tstidm1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2011
Since there has been interest from folks on the Forums about what Star Wars Celebration is and how to best prepare for this. I’ve decided to create a thread where Questions about this event will get answered and we can share our excitement.
I have never been to a Star Wars Celebration, but have to been massive conventions such as San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con (organized by ReedPop who runs Star Wars Celebration along with Lucasfilm). Also, I have spent a Decade as an Event Runner of Science Fiction and Anime Cons (all of my time with cons in Baltimore/DC). This means I won’t have all of the answers, but will do my best to help people who aren’t usual attendees of a massive Media convention get some ideas of how this works.
The first two posts will be filled with the basic questions about the event and basic tips to enjoy the Celebration. Some of these questions will not be answered until much closer to the Event. Therefore, I would suggest putting this thread on Watch for new information.
Thanks to @The Sunrise Student and @doombuggy for the additional information to give additional information from past Celebrations.
Here’s answers to the questions we know as of April 6th (with some speculation) as well:
When/Where is Star Wars Celebration?
It is Thursday April 13th-Sunday April 16th, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive. According to The Orange County Convention Center website, we are confirmed to use all of the West Exhibit Halls. Here's the layout of the West Concourse: https://www.occc.net/pdf/MM_FloorPlans.pdf. Look at pages 4-11
What is Star Wars Celebration?
It is a convention run by Lucasfilm and ReedPop that brings over 50,000 people to various cities around the world to celebrate Star Wars yearly. It has costume contests, panel tracks covering everything in the Star Wars universe, Exhibitors from LucasFilm, Disney and related companies with Merchandise to buy and see, Guests from all over the universe will appear. There will be tons of Star Wars fans in beautiful, sublime and unusual costumes. You will see everything from Rey to Jar Jar Binks costumes there. There’s also Kids programming and much more that hasn’t been announced yet. The Full website with information is http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Home/
Who will the Guests there?
Guests Announced so far include Mark Hamill (Luke from IV-VII), Warwick Davis (Ewok from ROTJ and in Harry Potter films.), Hayden Christiansen (Anakin Sywalker from Prequel Trilogy), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the original trilogy), Taylor Gray (Ezra from Rebels), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from TFA and Original Trilogy), Ray Park (Darth Maul from Phantom menace), Alan Tudyk (K2-SO from Rogue One), Vanessa Marshall (Hera from Star Wars Rebels, Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy from Buffy TV Series/Seventh Sister from Rebels), Freddie Prince Jr. (Kanan from Rebels). Billy Dee Williams (Lando from Original Trilogy), Anthony Daniels (C3PO from all of the movies), Riz Ahmed (Bodhi Rook from Rogue One) and Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso from Rogue one). Full Guest List is at: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Guests/
Who is Exhibiting there?
Companies such as Mattel, Funko, Hasbro and Disney Theme parks Merchandise will be there. Here's a link to the Exhibitor list that is growing by the day: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Star-Wars-Celebration-2017/Companies/Exhibitors/
When do Tickets go On Sale?
Tickets are now on Sale. Go to this page to buy: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Buy-Tickets/
How much are tickets?
Tickets prices depend on when you buy. There is a significant Pre-buy Discount (meaning up 4/12/2017 at Noon ET you can buy tickets at that price). Day passes are $65 for Thursday, Friday and Sunday/$75 for Saturday for Adults and $35 on all Days for Kids. At the show passes are $75 to $85 for adults and $43 for Kids. Full weekend passes are $150 for adults/$70 for kids before the show and $170 for adults/$85 for kids at the show.
Are tickets to the event refundable?
They are Non-refundable, Non-resellable and Non-Transferrable. Also, Don't buy them through EBay or Craigslist. They are probably scalpers tickets or worst still will not be honored by Lucasfilm/ReedPop at the con.
Will this event Sell out?
I expect this to Sell Out on some days because this is the first time this event has been on the East Coast/Midwest since 2012. This means it’s easily accessible to over 150 million folks and millions of Star Wars fans. I think we will see Full Weekends, All VIPS and probably Friday and Saturday sold out. We may not sell out all tickets especially Thursday and Sunday. We are also seeing a massive increase in interest from Force Awakens.
VIPs sold out in about 15 minutes on May 25th. Four days sold out on December 22nd. Saturday only passes sold out on April 6th. Thursday, Friday and Sunday passes are still available, but will possibly all sell out before the show.
Will there be discounted Hotel Rooms?
Yes, They are available now. http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Hotel/?campaignid=61911744&iusercampaignid=91950722 for availability and pricing. There is still rooms available and they are adding rooms. Two beds are the hardest to find. Keep Checking for two beds in the room as this will change alot. You have until April 4th to book your rooms.
What are the best Hotels to stay at?
There are five hotels that are on the site or really close and all of these should be able to be booked in the block. Three hotels are attached via Walkway to the Convention Center are the Rosen Plaza (http://www.rosenplaza.com/), Hyatt Regency Orlando (http://orlando.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html) and Rosen Centre Hotel (http://www.rosencentre.com/). These hotels are not attached to the convention center, but are across the street or within two tenths of the convention center: Hilton Orlando (http://www.thehiltonorlando.com/) and Rosen Shingle Creek (http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/). Farther away hotels will probably have shuttles to the Convention Center. More shuttle information will be posted at a later date.
Will you be able to park during the convention?
There will be parking at the Convention Center, but it will be limited. It is $15.00 before 5 PM and $10.00 after 5 PM. http://www.occc.net/attendee/Parking.asp for more information about Parking. Be prepared to park early because a lot of folks who attend are locals, prefer to drive over Mass transit or staying outside the room block. My opinion is to leave the car behind and take either the I-Ride Trolley, walk or convention shuttle depending where you are.
These are the bare basics about getting to Star Wars Celebration. Next, we will talk about the questions related to after you get into the convention center itself.
I have never been to a Star Wars Celebration, but have to been massive conventions such as San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con (organized by ReedPop who runs Star Wars Celebration along with Lucasfilm). Also, I have spent a Decade as an Event Runner of Science Fiction and Anime Cons (all of my time with cons in Baltimore/DC). This means I won’t have all of the answers, but will do my best to help people who aren’t usual attendees of a massive Media convention get some ideas of how this works.
The first two posts will be filled with the basic questions about the event and basic tips to enjoy the Celebration. Some of these questions will not be answered until much closer to the Event. Therefore, I would suggest putting this thread on Watch for new information.
Thanks to @The Sunrise Student and @doombuggy for the additional information to give additional information from past Celebrations.
Here’s answers to the questions we know as of April 6th (with some speculation) as well:
When/Where is Star Wars Celebration?
It is Thursday April 13th-Sunday April 16th, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive. According to The Orange County Convention Center website, we are confirmed to use all of the West Exhibit Halls. Here's the layout of the West Concourse: https://www.occc.net/pdf/MM_FloorPlans.pdf. Look at pages 4-11
What is Star Wars Celebration?
It is a convention run by Lucasfilm and ReedPop that brings over 50,000 people to various cities around the world to celebrate Star Wars yearly. It has costume contests, panel tracks covering everything in the Star Wars universe, Exhibitors from LucasFilm, Disney and related companies with Merchandise to buy and see, Guests from all over the universe will appear. There will be tons of Star Wars fans in beautiful, sublime and unusual costumes. You will see everything from Rey to Jar Jar Binks costumes there. There’s also Kids programming and much more that hasn’t been announced yet. The Full website with information is http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Home/
Who will the Guests there?
Guests Announced so far include Mark Hamill (Luke from IV-VII), Warwick Davis (Ewok from ROTJ and in Harry Potter films.), Hayden Christiansen (Anakin Sywalker from Prequel Trilogy), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the original trilogy), Taylor Gray (Ezra from Rebels), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from TFA and Original Trilogy), Ray Park (Darth Maul from Phantom menace), Alan Tudyk (K2-SO from Rogue One), Vanessa Marshall (Hera from Star Wars Rebels, Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy from Buffy TV Series/Seventh Sister from Rebels), Freddie Prince Jr. (Kanan from Rebels). Billy Dee Williams (Lando from Original Trilogy), Anthony Daniels (C3PO from all of the movies), Riz Ahmed (Bodhi Rook from Rogue One) and Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso from Rogue one). Full Guest List is at: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Guests/
Who is Exhibiting there?
Companies such as Mattel, Funko, Hasbro and Disney Theme parks Merchandise will be there. Here's a link to the Exhibitor list that is growing by the day: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Star-Wars-Celebration-2017/Companies/Exhibitors/
When do Tickets go On Sale?
Tickets are now on Sale. Go to this page to buy: http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Buy-Tickets/
How much are tickets?
Tickets prices depend on when you buy. There is a significant Pre-buy Discount (meaning up 4/12/2017 at Noon ET you can buy tickets at that price). Day passes are $65 for Thursday, Friday and Sunday/$75 for Saturday for Adults and $35 on all Days for Kids. At the show passes are $75 to $85 for adults and $43 for Kids. Full weekend passes are $150 for adults/$70 for kids before the show and $170 for adults/$85 for kids at the show.
Are tickets to the event refundable?
They are Non-refundable, Non-resellable and Non-Transferrable. Also, Don't buy them through EBay or Craigslist. They are probably scalpers tickets or worst still will not be honored by Lucasfilm/ReedPop at the con.
Will this event Sell out?
I expect this to Sell Out on some days because this is the first time this event has been on the East Coast/Midwest since 2012. This means it’s easily accessible to over 150 million folks and millions of Star Wars fans. I think we will see Full Weekends, All VIPS and probably Friday and Saturday sold out. We may not sell out all tickets especially Thursday and Sunday. We are also seeing a massive increase in interest from Force Awakens.
VIPs sold out in about 15 minutes on May 25th. Four days sold out on December 22nd. Saturday only passes sold out on April 6th. Thursday, Friday and Sunday passes are still available, but will possibly all sell out before the show.
Will there be discounted Hotel Rooms?
Yes, They are available now. http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Hotel/?campaignid=61911744&iusercampaignid=91950722 for availability and pricing. There is still rooms available and they are adding rooms. Two beds are the hardest to find. Keep Checking for two beds in the room as this will change alot. You have until April 4th to book your rooms.
What are the best Hotels to stay at?
There are five hotels that are on the site or really close and all of these should be able to be booked in the block. Three hotels are attached via Walkway to the Convention Center are the Rosen Plaza (http://www.rosenplaza.com/), Hyatt Regency Orlando (http://orlando.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html) and Rosen Centre Hotel (http://www.rosencentre.com/). These hotels are not attached to the convention center, but are across the street or within two tenths of the convention center: Hilton Orlando (http://www.thehiltonorlando.com/) and Rosen Shingle Creek (http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/). Farther away hotels will probably have shuttles to the Convention Center. More shuttle information will be posted at a later date.
Will you be able to park during the convention?
There will be parking at the Convention Center, but it will be limited. It is $15.00 before 5 PM and $10.00 after 5 PM. http://www.occc.net/attendee/Parking.asp for more information about Parking. Be prepared to park early because a lot of folks who attend are locals, prefer to drive over Mass transit or staying outside the room block. My opinion is to leave the car behind and take either the I-Ride Trolley, walk or convention shuttle depending where you are.
These are the bare basics about getting to Star Wars Celebration. Next, we will talk about the questions related to after you get into the convention center itself.
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