My boys, like many other young Jedi warriors, have been obsessed with the idea of going to a Star Wars Weekend at Walt DisneyWorld for years.
I have not.
If you are a Star Wars fan or have given birth to any, Star Wars Weekend Disney World is a must do trip. Really.
Why you need to pack up your light saber and go:
Hyperspace Hoopla-It’s Super Doopla
This live show happens every night at 8:00pm on the big stage under Mickey’s hat at Hollywood Studios. My son Keaton discovered these shows on YouTube. Over the last year he has watched EVERY show ever uploaded. The Empire battles the Dark Side in a Dance Off. Of course The Empire wins, but the bad guys put up a great fight, who knew Stormtroopers could break dance?
Hyper Space Hoopla is to Keaton what a Chanel Fashion show in Paris would be to me. We stood in the heat for two hours to make sure we had a good viewing spot in front of the stage. We were not the first people there. Bring your patience along with your water bottle.
Well some of us stood
Worth it-front row
Meet the Characters in Person
The park is literally crawling with Star Wars characters. The kids weren’t the ones who freaked out when Chewbacca walked by-who doesn’t love a big wookie?
I LOVE Chewie
Ewoks are hot, hot,hot right now. They are different from Jawas-but if you have read this far, you are likely a Star Wars nerd and already knew that.
Keaton’s dream job
Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes. That’s the real name of the band that played in the cantina. When I googled to figure out which movie the cantina was in, I discovered there is a Wookiepedia. Really.
If you haven’t watched the You Tube video yet-these guys bust a move in it
Ventress is a Dark Jedi from the Clone Wars-the boys tried to explain-I couldn’t follow
This chick is dead serious
Sporting my Ventress fan girl sweatshirt from Her Universe. I still don’t look as cool, I think it’s the shaved head.
A chance to meet the real movie stars
Each day there are meet and greet opportunities with the real stars of the saga.
The meet and greets fill up quickly, don’t worry if you miss it, the stage shows are fabulous. We were able to see Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, and Billy Dee Williams who played Lando, and hear them talk about what it was like to film the movies. The boys were mesmerized.
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As much as they loved the stars, they enjoyed the pre-show where the Stormtroopers were rounded up by the Ewoks even more. They are STILL talking about it. And re-enacting it.
Luxury Travel Mom Suggests:
Bring costumes. There aren’t as many for sale as you might think. Keaton’s Ewok costume was a gift from Santa. The elves measured him in his sleep and made it from scratch since the don’t sell child sized Ewok costumes.
Park guests asked to take their picture WITH Keaton. He wants Disney to know he is for hire.
Plan for large crowds.
You can do this one of two ways.
Stay on property, get to the park BEFORE it opens, work the Fastpass system and be prepared to stand in-lines.
OR
Hire a VIP guide. This trip I hired a guide for one day. It was an expensive way to go on Star Tours ten times in a row, but who knows if we’ll back for another Star Wars Weekend and I wanted to make the most of it.
How many times can one child go on Star Tours?
We lucked out with Robin who just happened to have been George Lucas’s VIP Tour Guide when he would bring his family. Yes, even George Lucas had to pay for his VIP Tour. She was able to give the boys a lot of great background information about Star Wars in addition to insider secrets about the park. Did you know that George Lucas created Jar Jar Binks for his son? The direct line to VIP Tours is: 407-560-4033.
Don’t miss Darth Mall
This massive tent is full of limited edition Disney Star Wars merchandise. I predict that now that Disney owns the franchise this will just get bigger and crazier.
Remember that you need to pay Disney admission to go to Star Wars weekend. Dates for 2014 have not been announced yet but they are usually four consecutive weekends in mid-May to mid-June.
Jedi Training Academy
Padawans between the ages of 4 and 12 can train to battle the Dark Side and become official Jedi Warriors. This is available every day at Hollywood Studios, but is PACKED during Star Wars Weekends. If your child wants to do this, you MUST be at the park prior to opening and run (and I mean run) to the sign ups which are just behind the American Idol studios. Your child has to be with you as they need to be able to answer questions in person. If you are lucky you will be given a time to return to be in a show. We did this on a prior trip and it was worth the effort, just be warned that if you want to make it happen on a Star Wars Weekend you’ll be needing the force, not even a VIP guide can help with this.
So plan ahead and may the force be with you.
Disney provided us with park admission tickets. We were hosted for the weekend by the Villas of Grand Cypress. Santa provided the Ewok costume and Mr. Evans paid for the VIP Tour. I was compensated for my effort with lots of hugs and kisses from my boys.
