Star Wars Weekends

Weekend 1

Well, with the end of the first weekend of the 2008 Star Wars Weekends, it’s difficult to sum up the busy three days but I’ll try. We had been warned that there would be changes before arriving but nothing could have prepared us for what we ran into. On Friday, my brother and I arrived at 3 a.m. to find a line for Jeremy Bulloch. We spent the hours before the sun rose talking with people we had met last year and were overjoyed when Disney employees came out to ask if we had any questions. The most popular questions were where were Minnie, Goofy and Donald and where was Ahsoka. They opened the gates at 6 for those who wanted some coffee and breakfast (you had to pay for it of course) then let us in the park bright an early at 7 a.m. At first, we were overjoyed but then we found the drawback. The moving to the fast pass area was slow leaving us standing for hours in the humid heat and the sun.

When we were finally able to get our fast passes, we hit a snag. The new crew for Star Wars Weekends set the computers so that each ticket could only get one ticket. Those who were there early weren’t happy to say the least. They had hoped to get fast passes for all three employees. Due to what was printed in the pamphlets, they used their passes to give us fast passes for Daniel Logan. From there, we figured we’d hit the most time consuming event of the Weekends, the characters. We managed to catch Minnie, Goofy and Donald right away which was a relief. I had expected spending a lot of time in line for them. We then saw Jeremy who was very friendly and very sympathetic to the heat situation.

After our autographs, we hit the merchandise line…two hours later we hit a few more characters before catching the talk show. There’s no shade in front of the new theater so the heat became too much for some people. The intro was almost identical to last year but the voice over Jeremy, Daniel and Warwick did to the beginning of Episode 6 was very funny. After a few more character greetings, we met Daniel who was also sympathetic to the heat and a lot of fun. After the autograph, the long day just got to be so much so we called it a day.

On Saturday, we arrived at 4 a.m. and got in line for Warwick. It wasn’t long before the Disney employees came out again and asked to speak to all of us. We were informed that to make things fair, they were changing their ‘new’ policy to what it had been. Unfortunately they weren’t able to change their computers so if you get your first fast pass and then get in another line, you need to show your fast pass to a cast member so they can get you a fast pass using passes they have. That day, we managed to get Warwick’s fast pass as well as Daniel’s. So, with no morning session, we hit a few more characters before meeting Troy Denning who was very nice and then caught the parade. A word to the wise, don’t sit on the steps of the ABC theater. With the construction, people tend to stand in front of you blocking your view.

After a ride on Toy Story Mania and another fun autograph session with Daniel, we hurried over to the Stars of the Saga show with Warwick Davis and Ahsoka at 3. I would recommend it for anyone who can see it. Very entertaining. Once the show was done, we rushed over to catch Warwick’s autograph and snatched a few pics. By the time we were through, the heat and early morning had worn us down so we called it a day.

With the arrival of Sunday, the early mornings and the heat were really starting to wear us down. We arrived at 4 a.m. again and get in line for Jeremy. The lines were shorter and quieter than normal so we weren’t the only ones feeling the strain. We managed to grab Jeremy and Warwick’s fast passes. With time to spare, we jumped on Tower of Terror before getting in line for Jeremy. Once again he was very friendly and sympathetic to the heat. We then hit Rockin’ Roller Coaster then watched the parade near the start of it, certainly a better location than the stairs. After the parade, we decided to take a break for a few hours. I managed to make it back in time for Warwick who loved the picture of him and us I had printed in the Kodak shop from yesterday.

The final event of the day was the dinner in the Prop Shop. Arriving with just minutes to spare, it was clear that everyone was excited. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous coming alone but I soon found that there was no reason for the nerves. Everyone I talked to was very friendly and welcoming. The food was excellent and the trivia was entertaining. Congrats Matt on a successful event and thank you for all the work you put into it for us!

Ok, now it’s time for the advice. Well, probably the most important advice I can give is to prioritize. If the heat is going to be anything like it was this past weekend then it is impossible to do everything and not feel overstressed. If you want to get pictures with characters, put them in categories: who are the must sees, who would you like to see and who you don’t care whether you see or not. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. With the way things are this year, all of the characters are really spread out so if you don’t know where characters are you can do a lot of unnecessary walking that will also wear you down. Thirdly, be selective of what you bring for the celebrities to sign. If you bring something big remember that you have to carry it around unless you want to leave the park to take it back to your car or hotel. The 8x10 pics worked wonderfully as did the 4x6 pictures I printed off at the Kodak store. If anyone scrapbooks, signed 4x6 photos of the celebrity are certainly a unique touch. Finally, be patient. No system is perfect and Star Wars Weekends is definitely a work in progress. This year they’re trying some things different. Some work and some don’t. If you like or don’t like something, let a cast member know so they can improve it for next year.