Are You Ready To Rock?

All images: Disney

It's nearly time to experience the Muppet takeover of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. The fun begins in the courtyard where there are Muppety touches everywhere you look. There's even a new spot for munchies: FØØD by Swedish Chef. The menu includes returning favorites alongside a few Muppet-inspired dishes.

Wocka Wocking Nachos - corn chips with queso blanco, tomatoes and just the right amount of guacamole

Churro Drumstick - twisted churro tossed in mixed berry sugar and topped with raspberry sauce and assorted sprinkles

Mayhem Soft-Serve Float - Frozen Fanta Blue Raspberry with vanilla soft-serve topped with pink cotton candy

Pink Le-moi-nade - Minute Maid Premium Lemonade with guava and a sprinkle of pink shimmer

Pond Water Limeade - inspired by Kermit the Frog himself, it brings together Minute Maid Premium Limeade, green apple, and fruit juice-filled pearls

Other dishes include:

• Mini Corn Dogs served with chips
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Assorted Chips
• Vanilla, Chocolate, or Swirl Waffle Cone
• Frozen Floats with Coca-Cola or Barq’s Root Beer
• Fountain Sodas
• Frozen Blue Raspberry (Also available with Bacardi Superior Rum or Tito’s Handmade Vodka)

After you make your way through the Muppet-filled queue, you'll arrive at the recording studio where the Electric Mayhem are rocking out while Scooter is trying to get them to the concert on time. You'll board a Lengthy Immediate Motion Object (L.I.M.O.) created by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker and race across town to the sounds of the Electric Mayhem and a few of their friends. 

• Song 2 – The Electric Mayhem
• Born To Be Wild – The Electric Mayhem ft. Camilla the Chicken
• Love Rollercoaster – The Electric Mayhem ft. Jennifer Hudson & Questlove
• Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop) – The Electric Mayhem ft. Def Leppard
• Walking on Sunshine – The Electric Mayhem ft. Kelly Clarkson
• And maybe a few mystery bonus tracks

Of course, Statler and Waldorf will be on hand to do what they do best: heckle. 

The attraction photos have fun new frames featuring various Muppets. They will be available in the new Rock Around the Shop along with lots of fun Muppety merchandise.

There will be lots of Muppet T-shirtsT-shirts for those who want a bit more Muppets in every day. A Muppet water bottle features a bright, bold design. 

RSVLTS has designed a fun new button down shirt with a zany print. And there's a simple ball cap, too.

For Loungefly collectors, a guitar bag will soon be headed to the shop. Featuring several Muppets on the strap, its the perfect rockstar accessory. 

An awesome set of six stickers is great for decorating laptops, water bottles, or wherever you need a little more Muppet mania. The set features Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear, Statler and Waldorf, Animal playing the drums and a Rockin’ Muppets license plate.

Of course, there will be pins to collect, and a few fun magnets. Muppet drumsticks are a great souvenir for rocking to the beat wherever you go. A cool postcard and other knick-knacks will also be available.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is ready to rock on May 26th.

The Easter Eggs Of Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

Disney

The newly reimagined Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is ready to rock. The queue, and ride, are filled with Easter Eggs from past Muppet movies, TV shows, and of course, Muppet Vision 3D. Join the Imagineers for a sneak peek of these Muppety touches while we wait for the ride to open next week.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets blasts off on May 26th.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets

All images: Disney

The Muppets are taking over Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. And with that, we get a whole new look and story. In the Courtyard, the guitar is getting a psychedelic new paint job and the piano at the base will feature a gold key in honor of Dr. Teeth.

Throughout the queue in G-Force Records, you'll discover awesome posters featuring the members of that famous Muppet Band: The Electric Mayhem. 

And you never know what celebrity cameo you may find hidden anywhere from the queue to the merch shop. Celebrities include:

• Awkwafina
• Danny Trejo
• Darren Criss
• John Stamos

• Neil Patrick Harris
• Travis Barker
• Yvette Nicole Brown
• Wayne Brady
• “Weird Al” Yankovic

Once you reach the recording studio, you'll see the Electric Mayhem jamming out the familiar sounds of Can You Picture That? 

Scooter, with the help of a host of penguin audio engineers, is trying to get the band to stop rehearsing and head to their concert across town. 

And Muppet Labs has developed a new super-powered vehicle to get you there: a Lengthy Immediate Motion Object (L.I.M.O.).

The Electric Mayhem teamed up with a few famous names for the set list. And, of course, they've been working on a few bonus tracks, too.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets blasts off from zero to sixty on May 26th.

Rizzo's Totally Authorized Tour

Disney

Rizzo the Rat is back to give us his own version of a tour of the newly reimagined Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets (with a little help from Robin and Yolanda.) As you'd expect from Rizzo, there's something a little bit off about his "Totally Authorized Tour", but it's still quite fun.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is now open in Hollywood Studios at Disney World.

Photo of the Week

Can you tell it was our first time on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster?

More Free? At Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios also has several free items that can be found within the park. As with the Magic Kingdom, there are maps, times guides, buttons, and stickers from cast members. However, Hollywood Studios has several unique freebies of it's own. If you have small children, you'll probably watch the Playhouse Disney Live Onstage show. During the show, tissue paper confetti will rain down on the audience. The shape of the confetti changes whenever they change the lineup of Playhouse Disney shows that are featured during the stage show. The last time I was there, it was large tissue paper leaves, which Bean gathered up to put in her scrapbook.

Another fun thing for kids can be found just after entering the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster area. On the left, they have a kids area set up where kids can decorate a large paper CD with stickers and take it home. They also give the kids magnet frames advertising new Disney Channel shows. Although this was the first time I had seen this kids area, it looked like it was expected to stay.

One of the coolest kids freebies is from Block Party Bash. At the end of the show, small red, yellow, green or blue Nerf balls, emblazoned with the Block Party Bash logo are shot out over the audience. While not everyone gets one during busy times, most of the kids will get one, either from the ones shot into the air, or from the ones cast members pass out so that everyone can have one of the balls.

At most of the table service restaurants, kids are given fun menus that are specific to the restaurant, with activities in addition to the menu. They have cool games and pictures and can be fun to take with you at the end of the meal. However, interesting free stuff isn't just for the kids. At the Hollywood Brown Derby, they serve fantastic food, and copies of the recipes. At the reservation desk, you can request copies of the recipes for the Cobb salad and Grapefruit cake, both of which are amazing. The recipes are printed on the back of a card that is shaped like the Brown Derby logo. When I ate at the restaurant, they told me that you can also request the recipe for the dish that you order and the chef will provide it. Whether you eat at the restaurant or not, you should request the recipes at the reservation desk. They will be happy to provide them.

Heaven forbid you should have to make a trip to the nurses station, but if you do, they give out Nurse Minnie stickers. Another fun free item is an extra fast pass. Toward the end of the night, if the fast pass stations are still open, I like to get a fast pass for my favorite ride and keep it to put in my scrapbook. The fast passes have the logo for the ride at the top and are a fun way to remember a favorite ride.

Disneyland trip - California Adventure

As I'm sure you've guessed if you've been following my instagram, I just got back from a short trip to Disneyland.  We've spent the last month and a half fixing up my Mom's house in Arizona, so we decided to go to Disneyland as a reward for all our hard work.  We only stayed for two days, so we visited one park each day.

First, we went to California Adventure. I had never been to Cars Land before,  and I absolutely loved it! It looked just like the movie, which looks just like my hometown. It was especially gorgeous at night with all the neon lit up. Our favorite ride was definitely the Radiator Springs Racers. The cars were fast and the views were awesome. And besides, our car won! We also enjoyed the other Cars Land rides. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was hilarious! Those little tractors really do whip around. And Luigi's Flying Tires were crazy fun to try to "drive". We had breakfast at Flo's V8 Cafe.  I especially liked the Cars waffles from the kids meal. And the restaurant is so cool. The left side has several of Flo's records from her days as a Motown singer. The right side is Doc Hudson's office and has car replacement parts as well as his trophies from the Piston Cup. They were huge! In the afternoon,  Bean had the mac and cheese meal in a Lightning McQueen car. It wasn't a ton of mac and cheese, but it was more than enough for her. I tried a Chili Con Queso Cone from the Cozy Cone, and it was pretty good. While we were eating, we saw DJ's Dance 'n' Drive. I especially liked the carhop costumes. They were so 50s. My Mom and Bean had chocolate ice cream cones from the Cozy Cone in the evening, and they were huge!

We also got a surprise chance to ride the Grizzly River Run. It wasn't supposed to open back up until Friday, but they got the refurb finished early,  so it opened just as we were walking by. Wow, is that a wet ride! I would say it's at least as wet as Kali River Rapids in Disney World! After we Were soaked,  we wandered down the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail so that Bean could earn her Senior Wilderness Scout Badge. She loved the rock wall and the towers with the netting to climb. She managed to finish just in time for the Wilderness Explorer Ceremony, where we got to meet Russell.

On our way to Paradise Pier, we stopped to watch the Phineas and Ferb Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party Parade. It was really cute, with lots of songs from the TV show. And the dancers were dressed as Fireside Girls; too cute! Bean convinced me to ride California Screamin' for the first time. She loved it, but I'm still not sure I like roller coasters with loops. The other Paradise Pier rides were fun. I really liked the Silly Symphony Swings, which reminded me of the ones I used to ride at Lake Fair as a child. None of us enjoyed Goofy's Sky School, it was way too jerky and rough. The Jumpin' Jellyfish were fun without being fancy. We all liked the Golden Zephyr and King Triton's Carousel. We also rode the Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which is so cute.

Toward the end of the night, we headed toward the front of the park. My Mom rode Soarin' for the first time and loved it. She can't wait to ride it again this fall when we go to Disney World. Then we watched the last Aladdin - A Musical, of the day. It was hilarious! The jokes the genie told were somewhat inappropriate at times,  but they were over most kids heads and actually really funny.  It was one of the best shows I've ever seen at a Disney park. We stopped by the Mad Tea Party for a minute. I loved the costumes and the music,  but it was much too loud. Then we rode Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.

After taking one last peek at Cars Land before we left (I just had to see all the neon lit up), we headed toward Buena Vista Street, where I got the cutest Olaf marshmallow for Bean. (We discovered later that it was dipped in caramel before the white chocolate. Yum!) While I would have liked to see World of Color, the crowds were just too big. Next up, our day at Disneyland.

Mr Blue Sky - The Muppets

Jim Henson Company

There's something truly enjoyable about watching the Muppets perform. Here, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem take on Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky."

I'm really hoping this is the kind of performance that will be included in Rock 'n' Roller Coaster after the Muppet transformation. 

Confessions of a Disney Park addict

Someone recently asked me how many times I'd been to a Disney Park. The answer: "More times than you'd think!" I started adding up all of my trips there over the years and realized that the number is rather shocking, especially since I have never lived in Orlando or Anaheim.

My first trip was to Disneyland in 1984. I don't actually remember much about it, even though I was 7 years old at the time. My dad took my sister and I again a few years later, maybe 1988. I went again in 1995, and then again in 1998. That trip I stayed with my cousin Jennifer. She was working at the Gag Factory in Toontown at the time. We had a blast and I went to Disneyland nearly every day that week. They were getting ready to build California Adventure and all of the parking areas were a mess! When Jennifer had to work, I explored the park on my own, and even rode Splash Mountain alone, much to Jennifer's amazement. I attempted to move to California with the intent of working at Disneyland in 1999, but the move fell through.

In 2003, my mom, my sister and I went to Disney World for the first time. I immediately fell in love with the World and all it's spaciousness. Unfortunately, there was just two much to see in a three-day trip. I moved to Georgia when Bean was born and looked forward to experiencing Disney World through a child's eyes again. We took her to Disney World for the first time one day after her first birthday. We stayed on-site for the first time at Shades of Green. She loved It's a Small World and all of the bright colors, sights, and sounds of the park. She took her first steps over a bridge in the Magic Kingdom. It was truly Magical!

In 2006, we moved to California temporarily. Shortly before we had to return to Georgia, we took Bean to Disneyland. It wasn't the best trip, (Bean seemed to be allergic to everything she touched and broke out in hives!) but it was the first time any of us had been to California Adventure, which we loved. Bean's favorite rides were Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, King Triton's Carousel and all of the rides in Bug Land.

In September 2007, we moved back to Georgia, unloaded the truck, and drove 8 more hours to Disney World. Yes, we're that crazy! Our friend had never been to Disney World before, nor had he been trick or treating, so we went to MNSSHP for the first time. We all loved it! We also caught the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the first time. This quickly became our favorite time of year to visit, even if it rained every day and I got stuck in World showcase in a flooded area with a stroller! This was the first time we saw Pixar's Block Party Bash at Hollywood Studios. Bean loved it! We stayed at Shades of Green again which was convenient for transportation into the parks.

In August 2008, we bought Annual Passes. It was a blast! We only spent 3 1/2 days that trip. Bean, my dad and I had just traveled across the country by train and then went to Disney World after meeting up with my sister. Since we now had Annual Passes, we drove down to Disney World several time over the next several months. We went to MNSSHP and the Food & Wine Festival in October. We got our faces painted at MNSSHP for the first time. We also got the clip-on reloadable gift cards for the Food & Wine Festival, which made trying everything much easier.

Our next trip was in November, a week before Thanksgiving. Then we went for 7 days in December and spent Christmas day at the Magic Kingdom & New Year's Eve at EPCOT. It was crazy crowded, but still a ton of fun. Both parks reached capacity by noon or so, but we didn't plan on leaving and coming back, so it was ok. Christmas day we watched Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade. We ended up staying for the fireworks because it was so crowded at the front that we couldn't get off Main Street. It worked out though because the snow and fireworks were great. Bean loved the snow and wanted it to last forever! On 12/27 we went to Hollywood Studios and saw the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, which were awesome! And it snowed again, which we loved, especially because it was about 75 degrees that day. On 12/28, we went to EPCOT and listened to several of the storytellers tell stories of Christmas in their homelands. We saw the Three Wise Men in Mexico, heard about the Nutcracker in Germany, saw La Befana in Italy (Bean was even selected to help!), Pere Noel in France, and the lumberjack Santa in Canada. We only saw part of the Daruma Doll Sellers story in Japan, and missed all of the others. On 12/29 we went to Animal Kingdom and watched Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. It was a lot of fun. We went back to Magic Kingdom on 12/30 and it was much less crowded, so we watched the parade again. Then we spent our last night 12/31 at EPCOT. At EPCOT, the World Showcase countries each celebrate the New Year at the hour it occurs in their home country. It's so much fun! And if you stay all day, they hand out party hats and party blowers. The entire park sounds like it's full of crazed geese... And that's just the adults! It's hilarious!! We didn't stay until midnight, but we could see the fireworks from both Disney and Universal from the condo we'd rented. (We stayed in this awesome condo this trip. We got a great deal at $99 a night. It had 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining room, family room, living room, all the furnishings, laundry room, a screened porch, and could easily have slept 12-15. Totally awesome for large family groups.)

We went again, spur of the moment in March for St. Patrick's Day. We were in EPCOT and bought green cotton candy and our friend bought green beer and green cider in England in the special Rose & Crown glass.

Our next trip was in September 2009. We went down for a quick 4 day trip. Our last day, we always try to spend at Animal Kingdom. They close the earliest and that way we can stay most of the park hours before we have to make the 8 hour drive home. Our next trip was February 2010. Bean was out of school for a few days, so we took a four day weekend and left. Strangely, we ended up at Hollywood Studios during ESPN Weekend. As a result, it was fairly easy to get on the rides, but the area around the sorcerer's hat was packed! EPCOT was just getting ready for the Flower & Garden Festival so we got an awesome preview of the topiaries. We played the Kim Possible Missions around the World Showcase, which my Bean finds fascinating. At Magic Kingdom, we met Tiana & Naveen for the first time and played on Tom Sawyer's Island for the first time too. We spent half a day at Animal Kingdom and watched Finding Nemo: the Musical and the Festival of the Lion King for the first time too. They're incredible! We spent the end of the day at Downtown Disney and Build a Dino at T-Rex Cafe. It has very cool ambiance.

Our last trip was in August 2010. it was a four day trip and we visited each park. This was the first time Bean and I rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. She was fine until we took off and by the end, my sister had to pry her hands off to get her out, poor kid! (I'm not sure if I'll ride it again anytime soon either!) Then we rode Star Tours a million times to make up for it. This was our last chance to ride Star Tours before it was closed for refurbishment, so we made the most of it.

I'm not sure when I'll make it back to Disney World, but I hope that it will be soon... I'm starting to go through withdrawals!

Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios

For four 3-day weekends each year, Disney's Hollywood Studios is invaded by characters from the Star Wars universe. This year, from May 16th to June 15th. It's a great time for those with a Disney and Star Wars obsession. My family was a little unsure about going because we'd heard that the crowds can be crazy! I finally convinced them that it would be fun to give it a try. We decided to go on a Friday during the second weekend in 2012. This was the perfect time to go. Star Wars Weekends are a blast!

There are several special events during Star Wars Weekends: Jedi Training Academy, the Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade, the Padawan Mind Challenge, celebrity autographs, character Meet & Greets, behind the scenes shows, as well as the Hyperspace Hoopla. And there are two new experiences this year: now you can have lunch with characters from Jedi Mickey to Darth Goofy at Hollywood and Vine or enjoy a Galactic Breakfast at the Sci-fi Dine-in Theater. And to cap off the night, Disney has added the new Symphony in the Stars fireworks. Each day is packed with a lot to see and do.

The Star Wars fun begins before you enter the park. Stormtroopers have been stationed above the gates and make comments about the crowds. They point out odd looking characters to each other and talk about what strange creatures the crowds are. Our favorite part was when the Stormtroopers decided that everyone must be holding up those little boxes (cameras) and pointing them as a way of greeting. The Stormtroopers then decided to greet the crowd in the same manner. It was hilarious! Throughout the park, you can hear many different themes from the Star Wars saga. I have always loved John Williams' themes, so I really appreciated this touch.

Ahsoka Tano

The Jedi Training Academy is extra special during Star Wars Weekends. The sign up station is moved near the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and they take 30 kids for each show. (If you want to get a guaranteed spot, be there when the gates open and head immediately to the sign up station. Spots are filled very quickly, so you may wish to sign up during the week when it's less busy.) 15 Padawans, or Jedi Trainees, are up on the stage and 15 are on the ground in front of the stage. Jedi Master Vance Nadal trains those onstage and Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker's Padawan, trains those on the ground. The Padawans are taught a series of moves that they will be using to fight the Dark Side. Then, Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers arrive, along with a female Sith named Asajj Ventress. When Bean was selected to participate, she was delighted to be trained by Ahsoka and fight Asajj, as you can only see them during special times, like Star Wars Weekends.

Star Wars Weekends feature many character Meet & Greets that can only be found during these four weekends each year. The lines can be long, but you should be able to meet at least a few of the characters with relatively short wait times. Each character location has a fantastic backdrop from the films and a brief description of the characters that appear there. In Darth's Maul, we met a young Luke Skywalker. He was really nice and looked enough like Luke to be convincing. Sometimes, R2-D2 and C-3PO appear with Luke. After Luke, Princess Leia was meeting fans in the same locations. She also appears with R2-D2 and C-3PO at times. Near the Star Tours face painting station, we met Queen Amidala. The line for Amidala was fairly short and we only waited about 15 minutes. Near the speeder across from Star Tours, Chewbacca and a couple of Ewoks were posing for photos. In the Streets of America, near the San Francisco backdrop, you could meet either Anakin Skywalker, ShaakTi, Mace Windu, or Kit Fisto. Near the Phineas & Ferb and Cars Meet and Greet areas, you could find Captain Rex, Clone Troopers, Asajj Ventress or Ahsoka Tano. In the covered area near the Backlot Tour was a very long line to meet Darth Vader. By the ABC Commissary, you could meet Darth Maul or Goofy in his Darth Vader costume. Across from him, you could meet Boba or Jango Fett and stand with your arms and legs in shackles. Between the ABC Commissary and the Great Movie Ride was the area for Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie, and Duck Maul. In addition to these character locations, there are also wandering characters, including Jawas, Tusken Raiders, Stromtroopers, and Tam Wesel.

Asajj Ventress

During our visit, we only met three characters, but they were all fantastic! Luke was very personable and kind to Bean and even spent several minutes talking with her and looking at her autograph photobook. Amidala was very in character and told us about her time in the Galactic Senate. ShaakTi suggested unique poses for each group of guests and really had quite a variety of fun poses to choose from. She was fantastic at putting guests at ease and getting them involved in some Star Wars fun.

In addition to the various costumed characters, different celebrities are available for autographs each weekend. To meet these celebrities, you must obtain a Fast Pass for that celebrity near the entrance to Hollywood Studios. There is a limit of one Fast Pass per person, so you must choose wisely. Also, the guest whose ticket was used to obtain the Fast Pass must be present to receive the Fast Pass, so you can't send one person with all of the tickets for a group to get your Fast Pass. Once you have a Fast Pass, you can go the the autograph for your chosen celebrity at the designated time to get your autograph. Also, you can only have one item autographed and one photo taken. Honestly, I'm not sure it's worth all of the hoops you have to jump through, so my family and I decided not to get any celebrity autographs.

The Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade is a parade of Star Wars characters. The parade lasts about 20 minutes and features groups of Stormtroopers, classic Star Wars characters, Mickey and friends in their Star Wars costumes, and cars full of Star Wars celebrities. Unfortunately, the celebrities can be somewhat obscure, such as a voice from the cartoons and may not be interesting to young children, but the costumed characters are a lot of fun. If you want to watch the parade, you'll need to get a seat early. I would recommend finding your spot at least 90 minutes before the parade starts as spaces fill up quickly.

The Padawan Mind Challenge is a trivia trial for kids age 11 and under. You do have to preregister to participate in this challenge. Kids use their knowledge of Star Wars: The Clone Wars to become Padawans, or Jedi Trainees. You can signup near the ABC Sound Studio, beginning when the park opens, but spaces fill up fast. There are only two shows a day, around 2 PM and 6:30 PM. The shows take place on the large stage set up in front of the Sorcerer's Hat. The crowds in this area can be very large, so if you'd like to watch the challenge, be sure to check your Times Guide and arrive early.

There are several special Behind the Scenes shows each weekend, hosted by one of the co-hosts of Star Wars Weekends. Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano, hosts Behind the Force: an insiders look at Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoons. James Arnold Taylor, the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, hosts two different shows. The first, Stars of the Saga, invites that weekends celebrity guests to sit down for an interview about their work. The second, Obi-Wan and Beyond, is a glimpse into the world of voice acting. James Arnold Taylor voices around 150 characters, so he is the perfect actor for such a show.

One of the favorite stops for collectors during Star Wars Weekends is the special shopping area. Available only during Star Wars Weekends and located through the gates near Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, the name and theme changes yearly. In 2012, the shop was called Darth's Maul. During the opening weekend the line was a 90 minute wait to get in and a 90 minute wait to get out. By the second weekend, there was no wait to get in and very little wait to get out. Darth's Maul was a giant tent filled with Disney exclusive Star Wars merchandise. Limited edition merchandise is also available. 2012 saw the release of a new collection of women's clothing designed by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano. The Her Universe collection debuted at Darth's Maul and included many shirts for women and girls as well as a few costume hoodies. The Princess Leia hoodie sported her famous hair buns and the girls Ahsoka hoodie looked just like Ahsoka. for the true collector, there were Darth Vader and Chewbacca costumes that cost over $100,000 each. Some of the limited edition goods were only available as a purchase with purchase. One was a photo frame with Duck Maul and Jedi Mickey. There was also a polar fleece throw with Duck Maul and a pin with the same design. There were quite a few pins that had been created especially for the event and two series of Vinylmation as well. We waited about 5 minutes to make our purchases, but the wait to purchase limited edition merchandise was 20-30 minutes. One of my favorite items was the Star Tours name tag. I purchased one with my name in Aurebesh, the language of the galaxy. You can also choose your home planet from one of the 15 available. I chose Endor because I love Ewoks. And new for 2012, the Droid Factory, a fun build-a-droid spot now permanently housed at Tatooine Traders.

One of my favorite collectibles from Star Wars Weekends was the R2-D2 popcorn buckets and lidded cups. The buckets were available filled with caramel popcorn, churros with chocolate sauce, a kids corndog and chips meal, or even a kids power pack with a cheese stick, carrots, yogurt, goldfish, and a cookie. The cups were available with either frozen lemonade, a milkshake, or hot fudge sundae. Other Star Wars treats included a Darth Vader cupcake, chocolate peanut butter flavored.Yum!

The final show of the night is the Hyperspace Hoopla. Described as an intergalactic dance competition, this show is loud and raucous. The characters dance to modern music with modern accessories. I have to say, this show was my least favorite part of Star Wars Weekends. The music is very loud! It can be heard throughout the park and is especially loud near the stage, which is located in front of the Sorcerer's Hat. I was also disappointed in the music, accessories, and dance styles that were used for the show. They were rather suggestive and not very family friendly. I wouldn't recommend taking small children to the Hyperpace Hoopla as I consider it to be an adult show.

If you want a VIP experience during Star Wars Weekends, those are available, too. The Feel the Force VIP dining event sounds like a lot of fun. You start with reserved seating for the Legends of the Force: Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade with beverages and snacks available. Then you also have reserved seating for the Symphony in the Stars fireworks which includes a Star Wars-themed dessert party. Finally, so the Force will be with you always, you receive a souvenir Disney Photopass card which includes complimentary Star Wars photos. This VIP event is a little pricey at $54 per adult and $32 per child, but I bet it's a lot of fun!

In all, I really enjoyed attending Star Wars Weekends. The characters were a lot of fun, the shows were great to watch, and the atmosphere was fantastic. I have always loved Star Wars and would recommend going to Star Wars Weekends to any fan.