Star Wars Celebration 86'd! No, it's nothing bad- it's something good. In 86 short days Celebration VI will return to the Orange County Convention Center and we'll be hanging out with 35,000 of our best friends. I'm excited, but I won't say I can't wait. That's partly because I'm not a fan of that particular hyperbole (you almost always can, and will ,wait) but it's also because there is a lot to do between now and then.
First off we're smack dab in the middle of Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I never can get used to that name. Too bad they didn't go with Disney-Pixar Studios. Even Disney Movie Studios. Something about that apostrophe s that sticks in my throat and makes me happy that some of my closest friends and castmembers just call it DHS. But enough digression: well, at least of this digression.
I was able to attend the first Saturday and I missed this Memorial Day Weekend. Odds are looking good that I'll be at the final two Saturdays. I was able to procure a couple of autographs, so that was fortunate that first weekend. Turns out I'd gotten one from Andy Secombe (the voice of Watto) eight years prior but I'd forgotten and it was a pleasure to visit a gracious star. He had raced to come a week early, replacing Jerome Blake who had Visa challenges, but was very happy to have an extra week in the Florida heat. My other autograph was a walk-up from Dee Bradley Baker. It was my first time meeting him and I wasn't particularly prepared so I didn't really interact with him. I generally like to prepare some specific question for the celebrity so I can remember something about the encounter, but in this rare instance nothing came to mind.
The celebrities, and the "Stars of the Saga" talk show are a high point of Star Wars Weekends for me, but they only slightly edge out the exclusive merchandise. This year I was very happy with the selection, but was just fine that little of it seemed a necessity. One of my focuses are Star Tours and SWW pins. I only had my heart set on two this go around but even that was too great a goal for someone that came on day two. The Piece of the Death Star pin sold out on the first Friday so I'll have to find it on eBay. I did, however, score the Chewbacca Bandolier lanyard, which was actually more limited.
Other than that my favorite new item was the Star Tours nametags. These are personalized in Aurabesh with your name and list the home planet of your choice from a dozen options. (The Death Star, "that's no [planet], it's a space station," is among these.) I heard a Disney rumor that more varieties of these [think Imperial cogs and Rebel Symbols] will follow based on the success of this initial offering. Personally, I'd like to see Tatooine Traders drop the "add your face to the scene" photo shop and add a permanent name tag maker. You can't beat a personallized, iconic souvenir for $8.95.
And when I say favorite, I'm not even considering the awesome new Droid Factory experience offered at Tatooine Traders. It's a bit crowded for me to build my own at the moment, but that's here to stay and has met with great popularity since its introduction 11 days ago. I'll get to it soon enough.
See you real soon.
News, Notes, and Knick Knacks from the Star Wars Generation
