Posted on

Macy’s guide to surviving Star Wars Weekends

So I’m home from a 15-day trip across the United States (and Canada!) split almost evenly between the two coasts: a few days in Seattle, a week-long cruise in Alaska, then another six days in Orlando. The Orlando leg of the trip was the most tiring by far, partly because it was the last leg but mostly because of all the walking we did in the theme parks. The most tiring theme park? Disney Hollywood Studios during Star Wars Weekends. Woke up at 4:30am, left our hotel at 5:30, fell in line at 5:45 for the celebrity FastPass autograph distribution , entered the park at 7:30, started the day at the merchandise tent at 8am, then finally left DHS at 9:15pm. WOW. For the record, I had a GLORIOUS time and would definitely do it again. However, having a great time at Star Wars Weekends requires some planning and a whole lot of refreshments. Here are my tips to maximize your stay:

1. Get there early. How early depends on what you want to do. If you’re after a FastPass ticket to get an autograph from the visiting celebrities, get there by 6am. I arrived at 5:45am and this is the line I encountered:
line at celebrity fastpass distribution
Even if you’re not interested in getting an autograph, arriving early also means that you get to be the first ones on the major rides and cut the waiting time. DHS opens at 8am during SWW (usual opening time is 9am) so arriving at 7:30 should be fine. Once you’re in, I recommend doing all the major attractions first: the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, the Tower of Terror, The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, and Star Tours. We were able to ride Star Tours two times in a row with only 15-20 minutes waiting time in between. There was also practically no waiting time for the Aerosmith ride but my friend wasn’t up for it so I let it go. When we got to The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at 2pm, the waiting time was listed at 45 minutes but ended up being longer. We had to leave the line to make it in time for our 3:20pm slot for the autograph signing with Sam Witwer.

See the Star Tours line at 10am. Not bad, eh?

2. If you want an autograph from the visiting celebrities, arrive at the park before 6am to guarantee a FastPass for the signing. They distribute a limited number of FastPasses per day (wasn’t able to get the exact number). If you get there later, say around 7am, you’re most likely to get a standby ticket. “Standby” means that you aren’t guaranteed an autograph but have a good chance of getting one depending on how fast the guaranteed line is progressing and if the celebrity is up for it. Just a reminder: each person is allowed only ONE FastPass autograph ticket. Basically, choose the celebrity you would most like to meet. No substitutions will also be allowed. The FastPass also comes with a wristband and you need both at the autograph signing. If you want your kid to be able to meet the celebrities, they better be there in line with you too. The way other folks got more autographs is that they had other family members line up for the other celebrities and just give them the photos to be signed. I saw a guy and his autographed photo collection lined up for Sam Witwer, his dad for Tim Rose, and his mom for Warwick Davis.

What you get for waking up at 4:30am: Please note the mistake they made regarding the character that Sam Witwer voiced in TCW *facepalm*

3. Go on a Friday. It’s (relatively) the least busy of the three days.
4. Prioritize. Accept that you will not be able to do all the SWW events AND all of the regular DHS attractions in one day. Once you get the schedules of the SWW activities and the regular DHS attractions, set up your schedule for the day.
Our schedule:
  • Darth Mall
  • Star Tours (twice!)
  • 11:00 am – the “Legends of the Force” celebrity parade
  • 12:00 pm – “Behind the Force: Star Wars Voices” (Ashley Eckstein, Sam Witwer, and James Arnold Taylor)
  • lunch
  • 1:45 pm – Indiana Jones stunt show
  • fell in line at the Captain Jack Sparrow ride but had to leave because the line was too long
  • 3:20 pm – autograph signing with Sam Witwer (!!!)
  • missed the 3:30pm “Stars of the Saga” show with James Arnold Taylor because the autograph signing ran late so we arrived at the theater at 3:45 pm
  • 5:00 pm – “An Ewok’s Tale – My Short Story” (Warwick Davis)
  • 6:30 pm – “Obi-Wan and Beyond” (James Arnold Taylor)
  • 8:00 pm – Hyperspace Hoopla
Please note that the only regular DHS things we were able to do were the Indiana Jones stunt show and Star Tours. No photographs with the costumed characters too, though I purposely skipped this because hey, my friends and I regular dress up as Star Wars characters anyway 😛 If you want to have photos taken with all of the characters, be prepared to cull even more events from your schedule and/or to get show seats that are in the back of the theater.
5. The one-stop shop for event merchandise is the “Darth Mall” tent. However, if all you’re after are small items like event shirts, mugs, glasses, pins, and the like, there’s really no need for you to brave the crowds at the Mall since these items are scattered in the other gift shops around the park. Going to Darth Mall is only worth it if you’re going to buy a lot of toys, collectibles, and artwork (and Ashley Eckstein’s Her Universe line) since you’ll find them all in one place. If you’re going to Darth Mall, get there early as well to avoid the lines.
6. Be patient! And either bring a friend who loves Star Wars just as much as you do or someone who likes you enough to willingly subject themselves to the immense crows and long lines.
7. Drink lots of water. Seriously. It was freaking hot.
8. Bring something to read or a friend. Waiting in line may get boring. Another option is chatting with the other people in line.
9. No whining.
10. Have fun!
And those are my tips for a kick-ass time at Star Wars Weekends. My feet ached and I had no money left but hey, IT WAS WORTH IT. It was an experience I’ll never forget and something I look forward to doing again in the future. May the Force be with you! 😀
Posted on

2012: a year in pictures

This is the first time I’ve ever done this. Hah! It was a challenge to try to summarize an entire year in just a bunch of photos but I think I got it right. Lots of challenges but lots of fun too.

Posted on

Shark spotting in El Nido!

This post is going to be a wee bit emotional because OH MY GOD WE SPOTTED LOTS OF BLACKTIP REEF SHARKS WHILE SNORKELING!

An actual black tip reef shark!

This is a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). The blacktip reef shark is one of the most common sharks in the coastal areas of the Indo-Pacific. It (quite obviously) gets its name from the black tips on all of its fins. It feeds mostly on small bony fishes but also on squid, octopus, shrimp, sea snakes, and seabird chicks that fall into the water.

We spotted the sharks at low tide on a shallow reef here in El Nido. I’m not telling where exactly. Kuya Rey spotted the first shark within 10 minutes of us arriving at the snorkeling area. It was a small one but just seeing it was freaking awesome! We also found a group of 10 sharks of various sizes, with the largest at 1.5 meters. Oh yeah! Unfortunately, it turned out that we wore the wrong outfits to the party. Our rashguards were orange and red, in start contrast to the blue ocean and brown corals *facepalm*. The sharks swam away as soon as they spotted us. Next time I go snorkeling with sharks (tomorrow?), I’m wearing something blue or black.

Posted on

Experiencing bliss at Chocolate Mint Spa

They serve you hot or iced tea while you wait.

After three days of the exhausting madness that was Toycon 2012, I spent two afternoons last week trying to de-stress. My very generous mother gave me her coupon for a free Swedish aromatherapy massage at Chocolate Mint Spa, as well as the use of the other coupons in the booklet.

The first thing you need to know about the Chocolate Mint Spa is that they take their business hours seriously. They disconnect their phone outside of business hours (1pm-1am). While this is an admirable trait, I definitely would have appreciated it if, instead, they left the phone connected and used an answering machine to tell me that they’re not open yet and to leave a message to set an appointment. How was I supposed to know that the phone was just temporarily disconnected and not broken like I’d originally thought?

Chocolate Mint Spa (CMS) is located on the second floor of the building that also houses Banco de Oro along President’s Ave. in BF Homes, Paranaque. The building is across the street from Pancake House and Starbucks. The stairs to the second floor are on the left side. The sign is just above the stairs and is kind of small, so just look out for it.

Once you enter the spa, you’re greeted by a cozy atmosphere. The plush chairs are comfortable and they offer you a choice of hot or iced tea while you wait. They only turned on the ambiance music when I entered so hooray for energy conservation techniques.

Continue reading “Experiencing bliss at Chocolate Mint Spa”

Posted on

The AWESOMEST day of 2012 thus far

So. What happened today that made it so freaking awesome? This:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa8j7BHax8M]

Yep, that is a freaking WHALE SHARK (Rhincodon typus) in front of Miniloc Island Resort. You can hear our excited squeals in the video 😛 Now, people have been spotting these whale sharks all around the bay starting December 2011 but those sightings tapered off in late January and this is my first time to see one. And I got to swim with it! How? I jumped into the water, not caring that I was in my full work uniform. No mask, no snorkel, no fins. Melo (one of our dive masters) was kind enough to lend me his mask so I could see. I swam with it for a good 10 minutes, treading water and realizing that I am severely out of shape. Sigh. It also wasn’t until later when I remembered that our uniform shorts turn transparent when wet >_< Raymond was kind enough not to say anything and just handed me a towel to wear around my waist until I got cleaned up.

The second part of what made this day awesome: my entry making it to the top 5 of the Philippine Travel Operators Association (PhilTOA) poster-making contest. YAY!!!! My entry:

Our company actually got 2 out of the 5 slots – our other entry featured my friend and coworker Rima’s turtle photo and my caption. Not bad for two Bio majors with no formal art-related training 😛 DOT Secretary Jimenez will be choosing the Top 3. I hope we win (and the prizes are awesome)! 😀

Posted on

Dreaming of a massage from the Oils and Scrubs spa

There are two reasons why I love “groupons” (or group coupons, as Groupon as technically a brand but whatever :P): 1) I love getting stuff at a discount (who doesn’t?) and 2) it gets me to try new places I wouldn’t have otherwise. Aids and I ended up trying Oils and Scrubs Spa before I left for Palawan after buying a voucher for a honey and oatmeal treatment, glutathione body scrub, and one hour massage and I have to say, the experience was just heavenly.

First off: the spa is hard to find at the moment because the facade of the building they’re in is under renovation so the spa window is hidden under a blue tarp. Ack. The spa is almost at the corner of Arnaiz Ave. and Amorsolo St in Makati, beside BPI.

This was my first time to get a body scrub so I had no idea what to expect. With our scrub and massage combination, the scrub is done first then the massage. They give you disposable underwear to wear and the bed is covered in plastic. The therapist rubbed the glutathione in first, starting from my shoulders then down to the rest of my body and my arms. Even the body scrub was relaxing! The glutathione scrub is supposed to result in fairer skin, but of course you need multiple sessions for that so I can’t say if the treatment worked on me or not. The honey and oatmeal treatment came next, with the oatmeal acting as a mild exfoliator and honey as a moisturizer. Lucky for me that oatmeal happens to be good for sensitive skin. The treatment was very… sticky. LOL. Like I said, it was my first time to get a body scrub and I found my muscles cramping from having to stay in the same position for the entire time I was left alone after the application of the treatment. I could have moved but moving while sticky was more uncomfortable than the muscle cramps. I was also at the mercy of the “relaxing” nature sounds soundtrack of the spa. Nothing against recorded nature sounds, but they don’t relax me. I would have preferred to hear some Foo Fighters instead but that’s me 😛 Next time I go here, I’ll get the non-sticky body scrubs.

After an eternity of stickiness (though it was probably only about 15 minutes), I was instructed to shower and wash off the oatmeal and honey. Be sure to ask for a fresh towel prior to getting into the shower as they initially only provide you with a bathrobe and the robe isn’t exactly that useful for drying off. This is also when you toss the disposable underwear and put your own undies on for the massage.

The massage was wonderful. I wish I could tell you what massage style they used (Oils and Scrubs offers Swedish, Shiatsu, and Oriental Stick Massage) or how exactly they pressed into my aching muscles (I requested for a harder massage than their standard) but I conked out after around 15 minutes. Now, I rarely fall asleep during a massage – who can sleep when someone’s prodding you every minute? – but this time was one of those rare times where sheer exhaustion combined with the perfect pressure and produced a vegetable Macy,

My rating: 9/10 (I’d have given them a 10/10 but I live in Paranaque so their place isn’t convenient for me and they’re admittedly on the pricier side if you pay full price).

OILS AND SCRUBS SPA CO.
Ground Floor, Gervasia Centre, Amorsolo Street,
Legaspi Village, Makati City Philippines
Tel. No.: (632) 519-6782, (63) 917 5250082

Download their service menu