Star Wars Weekends: Legends of the Force Motorcade - 5/30/2014

In 2014 I attended my first Star Wars Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios. One of the featured events during each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of each Weekend is the Legends of the Force Motorcade, which features Disney characters in Star Wars costumes, a variety of characters from the Star Wars movies, and several visiting celebrities. I saw this parade and accompanying stage from from a VIP viewing area as part of the Feel the Force Premium Package.

Prior to the show Boba Fett and stormtroopers patrol the event stage

Your hosts for the motorcade announce each character as they take to the street (though their commentary was out of sync with what I was seeing, since my viewing spot was near the end of the parade route)

An X-wing pilot led off the parade

The Disney stars were on hand

Jedi Training Academy padawan got to march down the street and watch the parade from right in front of the stage

The Empire was well represented

And, the Dark Side made its presence felt

Quite a variety of stormtroopers and other Imperial forces were part of the parade

This character turned the tables on the many photographers in the crowd

The sand people didn't appear to be walking in single to conceal their numbers

Jawas could also be found on the Streets of America and the Star Wars Din-In Galactic Breakfast

This Wookie (I believe the announcers said it was female), led the procession of "good guys"

Assorted Jedi

More Rebel Forces

R2-D2 rolled down the parade root

Ahsoka Tano ...

... followed by the voice of Ahsoka Tano, Ashley Eckstein, a participant in each 2014 Star Wars Weekend

Taylor Gray, voice of Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels

Sabine Wren, from Star Wars Rebels

Chopper, from Star Wars Rebels

Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and also appeared in A Visit to the Maul during the weekend

John Ratzenberger, best known as Cliff Clavin in Cheers and for his appearances in many Pixar films, also had a small role in The Empire Strikes Back

James Arnold Taylor hosted the brief stage show following the Motorcade and most of the other events of the weekend. In addition to his numerous Star Wars hosting duties and other voiceover work, Taylor is know as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in several animated forms.

Still the most recognizable character in the Star Wars universe, Darth Vader was last to appear in the parade

On stage for the brief post-parade stage show

Despite my VIP location for the Motorcade, I was still behind quite a few people when the stage show began

Scenes around the stage

A photo opportunity, with the stars of the Motorcade

Show's over when this guy says it is

Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine (2014)

Starting with the May the Fourth celebration and running through Star Wars Weekends in 2014, Disney's Hollywood Studios offered two Star Wars character dining experiences and I had the opportunity to visit both. This article covers my visit to Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood and Vine.

I was eager to sample this new dining experience during my first visit to Disney World's Star Wars Weekends, hoping to make efficient use of my mealtime by meeting popular characters that would have required long waits to see during this rest of the weekend. The meal featured classic Disney icons dressed as Star Wars characters. Since food tends to be secondary with most character dining experiences, after the introduction we'll start by discussing my interaction with Jedi Mickey and friends.

PLUSES AND MINUSES

+	-
- saves time to meet popular Disney characters in Star Wars costumes  - A-list Disney characters  - above average buffet food  - Star Wars themed desserts	- expensive  - no Tables in Wonderland, 2 DDP credits  - long wait to be seated

CHARACTERS

Before being seated, the meal included a photo opportunity with Chip and Dale dressed as Ewoks. Disney PhotoPass photographers were present to take your picture and the price of the meal included this picture. As always, the PhotoPass photographers were also willing to take a picture with my camera, so I also had an image to share with friends right away, though the picture with my camera wasn't particularly well-taken. Chip and Dale are usually among the more amusing characters to meet, as they are encouraged to be their mischievous selves with guests, but in this case there were too many people waiting to eat that there was not time for any playful interaction. We just had our pictures taken and were herded back outside to continue waiting for our table. The price of the meal also included PhotoPass photos of the characters from the meal on the Jedi Training Academy stage, in addition to your own pre-meal photo.

Once seated, we immediately met Jedi Mickey, followed about fifteen minutes later by Stormtrooper Donald. Inside Hollywood and Vine you have a mostly unobstructed view of the entire restaurant, so once you determine the pattern characters follow it is pretty easy to know how much time you have before the next visitor to your table. It worked out well that we met Mickey, and then had time to get food before Donald arrived. Of course, at any character meal your experience may differ with the exact timing of when your table visits will occur, so be sure to ask the person who seats you where the characters will come from before they visit your table.

Later in our meal Minnie arrived, dressed as Princess Leia, followed immediately by Darth Goofy.  All of the characters visited our table within 40 minutes of being seated and, while we were catching up on eating after these visits, Mickey returned for a second visit before we left. Our interactions with Minnie and Goofy were cut short and somewhat uninspired, as they both took pictures, but that was it. Mickey and Donald were more playful, encouraging us to try difference poses and offering different pictures with our stuffed monkeys. In all cases, the photo opportunities during the meal were equal or better to what we would have experienced meeting the same characters in the parks, though we spent less time at the meal than we would have waited in line to meet all the characters on their own. Beyond just saving valuable park-time, meeting these popular Disney characters during Star Wars Weekends poses additional logistical challenges, as it is difficult to anticipate when characters you are waiting in line for may go on break or when they may be switched out for another character. This in itself adds to the value Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine.

Tables were also adorned with paper do-it-yourself lightsabers. If your child (or adult) wanted to test their Jedi powers with Mickey or take on villainous Donald or Goofy (or just beat their siblings over the head), then all they needed to do was roll up their red or blue paper and their weapon was ready to go.

FOOD

When I'm not visiting Disney World I've also traveled to many casino destinations, so I've eaten a lot of buffets, everything from high-end to places that would give swill a bad name. Over the years, my tastes have acclimated to appreciate buffets that serve really good food, sometimes even cooked to order, with an enormous variety of cuisine from around the world. Disney offers no buffets that compare favorably to the best of Las Vegas or even the Borgata in Atlantic City, however Hollywood and Vine is one of the few Disney buffets where I actually enjoy most of the food. The selection is limited by mega-buffet standards (you'll find a couple items you enjoy, but won't feel like you need to return five times to try everything you would like), but the quality is above average.

For the Jedi Mickey's meal, the standard Hollywood and Vine fare was replaced with remarkably similar looking (and tasting) food with Star Wars themed names, such as C-3PO's Cream Corn, Greedo's Green Beans, Mos Eisley Meatballs, or Tusken Raider Chicken. Even names of the food in the children's section of the buffet featured furry friends from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, like Chewbacca's Chicken Tenders or Wicket and the Ewoks Macaroni and Cheese. I sampled chicken thighs and the Tusken Raider chicken, along with meatballs, penne pasta, beef, and Lando's Lobster and Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese. The meat dishes were all well-prepared, and with the buffet being so busy, the food turned over fast enough to keep everything fresh. The lobster and shrimp macaroni is one of the highlights of this buffet, and even a person like me, who generally prefers the plainness of ordinary comfort food, appreciates the addition of tasty sea creatures to this dish (at least, when it's done well, as it is at Hollywood and Vine). Of course, those preferring to skip the seafood can find plain macaroni and cheese at the kids buffet (and there's no shame in taking items from here, the chefs will make sure the kids don't go hungry if you eat their food). Were it not for the price tag and the bizarre Disney Junior characters that normally inhabit this location, this is one of the only Disney buffets I'd visit just for the food.

Dessert was where the buffet really embraced the Star Wars theme. Not only did these offerings come with Star Wars names, but the desserts looked like Star Wars characters, including both Yoda and Darth Vader cupcakes. The dessert stand was also surrounded by decorative Star Wars cakes that weren't available to eat, but did well to support the theme. A stormtrooper helmet cake was the most inspired of these. Since I was headed to a dessert party later in the evening, I only ended up sampling a small variety of the desserts that were available, including a small piece of carrot cake with R2D2 printed on top and cheesecake with a chocolate Star Wars logo on top, but I was pleased with all of my selections. Were I to return, I would do so with more of an appetite and not on a night when I was planning to eat more sweets later in the evening.  The desserts available here provide ample opportunity to work off all that exercise you get walking around the Disney parks all day.

COST

The meal was expensive, costing $59.63 per adult with tax, but not including tip. Further adding to the cost was that the restaurant did not accept my Tables in Wonderland discount and had we been on the Disney Dining Plan, the meal would have cost two table service credits. Neither the food nor the character experience makes this meal a tremendous value, but Disney had no trouble filling Hollywood and Vine for this meal, so I don't anticipate any price breaks going forward. With the high price of most Disney table service meals, I considered that I was probably paying $20-$30 more than I may otherwise have paid for a buffet, but with the limited time I had available for Star Wars Weekends it was worth that extra cost to save time. Had I been on a longer vacation where I had more time to devote to seeing the Star Wars characters in the parks, I may not have seen this meal as an acceptable value.

TIMING

I dined with a friend as a party of two with a 6:20 PM reservation.  We arrived at the check-in desk outside the Hollywood and Vine buffet at 6:10 PM, where there was a short line to check-in, followed by a much longer line to have our pre-meal photo taken. It was 6:35 PM before we had our pictures with Chip and Dale and then we were sent back to wait on the patio outside the restaurant, though it was only a few more minutes before our table was ready and we were seated at 6:38 PM. While waiting in line for our photo, we noticed many people called out of line as their tables were ready and Cast Members waded through the sea of humanity looking for diners to try to get them seated as quickly as possible. This pre-meal photo was a considerable bottleneck and the restaurant seemed to be struggling to keep pace with the crowds. Hopefully, that will be addressed as this meal returns, but if not, then plan an extra twenty minutes after your ADR before you are seated.

SUMMARY

Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine was a positive experience for me. It is expensive, even by Disney standards, and the first year of operation posed some logistical challenges in handling the volume of guests and getting them seated in a timely manner. Not accepting Tables in Wonderland and charging two Disney Dining Plan credits hurts the value of the meal, though that's not likely to change so long as the meal keeps playing to packed houses. I do give Disney credit for making sure guests knew the costs associated with the meal, as I received a confirmation email explaining the costs about two weeks after my initial reservation. As for what you get for your premium price, food was above average for Disney buffets, character interactions were about what you should expect, and theming in the restaurant was minimal, with the exception of the desserts, for which the theming was exceptional. With time to meet some of Disney's most popular characters in their Star War costumes and "get your money's worth" out of the food selections, you'll spend more time (and money) than you would at most character meals, but if your time at Star Wars Weekends is limited and you want to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale, then dinner at Hollywood and Vine is an efficient way to do so.

Pluses and Minuses of FastPass+

With some firsthand experience using MagicBands and FastPass+ under our belts (see this previous post), we'll summarize some the the positives and negatives of Walt Disney World's new reservation system for attractions and other in-park experiences. Disney has already improved the operation of FastPass+ since it began testing the system last year, so some of the current negatives may just be growing pains, so we will update this document as the system evolves.

+	-
Great for days when you arrive late to a park, you can reserve FastPass times for popular attractions that would previously have been sold out
Can select the times you want, instead of just the next available time (works great if you're leaving the park to take a break, if you won't return to a certain "land" until much later in the day, or to work around other reservations)	Selecting exactly the time you want sometimes requires some fiddling with the system
Don't have to walk to an attraction twice (in the past you'd go once to get your paper FastPass and again to ride)	Still need to visit FastPass kiosks if "hopping" to a second park or to make more than three reservations in a single day
You can lock in FastPasses for popular attractions long before you leave home	FastPasses a few new or very popular attractions (like the Anna & Elsa meet and greet or some Star Wars Weekends events) may sell out before you even get a chance to reserve one
Disney resort guests may book FastPasses 60 days before their vacations	Non-Disney resort guests may book FastPasses 30 days in advance, but must have already purchased a valid park ticket to do so
Some quick service restaurants (currently only Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom) offer the chance to order your meal in advance, then just show up at the restaurant, check-in, sit down, and eat
	Can only pre-select FastPasses for one park each day
	Can't pre-select FastPasses for the same attraction more than once in the same day
	In the Studios and Epcot, FastPasses are tiered so that if you select one popular attraction you cannot select FastPasses for some other popular attractions that day
	Changing times or attractions on your phone or other mobile device sounds like a great convenience, but in practice it is slow and clunky

First Experiences with FastPass+ and Magic Bands

I was not thrilled to hear about the end of the original Walt Disney World FastPass system.  As someone who grew comfortable with the paper passes that cut my wait times for the parks' most popular attractions, I was skeptical how Disney's new FastPass+ would really be an improvement and whether it would even provide the same level of convenience as the original FastPasses. The idea of figuring out a new FastPass system also didn't sound very appealing, but with the old system gone I wanted to start learning about the new one as soon as possible. I visited Disney World this past March to see how the new system worked.

Beyond my lack of experience with the new system, I had a number of specific concerns with FastPass+, including: only getting FastPasses in one park each day, being limited in the number of FastPasses you could reserve, being restricted in some cases to what attractions you can choose FastPasses, and not being able to book more than one FastPass for the same attraction in the same day. The old system was free, equally accessible to everyone, reliable, and perhaps most significantly, I was used to the system. When I visited Disney World in March, FastPass+ offered the ability to pre-book FastPass times, but only offered this option to Disney hotel guests.  Since my visit, Disney has changed some policies, including allowing people not staying at a Disney resort the ability to reserve FastPass+ times up to 30 days in advance (Disney resort guests may do so up to 60 days in advance), allowing booking FastPasses in more than one park in a day, and the chance to book more than three FastPasses in a day (though only after you have used your first three experiences). Nonetheless, my experiences using MagicBands and FastPass+ should give readers an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the new system.

I took a short solo trip this past March 23 - 26, staying at Disney's All-Star Music Resort to find out in person how FastPass+ and MagicBands work. Despite my misgivings, there were many times when FastPass+ worked better for me than the old and reliable paper FastPass system would have. Additionally, there is more to MyMagic+ than just FastPass+, and on this trip I also got a little taste of some of those benefits. Here's a look at how I used FastPass+ on each day of my trip.

Arrival Day

I arrived in Epcot just a few minutes before 7:00 PM and was able to ride Test Track at 7:32 PM with a 20 minute wait, rather than the posted 80. This would not have been possible with the old FastPass system, as the passes would have long since been gone before I set foot in the park. A FastPass for a popular attraction when arriving at a park in the evening was my first positive experience with FastPass+.

Behind the Scenes Tour Day

On the first full day of my trip I scheduled a behind the scenes tour that began outside the gates to Epcot at 8:45 AM. The tour returned us to Epcot shortly after 4:00 PM, and knowing roughly when I would be in Epcot that day, I had pre-booked a Soarin' FastPass for 5:00 - 6:00 PM. This allowed me to fly over California after a 16 minute wait, when the posted standby wait time was 80 minutes.  With the previous FastPass system visiting at this time of year, Soarin' FastPasses would either have been gone by this time of day or have only been available for much later in the evening. The late evening times would not have worked for me on this day since I was planning to meet friends for dinner away from the Disney property, so in the past my choices would have been to wait in a long line or skip Soarin' on this day. This was another positive for FastPass+, though this worked out to be a very similar scenario to my arrival day, another late park entry day.

Park-Hopping Day

My second full day in Disney World started in Disney's Hollywood Studios, then included a lengthy break in the afternoon before I visited the Magic Kingdom in the evening. Since one of the limitations of the FastPass+ system was that you could not book FastPasses in more than one park in the same day, I waited in standby lines at the Studios, saving my FastPasses for the evening. When not using FastPasses, arriving for rope drop is pretty much essential if you want to see all the headliner attractions, and doing so still left me waiting in line than I would have in years past. Not being able to use FastPasses in more than one park in the same day was a big negative for FastPass+. Even with the changes to allow limited park-hopping, you will still be competing with those who pre-reserved times well in advance for FastPasses to the most popular attractions if you "hop" to a second park and try to find available FastPass times.

Later on the same day, I arrived in the Magic Kingdom around 8:15 PM, where I had pre-booked FastPasses for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain, leaving time in between for me to see Wishes. I was able to ride Splash with a three minute wait and Big Thunder with an eight minute wait (when the posted time was 65 minutes) before stopping to watch Wishes. I had scheduled Space Mountain for 10:05 - 11:05, so it would be available as soon as Wishes was over, and I rolled through space after waiting only eight minutes when the posted wait time was 65 minutes. Additionally, I received an email noting that Splash Mountain was unavailable during part of my FastPass window (I saw this message while on my monorail ride from the TTC) and because of that attraction outage I now had a bonus FastPass good for many other headliner attractions [Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, or Tomorrowland Speedway] that was good any time from the beginning of the original FastPass window until park closing.  Splash was back up by the time I actually arrived to ride, so I skipped the standby line there and later used my bonus FastPass to ride Buzz Lightyear with a short wait, when the posted time was fifteen minutes (but the outdoor line looked more like a 20-25 minute wait). Allowing use of a FastPass on another attraction when the selected attraction is down is not a new thing, but the bonus FastPass is. I don't know if this will become standard operating procedure with FastPass+, but if it does, then that will be another thing to enjoy about the new system.

Getaway Day

I frequently leave the last day of my Disney World trips open to visit a park where I may have missed an attraction I wanted to ride or to go wherever I want to spend some extra time before heading home. Since I didn't know in advance what park I wanted to visit the last day of this trip, I did not book any FastPasses until the morning when I was set to leave. Often, on getaway day I won't be at the parks for rope drop, since I need a little extra time to pack or to just relax at the end of a vacation. By missing rope drop, not only would I miss out on the shorter lines in the parks in the early morning, but that used to also mean missing out on some hard to get FastPasses (as the return windows were often for times after the time when I needed to leave for the airport). For this vacation, I was able to book FastPasses for Dinosaur, Expedition Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom, all in times that would allow me to ride within a couple hours between lunchtime and when I needed to leave for the airport, all from the comfort of my hotel room before I left for the park. This was a huge plus for FastPass+.

Effect on Wait Times

With the current FastPass+ system in some parks guests cannot use all of their FastPasses for headliner attractions (for example, in Epcot you can choose a FastPass for Test Track or Soarin', but not bot, and in Hollywood Studios you can select a FastPass for Rock n Roller Coaster or Toy Story Mania, but not both). I found myself choosing FastPasses for attractions that generally would not have required a FastPass in the past, and it would seem that others are doing the same, thus increasing standby wait times. I observed posted wait times of 30 minutes or longer for Spaceship Earth and for Journey into Imagination at times of the day when I had not seen those sort of waits in years past (while visiting the parks at the same time of the year). Granted, my observations at this point are not very scientific, but the new FastPass system may be altering traffic patterns and driving some people from the headliner attractions to the second tier experiences. The long-term extent of that is still unclear, but longer waits for secondary attractions could be a negative effect of FastPass+.

Odds and Ends

There's more to this new MyMagic+ than just FastPass+. Just about a month before my vacation I received my first MagicBand, which functioned like the old "Key to the World" cards that used to be issued at check-in. The MagicBand opened my hotel room door and could be used to charge items to my room. The front desk clerk offered no explanation of why he did not give me a room key or how I was supposed to open the door to my room when I checked in, so it was a good thing I already knew about this new program before I arrived. Still, I was pleased to see a green light on the hotel room door when I tapped my band against it, and never had any trouble getting into my room. Over the course of my short stay at Disney's All-Star Music Resort I came to appreciate not having to reach into my wallet for a room key when I had my hands full coming from the car. It's not something that I need in a hotel room, but was a nice extra convenience that wearing the bands provided.

As far as whether I was comfortable wearing a band, it wasn't any different to me than wearing a watch. Now, it's been years since I've worn a watch, as I've relied on my cell phone as a timekeeping device for quite some time, but some latent memory kicked as and I found myself occasionally looking at my MagicBand when I wanted to know what time it was (for the record, that didn't work; the band isn't that magic). Not directly related to comfort, but the only challenge I found in using my MagicBand was that it had a way of always being on the wrong wrist.  For example, when returning to my hotel the security guards usually checked the bands to identify me as a hotel guest (and one time, they actually scanned my band), and this worked best when the band was on my left hand.  When it came to opening the hotel room door or tapping the band at a food location I seemed more coordinated with the band on my right wrist. While entering the parks, I use my right index finger for the fingerprint scanner, so it would have been easier to have the band on my left hand (though I managed with the band on my right wrist most of the time). I tried moving the band around, but ultimately felt most comfortable wearing it on my right hand. We'll have to see if over time the wearing the band feels more routine.

I also used my band to charge items to my hotel room, as I was planning to pay for my hotel stay, food, and souvenirs with a bunch of Disney gift cards that I accumulated in recent months. I had already established a PIN number from previous Disney World visits, so I was able to charge meals from one Quick Service location and a variety of Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Outdoor Kitchens. I also charged souvenirs from gift shops and Epcot's Pin Central to my room using the band. Initially, I had some trouble tapping the band in the right place and the right time, but eventually got pretty good at doing so. One clerk at Mouse Gear suggested tapping and sort of rolling the band and that technique worked reasonably well. This isn't any different than the way room and food charges worked with the "Key to the World" card, but did save having to reach into my pocket for my wallet, which while holding a camera and my Outdoor Kitchen food items, was sometimes a welcome convenience. I guess this is a win for Disney, because they are making it easier for guests to spend money, and a win for those of us whose hands are a little freer while we are spending that money.

Overall, I had a positive first experience with MagicBands. I miss some of the flexibility of the original FastPass system, but appreciate the ability to reserve attraction times before I get to the parks and not having to visit an attraction once to get a FastPass and again later to actually ride. Being able to select exactly the times I wanted later in the day, to avoid dinner reservations or breaks away from the parks is also a big plus for FastPass+, as was e-mail notification about an attraction outage, coupled with a bonus FastPass. My MagicBand worked reliably and provided some unexpected convenience, leaving me pleasantly surprised with my first taste of MyMagic+.