SWC22 So How Was It? Thread for Good, Bad, and 'ARRGH!' Stuff

If you were at Cele, let us know your experiences!

 

I hope everything was great! what are you going to do on this last day? where do you think the next Cele. will be? Orlando?

 

They could come back to London (Covid permitting..)

 

On Covid at this point I think it’s here to stay with some spikes here and there.

i’d love for it to be in London as then I can kill two birds with one stone as my uncle and cousin live in London and he’s a pretty big Star Wars fan so be fun to go with him.

 

Only drawback for me is Excel (where it would probably be) is clear across London for me. First time I went I commuted each day and was exhausted so I 'd probably have to stay in a hotel.

 

The only negative I would say was the lightspeed lane system. People might complain about the lottery system for panels, but I appreciate being able to get a full night’s sleep and still get a good seat for those panels.

And props to the people involved for pulling this Celebration off on seemingly shorter notice. I remember that we were speculating back in February that this convention might be delayed again or canceled, but other than the masks and one time wristband registration, this Celebration has felt very normal in terms of attendance and programming.

 

Yes, one must get rest when attending Cele.! I would not have been fun if I had gone, leg and foot pain! Hope this is gone by the next Cele.

 

My only complaint is I felt like Official Pix oversold some of the autographs and photo ops. Herding us through like cattle for the photo ops is not a new experience, but even still Ewan was friendly and talkative even though the handlers told us to barely interact with him.
As for the autographs, little disappointed about no personalizations as they tried to move the line as quickly as possible. Again, Ewan tried his best to look up and say Hello or something after each signing.

Even with Hayden sold out in Chicago, Topps still allowed personalization and a moment for him to say hello.

 

I think interaction should sort of be up to the celebrity , Do you know how many people had bought Ewan's auto and photo? an estimate when you may have been in line?
I wonder how many tickets had been offered for him?

 

I was in the first groups for both. i don’t blame the guests, like I said, I don’t blame Ewan at all and feel he tried his best and it was a great encounter.
I get these companies wanting to get as many fans through as possible for autographs, but there must be a happy medium between long interactions that hold up lines and just herding us through like cattle. You can tell the guests aren’t always pleased by it either.

 

Ewan sounds kind and generous like Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher (when she was with us)

 

Yeah, he was. And there’s no better example of someone who was frustrated by being rushed through fan interactions than the great Carrie Fisher.

 

Yes.

 

I thought it was great! This was my second Celebration, Chicago being my first. They were different experiences but both amazing!

Chicago had the first time mystique for me. After 20 years of hearing about it and wanting to go finally being there was magical. I also got into the Episode IX panel which was amazing. The rest of the weekend I pretty much hung out at the Live stage.

I explored a bit more this time comparatively. No lottery panels but I was able to get into the AotC and Siege of Mandalore panels which was cool. I did hang out at the Live stage on Friday so I got to see the "This is where the fun begins" moment live and up close!

I also went to Disneyland for the first (and second and third) time during this trip! Not technically Celebration but all part of the experience for my especially considering Galaxy's Edge. My kids aren't big Star Wars fans (alas!) but my daughter wanted to come on Sunday and she and I had a lot of fun. We did Ashley Eckstein's Mindful Matters thing at the kids stage which was great.

Overall, very great time. I am glad the one next year is in Europe there so I won't be tempted lol

 

Oh well, I was wrong about Orlando, but very late last night and this morning, a tiny itch in my mind said "London", Maybe Orlando in a couple years? that is a great place for Cele.! there is wildlife running around the place down there, like armies of cute little frogs, racoons, didn't see any alligators yet!

 

I am assuming there will be a cele in 2024. And seeing as I doubt they’ll do two in a row in Europe it’s either to Orlando or some Midwest state. I would love it if they did New York as that would be so much easier. Hell I could drive to that.

 

Swipe for photos with fellow board members. It was great seeing everyone again!

Note: we all immediately put our masks back on after each photo and were following the mandate

 

One thing that disappointed me is the behind closed doors footage. To me it’s just a ploy to get people to come to the next celebration to maybe get the chance to see footage of. You don’t need those tactics to sell out celebration.

 

This is the only Cele. I have missed, I made them a habit in 1999 and will never regret it! but, I haven't been to an overseas Cele. I go because I love Star Wars, fellow fans, the goodies enthusiasm of the crowds. the adventure of travel and seeing new places. I never saw any behind the closed doors footage, what was it like? about?

 

Most footage was revealed but the Mando footage from the Lucasfilm panel wasn’t shared (nor the longer version from the Mando+ panel). We also got to see an early teaser for Ahsoka, the first episode and trailer for Tales of the Jedi, a clip from Bad Batch season 2 (and an extended version of the trailer).

 

Overall a good event. I hate that I couldn't make it for all four days so hopefully next time. You really need all four days to fully enjoy. I got to bring my son with me again and it's been a blast enjoying everything with him.

I do miss the days when it was smaller scale and more intimate. It has a commercial vibe that gets stronger with every event.

I was disappointed by the lack of vendor exclusives and the disaster that is the show store. Some items that were on the website list were impossible to find.

The autograph hall was madness as expected. I do miss when you could just walk up to the table with no waits but those days are gone.

The show floor was disappointing, there seemed to be a severe shortage of vendors.

I wish I could have made it into the Mando experience and rancho obi wan but we just didn't want to wait in the lines.

I think the show store should shift to a cafeteria style shopping experience. It would keep the madness of stocking shelves down and would limit the people who buy everything for ebay. They also need to put a show store in several locations. Why was there not one in the main exhibit hall?

I like the sneak peek stuff and the posters that come with the panels. As much as I hate the lottery it works and I am not regretting my timing to get in line.

I'm sure I'll think of other things to complain about but realistically this was a great celebration.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

Before Disney took over, the Indianapolis Cele. store had terrible long lines but that was in the early days, but up at the cashiers, they did have some items behind them you could get, the cashiers were very patient and helpful despite the lines!

 

The only thing I wished I could have done but didn’t was the Mando experience. Otherwise, a combination of luck (getting the Thursday Celebration Stage lottery) and patience got me to everything I had planned on seeing.

 

Very good!

 

We had a great time. Anaheim was our third Star Wars Celebration. We also attended Star Wars Celebrations Orlando 2017 and Chicago 2019. We will be attending in London next year. My only concern is that I was 0-4 with the panel lottery. I made the best of it by purchasing exclusive merchandise when I arrived on Thursday, and sleeping a little later than usual on the following three days.

“It will be a Celebration long remembered.”