Star Wars Weekends

The tradition & historical record

Star Wars Weekends was a festival held annually at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort. Included with park admission, the event typically occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for four consecutive weekends in May and June and featured appearances by cast and crew members from Disney's Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Many original Disney characters also appeared dressed as Star Wars characters, such as Jedi Mickey, Minnie as Leia, Donald as a stormtrooper, Goofy as Darth Vader and R2-MK (Mickey Mouse stylized astromech droid). The festival began in 1997 and had been held in 2000, 2001, and annually from 2003 until 2015. In November 2015, Disney discontinued the event due to construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and the larger daily presence Star Wars will have in the park onwards. ¹

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple — Live show at the Rebels stage. Based on the teachings and practices of the fictional Jedi Knights from the Star Wars films, the show depends heavily on audience participation, focusing on children. Each participant is given a lightsaber replica and Jedi robes and is taught a routine set of swordfighting moves. Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular — A large-scale fireworks show complemented with John Williams' original music, voice and sound clippings from the Star Wars saga. Star Wars Parade — features the 501st Legion and the Rebel Alliance parading in Stormtrooper costumes, along with numerous other Star Wars characters. Snig and Oopla's Hyperspace Hoopla — Live show also at the stage in front of the Sorcerer's Hat (since Star Wars Celebration V's "Last Tour to Endor" event in August 2010). It is a dance-off show featuring Star Wars characters competing in groups against each other in a dance competition. It originally was held at the Rebels Stage from 2008-2010. The show has 'retired' in 2014. In one 2013 show, Emperor Palpatine hijacked the show and renamed it "Emperor Palpatine's Hyperspace Hoopla", leading to a massive dance-off. Behind the Force — A live show at the Premier Theater hosted by Ashley Eckstein. Guests are given a behind-the-scenes making of the Clone Wars series and Star Wars Rebels. Obi-Wan & Beyond — A live 30-minute talk show at the Theater for the Stars hosted by James Arnold Taylor. ¹

Jedi Training Academy originally was a part of Star Wars Weekend and only took place during it. However, in October 2006 it began appearing as a stand-alone show at Disneyland. In 2008, the Walt Disney World version began operating year-round. ¹

In addition to traditional Disney characters dressed in their Star Wars costumes, a number of Star Wars characters from the films and television series appear for photo opportunities and autograph signing. Characters have included Clone Wars' Captain Rex, Ahsoka Tano, Queen Amidala, Aurra Sing, Boba Fett, Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca (often has a sack containing a busted C-3PO), Clonetroopers, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Ewoks, Jango Fett, Jawas, Palpatine, Shaak Ti, Greedo, Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders, Kit Fisto, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Boushh and Zam Wesell. Most appearances are in preset locations in front of themed backdrops but some characters freely roam the parks and pose for photos with guests as well. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Star Wars Weekends”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Star Wars Weekends is former annual event held in Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²