My family received a somewhat short-notice invitation to join some friends at Walt Disney World. In my family, "short notice" means about 3 months out. Usually we're making arrangements 4-6 months out...so it was unlike us to take such a big trip, but living less than a day's drive away from Walt Disney World makes things easier. It was a fun time and we were thrilled to spend time with Air Force friends, whom we typically only get to see once a year.
Tucked somewhere in the details was the fact that our visit would be coinciding with the last of the four 2011 Star Wars Weekends that the Hollywood Studios theme park hosts every spring. It didn't sink in with me until about 2 weeks before our trip, and suddenly I was all a flutter with excitement and planning. I checked the celebrity autograph opportunities and the parade schedules! Tom Kane...okay. Ray Park...okay. Peter Mayhew...whoo hoo! I also saw that Star Tours had been renovated for the first time since the park opened in 1987 and had just reopened on May 20th with a whole new set of scenarios – 54 of them!
But then reality set in! The kids were up very late the night prior playing pirates with their friends. We adults were up pretty late too, catching up on our lives since the last time we had spent time together (Facebook only goes so far). We knew we should have been at the park a little earlier to get the appropriate Fastpasses for the autographs, but we just took our time Friday morning and was met with an incredible geek onslaught at the front gates. I can't remember the last time I'd seen the lines so long to get into a Disney park!
Fortunately, we had plenty of entertainment while waiting to enter in the form of Stormtroopers manning the roofs of the covered gate areas. They were pointing their weapons at us, and their radio communications were piped through the entry area. It was fun to watch.
In addition to the incredible crowds was the incredible HEAT. It got up to 92F in Orlando the day we were there, and the extra people certainly added to the discomfort.
During the event, it was also possible to subscribe to text alerts, which we did. The instructions were in the special event flyers handed out at the front gate. This helped us know when the celebrity guests would be starting/stopping autographs, and when they'd be holding the Q/A panels throughout the day.
The friends we were with were pretty good at efficient Disney Park strategies, so we wasted no time getting Fast Passes for the new Star Tours 3-D attraction and we enjoyed the new Lights, Motors, Action stunt show while we waited for the Fast Pass. Star Tours was a great time, the new "tour" is now in 3-D and is more interactive. We were all tickled that our godson's picture flashed on the screen in front of us at the beginning of the ride; he was the rebel spy that we were to protect on our trip.
The new Star Tours trip includes multiple locations in modules that combine into a single 4:30 minute ride experience. 54 various scenarios are possible. Our ride started with some clumsy Stormtroopers, then took us through Kashyyyk and Coruscant, and we received thanks from a holographic Princess Leia for protecting the rebel spy we had on board.
After some sleuthing, I found this breakdown of the possible scenarios from the Disney Traveller blog. Not sure if I'll ever get to see them all, but it'll make going back again and again much more interesting. The video components include:
- 2 openings: Darth Vader or Stormtroopers (tripping over luggage)
- 3 options for opening planet: Hoth, Kashyyyk, or Tatooine
- 3 character options: Yoda, Admiral “It’s a Trap” Ackbar, or Princess Leia
- 3 options for closing planet: Coruscant, Death Star (over Geonosis), or Naboo
- 2 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 54 possible combinations
By the time we finished our Star Tours ride, two of the Dads in our group staked out a prime location for the Legends of the Force parade, while the rest of us got (what was supposed to be) a quick lunch...the plan was to bring the lunch to the parade spot and we'd all enjoy it while waiting. Getting lunch took a very long time, and my poor husband and our friend Andy were getting squeezed further and further back in the crowds. We got there as quickly as we could, and things worked out decently. The kids had front-row viewing right on the main route, and we adults took turns in the second row enjoying what we could. Thanks to my DH Dave and our friend Andy for keeping vigil in a shady, Main Street parade viewing location for 1 1/4 hours!
The parade was absolutely incredible – everything you could expect from a Disney parade, but with STAR WARS! The Imperial army marching, then the Rebels marching, then the key characters...it was all amazing! Even my difficult-to-impress-lately oldest son was loving it!
It was tough not cashing in our kids' college accounts to get some of the beautiful collectors' souvenirs offered at Jabba's Hutt (the Star Wars Weekend merchandise tent), but we settled for Star Wars Weekends t-shirts for the kids and me. At 25% off, I finally was able to catch a Disney souvenir being on sale! Trading pins would have been ideal, but they were sold out. My sons enjoyed the knit mouse-ears caps...I had to tell them that such hats were out of the question: we live in Florida!
The crowds combined with the heat were very overwhelming for us. After years of experience with conventions, air shows, crowded subways and sporting events, for the first time in my life I was feeling claustrophobic! We left the park at about 3:30pm and spent the rest of the day at DisneyQuest, Disney's Interactive Theme Park.
To close, it was a lot of fun to experience a Star Wars Weekend. I wish it weren't as hot, and I recommend getting an early start to your day if you're interested in meeting the celebrity hosts. Also, for the best choice of event souvenirs, I recommend you attempt to go during the first or second of the weekends...also, it'll be less hot and much less crowded, as many school systems haven't finished for the summer yet.
