Star Wars Weekend Tips 2012

[disneydreamgirl]

Love you guys!!! Not sure how anyone would figure this all out without some help. Looking forward to your twitter feed, Kenny! Hope we see some others throughout the first Friday and Sunday. We are really getting stoked...four more sleeps until we leave/arrive!!!

 

[CentralFloridian99]

I'll be there Friday and Saturday 18-19 and will be tweeting and posting photos heavily to my blog concerning the character meets, locations and estimated wait times for those hunting characters.

If anyone wants any specific photos, locations or info, just tweet me.

Ok thanks! This should be helpful for my character hunting

 

[buckeev]

We'll be there June 8! Too bad the Han Solo from the 80s won't be there, I'd be first in line

 

[yulilin3]

For those who asked about the R2D2 stein, here's what I found:
The one offfered at Backlot Express (I think it comes with chocolate pudding) is $10.49 and the R2D2 popcorn bucket is $12.00. I'm not sure they'll keep these prices for the other items already mentioned.
The stage is up and functioning (Disney Channel Rocks was performing on it yesterday) and they've started to clear the tables by Studio Catering where Darth Vader usually meets. No movement yet on tables and chairs for the area where the Fab 4 met.

 

[d-r]

regarding multiple celebrity autographs - the way they did things last year made it challenging to get more than 1 celebrity fast pass. You are given a wristband of a certain color (different for each celeb) and a ticket for that celeb with your return time. If you miss your return time you are placed at the back of the next return session (if at all). You MUST have BOTH the wristband AND the fast pass to enter the holding queue for the celebrity. You may "forfeit" you wristband and fast pass to your child (at least you could last year), but you may not wait in the line with them.

Some celebrity handler CMs are way more strict than others, but you never know who you will get so don't count on anything. If you give up your wristband and fast pass to your young child - be prepared that they will have to be alone in the holding queue and line to meet the celeb. For the outside tents you can be relatvely close by and always in sight of your child, but the inside area at sounds stage - the CM may or may not let you in. We had this issue last year and had to speak to a manager. We were told we could give the kids our band and passes, but had no idea they would have to be out of our sight - after MUCH contention and discussion they allowed ONE of us to go inside with them to supervise, but absolutely no signatures or photos. That situation was to see James Arnold Taylor.

At one point we tried to forfeit my wristband and fastpass to another guests son (only one of us went with the kids to see Dave Filoni) and we were not allowed. The forfeit thing was only to your own kids, not to your spouse or anyone else. I'm sure someone else had a different experience, but my point is that don't count on it - some CMs are REALLY uptight about how they run the celebs. Disney pays per autograph...

In general you can only have ONE item signed per person. CM's will remind you of this constantly. Some people will manage to sneak more than one thing in and the celebs will almost always say okay, but it could be an issue. Dpn't count on being able to do it.

In terms of the celeb fastpasses - there is a SPECIFIC return time. Don't go early - you'll be roasting in a lack of shade and they will call the passes in order of time/number for standbys. DO NOT come late - you will lose your spot and be placed as a standby. It is NOTHING like a fastpass for an attraction. Its your reservation ticket.

As ridiculous as some of it seems and it is - its best just to plan for it and avoid the headache. Decide who wants to see what celeb, how you can split up in the morning to get the needed number of wristband and passes and what items you want signed.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

regarding multiple celebrity autographs - the way they did things last year made it challenging to get more than 1 celebrity fast pass. You are given a wristband of a certain color (different for each celeb) and a ticket for that celeb with your return time. If you miss your return time you are placed at the back of the next return session (if at all). You MUST have BOTH the wristband AND the fast pass to enter the holding queue for the celebrity. You may "forfeit" you wristband and fast pass to your child (at least you could last year), but you may not wait in the line with them.

Some celebrity handler CMs are way more strict than others, but you never know who you will get so don't count on anything. If you give up your wristband and fast pass to your young child - be prepared that they will have to be alone in the holding queue and line to meet the celeb. For the outside tents you can be relatvely close by and always in sight of your child, but the inside area at sounds stage - the CM may or may not let you in. We had this issue last year and had to speak to a manager. We were told we could give the kids our band and passes, but had no idea they would have to be out of our sight - after MUCH contention and discussion they allowed ONE of us to go inside with them to supervise, but absolutely no signatures or photos. That situation was to see James Arnold Taylor.

At one point we tried to forfeit my wristband and fastpass to another guests son (only one of us went with the kids to see Dave Filoni) and we were not allowed. The forfeit thing was only to your own kids, not to your spouse or anyone else. I'm sure someone else had a different experience, but my point is that don't count on it - some CMs are REALLY uptight about how they run the celebs. Disney pays per autograph...

In general you can only have ONE item signed per person. CM's will remind you of this constantly. Some people will manage to sneak more than one thing in and the celebs will almost always say okay, but it could be an issue. Dpn't count on being able to do it.

In terms of the celeb fastpasses - there is a SPECIFIC return time. Don't go early - you'll be roasting in a lack of shade and they will call the passes in order of time/number for standbys. DO NOT come late - you will lose your spot and be placed as a standby. It is NOTHING like a fastpass for an attraction. Its your reservation ticket.

As ridiculous as some of it seems and it is - its best just to plan for it and avoid the headache. Decide who wants to see what celeb, how you can split up in the morning to get the needed number of wristband and passes and what items you want signed.

Very helpful. Thanks! I have another question; I've been hearing lately that there is a walk-in line for celebrities. Is this true?

 

[Karpkg]

regarding multiple celebrity autographs - the way they did things last year made it challenging to get more than 1 celebrity fast pass. You are given a wristband of a certain color (different for each celeb) and a ticket for that celeb with your return time. If you miss your return time you are placed at the back of the next return session (if at all). You MUST have BOTH the wristband AND the fast pass to enter the holding queue for the celebrity. You may "forfeit" you wristband and fast pass to your child (at least you could last year), but you may not wait in the line with them.

Some celebrity handler CMs are way more strict than others, but you never know who you will get so don't count on anything. If you give up your wristband and fast pass to your young child - be prepared that they will have to be alone in the holding queue and line to meet the celeb. For the outside tents you can be relatvely close by and always in sight of your child, but the inside area at sounds stage - the CM may or may not let you in. We had this issue last year and had to speak to a manager. We were told we could give the kids our band and passes, but had no idea they would have to be out of our sight - after MUCH contention and discussion they allowed ONE of us to go inside with them to supervise, but absolutely no signatures or photos. That situation was to see James Arnold Taylor.

At one point we tried to forfeit my wristband and fastpass to another guests son (only one of us went with the kids to see Dave Filoni) and we were not allowed. The forfeit thing was only to your own kids, not to your spouse or anyone else. I'm sure someone else had a different experience, but my point is that don't count on it - some CMs are REALLY uptight about how they run the celebs. Disney pays per autograph...

In general you can only have ONE item signed per person. CM's will remind you of this constantly. Some people will manage to sneak more than one thing in and the celebs will almost always say okay, but it could be an issue. Dpn't count on being able to do it.

In terms of the celeb fastpasses - there is a SPECIFIC return time. Don't go early - you'll be roasting in a lack of shade and they will call the passes in order of time/number for standbys. DO NOT come late - you will lose your spot and be placed as a standby. It is NOTHING like a fastpass for an attraction. Its your reservation ticket.

As ridiculous as some of it seems and it is - its best just to plan for it and avoid the headache. Decide who wants to see what celeb, how you can split up in the morning to get the needed number of wristband and passes and what items you want signed.

Exactly how it was last year.

I'm glad that Sounds Dangerous will be used for the Carbon Freeze Me. I hated it when the celebrities moved in there and isolated themselves. It started with Anthony Daniels and I was really surprised when Ashley Eckstein moved in there; then I felt the public were more excluded and the friendly Disney accessibility feeling was obliterated. I would leave there as if we were granted access to royalty and we should leave there feeling grateful.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

Exactly how it was last year.

I'm glad that Sounds Dangerous will be used for the Carbon Freeze Me. I hated it when the celebrities moved in there and isolated themselves. It started with Anthony Daniels and I was really surprised when Ashley Eckstein moved in there; then I felt the public were more excluded and the friendly Disney accessibility feeling was obliterated. I would leave there as if we were granted access to royalty and we should leave there feeling grateful.

Speaking of autograph locations, has next weekend's SWW time guide been revealed yet?

 

[Atchley]

We are going June 8 and 10. We are not really interested in getting any autographs from the stars but we would like to get pictures taken with Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, and others such as that. Maybe even stormtroopers and such. Are there fastpasses for them or do we just stand in line and wait? I am okay with either, just wanting to know ahead of time. I have read through several posts, but I haven't found it. I apologize if it has already been discussed.
This is our first SWW so we aren't really sure what to expect except that it will be BUSY! I have read enough to know that. We are going two days to DHS so hopefully we will just relax and go with the flow.

 

[cerberus]

So if you do not want celeb autographs....but do want to do the Jedi Training and meet characters how early before opening do we have to arrive? I was thinking 30minutes so at 8:30am for a 9am opening that is advertised right now. We do not care what time we get to to do the Jedi Training.

Oh and does Chip n Dale dress in star wars attire (our favorite characters)??

 

[Karpkg]

We are going June 8 and 10. We are not really interested in getting any autographs from the stars but we would like to get pictures taken with Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, and others such as that. Maybe even stormtroopers and such. Are there fastpasses for them or do we just stand in line and wait? I am okay with either, just wanting to know ahead of time. I have read through several posts, but I haven't found it. I apologize if it has already been discussed.
This is our first SWW so we aren't really sure what to expect except that it will be BUSY! I have read enough to know that. We are going two days to DHS so hopefully we will just relax and go with the flow.

Stationed Star War Characters are just like Meet and Greet characters and they'll have lines. There are roaming characters and it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

So if you do not want celeb autographs....but do want to do the Jedi Training and meet characters how early before opening do we have to arrive? I was thinking 30minutes so at 8:30am for a 9am opening that is advertised right now. We do not care what time we get to to do the Jedi Training.

Oh and does Chip n Dale dress in star wars attire (our favorite characters)??

Treat the sign ups for Jedi Training Academy as if it were Rope Drop for Toy Story Mania; get there early and as soon as the park opens head over to the sign up area; this year it'll be in front of the Indiana Jones attraction. Characters will show up around 9:00 but people will get in line before then.

Chip n Dale won't be dressed as Star Wars; only the fab four.

 

[cerberus]

We are going June 8 and 10. We are not really interested in getting any autographs from the stars but we would like to get pictures taken with Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, and others such as that. Maybe even stormtroopers and such. Are there fastpasses for them or do we just stand in line and wait? I am okay with either, just wanting to know ahead of time. I have read through several posts, but I haven't found it. I apologize if it has already been discussed.
This is our first SWW so we aren't really sure what to expect except that it will be BUSY! I have read enough to know that. We are going two days to DHS so hopefully we will just relax and go with the flow.

No worries this is a long thread! Our first SWW also!!!
I asked a similar question and they said no FP, just wait in line. I think I read the stormtroopers you will find roaming around as well. The wait times were around 30min to 1 hour. Darth Vadar I was told is often an hour wait.

 

[cerberus]

Treat the sign ups for Jedi Training Academy as if it were Rope Drop for Toy Story Mania; get there early and as soon as the park opens head over to the sign up area; this year it'll be in front of the Indiana Jones attraction. Characters will show up around 9:00 but people will get in line before then.

Chip n Dale won't be dressed as Star Wars; only the fab four.

Good to know thanks ! Bummer about Chip n Dale.

 

[Karpkg]

I've revised a Hollywood Map with last year's Character Locations. I'll update it if there are any new changes this year.

To download to your computer right click with your mouse and choose Save Image As...
Just remember where in your computer you downloaded it to.

 

[Karpkg]

DISboarders who are going to Star Wars Weekend 2012

1st Wknd May 18-20
Aerorea 5/18, 5/20
CentralFloridian99 5/20
Daisy'sMama 5/20
disneydreamgirl 5/18, 5/20
disneyforus 5/18
Donald Duck888 5/18
d-r 5/20
Hanover
heyitsmejosh 5/18, 5/19, 5/20
JenGC 5/18
jthornton94 5/20
KaterBell 5/20
kennythepirate 5/18, 5/19
kswm30b 5/18, 5/20
lcarlton99 5/18
lovethattink 5/18, 5/19, 5/20
maybs607 5/18
momtotwins 5/20
momto2sweeties 5/19
MSUmom
tiggerpenny 5/18, 5/19
Tinker Bell Fan 5/18, 5/19, 5/20
vettegirl 5/18, 5/19, 5/20
wallawallakids 5/18
wendypooh 5/18, 5/19, 5/20
yulilin3 5/19, 5/20
2goofykiddos 5/18, 5/19

2nd Wknd May 25-27
aiminator 5/27
csmommy 5/25
delmar411 5/25, 5/26
d-r 5/25, 5/26, 5/27
evcollins 5/26
goofyredraider 5/27
jthornton94 5/26
justwinnie 5/25, 5/26
Karpkg 5/25
kmcdougan 5/26
lovethattink 5/25, 5/26, 5/27
moethorne 5/25
redshoepaul 5/26
wendypooh
yulilin3 5/26, 5/27

3rd Wknd June 1-3
ajh88 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
audrey2580 6/1
cerberus 6/2
delmar411 6/1, 6/2
d-r 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
goofyredraider 6/2, 6/3
ireland nicole
Karpkg 6/1
KathleensKid 6/2, 6/3
lovethattink 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
MarkinMA 6/1, 6/2
megan511 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
mesaboy 6/3
RedM94 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
thej 6/1, 6/2, 6/3
Toystoryfan32 6/3
vleeth 6/2
vwaller72 6/2
yulilin3 6/2, 6/3

4th Wknd June 8-10
Atchley 6/8, 6/10
bizeemom4 6/8, 6/10
buckeev 6/10
cerberus 6/8, 6/10
Cinderumbrella 6/8, 6/9
d-r 6/8, 6/9, 6/10
Hanover
ireland nicole 6/8
jacksonsmom 6/8, 6/10
ladyjubilee 6/10
lovethattink 6/8, 6/9, 6/10
Music City Mama 6/8
tink70 6/8, 6/9, 6/10
TrixieLouMagoo 6/8
undertheseas 6/8
vwaller72 6/8
wdwfanatic80 6/9, 6/10
wdwnut61 6/8
yulilin3 6/9, 6/10
39CINDERELLA 6/8, 6/9, 6/10

 

[yulilin3]

Exactly how it was last year.

I'm glad that Sounds Dangerous will be used for the Carbon Freeze Me. I hated it when the celebrities moved in there and isolated themselves. It started with Anthony Daniels and I was really surprised when Ashley Eckstein moved in there; then I felt the public were more excluded and the friendly Disney accessibility feeling was obliterated. I would leave there as if we were granted access to royalty and we should leave there feeling grateful.

The celebs probably will still use the post show area of Sounds Dangerous if it rains or gets too hot. The Carbon Freeze Me is going to be inside Sounds Dangerous (where the actual attraction was) So people doing the Freeze Me will enter thru the regular show entrance and for the celeb autographs thru the post show area...at least that's what I've been told

 

[tink70]

We'll be there June 8! Too bad the Han Solo from the 80s won't be there, I'd be first in line

Me too! He's my favorite!! Wish they had him as a character for pics with chewie!

Also my DD and I will be there June 8-10th! Can't wait! This is our first time, and I've always wanted to go!!!

 

[yulilin3]

Awesome map Karpkg!!!
As for JTA, once again, I would get there as early as possible, if the park is scheduled to open at 9am I would be there ay 8:15am...why?...because there are going to be people in front of you in the turnstiles that are going to sign up, at park opening they'll be inside the park before you...you don't want to show up before park opening (8:30am or 8:45am) and still not be able to sign the kids up. There will be 16 shows of JTA during SWW each will have 24 kids per show. It may sound like alot but it'll fill up in the first 20 to 30min after park opening.
No word yet on SWW official schedule or map.
Cast members that have seen rehearsals of Hyperspace Hoopla have said it's going to be awesome.

 

[DisneyMom14]

Thanks to Karpkg and Yulilin3 and everyone else who contributed! I'm a planner and feel the need to know what I'm in for before I get there and your info has helped tremendously!

Put us down for 3rd weekend - probably Sunday but might go in the evening on Friday as well.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

I got ignored on these 2, so I'll ask again.

1. I heard celebrities have a walk-in line for people without a Fastpass. Is this true?

2. Is Weekend 1's map out yet?