May the Force Be With You: A girl’s guide to surviving Star Wars Weekends

In celebration of Star Tours officially opening today we bring you this great post from our writer Michele on surviving Star Wars Weekends. Enjoy..

If you live in this Galaxy, chances are you have not escaped “the force” of Star Wars. If you have ever come in contact with the male species, chances are, you know about Star Wars. If you have a son, nephew, brother, husband…you know about Star Wars.You know that every pointy object can become a light saber, the Yoda voice is imperative when quoting the famous movie lines, and in their opinion…all women should look like Princess Leah in Return of the Jedi.

If you have a Star Wars fan in your family, It’s virtually impossible to escape attending a Star Wars Weekend; so i’m here to prepare you, my fellow females, to survive the force.

Even the most prepared vacation planners can be left with shoe prints on their plans during Star Wars Weekends. Everything you know about vacationing, touring plans, lines and character meet and greets is not valid here. This weekend is a marathon, not a sprint and it’s not for the faint of heart. In order to survive, you must use the force, the female force. Don’t head into Star Wars Weekends without these guidelines to the galaxy.

“Fear is the path to the Dark Side”: Don’t be intimidated. Aside from the level of the crowds at these events, the intensity is also very high. Hollywood Studio’s is filled with a very diverse crowd: families looking to share a unique experience with their children, groups of friends who are Star Wars Fans, adults who are intense FANatics, groupies, grown men acting like little boys and people you will think truly are from another galaxy. Don’t let this detour or distract you from what you want to get accomplished, the experience is what you make it!

“A Jedi gains power through understanding”: Know what you want to accomplish. If you have little one’s who just want to interact with characters, participate in Jedi training and just enjoy the event, then keep your map, autograph book, cameras and sharpees out and ready; characters can pop up anywhere, anytime; BE READY! If Jedi Training is on your priority list, head there in the morning to register, this is very popular and there are only a certain number of participants per show. Padawans must be between the ages of 4 and 12 and must be present to be registered. If you are interested in the limited edition merchandise, you’ll need to head to the backlot first thing in the morning as well. While the specific merchandise varies every year, special items include boxed pin sets, t-shirts, posters, artists renderings, etc. Each year the host of Star Wars Weekends changes and the visitors can vary from week to week. If you are interested in special guests, check the Disney website to see which weekend has your favorite star; but beware that these can change without notice! In the past, tickets for celebrity autographs have been distributed at the Indiana Jones show location. Ask a cast member for ticket distribution and autograph locations.

“The fear of loss is a path to the dark side”: set realistic expectations. Battling the crowds with a small child isn’t ideal; don’t plan to get everything done in one day; it won’t happen and you’ll spend your day being frazzled and disappointed instead of participating in the fun. Have in mind which things you’d like to accomplish on what day. For example: “today we want to do Star Tours, Jedi Training, visit the merchandise shop and meet Darth Vader”. Leave room and time in between to wander around the parks and peek for other characters. Don’t forget to look for Jedi Mickey, Princess Leah Minnie, Darth Goofy, and Storm Trooper Donald. If you see these guys appear, get in line FAST! They are hard to catch, the line fills extremely quickly and they are only out for a limited amount of time.

“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is”-if you gather only one useful piece of advice from this article, let it be this. You will see amazing things if you see the world through your child’s eyes. Although the thought of spending a weekend in Disney celebrating Star Wars didn’t thrill me; I have to admit, it was one of my favorite Disney trips. The memories we made that trip are so special, my step-son fought Darth Maul at Jedi Training, we met every single character that was in attendance and danced with them all at the Hyperspace Hooplah, Princess Leah recognized our little one at various times throughout the day, (he was smitten!) we saw celebrities, met some great Star Wars FANatics and built our own light saber. Our favorite part of the whole weekend came at the end; Hyperspace Hooplah; the “closing ceremony” of the weekend is a fun filled show with characters representing both sides of the force; including a small stage “variety” show, complete with a dance contest and all the fun a galaxy can hold.

Ladies, i’ve given you the guidelines to surviving the galaxy but it’s up to you to make your trip out of this world. Whether you have previous knowledge of Star Wars, are just trying to appease the men in your life, or couldn’t care less, I guarantee you’ll leave knowing the name of every creature in the galaxy and have a slew of extraordinary experiences to share.

Related articles

• Live From Star Wars Weekends! (cookingwithmickey.blogspot.com)
• Sorcerer Radio’s Coverage of Star Tours/Star Wars Weekends Begins (chipandco.com)

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