Are Star Wars Weekends Really Busy?

[Pabgo]

We're going to WDW this Friday, and we're going to stay for 5 days. We were planning on going to MGM on Saturday, and I just realized that the Star Wars Weekends are going to be going on while we're there. We've never been during this time, and it looks interesting. The only thing is, is it really busy during the Star Wars Weekends? I know it will be busier than normal, but I hope it's not really bad!

 

[lilmizpixie3]

Its not that much of a difference until you walk over to the star wars area. They always have the different characters out like darth vadar and the princess. There are also a lot of people who dress up for the event. But the crowds aren't too bad. Plus the block out days for the Florida Annual Pass are in effect so that eliminates some of the crowd!

 

[I3olTz]

I Plus the block out days for the Florida Annual Pass are in effect so that eliminates some of the crowd!

seasonal passes* annual are year round, the seasonal passes blacked out right after the 1st SW weekend, im sure all the seasonal pass holders were there like me ..... it was pretty crowded, 40-70 minz for rockin, 40-60 minz for ToT, if you see that go catch Indy or LMA

 

[Master Yoda]

I was there both the first and second SWW this year and like most have said other areas of the park are pretty normal but the area around Star Tours is simply insane. If you plan on doing the SWW activities like character pictures and autographs you will want to get there before park opening and bring a lot of patience with you. If you plan on getting the celebrity autographs you will want to get there very very early. Last Friday people began to line up for Ray Park's (Darth Maul) autograph at 4:30 AM. I got there at 7:00 AM and the line already stretched from the turnstyles past the security check point. If you are not at all interested in the SWW stuff you might want to adjust your schedule to avoid them.

 

[AEfx]

They are crazy busy, but depending on what you want to do you can manage it. This past weekend I did both days, and was in and out within an hour both days.

If you want the celebrity autographs, as Master Yoda said you need to wait for crazy long lines. I find that silly for me, I just don't need to spend my Disney vacation waiting for VERY minor celebrities to sign a paper lol.

However, if you want the merchandise and the photos with the SW characters, if you are there at opening you can do them very quickly. I was able to arrive at 8:30 AM, get in the park, sneak around the back (everyone heads towards Star Tours, I was the only one I saw both days who knew to cut across in front of Little Mermaid) and see all the cool characters and go to Jabba's Hutt for the limited merch.

I was shocked that I was the ONLY person in Jabba's that day as they opened. There were rows of CM's just creepily smiling waiting to help me. I even got apologized to for having to walk through such a long queue to get in; I told them it really was okay, 'cause a few seconds of walking through an EMPTY line was much better than people waiting many hours to crawl through it.

I also was able to fully access both Darth Vader and the Emporor. I actually felt bad for Palpatine, as the few little kids who had strayed over were terrified of him and he only got someone every couple of minutes to take pics with him. Both Vader and the Emp were easily accessable for at least the first hour the park opened while everyone else was in the Star Tours area.

I had a great time for an hour or so (the music is great, and the stormtroopers on the street are as well) and then left. I found going in the way I did I saw everything I wanted to. To be honest, except for Chewie the rebel characters are boring in photographs - i.e. it's obviously not Carrie Fisher or Mark Hamill, it's just a guy in a costume. Darth, Palpatine, Boba, etc. are much much cooler to be photographed with IMO, and so easy to access early in the morning.

Good luck!

AEfx