Anyone else having Star Wars Celebration withdrawals? After five amazing days as a Star Wars Celebration 2019 VIP filled with Star Wars fun, it is hard coming back to reality. Oh, sure, I can read my comics, watch the movies, binge the Episode IX trailer again and again, etc., but it is not the same as being surrounded by thousands of my friends.
They, like, get me…ya know?
I have been to every U.S. Celebration since Celebration IV in Los Angeles from May 24-28, 2007. This time, I decided to try for VIP. I have never experienced a Celebration as a VIP before, so I figured I would throw my hat into the ring, along with thousands of other people who always coveted the elusive badge. I knew about eight people trying for VIP.
It sells out in literal seconds.
And I somehow, magically, managed to score not only one, but two.
The excitement was palpable. As I am screeching and texting my friends (minutes later, so as not to interrupt their own attempts), I realize I am the only one that attained a Star Wars Celebration 2019 VIP! Thank the maker! My husband said if he got a media badge (which he did), we could sell the second one (to my sister) so that someone else could enjoy the perks.
Being a VIP was a wonderful experience. We were able to sit in the first few rows at the Celebration Stage, so I took some fantastic pictures of the Episode IX cast. It was cool being so close to Daisy, John, and Oscar! Not to mention special guest host, Stephen Colbert! I was almost more excited to see him in person. JJ Abrams wanted to make sure that we were not cold, so his minions handed out some cool Episode IX beanies.
The coolest part of the panel was watching the Episode IX trailer. When Rey jumps up over the TIE fighter, the audience all gasped as one. When Lando laughed while flying the Millennium Falcon, I got teary-eyed, which turned into actual tears when Rey hugged Leia and cried her own tears. Then…
That sinister laugh!
When the title was finally announced, the place cheered. Then, all of a sudden, the lights turned on, and Ian McDiarmid was standing on the stage. “Roll it again!”
We. Went. Nuts.
Thanks to Star Wars Celebration 2019 VIPs getting in the convention a half hour early, on Saturday I was able to purchase the exclusives I wanted. I made a beeline for the Del Rey booth to get my wristband for Master and Apprentice special con edition book. I adore the Star Wars books (luckily I have the special edition Thrawn from the last Celebration), so this was my number one must have.
My sister headed to Her Universe to buy some shoes and the Ahsoka windbreaker. As I get there because I also wanted the black Empire flats, who is two people ahead of my sister buying clothes? None other than LucasFilm president, Kathleen Kennedy! She graciously took a picture with us. Definitely a cool little experience I would not have encountered if not for VIP!
The best perk of the VIP experience was not having to wait in long autograph lines! Last Celebration, I was so burned out of autograph lines by the Saturday, that I skipped meeting Felicity Jones and Forest Whitaker so I would not have to stand in any more lines.
This year, with my VIP, I could skip all those long lines. I quickly and easily met Sam Witwer, Matt Lanter, Hayden Christensen, and others thanks to the line skip. It was such a pleasant experience. If you are an autograph seeker like I am, that was worth the price right there. If I had any photo ops, I could have skipped that line too, but I chose to focus on autographs this year.
Another nice bonus with having VIP was that I was able to meet Anthony Daniels. He had his own separate room for a meet and greet, away from TOPPS. Miss Nola Nerd Baby loves C-3PO so we thought it would be sweet to get her an autograph from the man himself.
When we went, they had already shut down the line for Saturday. A man was putting up quite a fuss about how they shut the line down early and generally being extremely rude to the poor worker managing the door to the room. My husband and I were still standing there when the guy disappeared, and we apologized for the rudeness of some people.
He saw that I was VIP and said since we were nice and I was a VIP, he would let us in the back of the line. Guess you catch more flies with honey than vinegar! I never understood berating volunteers and workers who are only doing their job. We had a sweet moment with Mr. Daniels and showed him a picture of our daughter giving us a pointed look because we tried to take away her C-3PO toy.
The VIP lounge was a great place to relax for a bit and meet other Star Wars fans. With free water and soft drinks, tables and chairs and comfortable sofas, and an excellent team of people who helped us in whatever way they could (including a VIP coat check – no more lugging around huge bags and coats!), I utilized it quite often.
Our concierge was terrific! She sincerely tried to solve whatever issues we might have. She graciously gave me a Clone Wars Saved poster when I could not walk to the Wintrust Arena where the Celebration stage was due to my plantar fasciitis that suddenly popped up (THAT was fun, walking 15k-20k steps per day!), and generally made an awesome experience even better.
Were there some snafus? Of course. Our VIP lanyards and patches never made it, so they are mailing them to us. The VIP only entrances were usually not honored by security, which meant we sometimes had to wait in a line to get back into the convention center after going to a panel at the Wintrust Arena.
The first day, Thursday, was supposed to be an amazing VIP shopping experience at the Celebration Store that was anything but amazing, as the system crashed, we waited almost three hours in line, they let non-VIPs enter and go into shorter lines, so VIP people were waiting even longer…that was a definite low point to start the con.
Luckily, it all went up from there! We did have a VIP access line and checkout, so when The Rise of Skywalker shirts went on sale later on in the con, I was able to get in and out to buy one quickly. Plus, they gave us a coupon for a free screened t-shirt from the store for all the trouble, which I really appreciated!
All in all, would I do VIP again? ABSOLUTELY.
Not waiting in lines, having a dedicated lounge with free water, getting in the con early and being able to buy my exclusives, and sitting up close during the major panels were worth the money in my book.
Not to mention the free meet and greets with designer Doug Chiang and Ahsoka Tano herself, Ashley Eckstein! It was a great con, probably my favorite since Celebration IV, made even greater by my VIP experience.
Here’s to trying to become lucky again for Celebration Anaheim 2020!
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