SWC19 It's official Star Wars Celebration - April 11-15 2019 Chicago

I wouldn't doubt that some of these things get put off until the very end simply because nobody wants to take control of it. And it makes sense. Why would any employee stick their neck out and be the one to take charge only to have the blame for all the issues that arise placed squarely on them. I'd like to think that at some point there is a meeting in which these decisions are made, where there is an awareness and understanding that deciding on one strategy is going to create a different set of problems than another strategy. But realistically, it probably just gets put off. Not to mention that a lot of these high profile conventions only get put on once a year. So what might be a major problem experienced by attendees, is likely something that the average employee doesn't care enough about to actually try and prevent ahead of time. Because from the employees perspective, that problem comes, goes, and is over and done with completely within a few days time. Why go through all that effort to try and solve problems and prevent things from happening, when it just isn't going to matter anyway in a very short time. I'm not in any way trying to chastise employees of these companies. It's just normal day to day work life for them. I don't see why it would be any different for them than it would be in any other workplace.

I don't know anything about ReedPop's current contract. If it did end in 2018, it wouldn't be hard to extend it another year. Or on a year by year basis. If that does turn out to be the case, then maybe Disney just isn't quite ready to take over the reins just yet. It's definitely coming though. Like I had mentioned before, at SDCC this year there was quite a lot of discussion about whether Marvel and/or Star Wars will ever be returning. Even if ultimately either of those do return to SDCC, the discussion itself just goes to show that we aren't the only ones who think Disney definitely has something in store to showcase their properties in the future.

Conventions definitely aren't going to die out anytime soon. When you think about the fact that a lot of people who have been super passionate about conventions over the last 30 years are likely having families of their own now, it's just a whole new generation of con goers being raised with this as their norm. And yet, for companies, all of this is still relatively new in terms of handling the demand of these events.

Although, now that I think about it, I kind of like the chaos and the individual nature of each one of these events. It sort of heightens the passion everyone has for whatever it is they are trying to see or get. Dare I say, it's almost like it's part of the fun. Can you imagine if every convention was just this cookie cutter copy of every other one? Imagine if everything was just so streamlined and efficient that no issue came about. That image is a little scary to think about, to be honest. And it might go there one day. Where conventions become just these super efficient drive thru experiences. When you think about it like that, I'm not so sure people would actually want it that way.

 

For the sake of efficiency, I hope that conventions in the future are not so perfect. "Cookie cutter" cons
leave nothing to the imagination. I attend different cons simply because they are so different. Yes, I'm
attending Celebration IX with all its glamour and faults because it is a unique experience. As in comparison
there is nothing like Dragon Con. You must experience it, to believe it. San Diego Comic Con is a monster
within a monster and I'd go again just to experience the thrill. My point is to say that cons, in a way, are like
a big family. We don't get to chose the good family over the bad, but when we get together we have one
h*ll of a good time!
Celebration IX no doubt need improvements. However, REEDPOP would not be in business if it weren't for
our "families" who gather together to experience the times of our lives. Disney get it while others don't.

 

Talking about "cookie cutter cons" theory, wonder if Disney took over the Cele's in the near future and ,due to their family friendly mindset, the con. became cookie cutter style? that's when I would call it quits and attend SDCC regularly.

 

And I think that's something that binds people together as well without even realizing it, is not just experiencing the con itself, but experiencing all the mishaps along with it. Hah, that family comparison is pretty accurate.

That's very possible, especially with Disney run conventions. I just hope their model, or something like it, isn't something that every other con adopts either. Even though we complain about the mishaps, without them, cons might get really boring really fast.

 

I hope Disney does not take over Cele. we fans are used to a wide variety of ways the genre is presented, fans are mostly, very respectful of everyone at the con. we get along! when I heard something about Disney saying something about 501st members not to act out "prisoners taken with their hands up, or on their heads, etc. and or doing this with blasters at ready, I thought, Oh no, what is Cele. coming too? this is a normal event, like light saber duels, posing with blasters, maybe a couple "chases around the halls. Did anyone else hear about this? What is a Stormtrooper without his or her blaster? or Mandalorians, Bounty Hunters without their weapons? This is part of the Star Wars universe, it's what we as fans have always seen and enjoyed, To be "family friendly" may mean taking away these things, also major modifications to costumes -to make them "crowd safe'.

 

An equally as good shot.

 

Being honest I think you're right. They've paid lip service to it when ask so far and may tweak around the edges but at the end of the day it's supply and demand. They know they can't get everyone who goes to a convention into a single panel, there's always going to be queues and people who are disappointed so there's no point loosing any sleep over it. Like you've said before - it's just finding least worst option. They know any "solution" will just create new problems.

They're more likely to focus on sorting out the entry problems they had on the first morning than on the overnight queue as it affected more people and they were able to solve that last year for subsequent days.

Yeah, Disney definitely isn't ready yet. If it was to stay in Anaheim and be run by the D23 team then maybe, but if they want Celebration to remain a travelling convention then the likely don't have that in place yet. To be honest though, I'd expect it to be run by Lucasfilm rather than the D23 team if they do bring it back in house.

Definitely! They're only going to get bigger from here!

Totally agree. I always say this but some of my best memories from CE are from that queue hall, just hanging out and making friends with other fans. When the doors opened it was all go, so I appreciated that quieter time to just relax with other fans and that shared feeling of anticipation ahead of each day.

I'm not too worried about Celebration becoming cookie cutter if Disney takes over. From what I've read about D23 it seems to have its own feel separate from other cons. Plus Lucasfilm would still be heavily involved as well.

Pricing however, that would scare me! Celebration's 5 day pass is $215, D23 is $177 for 3 days ($219 if you buy after Nov 20th), Jedi Master's were $850, D23 Sorcerer's were an eye watering $2500!

 

Wow!!! What does one get for that price?

 

OVERVIEW
The Sorcerer Package provides guests with the most exclusive D23 Expo experience possible. Each Sorcerer package purchased includes one (1) Three-Day Ticket to D23 Expo 2019, exclusive Sorcerer-only entrance into the D23 Expo each day, and reserved seating for ALL presentations in Hall D23, Arena Stage, Stage 28, and Archives Stage.

But that’s only the beginning! The Sorcerer Package also includes the following special benefits and amenities:

• Exclusive Sorcerer preview day on Thursday, August 22 that includes:
  • One (1) exclusive shopping opportunity on the preview day in each of our signature retail locations: Dream Store, Disney Store, and Mickey’s of Glendale
  • Exclusive Sorcerer-only tour of the Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit
  • Access to D23 Expo Sorcerer Lounge
  • Haunted Mansion-themed Welcome Reception that evening
• First opportunity to pre-purchase select themed merchandise from the D23 Expo Dream Store
• Exclusive access to D23 Expo Sorcerer Lounge on event days (9AM – 7PM). Sorcerer Lounge includes:
  • Dedicated Sorcerer concierge desk
  • Complimentary baggage check area
  • Complimentary snacks throughout day (11AM – 6PM)
  • Complimentary coffee (8AM – 12PM)
  • One (1) voucher for complimentary 20-minute massage with massage therapist on site (10AM – 6:30PM)
• One (1) Exclusive commemorative Sorcerer credential
• One (1) Exclusive D23 Expo Sorcerer lanyard
• One (1) Exclusive limited-edition D23 Expo American Tourister boarding bag
• One (1) Exclusive D23 Expo Gift Pack featuring items from The Walt Disney Company and a special gift from D23 created specifically for this year’s Sorcerers
• One (1) Limited-Edition original art print
• One (1) Private meet & greet with a special Disney guest
• Photo opportunity with Sorcerer Mickey
• “Fond Farewell” Bon Voyage Reception on final day of the D23 Expo, Sunday August 25
• Invite-only access to D23 Expo Sorcerer private social media page
• Exclusive access to dedicated D23 Expo Sorcerer email support line

 

Not enough

In all honestly it looks pretty similar to the Jedi Master package but with a massage and tourister boarding bag. In all honesty, if you're planning on selling any exclusives it could pretty easily pay for itself just with the exclusive shopping on preview day. Some of the past D23 exclusives like the doll sets have gone for crazy money after the convention. Not something I'd advocate, but at those prices I could understand it more.

 

Checked D23 site out of curiousity and it looks like all the Sorcerer tickets were sold. I wonder how many they sold. Does anyone know how many Jedi Master tickets are sold?

 

They haven't officially said for Orlando or Chicago, but it's believed to be around 300.

 

I think it’s 250 or 300, similar to Jedi Masters. And like Jedi Masters they sell out instantly. Yep, even at that price!

 

Big news in the world of conventions.

https://deadline.com/2018/08/comic-...-salt-lake-trademark-infringement-1202451793/

A lot of people have been having their eye on this case. With the explosion of convention popularity in the last several years, a lot of other cons have adopted the Comic Con title in their name. Which seemed to go unchecked for a while. But this case was the first time SDCC actually went after a con bearing the name Comic Con in it and tried to put a stop to it. It was an argument over whether SDCC had proper trademark rights to the term Comic Con, or if the term Comic Con was generic enough that other conventions could use it. Whichever way this case went was going to have widespread implications for the world of sci fi and comic conventions. Now we finally have our answer. And it's basically going to set the precedent now for other conventions to no longer be able to use the term Comic Con in their name. A different article I read said that SDCC won out on this other convention not even being able to use anything that would phonetically sound the same as Comic Con, such as Comic-Con, ComiKon, or any kind of related spelling. Which is another indication of just how widespread this precedent is going to reach.

Personally, I have to side with SDCC on this one. Granted, I definitely have a personal bias, being that SDCC has been very good to me since I've attended. But really, if it weren't for them, this wouldn't even be an issue, since none of these other conventions would be even remotely as popular if it hadn't been for San Diego basically serving as ground zero for the modern sci fi and comic convention industry. In a real sense, I think they are taking back what is rightfully theirs.

On the other hand, I can obviously see the issue that other convention organizers will have with this ruling. Being that the term Comic Con is fairly generic. And also just this idea that the big conglomerate organization wins out over the little guy yet again. That will likely be the view taken by most who are aware of this issue. Especially for those who have never attended, or never even intend to attend, SDCC

Based on this ruling, expect to see a lot of conventions with the name Comic Con in it change their names to something else. The biggest one of this sort is New York Comic Con, which is a ReedPop event, and is basically the SDCC equivalent of the east coast, in terms of both popularity and demand, and it also takes place in less than two months. For a bigger competitor like that, SDCC might have to put up another fight. Because I don't see ReedPop backing down so easily, given how much of a staple NYCC has become in the east coast convention circuit. It will be interesting to see how this goes down. But for the smaller and mid to large size conventions using Comic Con in the title, my guess is that simply to avoid the potential of anything happening, they'll go ahead and just change their name. A lot of them will likely begin to use "Expo" in their title, as some already do. Or they'll change their name outright. A lot of conventions have gone through numerous name changes in recent years, so they must have seen this coming.

This is really interesting. For regular convention attendees, the term Comic Con really began to feel generic, that it wasn't implicitly tied to San Diego anymore. Now it looks like that tide will shift back, and the term "Comic Con" will again imply San Diego from now on.

 

Just a note that the above article has comments, so I'm adding a warning for language not allowed here.

I wonder what effect that would have internationally - London has an annual Film and Comic Con.

 

I wonder about that too. But I can't claim to have even the remotest idea about what kind of international implications this could have.

 

I'd imagine that they would have to bring suit in a UK court to stop it but I'm not in the legal field so that's just my guess.

 

I think the whole thing is pretty silly. It's just a name and casual con goers will still refer to these events as comic cons. I'm going to the Cincinnati Comic Expo in a couple of weeks, but a lot of people casually talk about it as Cincy Comic Con. Other cons will just slightly change their name and life will carry on.

 

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I see how Comic Con is a pretty generic moniker. On the other hand, it would be naive to think that other conventions who use the term Comic Con in their title are not trying to benefit in some way from the popularity and recognition of that term that is only that way specifically because of SDCC.

 

As far as the UK goes, there was a case of George Lucas taking a UK firm to court for making stormtrooper replica helmets. As the designer had no US assets the case had to be argued in the UK. BBC News article.

 

There's others as well. I think Seoul has a big Comic Con, as does Australia. I think ReedPop even does those. It will be interesting to see how far SDCC goes now to fight this, and this court ruling gives them a lot of steam.

 

I'm pretty sure other UK cities have Comic Cons as well - I knew London's because I've been to it.

 

First I hear about this... We have Ottawa Comic Con (I'm in Canada). So if they rename it Ottawa Comic Expo in 2019 I will know why...
I haven't posted on here since Orlando 2012! But I was at Orlando 2017. Unfortunately, I was in no health to do any overnights. I did the overnight in Anaheim and the TFA panel was awesome. I'm not sure this time. I checked at the end of June thinking that 5-day passes would not sell out for several months and I was surprised to find out that both 5-day passes and Saturday passes sold out in days! Well, well... So far, I've bought Thursday and Friday passes. I don't know what I'll do about the Saturday. I will get passes for Sunday and Monday later on, as well as preordered items. And I'm booked at the hostel. Now, I guess I should find myself an image on here (I mean an avatar!).

 

Yeah, everyone was caught off guard with how fast passes are selling.

 

Ok. I found an avatar now... that reflects my username... I'm a Star Wars fan (Jedi) and a Short Circuit fan (Five).

Also, regarding SWCC, I'm surprised about how Reed POP listened to me (from the survey). I've asked for more items to preorder (done!) and for an extra day with no programming (done!). Amazing!