Star Wars Weekends Questions

[DisneyFanatik]

I was so excited to find out that we will be at WDW for the first of the Star Wars weekends! My sons are going to love it! I just have a few questions....
Are the characters just all around the park?
Are there specific "Star Wars" activities going on?
Do the "real" characters ever show up?
I saw pictures from last year that show a boy dueling with Darth Vader - DS(7) would just LOVE to do this - how do you get picked?
Anything else that I should know?
Thanks in advance for all of the info!

 

[ptrbryant]

First of all, each weekend, they have two "special guests", an actor/actress from the movies and a behind-the-scenes person. When we were there, it was Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett) who was the sweetest, friendliest actor I can imagine...he must have spent 5 minutes with my star-struck son! The other guest was a concept artist Lucas Arts employee---can't remember his name! Each guest is in a daily (for the weekend) Star Wars parade. There are tons of characters in the parade and milling around MGM, but not the "real" ones. There's an interview show with the special guests each day that was fun and interesting (they had clone troopers doing crowd management pre-show and had some very funny moments). Also, and this is IMPORTANT!, get to MGM as early as possible before opening. Go straight to the Star Tours ride area and get in a line so you can get an autograph from the celebrity special guests. We were there at open, got right in line and people in line about 10 behind us were too late. As it was, we had to come back at 4:00 pm for autographs, but if you get the ticket they give you, you're guaranteed an autograph.
There's also a Star Wars trivia game, a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Star Wars edition game (missed that, but want to do it this year), and other things. They have a Jedi Training Academy a few times a day, giving the kids a chance to battle Darth Vader or Darth Maul...really fun!
Let's see, at the end of the day (around 6?) there was some kind of celebration closing ceremony, but we missed that. There are limited-edition items to buy from Tatooine Traders and you will NOT believe the lines to get in there! Some people waited for over 3 hours to get in!
That's what I can remember off the top of my head...hope it helps!

Karla B.

 

[DisneyFanatik]

Thanks so much for the info! Sounds like so much fun for the kids! Can anyone take part in the "Jedi Training Academy"?

 

[GONETODISNEY]

If you walk to the part of the park where Star tours is, there will be a stage set up for the Jedi training. You have to be picked from the crowd to do this. We have been to SWW twice and my kids have been chosen both times. It has been the highlight of their trip to actually fight Darth Vader,. One time they fought Darth Maul! There is no secret to being picked, just make sure your child is yelling and waving their hands. My boys were not picked the first time and we had to come back early before the next show and wait to be picked. Shows run regularly, so if they're not picked first--try again. It is well worth the wait.

we are once again planning trip to Disney for the first week in June so that the boys can see their faorite Star Wars characters.

Enjoy!

 

[GoofyDad869]

There's also a Star Wars-based "Who Wants to be a Millionaire", and lots of lectures about the films.

Star Wars Weekends are the only time of year I've gone that Star Tours has had a wait (most times we walk on) - sometimes the stand-by line can be 60 minutes or longer. That end of the park is wall-to-wall people, which was too much for my in-laws (who are not Star Wars fans).

 

[Showe]

I was so excited to find out that we will be at WDW for the first of the Star Wars weekends! My sons are going to love it! I just have a few questions....
Are the characters just all around the park?
Are there specific "Star Wars" activities going on?
Do the "real" characters ever show up?
I saw pictures from last year that show a boy dueling with Darth Vader - DS(7) would just LOVE to do this - how do you get picked?
Anything else that I should know?
Thanks in advance for all of the info!

when is teh Star Wars weekend ?

 

[GoofyDad869]

Check out the "Starwars Weekend" thread started by Cyndibell.

Here are the dates (so far) for 2006. Last year they added another weekend or two closer to the dates.
May 19, 20, 21
May 26, 27, 28
June 2, 3, 4,
June 9, 10, 11

 

[QuickGold]

This site should be very helpful: http://sww.mgmstudios.org