Tell me about Star Wars Weekends

msmama · Aug 13, 2014

I've got a bee in my bonnet and I need you budget boarders to talk me into or out of my idea, lol.

Usually I'm a slow season (winter) value trip kinda gal, but I've got this idea that I want to stay at a Deluxe - Club level - for SWW in 2015. I'd do Yacht/Beach club or boardwalk so I could walk/boat to HS.

1. I NEVER plan trips this far in advance. I know the dates aren't set yet but I've read that they're usually mid May-mid June, but should I book and then change if I need to? (I do have a Disney visa so could get the 6 months 0% interest)

2. Will I be overwhelmed going Memorial day weekend seeing as I usually go during slow times? My son has several days off around Memorial day (or may depending on snow) and I don't really mind taking him out of 1st grade for a few days.

3. We wouldn't really be interested in autographs or anything, mostly we'd be interested if they do the character meals that they did last year. How hard were those to get? (Honestly, if we didn't get them, I probably wouldn't go during such a busy time).

4. I'm kind of figuring that if we did club level then maybe we could save on food in the parks. Is that a bad thought?

5. I priced it out and for a week it'd definitely be at the top of my vacation budget, but do-able (but no other vacation next year). And we certainly wouldn't have to go for a week either. Are the stores and character meals all during the week? Parades? Or are they only on the WEEKENDS?

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this post, but it's the board I frequent most, so...

Thanks!

Kevin_W · Aug 14, 2014

msmama said:
I've got a bee in my bonnet and I need you budget boarders to talk me into or out of my idea, lol.

Usually I'm a slow season (winter) value trip kinda gal, but I've got this idea that I want to stay at a Deluxe - Club level - for SWW in 2015. I'd do Yacht/Beach club or boardwalk so I could walk/boat to HS.

1. I NEVER plan trips this far in advance. I know the dates aren't set yet but I've read that they're usually mid May-mid June, but should I book and then change if I need to? (I do have a Disney visa so could get the 6 months 0% interest)

2. Will I be overwhelmed going Memorial day weekend seeing as I usually go during slow times? My son has several days off around Memorial day (or may depending on snow) and I don't really mind taking him out of 1st grade for a few days.

3. We wouldn't really be interested in autographs or anything, mostly we'd be interested if they do the character meals that they did last year. How hard were those to get? (Honestly, if we didn't get them, I probably wouldn't go during such a busy time).

4. I'm kind of figuring that if we did club level then maybe we could save on food in the parks. Is that a bad thought?

5. I priced it out and for a week it'd definitely be at the top of my vacation budget, but do-able (but no other vacation next year). And we certainly wouldn't have to go for a week either. Are the stores and character meals all during the week? Parades? Or are they only on the WEEKENDS?

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this post, but it's the board I frequent most, so...

Thanks!

1. I think the dates have been relatively firm for SWW over the years. I wouldn't sweat it - plus all trips are fully refundable form Disney until pretty close to the date of things did change.

2. We went to WDW in the first week of June for the first time after only going during "slow" times. It was't that bad - we found larger crowds to be offset by longer park hours.

3. The H&V wasn't hard to get last year, the Sci-Fi breakwats booked up very quickly during the weekends themselves, but was still available mid-week for quite some time.

4. I don't know anything about club level. Sorry! There are many options for saving food int he parks - one main one being to pack/order groceries and use the mini fridge in your room.

5. Last year, only the character meals were available mid-week, all other Star Wars stuff was only on the weekends.

We just happened to book our trip during SWW last year, it wasn't somethign we planned around. But we really, really enjoyed it. There's probably not as much repeat value in it as some things, but it was a great experience at least once.

Poohbug · Aug 14, 2014

I have done SWW twice and it is a lot of fun if you are a Stars Wars fan. We were not interested in the autographs either but you will still have fun getting pictures with the different characters, watching the shows, parades and fireworks. I did not go last year so I have no experience with the character meals but they look great and I would definitely do that in the future.

How many people are going? I see you have at least one child that is pretty young. The only reason to pay for club level would be for the food and maybe concierge would be able to secure you reservations to the special character meals. I might consider it because I have two teenage boys and one younger boy who eat a LOT. If I didn't have the teenagers, no way would I pay for concierge. Club level is usually so much more expensive that you would be better off just getting a regular room and paying for food. Don't forget about the Swan and Dolphin, sometimes you can get really good deals on those rooms and you can still walk to Epcot and the Studios.

The SWW events only happen on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I would avoid the first weekend because it will be extra busy. You will just have to watch for the schedule because if they have a popular guest, that weekend will be extra busy. The character meals are new and I am not sure if they are all week or just weekends.

Check out some of the SWW threads, they have great tips like bringing something to trade when you see the Jawas.

OhStuffandFluff · Aug 14, 2014

We got to experience our very first SWW this June! We have always been slower season travelers too but had to change with the start of my new job. S now summer is the only time we can go. We attended the SWW the first weekend of June on that Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised with the crowds. I was expecting hoards of people but instead found it very manageable. We were there way before rope drop and had a good plan of what we wanted to do. My kids had specific characters they wanted to meet and shows they wanted to see. We did not do a lot of rides outside of those things. We saw plenty of characters and had a great time with those meet and greets! Chewie was awesome! We also got to enjoy SW breakfast at SciFi diner. It was delicious and so fun! My kids loved seeing the Star Wars movie clips playing on the screens. The character interactions were fun too there. The shows we attended were awesome! But I would say my very favorite part was the fireworks! This was our 4th trip to disney world and the Star Wars fireworks were the best that we have seen yet! They were breathtaking!

Here are some pics from our trip.