So What Happens Now?

After Wednesday's long awaited announcement, what comes next? Celebration Facebook groups and message boards have reawakened with a flurry of activity as fans discuss everything from the surprise location to how the event can best utilise the space the McCormick Centre offers. But what can you really do at this early stage?

Well, if you're me then you cancel your Anaheim hotel booking. I may have got the date right but that's not much use when the event's 2,000 miles away!

Honestly at this stage, not much. You can see a lot of discussion about hotels rooms and where's the best place to stay but right now there's pretty much zero availability at anything within a reasonable walking distance of the McCormick Centre.

Don't let this panic you.

OnPeak bookings for convention hotels will go live on Tuesday June 5th at noon CST alongside the Celebration badges.

Some fans (myself included) have booked rooms at nearby hotels to ensure they have a room secured. When the official rooms open up there should be good availability for everyone, and you will probably see more rooms open up for direct booking with the local hotels again as some people will switch to an OnPeak booking once they become available.

Just make sure you sign up for the notification emails and keep an eye on Celebration's official Twitter and Facebook pages shortly before noon CST on June 5th so you can be one of the first to get a direct link to the hotel bookings page.

In terms of where to stay here's a map of the nearby hotels;

Obviously the best places to stay will be the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and the Marriott Marquis Chicago. Both of these hotels are linked to the convention centre so you'll be right in the heart of the action. Of course they'll also be the most expensive as well.

Within a few minutes walk of the convention centre are Hilton Garden Inn Chicago McCormick Place and the Hampton Garden Inn Chicago McCormick Place. Sure, you're not connected to the centre but you're still right next door and the rates at these hotels are likely to be cheaper.

Getting a little further afield you have the Chinatown Hotel, the Jaslin Hotel, and the Chicago South Loop Hotel. With these venue's you're looking at a 15-30 minute walk at a (hopefully) more reasonable budget.

There is also a possibility that, due to the limited number of hotels, there may be a free shuttle service provided to hotels a bit further away. And even if a shuttle service is not provided, Chicago's train network makes it an easy journey to McCormick Place so if you want something cheaper try checking out hotels located on the train route (just make sure you check out the journey time as well).

My personal advice would be to stay as close as you can but don't break your budget just to be on site. There are certainly a lot of benefits to having a connecting hotel but you don't need one to have an incredible time at Celebration.

And speaking of lots of benefits but not strictly needed to have a great time - let's talk about Jedi Master badges!

Ok, first a quick word on badges in general. Your badge is your key to Star Wars Celebration. It's what gets you through the door and into this incredible melting pot of Star Wars fans from all over the globe. And normally the art work looks damn cool. They can be bought for either the full event or for single days for adults (12+) and kids (ages 6-12, with an Under 6 available for the full event).

Badges will go on sale at noon CST on June 5th. Now, this isn't San Diego Comic Con. If you just want a standard badge then, based on past Celebrations, you don't need to worry about single or full event passes selling out for at least a few months.

If you're planning on buying your OnPeak hotel room and your standard badge(s) on 5th June then go for your hotel room first, especially if you're looking at getting a room in a connecting hotel. I'm not sure how fast the rooms will go but the best locations will go pretty quick so make them your priority.

That said, all that changes if you're wanting a Jedi Master badge. These will sell quick. Like faster than the Flash quick. They will literally be gone in 60 seconds. Getting these is a matter of luck as much as everything else but I did read one tip from Orlando that I'll pass on. I didn't try for Orlando tickets so I have no idea if this is true but apparently people had better luck going for tickets via links from Celebration's Twitter and Facebook than through the main page. I suspect this is probably true as people reported issues last time of being sent to the Celebration Europe tickets page by the main site as it was hosting both at once and that lost minute is crucial if you're after VIP badges. With this year having an all new site it might not be an issue but I thought it best to pass on the advice.

So what does Jedi Master status get you? As well as a cool badge that's likely to feature Mark Hamill's Jedi Master Luke Skywalker last year's Jedi Masters also got an exclusive art print, Jedi Master VIP shirt and lanyard along with the show poster (in a poster tube) and the commemorative guide. But it's the priority access that really makes these badges valuable. Jedi Masters received an exclusive Wednesday night Celebration Store shopping party (allowing them to do their show store shopping before Celebration even started), a dedicated entrance to the convention centre along with half an hour early access to both the show floor and Celebration Store along with express checkout in the store, fast passes for up to six autograph sessions (price of the autograph not included), and the big one - first access to all Celebration and Galaxy Stage panels. That's the one everyone wants these for.  Guaranteed panel access with no queue, just make sure you're there 40 minutes before and the VIPs go in first and have their pick of the best seating. They also received a VIP lounge with cloak and bag check, and a private meet and greet with selected guests.

Personally, I'll be trying for Jedi Master badges purely because this is my first US Celebration and I want to go all out for it.  I loved the overnight experience at Celebration Europe and would likely do one again here anyway just to hang out with other fans. But Orlando had two overnighters that both reached live stage capacity crazily early, it would be nice not to have that rush in the back of my mind and it would be nice to get up and go back to the hotel for a shower and a few hours sleep after hanging out with other fans all night before starting the day. Plus I just really want a Jedi Master Luke badge :o)

For Orlando prices for all badge types were announced literally the day before they went on sale. This time it seems like we should be getting them a little earlier. On Facebook Star Wars Celebration have said prices will be announced several days ahead of the ticket sale and the official site says that the full website and ticket details will be revealed soon. My best guess would be that we could see something next weekend/Memorial Day after Solo has hit cinemas.

So to sum up, make sure you are online and ready to go on June 5th if Jedi Master badges and/or a connecting hotel room are your goal. Until then, just relax and go enjoy Solo!