Welcome back!  After a two week break I’m happy to report that I am now an Orlando-area resident.  What this means for you is better coverage, more in-depth articles, and a much better look at all things Walt Disney World.  As I get settled in, I’ll have more to report.

            As most of you know by now, this past weekend was the first Star Wars Weekend of 2008.  For three days, Star Wars fans and Disney fans alike converged on Disney’s Hollywood Studios to attend what many people believe to be the best Studios weekend event of the year (having only done one Star Wars Weekend and none of the other events like Super Soap Weekend, I can’t comment either way).   Having just moved down here a few days before, I was itching to get to the parks and experience my first ever Star Wars Weekend. 

            To say that I didn’t know what to expect would be like saying Jar Jar Binks is only a little annoying.  I don’t enjoy being in the dark (no pun intended), and not really knowing what I should be doing or how I should go about it was very problematic for me.   I must have referred to the special SWW map at least 20 times throughout, as I could not for the life of me remember what was where and when certain things started. 

Throughout the chaos of navigating through my first SWW, I noticed several interesting things I wanted to share with you folks on my first column back from “vacation.”  So, here is a list of some of the things I realized from my time at my first ever Star Wars Weekends:

• Merchandise:  Wow.  I had no idea so many people went to the Star Wars Weekend just for the merchandise alone.  And I suppose it was naïve of me to think that people wanted to purchase merchandise for their own personal collection as well.  But the reality I found was that not only do people attend Star Wars Weekends solely for the purpose of stuffing every piece of limited edition merchandise into their cart, a lot of them then hock the merchandise on eBay for a quick buck.  As a fan of Star Wars and owning a small and limited collection of Star Wars stuff, I guess I felt a little betrayed about the money-grubbing nature of my fellow Star Wars fans.  
  
  Despite being disenfranshised by the money side of Star Wars fandom, I was fortunate enough to buy a framed coin set and a couple of animated cells on Day One.  It will add a little flaire to the barren walls of my new place.
• Big Figs = Controversy:  Probably the biggest stir this weekend was the announcement that the 2008 big figs (Mickey as Anakin, Donald as Darth Maul, Minnie as Queen Amidala, and Goofy as Jar Jar), were not only unavailable at SWW, but pre-orders could not even be made in the parks.  Cast members handed us cards with a link to the Big Fig website and told us that all pre-orders were to be conducted online.  The person in front of me was incredibly angry by this announcement.   He turned to me and said that he bought admission to the parks solely to purchase big figs, and he subsequently left the line even before it got to the limited edition merchandise.  What added more fire to the controversy was the online site that Disney pointed us to did not even properly function until the afternoon.  It was a big mess to say the least. 
  
  
• Mustafar Heat:  Colin, aka TheDarkLordoftheSith, had it right in his blogs – the heat at Star Wars Weekend gets incredibly unbearable.  At about mid-day, I was scurrying from one shady area to the next.  Some of the queue areas, especially outside the new Premiere Theater by Al’s Toy Barn, are not shaded at all – and when you are waiting for 30 minutes or more for a show, it can really get to you.   Remember: water and shade are your friends.
  
  
• Not enough time to do everything and still stay sane:  If you followed the blog that our Star Wars Weekend site conducted last week Friday, you could tell that I did not even approach the celebrity lines.  I was focused on seeing the stage shows (Stars of the Saga and Behind the Force) and getting merchandise.  With all of that, trying to navigate the park with summer-level crowds, in unbelievable heat, it became almost impossible to do everything that I wanted.  While this may seem silly to say, but, there is no denying how important it is to have a plan.  Because I was new, I really did not have a plan aside from “I want to buy stuff.”   I think I suffered a little from that because I was a bit inefficient.  Heck, I didn’t even have time to see any of the celebrities.  Having a plan is essential to making your SWW experience a good one.
• Not everyone is there for SWW.  This is more of a funny aside than anything else – I could not keep track of how many times I heard a family member ask another family member “What the heck is going on – who are all these people?” or “Why are all these people standing around for?”  It must have been quite a shock for these guests to come to the Studios one day and see wall to wall nerdy people like myself.   It was quite hilarious…

So after three straight days of SWW, I should be able to say that I have a handle on everything right?   No, absolutely not.  I feel that I only got a snapshot of what Star Wars Weekend is all about.  I’m hoping to get a better sense of the event as a whole this coming weekend as I attempt to move from the merchandise line in to the celebrity line.   Wish me luck, everyone!

Until next time.