Hey, Walt Disney World fans! Name the most famous weekend event in the history of Disney’s Hollywood Studios! You know the answer, right? Back in the day, fans of a particular film franchise would plan their entire vacation schedule around the festivities, and I maintain that they should get to do it again one day soon. Here are five reasons why Star Wars Weekends should return at Walt Disney World.
The celebrity appearances
I’m going to list five strong reasons why Star Wars Weekends were wonderful gatherings for Star Wars and Disney fans alike. However, I want to be clear. The first pro dwarfs all of the others, at least to movie fans. At expos around the world, guests pay hundreds of dollars to visit with their favorite celebrities.
Star Wars Weekends brought the same concept to Walt Disney World. Franchise luminaries such as Mark Hamill, Billie Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davis, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz, Jake Lloyd, and Ray Park all attended. Even the man himself, George Lucas, made a few appearances.
This event was like a small scale Comic-Con, only the personal interactions were more intimate. And once everyone got done hanging out with Star Wars actors, they could ride Twilight Zone Tower of Terror afterward! Star Wars Weekends merged two favorite activities, theme parks and celebrity signings, in one event.
The food and merchandise
I’m not listing the other explanations in any particular order. I want to touch on the food next because I suspect this is part of the reason why Star Wars Weekends is on hold. Park officials canceled the event around the same time that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge became official. In their eyes, this celebration would steal some of the thunder from the highly anticipated themed land.
Back in the day, which is to say through 2015, Star Wars-based merchandise and food were integral parts of the experience. Guests would pony up a pretty penny for gear that they couldn’t get elsewhere. In 2019, Disney has a different place that does that, Star Wars Land. They didn’t want the limited time event being perceived as the best opportunity to grab Star Wars stuff.
Perhaps you’ve heard about the unique items for sale at Galaxy’s Edge. They’ve got a cantina full of alien drinks and stores that sell build-your-own droids and lightsabers, all of which are priced for the “Google stockholder” market. Similarly, you can buy fake milk for $8 every day of the week, which does make Star Wars Weekends feel a bit redundant.
Here’s where I disagree. I’m not really a Star Wars guy. Sure, I’ve seen all of the movies, even that animated debacle, but Star Wars never moved me. Star Wars Weekends, on the other hand, is a time when we planned our Disney vacations. The food and merchandise were key reasons why. I’m not worried about the latter now, as Galaxy’s Edge is overflowing with trinkets and toys.
The food, tho.
I have the fondest memories of meals at Hollywood & Vine. During Star Wars Weekends, the restaurant would host Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine, an event I’ll discuss again later. What’s important right now is that the desserts for this meal were adorkable.
You could eat Darth Vader- and Stormtrooper-faced cookies. They baked R2-D2 white chocolate. Even the cupcakes and parfaits had Yoda faces and Star Wars logos on them. I could care less about Star Wars, but I loooooved those desserts. Ronto Roasters just can’t compete.
The timing
Disney executives are always phenomenal at picking the perfect dates for their limited time engagements. With Star Wars Weekends, they knew that their target demographic wouldn’t be as family-focused. Instead, many if not most of the customers would be childless adults with lots of disposable income to throw around the parks.
Star Wars Weekends were always held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in May and sometimes June for this reason. Kids were still in school across the country, making this kind of a dead period at the parks. The time between Spring Break and the start of summer skewed more adult, and so did Star Wars Weekends.
The May timing had an ancillary benefit. The Florida weather wasn’t as hot as during the summer. Since a lot of folks combined their love of cosplay with DisneyBounding, the more temperate climate was preferable. This aspect has changed a bit in recent years.
If I were in charge of park planning for a future Star Wars Weekend, I’d actually suggest moving it into late April, soon after Spring Break. May weather has become warmer than it was back when the event began in 1997. It’s the same thought process Disney originally had for Star Wars Weekends, only adapted for changing weather patterns.
The character greetings
Currently, all of the character greetings at Star Wars Land are random. You hunt down Chewbacca, Rey, and others during your visit. It’s a conscious choice by Disney, and it leaves room for Star Wars Weekends to return with its old methods.
During the event, guests would stand in line to meet Darth Vader and Boba Fett, just as they do now for BB-8 at Star Wars Launch Bay. The difference with Star Wars Weekends was that many of your favorite Disney characters also appeared. And they wore Star Wars-related costumes!
I mentioned Jedi Mickey’s a moment ago. At this character meal, Chip ‘n’ Dale would dress like Ewoks, Minnie Mouse would wear Princess Leia’s garb, and Mickey pretended like he was Obi-Wan Kenobi. These blurring of the lines between Disney and Star Wars characters thrilled guests and led to many unforgettable photo ops.
The shows
Here’s what I miss the most about Star Wars Weekends. Speaking as a non-fan, I was blown away by the cleverness of the various presentations. The Legends of the Force Motorcade is a parade that Galaxy’s Edge should have right now. And The Symphony in the Stars fireworks hasn’t been matched by later attempts at Hollywood Studios to have a Star Wars fireworks display. Even at the start of the day, the Storming the Park opening provided an adrenaline rush that’s unparalleled at Disney theme parks to this day.
Finally and most importantly, Star Wars Weekends came with a dance-off. It’s the most imaginative and innovative Disney show that I’ve ever seen. Bad guys talked smack, jokes were made at the expense of some of the most feared villains in the galaxy, and aliens danced. Boy, did they ever.
Chewbacca threw on a crown and grooved to Hey Ya! Boba Fett did a remarkably accurate Michael Jackson dance. I mean, Darth Maul was willing to fight for his right to party! And Princess Leia twins twerked their way to victory. This show was wholly out of character for Disney, laid back and hysterical to watch. Its absence bums me out.
Here’s the long story short about Star Wars Weekends. Disney killed it so that nothing would compete with Star Wars Land for attention. Now that Galaxy’s Edge is open, a celebration like this would enhance the themed land rather than distract from it. And the loose vibe of this weekend party is precisely what Disney needs right now to combat the perception that all they care about is intellectual property and profit margins.
