Star Wars Weekends 2013 Tips

Star Wars Weekends 2013 are the first time Star Wars is a Disney franchise, so we’re expecting this special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World to be bigger and better than ever this year! Star Wars Weekends are geared towards all things Star Wars (including the animated TV show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars). Celebrities are in attendance, there’s a special parade, shows, and every day ends with some Hyperspace Hoopla! It’s a lot of fun whether you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan or just a fan of fun (we fall into the latter camp).

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. The Star Wars Weekends 2013 dates are May 17, 2013 through June 9, 2013 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each weekend.  (more…)

Disney World May 2012 Trip Report Pt 2

“I was up early the next morning.” I feel like a lot of trip report installments that I’ve written start with almost that exact sentence. I don’t know if that makes me dedicated or crazy, or a little bit of both. Probably mostly crazy. Whatever the case may be, after getting to sleep around 2:30 am, I was awakened by the sound of ducks the next morning at 6 am. Not real ducks, but the ducks that live in my phone and make noise on its alarm.

I almost didn’t get up. (See, I’m human!) Initially, I turned off the alarm and started to drift back to sleep, but for whatever reason, I jolted back up and started fumbling for my camera gear. Eventually, my inability to see in the dark caused me to run into enough things in the room over about a ten minute stretech to wake up Sarah. Once she was awake, I turned on the lights, grabbed my things in a matter of seconds, and headed out the door to photograph the sunrise.

Although I like photographing sunrises, I wouldn’t have been up that early but for an upcoming TouringPlans project. The goal was to collect night photos and sunrise photos over the course of the two nights and mornings we were there.

I was hoping for a big, glorious sunrise with radiating light and all sorts of other rad stuff. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy on this particular morning, and there wasn’t a ton of color in the sky or very good light. I took tons of photos anyway, and some turned out pretty well. Here are a few that I can share. (more…)

Disney World May 2012 Trip Report

Our May 2012 Walt Disney World trip was highly anticipated for us (isn’t every Disney trip?!) and it did not disappoint! Between Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot and Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, plus the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan and hotel stays at Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside and Disney’s Beach Club Villas, it was one action-packed long weekend! Did we eat our weight in food on the Deluxe Dining Plan? Was Tom killed in an epic light saber duel with Darth Vader? Do we now own a Hyacinth Hippo topiary? How many dozens of alligators did we see at Port Orleans Resort? Discover the answer to these exciting questions and more by reading our trip report!

Note: Due to some overwhelmingly positive feedback regarding our trip reports on our Facebook page (it was very flattering, thank you all!), expect to see numerous trip report updates for this trip and our subsequent Disney California Adventure Grand Re-Opening trip posted this month. These trip reports are incredibly time-consuming to create. Given the work that goes into them, we would greatly appreciate it if you’d share any trip report posts that you like on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., via the social media buttons on each installment to help spread the word about them. We also love when readers leave comments, which let us know that people are actually reading the trip reports!

Bookmark this page as it will be where we organize the updates in one convenient location. Links will become active as the Parts are posted.

Part I – Late Night Fun
Part II – Morning Extra “The Force” Hours
Part III – First Visit to Storybook Circus…DUMBO 2.0!!!
Part IV – Flower & Garden Festival Afternoon at Epcot
Part V – Late Night Magic Kingdom Fun!

If you just can’t get enough trip report fun, “Like” the DisneyTouristBlog Facebook Fan Page to see preview images from the trip report!

Princess Leia Minnie – Every Mouse’s Dream!

It has been said that Princess Leia was the dream woman of every boy who grew up in the 1970s. By that logic, wouldn’t Princess Leia Minnie Mouse be Mickey Mouse’s ultimate dream woman? I think Minnie Leia might also be the dream woman of a lot of Walt Disney World guests, as her line was about 45 minutes throughout the day last weekend during Star Wars Weekends when we saw her! Since she is a dream woman, I decided to give this photo a surreal, dreamlike quality with Orton-style processing.

We have hundreds of photos from the various events at Star Wars Weekends 2012 here. Check them out along with our tips for navigating Star Wars Weekends!

Technical Details: Nikon D700 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens.

Storming Star Wars Weekends 2012

Each Star Wars Weekends starts out with Storm Troopers above the Pan Pacific turnstiles greeting Walt Disney World guests as they enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the first Star Wars Weekends of 2012 last weekend, and had an absolute blast. We have hundreds of photos from the various events at Star Wars Weekends 2012 here. Check them out along with our tips for navigating Star Wars Weekends!