It's easy to get caught up in the fantasy of Star Wars. Many of us have known about Star Wars and its story from our earliest memories in childhood. Others of us are older, but still, the story is so old that it's become part of our culture. It's hard to remember sometimes that it's only a story line.
The line between fantasy and truth does indeed seem to get confused. One day as we were entering Hollywood Studios, we were standing in line at Security. On this particular day, Disney had implemented new security measures and they weren't allowing anything in the parks that resembled a weapon. They weren't even allowing the ray gun bubble making machines into the park that were on sale just the day before.
The people immediately in front of us had a brand new lightsaber; one that sells at the Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios for quite a bit of money and, you guessed it, the security cast member would not allow the lightsaber into the park.
Your first instinct might be to question the intelligence of the guard for something like this, but we're thinking that it's more a symptom of the culture Star Wars has created for this person's entire life. The franchise has been so good at presenting its story that the line between reality and fantasy was not clear in the heat of the moment, with new procedures, and so on. After all, his instructions were probably something like, “don't allow anything in the park that resembles a real weapon.” And we've all seen the damage a real lightsaber can do, so the toy version would seem to fit the bill.
We were amused as we entered the park. The people with the lightsaber returned it to their car before entering. Of course, this situation was eventually resolved, as we often see those pesky lightsabers around the parks these days.
It's likely you will run into Stormtroopers as you walk around Hollywood Studios, so have your papers ready. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
For this month's photo tour, we walked around Hollywood Studios and took in everything Star Wars we could find. The park is in a Star Wars frenzy, no doubt working its way up to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge some time in 2019. There are stage shows depicting the most popular Star Wars characters, there's Padawan training, and several small shops selling mostly Star Wars items, including a well-equipped shop called Star Wars Launch Bay that has some seriously high-quality Star Wars artwork. It's not uncommon to see Stormtroopers patrolling, keeping things in order. So let's take a look.
March of the First Order
You can witness The March of the First Order led by Captain Phasma. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Stormtroopers march down Hollywood Boulevard on their way to Center Stage near the Great Movie Ride. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Several times a day, a platoon of Stormtroopers, led by Captain Phasma, makes its way down Hollywood Boulevard. It begins near the park's entrance and heads down to Center Stage. The Stormtroopers take the stage while the Captain tells us what it takes to be one, and explains how rewarding and glorious the career is. They then make their way back up Hollywood Boulevard while a stage show, Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, begins.
Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Interspersed between the Stormtroopers marching down Hollywood Boulevard, there's a brief stage show on Center Stage, near the Great Hollywood Movie Ride. We call it a show, but rather than having a plot or twist, this is more of a parade of some of the more memorable Star Wars characters. It was entertaining, so be sure and see it.
The stage show Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, performs several times a day. It features many of the characters in Star Wars. Darth Maul, a Sith Lord, makes an appearance, and demonstrates his expertise with his double-edged lightsaber. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Chewbacca, everyone's favorite Wookiee makes an appearance at the stage show Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away. When we think about it, Chewbacca is not only our favorite Wookiee, he's the only Wookiee we know of. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Boba Fett, the feared bounty hunter, demonstrates his shooting skills in the stage show, Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Darth Vader makes an appearance during the show Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away. He tries to turn the crowd to the dark side with a compelling argument. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
There's another twist to this show that we enjoy: Walk around to the back side of the stage just before the show begins. We've done this a couple of times, and enjoyed it almost as much as the actual show. We've found that as the characters walk by to go on and off the stage, they frequently interact with guests. The interaction isn't much because they're busy, but you'd be surprised how a nod from Chewbacca, or a hard, intimidating stare from Boba Fett, or even a wave from C-3PO can make your day.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple
There's a temple near Star Tours where young Padawans can receive Jedi training. This is called Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, and it's available to younglings between the ages of 4 and 12. If you're planning a day at Hollywood Studios, and if you have young people in your crowd that you think might benefit from some training in the ways of the Force, this might be for you.
Training is first-come, first-served. You sign up by making your way to the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost, located between the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and the 50's Prime Time Café. Do this early in the morning when you get there, since this activity is very popular. And as a word of advice, to avoid disappointment in case you can't get a reservation, you might not advertise this too much to your young ones until you have the reservation nailed down. You can learn more about Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple here.
Young Padawans using the Force to open the temple. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. Darth Vader, exiting the temple. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Some of the young Padawans will go up against the Seventh Sister at Jedi Training. Photo by bonnie Fink.
Darth Vader with an AT-AT in the background. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
The young Padawans will face their greatest fear, Darth Vader or the Seventh Sister who use the power of the dark side. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Kylo Ren also makes an appearance at the Jedi temple. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Kylo Ren using the force against one of the older Padawans at the Jedi training. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. Jedi master and his apprentices with the At-At Walker in the background. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Star Tours – The Adventure Continues, opened as a new and refreshed version in May 2011 at Hollywood Studios. This new version added new characters and scenes to the older ride. There are several different endings to the tour, and you never know which one you'll see each time you ride. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
This speeder bike is located in front of Star Tours, and makes for a nice photo spot. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Launch Bay
Launch Bay is located in the Animation Courtyard, to the right of Center Stage as you face it from Hollywood Boulevard. Inside Launch Bay, you can find several interesting things to do. First, there's a short presentation featuring some of the backstage people involved in the Star Wars franchise. This presentation takes just a few minutes, and gives an indication of the scope and commitment of Disney to Star Wars. For us die-hard Star Wars fans, it's encouraging to see that good things are still coming our way.
If you make your way beyond the short film theater, there's an area that's used as a character meet-and-greet. We've found Chewbacca, BB-8, and Kylo Ren in this area. There's usually a bit of a wait since this activity is popular.
There's a museum of sorts here, too. We found speeder bikess from several of the Star Wars movies, ships, uniforms, and weapons of all kinds. Many items we were unfamiliar with, so as with any museum, it was not only entertaining, but informative. While we were enjoying the displays, various Star Wars citizens, like Stormtroopers and Jawas, were available for pictures. Or in the case of the Stormtroopers, pictures as well as general intimidation and harassing. Hey, they're Stormtroopers. That's what they do.
Droid Tri-fighters, displayed here in the museum at Star Wars Launch Bay, is a small automated fighter used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. it was a small, pilotless craft used for intense dogfighting and close-range space battles. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
At the Launch Bay you can also purchase a Star Tours name tag. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
At the Launch Bay store you can find a BB-8 to take home with you. There are actually several sizes available, to match different-sized budgets. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
In the Launch Bay, you can pick up some high quality artwork centered around Star Wars. There is a large selection of small statues for your collection at home that would make any Star Wars addict proud to display, and for those folks that just can't get enough, there's this life-sized statue of a Stormtrooper. We don't usually mention prices, but the $9,000 price tag we saw on this piece really brought home the idea that the Launch Bay is serious about providing first-class art in a Star Wars theme. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
What young Padawan wouldn't want a TIE fighter bubble machine? Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular
Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. State-of-the-art projection effects, lasers, fireworks and the music of Star Wars. Photo by Bonnie Fink.
Until Star Wars started taking front and center attention at Hollywood Studios, the park was not generally regarded as a place for fireworks. We could usually count on some kind of show during holidays, particularly New Year's, but lately, they have really scaled up their efforts.
“Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” is the Star Wars-themed fireworks display presented most nights at Hollywood Studios. It's presented directly behind and around Center Stage, so the best viewing is right in front of the stage.
Taking pictures of the event is a bit problematic, since much of the action is being projected on the buildings, and of course, you can stake out your area as far in advance as you want, but just 30 seconds before the show starts, the guy in front of you will put his daughter on his shoulders, blocking all of your view of the buildings.
Still, watching the show is pretty good anywhere around center stage and indeed, in many locations around the park.
One thing worth mentioning is the dessert party associated with the fireworks show. We've done a few of these over the years, and always enjoy them. This one is called Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party. Currently, the party is at the Launch Bay, where you get the usual themed desserts and drinks as well as access to a preferred viewing area for the fireworks show.
Excerpts from March of the First Order, Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away, and Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. Video by Donald Fink.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is under construction in both Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, and at Disneyland in Anaheim. They'll be completed sometime in 2019. Other than that, we have very little first-hand information of the project, and there's really nothing to show in a photo tour—but this project is so big and important to not only Disney, but the fans of Star Wars, that it would seem to be irresponsible not to mention it.
Not long ago, Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, Alan Dalinka, and others from Mouseplanet were at the D23 Expo in California, and brought back some solid information about the Star Wars lands. Adrienne posted quite a bit of information about Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in one of her weekly updates here.
From our experience with Pandora, and Disney's over-the-top attention to detail, we can't wait to see Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. As a parting thought, we'll leave you with the image of construction below.
Construction of the new Star Wars land, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, is under full steam at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. It's too soon to tell what things will be just from peeking over the fence, but this view is from near one of the exits of Toy Story Mania in the Pixar Place area. Photo by Alan S. Dalinka.
