Today has been dubbed Force Friday because the new toy line for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was revealed/released. To be honest, I wasn’t really excited about it…until I saw the BB-8 Sphero toy.
Isn’t he cute? We already have a Sphero toy and it’s a lot of fun and you can do simple programing with it as well. I love that the BB-8 allows you to take a video message and to show your own “holographic message” which it can project on the wall. I’ve been not so secretly hinting to Sean that I want this cute toy (**Update** I did get the him). Here’s a video of it in action:
So anyways, because of this Force Friday, I thought it should be the next Fandom to be featured in my Fandom Fridays posts.
I honestly don’t remember the first time I watched Star Wars. I do remember when Episode I came out. I was in the 6th grade and everyone was very excited, and of course tickets were hard to come by. My favorite character from the movies was Padme/Queen Amidala. I had gotten a book from the library that talked about her time before becoming Queen and before she left with Anakin and the others. There was a post it note I found on one of the pages that said, “When you find this note, come see me in the library.” I nervously went to the library and showed it to the librarian, but it ended up being for something pretty cool! When they ordered the book it came with a Star Wars Journal and so she wanted it to go to someone who read the book. I’m proud to say I’ve filled that journal out to completion!
Compared to my other Fandoms growing up, Star Wars wasn’t my biggest one, though I did love it. My love for it has definitely grown exponentially as I’ve gotten older.
Back during my Disney College Program, I stayed a little bit extra after my program ended to work some seasonal hours as well as so I could attend Star Wars Weekends At Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I’m so glad I did! I got to meet Leia Minnie and Vader Goofy.
I also met the Cantina Band
I had wanted to meet Darth Vader but the line was over 20 hours long. Thankfully, being a cast member and having cast member friends had it’s perks. My friend worked as a character attendant in that park and had set up a private meet and greet backstage with Lord Vader himself for me!
I even signed over my allegiance to the Empire.
Just kidding. I’m a Rebel all the way! Well, more like Jedi Knight.
You can meet Star Wars characters like I did when you visit Disneyland. When you book a Southern California Vacation Package with Get Away Today you can get $10 off by using my code: TwoGeeks
I’ve since collected many Star Wars shirts (including the one in the pictures…I love AT-AT’s by the way). We have the movies on Blu-Ray, and one of my favorite movies is Fanboys, which tells a fictional story about these friends who go on a mission to try to steal the reel of Episode 1 from Skywalker Ranch! (Great movie but it’s definitely a higher up PG-13. I wouldn’t recommend it for kids).
The Star Wars universe is so vast with books, comics, and TV shows that have joined in. When Disney bought the rights to Star Wars, they said they were going to start reining all that in, but it’s still a large universe. They also announced the new films. And not just the continuation of the Episodes, but also side stories as well!
I think it’s great that there will be new movies and that Star Wars is continuing for a new generation to love and enjoy.
One of the things I’m eager about is the announcement that Disney made at the D23 Expo that there will be a Star Wars land added to Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and I’m excited to see how it will be done! I’ve yet to ride the new version of the Star Tours ride, but I loved the original version. Though I know it’ll take some time for the land to be finished, that’ll give me time to continue to instill the love that I have for Star Wars in little Ms. Marvel, so that when we get to visit the new land, I can see the wonder and amazement that it will bring to her.
Back in January, I got the pleasure to meet Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher. I wrote about the experience in this blog post about day 2 at FanX. Hearing her stories about her time on set in the original trilogy was amazing and though she wasn’t able to really talk about the new films, it got me very excited to see her and the others return! Meeting her was amazing as well. The girls in my family all dressed in different costumes that she wore in the films.
Sean was dressed up as the Han to my Leia.
I hope to someday make my own Jedi Knight costume, as well as Rey from the new film. My dream is to join the Rebel Legion, a Star Wars costuming group that’s made up of the “good guys” in the franchise. To join, you’ve got to meet specific guidelines and I’m up for that challenge!
Star Wars is one of those Fandoms that will stay with you for a lifetime. Even those who don’t consider themselves nerdy or geeky love Star Wars. I’m always amazed by those who haven’t seen the movies yet, but it’s never too late to watch them! With the new movies coming out, this is the best time to get into it.
Do you remember when you first watched Star Wars? Who’s your favorite character? Would you be a part of the Empire or the Rebel Alliance?
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