A DISers Guide to Star Wars Celebration

[The Sunrise Student]

My guess VIP's will sell out first and those will sell out anywhere between a few days to a few hours from now. Multi-Days will last for a few months and Single Day Tickets being the last to sell out with Saturday selling out first. Will update availability on the thread as we get announcements.

Last year VIP sold out in half a day! My husband and I are already taking half a day off to be on our computers at go time, WE WANT VIP... I can give you details as to why, but the long and the short of it is the lines... the guarantee spot at panels... I will regale you with SWC Anaheim tales as this thread develops. If you have any direct questions please feel free to ask. If I find out a tidbits not advertised through public broadcasting I will be sure to let folks know where I can.

 

[yulilin3]

Last year VIP sold out in half a day! My husband and I are already taking half a day off to be on our computers at go time, WE WANT VIP... I can give you details as to why, but the long and the short of it is the lines... the guarantee spot at panels... I will regale you with SWC Anaheim tales as this thread develops. If you have any direct questions please feel free to ask. If I find out a tidbits not advertised through public broadcasting I will be sure to let folks know where I can.

yeah I def. can't afford VIP so I'll just make lines, that's fine, with years of Star Wars Weekends training, making long lines indoors will be a treat

 

[The Sunrise Student]

yeah I def. can't afford VIP so I'll just make lines, that's fine, with years of Star Wars Weekends training, making long lines indoors will be a treat

With all the autograph lines we did last time we missed a few panels because they were already full before we even got in line. Pick your battles and you'll be fine... we paid for over a dozen autographs last time, each time waiting in line some times hours for each one... it was bad.

 

[teeveejunkee]

@The Sunrise Student do you happen to recall the refund policy for tickets to SWC in the past?

 

[angai379]

Last year VIP sold out in half a day! My husband and I are already taking half a day off to be on our computers at go time, WE WANT VIP... I can give you details as to why, but the long and the short of it is the lines... the guarantee spot at panels... I will regale you with SWC Anaheim tales as this thread develops. If you have any direct questions please feel free to ask. If I find out a tidbits not advertised through public broadcasting I will be sure to let folks know where I can.

I'm with sunrise! I'm looking for the VIP tickets. Sell out in half a day for VIP is actually encouraging. I was hoping it wasn't 5 minutes after tickets go live. I've even checked my time zone to make sure I don't mess anything up.

 

[yulilin3]

I don't think we'll do any autograph lines, we will love to go to as many panels as possible.
Although a pic with Oscar Isaac sounds awesome

 

[tstidm1]

@The Sunrise Student do you happen to recall the refund policy for tickets to SWC in the past?

I expect the policy to be similar to Star Wars Europe Celebration, New York Comic Con or any other ReedPop (co-show runners) event. That is there are no Refunds or Exchanges. That is probably a good FAQ that I will add to the list.

 

[Stinkerbell317]

@The Sunrise Student do you happen to recall the refund policy for tickets to SWC in the past?

The current SWC London info says non refundable. We better get this figured out and fast.

 

[angai379]

I don't think we'll do any autograph lines, we will love to go to as many panels as possible.
Although a pic with Oscar Isaac sounds awesome

I will be right behind you!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

I'm with sunrise! I'm looking for the VIP tickets. Sell out in half a day for VIP is actually encouraging. I was hoping it wasn't 5 minutes after tickets go live. I've even checked my time zone to make sure I don't mess anything up.

Please take 1/2 day with a grain of salt, by the time we got home from work they were sold out.... and already selling on ebay the following day.

This is why we are taking the afternoon off.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

@The Sunrise Student do you happen to recall the refund policy for tickets to SWC in the past?

I am sorry to say that everyone that commented that there is no refunds on tickets are correct. There is a non refund policy on tickets, as is the same for 99.9% of the convetions I ahve been to.

 

[teeveejunkee]

I am sorry to say that everyone that commented that there is no refunds on tickets are correct. There is a non refund policy on tickets, as is the same for 99.9% of the convetions I ahve been to.

Thanks for the confirmation. That is what I figured. I was hoping it would be like SDCC which does refunds up to a certain point. I am realizing they are unique in that way.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

I don't think we'll do any autograph lines, we will love to go to as many panels as possible.
Although a pic with Oscar Isaac sounds awesome

See that's our problem.... last year we had a HUGE list of names, Mark Hamill, Carie Fischer, Peter Meyhew, Ian McDermid, Billy Dee Williams, Kenny Baker, Anothony Dannels, and this is just the highlights there were many more. (see picture below)

The only name we didn't get was Harrison Ford...

This year I thought oh we are good, unless Harrison shows up...

Then my hubby reminds me of oh what about Daisy, John, Oscar, Adam.... OMG here we go again... LOL

Oh and what about if we love any of the actors and actresses from Rogue One?!?!

And this time by gosh I am not missing the panels, we really only got to see two, Rebels pannel, and not the one where they showed the season 2 first show, and opening ceremony, but oh my GAWDS that amazing... to be in the main room and watch the cast and see the new trailer with everyone for the first time (TWICE) then BB-8, I squealed so wildly it was incredible!!!!

 

[doombuggy]

Will this event Sell out?

I expect this to Sell Out because this is the first time this event has been on the East Coast/Midwest since 2010. This means it’s easily accessible to over 150 million folks and millions of Star Wars fans. I think we may see a hard limit of 60-70K attendance depending on how much space they use. When day passes/Full weekend/VIPS are sold out, this will get updated here.

Actually, SW Celebration was held here in Orlando in 2010 and 2012. Since I am local, I attended both years, Saturday only. Last year, I made the trip to Anaheim and got a 4 day pass. We have so much more room here at our Orange County Convention Center, but I don't think you will see the numbers listed above for attendance.

 

[doombuggy]

What are the show hours going to be?

I would expect the show hours to be something along the lines of 1 PM-7 PM Thursday, 10 AM-7 PM Friday, 10 AM-7 PM Saturday, 10 AM-4 PM Sunday. These hours can change and there may be more evening programming that gets announced as we get closer. When we get official hours, I will note them here.

Thursday will start at 10 am as well. They usually have stuff in the evenings as well.

 

[doombuggy]

How would I meet the Guests for an autograph or picture?

There will be areas set up in the Exhibit Hall for this. We won't know where or when they will be until much closer to the event. You will need to pay for any Actors Autograph/Picture. Film/TV creatives (ex. Dave Filoni from Rebels) may not do any autograph/photo sessions. Pricing, whether you can pre-order the guests autograph/picture and whether the guest will do a signing/autograph session will be announced much closer to the event. Expect between $20-100 for an autograph and $30-120 for a picture with the guest. Depends totally on the guest as to what they charge. If Daisy Ridley shows up to autograph, I would expect her autograph/picture to cost more than a WDW one day Park Hopper.

For authors/comic creators who may be there (ex. Claudia Gray of Bloodline), they will probably be signing for free at their Publishers or own table. Those authors who will attend and the setup will be decided closer to the event.

How do I get into Panels/Exhibit Hall/etc?

There may be a queing process, but that is to be decided. The biggest complaint is how Celebration does lining up for events and doesn't clear there programming rooms. The biggest thing you must get into your mind about Lines at a convention is there will be alot and many of them. You can not schedule a FastPass + for a panel/autograph signing/etc. Throw that part of Disney World Out of your mind. Be prepared to spend multiple hours in lines.

I got Carrie Fisher's Autograph on a standee I have, I want to say at the 2012 celebration. I was charged $65 for the autograph and because I brought my own item for her to sign, they did not give me the glossy photo she would have signed if I brought nothing. FYI
also, Mark Hamill Charges upwards of $125 for his autograph, although you might get a photo too (Carrie doesn't do photos), at least she didn't when I went.

Be prepared to stand in line. The OP probably told you to wear comfortable, supportive shoes. I stood in line for over 3 hours to view the props for SW:TFA at the Celebration last year. If I had gone the first day it would have been a much shorter wait (I waited until the last day and missed Billy Dee because of it).

My beef is that sometimes they have some good panels/seminars at the same time and you have to choose 1 (not ahead of time, but you get what I am saying). They don't usually repeat.

The pod cast recordings they did were a lot of fun. I friend of mine does a Disney Podcast (Mousetalgia) and they recorded it on site at the convention with the guest being Kirk Thatcher (ILM, SW:ROTJ).

 

[tstidm1]

Actually, SW Celebration was held here in Orlando in 2010 and 2012. Since I am local, I attended both years, Saturday only. Last year, I made the trip to Anaheim and got a 4 day pass. We have so much more room here at our Orange County Convention Center, but I don't think you will see the numbers listed above for attendance.

Your probably right and updated that speculation and year on it. I think there is a 50/50 chance it sells out totally. Depends on how fans who got reengaged by Force Awakens respond honestly. Last year in Anaheim, it was 50K from multiple sources. They won't use all of one of the buildings. If they were smart, they would use West Halls because it has a 6000 seat Ballroom and 2700 seat Theater.

Thursday will start at 10 am as well. They usually have stuff in the evenings as well.

Will Update that it starts at 10 AM Thursday and the evening points.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

Another tip for Autographs, there will be an opportunity to pre buy coupons/tickets for autographs... However these too are non-refundable. Some celebrities have their own tickets while others you buy a certain amount of $10 tickets and they may charge 4 to 8 tickets for their autograph.... We got so sick of lines we gave away 70 dollars in 10$ tickets last year cause enough was enough... and our poster was looking mighty good anyways... see post with picture above.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

Another warning, the official SW Celebration Convention Store line can be insane! It took us 4 hours (on Thursday morning right after opening ceremony) to get that one poster that we needed because we planned on having all the celebrities sign it.... Crazy right, waiting 4 hours for just a dang poster. Hot items at the store sold out before Saturday morning even.

 

[The Sunrise Student]

I got Carrie Fisher's Autograph on a standee I have, I want to say at the 2012 celebration. I was charged $65 for the autograph and because I brought my own item for her to sign, they did not give me the glossy photo she would have signed if I brought nothing. FYI
also, Mark Hamill Charges upwards of $125 for his autograph, although you might get a photo too (Carrie doesn't do photos), at least she didn't when I went.

Be prepared to stand in line. The OP probably told you to wear comfortable, supportive shoes. I stood in line for over 3 hours to view the props for SW:TFA at the Celebration last year. If I had gone the first day it would have been a much shorter wait (I waited until the last day and missed Billy Dee because of it).

My beef is that sometimes they have some good panels/seminars at the same time and you have to choose 1 (not ahead of time, but you get what I am saying). They don't usually repeat.

The pod cast recordings they did were a lot of fun. I friend of mine does a Disney Podcast (Mousetalgia) and they recorded it on site at the convention with the guest being Kirk Thatcher (ILM, SW:ROTJ).

Doombuggy is not kidding about the cost nor that lines.... In addition we even watched people bring portable camp stools they could carry in their backpacks or slung over thier shoulders just for these autograph lines!