Week 3 of Star Wars Weekends found us doing what most Floridians do in the summer: battling afternoon rain storms. Combined with the already oppressive heat, it made Disney’s Hollywood Studios feel more like Dagobah than ever. But the weather can’t keep a good Star Wars fan down!
“The Director” casts the roles in “An Ewok’s Tale”
It was a quieter weekend than last, and we didn’t stay very long at the park on Saturday or Sunday. Even so, we still crossed off everything on our to-do lists. Chores and writing kept us home until mid-afternoon on Saturday, when we finally ventured off to DHS around 4 pm. We watched a bit of the Padawan Mind Challenge before getting in line for An Ewok’s Tale, which is Warwick Davis’s one man show. Brian had never seen it before, so it was definitely a necessity for us this year. If you haven’t ever had a chance to catch Warwick at a convention, you need to rectify that ASAP. Warwick is so funny and charming. His show features audience participation, hilarious pre-recorded videos, and compelling narration. And most of all, it’s hilarious. Brian and I were laughing throughout the entire show.
Star Tours fun!
Afterwards we met up with our friends Savanna and Stacey. We watched a bit of the Padawan Mind Challenge Family Edition and chatted with David Eckstein, who was watching wife Ashley host the show. After the show ended we had dinner and took a ride on Star Tours. As usual, I was not the Rebel spy, but thankfully we did not end up traveling to Naboo. (But we didn’t get Hoth, either.)
It was getting dark around then, but we stayed at the park for a little while longer because we met up with our friend Travis Grimm! It was great to talk with him and hear about his experiences at his first Star War Weekends. We debated staying for the fireworks, but the iffy weather and the dread of waiting to get out of the parking lot made our decision to go home before park closing a lot easier.
Savanna in her shadow scout gear!
We got an earlier start on Sunday and made it to DHS in time for the motorcade. We cheered on Savanna and Stacey, who marked in their shadow scout and biker scout gear respectively, and then set about Operation: Stay Cool Until the Shows! We picked up our annual passholder posters (and had a great encounter with Darth Maul snatching one out of a cast member’s hand) and decided to use Fast Passes for the Great Movie Ride, which had new narration and an end montage film thanks to the Turner Classic Movies sponsorship. The montage now features more Star Wars, including a clip of the Millennium Falcon in The Force Awakens. Cue squee!
Darth Maul wants his poster, and he wants it NOW.
Continuing our quest for air conditioning, we saw Star Wars Rebels: The Ultimate Guide for the 4th time. I think I might be able to recite some of it from memory now. We decided that ice cream was a good lunch option to keep cool and ate that while in the line for the Star Wars Rebels show. This week’s guest was Steve Blum (Zeb), who is a delight. I love hearing all his voices and stories.
Steve Blum signs James Arnold Taylor’s shoes – or is he groveling at his feet? You be the judge.
After the Rebels show we got right back in line for Stars of the Saga. Warwick Davis was returning for his second weekend, and the additional guest was Daniel Logan. They had great chemistry during the show, and Warwick even teased Daniel by bringing out a Jango Fett helmet and saying “Daddy’s here!” They also played a hilarious video of Warwick alone in his autograph room, while Daniel was next door having a party in his. Words cannot describe how hard Brian and I laughed at that clip.
Even if we’d wanted to stay longer than that, the weather made the decision for us. It started to drizzle as we were leaving the park and the skies opened up as we were running from the tram to our car. Thankfully, our drive home is short and by the time we got home the rain had stopped…only to start back up again a few hours later.
James has had enough of Warwick Davis’s shenanigans.
This weekend features Ray Park, Jeremy Bullock, and Ashley Eckstein as the Star Wars Rebels guest. Ashley hosted the voice acting shows for several years, so it’ll be very interesting to have her as an official guest this year. My friend Erin and I will also be trying to get photos with Asajj Ventress while wearing our Ventress hoodies!
