To a Galaxy Far, Far Away-Star Wars Weekend Law School Graduation Celebration!

[goodmorningirl]

Hello, and welcome, welcome to my first trip report in a very long time. I can't wait to share our trip to Star Wars weekend with you all!

As you can see in my signature, I've done a few reports, and loved doing them, but with school and work, I fell out of it. Lately, I've been dying for a Disney World vacation and have been stalking lots of reports to get a fix. I decided I may as well contribute our short trip to Star Wars Weekends to also help that fix

So to start, a little about the two of us. I'm Sam, 25, HUGE Disney freak, and that guy along for the ride is Cory, 26, and a pretty big Disney fan. We've been together since Freshman year of high school and just got married in Disney World in August 2013. It was the best experience of our lives and I'm thinking of doing a report for that too This picture is when I surprised him with his favorite, the Taiko Drummers.



So while Cory has been a fan of Disney, he is a huge fan of Star Wars. So much so, that for our dessert party the night before our wedding, we made it Star Wars themed. I also surprised him with the 501st Legion who hung out with us for the evening. It was super fun and I totally surprised him (Can you tell I love surprises?).



So with our free Annual Passes from our wedding, I knew that it would be the perfect year to first Disney for Star Wars weekends which we have never attended. And then with Cory graduating law school in mid-May, it just fell into place.

Our trip was from May 23-May 27 and our focus was on Star Wars Weekend. Though I also really, really wanted to meet Anna and Elsa for the first time.

I'll definitely warn that I did not keep amazing track of each thing we did each day, but I do have a decent amount of pictures to help tell our story. So if you'd like to join in on the trip, please say and I'll get started.

 

[goodmorningirl]

I thought I'd share a quick first update.

We left on the early flight from AC to Orlando, but as per usual, the flight was delayed. We waited almost an hour past boarding time before we took off

Once in Disney, we were headed straight to Hollywood Studios to get our first taste of Star Wars Weekend. We went in with the knowledge that starting late in the day, we would just try to see what we could see.

It was pretty crowded walking in, but as we approached Darth's Maul, the line was nonexistent. Hearing about how busy it can get, we made that our first stop. I had seen the Snack Bar and knew we had to get some special cupcakes. So this was our lunch.



They were SO delicious, though I think, even though the Rebels have my heart, that the Dark Side stole my stomach. Yummy, yummy chocolate.

I knew I wanted to get the special Millennium Falcon Annual Pass pin so we picked that up along with some surprise pins. You can see them, generally on Cory, throughout the trip. We ended up with Leia, Yoda, Boscj, and Han Solo banana

Exiting the shop, we saw the line for Darth Maul, which didn't look too bad. Turns out, it was directly in the sun, and he just went in for a break. After waiting probably 30 mins, Darth Maul very creepily ushered us over.



You'll see me get signatures in a lot of pictures. I had done signatures on a bag years ago and use it all the time, so I figured it was time for an update, but all Star Wars.

I was a little scared to ask him to sign, lol, but he very nicely, and silently did. After getting my bag signed, I got out of the shot for one of my favorite pictures of the trip. It's also Cory's background on his phone, still.

 

[goodmorningirl]

So while waiting to meet Darth Maul, we were right by where the characters come out, near Darth's Maul to kind of mingle in the street. It was really cool to watch them come out and interact with everyone. It was also making me super excited for our time to meet them.

Unfortunately once we got out of line with Darth Maul, the free-roaming characters were getting mobbed. Not to fret though, as we saw the line for Jango Fett was not too long. Boba is Cory's favorite character, but knowing we would meet him at the breakfast at Sci-Fi, our priority was Jango.

We waited a bit, moving from small tree to small tree trying to catch any shade when a Gamorrean Guard came close to the rope. I asked him to sign my bag and he walked away, only to spin back around, swinging his axe and then he reached for my pen. I was completely shocked, a bit nervous, and super excited. It's not often to get a character interaction when waiting for another. We were also able to grab him for a quick picture. Just saying, he's a bit scary, look at his eyes!



So after two more families, it was our turn to meet Jango, father of clones. I had him sign my bag.



And then we posed, super tough-like. Well, we tried. It's kinda hard to look tough standing next to a guy with a gun and jet pack.



Fun fact: At our dessert party, one of the characters we had was Jango Fett. With the 501st, there's no rules about not talking, so Cory and Jango had a very long conversation about why he's cooler than Boba.


I'll stop there. If anyone is lurking, please say I'll try to do another update today.

 

[NMW]

subscribing

 

[princessgabriella]

Hi! Subscribing, looks like you both had so much fun

 

[goodmorningirl]

Hello! Thank you for joining in

After meeting Jango Fett, we wanted to try and see some other characters. Really, there was no one we didn't want to see, so anyone would give us an awesome start to our vacation.

We went over by the Streets of America to see who would be there. I knew that Shaak Ti, Anakin, Kit Fisto, and Mace Windu were meeting in the same place, so it was kind of exciting to see who we'd find first. When we got over to the line, there were only 2 families in front of us. I was very excited to see that we would get to meet the beautiful Shaak Ti. I mean seriously, look at her? I literally told her that she was gorgeous.



She was very, very sweet. After meeting her, there were some Clone Troopers mingling in the area and I was curious to see what they would sign.
Instead of a name, each clone trooper has a number, same as storm troopers. Turns out, they do sign with a number which was really neat.



We turned toward Star Tours and saw these two coming toward us. Sadly they were heading in and weren't stopping for pictures. I know a lot of people like the Fab Five in their Star Wars attire, but I wasn't crazy about them. I did however think the chipmunks were adorable as Ewoks.



We continued toward Star Tours, anxious to get on our first ride, when the jazzy Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes band stopped us. They were very funny and interacted with me a lot, which I appreciate. Being two 25 year olds without kids, sometimes the interactions just aren't there, but this guy was all about it.



And a favorite of mine.



We rode Star Tours, in which I was not the Rebel Spy, boo. In all our trips, I have been dying, dying to be the Rebel Spy. During our honeymoon we went on twice in a row, only to have Cory picked the first time, and then, yup, you guessed it, the second time as well. Totally disappointed. Happy for him, but definitely waiting for my moment.

It was getting hot, like super hot and I wanted to grab one of those special Star Wars boozy drinks I had seen online. We headed to The Brown Derby outside bar, but along the way came across the regal Padme. Her line was long and I was wearing her shirt, so we had to stop.



She was also very nice, commenting on my braided hair, asking if my ladies did it for me. She said her ladies did hers and told me how important they were to her. She was very serious in all the photos, but hey, maybe it wasn't even actually Padme anyway, right? She was probably off with Anakin on Naboo.

Now, it was on to grab some sweet, sweet sustenance. And that we found. Unfortunately, they no longer had the Death Star glow cubes, but we did both get light-up lightsabers.



Afterwards, we had a FP+ to use for the Stars of the Saga talk show. This weekend, the man main himself, Cory's favorite, the actor who played Boba Fett, Jeremy Bulloch, was there. Also, Warwick Davis, who we have come to love from everything he does with Ricky Gervais, and James Arnold Taylor the voice of the wonderful Obi-Wan from The Clone Wars show which we were completely binging. We got a good seat and the show was great. We learned such interesting facts and it was very funny.



Cory wasn't sure about sitting through this, but it was actually really interesting and informative. Plus Jeremy Bulloch just seems like the nicest guy, so grateful for all of his fans.



After the show, we headed out of the park to an early dinner in Epcot at Rose and Crown. We were turning in early as we had a very busy, very, very early morning scheduled. We would be attempting the 24hrs. at Magic Kingdom Yes, we were thinking crazy. Anyway, back to dinner. We hadn't eaten there in a while, but it was very good. Cory got, I believe, a scotch flight and I got a Pimm's Cup, a favorite from when we were in London a while back, and the food was yummy, especially the cheese plate. I am a sucker for cheese plates.





We walked to the front of Epcot, just enjoying it a bit, and got on the bus back to Coronado Springs, our resort. We watched HGTV and fell asleep with our alarm set for 2am

 

[goodmorningirl]

We woke up in what seemed like 10 mins after falling asleep. Man, we were beat. Our plan was to get to Magic Kingdom by 3am, spend time there meeting some characters, specifically Lotso, and then heading over to Hollywood Studios right before the 24 hour day ended to get in line for a wristband to meet Jeremy Bulloch. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom gates at 2:50am. We may have hit the snooze button once. lol



We entered the park and saw the line for Lotso, which looked a bit long. We figured there wouldn’t be many people in the park at 3am, but we were absolutely very, very wrong. Lines were out of control for the characters and even the rides. We were exhausted and I could tell Cory wasn’t too thrilled.

We decided to head toward Sleepy Hollow to get the special Poison Apple Waffle, another reason we wanted to go. Wow, was it delicious. Yum!



We were definitely feeling pretty beat and disappointed that our plan was not working out. We decided to just see Lotso, leave, go back to the hotel to sleep more, and then go to HS for opening, skipping Jeremy Bulloch.
We waited for Lotso for close to 30 mins and I couldn’t wait to see if he actually smelled like strawberries.



It was finally our turn and I have to say, he really did smell like strawberries, just like my stuffed Lotso.



We headed out of the park, sad that it wasn’t what we were hoping for, but happy with the waffle and Lotso. Our bed was screaming our name and we passed out instantly.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I am definitely in!

My BF and I took our first Disney trip together when I snapped during my first year of law school and told him that we needed to do something fun and get away after my finals were over.

And I am a huge SW fan as well! I think we actually might have been there the same time as you guys, our second weekend was Warwick's weekend (unless he was there for more than one weekend). Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

This is great! You guys know how to make the Star Wars weekends work!

Looking forward to reading more!

TP

 

[goodmorningirl]

OhioStateBuckeye: That’s funny. We must have been there the same time since you were there for the MK day. And law school is so stressful. It was so nice to take a fun break after his graduation and right before he started intense studying for the Delaware bar.

Teresa Pitman: Thanks! Glad you are enjoying so far.

We had decided before passing out that not only would we not be getting in line for Jeremy Bulloch, but we weren’t going to concern ourselves with getting to rope drop. Super crazy in our book. But we knew we had a late breakfast ressie for the Star Wars meal at Sci-Fi so we thought we’d take it easy. We got to Hollywood Studios around 9:30, so not too late, and went over to the Streets of America to see if someone other than Shaak Ti was there to meet before our breakfast.

No characters were out when we got there, but the cast member near the area said Anakin would be coming out first, super exciting. We waited maybe 15 mins and were first in line to meet him.

Now, I should have mentioned, when I bought the bag, I also bought Sharpies of all the lightsaber color possibilities so that the characters could sign with the color of their lightsaber, if they had one. So, I very excitedly had my green marker out because Anakin has green…right? What, no? He doesn’t? And my lovely husband didn’t correct me? Well, this made for an interesting moment.

We walked up to Anakin and as he was signing, in green, I commented that I gave it to him because that was the color of his lightsaber. He was very quick to correct me that in fact, his was blue. To say I was completely embarrassed would be an understatement. Of course that moment was caught on camera.



We smiled for the picture, which I love.



But as soon as we left him, I had a complete breakdown. Why I was so upset, I’m not too sure. I know that I was overly sensitive, and I shouldn’t have gotten so upset over giving the character the wrong color, but I did. I got pouty and may have cried. And it was not my proudest moment. I guess I was so excited to know something and interact and then to realize I didn’t just bummed me out. I’m sure the lack of sleep didn’t help either.

 

[goodmorningirl]

So after my mini-breakdown, it was time to cheer up for Stars Wars Galactic Dine-In! I mean, how cool is the Millennium Falcon on the sign?



We were super excited for this as it was a great way to meet a ton of characters and enjoy some yummy themed food. While Cory always favors the Dark Side, I showed my appreciation this day to go along with breakfast. I didn’t want to be taken out by storm troopers for wearing Rebel clothes.

The first picture is with Boba Fett and Darth Vader as you walk in and Cory was super excited. They were good, but a bit rushed. I get that they are the stop before breakfast, but I was hoping for more interaction. Oh, well. I picked to be on Boba’s side as I was wearing his shirt, and Cory was wearing Vader’s. This turned out to be one of my favorite pictures.



We were brought over to our car, which was very happy about. I really didn’t want to be at a table. We were immediately brought a plate of pastries and they were super tasty. I loved that Dark Vader puff.



The storm troopers were the first to swing by and they were definitely on the hunt for some droids.





Our food was very quick to come out, both the main breakfast and the fruit cups. The food was very, very good. I was really surprised actually. And how cute is the melon Yoda?



We were also sure to order the Blue Milk. I am not a milk person when it comes to just drinking it plain, but this was SO good! I think I got 2 or 3 refills.



And then Greedo strolled by acting super suave.



When I posed with Greedo, Cory was laughing while he was taking the picture. I had no idea why until I turned around to thank Greedo and found a storm trooper there too! Lol





Next up was the little guys we had been waiting for. Before going, I had heard that these guys trade so we were prepared with a baggie of things. I brought small things, preferably shiny like they prefer. I brought a button from the Museum of Art in Philly and a few other trinkets.

When Cory heard about this he had an idea, he wanted to get a slinky. We both agreed that this would be great, something fun and very shiny. A few days later I went to the dollar section in Target and found a mini-slinky. I couldn’t wait to give this to a Jawa.

When the Jawa came to our table, I handed him the slinky and it freaked out! It jumped up and down, moved the slinky from hand to hand, it was the best reaction!! He pulled a straw out of his tin and I told him no and went to take back the slinky. He furiously dug in his trader and pulled out two trader pins. I happily agreed and we traded! It was such a cool experience and I wish we had it in pictures. Here we are with the adorable guy.



We traded with other Jawas, but nothing was as good as the slinky lol

 

[goodmorningirl]

Nice and full we decided to catch the parade. There were already a ton of people lined up, but we stopped by the fountain by the times board. It was directly in the sun so I told Cory I’d go look further up the street and call him if I found a better spot.

Well, I did, yay, on the curb, right under a small tree. There wasn’t a ton of shade, but there was just enough so we could both fit. I called him and as he was on his way over, a woman with a double stroller pulled up and parked so close to me, it was touching my leg. I was obviously annoyed, but very kindly asked her, “Could you please move your stroller over? My husband is coming to meet me.” She looked at me like I had two heads and pointed in front of me, asking, “Can’t he just go there?” Um, no. No, he can’t. She was very nasty and I couldn’t believe it. I answered back, No, I was here first waiting for him to join me.” With a huff, and some curses at me under her breath, she moved her stroller over. Was that really so difficult? I can’t stand when people aren’t nice in Disney. Seriously, it’s Disney World.

Anyway, we had a great spot and I got some good pictures.

 

[goodmorningirl]

 

[goodmorningirl]

 

[Teresa Pitman]

What fantastic photos!! You really did have a great spot. And I loved your earlier post about the Star Wars character meal - I wish they would do that all the time, I think it would be very popular.

TP

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I also LOVE the expressions of some of the people watching the parade!

TP

 

[goodmorningirl]

Teresa Pitman: Thanks! Going back and posting them, I now realize how many great pics I actually got. People watching is one of my FAVORITE things to do, and there is no better place than Disney World lol The Star Wars meal was a total highlight of our trip and I'd do it again in a second. They really should offer it more. Hopefully they'll start keeping some more Star Wars stuff around with the new movies.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Work has been crazy but I hope to get a new update in today.

Thanks to everyone following!

 

[goodmorningirl]

After viewing the parade, we skipped the stage show to get in line for Chewie. I was hoping we would get to meet the Ewoks too after the parade, but they weren't a must. We were probably four groups back in line and we had another 15-20 mins to wait. Finally, Chewbacca came out and he was so cool.

Now, some background, Cory and I have a few Star Wars lines we quote over and over again to each other, and one of them that Cory always says is, "The mighty Chewbacca." I don't know why, but we do lol So as we were approaching Chewie, I kept egging him on to meet first and say that. Once it was our turn, I pushed Cory ahead and he shook Chewie's hand, paw? And then he said it, and it was hilarious. Chewie put his arms up and then grabbed Cory in for a hug. It was awesome.



Then I got in the picture and got another favorite from the trip.



After Chewbacca, we hitched a ride on Star Tours and then headed over to meet the two members of the Jedi Council we were missing. We found Mace Windu out first. I gave him a purple marker, to match his lightsaber.



Then we swung back around in line again, as Kit Fisto was coming out soon. And boy was he super cool.



Then we walked past the Clone Wars characters, that would be for tomorrow, and continued toward Toy Story to see if we could grab any other Bounty Hunters. We found Zam Wesell looking cool and beautiful and I grabbed her for a picture.



After that we rode Tower of Terror and headed out of the now very busy park. We went back to our hotel to change for dinner. We ate at the Yachtsman Steakhouse and it was delicious and very filling.



The plan was to then take our time heading over to Hollywood Studios again to catch the fireworks.



We snagged a good spot, to the left of the hat. The fireworks were spectacular and I wished we saw them more than once.

 

[goodmorningirl]

We started this day hoping to meet Luke and Leia and the Clone Wars characters.

We got to the park a bit after opening and saw there were still some FP to meet Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano and designer of Her Universe, available. We grabbed two as I adore Ahsoka and love Her Universe.

We got into the park and entered Leia's line, which Luke was now leaving. He seemed to stick around for a few pictures so we were hoping to catch them both together. As Leia met the groups ahead of us, we were counting and trying to figure out if we'd get the double meet. Luckily, with two groups ahead of us, Luke was ushered back out. Now we just hoped we would be lucky enough for Leia to stick around. Well, we got lucky!

Meeting these two together was very awesome. They played off each other so well and we had a great meet. Luke commented on Cory's shirt and Leia liked my hair. It was a definite highlight.





After that great meet, we headed back toward the Streets of America to catch some Clone Wars characters.

We found a shortish line for Caption Rex and hopped in.


The attendant said Commander Cody would be out next, and soon, so we just jumped right back in line. The line moved pretty quick, quick enough that we had the two of them together! Captain Rex offered to step out of the photo, but we liked the two of them together.


Ahsoka Tano was supposed to be out in a bit, so we grabbed some lunch before heading back to the line.


Ahsoka was really cute and spunky. We talked about the Clone Wars and had a great meet.


It was then time to line-up to meet Ashley Eckstein. I was excited to have Ahsoka's signature on my bag and wanted Ashley to sign under it. We waited maybe 20 minutes to meet her and she was super sweet. We both were wearing the same Her Universe shirt which was pretty awesome. I'm so happy I got to meet her


We rode Star Tours again.


And then headed out of the park to rest before dinner.


Dinner was at Kona Cafe. Cory love his sushi.


And I loved my Lapu Lapu.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Wow! More great character meets! How cool that you got photos with Luke and Leia together (excellent timing on your part)! I also like the one of you and Ashley with the matching T-shirts - was she impressed?

I also thought your photos with Chewy were fantastic. You are really making me want to go back during Star Wars weekends!

TP