Star Wars Day: May the Fourth at Disney Store

Just got the word from our friends at Disney Store about their plans to celebrate May the Fourth (aka. Star Wars Day). Please note that some of these special offers may only apply within the United States. Please check with your local Disney Store location or online if, like me, you're outside the US. -Chris

To celebrate Star Wars Day, Disney Store will offer 30% off the entire Star Wars assortment both in-store and online starting May 1, 2015, through May 10, 2015.

Shop for all your favorite Disney Store Star Wars gear on Twitter via a digital product showcase launching May 1. Be sure to follow @DisneyStore and @StarWars on Twitter for more details!

The first 100 guests who make a purchase at their local Disney Store in the U.S. on Star Wars Day will receive a special Star Wars pin (limit one per guest per store).*

A special Stormtrooper Watch will be available for $8 with any purchase in-store and online, only on Star Wars Day.

On Monday, May 4, 2015, Disney Store locations nationwide will have an exciting atmosphere as music and clips play from the Star Wars films and television series. Guests will be able to take part in Star Wars-themed in-store events including:

o   Star Wars: A New Hope Story Time – Guests will receive a free Star Wars Page Clip if they attend*

o   Star Wars: Ways of the Force – An event where guests learn how to use the Force and help to fly a virtual X-wing

o   Learn to Draw R2-D2 – Guests leave with their very own drawing of this lovable droid

o   Spontaneous entertainment such as Trivia will also take place

* All giveaways are subject to availability. Outlet Disney Stores will only host spontaneous entertainment.

Read, You Must: LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary (Updated & Expanded)

LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary takes a detailed look at the characters, creatures, playsets, vehicles and almost everything else in the LEGO Star Wars toy line. “Updated and Expanded” from the 2009 edition, this hardcover guide adds five years (and 48 pages) of new LEGO fun!

Back when the first version was written, The Clone Wars TV series was still just getting started and there hadn’t been any LEGO Star Wars TV specials yet. The many tie-in sets for those series’ alone are worth updating the book but this also covers the many exclusive minifigures, the “microfighter” line, the popular annual Advent Calendar pieces (introduced in 2011), the massive “Ultimate Collector Sets” and more.

Since 2009 many of the LEGO Star Wars sets have been redone, like Jabba’s Palace, so you get to compare both through information and detailed photos. Then there's full spreads of some of the all-new sets like the Ewok village...

Keeping with the “updating” theme of the book, the exclusive minifigure Luke Skywalker is a brand-new updated take on the first 1999 Luke minifig. Luke’s minifig “skin” has been pink since around 2006 but this one has trademark LEGO yellow hands and head as Luke did in 1999.

Luke hasn't aged a day in 15 years!

In this book you also get behind-the-scenes interviews with LEGO creators and a comprehensive timeline of when each set was released. Simon Beecroft and Jason Fry wrote this with trivia-loving LEGO enthusiasts in mind but works for a casual fan who can just appreciate LEGO’s fun take on Star Wars.

Did you know: Simon Beecroft has written many Star Wars books for DK, particularly in the DK Readers series? Jason Fry has also written many Star Wars books - mainly The Clone Wars titles - including The Clone Wars Episode Guide (DK), Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy (Scholastic) and also the very cool (but not Star Wars) novel The Jupiter Pirates: Hunt for the Hydra

While we're speaking of LEGO Star Wars the writer of ALL the LEGO Star Wars TV shows, Michael Price, chatted on the Star Wars Kidscast podcast back in Episode 4.

Thanks For An Amazing Start, 2013!

Star Wars Kidscast, both the podcast and the blog, just began in October of 2013 and a LOT is happened in only a few short months! The show is now downloadable on iTunes and Stitcher, it has Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr accounts, and has caught the attention of a lot of people across the worldwide Star Wars fan community in that very short time. The feedback from parents, kids, other websites and podcasts has been fantastic. Positive feedback has come from folks from within Lucasfilm itself!

To the thousands of you who have checked out this blog, listened to the podcast or just retweeted a tweet or Liked us on facebook, I thank you for your support and encouragement. Star Wars Kidscast is a little unusual: trying to reach fan-kids and parents all at once is not a typical goal in fansites but it seems you all are helping get the word out. Thank you for a fantastic start, but that's just it - things are just getting started. Big things are coming for 2014 so stay in touch!

In the meantime, here's ten fun and/or interesting posts from the blog from 2013 that didn't get as much attention as others but I think you'd enjoy, so I'm giving them a 2nd chance below.

All the best for 2014 & May the Force Be With You,
Chris
---

Star Wars Fan Bullied for her "Boy" Shoes

Star Wars Underoos Commercial. Yep, a kids' underwear ad from TV! 

Kellogg's C-3PO's Cereal: A New Force at Breakfast

The Disney Destiny? Looking Back a Year Later

Horror Stories from Star Wars? Galaxy of Fear

Star Wars Lightsaber Commercial (Kenner, 1978)

Read, You Must: Boba Fett : The Fight to Survive

Making Reading Fun...the Star Wars way!

Celebrate UN Day of the Girl Child today!

Star Wars Kidscast Salutes MOvember!

Star Wars Kidscast Gift Guide for Younglings & Padawans: Part 1 "Watch & Listen"

At the top of any list should be the actual Star Wars films. If your family has yet to own copies of the first 6 movies (fun to be able to say that because Episode 7 draws closer each day!) now is a good time to get them. The "Prequel Trilogy" (Ep. 1-3) & the "Original Trilogy" (Ep. 4-6) are available now as BluRay/DVD combo boxed sets. If you can still find it though, we recommend the earlier BluRay "Complete Saga" set because it has THREE DISCS of bonus features!

If you already have the movies and haven't been collecting each season set of The Clone Wars, you can get the complete set now of all 5 seasons! Each are also individually sold too. This show was/is amazing and never got the recognition it deserved. Sadly it's over, but there's 5 seasons to enjoy again and again!

HighBridge Audio recently re-released the Star Wars Radio Drama on a single mp3 CD. Now you can enjoy this expanded version of Episode 4: A New Hope on the road or at home. Recorded in 1981 with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Anthony Daniels (C-3P0) reprising their on-screen roles, this official radio adaptation features all the sound effects and music you'd expect, and many scenes that did not make it into the final film.

Imagine if Star Wars was longer with more of Luke's story, more of Leia's journey, and just more original Star Wars! You can chose between two different art styles...light side or dark side. Each comes with 2 Topps collector cards and some extra bonus material including vintage commercials and a making-of documentary. Visit the HighBridge Audio site here to order!

If you've got a young music lover to shop for, consider any (or all!) of the 6 Star Wars soundtrack CDs each with fantastic and memorable scores by John Williams! 



More recommendations to come including MANY Star Wars books, toys, clothes & more!

GUM® Star Wars Toothbrushes for Children

Shopping with our daughter tonight and I saw these at a local store. I've seen other Star Wars toothbrushes before, but these are probably the coolest ones I've ever come across.

These are the GUM® Star Wars Lightsaber toothbrushes. They are lightsaber-shaped and the blades flash for 60-second intervals to encourage longer brushing. The hilts or handles are really detailed close-up. Better than some of the toys!

They come in Anakin blue, Vader red and Yoda green each with unique hilts. No Darth Maul double-bladed ones yet!

Anybody tried these yet? Something fun but strange about putting a weapon in your mouth, but as Obi-Wan said, it is an elegant weapon for a more civilized age....and smile.