If you see it start filling up, then start hunting for a spot.

The easiest spots for the parade is closer to the entrance of the park vs. the stage where it ends. You'd be able to see the parade but not the ending where they meet at the stage and hear the speeches and such.

I tend to browse for merchandise/pins in the later afternoon when it's really hot; the air conditioned tents are fantastic and I don't see as many people.

These are great tips. Thank you.

 

[Karpkg]

Last year, it worked to our advantage that only us DISboards knew that DHS was opening earlier unannounced. It was our 2nd or 3rd SWW day, we had grabbed celebrity fastpasses, then grabbed TSM fastpasses, then walked leisurely toward Star Tours. We passed by the Sounds Dangerous stage, happened to look to our right, and saw THERE WERE ONLY 3 FAMILIES!!!! So we got in line and did JTA that day, although we weren't planning to. I think it was like 8:40-ish or so.

 

[lovethattink]

Similar to feistybule, I'm looking for a strategy for a SWW newbie family. We have 2 SW fans in DD15 and DS9, but DD12 not so much. In addition, I'd appreciate some tips for navigating with DD12 in a wheelchair. We are planning on going Friday of weekend 2. I'm a little concerned how hard it may be to get around in the crowds with the wheelchair, I'm envisioning crowds like the morning rush to get to Soarin...is that accurate? I'd appreciate hearing any experience on this. Also, I'm hoping they have areas reserved for viewing the hyperspace hoopla for wheelchairs...I'm guessing they do as Disney is pretty good about that for other parades and shows.

My tentative plan is to get there by 7:30. Does the park typically open earlier than the posted 9:00?

Our kids aren't interested in autographs, but we do want to get some pics with characters. Are there PhotoPass CMs taking pics like other meet and greets?

We also want to hit the parade, take a break and come back for the hoopla. Are there other shows that we should see?

With the exception of Star Tours, we'll probably save doing rides for our non-SWW days.

The last couple of posts have also been very helpful...thanks!!

I can help a little with the wheel chair. At some point pick up a disability guide at guest services. It will explain where parade viewing will be. However, it will not explain anything about SWW with a wheelchair.

There is a ramp to get into the merchandise tent. There were some times it was difficult to navigate with all the people, but they seemed to only allow a certain number of people in the tent at a time.

For the shows inside the old Hunch Back theater (sorry I don't remember the newer name for the theater) the wheel chairs go in the same queue. Once you get in the theater they will direct you where to go for seating.

The characters change out from time to time at the meet and greets, so you may see Mace Windu when you arrive, but when it's your turn it could be another Jedi.

We were assigned the next available slot.

I don't have my notes at hand; but we got through the gate at 9:03, were in the JTA line by 9:06-ish and our time slot was in the afternoon.

YOU MUST HAVE THE CHILD/CHILDREN PRESENT. They constantly checked the lines, looked for the kids. They would periodically yell out what time slot they were up to, say 1:20 time filled, now 2:20 filled, etc. They will go down the line and say you're approximately at this possible point. They had a clicker in their hand and were constantly counting off kids to get a general idea where they'd be. Then they were warning when they line will be cut off and if you may not make any more slots.

edit: this was 2 years ago.

This is how it was for us last year too. We got there at 9:05 and got an afternoon time slot. The kids are also asked questions by the cm before they would sign them up for the time slot. My son was asked if he was afraid of Darth Vader and a couple other questions.

 

[Disneyforus]

I just don't think we are going to be able to do it.I really wanted to.
My DH and I have watched several youtube videos and it seems like it is almost impossible to see if you are a kiddo.(unless someone holds you up) We have 4 so we can't hold up all of them. We are thinking that it is going to be miserable for them to wait and then not be able to see what is going on. We talked about watching it in the park on the big screen they have, but that doesn't seem real exciting.
Am I missing something here? Is this really such a bad set up. It seems like with standing up shows in other parks (MK at the castle for example) if you get far enough back you can see. Is that the case with this show, or is there not enough room?

I need some help from those of you who have done it with kids...please.

 

[Miz Diz]

You don't have to get to the park at 5:30 to get fast passes for the autographs. We have been the past 4 years and we have only been earlier than 7:00, once - and that was for Billy Dee Williams. We got there about 6 am for Billy Dee Williams. Some people camped out. We ended up getting standby tickets for him and were able to meet him.

Last year, we got there at 7:15 and we got passes to meet Ray Park and our meet time with him was around 2pm. They opened the park at 8:00am.

If they do the passes like they did last year, you definitely won't have to get there that early. Last year, they would only let you get 1 fast pass and you had to wait 2 hours before they would let you get another one. They still had lots of fast passes left when they opened at 8am. People were really complaining about it, too. In the past, you could get your fast pass, go get back in line for another one, until they ran out. They also started requiring that you wear a band and have your fast pass to get your autograph. In the past, they didn't do the bands - some people could get in line for others and pass the tickets over.