Fangirl Journeys 2015: The Great Star Wars Celebration Wrap Up Post

 

 

 

It’s been a week but I’m still on a high from last weeks Celebration. It’s so bittersweet thinking back to next week because I had such a wonderful time. I still haven’t even deleted the event app! So here is a rundown of my adventures last weekend.

 

 

Thursday

I arrived in Anaheim early but not early enough to make it in the main room for the big JJ Kathleen Kennedy so I decided to hang out in the Exhibit hall line. It was a really great experience. I met a very sweet couple who became my line buddies for several days. There is something special about Star Wars fans. My line had a diverse group of people from across the USA and beyond. We all had great discussions and just general joy discussing our favorite galaxy. Then the special event started and the hall became silent. I stood in line with fellow fans enraptured and teary eyed, especially at the end of the trailer. Also I am officially in love with BB8!

 

Then the doors open and the mad rush to booths began! My first stop was Funko and my early line up paid off. I was pretty close to the main line and managed to get most of the exclusives I wanted. 

Next up was Her Universe! They had so many pretties but I had to just choose two. I love the Star Wars Lightsaber shirt (which sold out!), and also the Ahsoka Lives shirt. The rest of the day was a whirlwind! It was really hard to focus on all the goodness. I did finally make it to a panel: Restored Music from The Empire strikes Back. From their its was just taking in the wonderful booths including Topps Cards, Del Rey, DK and the Artists Alley. Because the Exhibit hall was open until 8, I got to visit a lot of booths.

 

Friday

I met my Line buddies super early on Friday and they talked me into visiting the Hallmark booth and got the amazing exclusives. I also had a wonderful Fangirl moment with Anthony Daniels in the Autograph area. I have to say Anthony is such a treasure! Every morning he walked the Exhibit hall line saying hello to all those waiting. I had a nice chat with him and asked him if he thought C-3PO had matured in the years between Episodes VI and VII and he replied that he thought he was “ a bit creakier” :)

 

From the Droid to The Princess! I managed to get an amazing seat in the Celebration Arena. James Arnold Taylor was an amazing host. He really did a great job stirring the questions to Carrie’s strengths and rolling with her moments of whimsy, like when she got on all fours near the stage to hear a fans question. From Carrie I ran to my first Podcast panel with Skywalking Through Neverland. I did live tweeting for them and it was such a great panel! There were some great guests and tons of prizes including tickets to Lego land which I won.

From there I did more walking of the exhibit hall. I had a blast recording an audio sample from a Star Wars novel at the Penguin booth. Then I continued my audio journeys with the Bringing Star Wars novels to Audio panel. It was wonderful learning about the voice acting process and  learning about upcoming releases. I also was so happy to finally find a Sabine Action Figure! I paid a little more than I wanted but I was so happy to get it.

 

Saturday

Rebels Rebels Rebels!! Saturday was a day of hard choices! I started the day with a great panel by DK on throwing a Galactic event and got a free goodie bag. After that I discovered some more wonderful booths and met some friends. The next big panel I went to was Smugglers Bounty, a live stage reading of a Han Solo adventure! I loved it!. From there I experienced my first Celebration line as I had to wait over two and a half hours to see the Rebels season 2 premiere.

It. Was. Worth.Every Minute.

Season Two of Rebels is going to be amazing! If you haven’t started watching it yet get started! The highlight of the two episodes was Vader. Not only will he be voiced by James Earl Jones in the Rebel’s episodes, we also see Darth Vader at his prime which is wicked good!

The evening ended with a stop at the Fan Mixer outside the convention center and some two dollar tacos of awesomeness at the Hilton.

 

Sunday

This final day was mostly eaten up by waiting for Carrie Fisher in the autograph hall but she was worth every moment! 

From their I did a last minute dash to all the booths took pictures and ended the day at my first collectors track panel about Star Wars clocks.

I hated for the day to end and the convention in general but the memories will stay with me for a long time.