Celebration Anaheim Newb Tips

[1nfern0]

Howdy folks! My wife and I have tickets for Celebration, and due to health and money issues, this is the first time we’ve actually been able to go to one so I’m hoping to get some tips from you Celebration vets out there.

What are your recommendations as far as aspects to focus on, wearing costume vs. street clothes, not-to-miss events, etc?

If you advocate at least doing some time in costume, is it worth bringing a Husky bin of armor, or is that a logistic nightmare between traveling/transport/storage? Are there usually places to change and store bins there for 501st members?

We only have tickets for Saturday because of my health and not wanting to exhaust myself (too much), so we want to make the most out of the day, but do it logically too. Thanks in advance, and hope to see y’all there!

[CJ49er]

Anaheim in 2015 was my first appearance as Maul, thats what pointed me to the 501st.  Maul is an easy costume to transport though.

I took my TI to Florida, it never left the hotel room, but we were much further away from the event that time. 

I guess it just depends on the costume and how much desire you have to get in costume.  The Legion forum may have better answers on changing and storage at the con, but i would think they would keep that mainly for the people volunteering.

as far as what are must do events- the con details are pretty scarce currently, so hard to know.  But I will say,  the panels always sounded boring to me until i went to one.

Meeting other Legion members from around the world is always a fun thing, so be sure to wear some unit gear if you have it.  Bring lots of trading cards if you have them.

[carpe mindiem]

Costuming: This is a totally personal choice that I don't think we can answer for you. First and foremost, you can pretty much guarantee that you'll be walking much farther distances and probably will not have a dedicated home base inside the con where you can store your things or rest. This con is a little different than the more generic (non-Star Wars) cons in that you won't get stopped as often for pictures in common costumes the way that you might at say, RCCC. If you have something unique, other attendees will love it. The logistics of getting anything other than soft costumes there are another challenge. We've shipped via UPS and checked it as oversized baggage. Big expense either way, and both times the bin and/or locks on the bin broke. Everything inside was fine... but it's kinda freaky. Don't count on any changing/storage space at the con. We're not bringing costumes at all this time, unless I decide to throw the slave in at the last minute.

I haven't heard how they're doing panels this year. Last time, the big ones were a lottery system. We only went to the ones we got into that way--and they were FANTASTIC. We aren't big panel people in general, while other people love the panels, so this is another personal choice.

If I were going for my first time and only had tickets for Saturday, I would go in street clothes, pick one or two panels to go to, and otherwise, just soak it all in. There are usually some scheduled events happening on the floor at different booths, so catch some of those. Browse the props. Keep your camera ready to go. Just go and enjoy!

[1nfern0]

Thank you both, this is all helpful info! I definitely won’t be bringing my Captain Rex armor then 

[EldawenEmileia]

Unless they add something last minute, there isn't much in the way of events at Celebration this year. There's the Star Wars Disney night, but that's sold out, so that's a moot point, unless you already got tickets for it. I did hear something about a 501st bash, though? And I haven't looked up the details yet, but I know there are photo ops for the different detachments, etc.

I personally love attending panels, and have made myself a list of the ones that sounded most interesting to me (you can also star panels in the app that just dropped, but I have a more detailed method that involves a spreadsheet, because I'm that kind of nerd, lol).

If you want to attend the first panel of the day on the Galaxy Stage (or the streaming options on a couple of other stages), you'll need to enter the lottery to have the best chance of getting in. Lotto ends tonight at 11:59pm. Some panels and the Celebration store will also have a "lightspeed lane" option that can be accessed starting the morning of each day, that lets you save time not waiting in line (badge activation required).

If merch is of interest to you, you might be interested in previewing Celebration store offerings on the website. Some other major retailers (e.g., Funko) also share product previews, so if there's one you love to collect, you might see what they have available. (Funko and Loungefly are also stores with a lotto to get in.)

If ADA is something that is of concern to you (and with health being of concern to you, perhaps it is?), you'll want to stop by the designated booth and get a sticker for that. Check the website for those details.

It might also be worthwhile to check the website to review entry procedures, given that they require proof of vaccination or a negative test before they let you in.

[CJ49er]

Its not specifically a "501st" bash, and tickets are available to the public now:

https://www.showclix.com/event/swca2022thebash43tgv/listing

I did hear something about a 501st bash, though?