The Force is Strong in This One: SWW and Celebration VI, Disney Done Differently

[lovethattink]

Originally Posted by kaoden39

I am glad it lifted. I want to see John Carter. I know when I saw the preview in theaters it looked really good to me.


Smart idea for Anakin but, it's too bad he was stressing himself over. It seems like there was a lot of pixie dust for you and that is great!

He suffers from so much anxiety. Even after something is long done and over with, he will continue to worry about it. He's on medicine for it now and things are going much better, but he still has panic attacks occasionally.

[lovethattink]

This day began with a phone call from Grumpy at 6am. His friend was still sick and wouldn't be going to DHS today either. Grumpy really wanted to see Stars of the Saga and The Visit to the Maul. Gave Anakin his 6am meds and he instantly fell back to sleep. I asked Grumpy if he wanted to drive to us, or have me come get him? He wanted me to drive home for him because he wasn't sure where The Palms was located after I described to him how to get here. I showered and drove home, taking all the dirty laundry, costumes and anything else we accumulated and didn't need.

Once I got home I thought of a million and one things I needed to get done. So I set off to work on somethings while Grumpy impatiently waited for me to finish. We got back to the motel just before noon. He tasted Goofy's Picnic Burger from Friday night. He really liked it. But by the time we got to DHS it didn't like him. Must have had soy in it based on his reaction.

Once at DHS we make a 3 way split. I head to the photopass counter because none of our pictures were showing up on Photopass' website. Grumpy went his way. Anakin and Goofy headed to Vader.

Photopass CM said that there is some glitch when viewing the website via smart phone. They checked my pass the pictures were on, and they were all there! I made it through the crowd forming for the motorcade at 12:40. We thought maybe seeing Vader then was a good time?

It wasn't. Alot of other people had the exact same idea. I stopped a cm to ask when one of the Fetts would be out and when Darth Maul would be out. I was told 1:30 on the Fett and 2:10 on Darth Maul. It was 12:45 now. Right where the cm was stationed for the Fett there was a tree for shade and there was a really nice breeze. We decided to park ourselves right under the tree in line for Boba Fett. There was a hotdog cart close by that had chili cheese dogs for almost $10. Isn't that crazy?! Studio Catering wasn't far so I checked out their menu. Got Anakin chicken nuggets and a Pressed Tuscan Deli for dh and I to split. He and I weren't hungry because we had breakfast at the motel.





This really was a great spot. We remarked how we didn't even feel hot, we were very comfortable.







After Boba Fett we got in line for Darth Maul. Remember how nice it felt waiting for Boba Fett under that tree with that nice breeze? It sure didn't feel that way here. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It was miserable. There was no breeze. There was shade, but there was no relief in the shade at all. I normally don't sweat and I could feel it dripping down my back. There was no way we could keep Anakin in this line. Goofy took him out of line to get some air while I stayed put to keep his place.

Aurra Sing was walking past him to see someone else, but she acknowledged his presence as she passed him. And I was quick enough to capture the shot.



Grumpy wanted to see Stars of the Saga so he left us to go wait in line. We knew we were going to have to cool down Anakin after this.

We were the 4th group in line for Darth Maul. As soon as he came out, Goofy brought Anakin back in line. By the time we got to Darth Maul he was overheated, and it might have only been 5 minutes.





AFI Showcase was the closest place we could think of that has airconditioning. That's where we headed. We walked around looking at the merchandise and costumes. Anakin fell asleep. Would we make it to Stars of the Saga? I offered to stay here with Anakin while Goofy joined Grumpy there. He REALLY wanted to see the show. Actually, he REALLY wanted to see the PRESHOW, the stormtroopers again.

[englishrose47]

Love the pix !!! Anakin is really getting to see a lot of Star Wars characters !!!

[kaoden39]

Originally Posted by lovethattink

He suffers from so much anxiety. Even after something is long done and over with, he will continue to worry about it. He's on medicine for it now and things are going much better, but he still has panic attacks occasionally.

Scotty used to have horrible panic attacks. Exercise is what has worked for him. When he gets plenty of exercise they stay at bay. When he works a lot of overtime and doesn't get the time to exercise he has panic attacks and nightmares. That is why I basically push him out the door to ride his bike. He used to be able to ride his bicycle to work and home. That helped a lot, but then someone started stealing things like lunches out of the refrigerator and that was that.


Our daughter Kody has panic attacks and I have tried to help her but nothing has worked. We need to go to the Dr for it.



That shady spot looks wonderful! Too bad there weren't more!

[lovethattink]

Originally Posted by englishrose47

Love the pix !!! Anakin is really getting to see a lot of Star Wars characters !!!

The characters were a top priority! Even though he is 8 the characters are still real to him. Unfortunately it really took alot out of him to be in the heat waiting for them. Even with the ice bottles, one of us holding the place in line for him, and trying to stay in the shade, it was more than he could really handle. Typically he never takes naps, and he was falling asleep left and right even after sleeping 14 hours the night before.

Originally Posted by kaoden39

Scotty used to have horrible panic attacks. Exercise is what has worked for him. When he gets plenty of exercise they stay at bay. When he works a lot of overtime and doesn't get the time to exercise he has panic attacks and nightmares. That is why I basically push him out the door to ride his bike. He used to be able to ride his bicycle to work and home. That helped a lot, but then someone started stealing things like lunches out of the refrigerator and that was that.


Our daughter Kody has panic attacks and I have tried to help her but nothing has worked. We need to go to the Dr for it.



That shady spot looks wonderful! Too bad there weren't more!

That's great that exercise works for your husband! I'm sorry Kody gets them too.

Yes, it would be nice to have cooler spots to wait.

[annmarieda]

I can not believe how far behind I was!!! All caught up. Thank you so much for sharing all those wonderful pictures. It is very unlikely we will ever attend Star Wars Weekends... so it is neat to see. Plus, some of those shots of Anakin are amazing!

You got to see quite a few characters! And the story of the Cantina Muscians was great! What a nice thing for them to do.

I had never thought about how having a sibling with a chronic condition can takes its tole on the other siblings. I think that explains a lot when it comes to my youngest son and his attitude at times toward his sister. I just always have chalked it up to him being a teen.

[mommy2mrb]

sorry the M & G lines took so much out of Anakin, looks like it paid off though, great photos!

[lovethattink]

Originally Posted by annmarieda

I can not believe how far behind I was!!! All caught up. Thank you so much for sharing all those wonderful pictures. It is very unlikely we will ever attend Star Wars Weekends... so it is neat to see. Plus, some of those shots of Anakin are amazing!

You got to see quite a few characters! And the story of the Cantina Muscians was great! What a nice thing for them to do.

I had never thought about how having a sibling with a chronic condition can takes its tole on the other siblings. I think that explains a lot when it comes to my youngest son and his attitude at times toward his sister. I just always have chalked it up to him being a teen.

He was really in his element. To him, this was a dream come true seeing his favorite characters right out of the movies.

I wonder if his area of hyperfocus will ever change?

It's tough on the siblings. He's had to make lots of sacrifices (less now that he can drive himself places), he gets concerned too.

Originally Posted by mommy2mrb

sorry the M & G lines took so much out of Anakin, looks like it paid off though, great photos!

I love the photos! But it really did take alot out of him. I'm so glad Celebration VI will be in the airconditioning.

Can you see the difference in his energy level from the Boba Fett pic at 1:30 vs the Darth Maul pic at 2:10?

[TGaines107]

I love it! So glad to see Anakin having so much fun. He should know that there's just as many adults that feel the way he does. I'm a member of the 501st Legion and the Commanding Officer for Virginia (Garrison Tyranus). He is the reason we do all the work we do as well as participate in Star Wars Weekends. Seeing the kids light up makes so much fun and seeing DHS all decked out in its finest Star Wars attire makes for a fantastic trip for any Star Wars fan. I hope you all will continue to enjoy the weekends. We're gearing up for Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando this August! Hopefully CVI will energize him like never before! Safe travels!

(PS never buy that stormtrooper )

[mommy2mrb]

Originally Posted by lovethattink

He was really in his element. To him, this was a dream come true seeing his favorite characters right out of the movies.

I wonder if his area of hyperfocus will ever change?

It's tough on the siblings. He's had to make lots of sacrifices (less now that he can drive himself places), he gets concerned too.



I love the photos! But it really did take alot out of him. I'm so glad Celebration VI will be in the airconditioning.

Can you see the difference in his energy level from the Boba Fett pic at 1:30 vs the Darth Maul pic at 2:10?

yes I can, he doesn't seem to have that "look" in his eyes of pure happiness

[lovethattink]

Originally Posted by TGaines107

I love it! So glad to see Anakin having so much fun. He should know that there's just as many adults that feel the way he does. I'm a member of the 501st Legion and the Commanding Officer for Virginia (Garrison Tyranus). He is the reason we do all the work we do as well as participate in Star Wars Weekends. Seeing the kids light up makes so much fun and seeing DHS all decked out in its finest Star Wars attire makes for a fantastic trip for any Star Wars fan. I hope you all will continue to enjoy the weekends. We're gearing up for Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando this August! Hopefully CVI will energize him like never before! Safe travels!

(PS never buy that stormtrooper )

Welcome!! Thank you so much for posting. I hope you will stick around for the report of the next two weekends. This year's SWW really was a dream come true for him!

We appreciate all that the 501st Legion does! I wasn't aware of the philanthropic work until recently when I was searching for information about Celebration VI. Just looking at jmskinner's pictures from V had Anakin jumping up and down, I can only imagine his reaction when we actually get there in person!

You've peaked my curiosity? Why never buy the stormtrooper?

Last night DH and Anakin were deciding about costumes. They want to wear costumes each day. They spent a couple hours discussing what they "needed".

Any additional tips or links to tips for Celebration VI that we should know about?

[lovethattink]

Originally Posted by mommy2mrb

yes I can, he doesn't seem to have that "look" in his eyes of pure happiness

That was the look of exhaustion and in retrospect, we probably should have called it a day right then.

[lovethattink]

We left off with Anakin napping at AFI. The phone rings and Grumpy is wondering where we are. We tell him to go enjoy the show and we'll catch up with him afterwards. The phone ringing woke Anakin and he heard this and protested! He wanted to see the show too, but he'd like to take a nap before the show starts.

Grumpy was all the way up front in the queue in the bright sunlight. The other people offered to open the rope and let us in there. The cm told us we can't jump in line like that. We said that's ok, back a little further was shade and we said we'd be happy to stand in the shade rather than the sun. The people around us saw how exhausted he was. He was snoring, sound asleep. We met a woman named Gardenia and two other people who had been to Celebration V. They were the ones who told us that SWW was like a splash party and Celebration was like diving deep. Gardenia had asked us about Anakin's condition and we explained it to her. She said there has to be some way we can wait in a shop or something or inside the theater with him until it starts. A cm walked by and we asked. Showed Anakin's GAC and he said there was no alternate entrance. If we left the queue he couldn't garuntee we'd get back in to see the show, since they block the street traffic before allowing the queue to move into the theater. So we hung tight in the line. Anakin woke up during the conversation. I looked a few people behind us, and there was KELSEY!! Anakin was so happy to see her. He went over to her and sat on the ground to talk. Once again, she was a godsend!

Once we got into the theater and seated, I got up to look for Grumpy. I didn't know if he was trying to save seats or if he just took care of himself. I walked to the front and scanned the first few rows after the reserved seating for him. I did not see him. A couple cast members came over to see if I needed help and to tell me I can't sit in the reserved seating. I knew that. He didn't see me either, but as it turned out I was standing almost right in front of him, LOL. We found him through texting. He didn't save seats. He got up and sat with us.

Grumpy had never seen the stormtrooper preshow. He laughed.



Afterwards the show Grumpy was hungry. Mac and Cheese is one of his favorites and I had shown him a picture of the Mac and Cheese gourmet hotdog from the Disney Food Blog.



Anakin complained for the first time the whole weekend. He was hot and wanted to go into Darth's Mall to cool down while Grumpy at his hot dog. I stayed with Grumpy and DH took anakin to the mall. We arrived shortly after they did. We noticed Luke, C3PO, and R2D2 at the M&G. We got in line. We were close to the front when the cm, Melissa explained to everyone that C3PO and R2D2 would be leaving in 10 minutes. We were close enough that we'd probably get there! Or would we?



Seconds after Melissa announced that they would be leaving in 10 minutes, she came back and apologized. Actually there were going to be leaving now, but Luke would remain. We were all a bit disappointed. We were so close!

To everyone's suprise, Melissa escorted C3PO into the front of the queue! He said hello to all of us. I was totally caught off guard. I didn't know that Disney's C3PO talked!!! Yes, he talks!! He very quickly said hello to every one then was escorted away.



Anakin had already seen Luke twice. We asked him if he wanted to leave the line or see Luke again. He wanted to see Luke again. Once more, Luke remembered him.







Once again you can see Anakin is happy, but his energy is low. He asked if we see if Jedi Mickey is out. It wasn't Jedi Mickey, it was Leia Minnie. We got in queue. The cm told us it should be about a 45 minute wait, and we would probably see Stormtrooper Donald. Anakin said, "wake me up when it's my turn, I'm tired." We put frozen water bottles around him and he took another power nap. The cm saw and heard. She said she wished there was something she could do to help. She suggested we stop by guest services or write a letter. We took her up on her advice, and it turns out that Anakin has a Fairy Godmother...but I'm getting ahead of myself here...

He woke up before Leia Minnie, he heard a familiar voice. It was Oogla!! They had a nice little chat about Boba Fett.





Stormtrooper Donald was now there and the queue was small. Rested from another power nap, we got right back in line. Anakin loved Donald, especially the feel of his "feathers".





Anakin was thrilled to see Kelsey one more time. He was able to say goodbye to her. It was raining, but the rain felt great! We were told that Hoopla wasn't going to be shown on the Idol screen because of the weather, so we headed out and went back to the motel.

There was a rainbow over the parking lot as we left!




We missed Visit to the Maul show (this was our last chance, won't be shown again this year), Obi-Wan and Beyond (we have 2 weekeds left to try to see this), and the Motorcade/Celebrity Welcome (we have 2 weekends left to try to see this too.

Characters left to see:
1. Chewbacca
2. Ewok
3. Darth Vader
4. Jenga Fett
5. Captain Rex
6. Shaak Ti
7. Kit Fisto
8. Darth Goofy
9. Princess Leia
10. R2D2
11. C3PO
12. Jedi Mickey
13. Asajj Ventress
14. Tusckan Raiders
15. Jawas
16. Zam Wessel
17. Aurra Sing (though she did walk by us and touched Anakin's head, so I guess that counts as a M&G!)

[mommy2mrb]

for more pixie dust! I love how you keep meeting up with the same people and that the characters are remembering Anakin wow a Fairy Godmother too, can't wait to hear about that

[kaoden39]

The heat sounds unbearable. Its a good thing that Anakin can power nap like that. I have a terrible time doing that. I will lay awake knowing I have to sleep.


Yay for the pixie dust!