A Star Wars VII News Staff Member Reflects On Celebration Anaheim

CelebrationAfter a few weeks of tweaking the horizontal boosters and alluvial dampers and banging away at a particularly tricky reverse power flux coupling, we bring you, at long last and as promised, a personal report on Celebration Anaheim from staff member, wordsmith and intrepid traveler, Trevor.

 

 

And so, without further ado… tell us all about it, Trevor!

 

Well, it’s over and I struggle to even know where to begin. My wife and I had never attended such an event as Celebration, and were, well…overwhelmed. This event was expected to be the largest Celebration in history and I was told that 150,000 tickets were sold, and I believe it. If you have never been to an event like a Con, this event would’ve been the trial that you’d have either passed or failed…

 

To us it almost seemed like an act of futility trying to see everything, and if that was your potential goal, you would have failed…there’s just SO much, too much to see. I spent about a week writing and revising our “to do list”, and just ended up throwing it away after the second day of fighting the crowd and trying to navigate the cavernous Anaheim Convention Center in a bid to fulfill the list. If you are very single minded, with an intended purpose, go ahead and make a list, but if you want to enjoy the event and browse…don’t bother.

 

 

Celebration 02

 

Opening Ceremony

 

Before the opening ceremony at 10:00, there was the wait; We arrived at the convention center at 8:00am to find (literally) tens of thousands of fans had arrived before we did, and the live performance was at capacity long before we got to the convention center. I was personally shocked to see to sea of people waiting in line ahead of us…it was quite a sight.

 

We ended up seeing the simulcast in the Digital Stage room which was gigantic and filled with fans. I must say that I’m not too old to admit that a tear came to my eye not only when the lights came down and the second teaser trailer played, but also when it played again. It was only then, that it actually sunk in that I was actually there, in that place, for the dawn of a new era in our beloved Star Wars universe. I was getting to see it firsthand…and it was AMAZING.

 

 

Costumes

 

The Costumes

 

The fan costumes that we encountered ranged from inexpensive children’s Halloween costumes to the most expensive and elaborate, to the downright bizarre and comical, from Jawas to the Emperor. Of course the costuming organizations like the Rebel Legion, 501st Legion, and the Mandalorian Mercs turned out in force…no pun intended.

 

Mara Jade and I spent the second day in costume as (of course) Mara Jade and ROTJ Luke and got a lot of compliments, but Mara Jade was photographed repeatedly all day. We decided back in August that if we were going to C7 that we too were going to assemble costumes and it took months to do, because you will seemingly never be satisfied with your creation. Surprisingly, we seemed to do well based on the fellow fan reactions.

 

 

Costume

 

The thing that amazed me the most was the diversity of fans that turned out, both in costume and out. We saw fans range from 3 to 80 years old and it was amazing. I met a fellow named Charles that was in his late 60’s to early 70’s dressed as the Emperor with an AT-AT walker that was accompanied by his grand-daughter. She told me that he not only insisted on attending this event, but insisted on doing it in costume, and he was a huge hit with his fellow fans!

 

The favorite costumes that saw the most numbers were (as you might expect) Jedi and Storm/Clonetroopers that outnumbered all others 3 to 1 in my opinion. The fan costuming organizations named in the first paragraph likely had a lot to do with those numbers, but the individual fans showed their allegiance for sure. I myself was amazed with the costumes.

 

 

Vadermobil

 

Art Show

 

Of course the artists were a huge hit. I scored Celebration prints from Chris Trevas and Scott Harbin and really wanted a Celebration print from Jerry Vanderstelt, but he was sold out two hours before I got there..so disappointed. One thing that I encountered that disappointed me is that some of the artists had their art displayed that was not available on-site. There were several prints that I might have purchased, but was told that it was only available in their internet store because they didn’t have the prints there, which in my opinion was a marketing mistake due to the fact that attendee’s are mostly impulse buyers that may not otherwise make the purchase, so if you display it…have it on hand.

 

 

Vendors

 

The Vendors

 

There were literally hundreds of vendors (of course) peddling every form of Star Wars merchandise from office supplies and action figures, to full sized Han Solo’s in carbonite. Some were simple booth’s to elaborately decorated Star wars landscape layouts. We got to see Sideshow Collectibles, Lego, Brian’s Toys, Hot Wheels, Hasbro, and hundreds more.

 

Everyone that goes (including myself) will want Celebration exclusive merchandise to show their friends, but I WAS NOT prepared for the crush of attendees with the same ideas as I. We attempted to get into the Celebration store on three different occasions, only to find the line to be 1000 fans deep every time and we were only successful on the final attempt based on our sheer willpower and patience (which was severely lacking in me) as we stood in line nearly three hours to both get into the store, and then to check-out….all for a few t-shirts and posters. The worst thing about it (aside from the wait) was the announcement before we got in that one of the two most sought after shirt styles was sold out AND that the remaining would be sold one each per attendee. You have to have an absolute need for this merchandise in order to force yourself to make the commitment and actually stick to it.

 

 

Daniels

 

The Celebrities

 

While we all saw our celebrities at the opening show, there were many more in attendance for autograph’s and photo opportunities. I considered getting several signatures, but was repelled by two things; the price and the extensively long lines The lines were the longest (of course) in front of the most famous OT actors and the wait time was potentially up to an hour (or more) of wait time, something I just couldn’t bring myself to do after three hours in line for Celebration merchandise. The other deal-breaker was the price, which ranged from $25 to almost $200…..for a signature. I did however spring for autograph’s from Garrick Hagon and Dermot Crowley, and was happy with that. I really wanted a Kenny Baker signature on my never used NIB R2-D2 Droid 2 phone….but never got it as I lost an argument with myself over the justification of the price, so perhaps another time.

 

As we attended the event for all four days, we had the opportunity to see Anthony Daniels come outside to see the fans on two occasions (that I’m personally aware of) before the doors opened for handshakes, photo opportunities, and just friendly chit-chat. I can confidently say that he is the most gracious celebrity that I have ever known, and adores his fans. Those fans, in turn, love him right back as he came out alone with no fear of being mobbed, molested, and or roughed-up by stampeding fanboys, and he got every bit of the respect that he deserves.

 

On the last day, Mr. Daniels appeared on front of the convention center with R2-D2 and posed for numerous photos with his fans and mostly small children. One thing that touched everyone’s hearts was when he motioned to two severely handicapped gentlemen (likely in their 20’s) as a wonderful gesture that they were perfectly welcome to pose with he and R2….and it made my wife cry. Anthony Daniels (as I said before) is the most gracious, gentle, and thankful of the stars that I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter, and he is aware of the love that his fans have for him.

 

 

Throne+Room

 

The Facilities

 

The Anaheim Convention Center is a beautiful facility, and we were really impressed with how clean and well-kept it was…all of the time! The size of this place (to me) was cavernous, as just the main exhibition hall has a total of 815,000 square feet, and the second and third floors adding a further 130,000 to a near total of one million square feet…this place is big!! The staff was very friendly, courteous, and full of information when you needed it.

 

While the exhibit space was neatly arranged in columns and rows, if you were unfamiliar with the layout, you would find yourself quickly turned around and headed back to the place from which you just came…ask me, and I’ll tell you!! I had to initially learn to identify landmarks like the Celebration Store and the Autograph Hall and navigate outward between the two, until my wife pointed out that each roof supporting column was numbered…If I’d just looked up! I did however learn quickly how to identify the front wall, you know where there was a “refreshment” station every 50’…thank the maker for that!!

 

 

Fans

 

The Fans

 

I was personally very surprised by the fans and their camaraderie with one another, but the fact of the matter is that everyone there had a common interest. It was really like nothing else that I’d ever experienced like say, a professional football game, or a state fair, or a rodeo, where there are always those that have some irrelevant physical point to make to their fellow man. The fans that I encountered were courteous, respectful, and pleasant….that alone made it tolerable. There was not one instance in which I was bumped into (there were MANY)that was not immediately followed by a “Sorry”, “Excuse me”, or “Pardon me”, and honestly, it was amazing.

 

HOWEVER, there was one incident outside of the front doors of Hall A where apparently two individuals felt the need to fight. As it was relayed to me; The surrounding fans were quick to react by jumping in and separating the two quickly, and facility security was quick reacting. To my knowledge there were no other altercations all week, which I feel is amazing considering the sheer number of people in such close proximity to one another.

 

 

Jawa

 

Lessons learned

 

As newbies to the “Con Scene”, there were valuable lessons learned over the last four days listed below that I’d like to pass along to those considering giving it a shot:

 

1. NEVER take more to the show than what you’re willing to carry around all day. (We took a large camera bag full of video and still cameras as well as a bag with a 15”

laptop with all of the cords, etc. All totaled, I imagine that we were carrying 30 extra pounds… don’t do it, because you won’t enjoy it!)

 

2. If possible, get the closest accommodations to the convention. (Our hotel was 1.5 miles from the convention center, and parking AT the convention center did not exist. We had to park three miles on the OTHER side of the convention center and take a shuttle from there back to the center, and it was an hour long process. We ended up taking a taxi to the center the rest of the time which was between $10 and $20 each way. Added to the cost of our hotel, we could’ve gotten a nicer hotel across the street from our destination with better wireless internet. We were also in a room at the back of the building, presumably furthest from the wireless router and the wireless in our room was spotty at best,)

 

3. DO NOT count on Wifi at your convention, especially if you’re going to need it for reporting on a news event. (I took for granted that the wireless internet at the Anaheim Convention Center was the best in the world considering the grand scale of the facility. While it indeed may have been a state of the art system, there were also 150,000 people trying to use it at once which resulted in a snail-slow data stream, or none at all as we kept dropping off line about every 30 seconds)

 

4. Murphys Law applies to you!! (We tested our camera equipment four times before we left home for correct operation, and when we got to Anaheim, we discovered our tripod broken in our luggage, video camera had a charging problem, and one still camera ended up with a data card corruption that erased about 100 photos before we could get them transferred to our laptop. Thankfully, we still had our main camera as well as our cell phone cameras. If it can go wrong…IT WILL!)

 

5. Being courteous will take you a long way. (I don’t care how tired you are or how bad your day was, being gracious and courteous got us many rewards both at the convention, and on our trip in general…it pays off. I’m not the most patient person in the world, as my wife and some of my fellow staff members will attest, and my wife had to remind me on a couple of occasions to “take a breath”…especially while we stood in line at the Celebration Store for nearly three hours.)

 

6. Be conscious of your spending. (We saved $2000 in spending cash for this trip and quickly spent $1400 of it. I could have EASILY spent every bit of what we saved on autographs and artwork, but we had to also eat (don’t forget that) and buy “refreshments. By the time the third day came along I got very careful with my spending, and look, I have seed money to start saving for the next Celebration.

 

 

Summary

 

After it was all said and done, all that I can say is that we had a great time, met great people, and ate (some) great food when we went out to dinner…it was a good time. I suggest that anyone with even the notion that they’d like to go to a Celebration or any kind of a Con, to just seriously save and make it happen. Despite our troubles from the beginning, we had a wonderful time and got to get away from the working world for a week. If ya wanna do it….do it, and you’ll love it!!

 

 

Another member of the Star Wars VII News team, Pomojema, poses at Celebration with his father and a couple of new friends…

Cast

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

27 thoughts on “A Star Wars VII News Staff Member Reflects On Celebration Anaheim

  • May 10, 2015 at 8:58 pm
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    Damn…I am jealous looks like you guys had a great time. Awesome pics with Mark and Carrie….
    Pomo you kinda got to touch princess Leia’s …..um chest.
    Now that’s a lifetime memory we all wish we had.

    • May 10, 2015 at 11:28 pm
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      It was more like she told me to give her a hug around her neck, and I wasn’t quite expecting to do that when I was taking the photo. Nonetheless, Peter Mayhew was a bit luckier than I, if you get what I’m saying…

      https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f0/52/6b/f0526b1bf9c205c0261e8f1db9db8bff.jpg

      But in any case, they were both very polite, and I was glad I got to spend about a minute or so posing with them for the photo and telling them how amazing they are. It was worth missing my flight and catching a red-eye back home – when I had to go to a three-hour college class during the next day, I might add – to get a photo with the two of them.

    • May 11, 2015 at 6:06 pm
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  • May 10, 2015 at 8:59 pm
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    Yes! Celebration was awesome. Anthony Daniels is just the best, isn’t he? I hate it when people who have never met him make claims that he is this nasty man who thinks lowly of the fans, when really he is very gracious, kind, charming, and fun. C-3PO is just the best!

  • May 10, 2015 at 9:20 pm
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    I guess now we know the lucky fan Carrie made out with at the panel.

  • May 10, 2015 at 9:26 pm
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    very nice insights, thx!!

  • May 10, 2015 at 10:54 pm
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    I was at the Convention all four days and had a marvelous time! I spent 16 hours in line for the opening panel with J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy (or J.J. and K.K. as they were referred to by some of my female friends) and it was totally worth it! Being in THAT room when Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew were all on stage together was deeply moving and watching the trailer with those fans is now one of the key Star Wars memories of my life. Since I saw Star Wars on May 25, 1977 and the first showing of every film since, that’s saying a lot.

    My only problems were that there were too many things going on at once to do everything I wanted to and some of the lines for simple things, like photo ops on the amazing sets they had, were so ridiculously long that I couldn’t afford to spend the time to do them. But I did manage to watch all six films on the big screen again, the prequel trilogy in glorious 3-D as well as the original trilogy (okay, I believe they were the new HD versions)which haven’t been seen in theaters in 18 years! To me, seeing those films on the big screen with a cheering crowd is the heart of what Star Wars is all about.

    All in all, it was a great experience and if I could find a way to go to London for next year’s Celebration, I would do so in a heart beat!

  • May 10, 2015 at 10:57 pm
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    Sounds like a great time. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  • May 10, 2015 at 11:37 pm
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    I really need to save and go to celebration. It seems like a ton of fun. Thanks for sharing your experiences everybody.

  • May 11, 2015 at 12:06 am
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    Wow. Reminds me of a religious pilgrimage with massive amounts of people, like traveling to Mecca or the Ganges River.

    Thanks for sharing!

  • May 11, 2015 at 12:24 am
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    Thanks for the insights. My wife and I are going to our first ever Celebration next year in London. You’ve given us some great tips and forewarning of what to expect.

  • May 11, 2015 at 1:58 am
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    I think the official number from Starwars.com was over 50,000 fans attended. Still was largest celebration to date.

  • May 11, 2015 at 3:00 am
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    You guys really did a hell of a job on your costumes!!! Someday I will make it to Celebration….. Someday…

  • May 11, 2015 at 4:09 am
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    Hi guys, it was a great experience…and I hope that you all take something from it. Despite our seeming unpreparedness, it was amazing!! Thanks Viral for the words and we’ll kick more ass next time!

  • May 11, 2015 at 4:11 am
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    Interesting article. I had the pleasure of going to my parents home during celebration.
    I watched the trailer with my dad and bb8. And I took my kid upstairs to play with my original Kenner toys. The xwing and imperial shuttle got some fun flying. And my mum called the imperial shuttle the “millenium falcon” and I winced.

    • May 11, 2015 at 6:56 am
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      i meant i watched the trailer and the clip of BB8 with my dad – not that i watched the trailer with my dad and BB8 (which would have been cool).

  • May 11, 2015 at 5:22 am
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    “…Our hotel was 1.5 miles from the convention center…” Those things under your stomach. Put one in front of the other and repeat. You would have got there in less than an hour.

    • May 11, 2015 at 4:36 pm
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      We didn’t want walk 1.5 miles carrying all of the camera equipment…we opted for a cab that took 10 minutes.

  • May 11, 2015 at 5:23 am
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    The fight must have been between two people arguing if Han shot first.

  • May 11, 2015 at 8:38 am
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    Great article and excellent photo of you and Mara Jade. Couldn’t agree more with you about the fans…. Everyone we interacted with at Celebration was polite, interesting, and fun! It was definitely overwhelming but definitely worth it. And the celebrities were terrific, too…. Carrie and Mark were amazing and kind and generous…. Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew are two of the nicest men in show business…. Freddie Prinze Jr and the Rebels cast were hilarious and enthusiastic…. Ian McDiarmid was witty and elegant…. Great event! Hope to attend again some day!

    • May 11, 2015 at 11:43 am
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      Yes, I was surprised when I got there that I didn’t seem to know a soul. Since I live in Los Angeles, I figured I’d know a few people! 20 or even 10 years ago, it would have been a very different story but all my friends are getting older. A handful of friends did show over the next few days but my point is actually that, although I was on my own much of the time, whatever line I got into, I always struck up conversations with those around me and made immediate friends. I didn’t encounter a single unfriendly soul the entire time I was there! Star Wars fans really are the best sort of people!

  • May 11, 2015 at 11:17 am
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    WOW just WOW. I’m on the other side of the world and will probably never get to attend one of these events (and this would of been the best one to be at!)
    great story

  • May 11, 2015 at 1:39 pm
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    My daughter and I have tickets for London next year 🙂 Already saving the pennies

  • May 11, 2015 at 5:27 pm
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    The summary points… numbers 2 and 6 are DEAD on. This was my third consecutive Celebration and at C5 in Orlando, we stayed off site, and it was a bear getting around. C6 we stayed at the Rosen, which is connected to the convention center, and it was perfect.

    Money-wise, Orlando was a lot less expensive than Anaheim, so the spending thing was a lot easier to control. We had sticker shock the entire time we were in Anaheim… it bordered on gouging. By the time it was Friday afternoon, we had spent more money in the first day and a half than we had spent for the entire convention in 2012. I’ll definitely be saving a LOT of money for the next one in Anaheim. (The rumor we heard was that the next American Celebration will be in 2017 in Orlando… then back to Anaheim in 2019. Gotta love the Disney connection…)

    Anyone who hasn’t been to a Celebration and is a big Star Wars fan… believe me, and everyone else who’s attended. Nothing can explain how truly incredible Celebration is… nothing. You think you’re ready, you think you know what’s coming… and once you’re there, your mind is just blown. Best time of your life.

  • May 11, 2015 at 6:08 pm
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    The fact that you were surprised by the long line at 8am shows you are a convention newbie, no need to tell us 😉
    I was at 1-5. Denver in 99 you could pull off an 8am, but not so much the rest. 2-5 there were days I got into line at midnight.

    Never mind Comic-Con in San Diego… there were some weekends there that I got maybe 8 hours of sleep total! Nothing like a good convention

  • May 13, 2015 at 8:07 pm
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    I’m not here to rain on anyone’s parade.But i think everyone is hyping themselves up too much and are going to find themselves dissapointed because their expectations are going to be too high. It IS going to be fun and action packed, and awesome. BUT not as awesome as you have it in you’re heads. I am not even going to claim why i know this, because no one would even trust my info anyway, but for what its worth, i will say that if any of you have read the scene by scene leak, what i got ahold of last night pretty much confirmed that the leak that read that Luke was only in a couple scenes is pretty accurate not 100% accurate, but pretty damn close. I don’t expect anyone to take my word for it, and don’t really care if you do or don’t. This movie is doing nothing more than setting up the tone of the trilogy and the characters ..all of the good shit that you are hoping to see isn’t going to happen until Episode VIII. Personally, i was pretty upset and not happy with lukes new story, and i think they are making a big mistake by making his attempt to ressurect and train a new alumni of Jedi a failure. It just is not the Luke that the OT built him up to become. Some people might be ok with it..but eh…..not me. There are a lot of George Lucas Haters out there, but the Luke Skywalker that Lucas had in mind for this Trilogy is the Luke Skywalkwer we wanted to see..Maybe i will change my mind about that when Episoce 8 comes out and his character is much more than just some lonely old hermit having a pity party because his Academy was wiped out and slaughtered….i sure do hope so.The Luke i know and loved wouldnt have ran and went into exile..but i do LOVE the fact that Rey is NOT a Solo….that would have been just too easy and predictable! For those of you thinking that you are going to be witnessing the Star Wars you grew up with and loved…be prepared to be highly dissapointed. Even Leia does not feel right…You will see….just like i did last night.I am not going by something i “read” either btw.It was as legit as you can get. It will be an awesome movie for people who did not grow up with these characters. But for those of us who did…..not so much. Who knows though, it is only MY opinion. I just wanted to soften the blow for some of you…that’s all.

  • May 13, 2015 at 10:27 pm
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    Great recap. I was there for all 4 days and agree with your experience about the people being kind and considerate. We stayed at the Hilton on property and I HIGHLY recommend it. We were able to take breaks and it only took 10-15 minutes to get there. We also got to the lineup for opening ceremony at 5:30 am and were in the main hall – it was worth the wait.
    We are already planning for Celebration VIII in London.

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