Official Star Wars Weekends 2014 Tips and Tricks -The Adventure Continues

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I wanted to pop in and mention that my husband thought the D-Tech me experience was fun. We were there Memorial Weekend 2014.

His figurine arrived at home already today and it's all wrong. Not at all what was ordered so he is on hold with Disney now to get it fixed. The phone message says it's a 30 minute wait for the D-Tech me line.

The Sci-Fi diner breakfast was fun but not something I'd do again. It is so dark in there to get good pictures without blinding everyone with the camera flash and it was the most expensive breakfast we've ever eaten.
We weren't overly impressed with the taste of the food. But it was all about the experience and we definitely enjoyed that.

 

[Darth Hideous]

Here we are at the Poly on Friday morning headed out to our first SWW.

And our first character meet.

I've tried multiple time to flip the photo and it reverts to sideways

 

[yulilin3]

Here's a video we took of the Clone Wars reunion. You can see that these guys truly care about each other and had so much fun making the show. At the end Disney presents Ashley and James with a Partners statue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5oLoRAJ6Zs

 

[dmband]

New to sww, going in 2015 actually, read first 32 pages and every link in those pages - so far
My kids, as of right now, really only have an interest in Jedi training, pictures with some characters, shopping, star tours
My kids would dress up if we allow them to bring stuff
Confused on what the "shows" are for example ray park
Also no way I can get everyone up to be there hrs ahead of gate time
Sooooo
I know they do Jedi training everyday, or at least they used to and of course star tours runs everyday
Can you shop darth mall during the week or just on the weekends?
Is sww worth it for getting some character pictures or will it be so crowded and long lines that we shouldn't bother?
Is there other things people with younger kids feel would be enjoyable for them that I didn't mention above?
Tia

Edit d tech would be cool but with four kids not sure I can really afford it

 

[jennab113]

I've been living vicariously through you guys for the last month and absolutely planning to make at least one SWW next year. Couple questions about timing - I see in the first post that the dates were announced in December. Does anyone know/remember when attendees for each date were announced? Also, when where things like FtF and the VIP tour announced/available to be booked?

 

[AussieSWmum]

What I loved:

1. Feel the Force Package - I did this two times (once on Mark Hammill weekend and once on another weekend) and it was worth it to me. Yes, you had to rush to the rope as soon as they let everyone in for parade, but for the kids only area + great photos and the night time dessert party and drinks - it was fantastic. I would do this again for the same price.

2. FP+ worked and I liked it, although I agree with other posters that they should find a way to let more FP+ people in before standby.

3. Meet and Greets with the characters following the tips on the DIS board and Kenny the Pirate's website really did work - I was able to efficiently meet all characters that my little boy wanted to see, many times.

4. Getting a standby ticket for Mark Hammill show made my entire holiday. I was so disappointed when I couldn't get a fastpass for his show (it was released when I was on a flight and gone by the time I landed) - so to see his show by getting a paper standby ticket was awesome.

What could improve:

5. Please make the parade route longer. Make it turn the corner or start earlier or choose a different route (start at tower of terror or something!). The crowds and wait time for the parade would be reduced if it were a longer route.

6. I did Sci Fi Breakfast as it was my son's birthday, but I probably wouldn't pay that amount of money for the same breakfast again. I felt it was overpriced for the breakfast we got and I also felt I was rushed through breakfast - I hadn't finished one course when another was being added to the table. I was disappointed with the interaction of the characters - I thought we would get a lot more time with the characters than we actually did. The stormtroopers visited twice, and the jawas and greedo only visited once.

7. Although I love the feel the force package, moving it to be further back from the hat for the fireworks would give a better

Overall I had a great time at SWW 2014 - but unfortunately can't come back for at least another two years Thanks to everyone who contributed to this board - it allowed me to effectively plan the two SWW I was there, and we had a great time.

 

[Carolc]

FP+ for Premiere Theater shows: it worked as well as any fp+ for a show does. You get a guaranteed seat that doesn't mean the best seat if you're not there early. It did save time, for many shows you needed to line up an hour before with the fp only 30 min. were needed to get our favorite spots, if you don't care where you sit you could've walked in at the designated fp+ time. (minus the Mark Hamill weekend for obvious reasons) . The main complain people have is that they let fp+ in and then about 10 minutes later the standby in. There's no real way to fix this since they have several shows and have to turn around the sets, do sound check and the likes. But the only solution I see is have the fp+ podium outside, pre scan everyone and have them wait at the bottom entrance. Then when just let fp in, since they already scanned the card people will just walk in and sit.

For Friday's Mark Hamill show, they let standby in very quickly - I'd say within 3 minutes. I was not that far from the front of the FP+ line (under the tree closest to the door) and standby was already running into the theater before I was scanned in. They did pre-scan us about 10 minutes before the doors opened, but since they didn't give a wristband they had to scan again at the door. I think it would help if they pre-scanned and gave a wristband if they really think it necessary to let standby in that quickly.

 

[Carolc]

We already reserved our hotel as well, will be staying at the Sheraton right near the convention center We have other 501st folks staying at the Clarion and some are thinking about staying at Disneyland itself I will be buying our ticket for celebration tonight, just waiting on plane tickets and rental car.

Thank you for the offer for advise, would love to hear it... I am thinking of getting a couple day tickets and then do a full day there and then hop over at night when activities slow down at the convention...

lol - yeah the Clarion is my 'convenient' one... the cheaper one is a bit down the street. The DL hotel(s) are certainly nice, but if you think you'll want to change costumes during the day then the DL hotels would be more of a hassle than the Sheraton/Hilton/Clarion. We are all very excited for it (and are trying to plan our tables/etc).

 

[yulilin3]

I've been living vicariously through you guys for the last month and absolutely planning to make at least one SWW next year. Couple questions about timing - I see in the first post that the dates were announced in December. Does anyone know/remember when attendees for each date were announced? Also, when where things like FtF and the VIP tour announced/available to be booked?

This is the timeline when things were announced, keep in mind that almost everything (excluding the celeb list) we knew in advance of Disney announcing it.
SWW 2014 dates released 12/20/2013
Addition of 5th weekend, James Arnold Taylor as host and Fireworks 2/21/2014
Rebel Rendezvous merchandise event 2/28/2014
Character Meals 3/28/2014
D-Tech Me options 4/9/2014
Celeb list 4/23/2014
Feel the Force package 4/24/2014

Updating the first post so all this will be easy to find next year

 

[yulilin3]

New to sww, going in 2015 actually, read first 32 pages and every link in those pages - so far
My kids, as of right now, really only have an interest in Jedi training, pictures with some characters, shopping, star tours
My kids would dress up if we allow them to bring stuff
Confused on what the "shows" are for example ray park
Also no way I can get everyone up to be there hrs ahead of gate time
Sooooo
I know they do Jedi training everyday, or at least they used to and of course star tours runs everyday
Can you shop darth mall during the week or just on the weekends?
Is sww worth it for getting some character pictures or will it be so crowded and long lines that we shouldn't bother?
Is there other things people with younger kids feel would be enjoyable for them that I didn't mention above?
Tia

Edit d tech would be cool but with four kids not sure I can really afford it

Darth Mall is only open during the weekends all SWW merchandise is pulled in from all the stores that offer it and taken back out on the weekends
Character lines vary depending on character. I would recommend reading Kenny the Pirate's page on SWW characters. If it's worth it or not is up to you and your family
If the are SW fans they would enjoy participating in the Padawan Mind Challenge. It's a trivia show. I would say to look for videos on all the shows offered during SWW and that will give you a better idea on what's right for your kids interest

 

[yulilin3]

What could improve:

5. Please make the parade route longer. Make it turn the corner or start earlier or choose a different route (start at tower of terror or something!). The crowds and wait time for the parade would be reduced if it were a longer route.



7. Although I love the feel the force package, moving it to be further back from the hat for the fireworks would give a better

Overall I had a great time at SWW 2014 - but unfortunately can't come back for at least another two years Thanks to everyone who contributed to this board - it allowed me to effectively plan the two SWW I was there, and we had a great time.

I truly doubt they will change the parade route just because of the welcome show. Before they used to do it at the JTA stage and that area is way to small for the amount of people that wanted to see the welcome show. So they built the big stage with Hollywood Blvd it offers a lot of space for everyone. They won't change the route to come from ST to the Hat because it's too narrow and offers less viewing space (a lot of planters and things in the way) As to starting at Tower there's more people on that side because of Tower and Rock n Rollercoaster and it would be harder trying to get people to walk around the parade.
As for Feel the Force I agree that it needs to move for the fireworks portion. Further down Hollywood Blvd there's no space for it but if they used the seating area of Min and Bills would be perfect.

 

[ratlenhum]

His figurine arrived at home already today and it's all wrong. Not at all what was ordered so he is on hold with Disney now to get it fixed. .

Can I ask what's wrong about it? We got two of ours yesterday and I'm not a hundred percent pleased with either of them. I know we picked medium blonde for my husband's hair, and his statue as hair that's bright crayon yellow. The faces on them to look like my husband and son, but thet are very weird looking, not like the samples they showed. The faces seem very clear on the samples and ours almost look like a blurry picture of the statue instead of being the statue itself. Hard to explain.

All three of ours said ready to ship on the website at the same time, my husband and sons have arrived and mine still says ready to ship 14 days later.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Really enjoyed SWW but my partner just admitted that at the HW & V Chip or dale don't know which is which in the photo shoot at the start made her feel really uncomfortable. He or she kept grabbing my partner really hard and it hurt and was in a very inappropriate location. She told the character no firmly several times but he/she just did it harder. It ruined her evening! She didn't tell me before because I enjoyed myself so much and have been very ill. But I am really annoyed now!

Anyone else have this experience?

 

[Dikran]

So just booked for Memorial Day 2015 (hoping to get in 2 weekends this time) here's to hoping that next year will be even bigger and better than 2014! Thanks everyone for your input and info. Cya next year!

 

[jennab113]

This is the timeline when things were announced, keep in mind that almost everything (excluding the celeb list) we knew in advance of Disney announcing it.
SWW 2014 dates released 12/20/2013
Addition of 5th weekend, James Arnold Taylor as host and Fireworks 2/21/2014
Rebel Rendezvous merchandise event 2/28/2014
Character Meals 3/28/2014
D-Tech Me options 4/9/2014
Celeb list 4/23/2014
Feel the Force package 4/24/2014

Updating the first post so all this will be easy to find next year

Thank you!

 

[baler31]

Thanks to everyone for all the information on this thread. Just back and had as much fun as possible considering all the rain. This was our 4th SWW and I really appreciate all the information here. I think SW fans in the park are the most helpful bunch we have encountered, we usually had our questions answered by fans rather than CM's especially about procedures in the rain. A few quick things.

-we did the VIP tour, FWIW I was told it would be changing greatly next year and that they are trying to include M&G's in some way. This made me wonder if they would be offering FP+ for some of the M&G;s next year.

-we were also told that they will most likely offer FTF as just a dessert/fireworks only party.

-have never done celebrity autographs before but on Sun. when we arrived at 9am we noticed CM's still at the autograph area. We asked and all were available except
JAT and that we could pick 2 each. My kids picked Steve Blum and Matt Lanter. My kids thought Steve Blum was very nice and outgoing. They said Matt Lanter was also nice but not as outgoing.

-Meals, we had Excellent service at the Sci Fi breakfast, characters were hit and miss. Honestly the server made this meal. For dinner service was borderline and also not very friendly, characters here were good but it did not make up for the lack of service at the price.

-Due to the rain we did not see many characters. There was a LOT OF RAIN. Did I mention the rain. We did get in all the shows at Premier Theatre, the parade, fireworks and rode a lot of rides due to......the rain.

-Darth's Mall new location is too small. Her Universe really underestimated the popularity of many of the items. My daughter (teenager) and her friends who are all not SW fans wanted the Ewok tank. This tank crossed the line into a shirt anyone would want not just fans.

Thanks again for everyone's help and the friendly attitude of the thread.

 

[stardam]

This was our first time ever at SWW & when my son begged to go, I just imagined uncontrollable crowds & waiting in countless lines for a "chance" to maybe see something or someone. Boy am I so happy to have found this thread! We had the best time & have already been given the green light by hubby to go next year! Here's my observations as a newbie following tips from this thread.
We were there weekend 4 which was not "Mark Hamill weekend" when we booked it so that freaked me out even more (although my excitement of our chance to see him outweighed the fear!)

-our first day, we weren't looking for autographs but DS wanted toe able to see the troopers storm the gates. We got there at 7:00 & were 2nd in line by going to the turnstiles all the way to the left & he was first against the rope! We were off to a great start! ( he did leave my poor mom behind as her MB kept coming up blue and, well, ain't nobody got time for that. She found us just as the stormtroopers came around the corner.

- we had sci-fi ressies at 8 & we were the first in line. This was awesome (the highlight of DS's trip he says) as Boba Fett was waiting on Vader to arrive and CMs to get ready & DS had great interaction from the queue with him. When we got in, Vader was using the force on all of us to get everyone in position. We really enjoyed the breakfast & will do it again if it's offered. We thought the food was good enough & the character experience was well worth it.

- being my first time, I was disappointed in Darth Mall. I thought from my DS's excitement it was going to be some amazing wonderland of hard to get Star Wars stuff, but it just felt like another shop. I don't know who's idea it was to put the aurasma pics in the line, but it seemed to cause unnecessary confusing & lines

- SotS was everything I had hoped it would be. Preshow was awesome & JAT was incredible. He really can make any show entertaining. We didn't get to see his show but it's on my list for next year. Loved him.

- we did FtF on Sunday. Side note - if you are the awesome couple that was first in line for the parade that day (we were 2nd) - HI! Seriously, couldn't have been happier with our neighbors for those 3 hours. We ended up right by the children's area, in the shade & very comfortable eating our Mickey bars.. That is until my husband called during the preshow & I got my phone taken away. If you were one of the thousands that shouted "May the force be with you" to my husband on the phone, he says hi DS got a kick out of that. If it was just the parade, I probably would've said not worth it but with the dessert party, it was great. The dessert party was moved indoors so we left it early to get to the fireworks in our spot all the way to the left. Great view!

- the fireworks were probably the best fireworks I've ever seen in my entire life. Period. I never saw hoopla, but I can't imagine I would enjoy those crowds & I'm happy they went with fireworks.

- Mark Hamill's show was fantastic. We got in line very early because DS wanted to, but we had awesome seats in 5th row center. I had no idea he was that funny. I did get to meet yulinin's daughter in line & she was SO sweet. I asked her to pass on my thanks for all the great tips.

We even managed to ride TSMM with a tiny wait by sneaking in right before they were closing it off for fireworks. Can't wait for next year!

 

[lovethattink]

It seems strange not to see the thread move as quickly as it was.

We made it to 14 of the 15 days of SWW. It was a fantastic 5 weeks.

It was great to finally meet Yullilin and her dd after all these years, to meet up with Ash and his crew again this year, to meet Alayne and her son at the Rebel Rendezvous, and to meet online friends from the May 2013 & 2014 fb groups Merobear and Missyrose in person!

Enjoyed the Rebel Rendezvous. Loved, loved, loved the Sci-Fi Star Wars character breakfast. Enjoyed the Feel the Force package, though there are some things that could have been better tweaked with it. We were the Magical Family of the Day on Friday of the 3rd weekend. Got to see many of the shows throughout those 5 weeks. Didn't get to most of the characters, but the ones we did, there was great, over-the-top interaction.

Huge, huge thanks go out to Yulillin for this thread and her work on keeping it updated and responding to everyone.

Another round of exteme gratitude goes out to ALL the cast members at Disney Hollywood Studios, especially to the Event Staff, First Aid nurses, and Entertainment.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

lol - yeah the Clarion is my 'convenient' one... the cheaper one is a bit down the street. The DL hotel(s) are certainly nice, but if you think you'll want to change costumes during the day then the DL hotels would be more of a hassle than the Sheraton/Hilton/Clarion. We are all very excited for it (and are trying to plan our tables/etc).

Yeah I had really started to think about staying at a Disneyland resort but after you just said change into different costumes... and breaks, where I am already booked at is SO MUCH CLOSER... that and we will be at AKL CL a month later so I will get my Disney resort fix in then

I was looking at the hours for this past April and I see alot of late nights so I remain hopeful that a few day ticket so we can get in on some evening to catch what we missed the day before the con will work out.

confused: Trying to plan our Tables?

 

[ghornett]

I really miss it already. Totally cried during the last fireworks. It's just so overwhelming standing smack in the middle of the road with fireworks above the mickey hat and the score blaring. My love for starwars has come back raging, and I couldn't be happier.

Does anyone have the playlist they used for inside the premier theatre and in darths mall? In particular I'm looking for one of the remixes with the Han dialog in the beginning.