Star Wars Weekend Tips 2012

[Music City Mama]

Very easy and many ppl left and many ppl came in during the show. It's a theater and you just sit in the back or on the end of a row. You choose your own seats.

Thanks for the info!

 

[heyitsmejosh]

i'm thinking about just taking a solo trip saturday or sunday this weekend just to catch anything i missed when i was there the first time

 

[CentralFloridian99]

SotS should be around 45-50 minutes this weekend because 3 actors will be in the show.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

I heard un-Disney-like behavior. (I wasn't there either, just hearing from those who were). Swearing about the heat in front of the kids, off the wall comments; since Disney is sponsoring these celebrities they're supposed to act in a professional manner. So even if they are very popular, if they don't keep with the Disney image then they won't be invited.

One way to get yourself booted from Disney as a celebrity is to use one of George Carlin's seven words at a Disney-sponsored appearance. There was a female performer at one of the eat to the beat concerts that used a four letter swear word in two different shows. Her third show did not happen. Nor did her scheduled shows the next day. Apparently after the first show they asked her not to use that word anymore and she did it anyway.

Wow. She sweared in front of kids?!?!?! I'm guessing these are 2 things she said:

It's so d**n hot.
It is so f****** hot out here!

 

[Karpkg]

i'm thinking about just taking a solo trip saturday or sunday this weekend just to catch anything i missed when i was there the first time

I'm envious.

I had a wild idea of taking off with the kids Thursday after work, finding a place to stay and doing SWW for 2 days and leaving Sunday. DH has been vigorously shaking his head no at me.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

I'm envious.

I had a wild idea of taking off with the kids Thursday after work, finding a place to stay and doing SWW for 2 days and leaving Sunday. DH has been vigorously shaking his head no at me.

*Does a Pluto laugh* you should do a Jedi Mind trick.

 

[yulilin3]

some news for weekend 4: http://sww.studioscentral.com/main/content/dave-filoni-appear-june-9-star-wars-weekends
This should be interesting, but IDK who thought of doing this show at 2:30pm in an outdoor venue plus it's awfully close to Padawan Mind Challenge at 2:10pm

 

[lovethattink]

i'm thinking about just taking a solo trip saturday or sunday this weekend just to catch anything i missed when i was there the first time

Sounds good! Enjoy! I'm sure you'll cover alot of territory going solo.

I'm envious.

I had a wild idea of taking off with the kids Thursday after work, finding a place to stay and doing SWW for 2 days and leaving Sunday. DH has been vigorously shaking his head no at me.

You should do it. We stayed at The Palms Hotel and Villas right off of I-4 for weekend 2. It was a very clean, super friendly motel. The rooms are very spacious, but a bit outdated in decor. For the price, you can't go wrong and they have a free continental breakfast! Somewhere on one of the last few pages of my TR there is a post comparing The Palms to Pop Century.

some news for weekend 4: http://sww.studioscentral.com/main/content/dave-filoni-appear-june-9-star-wars-weekends
This should be interesting, but IDK who thought of doing this show at 2:30pm in an outdoor venue plus it's awfully close to Padawan Mind Challenge at 2:10pm

Oh!! That does sound interesting. My family loves Dave Filoni! It's also very close to the Stars of the Saga show.

 

[heyitsmejosh]

I'm envious.

I had a wild idea of taking off with the kids Thursday after work, finding a place to stay and doing SWW for 2 days and leaving Sunday. DH has been vigorously shaking his head no at me.

sounds like a good idea to me, do you have annual passes its a little easier to convince if you do lol?

 

[Karpkg]

sounds like a good idea to me, do you have annual passes its a little easier to convince if you do lol?

No, and that's another problem. I'd be burning non expiring tickets at this point.

I hate not being a passholder. We had it for the first time 2 years ago and I convinced DH to go, um, almost every vacation break we had. I don't remember if it was Cheshire Figment who talked about AP's left in a drawer would be kicking and screaming, "USE ME!!"

Right now DH just told me he's inventing a new acronym for me, called "DE's". I said "what?" He says "it's like you've got the DE's, or Disney Endorphins. You are on such a high during Disney week, little sleep, rarin' to go, and when we get back you just crash big time."

You Floridians are soo lucky. I was just a kid when I lived an hour away from Disneyland. I didn't know I had it so good back then till I moved to the South.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

some news for weekend 4: http://sww.studioscentral.com/main/content/dave-filoni-appear-june-9-star-wars-weekends
This should be interesting, but IDK who thought of doing this show at 2:30pm in an outdoor venue plus it's awfully close to Padawan Mind Challenge at 2:10pm

PWMC and this will probably be back to back. I agree that having it near the time of SotS can be annoying.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

What about Build a Droid parts and Star Wars Vinylmation?

Very many vinyls left. I had to guard them last night for 2 hours as part of an assignment because we have wrapped up cases of them stacked and guests were opening all of the boxes when we weren't looking and taking the chaser before we could mix it up, so now we always have to have a cast member watching the vinyls.

 

[bjakmom]

Back and recuperating from our whirlwind 3 days at SWW. What fun! A shoutout to Karpkg and her adorable family that we recognized near the Chewy line and had such fun meeting! Thanks for all the help and info in planning our trip (and I love the term DE's - that is what my family has been saying about me for years - lol - I go from 58 to 8 when I enter a park and then I didn't even get out of my bathrobe yesterday)!

-and thanks to all the other DISers on this thread who posted their tips and answered questions - I forgot my DIS button for my bag, so never met any others.
- and many thanks to Kenny the pirate for the character schedule - it was dead on for us, too - more accurate even than asking the CMs - lol - invaluable!!

This was a surprise trip for SW obsessed DGrD(8) and she was delightfully shocked, thrilled and excited when I picked her up from school Thurs. and told her on the way to the airport (we had been planning a trip for next year). I had not been to SWW for 5 years, took DNeph from the ages of 7 - 10 for the four years prior to that so I knew what I was in for. Boy has SWW grown!!

Fri morning we found the boats from Epcot resorts did not start as early as we hoped, first boat didn't get to Dolphin until 7:40, but that still put us in the park by 8. Very light crowds. We rode ST 3 times, keeping our eyes on Chewy's line. Got in line for Chewy about 8:30, CMs said he'd be out about 910. They held him off due to light rain and he finally came out about 940. Fortunately so many nice people in line and DGrD makes friends wherever she goes, so she made a friend and waited happily. Tried to get Jedi Mickey but he switched with Minnie and that turned out great bcause it was the day DGrD wore her Leia outfit - very cute pics. Then we waited at Amidala for 45 mins while they said on and off that she was coming/wasnt coming because of the rain. Wish they had alternate/inside spots or even covered greeting areas that could be used in such light rain. Oh well, we gave up on her at that point when the rain became really heavy. Once they cancelled the parade we grabbed lunch and then decided to head out at 1 - even with ponchos we were wet and cold and tired - and our plane had been delayed 2 hours the night before.

After hot showers and naps we headed back in about 5 for a fabulous night! No crowds, lots of roaming characters to meet and DGrD has been obsessed with Hoopla on youtube, so that was a must. We weren't far from the front, but when everyone stood up and people put little ones on their shoulders, she was so disappointed that she couldnt really see the show. She loved the music and excitement though. She really wanted to stay for the 1030 Fantasmic so we did - stadium was nearly empty.

Sat we walked over to be there at 730. Walked onto TSMM - then went right to Vaders line. He came out at 8:00. We spent that day getting character autographs and seeing all the shows - she loved every show - they line you up across from the theater entrance and then let everyone in about 10 mins b4 the show. Sure wish theyd just let us into the theater so we could sit in the air - it was hot and crowded in that line.

- just a note that five years ago (my last SWW) most people were not very happy with the addition of Clone Wars stars and characters. It was so new - well I found it interesting how huge the Clone Wars addition to SWW has become - smart marketing because the young ones know all about it - the CW celebrities were wonderful in the shows, showing how the voices, etc were all done. The CW characters were very interactive with the kids - I learned a lot

We found a shady spot for parade about 1.5 early - filled up very fast and the smaller parade route made for large, deep crowds. Of course ten minutes b4 parade a family tried to stand in the street and push back into those of us who had waited - uh, no. Otherwise had fun waiting with great folks all around.
Then headed to Darths Mall to cool off and meet Leia. Great place to cool down and you can sit in that line.

DGrD insisted on seeing Hoopla again, but from the front row - I begged for the pool and hot tub - but guess who won that one. So we spread our ponchos down on the hot blacktop in the last few spots next to the fence at 6 PM and waited for 2 grueling hours for the show. Again lots of nice people to talk with and DGrD found a boy who shared and played SW figures with her. She was soooo happy and excited for the show that it was all worth it.

Sun we only had a few characters left she wanted to see, so went in about 8. ST line already out the door and winding so we FP d it for one last ride. That morning felt pretty crowded to me. We skipped the parade that day and went to Darths Mall for Luke - Luke and Leia also meet during the parade - they are not in it. We headed out while the parade was ending to get to the airport - hot, tired, exhausted but very very happy.

notes:
- we found all the CMs very helpful in letting you try and time the lines for certain characters. Wish they could put the characters out in pairs and cut down the waiting time for us - but I guess that would mean less break time for them and they must get HOT out there. We did luck out a couple of times with multiple characters as we found when they switched they often overlapped for a family or two or three.
- Chewy's line was always long, but was in the shade and wrapped around the stone ledge so you could sit.
- We checked several times for the mickey hats for the droids - never had them so we never made droids - we'll have to do that next trip.
- DGrD loved the Her Universe clothes by Ashley Eckstein. She was signing clothes each day between 3 and 4 in Darths Mall, but by the time DGrD decided on her Leia hoodie, we had to leave that day - we'll never get that thing off her!lol
- lots of fun going on with the roaming characters in the afternoons/early evenings - they are hard to pin down for autographs as they have been trained to not let lines form. We noticed that once kids gather around them, they start moving away. So it works to follow them and get in front of them (where they can see you) once they stop again. The Jawas had little pouches of goodies to trade with the kids. DGrD got a little pack of those wrist rubberband things shaped like troopers.
- interesting to see how SWW has grown - so many more characters. And Hoopla used to be a little after thought of a show on the JTA stage - now it's like a concert. We loved it!
Hope the weather is great for the last weekend - have fun everyone!!

 

[Music City Mama]

Very many vinyls left. I had to guard them last night for 2 hours as part of an assignment because we have wrapped up cases of them stacked and guests were opening all of the boxes when we weren't looking and taking the chaser before we could mix it up, so now we always have to have a cast member watching the vinyls.

Holly -- Do you know yet when/where you'll be working on Friday?

Fri morning we found the boats from Epcot resorts did not start as early as we hoped, first boat didn't get to Dolphin until 7:40

This info is very helpful to me since I know we'll have to drive over now (we could walk, but I've got a 5 year old going without a stroller for the first time and I don't want him using all of his energy before we even get there!). Sounds you had a great time -- thanks for the report!

 

[lovethattink]

Back and recuperating from our whirlwind 3 days at SWW. What fun! A shoutout to Karpkg and her adorable family that we recognized near the Chewy line and had such fun meeting! Thanks for all the help and info in planning our trip (and I love the term DE's - that is what my family has been saying about me for years - lol - I go from 58 to 8 when I enter a park and then I didn't even get out of my bathrobe yesterday)!

-and thanks to all the other DISers on this thread who posted their tips and answered questions - I forgot my DIS button for my bag, so never met any others.
- and many thanks to Kenny the pirate for the character schedule - it was dead on for us, too - more accurate even than asking the CMs - lol - invaluable!!

This was a surprise trip for SW obsessed DGrD(8) and she was delightfully shocked, thrilled and excited when I picked her up from school Thurs. and told her on the way to the airport (we had been planning a trip for next year). I had not been to SWW for 5 years, took DNeph from the ages of 7 - 10 for the four years prior to that so I knew what I was in for. Boy has SWW grown!!

Fri morning we found the boats from Epcot resorts did not start as early as we hoped, first boat didn't get to Dolphin until 7:40, but that still put us in the park by 8. Very light crowds. We rode ST 3 times, keeping our eyes on Chewy's line. Got in line for Chewy about 8:30, CMs said he'd be out about 910. They held him off due to light rain and he finally came out about 940. Fortunately so many nice people in line and DGrD makes friends wherever she goes, so she made a friend and waited happily. Tried to get Jedi Mickey but he switched with Minnie and that turned out great bcause it was the day DGrD wore her Leia outfit - very cute pics. Then we waited at Amidala for 45 mins while they said on and off that she was coming/wasnt coming because of the rain. Wish they had alternate/inside spots or even covered greeting areas that could be used in such light rain. Oh well, we gave up on her at that point when the rain became really heavy. Once they cancelled the parade we grabbed lunch and then decided to head out at 1 - even with ponchos we were wet and cold and tired - and our plane had been delayed 2 hours the night before.

After hot showers and naps we headed back in about 5 for a fabulous night! No crowds, lots of roaming characters to meet and DGrD has been obsessed with Hoopla on youtube, so that was a must. We weren't far from the front, but when everyone stood up and people put little ones on their shoulders, she was so disappointed that she couldnt really see the show. She loved the music and excitement though. She really wanted to stay for the 1030 Fantasmic so we did - stadium was nearly empty.

Sat we walked over to be there at 730. Walked onto TSMM - then went right to Vaders line. He came out at 8:00. We spent that day getting character autographs and seeing all the shows - she loved every show - they line you up across from the theater entrance and then let everyone in about 10 mins b4 the show. Sure wish theyd just let us into the theater so we could sit in the air - it was hot and crowded in that line.

- just a note that five years ago (my last SWW) most people were not very happy with the addition of Clone Wars stars and characters. It was so new - well I found it interesting how huge the Clone Wars addition to SWW has become - smart marketing because the young ones know all about it - the CW celebrities were wonderful in the shows, showing how the voices, etc were all done. The CW characters were very interactive with the kids - I learned a lot

We found a shady spot for parade about 1.5 early - filled up very fast and the smaller parade route made for large, deep crowds. Of course ten minutes b4 parade a family tried to stand in the street and push back into those of us who had waited - uh, no. Otherwise had fun waiting with great folks all around.
Then headed to Darths Mall to cool off and meet Leia. Great place to cool down and you can sit in that line.

DGrD insisted on seeing Hoopla again, but from the front row - I begged for the pool and hot tub - but guess who won that one. So we spread our ponchos down on the hot blacktop in the last few spots next to the fence at 6 PM and waited for 2 grueling hours for the show. Again lots of nice people to talk with and DGrD found a boy who shared and played SW figures with her. She was soooo happy and excited for the show that it was all worth it.

Sun we only had a few characters left she wanted to see, so went in about 8. ST line already out the door and winding so we FP d it for one last ride. That morning felt pretty crowded to me. We skipped the parade that day and went to Darths Mall for Luke - Luke and Leia also meet during the parade - they are not in it. We headed out while the parade was ending to get to the airport - hot, tired, exhausted but very very happy.

notes:
- we found all the CMs very helpful in letting you try and time the lines for certain characters. Wish they could put the characters out in pairs and cut down the waiting time for us - but I guess that would mean less break time for them and they must get HOT out there. We did luck out a couple of times with multiple characters as we found when they switched they often overlapped for a family or two or three.
- Chewy's line was always long, but was in the shade and wrapped around the stone ledge so you could sit.
- We checked several times for the mickey hats for the droids - never had them so we never made droids - we'll have to do that next trip.
- DGrD loved the Her Universe clothes by Ashley Eckstein. She was signing clothes each day between 3 and 4 in Darths Mall, but by the time DGrD decided on her Leia hoodie, we had to leave that day - we'll never get that thing off her!lol
- lots of fun going on with the roaming characters in the afternoons/early evenings - they are hard to pin down for autographs as they have been trained to not let lines form. We noticed that once kids gather around them, they start moving away. So it works to follow them and get in front of them (where they can see you) once they stop again. The Jawas had little pouches of goodies to trade with the kids. DGrD got a little pack of those wrist rubberband things shaped like troopers.
- interesting to see how SWW has grown - so many more characters. And Hoopla used to be a little after thought of a show on the JTA stage - now it's like a concert. We loved it!
Hope the weather is great for the last weekend - have fun everyone!!

Sounds like it was a wonderful time for both of you!

What did the kids trade in exchange for the jawa goodies?

SWW has grown over the years!

It seems like the majority of SW fans are still resistant to CW. Originally we were in that resistant categories, but are now fans of CW too. We tried to convince several people to go watch the Behind the Force show who refuse to watch CW. It was a no go. That's fine though, means better seating for us CW fans!

 

[bjakmom]

Looked like kids were trying to scrounge up and trade all sorts of things like candy and paper. I had taken a little bag with a couple of screws and metal pieces from DHs tool box. Glad I did because DGrD was insistent that Jawa's like shiny metal that they can repair things with.

 

[TDC Nala]

We weren't far from the front, but when everyone stood up and people put little ones on their shoulders, she was so disappointed that she couldnt really see the show.

I've learned that if you are too big to be on shoulders and you are not very tall, and you want a chance to see the Hoopla without substantial blockage, you must be within a couple people of the front. Even people who are in the very front put small children on their shoulders. It is also very loud down there and the little kids usually end up wanting to be held when the firework things go off. Unfortunately it's an uncomfortable angle to be looking at the stage from a seated position for that long down front, so everyone WILL stand up and scootch in before the show starts.

The big difficulty with arranging to be almost certain that you can see is that you have to claim a space about two hours before the show starts. Which you found out on the second day.

I am assuming the emphasis on Clone Wars was added because the series appeals to children, although not necessarily to us "old school" Star Wars fans. I think early on there was some criticism that the only event for children was the Jedi training.

 

[Hanover]

Heading down to SWW after ds11 finishes his last day of school on Thursday, which is a half day. It's our 8th year in a row going just for SWW and he loves every minute of it.

Just checked Southwest Airlines and our return flight went down to $67 from our original $156 so I cancelled and rebooked for a nice credit to use on our Dec trip.

Thank you everyone for the continuous great tips.

 

[RedM94]

My apologies if this is repeat information, but I found it to be really interesting!! On Sunday I was approached by a iPad carrying CM who asked if I would be willing to complete a survey online when I arrived home.

Well, I just finished completing the survey. It entire survey was SWW related. One very interesting tid bit from it. One of the very last questions asked. If a Star Wars Charactor breakfast were to have been offered at Sci - Fi from 8:00 am to 12:39 would I have attended? They even listed the pricing which was the same as any othe character breakfast buffets.

I thought hell yes. It sure beats racing around and standing in line to meet some of the characters.

Enjoy your day everyone!

 

[CentralFloridian99]

My apologies if this is repeat information, but I found it to be really interesting!! On Sunday I was approached by a iPad carrying CM who asked if I would be willing to complete a survey online when I arrived home.

Well, I just finished completing the survey. It entire survey was SWW related. One very interesting tid bit from it. One of the very last questions asked. If a Star Wars Charactor breakfast were to have been offered at Sci - Fi from 8:00 am to 12:39 would I have attended? They even listed the pricing which was the same as any othe character breakfast buffets.

I thought hell yes. It sure beats racing around and standing in line to meet some of the characters.

Enjoy your day everyone!

I would DEFINETLY do that. Was it in general or just for SWW (the character breakfeast, not the entire survey)?