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‘Star Wars’ Weekends 2013 Dates Announced

“Luke, We’re gonna have company!” — Han Solo

If your starship can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (I’m still trying to figure out how fast that is), set your hyperdrive for the Disney’s Hollywood Studios sector for May and early June, for the 2013 edition of Star Wars Weekends.

This year’s Force-filled fun will take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 17 – June 9, 2013.

James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein Share a Laugh On-stage at Star Wars Weekends 2012.  The Pair Will Return as Celebrity Hosts in 2013.

While details are still being planned, we’re excited to announce that James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein are returning as celebrity hosts for the annual special event. James, the voice behind many of the most famous animated characters in film, television and commercials, is known to Star Wars fans as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series. Ashley, who started her show business career as a parade dancer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, is the voice of Anakin’s ambitious Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

James is the Official Celebrity Host of Star Wars Weekends 2013, and Ashley is Celebrity Host of “Behind the Force,” a live show that takes fans behind-the-scenes in the Star Wars universe.

Be sure to program your scanning droids to check here for the latest updates from the Galactic Senate about Star Wars Weekends 2013.

For guests who may be considering a visit to Walt Disney World Resort for their very first Star Wars Weekends, here’s a short overview video with our own galactic reporter, “Jedi John” (please note his very stylish “mic saber”). While the celebrity appearances for this year have not been announced (stay tuned for those names in an upcoming post), John talks to some Star Wars celebrities from past events to get their thoughts.

Comments

  • Anyone know if they will have Carbonite Me? Pretty cool!

  • Will Star Wars Weekends ever come to the Disneyland Resort?

  • So So So excited! We are taking our daughter (just turned 2) and going with our cousin’s and there daughter (will just be turning 4) and it is the 1st trip for 4 out of 5 of us … including me. We picked the weekend of the 18th with hopes to be there for SW weekend and this confirms it!!! YAY! We are such SW geeks! love it!

  • Do you have to book for the Star War Weekends or can you just turn up on the day?

  • Keith if I were you I would contact the 501st and have some Storm Troopers at your wedding…..

  • Will any of the events require reservations or be limited?

  • Booked for Memorial Day weekend. I hope they do bring back the “Carbon Freeze Me” as I missed it. So if you have any influence to get it back for 2013, maybe I’ll buy you a frozen Mickey bar!

  • I just got back from a Christmas trip to Walt Disney World, and now I’m already looking into going for Star Wars Weekends, or as I like to call it, “Nerd Christmas”.

  • A parsec is a unit of distance, not time. Should be a good time, though, with Disney now owning Lucasfilms.

  • So sad that we’ll be missing it this year. We already booked our trip for February, to coincide with our anniversary and my son’s birthday.
    But other members of our 501st and Rebel Legion “family” will be representing us from New England, so we’ll just have to be there in spirit!

  • Great to read. Do you know if the “Freeze in Carbonite” experience is going to be there this year. I missed it last year.

    • Thanks Mitchell, for reading and taking the time to comment. I have not heard plans as to whether the “Carbon Freeze Me Experience” will be returning this year. I know it was done last year as a special feature at the event, and then as a special event at the international “Star Wars Celebration” held in Orlando. I’ll take a look into it and see what I can find out.

  • So excited dates are finally released! My son was granted a wish last May and it is to be a Jedi during Star Wars Weekend! We are SO excited for him. It feels a little more real today that he is really receiving a wish!

  • Can’t wait for 2013 SWW! I’m sure the first year that Star Wars is officially under the Disney umbrella will make this a special one.

    Mary

  • How to cross off Four items from the Bucket List in 4 days in 2013!

    Step 1. Get Married at WDW. May 15, 2013.
    Step 2. Get Wedding Photos taken in MK. Morning of May 16, 2013.
    Step 3. Honeymoon Begins at Star Wars Weekends. May 17, 2013.
    Step 4. Honeymoon Continues on the Disney Fantasy. May 18, 2013.

    • Keith, congratulations! Sounds like quite a wonderful visit. I’ll be sure to keep a lookout for a wedding-themed Jedi couple at the event this year!

  • Well that is disappointing. Only 4 weekends? I would have thought they would have more this year being the first year owning Lucas-films. Plus we booked our reservations for the weekend of the 14th, since it was around that time last year. Disney reconsider and add a couple more dates. Please!

  • Can’t wait! We booked a while back with our fingers crossed, but now it’s officially on for SWW 2013!

  • So excited for this. Also, about the parsec, it’s actually a unit of measurement (roughly 3.26 light years) so in the movie when Han brags about making the run in less than 12 parsecs, he was bragging about the maneuverability of the ship, as well as his flying skills. The Kessel run is a smugglers route that goes around stars, black holes, and supernovas, so when he talks about the small amount of distance traveled, he was basically saying that he and the ship can get through tight spots at a very fast speed.

    • Thanks, Miles, for the explanation! While Luke and Obi-Wan were less than impressed with the spacecraft in the beginning, Han’s Millennium Falcon certainly saved the day in the end.

  • This, the first Star Wars Weekends now that Lucasfilm has joined the Disney family, will surely be special!

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