I had the great pleasure of traveling out to Chicago for Star Wars Celebration 2019. This is my second celebration and I somehow had even more fun than in Orlando. There is just something heartwarming about finding one of your tribes. A group of people you have a kinship with. And these Star Wars fans are welcoming and wonderful.
I’m excited for the new branches of the galaxy far, far away. The Mandalorian seems to be right in the vein of the Star Wars novels, games, and comics I grew up on back in the mid-90s.
My soul got such a charge out of the whole five days. I met some fantastic people. Hung out all weekend with a great friend and co-pilot. And had once in a life time opportunities that will have a lasting effect on my life.
Glad to be part of this family, and veey excited to do all again in Anaheim in 2020!
Our little city prize winner “The Cavendish Affair” has it’s debut on an international stage here in Orlando. We had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony at this beautiful outdoor amphitheater. So many splendid films. A fantastic time.
So I headed down to Virginia to help my best bud Chris do the Hampton Roads 48 Film Project. It was only fair as he has come up this way the last three summers for our Pittsburgh 48. With the help of his wife and some friends we made an amazing little movie that we are very proud of. We drafted horror or family film and so we mushed them together. What we ended up with is an unsettling juxtaposition between 50’s sitcoms and hot blooded murder. It’s a weird mix but I think it works. Special shout out to Jim Novak who made a huge difference in making this happen. He’s a great photographer and you should check him out
At the end of the Star Wars Celebration my friends and I ran around catching some other sights. We had a fun trip through Medieval Times’s feast and tournament. Also a whirlwind one day trip through Universal Studios. And on our last day we relaxed out at Disney Springs.
Ups: Harry Potter was so immersive, Hulk is an amazing coaster, Glad I got to see Disney Quest before it’s removed
Downs: Those 3D movie ride hybrids are not my cup of tea, Hit almost everything in Universal just missing Transformers, I only got to see Disney Quest as the ghost town it is right before it closes
So to cap off my exciting round of trips I headed back to Florida. It was time for the biggest Star Wars party in the galaxy.
I had a great time hanging out my annual pilgrimage to Boston. This year there was a highlight of CosPlaying as McCree from Overwatch in his American costume. My buddy was dudded up as RoadHog, and we walked the floor for the better part of an hour with a whole crew. Also when not taking in PAX playing with my shiny new Nintendo Switch. Zelda Breath of the Wild and 1-2 Switch sword fighting ruled the day.
Pros: Great show every time, Breath of the Wild
Cons: COLD very cold, my costume did not survive much more than 2 hours of con time
My first trip adventure of the year was to the golden land of Orlando. So I haven’t been to a Disney park since I was 6. I was surprised how many memories of the magic kingdom had stuck when I saw things through an adult’s eyes. It was also amazing to see all things I never saw. When I was there as a child it was the month MGM Studios opened (my mom cleverly seeing the opportunity to avoid crowds in the magic kingdom.) So I have never experienced Epcot (though I loved it from afar,) Hollywood Studios, not the Animal Kingdom. And I had my Best friend along the journey the whole time and his lovely wife on Magic Kingdom day. It was a blast and a treasured cache of memories.
Pros: Wow Disney is amazing, Disney Springs is so pleasant, Everest is a great coaster, Epcot and all the Worlds Fair vibes made me feel great, finally getting to ride Star Tours
Cons: Animal Kingdom was over a bit to soon maybe Avatar will expand it to a full day park, heavy rain drenched us on Magic Kingdom day, Star Wars Land wasn’t opened yet
