This past weekend was the beginning of the 2015 Star Wars Weekends. This year's event is a very important one with the upcoming release of the new Star Wars film later this year! This years event, as with previous years, runs for 5 consecutive weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Star Wars Weekends event has been popular for many years with avid Star Wars fans! The limited time event includes entertainment, celebrities, characters, limited edition merchandise and of course limited food and beverage options!
Entertainment
There is a full range/schedule of entertainment offerings as part of the 2015 Star Wars Weekends, which are performed throughout the day in various locations across Hollywood Studios. To kick the day off, the Legends of the Force Motorcade showcases the popular characters and celebrities that are famed through the Star Wars brand. It is advised that you get a space for this popular parade at least an hour before the parade kicks off (usually around 11am). The parade has become more and more popular over the years and gives guests the chance to catch a glimpse of some of the actors/celebrities featured within Star Wars. Check out the below video from MouseSteps on YouTube of the Legends of the Force Motorcade...
Throughout the day there are plenty of other Star Wars themed events running. The Jedi Training Acadamy for children runs at various times throughout the day - this allows guests to train as Jedi's and fight Darth Vader himself! Guests will need to sign up for this event at park opening, or early in the day, in order to get a place on the Jedi Training Acadamy. The Padawan Mind Challenge also runs throughout the day, helping children to test their Star Wars trivia. Each evening of Star Wars Weekends features a dance party hosted by popular Disney DJ - DJ Lobot! There are, as in previous years, numerous shows throughout the day. This years shows are held in the Beauty and the Beast Theater, as the Premier Theater is currently being used by the Frozen Singalong. The shows are once again hosted by James Arnold-Taylor, and favorite shows are returning once again - the Stars of the Saga, and Obi-Wan and Beyond shows have returned for thie years event. Two new shows have been added to the entertainment lineup, both based on the Disney XD show Star Wars Rebels. Check out a small clip from the Stars of the Sega show, courtesy of BigFatPanda.
Each night of the event ends with the Symphony in the Stars fireworks. This is extremely popular as Hollywood Studios does not ordinarily have a nightime fireworks show, but instead only shows Fantasmic! The vew of these fireworks will be different this year thanks to the removal of the Sorcerers Hat icon at the park. See video from WDW News Today on YouTube of these fireworks:
Celebrities
Once again, each Star Wars Weekend will feature meet and greets with various celebrities from the Star Wars films. Guests will be able to have photos with the stars, and of course get their autographs. Some celebrities that you can expect to see are; James Arnold Taylor, Warwick Davis and Frank Oz, although many other celebrities feature throughout the weekend schedules (see below). The meet and greets will be held in the Hyperion Theater, the old American Idol Experience theater, which will soon play host to the Frozen Singalong when it moves later this Summer. This should make the experience more pleasant as they were originally hosted outside in the blazing Florida sun! FastPass+ is available for these meet and greets, and is recommended due to high demand.
May 15th-17th 2015 -:- Ian McDiarmid (Senator/Emperor Palpatine), Amy Allen (Aayla Secura) and Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren(
May 22nd-24th 2015 -:- Warwick Davis (Wald/Wicket W. Warrick), Silas Carson (Ki-Adi-Mundi/Nute Gunray) and Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla)
May 29th-31st 2015 -:- Warwick Davis (Wald/Wicket W. Warrick), Daniel Logan (Boba Fett) and Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios)
June 5th-7th 2015 -:- Ray Park (Darth Maul), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) and Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano)
June 12th-14th 2015 -:- Frank Oz (Yoda), Ray Park (Darth Maul), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger)
Characters
Once again, characters from Star Wars will also be meeting and greeting guests around Disney's Hollywood Studios. Characters from the Clone Wars can be found on the Streets of America. Members of the Jedi Council will be found near Mickey Avenue. The Rebel Alliance can be met near the Star Tours attraction. Darth Vader can be met near Darth's Mall. Finally standard Disney characters dressed in their Star Wars attire, can be found near the Event Stage.
Merchandising
As with any event at Disney World, limited time merchandise is available for purchase in the park. A special merchandising location, Darth's Mall, is where all Star Wars Weekends merchandise can be purchased. This usually has a long wait, so be sure to get in line quickly if you want to get LE merchandise! There are 3 stores within Darth's Mall this year. "X Wing Collectibles" holds the exclusive merchandise such as graphic MagicBands, artwork, D-Tech, pins and Vinylmation. "Wattos Grotto" sells the popular merchandise that returns to Star Wars Weekends 2015, including toys and apparel. And finally the "Prop Shop" sells shirts, plush toys and LEGO. Please note that Darth's Mall closes at 7:30pm on event nights, so be sure to get your merchandise before closing! Limited Edition merchandise, such as the graphic MagicBands sell out quickly, but do certainly have their perks. See the YouTube video below of the Jedi Mickey LE2500 MagicBand effects:
Food and Beverage
Again, as with many limited time events at Walt Disney World, food and beverage offerings are available as part of Star Wars Weekends. There are a wide range of limited cupcakes, alcholic drinks, and popcorn buckets for sale at select locations in the park. Many of the alcholic drinks and cupcakes come with limited edition souvieniers such as glowing cubes! There are also a few dining options for Star Wars Weekends - one being the Galactic Dine-In Breakfast, which is held at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, and another being a character experience at Hollywood and Vine Restaurant. A new 'Rebel Hangar Lounge', which provides a wide range of tasty Star Wars themed treats! As with all limited time dining options, reservations are recommended, although some of the aforementioned offerings may offer walk up.
Be sure to check out Jeni-Lynn Knopp's video with the DIS interviewing about merchandise, food and entertainment during Star Wars Weekends...