''Star Wars'' Weekends was a festival held annually at the

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Ma ...

theme park of the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

. 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 ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' franchise created by

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

. Many original Disney characters also appeared dressed as ''Star Wars'' characters, such as

Jedi Jedi (), Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are the main heroic protagonists of many works of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, and later supporting the Rebel Alliance, the Jedi O ...

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men ...

, Minnie as

Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan ...

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

as a

stormtrooper Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *'' Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party *8th I ...

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

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.

Events

* Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple — Live show at the

Rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...

stage. Based on the teachings and practices of the fictional Jedi Knights from the ''

'' films, the show depends heavily on

audience participation An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

, focusing on children. Each participant is given a

lightsaber A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout the ''Star Wars'' franchise. A typical lightsaber is depicted as a luminescent plasma blade about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the or ...

replica and Jedi robes and is taught a routine set of

swordfighting Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to an ...

moves. *'' Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular'' — A large-scale fireworks show complemented with

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

' 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 The Sorcerer's Hat was a structure and the thematic icon of Disney's Hollywood Studios, the third of four theme parks built at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake, Florida, from 2001 to 2015. The structur ...

(since

Star Wars Celebration The ''Star Wars'' Celebration is a fan gathering to celebrate the ''Star Wars'' franchise. It began in 1999, when Lucasfilm held the ''Star Wars'' Celebration in Denver, Colorado to celebrate the upcoming release of '' Star Wars: Episode I � ...

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 Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, ''The Empire Strikes ...

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 Ashley Eckstein (; born September 22, 1981) is an American actress and fashion designer. She is the founder of the fashion label Her Universe. She is best known for voicing the role of Ahsoka Tano throughout the '' Star Wars'' franchise, beginn ...

. 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 James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the ''Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final Fa ...

. Taylor demonstrates nearly 150 voices that he provides for famous Hollywood stars who aren't available for projects as well as characters for television shows, animated films and video games. *Carbon Freeze Me — Interactive attraction located at ABC Sound Studio, where guests are able to have their face scanned and reproduced in a prism of carbonite, which is then available for purchase.

Appearances

Attractions

Jedi Training Academy

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.

Character appearances

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 Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced as the Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she is a supporting character in the animated film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2008) and the subsequent animated telev ...

Queen Amidala Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, Aurra Sing,

Boba Fett Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...

Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes Mos Eisley is a spaceport town in the fictional '' Star Wars'' universe. Located on the planet Tatooine, it first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'', described by the character Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) as a "wretched hive ...

Princess Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...

Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...

(often has a sack containing a busted C-3PO), Clonetroopers,

Darth Maul Darth Maul, also known simply as Maul, is a character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. He first appeared as the secondary antagonist of the 1999 film '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (portrayed by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Se ...

Ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the '' Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in comp ...

Jango Fett Jango Fett is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, created by George Lucas. He first appeared as an antagonist in the 2002 film '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'', played by Temuera Morrison. The character is a ...

, Jawas,

Palpatine Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, ''The Empire Strikes ...

, Shaak Ti,

Greedo Greedo Tetsu Jr. is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was a Rodian bounty hunter from the Tetsu Clan and worked for gangster Jabba the Hutt. Greedo's Huttese language is based on Quechua, the Inca language. He appears i ...

, Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders,

Kit Fisto This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

Mace Windu Mace Windu is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Windu was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel trilogy. Jackson reprised the role in the 2008 animated film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' and with voice only in the 20 ...

Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

Boushh Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...

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.

References

External links

*
List of Actors and Characters
{{Star Wars Recurring events established in 1997 Recurring events disestablished in 2015 Attractions based on Star Wars Disney's Hollywood Studios Star Wars fandom Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Events at Walt Disney World 1997 establishments in Florida