Celebrating STAR WARS

The time slots for autographs and photo ops have been announced! If you've pre-ordered any photo ops or autographs you will have received an email today advising you of your group number and the time you need to arrive to queue up for your experience. With this virtual queue system Epic Photos expects you shouldn't have to wait in line for any longer than 30 minutes, which would be an incredible improvement over the chaos that was reported in Orlando. If the time slots you received clash with each other or any of your must do panels, no problem! As long as there are alternative times available you will be able to create an Epic Photo Ops account, using the email address you bought the experiences with, which will allow you to select from any available time slots so you can pick the one that best fits your plans! For any autographs and photo ops you buy now, you can select from all the available times when you make your purchase at Epic .

Tomorrow we are just 2 weeks away from the biggest Celebration in the galaxy and now the you can check out maps of the show floor and all the stages over at the official site! Here's the McCormick Place and Exhibit Hall Map Here's just the Exhibit Hall Here's just McCormick Place And here's where you go to get in every morning! So close now!!!

The Lotteries are live! If you want to be in with a chance at purchasing the Hasbro, Funko, or LEGO exclusives at Star Wars Celebration Chicago then head over to this page and enter now! When you click "Enter the Exhibitor Exclusive Lottery" you'll be taken to a new screen showing 3 merchandise lotteries and 4 panel lotteries (which for now remain tantalisingly out of reach, they're due to go live tomorrow). Here you can choose which of the lotteries you wish to enter. And yes, you can of course enter all three. The Hasbro lottery is for the Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul action figures, celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace with an exclusive Episode I card back. The lottery covers both figures and there will be 4000 winners. The LEGO lottery is for a bust of Darth Vader, celebrating 20 years of LEGO Star Wars. This will be limited to 500 per day. The Funko lottery gives you a chance to buy all 8 of Funk...

Ok, it's just over 2 weeks until Celebration people! There's been so much news and so many updates recently I haven't had chance to do any guides recently, so with just 16 days to go it felt like a good time to take a closer look at what you'll want to be taking with you to the convention every day. For my Celebration Packing List   I tried to give an all inclusive list of everything that you might want to take with you, here I'm going to try and narrow it down to the real essentials. The Essentials If you really want to take only the bare minimum, you won't need a bag at all. Celebration Badge & Lanyard Your ticket to the galaxy. You'll be wearing this every moment you're at Celebration Wallet Even if you don't plan on spending anything at Celebration, the chances are you will. Plus it never hurts to have ID on you (which you'll need if collecting badges at Will Call ), or money for any emergencies, or just grabbing a bite to eat. ...

In an article that's tellingly titled "Part 1", StarWars.com shared a first look at some of the many exclusives heading to Celebration Chicago in just over two weeks! I'm not going to repost the Hasbro, Funko, or LEGO exclusives as they have already been covered here . ACME Archives You may have already seen this on the Art Show page . "The Hopeful" is a gorgeous piece by Jerry Vanderstelt (who also has his own Celebration exclusive print in the Art Show) Aquarius Aquarius are bringing a set of bounty hunter magnets to the show. Buy all 5 ($9.99 each) to get Boba Fett for free. They will also have assorted character and vehicle magnets ranging from $5.99-$9.99 Diamond Select Diamond are bringing a beautiful bust of the Ghost's fearless captain, Hera Syndulla ($125). He may not be as pretty but there's no doubting the epic presence of this incredible Maul statue ($200) from his first reappearance in The C...

You know we're getting close when the official entry procedures are announced! Make sure you click the link and read everything in full, but to keep it simple, here's what you need to know! The Basics To enter Star Wars Celebration you must have a badge! Pretty self explanatory really! Everyone will go through metal detectors and bag check on entry. Fans are free to come in costume and bring whatever they need, just be aware that the less you have with you the faster you will clear security. Will Call If you don't have one then you will need to collect your badge from the Will Call counter at Fan Services. This is located next to the shuttles at Gate 41. You will need your confirmation email (on your phone or printed out) and a valid form of ID. Will Call is open; Wednesday April 10th, 14:00-20:00 Thursday April 11th, 08:00-20:00 Friday April 12th, 06:00-19:00 Saturday April 13th, 06:00-19:00 Sunday April 14th, 06:00-19:00 Monday April 15th, 06:00-1...

In the past Star Wars Celebration has held movie screenings on site during evenings at the convention. The 3D editions of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith even premiered at Celebration and remain Celebration exclusives. Honestly, I'd hoped ReedPOP and Lucasfilm would have screened the prequels in 3D this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the trilogy. Whilst they still might be added to the schedule, one screening has been announced. D23 is celebrating Star Wars Celebration with a special screening of Return of the Jedi at Chicago's AMC River East! Tickets are free to D23 Gold Members and can be obtained here . Gold Members can claim up to 2 tickets whilst Gold Family Members may claim up to 4. All attendees will receive a voucher for popcorn and a drink along with a D23 exclusive gift! I'm a little surprised it isn't The Phantom Menace but Jedi is my favourite movie of the saga and, coming from the UK, this is the first time I can...