Star Wars Weekends

I arrived with my 13 yr old son at park opening on Friday the 27th. There were still standby fastpasses for Ashley, so we got 2. There were still some left for Bruce, but we declined. We fastpassed TSM, and got in line for ST2. I got the exact same ride as the day before! We had been in WDW for the week, and 6 of the 10 times i rode ST2, i went to the Wookie Planet. Only once to Hoth. Just my random luck. Great ride though. And i guess that every time i saw the same scene first, just made me want to go again. So i did.

After that we got our pics with Jango Fett, and then over to the merchandise tent with Luke and Leia. Some uber fan was in front of us, dressed as Luke. He engaged his lightsaber and struck some drama-boy poses. Luke and Leia cracked up, as did most who saw it. We got our pics next, without the bravado.

I got in the merchandise line and picked out the Star Tours Destination Pin Set. Very cool. Didn't fall in love with the passport pins, so just got a SWW logo pin to go along with it. My son wanted a "Judge me by my Size" T. I waited in line while he got one. He came back, "I can't reach it dad!" "You're kidding me! The Judge me by my size T is on the top rack?" Everyone in line got a big chuckle. We got a CM to help, then we were back to ST2

The wait time was posted at 60. But it was more like 30. More Wookies. After that we went to TSM. The parade was starting just as we got to the hat. Big disappointment. This was mainly a celebrity introduction, and doesn't compare with the parades of the past.

After that we joined my wife and 17 yr old son for lunch at Sci-Fi. Everyone's favorite, right? No joke, we like this place. If i'm gonna pay 45 buck for burgers at the Backlot Express, i might as well pay an extra 20 and watch some movie clips in the dark.

The highlight of our day was our visit with Ashley Eckstein. As we waited, we were invited in to meet Bruce, even though we didn't have tickets. I saw Brick, the CM who helped us meet David Prowse a couple of years ago. We chatted while we waited to meet Ashley. When we got to her, she asked, "Where are you from?" "Missouri." "Really? I lived there when my husband David was with the St. Louis Cardinals." "David Eckstein is your husband?" "Yes. He's standing right there!" "Holy Cow! I want your picture too!" i yell. David, was the MVP of the World Series the year the Cardinals won it in 2006. So getting to meet him and his wife, and Bruce with just a standby ticket was just great.

We enjoyed the Hoopla. And the very expensive new stage. A great improvement. I expressed my feelings to some CM's who replied, "We couldn't agree more."

All in all, a great day. A little disappointed in the merchandise and the parade, but getting photos with the actors and characters was fun as always. And the hoopla was the best ever. Keep it up Disney, and i'll be back next year!