Star Wars Celebration: Tips and Advice

So I have a question that may be sort of basic or obvious to many of you, but I wanted to ask this group as it has always been friendly and open to giving advice.

I will be attending my first ever Celebration this year down in Orlando in a few short weeks. I am taking my 8-year-old son, and we are going to make a long weekend of it.

Although I am a longtime fan (saw the original trilogy in the theaters with my Dad, including ESB and ROTJ on opening day) I have never been to a Star Wars convention. In fact I have only recently begun taking my son to very small, local comic-cons so we could pick up SW comics and other stuff together. I am really a newbie when it comes to attending Cons in general and especially SW Celebration.

So I am just soliciting ANY advice or tips you all might have for making the most out of the 'Celebration' experience. I have never attended one, so no advice is too obvious. I am keenly interested and appreciate what you have to say. For example: How early should I arrive? What are the lines like generally? What experiences at the convention are "must see"? My son wants to dress up (he has an x-wing fighter pilot costume that is a Halloween costume but obviously not at the level of most cos-players. I assume many kids go this route?

Finally, my son really would like to meet/get an autograph from Mark Hamill (I would love to meet him too) but he is not an announced guest yet, Any guesses on whether he will attend?

Thanks to all of you in advance. And again, ANY advice/tips are appreciated.

The main thing I would advise is to prep your son about how long the lines will be in advance. You will be standing in long lines. That can be rough on kids.

Be flexible. If the wait is getting to be to long don't be afraid to bail and do something else. Always have a plan B...even if it is just walking around the convention floor.

Bring water and snacks and something to keep the kid entertained while waiting...games to play on your phone etc (bring a portable battery charger).

I think everyone expects Mark to be there. He usually is.

Thank you!

Take a look at the agenda for the event and prioritise.

Autographs are huge time suckers, so be sure to get this out of the way first if you can. In order to even stand in line for an autograph you will need to get into celebration very early and get a placeholder ticket so you can actually be allowed to stand in the autograph line to buy a ticket (Mark will likely be $130 to $180 and bring cash as it takes some of the wait time off) - you may need to camp out overnight. At SWC London, if you weren't among the first 500 people in the door each day you did not get an autograph that day. Not trying to scare you, but there are professional autograph obtainers that spend the entire event in line for autographs that they later sell. Was lucky enough to get Mark and Carrie's autographs over the summer. Mark was especially wonderful and is just a fabulous person.

The list of panels is just out now so be sure you understand which events you will need to get an entry wristband for you and your son (this is a mad rush first thing once they open the wristband lines in the early early AM). Some people queue at 11PM the night before the panel they wish to see. Also know that the organisers, ReedPop, limit the number of wristbands to two per person per day. There are many panels they do not require a wristband, but those on the GALAXY or CELEBRATION stages without exception will need bands. Also note that other stages will play a simulcast of the bigger events but you really want to be on the main stage to feel the electricity of the crowd. Would imagine the big tickets this year will be:

- Star Wars 40th Anniversary Celebration - GALAXY
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi - GALAXY

Panels: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Events/Events-R-Z/Stage-Schedules/

Given this is the last celebration until 2019 i hear, this will also add to the crowds.

Be sure to talk to your fellow attendees, met some really cool people from around the world. No matter what it's pretty hard not to have a ball. I really really recommend it based on my experience at the London event last summer and hope you both enjoy it. MTFBWY

A helpful guide: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/...?campaignid=61937324&iusercampaignid=96934423

Finally, couldn't resist sharing this one...

I stand corrected on pricing. Felicity Jones is $450(!), so would imagine Mark would be the same. If you don't have it, here is where to buy your place in line ahead of time:

https://www.starwarsauthentics.com/...n=2lHyWSm2eSsrjBZ4rrXc5huOrC5jdc3Q-EYdMEA4kqg

Yikes. Excellent advice, though. Thanks so much!

450 is a lot for being in just one movie compared to the others.

Remote People said:

I stand corrected on pricing. Felicity Jones is $450(!), so would imagine Mark would be the same. If you don't have it, here is where to buy your place in line ahead of time:

https://www.starwarsauthentics.com/...n=2lHyWSm2eSsrjBZ4rrXc5huOrC5jdc3Q-EYdMEA4kqg

Click to expand...

450 is for both an autograph and a photograph. Also, Felicity Jones will only be there one day, has never been to a Celebration before...and people are speculating that she may not return. She is a A list actress who will likely be busy in the future instead of doing the Con circuit like Mark does. It is likely she won't have a major role in another SW film so she is at the height of her SW popularity. I don't expect Mark to cost that much...though maybe close. I guess we will see who is correct soon enough.

That being said, Topps is now running the photo ops so that is a change this year. I think that is part of the reason for the price hike...besides the resurge in popularity due to the movies.

If the prices are going to continue to rise every year it is better to get it sooner than later. Just 2 years ago in Anaheim prices were much cheaper..

Edit: I just looked it up. In Anaheim Marks autograph was 125$ and photo was 108$. That is different than this year where the photos are usually more costly than the autograph. Now that I think about it, that does seem a little strange because pictures tend to go a lot faster than autographs.

Hammil preorders are up. Very similar to Felicity's pricing. She is 250 for photo, 200 auto. Mark is 250 auto, 200 photo.

About twice as expensive as celebration Anaheim.

Heads up, apparently the Rosen (center i think) over booked and are now sending people notices that they cant fill their reservations.
If you sre booked there, might want to check in with them about it.

Thank you for all this info. It is amazingly helpful.

Rebelscum.com usually posts a Celebration Survival Guide closer to the event. I previous URLs are anything to go by, I expect it to appear on this link later. Edit: It didn't! ...

The queueing system is not always the same one celebration to the next. Last Celebration Europe, I was surprised that wrist-bands were needed also for live-streams of the Rogue One panel but they showed also exclusive content there that wasn't shown online. Most other panels could be seen fully online live or later.

Do you guys have any idea how quickly the 40th Anniversary panel's wristbands will "sell out"? I saw that you can start lining up at 8 the night before but was just wondering if there was still a chance if i were to try and get them when the doors open at 10

I'm also wondering the same thing about the Last Jedi panel. That's the one I really want to attend, but I am not going to camp out overnight...will my dad and I still have a good chance at getting a wristband if we get there as soon as the doors open to the convention center?

The wristbands will be handed out at 6 am. You will have to get there by then at the bare minimum to have a chance. They unlock the doors to the queue hall at 5. 10 won't cut it.

There is a chance you could still get into the live panel if you show up in the morning before 6. You should at least get into one of the overflow rooms that it is being streamed to. Hard to say.

It seems like a fun experience but the panels will be online right after the show. Besides I'll be at Star Wars Galaxy Nights Fri night

For any of you that may be interested, we are having an RPF member meet and greet on Saturday April 15 at SWC. If you would be interested in joining the event, please post on the forum. I'm going to include the link to the forum for the meet and greet.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=260585&page=6t.

I took my son to Celebration 2&3 in Indy when he was about that age.

I'm not an autograph guy, so we just bummed around the convention floor and checked everything out. We also went to a lot of the "rooms" (R2 Builders, etc) that didn't have huge lines.

I think you can make this weekend as simple or as packed full as you want. Have fun!