Star Wars Weekends Tips & Tricks
Star Wars Weekends is a summer event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. This post features photos from the festivities, info about the entertainment & character meals, our tips for visiting, and more. The event is a lot of fun whether you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan or just a fan of fun (we fall into the latter camp).
Star Wars Weekends are geared towards all things Star Wars (from Episode 7: The Force Awakens, to Star Wars Rebels to merchandise like “Her Universe” to the animated TV show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars). Celebrities who have played a part in the Star Wars universe are at DHS, there’s a special parade, shows, and every day ends with fireworks.
UPDATE: Disney has announced that Star Wars Weekends will not be returning during Season of the Force and while construction for Star Wars Land occurs. It’s unclear whether Star Wars Weekends will be back in 2020 following the debut of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Late 2019.
If you’ve been to Walt Disney World countless times (and it’s probably not a bad assumption that you have if you’re reading this blog), you might be looking for ways to see the place a-new. One way to to find new experiences is to visit during a seasonal festival or weekend event. One such weekend event is Star Wars Weekends, held in May and June at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
This post reflects everything that occurs during Star Wars Weekends, including the character meals, potential tie-ins with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, as well as new strategy and tips. It also reviews the extensive changes that occurred last year. We attended Star Wars Weekends last year, and did everything that was new for last year.
With those housekeeping notes out of the way, let’s take a look at what Star Wars Weekends have to offer, whether they might be for you, and how to make the most of your time at the event. We’ll start with why you should visit, and then cover the best weekend for Star Wars Weekend, and move on to other strategy from there…
Why Visit During Star Wars Weekends?
If you’re thinking, “I have no interest in being in a crowd of Trekkies dressed up as Chewbaccas,” fear not. Sarah and I are not big Star Wars fans, either, but we have had an absolute blast during Star Wars Weekends. We’ve now been multiple times, and hope to do Star Wars Weekends again.
Much like the name implies, Star Wars Weekends take place over Friday, Saturday, and Sundays—so no wacky schedules based on the Klingon Astro Calendar or anything like that. Although the Studios can get a little crowded during these events with Star Wars fans (and, I suppose, some Trekkies who end up in the wrong place) the energy these fans bring to the park is palpable.
While events like Star Wars Celebration have no allure for me, Star Wars Weekends give me a chance to see those hardcore fans in their finest fan-made attire—and some of these costumes are quite impressive—while still getting to enjoy the Disney Parks, and without having to endure the geek-dom of the other events. No knock at geeky fan events, after all, we attend countless geeky Disney events and count ourselves as geeks. Much like Justin Timberlake brought back sexy, I think that wretched movie, Napoleon Dynamite, actually brought geeky back.
In addition to this guest “experience,” there are a lot of actors who portrayed characters in the Star Wars movies in attendance for autograph signings and for the daily parade. Mind you, unless you’re a huge Star Wars fan, most of these actors’ names won’t ring a bell. However, if you are a fan of the films, meeting these actors can be pretty cool. Just be warned, if you want anything signed, you will want to arrive to the park hours before it opens to wait in line to be guaranteed a meeting with them. We’ll cover this further in the “Tips” section below.
Suffice to say, Star Wars Weekends can be a lot of thing even if you can’t tell a Wookie from an Ewok. It’s just a fun atmosphere with a good kinetic energy in the park, if that makes any sense. Plus, waits are relatively normal for “normal” attractions and there are fireworks to end the day, so even if you do nothing Star Wars-related (or very little) you have nothing to lose. Win-win!
When is the Best Time for Star Wars Weekends?
If you’re more concerned with seeing photos of Star Wars Weekends to get a visual idea of what it’s like, check out our pages containing hundreds of photos from past Star Wars Weekends. If you’ve already made up your mind that you want to visit during Star Wars Weekends but don’t know which one to plan your trip around, consider the first weekend.
We recommend the first weekend for a few reasons. First, it’s the best weather-wise, as summer heat and humidity can get bad in Florida by June. Second, it falls before many schools are out for the summer. Finally, you benefit in having Star Wars Weekends overlap with the last weekend of Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival that first weekend. Two special events in one trip can make for a lot of fun. The only downside is that Star Wars Weekends is usually busiest on that first weekend–but we don’t think this is enough of a “con” to outweigh those “pros.”
If you’re a huge Star Wars fan who is into the celebrities, you’ll probably want to wait for the official celebrity schedule to be released before deciding upon a weekend. Some celebrities are only in town for one weekend of the event.
Star Wars Weekends Tips
This tips are based upon our Star Wars Weekends visits, and what we’ve learned works and doesn’t work based on our experiences. Regardless of whether you want these actors to sign anything, you should arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios prior to park opening, as one of the coolest experiences of the weekend is “Storming the Park,” which features the Storm Troopers at the park entrance.
The little skit they put on is hilarious, and not to be missed. It has changed in the past few years from being something from atop the turnstiles to actually inside the park last year. It remains to be seen how it will be handled this year. It may seem like something minor and not worth arriving early to experience, but trust me, you will be thankful you dragged yourself out of bed early. Plus, you will need the time to experience as much as you possibly can in the day.
If you want autographs, arriving to Disney’s Hollywood Studios by 6 am is probably a good idea. If you don’t want autographs, you can sleep a little longer, but we still recommend arriving about an hour before the official park opening, which will usually be 8 am during Star Wars Weekends. This is because the turnstiles often open earlier than the official open time during Star Wars Weekends due to the crowds.
Last year, we got in the park at around 7:30 am, immediately got Toy Story Mania FastPasses, and then rode Toy Story Mania with only about a 5 minute wait. From there, we also quickly did Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. Finishing the “Big 3” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios before the Star Wars Weekends events even kick off will be huge, as there is a lot of waiting in lines for character photos and to secure show and parade seats that will likely prevent you from doing attractions AND experiencing all of the Star Wars Weekend festivities.
Disney uses a FastPass system for celebrity autographs during Star Wars Weekends. Each guest is allowed one such FastPass (per day–they are free), and how late you can show up and still get a FastPass depends upon the popularity of the celebrity you want to meet. We aren’t particularly interested in meeting Star Wars celebrities, so this is something we’ve never done.
Based on what we’ve heard from friends, Ray Park is the most ‘in-demand’ celebrity, and if you want a FastPass for him, you should plan on showing up around 6 am. If you arrive late or want to meet more than one celebrity, standby is available, too. Obviously, it behooves you to get the FastPass for the most popular celebrity and rarest (so if they are popular but appear at every Star Wars Weekend, they aren’t going to be as in-demand for FastPasses) and do standby for less-popular and more common ones. StudiosCentral has a good summary of how this system works.
For the first time ever, Mark Hamill appeared at Star Wars Weekends last year. Celebrities have not been announced yet, but given that Disney will be wanting to hype The Force Awakens this year, we are betting that either he or another big name will be here. We anticipate demand for anyone in Episode 7 being so high that people will start lining up before the park closes the day before to obtain FastPasses if they sign autographs.
At the very least, demand for the motorcade and talk show will be significantly higher than normal. Expect attendance to be significantly higher than normal, and waits for Star Wars events will certainly be much longer for any weekends slated to feature popular celebrities. (On the plus side, non-Star Wars attractions shouldn’t have longer than normal wait times–but you’ll still be dealing with high crowd levels.)
One of my favorite times of year to meet characters is at Star Wars Weekends. No, not because these character meetings are held outdoors during the most unbearable heat of the year, in some of the longest lines of the year, but because of the Disney characters’ costumes! These costumes are really cool, as are some of the backdrops for the meet and greets. Definitely plan on spending some serious time in line for these. I would recommend doing these in late afternoon as the lines aren’t so bad.
Once, we made the mistake of lining up first thing in the morning for Jedi Mickey (who rotates with a slew of other Disney characters). The lines ended up being shorter for him later in the day. Instead, we should have lined up for Darth Vader, who consistently had a line over an hour(!) later in the day. These character lines can be brutal, so if you’re not a fan of meeting characters, you’ll save a lot of time during Star Wars Weekends. If you do want to meet these characters, be prepared for long waits. Here are photos of some of the Disney and Star Wars characters you might see and be able to meet at Star Wars Weekends.
Another main attraction of the weekends is the daily Star Wars Legends of the Force Motorcade. This motorcade is cool for the costumes that you’ll see, but it’s a bit short (as is the parade route–making it tough to get good spots).
We recommend staking out a spot an hour before this motorcade if you want an unobstructed view, perhaps an hour and a half. If you don’t mind having a few heads in your way, you don’t need to claim a spot quite as early, but still get to the motorcade area at least 40 minutes in advance (even that is cutting it close).
There are various other events throughout the day, typically including a question and answer seminar and a trivia contest (called the Padawan Mind Challenge in past years) for kids. The exact names and details of these events change from year-to-year. There are several shows held throughout the day in a large theater in the Backlot. We’ve seen several of these, including Behind the Force, Stars of the Saga, Obi-Wan and Beyond, An Ewok’s Tale – My Short Story, and Visit to the Maul.
We really enjoy these shows because they usually combine three things: behind the scenes presentations, humor, and some sort of demonstration. In the case of Obi-Wan and Beyond, the ‘demonstration’ is James Arnold Taylor showcasing his impressive range of vocal talent, which in itself is funny.
In Visit to the Maul, the demonstration is Ray Park’s impressive light saber action. In Ewok’s Tale, it’s Warwick Davis playing director and interacting with the audience, which is also incredibly funny. Actually, Ewok’s Tale is our favorite of these, so if you get a chance to go when Warwick Davis is visiting, definitely check out this show.
We also consider Obi-Wan and Beyond to be a can’t miss, and this one is offered every weekend–at least as long as James Arnold Taylor is the host of Star Wars Weekends. People line up for these shows early for good seats, but the theater where these presentations take place is huge, so you can show up 5 minutes before showtime and typically still get a seat. It just won’t be a close seat.
One non-event that has become somewhat of an event is the purchase of merchandise. If you plan on buying anything unique to Star Wars Weekends, I highly recommend doing this early. Lines will get long, and limited edition items will sell out.
Each day used to conclude with Hyperspace Hoopla. If you didn’t go last year, it’s important to know that Hyperspace Hoopla has been retired, replaced with the “Symphony in the Stars” fireworks. Hyperspace Hoopla was a hilarious, snarky, and well-orchestrated show. I run out of adjectives just trying to describe it. It was rife with pop culture references, a real hoot overall. I’m actually a bit surprised that Lucasfilm has allowed such an irreverent show (although maybe that’s why it was stopped).
Now, each day of Star Wars Weekend concludes with “Symphony in the Stars” Fireworks show at 9:45 pm. This show debuted with the special “May the Fourth be With You” Limited Time Magic Event, and was so well-received that they’re doing it every night this year.
We saw the show for the first time at last year’s Star Wars Weekends, and it was absolutely amazing. The music and the pyro made it one of the best fireworks shows I’ve ever seen, and it really made me hope for an expanded Star Wars presence at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with this fireworks show running on a nightly basis. If you are visiting during Star Wars Weekends, DO NOT MISS THIS FIREWORKS SHOW!
Symphony in the Stars has a stage show element before the fireworks starts, so the most coveted spots are directly in front of the Sorcerers Hat, with a clear view of the stage. However, this “stage show” is nothing more than the introduction of a few characters, and only lasts about 5 minutes. Sarah watched the fireworks from here so she could see the stage show, while I watched from back near Disney & Co (the store about halfway up Hollywood Boulevard). She was in an incredibly crowded area, and due to the perspective, her view of the fireworks was not the best.
By contrast, I had a poor view of the character introductions on the stage (I could see them on the video screen above the stage), but I had an excellent view of the fireworks, and where I was standing was not crowded at all. I highly recommend standing farther back on Hollywood Boulevard, and not worrying about seeing the fireworks pre-show on the stage. It’s nothing special, anyway.
For another great view with lower crowds, head over to Echo Lake, right in front of 50s Prime Time Cafe. (The above photo was taken from this location.) Another unique option, especially if you don’t have park tickets, is actually outside Disney’s Hollywood Studios on the walkway to Epcot, near the Friendship Boat dock.
Crowds are typically bad at Star Wars Weekend, with especially long lines for Star Tours: the Adventures Continue, and also for all of the special meet & greets. As a general rule I wouldn’t recommend doing Jedi Training Academy or Star Tours during Star Wars Weekends if you can experience them other times during the week. Jedi Training Academy has a better energy during Star Wars Weekends, but it’s just not worth the crowds. If someone in your party does want to do Jedi Training Academy, make sure to head to the sign-up first thing in the morning.
Some of the special presentations also require waiting in line at least 30 minutes in advance of the presentation. We were able to get in two of the presentations last year after getting in line about 30 minutes before they started (the lines usually form in the MuppetVision 3D overflow queue or in areas around there–ask a Cast Member if you’re not sure what the lines you see are for) and another presentation we got in line right prior to it starting, but our seats were not the greatest.
If you want good spots for these shows, you’re going to have to pick and choose which matter most to you, and line up about an hour in advance for those ones (this will likely prevent you from seeing them all in a single day due to timing). Note that the auditorium where these presentations are held is huge, so you likely will get into most shows without waiting a ton of time, it’s just a matter of whether you’ll need binoculars to see the presenter.
Star Wars Character Meals
Returning this year, Walt Disney World will offer Star Wars character meals during Star Wars Weekends. Prices are quite steep, but if you would otherwise be waiting in line for these characters in the hot, Florida sun, this could save you a ton of time and potentially be worth the money.
There are two meal options. The “Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine” is a dinner at Hollywood and Vine and features Disney characters in Star Wars outfits. Featured characters are Jedi Mickey, Princess Leia Minnie, Ewok Chip ‘n’ Dale, Stormtrooper Donald, and Darth Goofy.
The second Star Wars/Disney character meal is the “Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast.” Standard Star Wars characters for this meal, consisting of Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Boba Fett, Greedo and Jawas. In place of Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater’s standard sci-fi movie trailers, there will be Star Wars clips playing during the meal.
We attended both of the new Star Wars Character Meals last year, and had a great time at both of them. We did find them overpriced, so it’s a bit concerning that they are even more expensive. Check out our comprehensive review of Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine. If you’d rather do breakfast with the Star Wars characters, read our Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast Review.
Overall, we think it’s a worthwhile event if you’re a Star Wars fan, frequent Walt Disney World guest looking for something new, or would already be visiting this time of year. The big downside to a May or June visit can be the weather and growing crowds, so keep that in mind before planning a dedicated trip for the event. If you’ve been to Walt Disney World more times than you can count, but have never visited the Studios during Star Wars Weekends, you owe it to yourself to plan a trip down during May or June to experience The Force, Disney-style. Even if you’re not a hardcore Star Wars fan, you’re sure to have a good time!
If you haven’t visited multiple times and are planning a trip to Walt Disney World, make sure to check out our Disney Tips & Tricks page for a lot of helpful tips to outsmart the masses. Also check out our dining reviews to find the best restaurants and our trip planning posts to figure out what to pack, where to buy Walt Disney World tickets to save money, which discounts to look for, and all the other ins and outs of a trip to Walt Disney World, all of which are covered extensively in our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Have you visited during Star Wars Weekends? Do you think it’s worth braving the crowds to experience these special event weekends? Do you want to visit during Star Wars Weekends? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
Hi Tom and Sarah- Do you happen to know if there will be Star Wars weekends this fall? After submitting a photo for Disney’s ‘show your Star Wars Style’ contest on starwarsstyle.com recently, my hope was to be the WINNER of a cool Star Wars package for the upcoming weekends. After reading the official rules more closely, I noticed the grand prize package (an Ultimate Stars Wars fan experience including an exclusive SW character meet & SW themed dining or dessert event) must be used between 9/5/15 and 10/31/15.
Hi! Does anyone know if there is anything special that occurs only on the first day (Friday) of Star Wars Weekend? Also, has anyone had any experience with the “Feel the Force Premium Package”? Thanks!
Tom, we got reservations for the H&V Star Wars meal on 5/10/15. Does this mean Star Wars wknds start earlier this year, or did they just add an additional weekend for the character meal only? Thanks,
Thank you for your blog. I found it answered more questions and had more detail than the official disney site for the event. I thought I was on top of things when I made reservations for the Galactic Dine in Breakfast back in January for Friday, May 8th. The worker who made my reservation told me about the special fireworks show and parade that would be part of our day at the park. But now I realize that although they have the special breakfast that weekend, the actual rest of the star wars weekends such as the motorcade and fireworks do not occur until the following weekend. It is obviously too late to change our reservation to the following weekend or any other weekend for star wars weekend. We are taking our six year old boy who loves Star Wars. Do you have an opinion on whether it would be better to stick with our reservation and just enjoy the breakfast or miss the breakfast and go on an actual star wars weekend day?
Trying to decide as we can only go on one of the weekends and have to choose between having the character breakfast but no other star wars weekend awesomeness or having no character breakfast but all the other star wars weekend awesomeness. Thanks for your blog and advice!
What a fantastic blog! My question was posted by another but I do not see a response, so thought I’d try again. We have the Fantasmic dinner package with the Premium Seating for the 9pm show, however, I noticed that the Symphony in the Sky Fireworks is scheduled for 9:30pm this year. Although the show ends just short of 9:30pm, I understand exiting the theater is slow due to crowding and stadium capacity. I don’t want to miss the Symphony in the Sky show, so I’m curious as to whether the fireworks would be viewable from the Fantasmic theater?
You should be able to see most of the show from over there, but I don’t think you will be able to hear the audio. What makes this show special is not the fireworks alone, but how they are choreographed with the score. If there are multiple showings of Fantasmic that night, I’d encourage everyone to plan for the showing that allows for viewing of the fireworks from Hollywood Boulevard, straight-on.
Little offended that your call us STAR WARS FANS trekis and talk about klingon … this are BOTH star TREK things.. but besides that great article!
It’s a joke.
Hi Tom! I will be there on Monday May 4th, 2015. not on the weekend. will I be able to purchase any of the special starwars merchandise at hollywood studios that is there for the starwars weekends.
Thanks so much😇
What’s a better weekend day to attend the SWW? Saturday or Sunday (both with the Galactic breakfast ADR)? Or a non-SWW day with two Star Wars meals? My 5-year-old is a die hard Darth Vader and Star Tours fan!
Hi Tom! Love your blog. I am traveling with my 5 year old son May 8 – 11th (it’s just the two of us this trip). I booked Jedi Mickey dinner on the 8th and the Star Wars breakfast on the 11th. Not sure if I want to actually keep both ressies (it’s so expensive)! Which one would you recommend more? He likes character meals and LOVES Darth Vader and storm troopers, but my only concern about breakfast is that it’s the only day we are visiting Hollywood Studios and he also wants to do the Jedi Training Academy. Our breakfast is at 8:10am and the park is scheduled to open at 9am. I read that HS normally opens 30 – 45 minutes before official park opening. If we don’t get out of breakfast until 9:15/9:30am, will my son miss out on being a part of the Jedi Training Academy? Help!!
I was there with my 5 year old in August, non Star Wars weekend. Our objective was to do Jedi Training. We were at the park before the park opened and at the open we went immediately to jedi sign up and secure a 4:15 slot. In my opinion, that’s the first thing you should do and maybe breakfast after you get the training locked up. Let me know how it goes as we will be there on May 22 for Stars Weekend. Good luck!
We’ll be at SWW the first weekend (May 15-17), but not sure whether to go Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. We expect huge crowds, but which day would you think has the least along the 3? Or, as the lines are anticipated to be really long, should we spend 2 days there, to ensure we can fully enjoy the whole SWW experience? We are big SW fans. Your posts are very informative and helpful! Thanks!!
Do you know if storming the park is everyday during star wars weekends time? Or just a weekend attraction? We are arriving on a Wednesday, and were hoping to experience it on the next day, Thursday.
Just the weekends.
We accidentally planned our family trip with 3 boys (12, 8 and 8) for the last SWW. Got galactic breakfast reservations (score!!) and want to be sure they enjoy it. They are not into autographs and won’t wait for a show, they like to “do” but they do love SW. Any specific suggestions for this year? Also, are the fireworks before, after or instead-of Fantasmic? We had Mama Melsrose Fantasmic dinner booked for 6/13/15. Thanks for the great info.
Fireworks in addition to Fantasmic. Not sure on timing, though. I think simultaneous to the second showing of Fantasmic.
Hi! We are taking our two boys (5&6) the week of May 9-16th and are planning on going to the opening day of Star Wars weekend and an extra day during the week to cover the rest of the attractions. We have reservations for the Jedi Mickey’s Star Wars dinner with Fantasmic for Tuesday 5/12 but had no luck with the Galactic Breakfast on either day (or any day of that week). We were hoping we could meet any of the Characters (Darth Vader, Storm troopers, etc) for pics before Friday when the big crowds start, do you know if they are around the park prior to Star Wars weekend? Thanks!
Just noticed that Disney has raised the price from $94 to $97. Is this normal? Will it go up more before June or should I pay for my tickets now?
It’s unlikely to go up again. Prices typically increase once per year.
My boys and I love Star Wars Weekends! It may sound weird but we enjoy playing a game similar to Where’s Waldo at the park. We look for the unfortunate 350-400 pound Princess Leias in the gold bikinis. There are usually 3 or 4 per day. It’s not nice to stare but how can you not? lol
Okay…that’s a mental picture I just did not need! 🙂
Wow, way to teach your kids to be rude body-shaming assholes. I’ve been to SWW multiple times and have yet to encounter a “350-400 pound princess Leia in a gold bikini” and if I did, more power to her for having the confidence to rock it, despite the nature of bullies like you! What makes these hypothetical women “unfortunate” in your eyes? If, through all the wonderful things to see and do during SWW, your favorite is making fun of fat women with your kids, then you really need to grow up and teach your sons a little respect.
Storming the gates was one of my favorite parts last year! My son is a huge Star Wars fan but I wasn’t. But the author of this article is 100% correct, the energy is palpable! Even standing in line at 5 am it’s fun to listen to the fans. I got to see my sons world light up that weekend and now I’m a Star Wars fan because of him 😊 we are going again this year but this time we are dressing up and joining the fun.
We were there Saturday May 31st, 2014 and yes it was packed but it was worth it! The motorcade was awesome and we got nice pictures with some of the Star Wars characters. Be patient and ready for crowds. We loved it because it was kinda magical, specially for Star Wars’ fans like us!
Loved your tips! I’m going to the Star Wars Weekend on May 15! Will people look at me weird if I show up dressed up as a Jedi?
Lots of fans cosplay during SWW!
We will be at HS on June 12th. We are not huge Star Wars fans and will not be lining up for autographs so that helps, I hope, navigating the morning at the park. I do want the fam to see the opening hoopla with the Storm Troopers before heading off to do a handful of rides. How early would you suggest arriving at the front gates?