Star Wars Weekends: A Retrospective by Host James Arnold Taylor

May 14, 2016 – This weekend would have been the first weekend (out of five) of Disney’s hugely popular Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Regrettably, Disney announced in November, 2015, that it was cancelling Star Wars Weekends 2016 and all future SWW’s. The reason? Disney stated that:

Work begins next year [early 2016] on the 14-acre Star Wars-themed land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. With construction underway, unfortunately, we won’t be able to offer Star Wars Weekends. While Star Wars Weekends has been a great way to enjoy the saga for a few days every year, now the Force will be with Disney’s Hollywood Studios every day.”

Star Wars Weekends had a very long and successful run (1997, 2000-2001, 2003-2015).

Voice actor James Arnold Taylor served as host of SWW for five years (2011-2015). You might best remember him as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in several Star Wars projects or as the voice of Fred Flinstone in commercials from 2005-2011. Taylor has performed in numerous roles on television, film, and video games.

In the video below, James Arnold Taylor presents a great retrospective on the hugely popular Star Wars Weekends.

Will Star Wars Weekends ever return? Never say never, but prospects look dim.

Once Star Wars Land opens (no official date has been announced yet) – and assuming attendance rates and profitability are high – there will be no economic incentive to host Star Wars Weekends again. Disney is a for-profit corporation, after all.

But at least we can say: “Thanks for the great memories!“

A Look Back: Princess Leia Medal Ceremony at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (2011)

April 1, 2016 – What would you pay to participate in a Princess Leia medal ceremony? If you were a parent with little children in the summer of 2011 who had just received a limited invitation-only ticket to the event, the answer was “a lot” (as in $444 for current theme park admission; see calculation below).

In the summer of 2011, Disney’s Hollywood Studios heavily promoted the re-opening of its “Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue” 3D, motion-simulated space flight. Disney sent out a promotional van off-property to the tourist-heavy corridors of International Drive and U.S. Highway 192 in Orlando, Florida. The van was occupied by a Star Tours representative and, reportedly, Chewbacca and a Jawa, who handed out Star Tours mouse-ear hats and an invitation to participate in a Rebel Alliance medal ceremony.

But there were a couple catches: First, participation was limited to children 4 to 12 years of age. Second, theme park admission tickets were not provided.

To calculate the cost of admission for your family, you can visit Disney’s site HERE. With the introduction of “variable pricing” in 2016, the cost of admission for a family of two adults and two children would now be $444.00 (that’s $114 per ticket for anyone aged 10 and up, or $108 per ticket for ages 3-9, during peak season). Add in the cost of meals, snacks and souvenirs, and the one-day admission to Disney becomes a small fortune for a family of four.

The short-lived promotional event ended 31 July 2011. Will it come back? Nobody knows. Some hugely popular events have been cancelled recently at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, including the annual Star Wars Weekends (1997-2015) and the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (1995-January, 2016).

The latter two events have been discontinued, perhaps permanently, to make way for construction of Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. On April 3rd, many more rides/attractions will be closed, and additional construction walls will go up in the northeastern section of Hollywood Studios which represents at least a third of the theme park.

We are hopeful that Princes Leia and her promotional medals will return in five to six years (2021 or 2022), our best guess as to when Star Wars Land will officially open.

Related Star Wars Land Posts:

Star Wars Land: More Closures Announced (15 Jan 2016)

Disney’s Star Wars Land Is Now Confirmed (16 Aug 2015)

Rumors of STAR WARS LAND at Hollywood Studios (6 July 2013)

Disney’s “Star Wars Weekends” Permanently Cancelled

November 9, 2015 – The Walt Disney Co. announced today, via its official blog, that Disney’s annual “Star Wars Weekends” event has been permanently retired.

The announcement was buried at the end of the daily blog after providing an update on new Star Wars-related openings to occur at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando.

Work begins next year [early 2016] on the 14-acre Star Wars-themed land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. With construction underway, unfortunately, we won’t be able to offer Star Wars Weekends. While Star Wars Weekends has been a great way to enjoy the saga for a few days every year, now the Force will be with Disney’s Hollywood Studios every day.”

Decision-makers at Disney undoubtedly knew that shutting down the highly popular Star Wars Weekends event (held for five consecutive weekends between mid-May and mid-June every year) would raise protests and cause angst among longtime fans. To soften the blow, the Disney blog focuses instead on other Star Wars-related updates at its parks, including:

● Star Wars Launch Bay, opening December 1st, will allow guests to see museum-style exhibits, view behind-the-scenes visuals of the various Star Wars movies, purchase Star Wars items and conduct character meet-ups with Darth Vader and Chewbacca.

● Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (last updated in 2011), will feature a new immersive video adventure from The Force Awakens. A short preview can be seen here:

● “Star Wars: Path of the Jedi” will offer film snippets from the Star Wars saga for new and old fans alike, though the Disney blog does not mention where the film(s) will be shown.

● The highly popular Jedi Training Academy will re-open in early December and be renamed “Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple”, to include a new villain (Seventh Sister) from the animated Star Wars Rebels along with Darth Vader.

Construction of the all-new Star Wars Land will begin early next year (2016) at both Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. No opening date for Star Wars Land has been announced yet, though estimates from some observers range anywhere from three years (highly optimistic) to five-to-six years (more likely) from the date construction begins.

The Disney blog raises more questions and offers few answers: Will there be any meet-and-greet opportunities with Star Wars celebrities (film and voice actors, producers, etc.) in coming years? Are there any celebrity stage shows planned for the future? Are the character and celebrity parades cancelled as well? Are the Star Wars firework shows now a thing of the past? What’s to become of the dozens of roaming Star Wars characters that appeared during past Star Wars Weekends?

Click HERE to read the entire Disney blog.

Disney’s Star Wars Land Is Now Confirmed

August 16, 2015 – Over two years ago, we first reported rumors here of Disney building a dedicated Star Wars Land, most likely at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Now comes the confirmation.

Artist’s concept of Star Wars Land (photo credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Yesterday, at the D23 Expo 2015 in Anaheim, California, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger officially announced that Disney would create TWO (2) Star Wars Lands – one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, and the other at Disneyland in Anaheim. You can watch the video below, where the announcement that Anaheim would be included as well, brought the audience to its feet. West Coast residents, after all, have long felt somewhat ignored since the annual Star Wars Weekends event has only been hosted in Orlando.

“We are creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single-themed land expansion ever,” Iger said. “These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet.”

So what can we expect? For starters, Disney is dedicating 14 acres to the new themed area inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios, making this the largest expansion to date. Iger described a new world “occupied by many inhabitants; humanoids, aliens and droids … the attractions, the entertainment, everything we create will be part of our storytelling. Nothing will be out of character or stray from the mythology.”

Some of the highlights:

● Both Anaheim and Orlando will feature a cantina, where fans can “run into all the droids and roaming beasts Star Wars is known for,” said Iger. The galactic characters will come from the existing Star Wars movies as well as new ones from the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

● Two E-ticket rides will be built on both coasts. The first ride will allow guests to fly the Millennium Falcon on a mission which fans can customize. The second ride will insert guests into “a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance.” No further details were offered about the rides.
● A current ride, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, will be updated. New characters and locations from The Force Awakens will be added.

● Star Wars Launch Bay will be opened by the end of 2015. The new interactive experience will immerse guests into The Force Awakens with a look behind-the-scenes and a view of special exhibits. Assorted Star Wars characters from the original saga as well as the sequel will be available for photo opportunities and some meet ‘n greets. Star Wars Launch Bay will also have food offerings and Star Wars merchandise to purchase.
Star Wars Launch Bay will be located in the Animation Courtyard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well as in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.

● The extremely popular Jedi Training Academy (watch at rope drop as parents and their children run to get into line to sign up for a precious time slot) will be updated. New characters from the animated series, Star Wars Rebels, will be introduced at the Academy. We had hoped that a new, larger stage (to accommodate the huge demand) and an indoor venue (to get away from the brutal sun and heat) would be announced, but those details have not been confirmed yet.

● “Season of the Force”, a new annual event, will hit both Disney parks in early 2016. In Orlando, might this be a renaming and rebranding of the popular summertime Star Wars Weekends? We don’t know yet. In Anaheim, “Season of the Force” will occurr in Tomorrowland where guests will have Star Wars-themed entertainment and food at various locations. Disneyland’s Space Mountain will be transformed into Hyperspace Mountain, allowing guests to experience an X-wing Starfighter battle.
No dates have been announced yet when both Star Wars Lands will be opened. In Anaheim, Disney has entered an agreement with the city, promising to begin construction no later than 2017 and wrap up by December 2024.

In Orlando, Star Wars Land could be completed earlier. A reasonable guess is at least four to five years, and possibly longer. This estimate is based on the four long years it took Disney to construct its New Adventureland expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, which opened in three staggered phases as different sections were completed. Accordingly, our best guess is 2019-2020 at the earliest.

Guidemap for Weekend Four at Star Wars Weekends 2015

June 5, 2015 – Here is the guidemap for Weekend Four at Star Wars Weekends 2015 in Orlando. Click to enlarge:

Note that Ray Park (Darth Maul) is doing only one signing session per day, at 1:00 P.M. While the session is 90 minutes long, some guests end up taking longer than normal if they start a conversation beyond mere pleasantries.

The line cut-off for Ray Park was somewhere between 2:00 and 2:30 A.M. this morning. He is returning Saturday and Sunday as well as next weekend (June 12, 13 and 14th), so there are more opportunities to meet him. Just be sure to arrive early.

By contrast, Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) has higher capacity. He has three signing times (1:00, 2:15 and 4:30 PM) Fri/Sat/Sun, and is not as loquacious/talkative, so his line moves more quickly. Bulloch is not scheduled to return next weekend, so you are still advised to arrive early (no later than 5:00 AM) if you wish to meet him.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios opens at approximately 7:30-7:40 A.M.

Stormtrooper Poster at Star Wars Weekends 2015 (Weekend No. 4)

June 5, 2015 – Sometimes Disney really impresses with its Passholder benefits giveaways. This year’s free giveaway is the series of five (5) Star Wars Weekends posters, one for each weekend (May 15 through June 14, 2015).

Today is the start of Weekend Four at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. Cast Members will be handing out a Stormtrooper poster with the caption: “Set for stun? Any closer and you’ll find out.” Beneath that is the slogan used for all five weekends: “As close to the Force as you can get. Star Wars Weekends 2015.”

The poster is printed on high-quality cardstock and has a nice matte finish. Each poster measures approximately 17-3/4-inches tall by 12 inches wide.

The celebrities attending and signing autographs this weekend (also free, if you manage to grab a Fastpass before the park opens) include:

● Ray Park (Darth Maul): signing at 1:00 PM on Fri/Sat/Sun
● Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett): 1:00, 2:15 and 4:30 PM Fri/Sat/Sun
● Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano): 4:45 PM Fri/Sat/Sun

Fortunately, Disney handed out Darth Maul posters last weekend (Weekend Three) – just in time for Ray Park to sign this weekend:
… and Disney distributed Boba Fett posters during Weekend Two, in case you don’t have anything else for Jeremy Bulloch to sign:

While Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda) will be attending the fifth and final weekend, he will not be meeting guests or signing autographs. Here is the Yoda poster handed out during Weekend One:

The Weekend Five poster features everyone’s favorite walking carpet, Chewbacca. And what a coincidence (or not) – Peter Mayhew will be attending the final weekend, pen in hand, ready to autograph your poster or anything else you provide.

If you wish to frame all five posters, you’re on your own.
Posters are distributed in the shady alcove between Toy Story Midway Mania and the Walt Disney One Man’s Dream museum, while supplies last.

Guidemap for Star Wars Weekends 2015 (Third Weekened)

May 29, 2015 – Here is the brochure or guidemap for this third weekend of Disney’s Star Wars Weekends in Orlando (Click to enlarge):

Reverse of guidemap:

Notice that the Boba Fett stein is listed again in the brochure. On this Friday, May 29th, it was available in multiple locations: Watto’s Grotto at Darth’s Mall and at various popcorn/drink kiosks throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (We’re also getting reports that they are available at Disneyland in Anaheim, too.)

This photo was taken inside Watto’s Grotto at Darth’s Mall on May 29, 2015. The Boba Fett stein comes with a slushy drink of various flavors. The steins here are $12-13, and adding alcohol is another $9-10 more.

Here are some past guidemaps, including Weekend One:

Guidemap for Weekend Two:

Star Wars Weekends 2015 Character Locator Map

May 28, 2015 – With so many competing events going on at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends in Orlando, it’s easy to get disoriented and miss a photo op or interaction with some of your Star Wars characters.

Thanks to Kennythepirate.com, you can now handily find your favorite rebels, villains and assorted Star Wars riffraff, with this detailed locator map:

Star Wars Weekends runs for five consecutive weekends (Friday through Sunday), from May 15 through June 14, 2015, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

For specific times when a character is to appear, ask a Cast Member assigned to the designated area. They are easy to find: Look for a uniformed employee standing by a roped-off area with an obvious Star Wars photo backdrop. When you see a Disney photographer appear (in blue shorts, khaki vest, and floppy hat with camera), then you know the Star Wars character is about to arrive shortly.

Because of Florida’s heat and humidity, and the physical demands of some of the costumes, Star Wars characters may only appear for 15 minutes or so before leaving for a five-minute break.

Roaming characters, such as the Tusken Raiders/Sandpeople, Jawas, Gamorrean Guards and Stormtroopers, may come and go unannounced, and they roam a general area (see map).

Other more popular characters, such as Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Boba Fett, Luke and Leia, follow a set schedule, and lines to see them form early. A wait in line of 30-45 minutes to see one character assigned to a backdrop is not unusual. Waiting times to see Chewbacca or Darth Vader can be as long as 90-120 minutes, depending on your patience.

The best time to take a photo with Darth Vader is right after rope drop (park opening), around 7:30 am, when there is no line. You can also try around the parade time (11:00 am) or later in the afternoon.

If you don’t care to take a picture with the character and only want a stand-alone picture, you can of course avoid the lines altogether. Simply stand behind the rope barricade and take unlimited photos as one visitor departs and another is about to step up.

As for roaming characters mingling throughout Hollywood Studios, have your camera ready and be ready to interact. The Jawas are desert nomads and traders, and they will happily trade with you. (TIP: The more valuable trinket you give them, the more valuable gift you will receive in return, such as a Vader car decal or other item.)

Other characters are more inquisitive (Gamorrean Guards and Sandpeople) and may want to inspect your bags and possessions, while still other characters (bounty hunters like Aurra Sing or assassins like Zam Wesell) are naturally more secretive and stand-offish. All will pose for pictures with good timing, patience and respect.

Finally, be aware that most all characters have a Disney handler or escort, even if they are standing off in the distance somewhat discretely, to ensure everyone’s safety. So if you have unruly kids (or adults) who want to test the limits, just don’t. The worst thing in the world is to be trespassed from Disney and escorted off property.

Disney Vinylmation Star Wars Weekends 2015 Releases

May 25, 2015 – Vinylmations are collectible works of art painted on the body of a Mickey Mouse form, which comes in sizes of 1.5 inches, 3 inches and 9 inches. All figures have round mouse ears regardless of whether the painted character has them. Introduced in 2008, they are sold at Disney theme parks, select Disney Stores, and the online Disney Store.

Vinylmation – a combination of the words “animation” and “vinyl” – are hugely popular with certain collectors.

At Star Wars Weekends 2015, Disney has once again introduced unique limited edition Vinylmations, which instantly evoke some of our favorite villains and rebels. Here are this year’s releases at Star Wars Weekends:

X-Wing Pilots Biggs Darklighter and Jek Porkins (each $16.95, ltd.ed. 1500, by artist Casey Jones)

The vinylmation TIE Fighter Pilot and Jabba the Hutt, like most all vinylmation characters in this year’s Series 5, are waiting to go home with you

So many Star Wars characters, so little time….

Each vinylmation character is 3 inches tall

Star Wars Vinylmation Series 5 includes 11 common characters and a chaser figure. Pictured here (top row, L to R): Death Star Droid, Momaw Nadon ( or Hammerhead), Dr. Evazan, Figrin D’an, Duros, Labria
and (bottom row, L to R): TIE Fighter Pilot, Princess Leia, Jabba the Hutt, Han in Stormtrooper disguise and Sandtrooper

Star Wars Weekends 2015: Droid Mystery Pins

May 22, 2015 – Today is the start of the second weekend (out of five) at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends in Orlando. New this year is the amazing Star Wars Droid “Mystery Pin Collection”, which is exclusive to Star Wars Weekends and which contains limited edition chaser pins.

If you find yourself casually browsing the Darth’s Mall store and come across rows and rows of these, think carefully before purchasing, because this may be a trap: Once you start collecting these pins (there are 17 total), you may become hooked.

Each box contains two mystery droid pins, which are sealed in small black plastic baggies so that buyers cannot cheat and peek inside the box. Retail price is $19.95 per box, so each pin is roughly $10.00. Further, the back of the box states “All sales final. No refunds, exchanges or returns.” Again, this prevents fraud from those trying to collect all 17 droid pins.

If you are trying to collect all 17 droid pins, here is what you need to know:

● Limited Release (i.e., once they sell out, you will never see them again at Disney retail)

● Each droid pin is from the Star Wars Universe, so some are from one of the six Star Wars episodes, while others are from Disney’s Star Tours ride

● The style is a pin-on-pin design, meaning that one pin (the droid) is physically attached (glued or soldered?) to a background pin, which is inseparable. For example, the R5-D4 droid stands before a Tatooine hut building in the background; and the Signal Droid hovers in front of the Star Tours triangular logo in the background.

● There are Eight (8) Revealed pins, Eight (8) Chaser pins (Ltd.Ed. 400), and one (1) Super Chaser Pin (Ltd.Ed. 200) in the complete Mystery Pin Set.

● Each Blind Box contains two (2) randomly selected collector pins, so there is a good chance you will end up with doubles or even triples of a common pin after buying several boxes. (You can always trade or sell your duplicate pins.)

● Seventeen pins comprise the full mystery set.

Even if you were incredibly lucky by snagging 17 unique pins after buying only nine boxes (the minimum required), this quest will set you back $180.00 (9 boxes at $19.95 each) plus tax. Then again, no one ever said Star Wars collecting or pin collections were a cheap hobby. But the search can be fun and addicting.

Besides Darth’s Mall at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can of course find the pins on Ebay. Or try a commercial seller, such as www.yourwdwstore.net (boxes listed at $29.95 each), or a message board such as the one HERE.

On our first purchase of three boxes, we ended up with duplicates of R5-D4

UPDATE

Complete pin sets can now be found on Ebay. The rarest is the Mouse Droid (Ltd.Ed. 200) pictured in the top row. The next eight rarest are pictured below in the next two rows (from Signal Droid to R2-MK, all of which are ltd.ed. 400). The most common are in the bottom two rows.

The opening bid price for this complete set of 17 mystery droid pins is $259.99. Click photo for Ebay auction.

The opening bid price for this complete set of 17 mystery droid pins is $499.99. Click photo for Ebay auction.