Feel The Force: Star Wars Weekend Parade and Fireworks Package Review

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Last week I attended my 3rd Star Wars weekend at Walt Disney World.? One of the special plans I made for my family included attending the Feel the Force VIP Dining Experience.? This is what’s called a hard ticket event meaning you must purchase an extra ticket on top of your theme park ticket.? The best things in life are free?? Well, maybe not.?? Because I thought this package was worth the cost.

The first part of the package included special viewing for the Legends of the Force: Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade.

Important to note: we planned this event for the morning after the 24hr Rock Your Disney Side event.? Yeah.? About that.? We didn’t make it all 24 hours, but we were out really late and slept in on Saturday as a result.?? With 6 people trying to get up and get moving, let’s just say we don’t do things very quickly.? We ended up on a later bus than expected and basically ran through Hollywood Studios to make the parade on time.?? This is where I have to say the VIP section was totally worth it.? If we wanted to find a spot for the parade that morning, it never would have happened.? However once we made our way around the roped off parade route and found the viewing location, we were golden.? We arrived 10 minutes before the parade started.

Since we arrived to the VIP area late we didn’t have the front row viewing I hoped for.? Thankfully I have 3 kids who were small enough to sit in the front section with other kids (everyone was completely accommodating) and still got some great pictures from the parade.?? To give you an idea, here’s a picture of Luke and his location.? He had my iPhone and took some of the best pictures of the day from his spot.

The location provided an uncrowded location to watch the parade and show.? We were also given unlimited access to bottled water, sodas, ice cream and Popsicles.? We took some water with us when the parade was over and probably made up a bit of our entrance fee with these items alone!? I am not a huge parade person and have skipped this parade in the past because I do not want to waste the time needed to line up 90 minutes early for a good viewing spot.?? Having the area roped off for us made this a no brainer add-on for me.

The second part of the event happened that evening.? The Symphony in the Stars fireworks viewing location was the same area as the parade location.

We headed into Hollywood Studios about 7:30pm Saturday night.? The party was posted as being open from 9-10.? It actually started at 8pm and as luck would have it I was standing nearby and noticed the opening of the line.?? Unfortunately, I was a bit slow on the draw and missed snagging a table.? Instead of standing at a table, we found a spot right up front with a perfect view of the stage and fireworks viewing.? Conveniently we were also by a dessert table and trash can (with 4 kids, this is a good thing!)? The table really didn’t get much action since it was kinda out of the way- unless you counted my family. We certainly had our fill of desserts!

We filled up on all you can eat desserts and all you can drink beverages.? The kids had more ice cream and sodas offered to them as well.? For the adults, alcoholic beverages were available.? While they weren’t margaritas, my favorite, they were delish.? I decided to have my dessert in liquid form and have absolutely no regrets.? Again, if I was to add up what we drank and ate at this event, I am quite sure we at the very least broke even.? Maybe even came out ahead since we were all really, really thirsty.? Ahem.

While all the food and booze was good, the show and fireworks were even better.? Trust me: nothing is as cool in my world as? fireworks and Star Wars music.?? Before the fireworks we watched a stage show where many of the characters from the series made appearances.? The host, James Arnold Taylor, did a fantastic job at both events.? My sons, big Clone Wars fans, loved hearing him do Obi-Wan’s voice.?? I loved watching the show from feet away and having a perfectly clear view of all the activities.? My kids were thrilled that their view was not blocked.

?Was this hard ticket party worth the money for my family?? We say YES.? But I can see how it may not be worth it for some families.? If you aren’t an alcohol drinker or sweets fan, then this might be something over priced just for the views.? The views were pretty good, however you were only able to see a portion of the fireworks since you were seated so close to the stage show.? So pick and choose which is more important.? Here’s my fireworks view.? I didn’t think I was missing out on anything.? The entirety of the sky in front of me was filled with fireworks.? I was one happy Shenanigans!? And that wasn’t a Jedi Mind Trick (or 3) talking either!

Have you been to Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World?? Parade or fireworks- which one do you like the most?

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