Star Wars Weekends

Despite the Florida Heat, with some careful planning do not be afraid to dress up and enjoy your fandom.  It is always admired and appreciated one way or another with the other.  One of the perks of attending weekends for fans of the saga is the opportunity to dress up as a Star Wars Character.  Over the years we have seen everthing from little Clone Troopers, Bounty Hunters, adult Jedi and Rebel Pilots.  There are named characters from the original trilogy, characters from the prequels, characters from the expanded universe as well as original Star Wars Characters created by fans just for the event.  A quick look at any pictures from the event will show you that there are always costumes in the audience.  Costuming fans come in all shapes, ages and sizes.  There is no wrong to be had here.

Now for some this is a question of what they feel comfortable with or if they feel comfortable in their own skin so to speak.  Simply put, there are just some people that are not interested in dressing up.  No problem, that makes sense to me.  So far I haven't dressed up at weekends, but rather only while attending Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween and it has yet to hurt my ability to enjoy myself while at weekends.  That said, if the event were held in February, I most likely would have put a costume on by now.  Certainly it would have been fun to do something in coordination with my daughter, who has dressed up three times now for the event, but even she opted out of dressing up last year just for a change of pace.  Her assortment of Padme costumes over the years has encouraged her to have fun with the event, gotten the attention of the various Characters that are a part of SWW as well as the celebrities in attendance. 

A great deal of fun can be had at the parks interacting with the Storm Troopers roaming the streets or even with the other fans/guests who are dressed up.  My liitle Padme has met little Anakin's, Leia's, Dark Jedi and such over the years.   Many of the cutest beings in the galaxy are our smallest.  She has also met several adult Jedi, some Bounty Hunters and an assortment of aliens.  It is part of being a fan to accept this.

Some of the best costumes I've seen have been on the adults in attendance.  There are different groups around the country that take this VERY SERIOUSLY.  The work that goes into the replication of some of the movie characters is creative an masterful.  Between the members of the 501st costuming group, the Rebelion costuming group and the fans who just needed to put something together for their own enjoyment, it is just another dimension that a person or family can add to the SWW experience.  My only advice in this department is to not be weighed down by the idea that you are too old or it would be too Goofy (sorry) to get dressed up.  If you think it is something you or you and your group might enjoy, do it.  You will only regret not taking that step later. 

A few years back I was fortunate enough to stand in line with an entire Jedi Family.  They had been in and out of the threads at StudiosCentral.com and decided from what they had read that they were going to throw caution to the wind and dress up.  Now they were honest about the Florida heat and the costumes.  In case I haven't mentioned it, Florida can be MUSTAFAR HOT!  In this case it was that hot, but the family had no reservations about having dressed up.  They were enjoying the fun that came with it and the interaction with just about everyone they met at the park.  They felt it took a good experience and made it even better.  The children thought the world of it and it certainly added to the excitement and anticipation before the gates opened on that first morning.  On top of that the idea that mom and dad were both dressed up as well was just too cool. 

Now if this is something that you decide to do, you must be smart about it.  First, it is HOT, so you would be wise to make your costume as light weight as possible.  I've seen many a young Darth Maul looking more than a little toasty by mid day in his black Sith outfit.  (There was one kid last year who looked as though it didn't bother him in the least... there is always one in every crowd)  My suggestion is that you pack a bag with a quick change of clothes.  Last year my daughter had a pair of shorts, light T shirt and some crocs in a bag that she changed into around 2pm.  The year before she went the whole day in the costume, so you just never know what your little Padawan might do.  Also, if you are planning an adult costume, do not plan to wear a full head coving helmet.  Disney has indicated in the past that they do not allow this.  Now I have seen otherwise, but I can't reccomend anyone taking the chance. 

Make sure your costuming people drink plenty of fluids.  Heck, even a Sith can dole out common sense every now and then.  And take a lot of pictures!  This is Disney for Walt's sake, stop acting like a stuffy adult, take your kid by the hand and go have some fun!  If you are going as an adult only... stop acting like an adult, bring your well behaved inner youth out of yourself and have a blast with it.  It is one of the things you can do to help make it a better time for everyone.  Many will be suprised that while people will comment, it is alway positive and looked on favorably... well aside from the "I bet he's hot in that" comments that occassionaly happen.  Everyone enjoys the costuming fans, so if it is something you are interested in, give it a shot or as Yoda would say, "act on instinct."