Star Wars Weekends

Disney's Hollywood Studios has announced that it will once again host Star Wars Weekends. The dates for this year's annual event are May 21, 2010 through June 13, 2010. The event runs for 4 consecutive weekends, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Entry to this event is included in your theme park admission.

Centered around the park's famous Star Tours thrill ride, Star Wars Weekends not only fills Disney's Hollywood Studios with dozens of Star Wars characters, it's packs in more fun filled activities than you can imagine.

You can "Meet-and-Greet" with famous villains and heroes from the entire Star Wars saga. Never let your guard down though, guests never know which Star Wars character they'll find around the corner! Coming face to face with an armed Storm Trooper is not uncommon!

Each weekend, different Star Wars celebrities are special guests and take part in meet-and-greets, interviews and Hollywood-style motorcades. Over 50 Star Wars characters from the entire saga will be featured.

Disney is releasing the limited edition LE Holographic Emperor Stitch in honor of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Here’s what you should note — it’ll be limited to 1,980 figures. That’ll make it a very rare item in the Disney Star Wars Action Figure Series. The piece will come on a numbered back card and in a collector blister case molded with the Star Wars Weekends logo.

Want one? It’ll be available in May at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. The figure will cost $11.95.

Also set to launch in May during Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida, is a commemorative set of figures from the original Star Tours boarding party, featuring Star Tours Officer, Kaink, Teek, Ree-Yees and Chewbacca. Ree-Yees will include a custom 3-eye camera as seen in the Star Tours pre-boarding video.

The boarding party will not be as rare as the Holographic Emperor Stitch figure but it will be a one-time production run, limited to 15,000 pieces. Sets will also be available at the Disneyland Resort.

The 2010 Celebrity Schedule (subject to change):

All 4 weekends: Celebrity Host:
Clone Wars: Behind the Force: Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano)
Empire and Return of the Jedi: Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett)

Weekend 1 (May 21 - 23) Send in the Clones:
Temuera Morrison - Played Jango Fett, as well as the clone troopers in the live action movies.
Daniel Logan - Played Boba Fett and all the clone cadets in Episode II.
Dee Bradley Baker - Voice of all the clone troopers in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, including the ever popular Captain Rex.

Weekend 2 (May 28 - 30) True Masters:
Matthew Wood - The rasping voice of General Grievous and his chatty battle droids and sound editor on the Star Wars prequels and The Clone Wars.
Lorne Peterson - Veteran ILM model-maker who worked behind-the-scenes on all six Star Wars movies.
Tom Kane - Voice of Yoda in The Clone Wars, and also the narrator who begins each show with a rousing introduction.

Weekend 3 (June 4 - 6):
Billy Dee Williams - Famous for his role as Lando Calrissian, administrator of Cloud City and Rebel hero.
Ray Park - The energetic, acrobatic villain Darth Maul from Episode I.
Dave Filoni - The supervising director of The Clone Wars.

Weekend 4 (June 11 - 13):
Ray Park - Darth Maul returns for a second weekend.
Peter Mayhew - The gentle giant behind Chewbacca the Wookiee.
James Arnold Taylor - The voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars, as well as Plo Koon.

Special Events and Activities (taken from previous years)

Characters
Encounter over 50 Star Wars characters from the entire saga. From Darth Vader and Darth Maul to Anakin and Chewbacca, you'll find some of your favorite heroes and villains from a galaxy far, far away.

Celebrities
Meet and greet your favorite Star War celebrities, enjoy the Legends of the Force celebrity motorcade, and discover the stories behind the movies during the Stars of the Saga – Talk Show and Q & A.

Star Wars characters that may appear: Ahsoka, Anakin Skywalker, Aurra Sing, Boba Fett, Cantina Band, Chewbacca, Clone Troopers, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Ewoks, Gamorrean Guard, Jango Fett, Jawas, Jedi Mickey, Kit Fisto, Leia Minnie, Mace Windu, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Queen Amidala, R2-D2, Shaak Ti, Stormtroopers, Stormtrooper Donald, Tusken Raiders, Vader Goofy and Zam Wesell

Jedi Training Academy
Audience participants are chosen to as Padawan, and learn the ways of the Force before coming face to face with Darth Vader.

Behind the Force: Experience The Clone Wars
Preview Star Wars: The Clone Wars through the behind the scenes documentary of the all-new animated movie.

Star Tours
Travel to Endor with Captain Rex.

Padawan Mind Challenge
Kids under 12 test their Star War knowledge before the Jedi Council.

Hyperspace Hoopla
Party with Star War characters at the end of each Star Wars Weekend day.

Wicket’s Warehouse
Shop a galaxy of Star Wars themed and limited-edition merchandise developed just for Star Wars Weekends 2009.

Photo Opportunities
Snap a pic' of your favorite Star War characters and celebrities each weekend during the month-long event.

For the latest Star Wars Weekends updates, guests may also visit StarWars.com or DisneyWorld.com.

For a detailed look at past Star Wars Weekends check out:
Star Wars Weekends 2008
Star Wars Weekends 2007
Star Wars Weekends 2005

You will also find a first hand report from 2006, written by our Event Reporter Jane Jones, here: Star Wars Weekends 2006.

Updated May 15, 2009