I hope you enjoyed reading the first part of my recap of Star Wars Weekend (SWW) yesterday. I was attending SWW mostly to meet the characters (I’m now at 150 unique characters I’ve met, yay SWW!) So, today I’m going to concentrate on the where and hows of the character meets.
Before attending, I made sure to re-watch all 6 films. I love the originals, but I don’t think I had seen the prequels since they came out. But I wanted to make sure I knew all the characters I would find! SWW also has characters from the animated series, the Clone Wars, and I didn’t know anything about that. So I made sure to do research to see which characters would be out, so I could look them up and not be completely clueless when I saw them, lol!
A few characters from past years weren’t out this year (R2-MK and Mace Windu), so there were 30 characters out. I ended up meeting 28 of them! The only 2 I missed were from the Clone Wars (Asajj Ventress and Commander Rex), and as I said earlier, if you asked me a week ago who they were, I wouldn’t know anyway, lol! I probably could have met them towards the end of our last day, but we decided to ride Star Tours instead (can’t do SWW without riding Star Tours, right?) I met 17 on the first day, 4 on the second day, and 7 on our last day.
One quick tip, if you have any questions about when characters are out, make sure you ask the Cast Members in black Star Wars shirts. The other CMs with the characters (they are in white and blue stripes) usually don’t know. The right CMs always were able to tell me when a character would be back out, while the others either said they didn’t know, or, I think made things up (one told me Anakin wouldn’t be back for an hour and a half. I asked the black shirt CM, and he told me 4:50, which was about 30 minutes from when I asked.) Also, while most characters have set places to meet, and you get in line, there are several roaming characters. You don’t have to worry about lines, but they are a little harder to stop and get a picture with. If you ask one of the black shirt CMs in that area, they will know exactly when the roaming characters come out as well.
After riding Toy Story Mania, we started off on Friday by getting in line for the Disney characters dressed as Star Wars Characters: Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, Stormtrooper Donald, and Vader Goofy. These were probably the characters I most wanted to meet, so I decided to just get in their line and not stop until I met them all, lol. They usually aren’t out at the same time, so it is hard to catch who you want to meet, but thankfully, I didn’t have too much of a problem. They meet next to the Hat, and it’s hard to miss since they have a cute backdrop. We were about 10th in line, and right on the dot of 9am, Mickey came out. After meeting him, I got back in line, caught Minnie, and got back in line thinking it would be Donald…but it was Mickey again. The black shirt CM told me the next time he would be out, so I was able to use my TSM FP. I got back to the line when Donald was still out, and just missed meeting him, BUT, the CM told me Donald would be out briefly with Goofy right before they left for the parade at 11:40. He also let me know that the line would be closed soon. So I just got back in line (the line was closed a few people after me), and was able to catch them together. So basically, the first half of the first day was just getting those 4 characters. I was glad to never have to stand in that line again, lol. Even at 10am that line was brutally hot since the sun is RIGHT on you. I never thought I’d be able to meet a lot more that day, but all of the other lines went much more smoothly.
After cooling down inside for a bit and eating lunch, we got in line for Chewbacca. He wasn’t appearing until around 2, so we were a little early. He meets across from Star Tours, where they have the fun photo spot, but the line was all the way back to the Sci-Fi Dine-In. Once the line started moving, thankfully most of his line was in the shade. When we met him, an Ewok (Logray) was also with him. From what I heard from others who met him earlier in the day, he’s alone before the parade, and an Ewok joins him after the parade. Both Chewy and Logray were lots of fun to meet.
While waiting in line, I saw Queen Amidala walk by, and then members of the Cantina Band came out and start walking around the area. After meeting Chewy and Logray, I was able to catch one of the Cantina Band members, my first roaming character! I asked if he signed, and he motioned that he didn’t, but one of the others did. There was a mob of people around the others, so I just decided to be content with getting my picture and moved on. I ended up not meeting Queen Amidala until the next day. She meets a little past where Chewy meets, next to the Sounds Dangerous theater. She also has a pretty backdrop that you can’t miss. Her line usually isn’t bad throughout the day, though she leaves during the 3pm Pixar parade.
Then we headed over towards the Streets of America, where there are more roaming characters. There are several roaming Clone Troopers, as well as a few Jawas in this area. I was able to easily meet a Clone Trooper, but the Jawa kept turning around and away from me, and it was hard to get a picture with him. I had better luck the second day, and there was even a Photopass photographer near there that took a few pictures of us! The Jawas also love to make trades. I saw someone trade a paper clip and get a used soda can in return, another get a set of stickers. I forgot to bring something to small to trade, but on the second day, the Jawa took out a toy camera, and kept trying to trade it for my own camera! I kept saying no, I think I like mine better, lol!
In between that area and where the Cars characters meet, you’ll find the Clone Wars characters. The first day, I walked by and there were 3 characters meeting together. I got in line on the second day, and met Ahsoka Tano and Commander Cody together, though Commander Cody was just about to leave. This line was pretty short, so it should be easy to catch who you want. They also meet in front of a great backdrop. If you are there on a non SWW day (or when the characters aren’t out), you can get a great photo with just the backdrop!
The Jedi Council also meets in the San Francisco section of the Streets of America, right next to the Singing in the Rain umbrella. After meeting the random characters in the area, I got in line and met Shaak Ti. I got back in line and was able to meet Anakin Skywalker. The next day I came back, wanting to meet the last Jedi member meeting, Kit Fisto. This was the only time I got to the front of the line and wanted a different character. Thankfully they let us wait (there were about 3 of us waiting.) I lucked out and I met him, Shaak Ti was still up there, so I got to meet them together. I think of all the characters I met, Shaak Ti was the most talkative. She talked to me about the droids on my shirt, becoming a Jedi, and showing me Jedi poses to do for our pictures. I checked this line a few times, and it never seemed that long of a wait.
Then we walked to the Backlot area, where you can find a ton of characters. Here you can meet Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Jango Fett, and 5 roaming characters. After meeting Anakin, of course we had to meet Darth Vader next! This is usually one of the longest lines of the day, so I was surprised that the line didn’t look too bad, and we were told it was only a 30 minute wait. I was planning to get in his line first thing the next day, but with that short a wait, we just hopped in line. I don’t know what happened, but the wait actually was over an hour. However, it isn’t as bad as it sounds since the line is undercover (so, no sun, not as hot!) Plus, watching Vader with everyone was incredibly entertaining. It was worth it just to watch him perform with everyone. One girl took her shoe off for him to sign, and he made her get on the ground and bow before he would do it. Another guest tried to hug him, and he did not approve. He also force choked several guests (I was going to ask for that pose, but as I usually do, I chickened out once I got up there.) When he left and came back to his spot, Stormtroopers would walk him back and forth. The whole thing is fun to watch, and, even with the wait, I don’t see how you can go to Star Wars Weekend and NOT meet Vader!
A few steps away from Darth Vader is Darth Maul. Of all the characters I met, he was definitely the creepiest! I was a little freaked out, I don’t know how kids didn’t run away, lol. He didn’t want to sign my book, but when he did, he snapped it closed, it was funny (even though I know it wasn’t supposed to be!) I can’t talk enough about how in character all of the SWW characters were, it was amazing and made every wait worth it. His wait wasn’t too long, but the line is kind of hidden, so I’m not sure what it looked like at other times during the weekend.
Across from where Darth Maul meets is where Boba Fett and Jango Fett meet. They switch out, and the CM there wouldn’t let you wait for who you wanted to see. Thankfully I was able to catch both by just waiting once each time. I met Jango on the first day, and Boba on the third day. This is another great backdrop, where you can take fun pictures when the characters aren’t out.
The roaming characters in this area were so fun. I met a Stormtrooper, he walked me over to another area. My mom was still in the first area, and I was telling her to come over. The Stormtrooper walked towards her and pointed at her to come over, it was great. There was a Photopass photographer there, so I got a lot of great pictures, even if my mom was somewhere else, lol. I almost got another picture with a Stormtrooper on the third day, but after he motioned that I come over to where he was, he walked away! There are also several Tusken Raiders in this area. As you can see in the picture, this one didn’t like me very much. I asked if he signed, and he just stared at me. Then I said please, and he took the book and signed, lol, but when I asked for a pic, you can see the pose, lol. Another time we were trying to get another character, and didn’t know that one of the Tusken Raiders was behind my mom until he scarred her. If only I had a picture of that!
I was able to meet Gamorrean Guard twice, once on the first day, and again on the third day, when I saw a Photopass photographer was there. I know I said Darth Maul was creepy, but this guy was almost just a creepy! His eyes kind of looked right through you! When I asked if he signed, at first I thought he wasn’t going to, since he posed for a picture. But then he grabbed my book and signed.
On our last day, there was just 2 more roaming characters I needed to catch. I had seen both Zam Wesell and Aurra Sing walk around, but wasn’t able to meet either of them on the first day, so I figured I’d wait in that area until I was able to get a picture with them. Zam Wesell came out while I was in line for Boba Fett, and the guy behind us held our place in line while I ran to try to catch her (one more reason to chat with people while you wait in line!) I was able to get a picture before she started walking around and got mobbed. Aurra Sing was MUCH harder to catch. We held the place in line for the guy behind us, while he ran over with his son, and was able to get a picture and signature. I waited until we met Boba Fett, and then started following her around, but she just wouldn’t stop. She’ll stare right at you, but not really stop. Finally I tried not smiling at her, and she stopped for a second and I finally got the picture! She wouldn’t sign for me though, but she did grab others’ books. Needless to say, while you don’t have to worry about lines, catching these roaming characters can sometimes be a challenge. Once you get a picture with them, though, and just hang back, they are lots of fun to watch interact with everyone.
The last area with characters is inside the Darth Maul tent. Here you can find C3PO, R2-D2, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker switching out throughout the day. Along with those last 2 roaming characters, the tent characters were my goal on the last day. What’s really nice about meeting these characters is that it’s inside, so it’s nice and cool. The droids sometimes have technical issues, so they may have to leave before they are supposed to. I got to the tent around 9:20 the first day, thinking they weren’t coming out until 9:30. But when I got there, I found out that the droids had been out since 9:10! Thankfully this didn’t cause a problem for us, and we were able to catch C3PO and R2-D2 together. They were the only characters that didn’t sign (other than the ones I already mentioned that signed, but not for me, lol.) After meeting them, I got back in line and was able to catch Luke. We found out that Leia wouldn’t be back until 11:20, so we were able to use our TSM FPs, and when we came back, were just in time to meet Leia.
I hope I didn’t bore you on my character hunt throughout SWW. It was a lot of waiting, but for a character hunter like me, it was completely worth it! I can’t wait to start scrapping all these character encounters!
