Star Wars Celebration III: Saturday! (Part 1)

Ok...before we start Saturday, I have to relay a conversation I had with my friend Mike on Friday evening:
Mike: "Hey. I picked you up a press pass, so if you want to see George (Lucas, who would be there tomorrow), I can probably get you in to see it upstairs in the A/V room crow's nest, above everyone."
Me: "GBBBBSSSTTRB!! --more sputtering-- YEAH!"
Mike: "OK, don't come in your Jedi costume tomorrow. Dress in a black shirt and bluejeans. You will fit in with the rest of the A/V guys, and everyting should go smoothly."
Me: "No problem."
Mike: "Give me a call when you get here tomorrow morning, and we'll hook up."
Me: --More unintelligible sputtering--"THANKS, DUDE!"

On to the Saturday:

I wake up bright and early at 6am. Not having to put on my getup, preparing to head out the door took less time. I grabbed breakfast and shot out the door in my black shirt and jeans, with the Jedi outfit in the trunk in case I wanted to get in it later. I stopped by Walmart, like I had planned yesterday, purchasing an umbrella and a bright blue parka (it was raining pretty steady that morning, and about 45 degrees). I arrive and hop into line at about 7:15 or so. The line seems unusually short, even for this time of the morning. I call Mike....his phone is turned off. Hmm...could this be to good to be true? Did Mike make a promise he couldn't keep? Doubts began creeping up into my mind, but I thought, "No problem, there is plenty of time between now and 8:45, when George was supposed to hit the stage."

Standing in line, alone as I was, gave me the opportunity to just be quiet and listen to other people's conversations in line around me. I learned some interesting things. Apparently, there have been people waiting in line for George Lucas, and seperately for the Celebration 3 store, all night. Since 11pm. That was a might disturbing to me, as I had decided that if something went wrong, and I couldn't hook up with Mike, that I would try my luck at the Celebration 3 store. Lines for this store have for the last two days been somewhat larger than insanity. On Thursday, there were stories of people waiting in line for 5 hours to get in, and on Friday, even though the store was technically open till 8pm, they had to cap the line at 10:30am, and people were waiting for entry for 7 hours! I thought that if I couldn't get in to see George, and had arrived at the convention at 7:15, I would have a shot at not wasting an entire day waiting in line for the store. But if people had been waiting all night....well, my hopes weren't high.

7:45: Called Mike, phone still off. He should be at the convention working now, so I am a little concerned...hopefully, he hasn't forgotten. I get to know a couple of ladies and a guy that are waiting in line with me. We discuss the resurgence of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi channel, as well as the challenges of trying to stay ignorant of the plotline for Episode III. It rains. A large Chewbacca in line puts a bag on his head to try and keep from being drowned rat Chewbacca.

8:30: Several more calls to Mike with no luck. At this point, I have decided that I have more luck trying to get into the CIII store than I do to see George Lucas, but if Mike calls, I will be prepared to jump out of line and head to the big show.

9:20: I get into the front doors of the convention, and head straight for the store line. I don't have to travel far, since the line is already almost at the entrance. Bad news. But then, the store line suddenly starts moving! It moves through the convention center, down hallways, and almost to the doors of the store, all at speedwalking velocity! I think, "Well, if the line moves like this, I'll be in there in no time!" Then, the line suddenly stops. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently the Celebration III store has the capacity to hold approximately 4 hours worth of line within its very walls. So while I had developed false hope that I was almost to my sweet store front (where they were selling, among other things, the exclusive Darth Vader figure with James Earl Jones' voice recorded specifically for the collectible), the people in front of me in line hadn't really stepped into a black hole, as it seemed, but were still in fact squarely in front of me.

While in line, I get to know a fascinating Duke college senior by the name of Noel. She had apparently waited in line overnight to see George Lucas, then watched his first presentation at 8:45, and run in to get in line for the Celebration 3 store. She told of her overnight travails: Getting in line at 11pm, waiting outside in the pouring rain with an umbrella and a folding chair, being herded with her fellow linemembers into a neighboring hotel for warmth, being yelled at by a hotel employee, being moved to another location, etc. She assured me it was well worth it to see George. I told her of my hope to see him from the A/V booth, but that it was now nearing 10am, and that I had not heard from my friend. At this point, we were inside the CIII store, with countless people behind us and the counter within view. Later I would learn that this was quite misleading, as we were still some 4 hours from the actual counter.

10:15am: Mike Calls!! He says, "Do you still want to see George? Cause if you do, come now!" I, being fooled by the store line mirage, hesitate. "Well, I am actually in the store right now...maybe I should just stay in line..."
Mike: "Are you sure? This is George Lucas!"
Noel: "If you have a chance to see George, you HAVE to take it!!"

That last prodding was all it took. Mike had come through in a big way, and Noel had saved me from an additional 4+ hour wait in line by telling me to get off my rear and go see the creator of this universe that we were all celebrating. I didn't have a chance to thank her, as that was the last time I would see her. I waded my way back through massive crowds, running as fast as I could manage, and met up with Mike. He slipped me the press badge, and told me to walk up the non-working escalator, next to the actual line, and to present the badge to anyone asking. I was to meet his coworker Chad (who I had met at the bar Thursday night), and he would usher me up to the crow's nest. I ran into a little snag at the escalator:
Crowd control bully: "Uh, I can't let you up here."
Me: -Flashes badge, mumbles something about A/V-
CCB: "Sorry. I have been ordered not to let anyone up. If you want, you can talk to that person."
Me, getting my poker face on and thoughts in order, speaking to new guy: "Yeah, I'm with A/V, and I need to get up to the Sagamore Ballroom Crow's Nest."
New Guy: "Yeah, sure. Ok."

Ok, do I feel guilty telling a small untruth? Well, if you think about it, it was sort of the truth...I was with A/V, as in I would be with Chad in a moment, and I did need to get up to the Crow's Nest, if I was going to see the show...so guilt? Nah. It was George Lucas.

So, upstairs, I meet Chad, he takes me up to the A/V booth, and I get an AWESOME view of George Lucas' last presentation! It was very cool. Unfortunately, I was unable to take my bag or camera up there (I was supposed to be A/V, not a fan), so I missed many cool shots. Also, there was no bathroom up there, which would slowly become an issue as the time passed.

I must go to bed now, so this will now be Part 1 of Saturday, while Part 2 will have to be detailed tomorrow. Goodnight!