Star Wars Weekends

Well, the final SWW was a little bit of a let down due to some sad news. When Dave and I arrived on Friday morning, we found out that Temuera Morrison had cancelled his appearance for the entire weekend to be with his family after his sister had suddenly died back home in New Zealand. Ashley Eckstein had graciously volunteered to step in for Morrison at the talk show and autograph sessions.

Friday, June 12 We arrived at the autograph fast pass line at 5:00am and were able to receive a second session fast pass for Ashley and a standby for Dave Filoni. We started out the day at Wicket’s Warehouse to pick-up the Japanese inspired t-shirts for only $9.99 a piece. The best deal of all the Star Wars Weekends. We grabbed all of our last minute stuff from the shop and got ready for the Legends of the Force Parade. It still amazes me how many people still try to get through the crowds while a parade is passing by down the walkway. I had to play enforcer so all the kids would not get run over by these individuals. Anyways, the parade was awesome as usual thanks to the fighting 501st and the Rebel Legion. Dave got a great spot over by the American Idol Experience and was able to take some “professional” video of the fantastic event. Next we grabbed lunch and proceeded to the Stars of the Saga Talk Show. We learned a lot about Ashley, especially how she had once worked at Disney World and had actually grown-up in Orlando. That Friday was also her father’s birthday. So, naturally Jay led us all in singing happy birthday. I was very impressed with Dave Filoni and his breath of knowledge about Star Wars. He truly deserved to be a director for the Clone Wars and has a great sense of humor. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at Mama Melrose Italian Restaurant. The food and the service was amazing. All-in-all it was a fun day.

Saturday, June 13

So sad, it was the last day of our trip. We arrived around park opening and just walked around, enjoying all the character encounters. We left in the early afternoon and went to Magic Kingdom to end our Star Wars Weekends trip to Disney World. We enjoyed Wishes and said goodbye until next time. I hope everyone had a great time this year and let us hope SWW continues to stay at WDW for a very long time to come. May the force be with you all.