May 2015 Flower Wars weekend mini meet!

FP+ RELEASED FOR SWW SHOWS!!!! Get yours before they are gone!!!

 

Whoop! Whoop!! RED ALERT! RED ALERT

The celebs appearing at each SWW have been announced:

Weekend I: May 15-17
James Arnold Taylor
Ian McDiarmid: Senator/Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Star Wars: Attack of the Clones; Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi)
Amy Allen: Aayla Secura (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)
Tiya Sircar: Sabine Wren (Star Wars Rebels)
Ashley Eckstein (Voice of Ahsoka Tano – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Legends of the Force celebrity motorcade and welcome 11am

Behind the Force 1:45pm
Stormtrooper Pre Show SotS 3:15pm
Stars of the Saga 3:30pm
Obi Wan and Beyond 7pm
Summon the Force Pre Show and Symphony in the Stars 9:45pm

Fast passes for the special Star Wars Weekends shows are available to book.
If you are interested in securing a seat at these shows I would advise you to book a FP + as soon as possible.

All special shows are a Tier One FP+ selection and you can only have one fast pass in the tier one category

Shows include:

*Behind the Force: Star Wars Rebels Hosted by James Arnold Taylor
Go behind the scenes and experience the newest installment in the Star Wars saga—Star Wars Rebels. SWW at 1:45pm

*Stars of the Saga Hosted by James Arnold Taylor
Kick back with your Star Wars Weekends host during a 30-minute, Star Wars-themed talk show that’s as entertaining as it is surprising. Enjoy an inside look at the fascinating lives and movie-making adventures with some of the stars from the Star Wars saga. SWW at 3:30pm

*Obi-Wan and Beyond starring James Arnold Taylor
Feel the force flowing as James Arnold Taylor from Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes his audience on a fun and fascinating journey into the world of voice acting. Don’t miss this Star Wars Weekends exclusive as James performs over 200 popular and iconic characters! SWW at 7pm

Make sure your existing FP+ choices don't overlap on the times for these shows otherwise NO selection for these shows will show up in your FP+ CHANGE window
For example if you ALREADY have a FP+ for 6:30 then the 7pm Obi Wan show will not show up as a choice that you can change to until you clear the other FP from blocking that time slot.

Here are my FP times for the weekend.

Friday, May 15, 2015 - Disney's Hollywood Studios®
Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue
12:05 PM - 1:05 PM
EVENT - Stars of the Saga Star Wars Celebrity Talk Show
2:50 PM - 3:05 PM
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Saturday, May 16, 2015 - Disney's Hollywood Studios®
EVENT - Star Wars: Rebels
1:20 PM - 1:35 PM
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
5:55 PM - 6:55 PM
Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue
6:55 PM - 7:55 PM

Sunday, May 17, 2015 - Disney's Hollywood Studios®
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
8:05 AM - 9:05 AM
Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue
10:25 AM - 11:25 AM
EVENT - Obi-Wan and Beyond starring James Arnold Taylor
6:35 PM - 6:50 PM

At this point in time we are pretty sure that these shows will be happening in the outdoor theater where they hold the Beauty and the Beast show. It sucks because there is No air conditioning in this theater.

Keep in mind that you don't have to have a FP for admission to these shows but if you don't FP+ you will have to spend 90 minutes plus waiting in the standby line to secure a seat for these shows. To me that's a time waster.

Good luck and may the force be with you!
~Joanie

 

So.... whatcha get????

~Joanie

 

We, including Dennis, got Stars of The Saga for Friday as well.

We have Obi Wan and Beyond for Saturday, and Star Wars: Rebels for Sunday.

Not sure if we will keep the shows for Saturday and Sunday yet. I'm considering trying to hit all three shows on Friday or just doing standby Saturday and Sunday so we can use FP in other parks for the weekend.

Last year we had FP for Behind the Force and @ddindy held a spot in line for us for Stars of The Saga. We'll probably reverse that this year and do standby for Behind The Force (Star Wars: Rebels this year) and hop in the FP line when we get out of that. Will be interesting to see how the crowds build for the new location this year...

 

Saturday, May 16th
12:00 - 12:20pm -> Indiana Jones
1:10 - 2:10pm - Star Tours
6:35 - 6:50pm - Obi-Wan and Beyond starring James Arnold Taylor

Sunday, May 17th
11:35 - 12:35 - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
1:30 - 2:30pm - Star Tours
2:50 - 3:05pm - Stars of the Saga Star Wars Celebrity Talk Show

 

FYI: SWW Premium Packages are now booking. Details on DisBoards here. Nothing official has been released on the Parks Blog. My family and Dennis are signed up for the 15th. Big surprise, its more money this year ($54 to $69), but does come with priority access to one of the days shows in Theater of the Stars. There is also a $99 version (the Deluxe Premium Package) that includes seating for the dessert party and priority seating to all the SWW shows in Theater of the Stars that day.

Update: Booking now available online.

 

For any of the Touring Plans subscribers, they have a new feature where you can use their automated service to request a specific room at your Disney resort. See their blog post here. Obviously, no guarantees, but initial reports seem to say it works more reliably than making the request during online check-in.

 

I always request to have Matthew McConaughey waiting in my room for me when I take one of these solo trips and THAT has never happened so don't put too much stock in those room requests... just sayin...

~Joanie

 

Whoop Whoop Red Alert Red ALERT!!

There is speculation that the Rebel Hanger pop up restaurant at Star Wars weekends will go LIVE for ADR's shortly (we are not exactly sure when).

Here is a link to the Disney dining site with the reservations/description
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/star-wars-lounge/

and here is a 11 picture preview of the food that was inadvertently posted then pulled on the Disney Parks Blog:
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...eekends-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/#photo-1

If you have time in your schedule you may want to make an ADR for this as it is staged in a rebel hanger! I am seeing a gap at 5pm in my schedule during Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday so this is when I am going to make a reservation.

Would anyone like to join me in an ADR here? Let me know how many to make the reservation for and what day is best for you. Hopefully we can all make the same day but I am not adverse to going again on a different day.

Keep in mind that there was speculation that this was going to be a walk up and not an ADR but the fact that Disney Dining has added a reservations page to their site has tipped their hand that this will be an ADR.

~Joanie

 

OK, I have Dennis down for Sunday at 5pm.

The Disney Dining site has been crashed all day. There is speculation that the Parks blog was going to make an announcement and then dining reservations would open up. Now everything appears to be on hold until they get the site fixed.

~Joanie

 

The 5pm time on Sunday would work for me, if there is room for me to crash the table.

 

You're not crashing! You are part of our group!
OK, so now we have 3 for Sunday at 5pm! Who else can make it? This hangar is going to be AWESOME!!

~Joanie

 

Updates On the Rebel Hangar dining experience!

With much difficulty I was able to secure reservations for:
Sunday May 17th @ 4:45 for 3 people (Dennis, Mike and myself)

I was also able to secure reservations for 6 people on Saturday May 16th @4:20pm.
Would anyone (5 people) like to do this again or come on this day? If no one from our bunch expresses an interest I will open it up to the people on the Star Wars Dis boards list. I will have to hear by Thursday of this week, then I will release the reservation for people on the Dis Boards Star Wars list to join me

I was also able to get a reservation for 3 people on Friday @ 5:35pm. Would anyone (2 people) like to do this again or come on this day? If no one from our bunch expresses an interest I will open it up to the people on the Star Wars Dis boards list.

Ya gotta eat diner Sometime!

Just in case you are worried about a conflict the schedule for the shows is:
Star Wars: Rebels 1:45 show time
Stars of the Saga 3:30 show time
Obi-Wan and Beyond 7pm show

~Joanie

 

It's a themed pop up table service in the Back lot express restaurant. All items are under $15.00 and alcoholic drinks can be ordered.
Here is the menu
Guests attending Star Wars
Weekends will be able to find shelter
and sustenance in the Rebel Hangar: A Star Wars Lounge Experience. You
never know who you’ll find lurking in the abandoned starship
hangar — located in a galaxy far, far away. Reports have been made
that this location was once a known hangout of Rebel pilots, aliens, bounty
hunters, and smugglers; with the immersive environment and stellar
bites — I understand why!

Menu: Apps, desserts & drinks

· Galactic Garlic/Parmesan Fries – These are
tossed with Parmesan cheese, garlic and parsley with a garlic aioli for dipping

· Padmé Amidala Naboo Salad – seared chicken
breast, bibb lettuce, grape tomatoes, watermelon radish, almond frica, and a
parmesan-peppercorn ranch dressing

· Lightsaber Bites – hand-dipped corn-battered
knockwurst sausages with house-made chips and mustard dipping sauce

· Chicken and Darth Vader Waffles served with
maple syrup and sweet barbecue sauce

· Trio of Thermal Detonators – spicy pork wings
topped with spicy piquillo-pepper sauce and slaw

· Slider Sampler featuring “The Sith”
barbecue-braised brisket with cole slaw and “The Jedi” with barbecued pulled
chicken with arugula.

· Fruit and Cheese “Sabers” featuring Tillamook
cheddar, Brie, goat cheese, pickled vegetables, crostini, cheddar crackers,
blueberries, raspberries, honeydew melon, strawberry, olives and gherkins

· Darth Maul Hummus with red pepper coulis, black
sesame dust, and corn tortilla chips

· Yoda Key Lime Cake

· Trio of Star Wars Mini Cupcakes,
including Darth Vader (chocolate-peanut butter), Yoda (chocolate-hazelnut), and
Jabba the Hutt (salted caramel latte) served in the Han Solo Carbonite Souvenir
Box


A new drink menu will also be available:

· Imperial Blue – Maker’s Mark Whiskey,
Cointreau, Blue Curacao, sweet and sour, topped with Sprite

· Tatooine Sunset – Stoli vanilla, Parrot Bay
Coconut Rum, pineapple juice with grenadine

· Rebel Red – Grey Goose vodka, Chambord, sour
mix and a splash of grenadine

· Dagobah Swamp Juice – Midori, Tito’s Handmade Vodka,
sweet and sour, topped with lemon-lime foam

· The Dark Side – Stoli vanilla vodka, Bailey’s
liqueur, crème de cocoa and brownie garnish

· Alderaan Ale

~Joanie