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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Reflections on Celebration II

Discussion in 'Archive: Milwaukee, WI' started by Bujo, May 5, 2002.

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  1. Bobafemme

    Bobafemme FF Jedi Council Member, Chicago IL RSA Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2000
    I'm was hoping to meet more of Milwaukee. I saw two things: the concert (agree on needing more practice, but cool because I was two seats from Mayhew and behind Prowse)and a session on makeup, headgear, and masks. I love Kabe and was the only one screaming for Rusty. I spent most of my time with Bill Hootkins (if you got an autograph in the afternoon, I was the girl with him). I couldn't agree more on the lines!!!!!!!!!! Limit the people that can buy passes or get a bigger convention center. Sheesh.

     
  2. BFW

    BFW Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Apr 15, 2002
    [image=http://images.cafepress.com/zoom/1001681_zoom.jpg]
     
  3. marajoan

    marajoan Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2002
    The lines did not bother me. I didn't mind waiting in a line if there was something at the end. We waiting in line for over an hour for the opening ceremonies only to find out that people were allowed to walk straight in from the upstairs rooms instead of having to wait in the line that went down the stairs and around the corner. The incompetence and stupidity of the people working in the store was the problem not the volume of people. I loved the waiting lines in that we met so many people from so many places. The volunteers and the fans were great. Even the 501st thought that things were screwed. We met a stormtrooper from Indy who said that they were prepared for 25,000 and got 60,000 people on Saturday. He thought it was stupid considering there were 16,000 advance tickets sold. You figure 30% for that and multiply by three. Duh??????????
    He also said that nobody knew what they were doing with the seating at the concert. I am glad that we decided to just go to the movies being shown downstairs. It has been years since I saw ESB and ROJ on the big screen. I had forgotten how awesome it was.
    The highlight for me was the author panels and getting my books signed. They were so nice and friendly.
    We saw Carrie Fischer on Sunday and she was hilarious. They were ripping GL for costumes and dialogue and it was a blast. She really would be great as a Hollywood talk show host.
    I came home feeling great and will not let these scoffing non-believers get me down.
    I am ready for C3 which I heard rumors would again be in Indy.
     
  4. Outlander_

    Outlander_ Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 11, 2002
    I would love for C3 to be in Indy again. It's not too far, there's plenty of hotel rooms, and plenty of parking.

    I'm sure WOTC is being flooded with irate calls, emails, or whatever and they can't but help to learn something out of this...yes I'm being foolishly optimistic here. For instance, invest heavily in those Tensa-barrier things for quality line management. They need to implement psych tests for the help and find people who are at least somewhat friendly. And I don't know if this is up to WOTC or the Ventures autograph people...but for God's sake use the football field. It's artificial turf, it won't get worn down, and crowd control would be much easier.

    Even if none of this happens...I will still go back for C3.
     
  5. TheWampas1138

    TheWampas1138 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2002
    I would buy tickets now if I could. I really think that if you make the most of it, you get your money's worth. I think it had problems, but the things I did were great, as were the celebrities I met. Missed a few things I wanted to see, but saw some things I didn't plan on that turned out to be great.
     
  6. jedihexer

    jedihexer Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 17, 2002
    O.K. I will chime in now! I finally slept a few hours after the drive.

    First I wanted to thank Que4zone for going down with my brother and me. I had a great time in the car, and lots of fun getting to know all of you better. I wish we had all spent more time as a group, but I realize that everyone has their own battle plan for the con.

    2nd- I did get figures for the Filmcon 3 auction. Dawn, BYOB's girlfriend helped with that. THANKS DAWN!!!!!!!!!
    I will make sure they don't go for gobs of money. What money that is bid for them goes to our charity...not some slick dealer on Ebay.

    3rd- I agree with the Wampas and Capt.M.-the people running it are idiot's!!!!!
    It really did make the whole experience less than it should be, but I did finally get Julian Glovers autograph, and he remembered the letter he wrote me over 20 years ago. I even got a picture with him! MADE MY WEEKEND!!!!!

    4th-If anyone wants it. My friend Nick and myself filmed the entire prop display in digiatal video and took over 200 shots in the display. My brother is going to edit it, and put everything on a cd/dvd for people who could not get in.

    5th- I will have some books from the give-a-way at the auction also. That was another cluster"&^$#^*". Only take 6 books? What the hell was that. They promised a whole bag full. The problem was they never said you had to enter in thru the dealers room. a real big mess!

    Again I did love meeting people, and that to me was and will always be the best memory!

    Let's do it again....after I rest a little more!
     
  7. Bujo

    Bujo Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2002
    I for one would love Indy hosting it again. The Courtyard by Marriot (where we stayed) was the kitty-corner from the convention center. The downtown was beautiful and safe.

    But the main thing is the convention center. I had NEVER been to a convention before. I KNEW this was going to be a fun experience as much as a learning experience. And I learned you have to plan better. While it came late, they did announce schedules. And lines, the lines were inevitable; I knew that going in. I was overwhelmed by how many there were and all, but I was prepared to have to wait. With better planning and having an itinerary, I know I would have been able to do so much more.

    It was solely my mistake that I did not get to see as many things as I wanted to. While I didn't get any support from the staff there, I now know better regardless of anything of what to expect.

    And as mentioned before, there is so much to do in downtown Indy! For those of you here that saw the baseball stadium right next to the convention center, did you notice how gorgeous it was. My buddy and I took in a game Saturday night (highest price of seat: $11, which we took advantage of). Also, for the older crew here, the bars were pretty, shall we say, favorable (ahem). However, one knock about the bars there: expensive. Drink domestic and only domestic if going out, otherwise you'll be paying outrageous prices.

    Sorry, this is a Star Wars forum and a Milwaukee room. I just loved Indy so much. I'm not an overly emotional person by any means, but I choked up twice last weekend. First, there seemed to always have the presentation going where the kids were fighting Darth Vader at the tutelage of a "Jedi Master" stunt coordinator. Every time I heard the crash of sabers I was getting goosebumps, and after they held Vader at bay the audience clapped and it took all I can do to not run up there and grab a lightsaber myself to have a crack at Vader . . . The second time was driving back to Milwaukee at 10:00pm on Saturday. I was already missing the city having only just left its boundaries.
     
  8. BYOB_Kenobi

    BYOB_Kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2000
    Hey, remember how TFN is always so proud of pointing out that they're a non-profit organization? I wonder how they paid for that big full page full-color ad in the official Conflagration 2 program.

    Does anybody smell Scottish Eggs? Oh wait... that's TFN's Propaganda machine. [face_plain]
     
  9. que4zone

    que4zone Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 7, 2002
    Well.. I'm going to try to make this short and sweet.. here it goes..

    * Thursday *
    I got about three hours of sleep. Jedihexer (and his brother) and I went to the Starfighter Exhibit, then got to check out the Convention Center and saw the kid that plays Boba Fett walking around. Met up with Mauler_II and hung out at the 'HardRock Cafe'.. It was fun!!

    * Friday *
    Didn't get up early enough, so I had to wait in line a little longer. Was shocked to see so many Stormtroopers and people dressed up. Got my action figures ASAP and then ran to the free book giveaway (got about 8 books). Went to the 'Life, Death, and Rebirth' in the Naboo room with Marajoan, Jedisister, and Mirrax. Later, I then saw Hayden Christensen, Anthony Daniels, and Nick Gillard.

    The meeting was quick, but the few of us who went to 'Champions' to eat had a great time. oH!! And thanks BYOB_Kenobi for paying the bill (it was unexpected and wonderful).. Thanks again!!... Also.. WE ARE OFFICIAL!!

    * Saturday *
    Saturday was awesome!!.. Got in line very early and held a place in line for Marajoan, Jedisister, and Mirrax (oh! and Littlest_Wookiee, too).. Then waited in the Store line with Mirrax and got action figures for Marajoan and myself a shirt. Then decided to wait in line for the Concert tickets, but bought one from a guy for $20.. I didn't have to wait at all.. It was great!!..

    Watched 'TROOPS' and saw Kevin Rubio, then waited in line for Rick McCallum's Spectacular. That was so cool and exciting. I loved the supposed 'Spiderman trailer'.. uhm.. Then.. I waited in line for about 3 hours for the Concert, and it was not really worth it.. But then I hung out with Mauler_II at TGIFriday's and had fun once again!!

    * Sunday *
    Got up late and felt pretty sick in the morning. I pretty much just walked around and took pictures and bought a few things. Then I met up with Jedihexer and we took off at 2pm.

    Conclusion... It was the best thing I have ever been to and would of paid more, if I had to.. The only thing that sucked, was the lines.. But I meet a lot of people in those lines that were very nice and easy to talk to. So, the line thing pretty much evened out. I missed the R2-D2 room, the Star Wars in 30 minutes, and the Saga Archive Exhibit... which sucked!!.. I wish I could of made it to those..

    I'm no longer a Convention-virgin, we are Official, and had a ton of fun!! I was awesome.. I can't wait for the next Convention.. Nor our next meeting..
     
  10. CaptMereel

    CaptMereel Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 11, 2002
    I would certainly buy tickets today for CIII and would love it to be in Indy again. We also stayed at the Courtyard which was so accessible to the CC. No matter what I said above, ie those pseudo-Nazi Green and Blue Shirts, I would do it all over again.
     
  11. marajoan

    marajoan Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2002
    Everyone I met was polite and pleasant. Some of the red shirts were pushy but all the authors and actors were fantastic. They do need to get some people working food and the store who have a concept of how to wait on a customer and the ability to remember more than one thing at a time. I don't think it is good to let these people handle money. The thing that stood out in my mind was the total bewilderment of the people in Indy as to the numbers at this convention. Would I go again? YES!!!!!!!!!!
    Would I go if it was in Indy? Yes, it was a seemingly safe place with enough access to the things needed. It was the first event with so many people that I went to where there was no line for bathrooms. This is an important thing that someone who designed the place seemed to plan for very well.
     
  12. Red_Jedi_Knight

    Red_Jedi_Knight Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2002
    ohhh man i got to see star wars in 30 minutes!!! it was fabulous!! i loved the baseball bat lightsabers! we(me, two friends and two guys we met in line) were waiting for maybe an hour on saturday to get in to see it. we had actually found the line on accident! so we sat down and waited and i was died tired at this point so i laid down and went to sleep. when half an hour later i wake up(light sleep for safety sake) and ask if i had missed anything?
    "oh nothing really a couple of people took pictures of you and some others asked if you were all right." ashley said.
    "we told them we hoped so cause we weren't getting out of line to get help." tasha laughed. it was a bit disturbing to think i had be photographed while i slept but i was dressed in full jedi uniform so i guess it's okay.
    i also got to see the concert. oh my god when vader walked in i almost hid behind my chair. the music and the look and everything just made him all the more scary!! and there i was big bad female jedi shaking holding her obi-wan kenobi doll!!
    i know many people had problems with the lines but i figured it wasn't so much what you were in line to do but who you met while waiting in that line. i met people from germany, new york, kentucky, a woman originally from spain and so many others!! i got to be great friends with one of the leaders of the rebel legion. his name was mookie. sweet guy. we also met one of the commanders of the 501 and he invited us to a party on saturday at the hyatt. so if any one was there you might have seen a jedi in tunics one in a cloak and a darth sidious looking girl that was us!! i was in the tunics! i had a great time! i really hope i'll be able to get to c3 when it happens.
     
  13. bwing53

    bwing53 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2002
    My wife and I had Saturday & Sunday passes. We got in friday night and stayed 2 blocks away, at the hampton inn (absolutely one of the best hotels I've stayed in, and that includes some of the "upscale" ones I've been to for work in Atlanta & Dallas). Indianapolis has to be the cleanest city I've been in; compared to downtown Milwaukee, its Valhalla. But I digress . . .
    There were ZERO free books left by the time we got in the building Saturday morning, so that sucked. Not a soul knew what any of three huge lines were for when you got in (concert, store, Carrie Fisher). It was a firetrap. We got in the store line and waited 2.5 hours for our figures. My wife had hoped for a t-shirt, but they were woefully short on selections/styles (I have to agree with Wampas1138 on THAT). The rest of Saturday was kind of a "see what you can see" day. We didn't do the autograph thing, so that saved some time. Being a toy freak, I was wowed at the Hasbro corner in the exhibit hall, and the diorama room was really cool, too. Had a blast out on the town Saturday night--I wish I had been part of the council then--I would have loved to talk it up with some of you guys.
    Sunday was MUCH better--virtually no lines for lots of cool stuff; my wife and I both got scanned at the Gentle Giant booth (that gives us a 1/30 chance of getting a jedi mini-bust done of one of us--how cool would that be?) and they gave you a t-shirt and either a Jango Fett or Zam Wessell Comic book for being one of the vigilants to wait in line. We also were in the front of the line for the costume contest, which was absolutely fantastic and horrendous at the same time. There were great costumes (that one girl who dresses up as Bespin Leia is a ringer for a MUCH younger Carrie Fisher), and Anthony Daniels was downright hillarious, but the problem was that it turned int a quasi-Star Search. There was one girl dressed as Padme who sang a three-minute song about Anakin, for God's sake. There was a five-minute long "lightsaber exhibition" by some guy, just twirling around by himself on stage--to make things worse, he broke his lightsaber on stage. It must have been organized by the same people organizing everything else, because few participants knew to come up to the front of the stage, where the judges sat. When it came time for the judging, Anthony Daniels started talking to some of the costumed people in the crowd. He pulled this one girl out who was dressed like queen Amidala, and so as not be outdone by the girl who sang on stage, she said SHE had a song about Anakin. She couldn't have been more than fifteen, and was seriously losing it. She was weeping, and here stands Daniels, trying to get her to get herself together. Thank God he got rid of her before she could start singing. Daniels wanted to talk to everyone who was in costume, so the show which was supposed to end at 3:30 was still in progress when we left at 4:45. If anyone knows who won, we'd love to know. It just went on and on and on (much like this posting).
    Anyway, Sunday was great, and I would do it again, except with a 3 day pass, getting there a day before it started so I could get in line early on friday (Yes, that IS what purgatory is like). I would also bring more cash (we went through $150 in no time, and lots of places don't take charges--cash equals quick, and you definitely need all the time you can get. I had a great time talking to an imperial officer at the Steak Escape at the mall; he was just one of the many great people I met at C2. I'm not shy, but next time I would spend a lot more time talking to my fellow fans--there are just so many interesting things to hear from them. All in all, I'd give the experienced a "B".
     
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