CVII What to expect at CVII?

For my first Celebration I was simply overwhelmed, and I've heard that's quite a common reaction. It feels quite surreal to be surrounded by many thousands of people sharing the same interest. Before you go try to be prepared so you know if there are specific panels or shows that you really want to see, and then you should plan around them.

Celebration Anaheim will be in a new convention centre, so I don't know how well they are with handling cues, this has varied a lot with the different locations, and of course also the popularity of the panels. For example at Celebration III you couldn't really get into anything without cueing several hours, at Celebration IV I didn't stand in line for more than 5 minutes for anything. If there really is something you want to see you should plan to be able to cue up a long way ahead, and if there is something really big, like George Lucas, you should expect to head for the cue in the night before. Last time at Celebration Europe I didn't cue at all, so it all depends on the capacity of the rooms where the panels are held.

You will be tempted to buy a lot of things, and there are things available in all price ranges. I've always come home with a lot more than I had planned to buy, and my wallet has been thinner as planned as well. Make sure that you have a budget for how much you can actually spend.

Don't forget to bring your charger, you will take a lot of photos and be amazed by sets and costumes that looks like they are straight from the films, games, comics and so on. Most costumes love getting a attention, but remember to be respectful, and if you see a person sitting down with a slice of pizza, with tomato sauce all of the face, that's not the right time to ask for a photo.

There are group photos planned by the different costume groups throughout the con, these are not in the official program but I will try to keep the times I know about posted here. The main photos are the 501st Legion photo shoot and the Rebel Legion photo shoot, when hundreds of members of the two groups gather in one place.

Remember to drink, eat and sleep, it's actually quite easy to forget in the excitement, but it's not fun to collapse out of dehydration or sleep deprivation on the third day. Two proper meals a day and always carry a water bottle with you is a good start. Well at least this Celebration won't be in Orlando in August, or during a central European summer heatwave.

That's a start at least