Celebration Europe: Beforehand, Afterhours & Afterwards

Chris Wyman

Chris Wyman

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With so many fans traveling from outside of Europe, it's inevitable that many will make this into a vacation. What are your plans before the show starts, after the show wraps each day and after the event is over?
 
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Navarr

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This will be my 4th time in London. Trying to decide whether to do sightseeing before or after the con. In Anaheim we did the vacation prior to the con and I was a little run down before the con started so thinking about doing the sightseeing afterward this time.
 
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Checking out the SW exhibition at Madamme Tussauds is a must. Buying an online cross promotional ticket for Madamme Tussauds and then something like the London Eye and London Dungeons can save a lot of money. It's also fairly easy to get discount codes for these things too.
Lots of great free things to do:

Dinosaurs at The National History Museum
The Science Museum
The British Museum is pretty poor although The Rosetta Stone is worth seeing
Covent Garden
Camden Market
House of Parliament and Visiting Buckingham Palace

and many other things to do but get vouchers!

Ripley's Believe it or Not
Wembley or ****nal :) Stadium Tours
Many West End Shows
The film museum (which is currently James Bond)
 
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GMan75

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High on the list for anyone has got to be Madame Tussauds new Star Wars exhibition https://www.madametussauds.com/London/ I haven't been myself yet but do plan to visit before then.

Also if you can afford the extra time in London and haven't had enough of crowds then London Film and Comic Con will be on the following weekend!!
 
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Navarr

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Also been looking at the London Film and Comic Con for a couple of years now. Does the show generally fall around the same time every July? It was July 1-19 this year. It would be great if next years show fell near the time of Celebration. They have a fantastic line-up of guests. A lot of SW guests as well. Maybe an idea of some of the guests London will get next year (SW wise).
 
GMan75

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Navarr said:
Also been looking at the London Film and Comic Con for a couple of years now. Does the show generally fall around the same time every July? It was July 1-19 this year. It would be great if next years show fell near the time of Celebration. They have a fantastic line-up of guests. A lot of SW guests as well. Maybe an idea of some of the guests London will get next year (SW wise).
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Yes it usually falls on the weekend that CE is next year, in fact it was last weekend (I've just about recovered from it!). As CE is on that date obviously they don't want a clash, so next years LFCC is on the weekend of 23rd-24th July, they announced yesterday that next years will have a 3 full days Friday to Sunday as well as a preview evening on the Thursday. In the past the preview evening has been around 3-4 hours and tends to have a few of the weekend guests but not always the headliner guests.
 
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Navarr

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This wont be good for me :)

Thanks for the info, I was looking last night to find next years date. I am seriously think of doing this show the next weekend after CE. Will need to clear it with the wife and stepdaughter. I'm sure they wont mind more time in London since I'm paying :)
 
GMan75

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Navarr said:
This wont be good for me :)

Thanks for the info, I was looking last night to find next years date. I am seriously think of doing this show the next weekend after CE. Will need to clear it with the wife and stepdaughter. I'm sure they wont mind more time in London since I'm paying :)
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It's funny as I go LFCC every year and I'm thinking that I may have to choose between the 2 on which to attend, and as CE has only been in London once before, then that has preference, then I see some of you guys coming over here are considering going to both!! If you want to meet Dave Prowse then he has more chance of being at LFCC than CE, so for some of you it might be worth it.

I'd recommend if you was staying longer to maybe see if you can rent an apartment for a couple of weeks, it's got to be cheaper then hotels in London for the same duration. At least have a look into it anyway as money saved on accommodation can get you more graphs and exclusives!! :)
 
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If they are aware of the cons then they may raise the rates on apartments. I am on a thread for DragonCon in Atlanta. Several people had rented houses/apartments and had them cancelled in the past few days and then the owners immediately relisted them at higher prices. Apparently they had just realized DC was in town that weekend. I just spent 10 days in Anaheim this past April for a combined vacation so am saving money for this as well. We were planning on staying on London anyway for a period before or after CE so now LFCC solidifies my schedule now.
 
SoonerSean

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We were in London last month. The Madame Tussaud's exhibit was pretty neat. It's not all that large and you have to go through the full "museum" to get to it. But it was cool and when we were there - oddly not crowded at all. We took minutes to pose with various figures and didn't have anyone waiting behind us. I would suggest buying tickets in advance. We didn't and waited about 45 minutes in the line/queue for walk up guests.
 
GMan75

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Bad news for anyone who was considering going to LFCC the week after CE, they have changed the dates, it's now being held on Thursday 28th - Sunday 31st July 2016.
 
DJachmed

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GMan75 said:
Bad news for anyone who was considering going to LFCC the week after CE, they have changed the dates, it's now being held on Thursday 28th - Sunday 31st July 2016.
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yeah, that was my plan... :-/
 
SoonerSean

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We went to London and Paris last summer and I'd highly recommend the SW exhibit at Madame Tussaud's that's mentioned above. Then typical sightseeing things like Tower of London (buy tickets in advance - avoid the lines and walk right in), Covent Garden is neat for shopping/dining, walking around Buckingham Palace and Parliament/Big Ben, touring Westminster Abbey (again, tickets in advance), Piccadilly Circus, etc. I also enjoyed seeing the Sherlock Holmes Museum (easy walk from Madame Tussaud's) as well as the Natural History Museum (beautiful building). Warning on Sherlock Holmes - bit pricey and basically just some period flat rooms with furnishings. Don't go expecting to see the Basil Rathbone set or something from the BBC series.

This time we're going to arrive on Sunday - spend a couple of days in London and visit many of those places again - then train over to Scotland for two days - then back to London on Thursday night and do SW for three days - then back to the states on Monday.

We stayed not far from Parliament and took the subway all over London. It's extremely easy to get around and there are stops near most of the major attractions. We even stumbled into a great little Italian place one night near Westminster and it's the first place we're going when we go back. Every day/night started out around Parliament and I probably took 100 pictures of Big Ben. Just can't get over all the amazing historical buildings and the eye popping architecture all around you. It is truly one of my favorite cities.
 
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Obi_Phantom_Jedi

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There's an amazing pre-show gig happening the night before Celebration at London's O2 arena. Take a look at tge following.

Can’t wait for Star Wars Celebration? Why not get the party started early with this incredible gig the night before!


#Cantina will happen at the Brooklyn Bowl in London’s iconic O2 arena on Thursday 14th July 2016.


This very special gig in aid of The Alzheimer's Society, will transport you, musically, to a galaxy far, far away. This really is the essential place to be pre-Celebration!


Luther Ingo Star Cruiser (okay, this is a fake name, for now, for these secret headliners. But I urge you to read the bio under BANDS on the website!!!)


Darth Elvis & The Imperials


Blues Harvest


All playing one very special night on Thursday 14th July at The Brooklyn Bowl inside the O2 in London.


Kick off Celebration in style and hang loose with some of the coolest bands this side of the Galaxy!


Tickets on sale WEDNESDAY APRIL 13th.

More info and surprises to follow...


Don't be like Luke at the end of The Force Awakens...SPREAD THE WORD!!!


www.thisiscantina.com
 
CaptainRegor

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Obi_Phantom_Jedi said:
There's an amazing pre-show gig happening the night before Celebration at London's O2 arena. Take a look at tge following.

Can’t wait for Star Wars Celebration? Why not get the party started early with this incredible gig the night before!


#Cantina will happen at the Brooklyn Bowl in London’s iconic O2 arena on Thursday 14th July 2016.


This very special gig in aid of The Alzheimer's Society, will transport you, musically, to a galaxy far, far away. This really is the essential place to be pre-Celebration!


Luther Ingo Star Cruiser (okay, this is a fake name, for now, for these secret headliners. But I urge you to read the bio under BANDS on the website!!!)


Darth Elvis & The Imperials


Blues Harvest


All playing one very special night on Thursday 14th July at The Brooklyn Bowl inside the O2 in London.


Kick off Celebration in style and hang loose with some of the coolest bands this side of the Galaxy!


Tickets on sale WEDNESDAY APRIL 13th.

More info and surprises to follow...


Don't be like Luke at the end of The Force Awakens...SPREAD THE WORD!!!


www.thisiscantina.com
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Even though I usually dislike concerts (I know what kind of a young adult am I?!) I do have my tickets for this! A Star Wars concert must be fun!
 
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For all you guys visiting from around the world, I have another suggestion for before/afterwards.
How about some of the filming locations?
May be a bit of a drive though...
You have PuzzleWood, which was the filing location of some of the Takadona scenes and on the way past, why not detor to greenham common in Newbury to see where they filmed the outside shots of the rebel base from TFA?
If you have enough time (and a bit more money, I would look into Skelig island in Ireland too.)
I did puzzlewood and it was pretty cool - they haven't really picked up on promoting it so its just a nice walk for normal people, but something really cool to those of us who know.
If it helps, some Doctor who was filmed there too.
Jon
 
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Ross_C

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Greenham is closed as they are converting it to storage. Skellig is all booked for the summer. Just FYI.

uktrooper said:
For all you guys visiting from around the world, I have another suggestion for before/afterwards.
How about some of the filming locations?
May be a bit of a drive though...
You have PuzzleWood, which was the filing location of some of the Takadona scenes and on the way past, why not detor to greenham common in Newbury to see where they filmed the outside shots of the rebel base from TFA?
If you have enough time (and a bit more money, I would look into Skelig island in Ireland too.)
I did puzzlewood and it was pretty cool - they haven't really picked up on promoting it so its just a nice walk for normal people, but something really cool to those of us who know.
If it helps, some Doctor who was filmed there too.
Jon
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Anyone using the underground (subway) visit the Canary Wharf station on the jubilee line which was seen in the chase sequence in the rogue one trailer.
if you like museums visit the British museum by far the best, if you like war perhaps the imperial war museum (not that empire).
 
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Anyone attending Cantina at Brooklyn Bowl on the Thursday evening!?
 
13977

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Biggs79 said:
Hey guys, I see harrods is displaying the new prop shop items and also their totally crazy full replica of the millennium falcon cockpit.

It looks as tho you have to book an appointment, might be worth a look for you lot that are coming over from abroad

http://www.propshop.co.uk/news/star-wars-lands-harrods/
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I might check that out. Do you have to book a slot or can you just go and have a look? I've no intention of buying anything, just wanna check out the millennium falcon cockpit.
 
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13977 said:
I might check that out. Do you have to book a slot or can you just go and have a look? I've no intention of buying anything, just wanna check out the millennium falcon cockpit.
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looking at the booking page on the website, it says "free ticketed gallery" so I'd say it would be fine to go and look, I've not been myself but just came across it the other other day! You could alway email them to ask, I'm sure they would let you know :)
 
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spectrumofpain said:
So are there going to be hotel sales after the show like there was at past celebrations?
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Yes. Your best bet is to hang out around the collecting track panels and ask around there. Usually will be later in the evening after dinner for most. I'm not able to make it so I wish everyone safe travels.

James
 
Ross_C

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I could really use that spot! I'll be there at 10am also.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
ThrawnLover

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Hey guys, I'm surprised how few people used this sub to talk about the convention. I figured I'd post what I felt about the whole experience here.

I should mention that I've been to 5 of the conventions and I traveled from the US. Overall I had an amazing time. I thought there was a ton to do and in several ways it was much better organized than many of the US celebrations. The biggest fear for me is always the show store because it can be a nightmare and a all day time sink. I loved the introduction of the lightspeed pass. I hope they use it in the American shows from now on. I loved knowing when I could walk into the store and it let me go get other exclusives. Inside the store I also thought it was well organized, there was a man passing out pins so people couldn't go nuts. And most importantly the staff that was using the registers to check us out seemed well educated on the products and knew what they were doing so it went quite fast. Total time waiting in line to get the lightspeed pass in the morning was about 15 minutes. Total time waiting in line to get in the store was 0. Total time waiting in line to check out was about 15 minutes.

The wristband experience was new for celebration even though SDCC and NYCC have been using it for awhile. I gotta say I liked it and here's why: I didn't have to waste an entire day and night waiting in line to see one panel. I'm getting old enough to where I don't want to sleep on the floor or throw away a day at the con to see one thing. Depending on the show I was able to wake up at around 5 and go in line, get the wristband at 6, maybe get a second wristband for a 2nd panel and a third wristband for the Kylo Ren, and walk back to my hotel and fall back asleep until 10 when the show opened. Yes the system is not perfect but it is better than what they have been doing.

The pin trading went much better than at Anaheim. There were way more employees that had pins to trade, and they had more available in the store so you could get them to purchase. They even set up an official trading time everyday so you could have access to employees with hard to find pins. I kind of liked the introduction of chase pins to make the whole thing feel like hunting for exclusives.

The con overall was gigantic, the space was gigantic, the crowds were gigantic, the displays were gigantic, the Rogue One panel was gigantic, the security presence was gigantic, the food selection was gigantic. My last Celebration was in Essen Germany and this made that look like a private gathering of friends. Speaking of food selection I thought they had great options to choose from and they were well priced.

I was at the panel last year where they showed the "Chewie We're Home" trailer. Nothing is going to beat the feeling of seeing Han Solo for the first time in 35 years, but the Rogue One panel was a very close second. Gwendoline Christie as the emcee was a gigantic surprise and she was so amazing at it. Also seeing Director Krennic with a squad of troopers was incredible. The whole cast being there was insane because a lot of them are famous outside of the Star Wars movies. This was the first convention where they showed a trailer meant only for convention-goers to see and that was a treat, I also loved the free poster. I hope people realize they don't have to do any of this for us, it has to take a lot of work and money to get all these stars together in the same room and I really appreciate it. At celebration 2 and 3 there was nothing even close to that, no celebrities from the prequels, no special posters.

I was able to get every exclusive and there were not hour long lines to get them. Most days you could walk up to the Hot wheels, Funko or other booths and get whatever you wanted. Maybe this was because people weren't as interested in them, but it was a nice change to the US shows. Its a shame Gentle Giant was not there, but they aren't putting out products like they used to. It was also a shame that Hasbro wasn't there but I dont think they've ever done an overseas con. I was also a little disappointed that Lego didn't have any exclusive. Perhaps they were disappointed at how many people abused the give-away at Anaheim. There were plenty of other great booths to check out though, especially the ILM total immersive experience.

I'd like to thank all the European people that were so friendly and all the Londoners that put up with a clunky American tourist for 3 days. You gave me a great positive experience that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I'm actually worried that if I visited London in the future without a Celebration it would not be as good of an experience.

-Sorry for the gigantic post-
 
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