Preparing for Celebration VI Continues

And the planning continues...Now that all the exclusives have been announced for CVI, I am able to start making the hard decisions on how much spending money I should be devoting to this most anticipated event. What to do....What to do...

Regardless of what I choose to get, I will say that while I am overall underwhelmed by the options, I am impressed with what Disney has put together. I love the 25th anniversary die cast medal Starspeeder 1000 and 3000. What a great collectible at a very reasonable price tag of $19.95. But the biggest news is.........the release of Star Wars Vinylmation Series 2!!! along with the exclusive Hologram Leia vinylmation numbered out of only 2,500. The price tag on Leia will be only $18.95.

Some honorable mentions go to:

Suchiu Art and their George Lucas hand-signed limited edition print "The Force of Inspiration" numbered out of only 900. As of yet, no price tag has been listed.

ThinkGeek.com will be attending their first Celebration and will be offering an exclusive shirt themed to CVI numbered out of only 250.

Another new addition to the CVI lineup is the Season 5 Premiere of The Clone Wars on Friday evening at 5pm. Learn more here.

Finally, a very cool Bounty Scavenger Hunt will take place three different days during Celebration. Only one slot is left on Sunday. Sign Up here.

I am extremely excited about CVI as it draws near. Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock.

Preparing for Celebration VI

Ever since the first celebration in in Denver, CO over 10 years ago, I have dreamed of going to a Star Wars Celebration. An opportunity to hang out with 40,000 of my closest Star Wars fans in the sunshine state. No red blooded nerd-loving person in their right mind could turn down that opportunity. I took my first step into a much larger world this past February when I booked my hotel room in Orlando and followed up this past Friday with the purchase of my 4 day ticket.

So, what is next? Well, I guess I should start by figuring out exactly who I will be getting autographs from. This has been a long and difficult decision-making process. So many people I want to meet and so little money to work with. After much deliberation, I chose to focus on just two, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.  How can a nerd of my caliber miss out on the opportunity to meet the two sic-fi icons that sparked my imagination and love for a galaxy far, far away? Now that I have rationalized spending $185 for autographs, I can focus on the important things like panels, exclusives, and parties. Oh My. Wait, did I just quote Star Trek. That's blasphemy I tell you. Anyways, let's get back to geeking out.

The first party on the docket will be TheForce.net party on Thursday night from 8pm - 12 am at the Wyndham Orlando Resort. Learn more about this event and grab your tickets here.

I will definitely be hitting up a few collector panels as well as some of the big shows with the major guests like Mark Hamill and Ian McDiarmid. The specific panels and events have not been posted yet, but will be available eventually here.

Finally, I have to make sure to put my time in volunteering for the good ole SWGFA for a few hours here and there. This also includes repping my name badge on my brand new SWGFA t-shirt. After all is said and done, the best part of this celebration of all things Star Wars will be hanging out with the best group of people one could only be as lucky as me to call friends.  They know who they are and I look forward to celebrating with them later on this year at the most festive of weddings possible.

Man, it is nice to be back writing on this blog and I hope to be much more consistent in my postings in the future.

I look forward to see everyone at CVI next month and May the Force be with you.

Star Wars: Detours?

In a recent interview between CNN's Becky Anderson and George Lucas, a little more light was shed on upcoming television projects from Lucasfilm.  As many folks already know, Lucas will be working with Seth Green to produce a new Star Wars parody series.  I will go out on a limb here and say Lucas was referring to this afore mentioned project when he said the title of an upcoming Star Wars television series would be named Star Wars: Detours.

The interview can be seen in its entirety, including information about the new Star Tours: The Adventures Continue now open at both Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida after the click. http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/06/14/cotd.george.lucas.cnn

Along with the excitement of a new Star Wars animated television series on the horizon as well as a Star Wars Lego TV special this coming Fall, Rick McCallum announced that the extremely secretive and very much long awaited Star Wars live-action television series is still "3-4 years away."  He states that the series would not be "fiscally responsible"  to make at the moment.  Read his entire statement at the link below.  Let's hope that we do not have to wait that long to see new live-action stories set in the Star Wars universe.
http://www.ceskapozice.cz/en/business/companies/star-wars-tv-series-may-shoot-prague

Long-time author Ryder Windham will be penning a new non-fiction, fiction biography of Darth Maul.  Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul will be 224 pages long and cover the life of Darth Maul. The book is set for a January 2012 release.

Finally, it was announced on June 2nd that Celebration VI will be held August 23-26, 2012 at Orlando once again.  Great news for all, as everyone who attended Celebration V loved the venue in Orlando last year.  Celebration VI tickets are already on sale and more information can be found at http://www.starwarscelebration.com/.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

A day that will live in infamy.  A day that will be long remembered.  The day, I purchased my first car. Yes folks.  I am now a proud owner of a vehicle of transportation.  I have one word that enters my brain when savoring this moment.  FREEDOM. 

Now that I got that excitement out of the way, let's get down to the nitty gritty.  Last month, I posted a user's handbook on how to survive Disney's Star Wars Weekends event at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  This weekend I will be attending the event in-person and most importantly getting to hang with my fellow Star Wars fans.  The anticipation is killing me for what will be my maiden voyage on Star Tours 2 as well as my first glance at my new home in Tampa, Florida.  It should be a fun time and I look forward to sharing the experience with folks through twitter @BrianC_Reel.  I leave you with a little tease.

Disney Star Wars Weekends

Welcome to Star Wars Weekends 2011!  I will be your guide as you prepare for this year's event. 

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that many of you have not been to Disney Star Wars Weekends.  Well, sit back if you haven’t already and enjoy my breakdown of this annual event at Disney World's Hollywood Studios Theme Park. 

The Line

If you are a hardcore Star Wars fan and in it for the autographs, your day starts off mighty early at "The Line."    Usually, the autograph lines will form the night before as the locals of Orlando will camp out for the “Autograph Fast Pass.”  This fast pass will allow you a guaranteed autograph at a specific time frame for the celebrity whose line you waited in.  For those of you like myself who do not have the luxury of living in Orlando, I suggest getting up bright and early in the morning at 3:00 a.m.  Yes, I am being quite serious.  What about transportation?  If you flew to Disney, you can utilize the local taxi service, Mears to bring you to the park.  If you decide to stay on the Disney properties, I suggest the Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Resort.  Both resorts are only a $5-$10 dollar cab ride from the park.

Now for the fun part.  Waiting... 

While waiting in line for about 3-4 hours, you have a great opportunity to hang out with your fellow Star Wars fans.  The “line” is my favorite part of the event, because it brings me back to when I stood in line to see the Star Wars Saga at the theater.  After the wait in the line is over, you can now attain those coveted autograph fast passes; a guarantee to meet with the guest stars for that weekend and get one item autographed.

Opening of the Park

One of the single most exciting parts of the SWW experience occurs at 8:00 a.m.  That is when the music starts playing and out come the stormtroopers and none other than Boba Fett.  Enjoy the video below from last year's event.

Meeting the Guest Stars

For those collectors out there and those who just want to meet the men and women behind the magic of Star Wars, this is your best part of the day.  Every year, the guest list may change, but the excitement remains the same  Make sure to bring a special item with you to get autographed as you are only allowed one per guest.  If you don't know what to bring, then I suggest heading over to Official Pix and ordering some officially licensed photos of the guest stars in attendance.  They are a great way to capture the moment and an 8x10 photo will only cost you $5.99 plus shipping.  Do be careful with your photo as to not smear the autograph in the Florida heat.  I suggest bringing a gallon zip lock bag to protect it.

The Shows

“Always two there are, no more, no less.”  Thanks for that quote Yoda.  Anyways, the first show is called the Stars of the Saga Talk Show involving the two guest stars of the weekend and the SWW event host.  The talk show is always a blast as it begins with the stormtrooper pre-show.   After the always fun and entertaining skit, the talk show commences with a similar style to a late night show.  There are always bound to be surprises during the show, but the one tradition always remains the same, the Mickey Mouse Club goodbye.

The second show is called Behind the Force.  As usual, this show is hosted by the beautiful Ashley Eckstein, voice of Ashoka Tano from the Clone Wars television series.  During the show, she explains what goes into making an animated television series.  There is even a small studio set-up on one side of the stage where fans are chosen out of the audience to voice characters from the Clone Wars.  At the end of the show, the audience is treated to a five minute preview of the new season.

The Parade

The Legends of the Force Parade takes place every weekend during the month long event.  The parade is a treat every year thanks to the fighting 501st and the Rebel Legion.  There are new editions to the parade every year, usually coming from the Clone Wars television show.

Jabba's Hutt

The perfectly named Star Wars Weekends shop only open during the event offers great Star Wars merchandise for every type of collector.  From an action figure to a voice activated R2D2, you can find some cool stuff in Jabba's Hutt.  For those who love to collect pins, Jabba's Hutt offers limited edition pins numbered out of only a 1000 every weekend.  Let me just say, be prepared to spend more money than you expected in there and we’ll leave it at that.

Character Encounters

The park is broken up between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.  Characters from both light and dark can be found roaming around both sides of the park.  Naturally, the best side to catch unique encounters would be the Empire.  Stormtroopers and Tusken Raiders randomly join the crowd and interact with park guests and each other.  One year, Chewbacca was having a dance-off with one of the members of the Modal Nodes. 

Hyperspace Hoopla

This nightly show at 7:00 p.m during the Star Wars Weekends delights fans from all ages.  Watch Star Wars characters get their groove on as they compete in a dance competition decided upon by the fans themselves. This year's event will be moved over to the main stage in front of the Sorcerer's Hat in the center of the park.  Take a look at last year's show.

Final Thoughts and More Resources

I absolutely love this event.  Every year, Disney learns from its mistakes while adding new ways for you to enjoy an old classic.  If you are a Star Wars fan, you have to attend this event one year.  It is a lot of fun for one person or the whole family.  If you are looking for more information about this year's upcoming Star Wars Weekends, check out the following links.

 

Studios Central

Star Wars Weekends on Facebook

Official Disney Star Wars Weekends Page

Star Tours 2 Launch

This is Where the Fun Begins

I'm sure all you Star Wars fans remember that line from the opening battle over Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith.  Definitely one of the best moments in the saga even if you aren't a fan of the prequels.  It's only fitting that I start my first blog post off with such a perfect quote.  Don't you think your life, year, month, day, even hour should start off with some fun?  I know that I do.

Anyways, I decided to start this blog for one reason and one reason only.  Life is short and you should enjoy every minute of it.  And you know what?  Why shouldn't we share that bit of fun with everyone that we know?  Hell, this is the internet.  Just accept the fact, it's going to be everyone.  To be more specific, if your a fan of Star Wars, science fiction, or just pop culture in general, you will get something out of this blog. 

Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed to get your daily or weekly ramblings of a fan that does not take himself too seriously.  Here's something to look forward to tomorrow.  I will be covering the annual Star Wars Weekends in Disney World, giving advice on how to get the most out of your time at the event.