SWC17 Lining up for Celebration (NOT Overnight or for Wristbands)

Hi all,

Really excited that it's less than one week at this point to Celebration! Good luck to all those who are lining up overnight, hope it's a lot of fun.

My wife and I are flying in rather late, so we won't be trying to get in one of the morning panels. However, is there any advice or guidance on how to line up outside with the masses? In Anaheim, Thursday morning was a bit of a frustration since the line stretched so long there was no staff or line cohesion. People were skipping forward, the line was breaking etc. It was only after we got inside did it normalize.

This time, we plan to be there around 8 am (my wife is kind enough to join me on this trip, but I can't push her too far!). Does anyone have any tips or insight on how to line up outside?

Thank you!

 

To be honest, you are pushing it at 8am. Doors reopen at 530 and bracelets get handed out at 6. You honestly will be lucky to even get a spot in the streaming theatres.

 

Well, you won't be lining up outside. The morning queue is indoors. The line to get in will include everyone (panel goers and those just wanting in the main hall), so that's going to be a zoo. Getting there at 8 though, you should be in the door not too long after they open at 10.

 

He's not trying to go to a panel.

 

There will be several different lines. Lines for the main panels that allowed for lining up in the morning/overnight. There will also be a line for the main exhibit hall. There will be plenty of staff there guiding people on which way to go and which line is for what.

 

Yup, to Motivate, you must listen. There will be a queue in the queue hall just for people who want to hit the show floor itself first.

Once that line has entered, they will open up other access points to the show floor to people elsewhere in the convention center.

 

I was led to believe by a poster or posters in here that The biggest panel was episode 8 the other ones will be easier to get into even at 8AM I am getting there around 8AM as well are you guys saying I wont get into any panels getting there at 8AM? What about the Warwick Davis one or the Mark Hamill one where he reminisces about Carrie Fisher, or the ones that are behind the scenes how they made the films I have no shot at any of those? My main reason for going to this event was to see some panels do some shopping and just geek out if you know what I mean but I am not camping out and not leaving my house before 6AM If I cant see any panels kind of seems like a waste

And do they let you bring cell phones like I-Phones and such in to the panels?

 

yes to cell phones. Some of the other panels you'll have no problem. Mark's tribute is hard telling. they are streaming it so that's double the stage. You might get a band. the others with Warwick and others (not the big ones) you should have a definite shot. Just if there are bands available when you get there, grab it then, don't wait. Once you have that band, your seat is reserved

Also some panels won't need bands if I understand correctly.

 

Only panels on the Galaxy Stage and the Celebration Stage require wristbands.. All others do not.

 

I was wondering about this...I've never been to a Celebration before and will definitely not be doing any camping out for any of the days. I'm going Friday and Saturday only and probably won't even be able to get there at the official opening time on either day.

My question to anyone who would like to answer: does this likely mean that I probably won't be able to get into _any_ "panels" or "sessions" or whatever--or just that I won't be able to get into the most popular ones?

Really, I'm not really a "mega" or "die-hard" fan (certainly not by the standards of the JCF), so I don't have a lot of huge or even very specific expectations. I've just always been curious about what a Celebration would be like and am just hoping (at minimum) to get a chance to see a lot of high-quality cosplay and maybe prop and/or set recreations (with photo opps), and to just generally enjoy a "Star Wars-y" atmosphere. Are my expectations realistic?

Thanks in advance for any replies to my totally noob-like query

 

I think your expectations are realistic. Friday morning will be a good time to walk around with everyone else freaking out about TLJ panel. You can certainly get into things like the collectors panels and behind the scenes stuff without getting there early in the morning.

 

I think your expectations are very realistic. Just walking around and seeing all the props and cosplay can take you all day if you want. There's tons of panels throughout the day that shouldn't require a long wait, some you may even show up after they seated everyone and it's about to start. If there's room, they'll let you in as long as it's not a wristband panel. Go to the 501st room and check out the Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs areas as well. Lots of great cosplay usually on display. The R2 builders club area is cool too.


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You should be able to get into some of the panels in the smaller rooms. Best thing to do is get the schedule, decide what you'd like to see panel-wise that armbands aren't needed for and then get to the room to line up fairly early. For example, last year at London I really wanted to see Doug Chiang's panel since I liked his art for AOTC. My partner and I lined up around 30 minutes before start time. The place was filled but we got good seats near the front. If they work it the same way as at London the rooms will be cleared after every panel so you won't get people hogging seats - they'll have to line up like everyone else.
As far as cosplay and photos go, there were signs up last year reminding people who wanted to take photos of people in costume to ask their permission first. ( I think this was mostly for costumers who might be showing some flesh - Slave Leias, for example. Taking a wide shot of a hall or people at a panel is different).

 

Falconer13 I'm in a similar situation. I'm going thurs/ 1/2 of fri. I really like the itinerary I have planned tho for SWC as well as other events/ plans we Have. I'm a fan not a mega fan, as well. Don't get me wrong I love SW,( although I did pass up on Coachella Weekend 1 this yr to come here with my son. We travel and goto enough festivals anyways. The only panel we have planned is the lego builders, other than that, we are gonna trip around, check things out, hope to get some cool photos as well. Anyways have a great celebration!

 

There's plenty else to do than go to the most popular panels. Just walking around the show floor and taking it all in at your own pace can take an entire day. Certainly the cosplayers are always fun to be around and take pictures of. I think it would be worthwhile to attend at least a panel or two, just to experience the full breadth of Celebration. I think your best bet might be some of the panels happening on the main stage later in the day (except for probably Hamill) that will seat a lot of people that you will more than likely be able to just walk right into. It is definitely a Star Wars-y atmosphere all around. I read somewhere Celebration being described as having the feeling of a space port, with all the costumes and displays and people everywhere. I thought it was an accurate description.

 

If you are a SW collector then there's always the vendors and there are collecting panels as well.

 

Wow, thanks for all the great replies everyone! This is good news--I wasn't sure what kind of experience it could be without getting into the main panels, but it sounds like there will be plenty for those like me that won't be trying to get into the events that require a stronger level of fan commitment.

I have looked generally at the schedule (though I find the main Celebration web page not very user-friendly/easy to navigate), but I'll definitely be looking at it in more detail when I arrive in Orlando Thursday night.

^ohhh, love that description...that made my inner SW smile with anticipation!

One more noob question--will there likely be printed out versions of maps of the exhibition areas/various panel stages and of the finalized schedule available on site, or are people expected just to use their smartphones for that?

 

In the past they have little black and white booklets (usually can be found at will call or at a booth near the morning queue). It will have printed schedule, panel descriptions (I think) and a map. I haven't been to one Celebration that didn't have them and this will be my 4th

However I do bring my own because I like to map my routes (but that's cause I usually have somewhere specific to go at one point). It won't hurt to study the online one so you get a general idea but grab one of those booklets and by the second day you should have a sense of where you are going

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Thanks Padme501st , sounds good!

I wonder if the evening film screenings will be hard to get into (i.e., requiring lining up way in advance)?

 

well usually not but after Anaheim and how popular they were, I wouldn't discredit fan demand for film screenings. I'd say your really popular one is RO and ANH, expect a good hour or more. I honestly waited longer at Anaheim, more like 2-3 hours. (3 was for the ROTS 3D showing which was chaos to get into,the others weren't that bad). Also depends on the seat you want. I had pretty great seats so that is why i waited longer

 

Btw ..it always pays to hang around the Star Wars podcast stage - there'll be cool guests there and the occasional surprise. I happened to pass by a near empty stage early in the evening last year and totally fangirled out as Mark Hamill did his unhooding thing in right in front of me after deciding to do an impromptu interview for the show. Best of all - it was FREE.

 

This year, I would imagine there might be a bit of a line up for the RO/ANH screening. But that's just because it's a premiere screening, and usually premiere screenings at Celebration garner a lot of interest. For Anaheim, the only difficult one to get into was ROTS, but every other film screening had plenty of open seating. The screenings on Saturday night I doubt will have much of a wait and you will probably be able to just walk right in.

 

Back from my Celebration experience (just went for two days on Friday and Saturday). As a first-timer, it definitely was a little overwhelming as posters here had advised, but overall it was an enjoyable experience and my spouse liked it too! We are part of the "original generation" of fans (i.e., middle-aged, lol) and have never gone to any such event before, and I just wanted to say thanks to the users here who answered my pre-departure questions and for the users who shared the advance prep materials they created (like Torz who made a Word doc version of the schedule). The advice and tips were very helpful! So thanks, y'all

Even though I have no other fan convention experiences to compare it to, I would agree with the observations people are making in some of the threads here that it seemed kind of poorly run/organized in several ways. But overall, it was a lot of fun and I hope those that went enjoyed their experiences too!