Who knew choking each other would earn us fastpasses?

[jenseib]

I have a hard time navigating through HS. I am just not as familiar with that park and the layout is weird too.

 

[aprilisis]

Great updates!!! I am a Star Wars dork...but I wouldn't go in costume to Star Wars weekends!!!

 

[racefanof88]

Great update so far . We learned on our September trip that there are areas of DHS that stay deserted; the area you posted is one. We used it for a cut through the whole day we were there and never encountered more than 5-6 people in that area. I kept asking Dallas if he wanted his picture with the Cars characters, but he wouldn't do it. There was never more than 2 or 3 people in line at a time back there.

 

[Woth2982]

We have NEVER seen empty streets like that at the Studios; we have at MK and Epcot, but never the Studios. How neat is that? And isn't it odd...we know exactly how to get somewhere but can't read the maps because we already know where we are going (most of the time).

We were at Osborne lights once, and something happened to my foot, and I couldn't put weight on it anymore. It was very strange, probably a dehydration cramp, so we went and sat on a table around the corner, and sat there for 20 minutes, not ONE person walked by the entire time I was resting my foot! I couldn't believe it, especially where the lights were twenty feet away!

 

[shelbys mommy]

When we went, the line for fastpasses to TSMM was insane! We did the same thing you did, turned around & went to the opposite side of the park.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm all caught up reading. So sorry to read of your BIL passing but very glad to have read he received Jesus as his Lord & Savior before he died. That must have brought so much comfort to your family.

The camping pictures were lovely, I never tire of seeing sunsets so I for one enjoyed them all

Looking forward to reading more about your time at WDW

It really did bring comfort to us knowing he would definitely be in a better place when he passed away.

I had so many sunset pictures. I don't know how in the world I caught any fsh because I was constantly snapping pictures.

Hi Lisa,

I have been thinking about and praying for your family, your sister in particular.

That is a shame about Lacey's grant, but she is so close to being done! And wonderful news about Hunter, you must be so proud of both your kids, you and John have really done such a great job.

I have to say, that energetic guy you saw at Spectro I have seen before I am almost positive! We sat with him on a bus once going from DTD to the CR and he walked along the path to the MK with us. I remember him very well because he was dressed a bit uniquely. The bus driver knew him very well, I think he must live locally and go to the parks a lot. Anyway, we got off with him at the CR and we all ended up seeing Spectro in the same general area as you were in and he was doing that same thing. Its hard to tell for sure, but I just know that has got to be the same guy! Small world huh?

I had to change CBR to ASMU, our basement flooded. I am very sad. But it saved us a bundle. Still I do enjoy ASMU and noticed on another thread you are thinking about staying there for one night.

Thank you for the continued prayers. My sister has been doing really well. She and my mother went to the cemetery this weekend and it was hard on her.

I think we may have the grant issue worked out. The college in Georgia may allow Lacey to take the non-covered class based on knowing how much grant money she is being given. Once they refund her the balance of the grant money, we will turn around and pay for the class. I sure hope it works out that way.

From what I understand the enthusiastic guy is nicknamed "Pumpkin Man" and he's semi-famous. There have been a lot of Disers who have seen him. Like you said....it's a small world.

I hate to hear that your basement flooded! I am sure that was a mess. I am sure that you'll be fine and dandy at ASMu. We are considering staying there on our arrival night to save a few bucks too. Just not sure what we are going to do.

Heck, if Lacey's wedding costs a bundle, we may end up staying in a value the entire time.

Hi Lisa! Love all the family news!

I saw that Youtube video of the bus incident...UGLY! So crazy how people act sometimes.

I couldn't believe the attacker's behavior! He really went nutso!

Hi Lisa!

I'm finally all caught up. Great pictures of the Plaza...everything looks so yummy! I'll have to put it on our list of places to try!

Glad to hear you had a fun camping trip! You got some beautiful pictures of the lake! But...eeek!! That spider was huge!

Aww...I loved looking at your pictures of Wishes and Spectromagic parade!! It's just what I needed to see this morning to perk me up!

Thanks for the tip on the migraines! DH get them....I'll have to pass on the info.

Good news that Lacey's getting another grant...but it's too bad that it doesn't cover the most expensive class.

YAY Hunter for making the honor roll!!

We had a great time camping and are thinking about making another trip in a couple of weeks. We'll just have to wait and see what the weather is like. The spiders don't really bother me too much. Lacey, on the other hand, was pretty freaked out.

Be sure and tell your husband to start sipping the lemon juice as soon as he starts feeling the migraine coming on. It helps me and, apparently, it helps others as that's what the doctor said.

Lacey is ready to get the school work over with so I hope the grant money issues work out soon.

Hunter is doing so well in school this year. But, we'll have to make sure we keep on him with his English and Language Arts.

People watching at Star Wars weekends would be a hoot! LOL!! Glad you knew what you were doing and got there early!

Oh it was definitely a hoot! I wish I had taken pictures of all the people we saw.

Those stormtroopers must be boiling hot in those costumes!!!!! Do they have ice packs in there or something. And those star war fans and those crazy get-ups. No thanks.

Yeah for Hunter scoring all those FP's. I hope he had a great time meeting the actors.

That's exactly what I was thinking. John said he figured there was some kind of air circulation system in their costumes otherwise, they'd be sweating puddles.

 

[MissLiz]

We completely skipped Star Wars Weekend in May. I remember it being Star Wars weekend on our first trip back in 2004, but I don't remember it being as crazy as it is now. Maybe I just missed it.


I love when you find a spot where there's nobody around. It makes you feel like you have all of the park to yourself. It's the best!!

We skipped DHS completely last month. It was a shorter trip and we just didn't feel like fighting the Toy Story Megalomania. Really, there's only a couple things we really enjoy there, so I'm not sure if we'll even plan it next trip. Who knows? On a longer trip, I may feel like we've missed out if we don't hit it.

Glad you and Hunter got some time together and you got to share something that he really loved. That is so special!

Can't wait to read about the rest of the day!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm getting better thanks.

Wow I know to avoid star wars weekends. I couldn't tell you a thing about star wars other than Yoda is kind of a cute little guy. lol

That's good to hear. My niece had carpal tunnel surgery several months ago and it got infected so it took longer to heal. But, she's ready to get the other hand done.

I know very few Star Wars characters and those are the ones that just about everybody knows....Yoda, C3PO, Darth Vader and the little robot guy.....oh uh......you know the little white thing. R2D2!

the name you are searching for "Hollywood Blvd"

Thanks Connie! I didn't know if that was Hollywood Boulevard or some other name.

We have NEVER seen empty streets like that at the Studios; we have at MK and Epcot, but never the Studios. How neat is that? And isn't it odd...we know exactly how to get somewhere but can't read the maps because we already know where we are going (most of the time).

I couldn't believe how empty it was. I guess everybody was surrounding Toy Story Mania and looking for the Star Wars characters.

I know exactly how to get to everything without a map but, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where Boba's Bounty was. I felt like such an idiot.

I have a hard time navigating through HS. I am just not as familiar with that park and the layout is weird too.

The layout of Hollywood Studios is a little weird. There are too many "cut throughs" and "go arounds" in HS.

Great updates!!! I am a Star Wars dork...but I wouldn't go in costume to Star Wars weekends!!!

Hunter absolutely loves Star Wars so I was ready to stick it out for him. Some of those people were wearing full-on costumes and had their faces painted. I think I have a picture of some of the painted faces later on in the report.

Great update so far . We learned on our September trip that there are areas of DHS that stay deserted; the area you posted is one. We used it for a cut through the whole day we were there and never encountered more than 5-6 people in that area. I kept asking Dallas if he wanted his picture with the Cars characters, but he wouldn't do it. There was never more than 2 or 3 people in line at a time back there.

We've been pretty lucky with crowds at Hollywood Studios too and have also found that the lines were pretty short for the Cars characters (and Buzz, Woody and Jesse when they were back there) too.

We were at Osborne lights once, and something happened to my foot, and I couldn't put weight on it anymore. It was very strange, probably a dehydration cramp, so we went and sat on a table around the corner, and sat there for 20 minutes, not ONE person walked by the entire time I was resting my foot! I couldn't believe it, especially where the lights were twenty feet away!

What? I can't believe there weren't crowds during the lights! I always though there would be tons of people there to see them.

When we went, the line for fastpasses to TSMM was insane! We did the same thing you did, turned around & went to the opposite side of the park.

I remember the first time I saw the TSM Fastpass line. I almost fainted!

 

[mickeystoontown]

We completely skipped Star Wars Weekend in May. I remember it being Star Wars weekend on our first trip back in 2004, but I don't remember it being as crazy as it is now. Maybe I just missed it.


I love when you find a spot where there's nobody around. It makes you feel like you have all of the park to yourself. It's the best!!

We skipped DHS completely last month. It was a shorter trip and we just didn't feel like fighting the Toy Story Megalomania. Really, there's only a couple things we really enjoy there, so I'm not sure if we'll even plan it next trip. Who knows? On a longer trip, I may feel like we've missed out if we don't hit it.

Glad you and Hunter got some time together and you got to share something that he really loved. That is so special!

Can't wait to read about the rest of the day!

It took me a little while to fall in love with Hollywood Studios. I don't know why but it did. I try to schedule the Studios somewhere in the middle of the vacation since there seems to be a lot of sit down attractions there. And, by the middle of the vacation, we are wanting to sit down.

 

[mickeystoontown]

After we finally saw a castmember who pointed us in the right direction of Boba's Bounty, we started out again and I took pictures along the way:

We still felt like we had the park to ourselves until we finally met up with some people in the store just outside of the Honey I Shrunk the Audience playground. From what the castmember had told us, this sounded like it was Boba's Bounty. NOT! There was some Star Wars stuff being sold in there but not a lot so we knew this couldn't be what we were looking for. I told Hunter I needed to take a potty break so we went through the back of the store and BAAAAAM! our first Star Wars character encounter! Darth Vader!

Hunter quickly jumped in line and in just about 5 minutes, it was Hunter's turn to meet Darth himself:

Poor Darth....he must have asthma or the mask must make it hard to breathe because he was huffing and gasping for air! I was really worried about him.




























Okay, seriously, I'm not that much of a Star Wars idiot! I was just seeing if you thought I was serious.

I have Photopass pictures but I forgot to upload them. Let me get this installment posted and I'll see if I brought the Photopass CD with me to work. If I did, I'll upload them and post them before the next installment.

After our meeting with Darth, I made my pit stop and we continued on in search for Boba's Bounty. Now, if you are sick and tired of me talking about Boba's Bounty....Boba's Bounty......Boba's Bounty, it's okay 'cause I was sick of looking for it and I'm sick of typing about it. But, it's part of the report and I'm going to keep on searching for it.

I felt like a doggone chicken with it's head cut off about this time but, by golly, I was a mission to find (sorry, I've got to say it again) Boba's Bounty. We kept turning and looking and we ended up at The Animation building. We knew it wasn't in there but we were ready for a little air conditioning.

There were a few people standing around the outside of the building but nobody was going in. Hum? What's up with that? Don't know but we walked on past 'em. We got inside and there was no one there. I mean NO ONE! It was almost creepy. Like we weren't supposed to be there or something.

We snapped a few pictures while we walked. Remember when you used to actually watch people at their desks drawing?

Sorry for the reflection on the glass. Still, it's pictures and you know I'm going to throw them in so you'll at least see that I am really telling the truth about what we saw and did.

Some of the movie posters:

We spotted a castmember who said that the characters wouldn't be out for a while and the classes wouldn't start for a while either. But, we were welcome to spend as much time as we wanted with the interactive computer thingamabobs. Here's a video we shot of one of them:



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

So, while ya'll are laughing at me being such a dorkarama for not knowing which buttons to push on the computer screen in the video, I'll be writing a little bit more. Oh and the other noise you hear is Hunter doing a "book" right next to me. It sure wasn't noise from other people in the room 'cause there weren't any.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Once we had finished up playing on the computers, we made our way out of the still empty building. But, not before I snapped a picture of the evil queen:

By this time, we had figured "If we find Boba's Bounty, we find it. If we didn't then so be it." There was supposed to be exclusive Star Wars Weekends merchandise there and it was to be sold on a first-come/first serve basis. I knew it would go quickly too. So, like I said, if we found it, we found it, if we didn't, we didn't.

We went under the archway towards the Sorcerer's hat and in front of The Great Movie Ride. I think that we may have ridden The Great Movie Ride but I'm not sure. We were now in search of characters. We walked down by ABC Commissary and ended up meeting lines.....long lines. Lines for what? Heck if we knew! I heard somebody say that Chewbacca (Probably screwed up the spelling of that one Should have Googled it. ) was doing Meet and Greet as were some other characters.

Don't you dare ask me the names of them because I wouldn't be able to tell you if you had a gun to my head. I'd give it the old college try but the most I'd be able to spit out is some lady with a red robe, somebody with horned thingies and that guy wearing a robe.

We popped a squat on the brick ledge and began what was to be a fairly long wait. In the meantime, I looked up and darn it if Chewy (I know that's spelled right..........isn't it? ) came walking by.

Well, if he's walking by us, then who were we in line to see? Honestly, Hunter didn't care who it was so long as it was somebody/something that had to do with Star Wars. I didn't care either so long as Hunter was happy.

We continued to sit and people watch. And, believe you me, there were some strange folks walking by. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Now, I love me some Indiana Jones and Laura Croft Tombraider but you don't see me walking around in some leather suit and weilding a whip. Not that I'd look even as remotely good as her in the skin tight leather outfit or that I could pop a whip.....well, you know what I mean. I like movie characters but you won't see me dressed up like one in a theme park (well maybe during Mickey's Halloween Party.) .

Okay, shutting up about that now.

A picture of one of the Star Wars Weekend signs:

Lookie Lookie! It's a Wookie!

That is a Wookie isn't it? If not, I just made a bad joke.

Hey ya! Hey ya! It's Princess Leia!

Go insane! Go insane! It's some horned woman and I don't know her name!

I have no idea how long we had been in the line but it was long enough that the Wookie came back by. The castmember said he was taking a short break.

That same castmember came back alone and started talking to us and other guests. She said that Chewy and the Wookie would be signing autographs. The line would split into two a little further up and we would have the choice of which one we wanted to see. If we wanted to see Chewy, we'd stay on the left and if we wanted to see the Wookie, we'd go to the right. We chose Chewy.

Like I said, I have no idea how long we stayed in the line but it was quite some time. Finally, Hunter was able to meet Chewbacca:

**Again, I have Photopass pictures and will post them later.

I guess this is a good a place as any to stop. The bossman has gone to the dentist but I do need to do a few things so that he thinks he's getting his money's worth out of my paycheck.


Up next: More searching for Boba's Bounty, lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet and another Diser recognizes me.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Fun update! Lisa
seems you and Hunter were having a great time together...
hope you find Boba's Bounty soon...
Connie

 

[Woth2982]

Great update! Love all the pictures! I have no clue who any of these Star Wars people are either lol. My friend dragged me to see Episode 1 in High School, and I was bored in 10 minutes. Not my thing.

 

[CoolMom2112]

Chewbacca is the Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk. The other little furry guy is an Ewok from the forest moon of Endor.


CoolMom2112 in TN

 

[KatMark]

Lisa, what a fun update. Love the pics of all the Star Wars craziness (even if I'm not a fan) and love the pic of Hunter with Chewy.

 

[Caretames1]

Chewbacca is the Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk. The other little furry guy is an Ewok from the forest moon of Endor.

Yeah! What she ^ said! That I know that is .......weird

 

[ronnmel]

Welcome aboard! The choking part comes on this Hollywood Studios day so there won't be too much longer to wait.

Yay! I have to wonder if that choking came to be because of frustration from not finding that darn Boba's Bounty.

Weddings can be soooo expensive. It's just crazy what things cost now-a-days. Where will you be getting married?

We are getting married in Cuba. I'm canadian, and it's the least expensive of the Caribbean countries, yet has beautiful beaches.
I posted pictures of my resort here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2533121 (Post 18)

 

[mickeystoontown]

Fun update! Lisa
seems you and Hunter were having a great time together...
hope you find Boba's Bounty soon...
Connie

We were having a great time together. It was kind of nice to spend some one-on-one time with my teenage son.

Great update! Love all the pictures! I have no clue who any of these Star Wars people are either lol. My friend dragged me to see Episode 1 in High School, and I was bored in 10 minutes. Not my thing.

You know, I didn't know any of the characters (as is obvious because I didn't even know the difference between a Wookie and an Ewok) but I had fun with Hunter.

Lisa, what a fun update. Love the pics of all the Star Wars craziness (even if I'm not a fan) and love the pic of Hunter with Chewy.

I was surprised that I had fun that morning. I know it was because Hunter was so excited and it was fun watching him.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Chewbacca is the Wookie from the planet Kashyyyk. The other little furry guy is an Ewok from the forest moon of Endor.


CoolMom2112 in TN

Yeah! What she ^ said! That I know that is .......weird

See......I knew that I was probably getting the names wrong! So, let's change the captions that I had for earlier pictures.


Shock! Shock! It's an Ewok!