Star Wars Weekends

Weekend 1

If there was one word to describe the first weekend of SWW is chaotic for quite a few reasons. With the lack of information available ahead of time, my sister and I had to walk into this weekend a bit blind. We arrived around 3am Friday to learn that Anthony Daniels' fast passes were gone and that he was only signing the Disney provided photo. Cross him off my list. This year, Disney decided to be stricter with the fast passes and started a wristband system.

Important note: you need the wristband and the fast pass to obtain an autograph.

After grabbing a Dave Filoni pass for myself and a James Arnold Taylor for my sister, we jumped into the line at the rope drop to line up for the opening ceremony. Once that happened at 7:00am, we waited for three hours until the procession began. When it passed, chaos ensued with everyone rushing for the stage. I managed to luck out and reach the rope for some pretty awesome pics (they're posted on the website :) ).

After the big event, my sister and I tackled the merchandise line which was nice to get out of the blazing sun. I did purchase one of Ashley's shirts which are right by the limited edition tables. Once we were done there, we hit Toy Story with fast passes my sister grabbed while I was watching the opening ceremony then it was time for autographs. Dave and James were great. They both really appreciate the fans and understand how important we are to the success of the Star Wars saga. After that, we were both exhausted from the early morning and decided to call it a day.

Saturday was a completely different start. My sister and I had accidently slept in so didn't arrive until 6:30am. We each snagged Ashley's fastpass and then waited until 8:45 to try and grab another. I got a standby for Daniel and she got a standby for Dave. The plan was to try to get everyone to sign a picture from the opening ceremony that I had printed off. I managed to get through Daniel's line quickly even though I had a standby. He commented that he didn't think he would make it in the picture but loved it anyways. The next stop was James. Even though I didn't have a fast pass, I waited around until everyone was gone and pleaded with him to sign it. He had no problem helping me out and also commented that he loved the picture.

The parade was our next priority. We staked our claim on a spot in the shade about a 90 minutes ahead of time just to be safe. James spotted me in the crowd as he passed and started making faces for the camera. After the parade, we finally hit Star Tours and saw Vader, Hoth, Yoda and Coruscant. I must say that I love the upgrade. I'm a scenic person so I love being able to see the places in a way I never thought possible.

With that done, it was time for Ashley's session. She also loved the picture and stared at it for a long time then signed a picture for our niece who loves Ahsoka. Once we were done, we hurried over to Dave's last session for my sister's standby. Like everyone else, Dave loved the picture and happily signed it.

We then hit James' show which is a must see. You really see that voice actors work just as hard if not harder than regular actors but get none of the credit. Once that was done, we grabbed a quick dinner before waiting for the Hoopla. It was a great show, just difficult to see with all of the parents putting their kids on their shoulders.

Sunday was a bit of an earlier start that the previous day with arriving at the park at 5:30am. We knew going in that today was going to be a short day because we were exhausted from two long days. Disney had a different process today and ushered us through the turnstiles before giving out the fast passes. We both snatched a fast passes for James then went straight to Star Tours. We saw Vader, Hoth, Princess Leia and Naboo this time, another place I wanted to ‘visit'.

We then grabbed fast passes for Star Tours before hurrying off to Toy Story. There were certainly fewer people than previous days so we were able to walk right on. After that we strolled through the park until James' session. He recognized me from yesterday and happily signed a picture for my nephew. With our only autograph done for the day, we hit Star Tours one more time, waited in line for a few characters and then called it a day.

Now a few pointers for those coming to later weekends. First, prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Pick what is the most important for you and focus on that. If you want autographs, arrive early (prior to 6am for anyone other than Anthony) but know that you'll feel the early morning later in the day. Second, remember that everyone ‘s looking out for themselves. Try not to take it personally and let it ruin your day. Lastly, be nice to the Disney employees. It's not their fault that things don't work out for you.

Now, onto weekend 2...