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

SWC19 Celebration Chicago Appearances and Signings

Discussion in 'Star Wars Celebrations' started by MotivateR5D4, May 28, 2018.

  1. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    Yeah, I'll be really surprised if either comes to Celebration.
     
  2. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    I guess it depends how the promotional tour for GOT goes. Benioff and Weiss will be on the GOT promo tour as well so they might try and line it up that they can all appear at SWCC without interfering too much with the GOT stuff. That said, B&W would only need to drop in for a panel rather than signings so that would be easier to schedule. Maybe Emilia and Gwendoline could be there, just not for all days?
     
  3. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    I don't think the GoT creators will be there with nothing to show. They already trotted Lord and Miller out before filming started and that ended up backfiring. I don't think they'll make that mistake again.
     
  4. KyloSpence

    KyloSpence Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2016
    Here is a fantastic interview with Mark from Topps discussing SWCO and hopes for SWCC. When I met him at NYCC, he said there will be quality vs quantity. He said in this interview and in my talk with him think quality and costs of Felcity and Forrest. (The $120-$150 mark).
    Anyway take a look, comment. And yes people do request Bor Gullett!
    https://www.fanthatracks.com/review...abYvxiAWrQjYeIK8ZAPlHPmAvu8VUej-0OQa6C-GEqBWU
     
  5. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    That is a good interview. I wish they'd own up to just disorganized they were in Orlando a bit more.

    They talk about how they would like to get some names from the ST, Ahmed Best, and Natalie. Who knows if those are realistic or not? I'm cringing at the thought, but I'm bracing for the big names to start hitting the $300+ mark (they even joke about people saying they'd pay $1,000 for Natalie).
     
  6. groove790

    groove790 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    I felt that $250 for Felicity was too much but I did it anyway because the chance of me getting the same opportunity again was slim. I would gladly pay $300 for Natalie but I would struggle if it went up much higher.

    I completely agree that they need to own up to the mess that was Celebration. I truly hope they have learned from that and there is a drastic improvement. I've posted about it before but I had VIP line jumps and I wasted my entire sunday waiting in line jump lines for 3 autographs. That among other issues gave me a very bad taste from Topps.
     
  7. JonSB

    JonSB Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2018
    When they sell tickets I assume it would be from the Star Wars Celebrations site? I have Reedpop, Showclix, and OnPeak signins but for some reason I don't have a signin for the actual Star Wars Celebration website...or somehow never recorded it. I sent them a password reset but no reply yet in the last 10 min
     
  8. ksomm814

    ksomm814 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 17, 2005
    No, it will be on a different website


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

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    Jun 14, 2002
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
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  10. JonSB

    JonSB Jedi Knight star 2

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    Aug 20, 2018
    Did they also have photo tickets in Orlando? If so were they done at the same time and area or somewhere else? Does anyone have a snapshot or record of the prices?
     
  11. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    Yeah, photo ops and autos went up for sale at the same time. The photos are in a separate area in a smaller time frame, so you tend not to wait nearly as long in line, but your time with the celeb is like 5-10 seconds.

    Here's a price list from Orlando
    https://futureofstarwars.wordpress....d-photo-ops-at-star-wars-celebration-orlando/
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2018
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  12. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    One "perk" with the photo ops is if you're going with friends, you can split the cost of a photo. That's what I do with my brother at a lot of cons and it saves a lot of money that way.
     
  13. JonSB

    JonSB Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2018
    I couldn't find your specific post on VIP line jumps but I was initially surprised that you had to waste that much time with that advantage. Thinking about it more I guess it makes sense that even with VIP you still might have a hundred people in line with a high demand actor and if you did that 3X so it might take a while. DId they have VIP line jumps for photos also or just autographs?
     
  14. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    VIP was a life saver for me. You had a punch card you could use six times. It was valid for photo ops too. They were so disorganized they only actually marked my card once of the four photos I got.

    My Hamill photo op was right after the 40th anniversary panel which was then followed by Hayden. I hustle down after the panel to find a big disorganized blob if people. I finally found a volunteer and she walked me to the front of the line.

    There's still some waiting involved because the celebs often aren't there right on time (same goes with being at their table), but VIP saved me a ton of headaches. So when I complain about the disorganization, it's really more in defense of others and wanting the procedure to improve in the future as opposed to personal experience.

    They kind of skip over talking about the problems in that video and just say "it's a con, you're going to wait in line". While that's true, organization goes a long way. I waited nearly two hours to meet David Tennant at another con, but their volunteers knew what they were doing and it was clear where the line was and how it was going to move, so it made for a smoother experience.
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2018
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  15. groove790

    groove790 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    My comments are in this thread https://boards.theforce.net/threads/my-open-letter-to-reedpop.50045188/ It took me a minute to find it. One of the biggest issues with the VIP jump line was that it was also the medical badge line and with the 250 VIP's and the 5,000+ medical badges it eliminated the jump for VIP. I did get through faster than if I were standby but I held most of my auto's off until sunday thinking I could get through quickly. I ended up missing out on Sam Witwer due to the mess. I truly hope they learned from the nightmare that they created and can improve on it.

    I also think that the second line for picture choice was absolutely ridiculous and there was no line jump for that. Put the pictures at the tables like every other con in the world does it. This is not the place to try new things.

    I would say the only place that the line jump helped me was in the photo op area. That whole area was run by a different company that SWA\Topps contracted though. I only waited about 25 minutes for my Hamill photo. That's a reasonable wait even with VIP. I dread the wait times without VIP in 2019. and I'll be with my 8 yr old son so I will probably only be able to keep him sane for one maybe two lines before he starts bouncing off the walls.
     
    JonSB likes this.
  16. JonSB

    JonSB Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 2018
    Thanks. I never even thought that medical would also have an advantage at autographs also, not fair IMHO.
    Just read your letter and very informative! I haven't bought autographs or photos at Celebration before but was thinking of doing it in 2019. Did they ever respond to your letter? I would assume not.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2018
  17. j-jawa3

    j-jawa3 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2004
    Yes, lines are the grind! I have a small tripod folding chair I may be bringing with me because of the lines. the VIP badge will do you very well and waiting time short! I have most of the auto's that I have wanted, so the Photo-Auto room may be optional unless there is an exceptional person there(G.L., or John Dykstra) also what about the pre-pay option, pay and pick up later? that would give you more time for other activities(instead of lines)
     
  18. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    They didn't do this at Celebration Europe - it was per person per photo, so if you wanted two people in the photo you had to buy a pass each. You could then do 2 poses so you got 2 photos, but really most people only wanted 1 pose/photo with 2 people in it so it was just a way of making more money.
     
  19. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    That's because Europe is lame :p. In Orlando, you could have up to four people in the photo. Many cons I go to allow two.
     
  20. ChrisLyne

    ChrisLyne Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2002
    Haha, true! I think all the cons here in the UK hit you with the "per person" thing which is why my wife tends not to do them with me, the costs just get crazy.
     
  21. KyloSpence

    KyloSpence Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2016
    Authors were just announced for signing. Including ZAHN!
     
  22. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
  23. groove790

    groove790 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    I understand the need for the medical badge so that is not an argument I want to start but I was very dissapointed in how Topps managed it. The first day they had 3 lines per artist. one was for VIP, ove for Medical and one for GA. That worked out well but for some reason they eliminated the thrid line on day 2 and crammed the VIP with the Medical.

    I did not receive a response from the letter which also did not surprise me. I didn't expect one, I did want them to hear about how poorly the situation was handled and I am curious if that guy is still employed at Topps.
     
  24. Padme501st

    Padme501st Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2006
    Got some possible Celeb dirt for Celebration..... take these with a grain of salt in case things change but several connected people are saying the same thing about what we can expect at Celebration this year.
    -Quality over Quantity- less celebs
    -Expect names and prices equal to Felicity and Forest at Orlando... so $150-300 range
    -More newer names and less OT guests
    -Mark Hamill will not be there (Ben Stevens who handle his signings said several times he does not expect Mark to attend Celebration. Some stories say Mark did not care for how he was treated by TOPPS in Orlando but that's more hearsay than what Ben says).
    -Daisy Ridley will not be signing at Celebration, she only does private signings. Word is Adam Driver is the same (but i don't know the source on that one unlike Daisy and Mark's source, I trust to know what is going on)
    -Alden has turned down private signing requests so chances are he won't bother with signing at Celebration in public
    -Glover, Emilia, Ewan and Woody are not expected to be there either/or sign
    -John Boyega is a possibility for signing
    -Hayden, Diego, Dern and Isaacs are better bets for signers (though I personally think Hayden and Diego has the upper edge on the other two)
    -TOPPS claims they will start releasing names in a few weeks but they also said they would in the Fall and that hasn't happened. Based on experience, we'd be lucky to have 1 announcement mid Feb.
     
  25. star_wars_is_good

    star_wars_is_good Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2002
    The first wave of guests for Orlando (including Felicity, Ian and Bulloch) was announced on 2/8, so this would be in line with that.

    I've been wondering about Mark. I don't think he's done any cons in over a year now. Hopefully he'll come for the IX panel at least.

    Most of the rest doesn't surprise me. I assumed Daisy and Driver were long shots. I'd be curious if any new prequel actors are realistic.

    Thank you for the info. Even if it is just rumor and doesn't pan out, it gives us something to talk about.
     
    Padme501st likes this.