Saturday 11-May-2013, 11:05 AM
(This post was last modified: Saturday 11-May-2013, 11:39 AM by APOK.)
Date: May the 4th and May the 5th 2013
Venue: Dreamworld, Gold Coast, Australia
Time: 0645 Sat to 2000 Sun.
Mission: To descend upon Dreamworld, Australias largest theme park and raise money for the Satrlight Foundation.....and be F@#%ING Awesome!!!!!!
Trooper Attendance:
Redback Garrison
TBA
Rebel Legion
TBA
Interstate Troopers
TBA
Mando Mercs
TBA
Galactic Academy
TBA
Support Crew:
TBA
Detail:
Not such a long time ago in a theme park not that far away (unless you had to travel from outside South East Queensland). Many troopers and Rebels, with a few Mandos in for good measure, descended onto Dreamworld for another weekend of awesomeness and raising money for the Starlight Foundation.
It all started with the Friday night Bump In. No this isn't a new dance craze that the kids are doing. It is where Scope and Kev Vader rally the troops to start building the Death Star....corridor and trash compactor. Well we only have an evening to work with so an entire Death Star would be a little ambitious and Kevs shed probably wouldn't fit all the bits in, even though I do suspect that he may be a time lord and his shed is the Aussie version of a Tardis. An action card back drop was also built to complete an trio of back drop brilliance. Many troopers attended the Bump In and Apok ran around making all is as it should be for the fun that was to occur on the following two days.
Once we finsihed the set up it was off to meet Doc and Deltorn at the Broadwater Tavern for a meal and quick refreshment to nourish us for the next two days. Every one was fed expect Apok as he, Scope and Kev Vader got stuck at bump in when the computers blew up. Apok did get a beer so that made him happy.
Saturday the 4th of May. May the Fourth be with you. A holy day for those in the Star Wars community it can be said. 0645 As troopers are lined up and ready to enter DW to start off a weekend of wonder and amazement for kids of all ages. Troopers were set up in our command centre, the DW IMAX cinema, all over the place. Armour was done, lightsabers lit and GA kids bundled into their jawa costumes. The group photo was taken after a hilarious, if somewhat drawn out, attempt to put Bec, our resident photographer, into a safety harness.....which they were trying to put on her upside down
. Once safely secured in a harness that was the right way, Bec was hoisted into the air on a forklift and photos of the group were taken. Come think of it using the force would have been quicker. I'll have to talk to Vader.
Then it was inside to great the guests and start the day. Many photos were taken and the groups made their way to the photo areas. With SideshowMel and Cobra at the helm directing the large amount of traffic we could not go wrong. Soon enough Midday arrived and it was time for the parade. Citizens lined the street of DW and awaited our arrival. After getting out two Gamorean Guards and the Peanut M&M onto the character cab and all the troops lined up we headed out into DW and marched to our favourite theme song Call me Mayb....oh wait the Imperial March. The crowds cheered and wooted, taking photos and getting high fives from the us as we marched on by. Chewie was even blowing kisses at one stage to the adoring public.
With that done we again hit the photo booth and had the kids come and get photos. Soon enough 2pm had come along and the Jedi Academy was held to teach the younglings some lightsaber skills...that should not be used to hit your brothers and sisters on the head. Everything was going great until Darth Nihlus interrupted and started causing a little trouble. 5 young padawans were sent up against then and an arrest was attempted until things got a little out of hand. He was finally apprehended until Darth Revan came to his rescue. Well that was it folks. It all went crazy from there. Lightsabers were flashing everywhere, Ventress was snarling, Qin Sri was hissing, the crowd were amazed. It all looked bad for the Jedi until they remembered they had about 100 padawans freshly trained and at the ready to lend their sabers to the battle. Needless to say the Sith decided to beat a hasty retreat when the kids started surrounding them. Who would have thought 100 kids with lightsabers would be dangerous
?
More photos were taken and more smiles made. Troopers and Rebels of all types roamed the park making so many people happy. Even some of those Mando Mercs popped up and joined in. Then it was time for the Biker Scout MotoCoaster ride. This year we had 9 troopers ride this rollercoaster in full armour...well without the right boot with holster as it doesn't fit the restraints. The guests marvelled as we raced around the track and took many photos. All was going great until we stopped and Azrael got stuck. It seems the MotoCoaster was on the side of the Ewoks and wanted to take a victim to appease the Ewok gods. Luckily we freed Azrael and all was good. The MotoCoaster car responsible was terminated with extreme prejudice.
And so the afternoon rolled on with more people taking photos and more troopers on the photo booth area than we have had in a long time right to the end of the day.
Then it was off to the Saturday night Mixer at Bibs and Ribs. This was chaos. Although transmissions and meeting were held on numerous occasions that the Imperial, Rebel and Mando armies were to descend upon their establishment they were ill prepared. Much waiting and very few beers were drunk as it did drag on. How to make our tribes have a laugh.....The Hot Dog Challenge!!!!! Chief, Deltorn, Dredd and Apok all took the challenge to eat a 2 foot hot dog in 20 minutes. The record is held for the Garrison by Oigen at 13 minutes 19 seconds. Apok was the first to fail (extremely miserably I might add). Chief and Dredd were looking good until the meat sweats hit Dredd and he hit the wall. Deltorn started to come up the outside straight but tripped at the final hurdle. So it was all up to Chief. The big guy blasted through the first 5/6's of the dog and then......nothing. He couldn't go any further. OH THE HUMANITY!!!!! Looking good to even beat Oigen the wheels fell off and it ended up being a DNF for all. Sad times indeed. Full footage and commentary from Cutter will be available soon. The mixer was a little disappointing but as Redbacks we all still had fun.
Sunday the 5th. Revenge of the Fifth for some, especially if you did the Hot Dog challenge from the night before
. Luckily it was a later start at 0830. More troopers at the photo area, another awesome parade. We now know for the parade we will be going at Wookie pace. Thanks for volunteering Crypto 
. Today though there was a difference. Two lucky troopers got feed Goliath, DWs 5.2m salt water crocodile and his smaller girlfriend Matilda. Deltorn and Benji were the lucky two to have their names drawn out of the bucket. Aided by 4 of the clones the crocs were fed and limbs went missing.
Then it was time for the Jedi Academy again. Even more younglings came to learn the ways of the force and Darth Nihlus and his buddies again tried to ruin the fun. You think he would have learned but again the Sith were sent skulking off into the shadows to think of another way to win. Needless to say the Sith vs Jedi lightsaber duel again was a massive hit and a jewel in the crown of this fantastic weekend.
Now it was time to get the last photos and start to pack up. After clearing the cinema and GA room of armour we stopped for a bite to eat at a BB that DW put on to say thanks for our efforts. Unfortunately for our Hot Dog challenge quartet it was sausages again
. Food was eaten, drinks were drunk and speeches were made. Even a great little trading bazaar, organised by Beanie was a success as people traded away like Jawas on heat. It was great to have so many people in the one place that all had a great time. DW also put on their Illuminate Laser show again for us and as the Oohs and the Aahs of the crowd died down and a cheer went up as the finale happened it was time to start Bumping Out. Backdrops were pulled down, the cinema was cleared and people said their goodbyes to each other. A feeling of a job well done and a touch of sadness crept in as we knew that we would have to wait another year to see some people we only get to see at this event.
This is Apok thanking you all for your efforts over the weekend and hope to see you and many more of our fellow troopers from around Australia and hopefully for this events 5 year anniversary, DW2014, troopers from around the world.
Rollon DW2014!!!!!!!
Charity Funds Raised: TBC but it looks pretty good.
Injuries: From all I have been told other than armour bites, a couple of SvJ saber strikes, Oigen getting a little sun burnt, we have seemed to come away pretty unscathed this year. Kit and TheWolf didn't sprain their ankles so that is a win
.
Malfunctions: A bit of armour popping here, a little gaffe tape used there. R2D2 blowing out his front wheel on the first day but with an all night pit crew mission from Payney he was back on the track for Sunday.
Public Incidents: Overall we had a pretty uneventful weekend when it came to idiots. From what I have been told nothing major....other than Cryptos Wookie stalker bahahaha.
Mission Status: A resounding success. The Southern Hemispheres largest troop continues to make kids of all ages smile and bring something to the Gold Coast that isn't seen anywhere else in the world.
Photos: Links are everywhere. Also Bec will be giving me all the pics that will go into photobucket again.
If you want to thank someone or some people go to the link below.
http://www.501st.com.au/forum/thread-6395.html
If you have an suggestion for next year post go to the link below.
http://www.501st.com.au/forum/thread-6403.html
If you have a funny incident that you would like to tell everyone about post it here.
Thanks for another great year everybody. Can't wait to see it happen again next year.
Venue: Dreamworld, Gold Coast, Australia
Time: 0645 Sat to 2000 Sun.
Mission: To descend upon Dreamworld, Australias largest theme park and raise money for the Satrlight Foundation.....and be F@#%ING Awesome!!!!!!
Trooper Attendance:
Redback Garrison
TBA
Rebel Legion
TBA
Interstate Troopers
TBA
Mando Mercs
TBA
Galactic Academy
TBA
Support Crew:
TBA
Detail:
Not such a long time ago in a theme park not that far away (unless you had to travel from outside South East Queensland). Many troopers and Rebels, with a few Mandos in for good measure, descended onto Dreamworld for another weekend of awesomeness and raising money for the Starlight Foundation.
It all started with the Friday night Bump In. No this isn't a new dance craze that the kids are doing. It is where Scope and Kev Vader rally the troops to start building the Death Star....corridor and trash compactor. Well we only have an evening to work with so an entire Death Star would be a little ambitious and Kevs shed probably wouldn't fit all the bits in, even though I do suspect that he may be a time lord and his shed is the Aussie version of a Tardis. An action card back drop was also built to complete an trio of back drop brilliance. Many troopers attended the Bump In and Apok ran around making all is as it should be for the fun that was to occur on the following two days.
Once we finsihed the set up it was off to meet Doc and Deltorn at the Broadwater Tavern for a meal and quick refreshment to nourish us for the next two days. Every one was fed expect Apok as he, Scope and Kev Vader got stuck at bump in when the computers blew up. Apok did get a beer so that made him happy.
Saturday the 4th of May. May the Fourth be with you. A holy day for those in the Star Wars community it can be said. 0645 As troopers are lined up and ready to enter DW to start off a weekend of wonder and amazement for kids of all ages. Troopers were set up in our command centre, the DW IMAX cinema, all over the place. Armour was done, lightsabers lit and GA kids bundled into their jawa costumes. The group photo was taken after a hilarious, if somewhat drawn out, attempt to put Bec, our resident photographer, into a safety harness.....which they were trying to put on her upside down
. Once safely secured in a harness that was the right way, Bec was hoisted into the air on a forklift and photos of the group were taken. Come think of it using the force would have been quicker. I'll have to talk to Vader.Then it was inside to great the guests and start the day. Many photos were taken and the groups made their way to the photo areas. With SideshowMel and Cobra at the helm directing the large amount of traffic we could not go wrong. Soon enough Midday arrived and it was time for the parade. Citizens lined the street of DW and awaited our arrival. After getting out two Gamorean Guards and the Peanut M&M onto the character cab and all the troops lined up we headed out into DW and marched to our favourite theme song Call me Mayb....oh wait the Imperial March. The crowds cheered and wooted, taking photos and getting high fives from the us as we marched on by. Chewie was even blowing kisses at one stage to the adoring public.
With that done we again hit the photo booth and had the kids come and get photos. Soon enough 2pm had come along and the Jedi Academy was held to teach the younglings some lightsaber skills...that should not be used to hit your brothers and sisters on the head. Everything was going great until Darth Nihlus interrupted and started causing a little trouble. 5 young padawans were sent up against then and an arrest was attempted until things got a little out of hand. He was finally apprehended until Darth Revan came to his rescue. Well that was it folks. It all went crazy from there. Lightsabers were flashing everywhere, Ventress was snarling, Qin Sri was hissing, the crowd were amazed. It all looked bad for the Jedi until they remembered they had about 100 padawans freshly trained and at the ready to lend their sabers to the battle. Needless to say the Sith decided to beat a hasty retreat when the kids started surrounding them. Who would have thought 100 kids with lightsabers would be dangerous
?More photos were taken and more smiles made. Troopers and Rebels of all types roamed the park making so many people happy. Even some of those Mando Mercs popped up and joined in. Then it was time for the Biker Scout MotoCoaster ride. This year we had 9 troopers ride this rollercoaster in full armour...well without the right boot with holster as it doesn't fit the restraints. The guests marvelled as we raced around the track and took many photos. All was going great until we stopped and Azrael got stuck. It seems the MotoCoaster was on the side of the Ewoks and wanted to take a victim to appease the Ewok gods. Luckily we freed Azrael and all was good. The MotoCoaster car responsible was terminated with extreme prejudice.
And so the afternoon rolled on with more people taking photos and more troopers on the photo booth area than we have had in a long time right to the end of the day.
Then it was off to the Saturday night Mixer at Bibs and Ribs. This was chaos. Although transmissions and meeting were held on numerous occasions that the Imperial, Rebel and Mando armies were to descend upon their establishment they were ill prepared. Much waiting and very few beers were drunk as it did drag on. How to make our tribes have a laugh.....The Hot Dog Challenge!!!!! Chief, Deltorn, Dredd and Apok all took the challenge to eat a 2 foot hot dog in 20 minutes. The record is held for the Garrison by Oigen at 13 minutes 19 seconds. Apok was the first to fail (extremely miserably I might add). Chief and Dredd were looking good until the meat sweats hit Dredd and he hit the wall. Deltorn started to come up the outside straight but tripped at the final hurdle. So it was all up to Chief. The big guy blasted through the first 5/6's of the dog and then......nothing. He couldn't go any further. OH THE HUMANITY!!!!! Looking good to even beat Oigen the wheels fell off and it ended up being a DNF for all. Sad times indeed. Full footage and commentary from Cutter will be available soon. The mixer was a little disappointing but as Redbacks we all still had fun.
Sunday the 5th. Revenge of the Fifth for some, especially if you did the Hot Dog challenge from the night before
. Luckily it was a later start at 0830. More troopers at the photo area, another awesome parade. We now know for the parade we will be going at Wookie pace. Thanks for volunteering Crypto . Today though there was a difference. Two lucky troopers got feed Goliath, DWs 5.2m salt water crocodile and his smaller girlfriend Matilda. Deltorn and Benji were the lucky two to have their names drawn out of the bucket. Aided by 4 of the clones the crocs were fed and limbs went missing.Then it was time for the Jedi Academy again. Even more younglings came to learn the ways of the force and Darth Nihlus and his buddies again tried to ruin the fun. You think he would have learned but again the Sith were sent skulking off into the shadows to think of another way to win. Needless to say the Sith vs Jedi lightsaber duel again was a massive hit and a jewel in the crown of this fantastic weekend.
Now it was time to get the last photos and start to pack up. After clearing the cinema and GA room of armour we stopped for a bite to eat at a BB that DW put on to say thanks for our efforts. Unfortunately for our Hot Dog challenge quartet it was sausages again
. Food was eaten, drinks were drunk and speeches were made. Even a great little trading bazaar, organised by Beanie was a success as people traded away like Jawas on heat. It was great to have so many people in the one place that all had a great time. DW also put on their Illuminate Laser show again for us and as the Oohs and the Aahs of the crowd died down and a cheer went up as the finale happened it was time to start Bumping Out. Backdrops were pulled down, the cinema was cleared and people said their goodbyes to each other. A feeling of a job well done and a touch of sadness crept in as we knew that we would have to wait another year to see some people we only get to see at this event.This is Apok thanking you all for your efforts over the weekend and hope to see you and many more of our fellow troopers from around Australia and hopefully for this events 5 year anniversary, DW2014, troopers from around the world.
Rollon DW2014!!!!!!!
Charity Funds Raised: TBC but it looks pretty good.
Injuries: From all I have been told other than armour bites, a couple of SvJ saber strikes, Oigen getting a little sun burnt, we have seemed to come away pretty unscathed this year. Kit and TheWolf didn't sprain their ankles so that is a win
.Malfunctions: A bit of armour popping here, a little gaffe tape used there. R2D2 blowing out his front wheel on the first day but with an all night pit crew mission from Payney he was back on the track for Sunday.
Public Incidents: Overall we had a pretty uneventful weekend when it came to idiots. From what I have been told nothing major....other than Cryptos Wookie stalker bahahaha.
Mission Status: A resounding success. The Southern Hemispheres largest troop continues to make kids of all ages smile and bring something to the Gold Coast that isn't seen anywhere else in the world.
Photos: Links are everywhere. Also Bec will be giving me all the pics that will go into photobucket again.
Please Note
If you want to thank someone or some people go to the link below.
http://www.501st.com.au/forum/thread-6395.html
If you have an suggestion for next year post go to the link below.
http://www.501st.com.au/forum/thread-6403.html
If you have a funny incident that you would like to tell everyone about post it here.
Thanks for another great year everybody. Can't wait to see it happen again next year.
![[Image: CtjvZdX.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/CtjvZdX.gif)
:DW13: