**Official** Star Wars at DHS, Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party/Galactic Nights/Launch Bay/JT

[Glenda Brandon]

It's to do with height. Shorter kids on stage with Darth, taller kids below stage with 7th Sister. ... or that's been our experience, including on the Tour.

This makes me sad.....we missed Jedi Training in 2015 as they stopped it the day before we arrived. My DS 10 has his heart set on fighting Vader (he'd prefer to pledge allegiance ) but he's a giant for his age so will probably be below stage. No harm in asking though right?

 

[wmoon]

@wmoon did you feel that doing the tour was a good use of time? Or do you think you could cover the same things in less time? Trying to decide between the tour or just the dessert party!

Sorry for the delay. We are only just back from our trip.
It was fine for us but we were onsite with tickets for 12 days. Yes you could do everything quicker but it would be a different experience. We went to the park a few hours before and used our 3 fp before the tour.

 

[wmoon]

This makes me sad.....we missed Jedi Training in 2015 as they stopped it the day before we arrived. My DS 10 has his heart set on fighting Vader (he'd prefer to pledge allegiance ) but he's a giant for his age so will probably be below stage. No harm in asking though right?

My son is a very tall 9 year old. He fought Vader. We did the tour and all the tour kids had Vader.

 

[wmoon]

Please forgive me if this has already been asked.

We are very lucky to be able to do the Star Wars tour at the end of August. Are the children participating in the tour more likely to "Battle" with Darth Vader during the Jedi training? Or is it still a 50/50 chance of who you get to battle?

Thank you.

On our tour on the 15th all tour kids fought vader regardless of height.

 

[TulipMom]

I'm sure this has been answered many times, but I can't seem to find just the right info &/or link. Would love for someone to help me by answering the questions or pointing me to an answer...

It's only been 2 years since our last Disney trip, but my DS(7) has reached a whole new level of Star Wars love. We will be at DHS in late October. Crowd forecasted at 5 out of 10. If DH and DS plan to arrive at 8:30, is that typically sufficient to get a spot for Jedi Training? They are early risers and don't mind arriving early, but also don't want them there unnecessarily early.

Also - Star Wars Launch Bay... I don't want it to eat up too much of our day. How much time should we allow? Which character meet & greets are currently there? Just Chewbacca and Kylo Ren?

 

[yulilin3]

I'm sure this has been answered many times, but I can't seem to find just the right info &/or link. Would love for someone to help me by answering the questions or pointing me to an answer...

It's only been 2 years since our last Disney trip, but my DS(7) has reached a whole new level of Star Wars love. We will be at DHS in late October. Crowd forecasted at 5 out of 10. If DH and DS plan to arrive at 8:30, is that typically sufficient to get a spot for Jedi Training? They are early risers and don't mind arriving early, but also don't want them there unnecessarily early.

Also - Star Wars Launch Bay... I don't want it to eat up too much of our day. How much time should we allow? Which character meet & greets are currently there? Just Chewbacca and Kylo Ren?

For JT the earlier the better just because you will have less wait time to sign up. I'd they get there at 8:30 they might see a wait time of about 20 minutes or more to sign up.
Launch Bay has Kylo Ren, Chewbacca and BB8. The amount of time there will depend on character wait times and also how much you want to read all the info on the props and replicas.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Reporting back after our dessert party experience on Friday July 14th, a tour night... We arrived late bcuz we grabbed a 4th FP for TTMM.
We still found a spot to eat, I'm not familiar with the area, but it was were the Jawas are, and there was a little bar like area in the corner.
One Jawa was obsessed with DGS in my DD's carrier, and had him laughing, which was surprising because you would think the Jawas would be scary.
Loved the Nutella stuff! We quickly ate a few deserts and then headed over to meets, which we pretty much walked straight into for all 3. Chewie still my favorite, the kids had never done this meet before, just myself and DS5 have, so it was a lot of fun for them to experience Chewie. Kylo Ren seemed to talk even more than our last encounter, so that was fun. And DS5 thought BB8 was prety awesome.
When we arrived a couple of stormtroopers were in the hallway talking to my DS5, and lead him into the party. He LOVED that, so not being at the front of the escort out to the viewing wasn't a priority, thank goodness, bcuz we were near the back after returning from the bathrooms.

We stood to the back of the viewing, just incase DGS8months woke and was unhappy (he fell asleep shorty before it started), and we were busy trying to fit all of our fighters into the stroller... We ended up giving a couple away to some boys on the way out.

We enjoyed the show, DS13 said it made him want to watch all the movies again.

Side note, we also watched the Star Wars stage show during the day, and enjoyed that as well. Fun to see all the characters.

 

[Vickie1016]

Hi everyone! Just returned from a magical stay at Wilderness Lodge which included 10 park days. I wanted to return the favor to all the wonderful people that posted reviews of their HS - Star Wars days. As mentioned in a previous post, we did the Star Wars Dessert Party last July and wanted to give it another try this year. Very glad we did - everything was wonderful from the staff to the desserts to the viewing location.

Thanks in advance to Yulilin3 & Fastpasser for all their insight and keeping us posted with the latest information!

Our Star Wars HS day was Friday 7/14. We were 2 families of 3 each with DD (DD is now 11 & her friend is 8). We had PPO bkfst at Hollywood & Vine for 8:00 am (DD still loves Jake...lol). We arrived at the gates for 7:15 & there were approx 5 families in front of us. By 7:50, they let the PPO bkfst families in. We headed straight to Jedi Training check in area (directly past H&V) & we were the only two families from the PPO bkfst line that went straight there. We were able to pick the 6:40 show. As we walked back to H&V, more families started to go to the Jedi Training check in area.

Bkfast was great, as always. We finished up a little after 9:00 & used our fastpasses for the day. We watched the March of the First Order & then the noon stage show of Star Wars, A Galaxy Far Far Away. Both of which we loved.

*** Side note here - it was hot & humid this day but there was a big cloud. Then it decided to move and waiting in the sun for the start of the show was brutal. DD11 was not feeling well because of the sun, so I had to take her to first aid for an ice pack. Please think about this when picking your show time.***

After that we did Launch Bay. The wait times for all the meet & greets we no longer then 20 minutes, but each line moved quickly. The Jawas were awesome - as usual. Stopped for many pictures & interactions. But, they did not trade - and we told the girls this ahead of time so they were not disappointed.

So we went about our day & arrived at Jedi Training at 6:10 for the 6:40 show. Now here is where the Tour comes into play. The full tour was already at the check in area & all the kids were already assigned spots (all on the dots closest to the rope.) DD & her friend were both assigned the spots on the rear line as well as any other child that checked in after us. We (the moms) waited with the girls while DH(s) went to the stage to get a spot to watch & tape the show. Once they arrived and got a spot, they were told to move, as the Tour gets to watch from the taped off area (which happens to be a big area tapped off). Thankfully DH was able to move over a little into a new spot.

As we get to the stage, just prior to show time, DH realizes that the girls will be "fighting" the Sisth Sister. Ok not a big deal to us but it was a big deal to the girls, they wanted to fight Vader as they were both dressed a Rey. The show was great, the Jedi master was very into character. Photo pass was great as well. I am not sure if the Tour always gets the 6:40 show or if it was just this day. If I knew that they would be at this 6:40 show & assigned all the spots to fight Vader, I would have picked the earlier show so that they girls had a fair chance in fighting Vader - lesson learned.

Now on to the Dessert Party. We went straight to Launch Bay after Jedi Training as we all wanted to do the meet & greets with the girls dressed as Rey. Again, the lines were about 15-20 minutes. Thanks to Yulilin3, we staked out a table that had benches right up against the wall (directly outside the roped off area). As discussed previously, the Tour was let in about 15 prior to everyone else. Being we knew about it, we let it roll off our backs, but most of the other party guests were very upset & letting all the Cast Members know it. Personally, I don't agree with it, don't really see any need for it, but it did not damper our experience at all. FROZEN NUTELLA !!!!! That's all I have to say!!! AMAZING!!! All of the desserts were wonderful, always replenished quickly & the area was always spotless! Not a dirty cup or plate to be seen. The parents loved the savory items as well as the desserts. The drinks were not as sweet this year I found. The bartenders did have a heavy hand.

After we had our fill of desserts, DH(s) stayed behind in the dessert party to receive the "gift", while we took the girls out to the viewing area early. We were trying to catch the end of the other projection show (but we were too late). The CM did let us into the viewing area early, so we staked out a spot to watch the Fireworks. As like last year - the show is awesome! Standing there, you are fully surrounded by the fire, the lights, the fireworks, the projections! Truly an amazing show!!

After the show was over, we waited a little while to let some of the crowd disperse. Overall a truly fantastic HS-Star Wars day!!

My final thoughts - this is now the 2nd time we did the dessert party. This year's experience was completely different than last year - for the better. I would have no problem booking the dessert party again next year. Not having to camp out to find a spot in the summer months is a big benefit. Attending on a Tour Day was not a big of a problem as I first thought it might be. Only downside was the Jedi Training (section of viewing area taped off & the girls not getting fair chance to fight Vader).

Happy Planning to everyone! Enjoy the rest of the summer!!

**Edited for spelling typos.

 

[NuJoy]

()

 

[FastPasser.]

This year's experience was completely different than last year

Was the party you went to last July still outdoors?

 

[bethbuchall]

Thanks for the great reviews! I'm still torn on this one but need to make the decision soon.

 

[Vickie1016]

Was the party you went to last July still outdoors?

No, last year was inside as well. The set up of tables and desserts were a little different last year. The drinks (from what I remember) last year were way too sweet. This year less sweet.

We did attend the Frozen Dessert Party several years ago at HS & that was outside. Had a wonderful time at that party as well. Liked the DJ.

 

[JennLTX]

My son is a very tall 9 year old. He fought Vader. We did the tour and all the tour kids had Vader.

On our tour on the 15th all tour kids fought vader regardless of height.

Clearly the organization was not strong with our guides. It all worked out fine; DS thinks the 7th Sister is cool, and the other boy from our tour who wound up fighting her didn't seem to care. Which was probably for the best because he was a GIANT. Like, taller than the apprentice, and nearly eye-to-eye with the 7th Sister!

 

[FastPasser.]

We did attend the Frozen Dessert Party several years ago at HS & that was outside. Had a wonderful time at that party as well.

Yup, I was there too.

Liked the DJ.

There was one that was very good, but one that wasn't.

 

[Vickie1016]

Yup, I was there too.
There was one that was very good, but one that wasn't.

Wow - you get to create and be part of the magic every night! Thanks again to all the AMAZING Cast Members who make all of our trips Magical !!!

We also attended the Happily Ever After Dessert Party, Garden View area this year (last minute splurge when the weather did not cooperate the first night of our trip). That was wonderful as well! Staff was amazing, again not a dirty plate or cup to be seen. Great choices of desserts & fun cookie/cupcake decorating area for the kids. Totally worth the $$ not to have to grab a spot early with thousands of your closest (lol) friends.

Disney knows how to host a dessert party...lol

 

[FastPasser.]

Wow - you get to create and be part of the magic every night!

And the fact that I can be part of the magic anywhere, and I really do mean anywhere, at WDW does make it fun.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

And the fact that I can be part of the magic anywhere, and I really do mean anywhere, at WDW does makes it fun.

I'm not going to sing Wind Beneath My Wings or anything (no one wants that!), but it really is people like you that MAKE a Disney vacation!

Let me know if we can harass you on 8/10, our party night.

 

[cooperams]

We have an 8am PPO at H&V (also Fantasmic! Package). We did this mostly to get our girls spots for Jedi Training. Thinking about canceling it though.
A) What time do they let everyone into the park (not PPO people)?
B) if we are near the front of this crowd, do you think there will be spots left for 11:10 or 11:40?
C) can we get through the sign-up process before rope drop? We value those first few mi utes before the lines build.
TIA!!

 

[PrincessHanasMom]

Do the tour kids always do evening Jedi training?

Just trying to maximize chances of my kids fighting Vader, and will gladly schedule around tour training spots as needed.

 

[FastPasser.]

Just goes to show you that Disney does listen..... sometimes.

A few pages back there was a very energetic discussion regarding the policy of allowing the tour group in before regular party guests. Many of you, and others not on here, let Disney know how you felt. I'm glad to report that as a direct result of guest complaints, the tour group is no longer allowed in first. They'll have to get inline along with everyone else.

They will however receive a perk to replace the perk that was taken away. The tour group will have a pre-party mini event in the courtyard at the Launch Bay where beverages will be served prior to opening. After that, they are free to get in line.