"Can I Play on Your iPhone?" A WDW Trip in a Digital Age (May 28 - June 7) - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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The first full day of vacation dawned early as Star Wars Weekends and a first trip on the new Star Tours was on the horizon.
I got myself completely ready to go, got Zack up and in the shower by 6:30, and went in search of some caffeinated fuel. The club lounge didn’t open up for breakfast until 7, but they had coffee service at 6:30. And, believe you me, I had those service hours DOWN.
The Lodge was quiet and peaceful with just a few other bleary-eyed peeps lumbering about.
In contrast, this one older guy waiting to get coffee after me was practically vibrating with excitement. He said he was just finishing up his stay at the Lodge and now he and his wife were headed off to the Disney Dream. He was grinning ear-to-ear and seriously needs to get some advertising cash from Disney. I was nearly to the point of asking if I could go with him, his enthusiasm was so infectious. He was adorkable!
Instead, I wished him well and went to rustle up the teen. Luckily, Star Tours 2.0 excitement trumps teenage circadian rhythms and Zack was already raring to go. We headed back to the lounge to grab some breakfast and Zack let me know that he’d be fine eating breakfast in the lounge every day. I gave him an appraising look and determined that now was not the time to clue him in on how my Club Level value calculation counted on him eating 27 bowls of Frosted Flakes and two whole cantaloupes. And, he was behind schedule!
I took one for the team and got another latte from the magic coffee machine to compensate. With that, we were down the elevator, to the bus stop, and walking onto a waiting bus headed to Hollywood Studios. Even though there was only one other family of three onboard, we departed immediately and just paused briefly at the Grand Floridian since no one was waiting there. We were unloading at Hollywood Studios before 7:30. This vacation was running like clockwork, baby!
I had done a ton of research about Star Wars Weekends because it seems like Disney is constantly tweaking the process for Celebrity Fastpasses, merchandise locations, and venues within the park. In the five years we’ve been coming for SWW, I don’t think I’ve seen the same procedure twice. Tip for the day #3: Look for first hand reports, maps, and schedules before you head down (Disney’s Star Wars Weekends Facebook fan page was invaluable this year) and have a plan of attack.
Due to my research, I knew that they were issuing wristbands to everyone as they got in line for celebrity autograph Fastpasses, as a way to prevent one person from saving a spot in line for 20 others to join at the last minute, as had happened in prior years. This was a GREAT idea! I also knew that they were only issuing one FP per person instead of allowing fans to circle back around and collect multiples. Disney was hoping to open up more opportunity for late arriving guests. This idea? Eh? I think it might get tweaked next year as it led to a lot of no shows for later in the day Fastpass times. And for some disappointed uber-fans.
Because we’d only be able to get two autographs (one pass for me, one for Zack), Zack had to plan carefully which “celebrities” he wanted to meet. He decided to concentrate on the voice actors from the Clone Wars TV series, which, bonus, meant we could get there just before Fastpasses were being distributed to secure one instead of 5AM like prior years. So, just before 8, I had a loose wrist band and a FP to see Ashley Eckstein and Zack had a super tight wristband and a FP to see Dee Bradley Baker. Zack must have looked super shifty because there was no way he was going to be slipping out of his wristband and handing it to someone else. Like, uh-hum, I planned to do.
We met back up at the turnstiles after being cleared by some Empire supporters.
Right on cue at 8AM (as my research had indicated, I might add) they were opening up the park an hour early. As I joined the herd on the way to Star Tours, I did feel a bit of pity for those poor suckers who got to the park right on time for published rope drop at 9AM only to find a 3:45 FP return time for Toy Story Mania and a 45 minute wait for Star Tours. Once again, do your research people!
We grabbed two FP’s for Star Tours and then joined the fast moving line to get on the ride.
The inside was all shiny and new, reminding me of when I’d waited hours to ride it as a teen at Disneyland in 1987.
It's Captain Rex!
Zack had just enough time in line to express his concern that the new ride is to old ride as prequels are to Episodes 4 – 6 (might have been too much SAT prep (and Shashi, I’ll explain to you later.))
But there was no need to worry! The ride ended and Zack led the vehicle in a spontaneous round of applause and cheers. Even though our destinations hadn’t been Zack’s favorites, he was thrilled with the ride. Enough to go on it again. And again. By our third ride, we’d geeked out over a Han Solo sighting, a greeting from Admiral Akbar, an encounter with Boba Fett, and Zack getting to be the spy. Well done Disney! It was time for us to get 2 more FP’s after our third ride, right about 9:20. The area around Star Tours was getting CRAZY, so it was time to move on.
Let’s re-cap, shall we? In less than an hour and a half, we’d gotten two FP’s for Star Wars celebrities, ridden Star Tours three times, and collected four FP’s for later. See why people should always listen to me? See? There’s either Karen’s way or the wrong way. Speaking of the wrong way… I got a text from Jill around 9:30 that they were getting ready to leave the hotel and wondering if we were in the park. Love you slow-moving-in-the-morning Koenigs Family! I told her to let us know when they were in the park and Zack and I headed off for more fun.
The costumed Star Wars characters were scheduled to come out at 9:30 and Zack really only wanted to see Boba Fett. We headed towards the Backlot area where he was scheduled to appear. He wasn’t coming out until 9:40 and the line wasn’t long yet since it looked like the small crowd of us was waiting in line for no purpose other than baking in the sun. As such, Zack got to the front of the line fairly quickly and in his excitement kind of leaned in for a little one armed bro hug with his favorite bounty hunter. Boba was not amused and Zack nearly got the business end of his blaster. (Does anyone else find the expression “business end” funny? Just me? I’m cracking myself up here!)
Chastened, you’ll notice that Zack kept his right hand plastered to the side in both pictures. Hee! After our character encounter, we took our first of many trips to the merchandise tent, where the selection was a bit disappointing. Zack had actually seen better t-shirts in Tatooine Traders so we walked back that way, after a CRAZY detour due to the CRAZY crowds over by Star Tours. Zack found a couple of cool shirts and then immediately went to change into one since the Nintendo t-shirt he was wearing was bringing down his Star Wars nerd factor.
I didn’t mind all the running around as it was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was hot, but not melt you in a puddle, hot. Just toast you like a pecan, hot!
I had to show these two shots since the real sky in the second shot was giving the fake sky in the first shot a run for its money.
The Koenigs made it into the park about 10:30 and we planned to meet up later after Zack and I went to a Star Wars presentation on the Clone Wars. I asked them to grab Fastpasses for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster if they had a chance and they happily agreed. They may be slow moving in the morning, but they follow instructions without complaint! Unlike some other people you might know… Like my blood relatives.
The presentation was getting ready to start
and we were crowded into a packed theater breathless with anticipation
.
.
.
.
Ummmm…. Maybe not! It was a cute show though with James Arnold Taylor dressed as the character he voices, Obi Won, kicking things off.
He turned it over to Ashley Eckstein,
who in turn introduced, Dee Bradley Baker.
I never really thought much about voice actors, but all three of them showed how incredibly talented you have to be to do it well.
And, Dee Bradley Baker is a one man sound factory. The noises that can (intentionally) come out of that guy! Fun note, he’s also the actor who “voices” Perry the Platypus on Phineas and Ferb. Actually, he said that he recorded that one sound in about 15 seconds and they just replay it every episode. He noted that he gets paid a residual every time it’s played (i.e. LOTS) and then placed his hands in prayerful supplication, looked heavenward and whispered earnestly, “Thank you, Disney!”
Anyway, if you’re ever at Star Wars Weekends, I highly recommend some of the “behind the scenes” shows they put on. They’re great fun! We hooked back up with the Koenigs afterwards and Zack, Mary Devall, Maddie, and Thom went to use the Star Tours FP’s we’d secured earlier while Jill and I went to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in the single rider line and grab six FP’s for Tower of Terror. We’re time optimizers, baby! Both groups made good time and before long we were meeting in the lobby of the Hollywood Brown Derby a bit early for our lunch ADR. I had a hot date with a margarita flight and a crab cake!
__________________
Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
Last edited by zacksmom_1993; 06-30-2011 at 07:48 PM..
I do apologize for the long delay between updates since I was actually trying to be good this time. Unfortunately, we've gotten some really bad (and really shocking) health news in the last few days about a member of my immediate family (no one who was on this trip!) This update was actually my attempt to make things a bit more concise since my time will be limited for awhile. You can laugh at that... I'm totally laughing at that. Anyway, I hope to be back on track now since this report is a great distraction!
And don't feel at all guilty for continuing to prod me along. There's a couple of people who sent teasing PM's yesterday when the REALLY bad news hit, who will be buying me drinks for the next 20 years. They can feel guilty enough for you! Actually, teasing me is like giving me a hug so keep it coming. Thanks to everyone who's following along and commenting!
__________________
Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
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Early mornings are sooooo worth it - and you're living proof! I love the coffee guy in the lounge - funny early AM entertainment is priceless.
Many thoughts to you and your family.
__________________
Tanya
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Star Wars weekend looks like a blast! Not surprised at all that you did your research and reaped the rewards -- especially an extra hour in the park. Way to go!
So sorry to hear about the bad news. Sending lots of pixies your way...
Phew... this update is definitely a must-read for anyone planning to get the most out of SWW. Everything I hear about the new ride has me seriously considering risking being sick for the rest of the day to ride it!
There's a couple of people who sent teasing PM's yesterday when the REALLY bad news hit, who will be buying me drinks for the next 20 years. They can feel guilty enough for you! Actually, teasing me is like giving me a hug so keep it coming.
And, since you didn't text me the shocking news until an hour after my last snarky TR comment, I get to feel all guilty for "hugging" you so hard I probably made you pee (for once!) *sigh* Ahhhh, well... You know you have my eternal friendship, Karen.
Now... back to the "hugging."
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
I gave him an appraising look and determined that now was not the time to clue him in on how my Club Level value calculation counted on him eating 27 bowls of Frosted Flakes and two whole cantaloupes. And, he was behind schedule!
And anyone who thinks Karen is kidding needs to take a gander at her Big @$$ Spreadsheet. The calculations are mind-boggling. Especially as I wasn't there to swill my weight in Magic Coffee Machine lattes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Because we’d only be able to get two autographs (one pass for me, one for Zack), Zack had to plan carefully which “celebrities” he wanted to meet.
Um... errrr... well, had you INSISTED a certain BFF come on this trip, he'd have had a third wristband to use. Although... after that one year with the death march from the Beach Club at the crack of dawn, I think I was wise to stay home this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Zack had just enough time in line to express his concern that the new ride is to old ride as prequels are to Episodes 4 – 6 (might have been too much SAT prep (and Shashi, I’ll explain to you later.))
Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Shashi -- really, you can go your whole life without seeing these movies... (Did he hit the ceiling with that comment, Karen?!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
I got a text from Jill around 9:30 that they were getting ready to leave the hotel and wondering if we were in the park.
Ohhhhh..... the HUMANITY!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Zack nearly got the business end of his blaster. (Does anyone else find the expression “business end” funny? Just me? I’m cracking myself up here!)
I'm not gonna touch this one... Not.Gonna.Touch.It!! (Family board and all)
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
It was hot, but not melt you in a puddle, hot. Just toast you like a pecan, hot!
Lemme translate for the warm-blooded set: when Karen the Lizard says "It's not too hot," be prepared to go through three changes of underwear that day -- it'll be at least 94 degrees with 90% humidity. When **Karen** thinks it's too hot, you'll be standing 180 degrees away from St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
I asked them to grab Fastpasses for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster if they had a chance and they happily agreed. They may be slow moving in the morning, but they follow instructions without complaint! Unlike some other people you might know… Like my blood relatives.
I thought for sure you were gonna mention me and my cold toity proclivities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
We hooked back up with the Koenigs afterwards and Zack, Mary Devall, Maddie, and Thom went to use the Star Tours FP’s we’d secured earlier while Jill and I went to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in the single rider line and grab six FP’s for Tower of Terror. We’re time optimizers, baby!
Can't wait for the next few pictures. The ones you texted me at the time were too small to really see.
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Karen, I want to tour with you! I'm the one in my family who is up, showered, dressed and ready to head to the parks at the crack of dawn. My family takes a bit more coaxing . And they don't follow instructions all that well, either.
for your family member. I'm sorry to hear that you got bad news.
Noticed in your report that you are a Giants Fan....If you mean the SF Giants, Madison Bumgarner (one of the Giant's pitchers) is from our town here in North Carolina. I teach at the high school where he attended.
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I just have to say that all of you guys crack me up! Anytime I see a Trip Report from Jill, or Sharon, or Eileen, or Karen, I am thrilled. The best part is always the dialogue between you all. It is so wonderful to witness such loving friendships. Thanks to you all.
Karen, sorry about the bad news. Hope it all turns out well.
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It was time for us to get 2 more FP’s after our third ride, right about 9:20. The area around Star Tours was getting CRAZY, so it was time to move on.
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