Disney World May 2012 Trip Report Pt 2
We sat on the curb and chatted, making the time go by quicker. It also didn’t hurt that the Citizens of Hollywood were holding their act on Hollywood Boulevard, which provided us with some entertainment.
The Star Wars Legends of the Force Motorcade featured the 501st Legion of fans in painstakingly-crafted reproduction-quality costumes (that’s my description of the costumes–perhaps there’s a concise term of art for them), celebrities, characters (both Disney and Star Wars). Celebrities we saw were Dee Bradley Baker (voice of clone troopers on The Clone Wars), Ray Park (Darth Maul), Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka Tano on Clone Wars), James Arnold Taylor (voice of Obi-Wan and on The Clone Wars). Disney characters included Darth Goofy, Stormtrooper Donald, and Jedi Mickey Mouse. Here are a few photos from the parade–I’ve already posted over one hundred motorcade photos here, so I won’t waste bandwidth reposting…
The motorcade was a bit of a mixed bag for us. On the one hand, it was awesome seeing something different, and the characters (both regular Star Wars fans and the official Star Wars costumed folks) looked amazing. They were awesome to see. That alone propped up the rest of the parade, which was disappointing. In fairness, it is called a ‘motorcade’, but it is disappointing that Disney doesn’t do anything more for the parade at an incredibly popular special event than just throw some celebrities in regular cars and drive them down the street. I lived in a small town growing up, and we had a better parade when the high wrestling team won the state championship. Now, I don’t expect Disney’s parade to include any hogs or chickens, but the fact that a town in the middle of corn fields can best Disney when it comes to parades is disappointing, to say the least.
Disney used to run a much more detailed Easter Day Parade that, unsurprisingly, only ran for Easter. Yet now it doesn’t even run a real parade for an event that draws tons of guests to the park, many of whom spend incredible amounts of money on merchandise at Darth’s Mall? That’s just lame. Calling it a motorcade instead of a parade might, from the perspective of executives, alter expectations (I doubt it does for most guests), but it doesn’t absolve them from criticism of the decision. By all appearances, Disney is doing really, really well with Star Wars Weekends. Some of that revenue should be reinvested in the guest experience. I’m not just saying this from the perspective of Disney “doing what’s right,” but from a business perspective. How many times will guests keep returning to see the same characters, slightly different seminars, and a lame motorcade on an abbreviated parade route?
Besides the characters, the best part of the parade, by far, was our friend’s son going crazy for the Star Wars characters. He was so excited to see them that he stood up with his light saber toy (as if I have to clarify that it was a toy…) and swung it around. Being around kids in the parks makes me excited for when we have our own kids; I can only imagine how awesome it is experiencing the parks through the eyes of your own child. For us, it’s a tough balance, though. As amazing of an experience as that is, we’re not quite ready to give up our current lifestyle, which is also pretty awesome. We’re at least a few years away from that.
There are multiple pages in this Walt Disney World trip report installment. Navigate to the next page below!
Just wanted to say that I love that you named the squirrel “Henry”. Growing up, somehow all squirrels in our neighborhood were also called “Henry”. They must give off some sort of vibe 🙂
I have no real evidence of this, but I suspect that Disney’s rights to the use of Star Wars only extends to the Star Tours ride, gift shop, and the use of costumed characters. Whatever agreement they have may even go so far as to prohibit the use of Star Wars characters in a parade, thus this obviously lame motorcade situation. I can definitely see Lukas being particular and specific in any agreements made with a company outside his control. The most compelling evidence for my theory, I think, is this absurd Avatar themed land in Animal Kingdom, theoretically as some sort of enormously misguided effort to compete with Harry Potter’s presence over at Universal. Why would they even consider such a thing if they truly had the rights to use Star Wars in their back pockets? I could brainstorm about a hundred Star Wars related theme park attractions right now, and I’m sure imagineers could too. Admittedly, I’m a nerdy Star Wars fan, but I think it’s proven itself as a property with legs — Avatar, not so much. I really hate to think that the folks making decisions at WDW are so myopic that they COULD use Star Wars and just don’t want to.
Based on what I’ve heard from some reliable folks, I don’t think this is exactly true. I think there would be difficulty expanding a permanent Star Wars presence in the parks, but as far as Star Wars Weekends go, Lucas is pretty lax.
Just creeping through old trip reports and came across this gem of a reply! Well well well….funny how that one panned out, Star Wars Land is upon us!
” I think the conversion would be approximately 13.5 kilometers by 54 meters. I think”
Tehehe.
13 kilometers would be a five minute drive. I would want a model that big! I wouldn’t have to visit the park!!
the size would be around 1.8 by 3.7 meters.
Love me some Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at Studios Catering Company!
Tom, it’s funny that you mentioned you guys having kids down the road. My wife and I visit your site quite a bit and we can only imagine the kinds of candid photos you’ll eventually take when you do have kids, as well as the ones you might have now that showcase the non-Disney part of your private lives.
By the way, our two year-old son is named Henry. He sometimes makes the same face as the squirrel in your pics. 😛
So you’re telling me that you named your son after a squirrel?! That is SO weird! 😉
I know this post is really old but I love browsing through your blog and am already planning our next Disney Vacation for next May! Considering the Beach CLub Villas hence re-reading this post.
Anyway! I too remember and love the mist at ToT, it really makes the walk up creepy and they need to bring it back. I agree Disney is all about the atmosphere and the small details. Bring back the mist Disney!
Thanks for this brilliant blog!
Gemma
The fog Tom…the fog! You are right, it was there, I saw it, that happened.
I couldnt agree more about the point you made about the ‘small’ things that are scaled down.
I took a picture last year of the 13 minute (aka zero) wait time for ToT and made the comment, ‘they probably will have cut that back by the time I come back next year’.
As you say, for Disney fans these things matter.
But – great report! Its getting me truly in the mood for my DHS day in a few weeks time (get me to Gertie!)
Thanks for sharing, I would have named the squirrel Cyril though. 🙂
Glad to know I wasn’t crazy about that fog! It is the little things that make a big deal, and it bugs me when some bloggers point to attendance numbers or other stats as “proof” that these things don’t matter. That’s a flawed argument for soooo many reasons.
I felt the same way about Brave! It was a good movie, but for Pixar standards it was seriously lacking. I have a small obsession with all things Scotland (especially Highlands) and this was a disappointment for me.
Glad to know I’m not alone. When I shared my opinion on Twitter, most people disagree. But I think most Disney fans are biased towards Disney films no matter what their quality.
Tom, while you took pictures of “Henry”, did you happen to be reminded of the kid who took tons of squirrel pictures during your disneymoon? xD
HA! No, but unfortunately now I am. I am just as bad as that poor kid I poked fun at. Actually, I’m worse. Not only am I an adult, but I also poked fun at someone else for doing the exact same thing I ended up doing later.
I blame the lack of sleep…
We went to Star Wars weekends in 2007 with my two year old daughter for her first trip to Disney World. She spent most of the time in fear of the characters we saw at different dining experiences and throughout the parks. They were great from across the room, but when they were close, she was not a fan. We stood in line for quite a while to take a pic with Jedi Mickey. When it was our turn, she walked right up to him grabbed his hand and leaned in to hug him. As a Star Wars fan for a very long time, I was beaming. Thanks for bringing that great memory back today!
Geek rant – the dude that looks like Boba Fett is Jango Fett, Boba Fett’s father. He was also the model after which all of the clone troopers were built. He saved one clone of himself to be his son, Boba. –Geek rant over
I like the separate pages. Love the report so far.
I think Brave fits better as a “Disney” movie than as a “Pixar” movie. The themes really seem more classic Disney as compared to the Pixar stories like Wall-e and Up. And I think Disney and Pixar know this since Merida is in Magic Kingdom rather than DHS…