Star Wars Weekend tips for newbie

scrapbookmommy

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
247
By accident we will be in Hollywood Studios on the opening weekend of the Star Wars Weekend. My DD (13) isn't excited about it but my 5 year old DS is thrilled. Any tips for a newbie to make it a successful day? TIA

April
 
We love Star Wars Weekends, and generally go several times a year! The biggest tip I have is to plan out the day well in advance. The park will be extremely crowded with a lot of Star Wars fanatics who know the ropes well.

Will you be visiting Hollywood Studios on a non-SWW day as well? The Star Wars activities will take up most of your time, so it can be hard to fit in the rest of the rides/shows.

Are you traveling with another adult? How do the adults in the group feel about SWW? If one of you doesn't care for it as much, that person could take DD to do regular attractions for part of the day while the other takes DS to the SWW events. A few things are geared more towards hard-core fans, but a lot of the activities are fun for all, so it would be worth getting DD to at least check out the parade and things.

If you want to meet the celebrity guests, arrive VERY early. There will be long lines for Fast Passes. The way it works is a little different than normal Fast Passes. All celebrity guest Fast Passes are distributed when the park opens. There are different lines for each celebrity, and everybody in the group MUST be present to get his/her Fast Pass. No sending one person ahead to get everybody's passes. Once all the Fast Passes are gone for a particular celebrity, Standby tickets may be issued. A Standby ticket MIGHT get you an autograph, IF there is enough time left in that autograph session after all the Fast Passes are used. No Fast Pass, no Standby, no way you're getting anywhere close to that celebrity.

Other events include trivia games, a live interview show with the celebrities and the Jedi Training Academy (which also happens year-round now). Keep an eye out though, as you never know who you might see. For example, on Father's Day last year, there was a special parent-child Jedi Training (normally it's just kids). The instructor was encouraging a kid to aim higher, and he said "We're not fighting Ewoks!" He turned around and saw that Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok and host of SWW) was on stage next to him! The crowd roared.

One of our favorite things is the line of Storm Troopers on the entrance roof. They do crowd warmup before the gates open. The parade is also a must-see, as is the Hoopla dance party, which happens around 5 pm.

It's a full but incredibly fun day. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!
 
Is the parade around 5? I thought it was earlier in the day--but then we were only there once and caught it by accident.
 

New Posts


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter
Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom