{"id":10652,"date":"2015-04-22T01:30:28","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T08:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/?p=10652"},"modified":"2015-04-22T10:48:27","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T17:48:27","slug":"our-first-family-star-wars-celebration-anaheim-ca-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/our-first-family-star-wars-celebration-anaheim-ca-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Our First Family Star Wars Celebration – Anaheim, Ca 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

We got them dressed.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4740\"<\/a>\"IMG_4737\"<\/a>We didn’t tell them where we were going.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4742\"<\/a>
\nOr what we would find when we got there…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4750\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I think somehow they knew we weren’t just going on the normal trip to Disneyland or to the grandparent’s house. \u00a0Maybe it was the extra bags we packed, the fact that daddy was up at 5am pushing US out of bed to get ready for once, or the fact that we were all wearing “matching” clothes, but somehow, their Jedi senses were tingling and they both knew something was up. \u00a0We weren’t just going to “the park” and we weren’t just going to visit friends and no, Nana and Papa would not be there…<\/p>\n

This was a whole new experience about to happen – for all of us.<\/p>\n

Our first family trip to a convention.<\/p>\n

\"tumblr_n78fctomaS1r7pxxqo4_500\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some say you should wait on things like this. \u00a0That a convention isn’t the place for kids… that there is nothing for them to do. \u00a0They’ll get bored, irritated, annoying and loud. \u00a0They only annoy SERIOUS convention goers and cause problems in the halls.<\/p>\n

\"(All<\/a><\/p>\n

Some\u00a0say, once things like\u00a0video games,\u00a0movies with superheroes,\u00a0magical creatures, aliens and sophisticated interlocking brick systems reach “hobby” status, they are no longer *really* designed for children and parents should know better than to subject a serious crowd of fans to an uncontrollable toddler.<\/p>\n

I mean, of course, there’s NOTHING for them to do in a place like this, right? \u00a0They would just walk around completely bored with nothing interesting to do or look at.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4754\"<\/a>There are some who say conventions are inappropriate for children under 18 and others who say the whole affair is just plain ‘of the Devil’. \u00a0That the convention environments inspire evil and sin and a path that leads to damnation.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4814\"<\/a>Those concerned folks encourage parents to keep their tender, innocent babes away from events like this, calling them “dens of evil” and “gateways to sin”. \u00a0They accuse anyone who indulges in this horrible pastime\u00a0of willfully\u00a0condemning young minds to the Dark Side.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

Okay, well… that last one… yeah, that might be true….<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4928\"<\/a>But here’s what we learned:<\/p>\n

Parents- TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO CONVENTIONS. \u00a0Seriously. Don’t be afraid. \u00a0YES there are a billion people. Yes, you must take care of your children, watch them, hold their hands, be attentive, make sure they are properly fed, hydrated, rested, that they don’t break vendor’s items or mess with things that might get broken, but honestly- that’s your job ALL THE TIME.<\/p>\n

These are once in a lifetime events. \u00a0Even if you go more than once- each time you do, something new, amazing and rewarding can be taken away to teach them something special about the world around them, their own imaginations and even about you, too.<\/p>\n

A convention can be an excellent learning experience for children of all ages. \u00a0Ours being toddler age, the lessons included listening, following directions, stranger danger, not touching stuff on eye-level tables, playing games with other kids, sharing, knowing when things weren’t yours to play with, learning about different characters in the Star Wars universe, learning to be brave and willing to meet scary looking people, creatures and robots like Storm Troopers and Wookies, and so many other things like this guy…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0638\"<\/a>There were tons of events and activities for older kids, too. \u00a0Jedi Training Academy, art classes, video game previews, Droid classes, the list is endless.<\/p>\n

Sure, there are the “child haters”. \u00a0Yes, there are the heavy crowds full of people who glare at you because you have a stroller. Maybe even some who get the hallways confused with a library because they are trying to do something “serious” on their computer being charged at a random outlet and glare at your child who is running and laughing because it could quite possibly be the happiest day of his life thus far.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0443\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But those people should not and cannot break your spirit or your resolve that you made the right decision in taking them when you are holding the hand of a child who is experiencing the magic and wonder of an immersive experience with all their favorite things LITERALLY surrounding them.<\/p>\n

Those people who just don’t get it and all the hardships of the day just fade away behind this smile…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4764\"<\/a>Or this award-winning death scene…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4845\"<\/a>And\u00a0this heart-melting, precious moment with a pink Storm Trooper…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4922\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And this epic family photo…<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4783\"<\/a>Sure, it’s hard. \u00a0It requires massive amounts of patience. \u00a0They are going to act out. \u00a0They are going to want to touch stuff they shouldn’t. \u00a0They are going to get bored standing in lines. \u00a0They will want to run. \u00a0But… that’s every day, right? \u00a0You can handle it. \u00a0You may have to give up a few things, sacrifice a few “grown up” experiences like panels and movie previews and you may find yourself letting go of that undying NEED to buy that special, exclusive action figure, poster or tee shirt because the 4 year old doesn’t understand the value of those things compared to their need to pee.<\/p>\n

It requires proper, prior planning to ensure all the snacks, water, extra clothes, bathroom trips, meltdowns and requirements for treats and souvenirs are all managed, accommodated for and handled appropriately.\u00a0 It’s all part of the package and it can be a super stressful day if you don’t have all the tools to make it the best day possible, but it’s all so all worth it when, at the end of the day, their heads are dreamy,\u00a0full of amazing things they won’t soon forget and\u00a0excited for new adventures with you tomorrow, in whatever galaxy you travel to.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4913\"<\/a>\"IMG_0656\"<\/a>I will be recapping our adventures at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in greater detail in the upcoming days. \u00a0We saw SO MUCH there just is not time to fit it all into a\u00a0single article, so stay tuned for more including;<\/p>\n

Star Wars Celebration 2015; The Stuff (Things we wanted to buy and why it was\u00a0awesome)<\/p>\n

Star Wars Celebration 2015; The People (Costume groups and amazing individuals who made our experience fantastic)<\/p>\n

Star Wars Celebration 2015; The Family Check List for Attending Conventions (What we learned and how we can do better next time)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We got them dressed. We didn’t tell them where we were going. Or what we would find when we got there…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Star Wars Celebration 2015 http:\/\/wp.me\/p1opIU-2LO","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4,9,14],"tags":[200,198,197,157,155,199,191,158],"class_list":["post-10652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-and-reviews","category-lessons-from-the-mother-ship","category-news","tag-anaheim-ca","tag-anaheim-convention-center","tag-forbidden-panel","tag-lego-star-wars","tag-star-wars","tag-star-wars-anaheim","tag-star-wars-celebration-2015","tag-star-wars-kids"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1opIU-2LO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7356,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/star-wars-celebration-orlando-star-wars-celebration-not-coming-to-orlando\/","url_meta":{"origin":10652,"position":0},"title":"Star Wars Celebration Orlando: Star Wars Celebration not coming to Orlando","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"July 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There will be no Star Wars trilogy for Orlando. The Star Wars Celebration fan convention that descended on the Orange County Convention Center in 2010 and 2012 is heading to Anaheim in 2015. Star Wars Celebration VII will take place April 16-19, 2015 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10595,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/star-wars-celebration-day-1-our-adventure-begins\/","url_meta":{"origin":10652,"position":1},"title":"Star Wars Celebration Day 1…Our Adventure Begins","author":"Andrea LaBartunek","date":"April 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"To be honest for Adam and myself (Andrea), Star Wars week started for us Tuesday night at the Dodgers Baseball game. The stadium was invaded with Jedi, Storm Troopers and Darth Vader. They even gave out free T-shirts to commemorate the night. So, now, onward to the first day of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/image33-e1429246058440.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15000,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/star-wars-skips-comic-con-for-d23-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":10652,"position":2},"title":"\u201cStar Wars\u201d Skips Comic Con For D23 2017","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"July 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The two new films of Disney and Lucasfilm\u2019s \u201cStar Wars\u201d franchise, Rian Johnson\u2019s \u201cStar Wars: The Last Jedi\u201d and Ron Howard\u2019s \u201cHan Solo\u201d spin-off film, are reportedly sitting out this month\u2019s San Diego Comic Con. 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There is an awesome opportunity to be part of the creation of a new toy experience that I am SURE every geek I know will want to get in on! Do you want to be part of an amazing new Uncle Milton Star Wars toy?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"unnamed","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/unnamed-300x219.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10935,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/star-wars-celebration-a-weekend-adventure\/","url_meta":{"origin":10652,"position":4},"title":"Star Wars Celebration- A weekend adventure","author":"Andrea LaBartunek","date":"April 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow! What an amazing four day experience. 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