ArtooDetoo.Com Brings You the
June 7th Disney-MGM's Star Wars Weekends
Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade

June 14, 2003    by Sebulbadoug
One of the reasons I wanted to go back to Disney-MGM's Star Wars weekends, besides the Official Star Wars Fan Club Breakfast, was the parade/motorcade. I knew this particular parade would be extra-special, because I had visited the web site of the Florida Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion. There, I learned that garrison members from all over the United States planned on attending on June 7th because it would be the date of the Official Star Wars Fan Club Breakfast. Not only were several members interested in attending the breakfast, but word had spread that photographers from the Star Wars Insider would be on hand to record the event.

While I was unable to get an exact count, members from the 501st say that there were between 86 and 90 troopers involved. (Thanks to TK-214 and TK-1010 for the info!) As always, the troops from the 501st were impressive. Their uniforms and armour was impressive, and their sheer numbers were impressive, making the parade a major attraction. The parade route was packed with spectators for its entire length, as you'll see in the following pictures.

As I was snapping the pictures for the article, it became apparent to me that many of the 501st members recognized the ArtooDetoo.Com logo on my shirt and cap. I have to say, it was a thrill to receive some recognition! With that, I hope that everyone enjoys the following images, especially the members of the 501st!

If you've looked at the pages of our May 17th visit, you'll notice this page is different. One of the things we've done is make the pictures bigger, and as a result they're in a single column. We did that because we received emails saying bigger pictures would be nicer, and we wanted to preserve more resolution after conversion to jpegs. While it means that people with dial-up connections will experience longer times to download the page, we hope you'll find the higher quality pictures worth it.

Imperial Officers open the Disney-MGM Star Wars Celebrity Motorcade carrying the banner of the Florida Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion.

An ingenious uniform for a biker scout. I worked up an "enhanced" version of this photo that removed the "extraneous" black appendages below the speeder bike. Take a look..

Ah, that's the way it's supposed to look. I don't know what that black stuff was..

Biker Scouts, sans speeder bikes. From what I understand, Disney was concerned that if all the scouts rode their speeders in the parade, the noise generated would make the spectators uncomfortable. The noise typically isn't a problem, especially when they're tooling around on the moon of Endor or the open expanses of Tatooine. But on a crowded street the propulsion noise from several speeders can be deafening. Or at least so I'm told.

Imperial Pilots take time out from patrolling sectors of Imperial space in their TIE Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers to participate in an Imperial show of force. I'm told that these pilots are part of "Omega Wing", a worldwide costuming group, of which many members also have membership in the 501st.

Stormtroopers. Lots and lots of Stormtroopers. A serious situation for anyone who is part of the Rebel Alliance, like me. However, since their numbers were obviously overwhelming, the Stormtroopers didn't appear to be concerned about any rebels that may have been in the crowd.

Did I mention there were a lot of Stormtroopers? I took this high-angle shot to show how many there were. And this is just part of them. Each trooper in these images is a member of the 501st. Even though its an Imperial club, I have to admit that the number of members they have is impressive. That's TK-214 in the foreground with the orange pauldron, webmaster for the Florida 501st site.

While many members of the 501st buy their armour, some actually make them from scratch. And even though the armour is purchased, many make their own accessories. The costumes are so well done that the Disney people were impressed. Not an easy thing to do.

In order for the Florida Garrison of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion to participate in Disney MGM's Star Wars Weekends Motorcade/Parade, they had to follow Disney rules and pass muster from Lucas. All uniforms and armour had to be "Film Cannon", meaning that they had to be faithful and accurate reproductions of the uniforms seen in the films. In other words, these outfits are so good that they could easily be used in EPIII.

Oops! I've been spotted. TK-1010, the Guide-on for the Florida Garrison of the 501st Stormtroopers Legion, points ominously at me. These aren't the droids you're looking for ..These aren't the droids..

Sandtroopers pass in review. In order to contend with the heat, many 501st members have figured out ways to conceal cool packs, canteens and fans in their armour. Canteens are rigged with a small hose that comes up to the helmet, allowing the trooper to take sips while marching. All of the modifications are done so that they can't be seen even on close inspection.

A Snow Trooper just in from Hoth is followed by a Clone Trooper Officer. Watch out for that Tusken Raider sneaking up from the rear!

R2-D2 leads the portion of the parade with the Star Wars celebrities. First up is Jeremy Bulloch, led by his character Boba Fett.

R2-D2 is well liked by the crowds, and hams it up for the people, zigzagging back and forth to meet people on both sides of the parade route.

OK, I apologize for so many pictures of R2-D2. But hey, that's who this site is about! This R2 was radio controlled and I couldn't figure out how he was being operated until "JK" emailed me. It turns out, the answer is in the following photo. If you look above and a little in front of the front passenger, you'll see a guy with a black shirt and sunglasses on. He's got an attache slung low on his back, and his hand is between the attache and his body. Look closely and you can see a wire running up his back. That guy is the guy controlling R2-D2. Thanks for the tip, JK!

This is the reason I'm not a professional photographer. I was so involved with getting pictures of R2-D2 as he passed by (and who wouldn't be!?) that when the photo-op for Jeremy Bulloch came up, this is the one and only picture I got of him in the parade. It's him, really!

OK, here's a better picture, except that it isn't Jeremy Bulloch. It's Peter Mayhew, the man who brought life to Chewbacca.

Chewbacca waves to me as he passes by, carrying C-3PO in a net on his back. Seems as if 3PO is always in some kind of trouble..

At the end of the parade, everyone converged on the stage next to the Star Tours ride. Notice Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Kitt Fisto in the foreground making their way to the stage.

Peter Mayhew obviously having fun with the crowd.

Mayhew and Bulloch pose for fan pictures along with all of the characters in the parade.

A final shot of Mayhew and Bulloch with the characters they portrayed in the original trilogy. Mayhew will reprise his role as Chewbacca in EPIII.

ArtooDetoo.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lucasfilm, Disney, or the Official Star Wars Fan Club. Not affiliated with anyone but ourselves, and even that is tenuous at times. All characters mentioned or represented on this page are copyrighted and or trademarked by Lucasfilm, with all rights reserved. ArtooDetoo.Com makes no claim of rights to anything. OK, the article is our original work. And the photos are too. And we designed the web site. And we thought up this disclaimer. But that's it. ArtooDetoo.com is a Fan operated Star Wars Website. Droids Just Wanna Have Fun.