Star Wars Weekends was a festival held annually at the
Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park of the
Walt Disney World Resort. 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 franchise created by
George Lucas. Many original Disney characters also appeared dressed as Star Wars characters, such as
JediMickey,
Minnie as
Leia,
Donald as a
stormtrooper,
Goofy as
Darth Vader 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.[1][2]
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 (since
Star Wars Celebration 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.[3] It originally was held at the Rebels Stage from 2008-2010. The show has 'retired' in 2014. In one 2013 show,
Emperor Palpatine 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. 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. Taylor demonstrates nearly 150 voices that he provides for famous Hollywood stars who are not 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.[4][5]
Jedi Training Academy originally was a part of Star Wars Weekend and only took place during it.[18] 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.