CV Day 1

Today was day 1 at Celebration V in Orlando. As expected, I got a bit of a late start, and by the time I arrived, the media was well entrenched.




When I got in, the line had literally thousands of people in it. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on an Exhibitor badge today and did not have to stand in it. This is only half the line, the other half was behind me, and both ends stretched off into the horizon.



Once inside, I stopped by the Droid Building 101 panel, and took a few pictures as Doug Dixon, Moose Mendolia, Max Cervantes and Cory Pacione discussed basic droid building, moderated by Ben Lewitt.





Back in the room, some Throne Room Leias stopped by for some pictures.



I had a chance to stop by the 501st's room, and they had some very nice costumes on display, as well as set pieces.




I got to meet 501st co-founder Albin Johnson in person for the first time, as he posed with his daughter, and R2-KT.



The Belgian contingent provided outstanding setups and costumes, recreating elements of Jabba's sail barge, along with some Episode IV cantina characters. For some reason, I love this picture.



I also had some time to spend chatting with Moose Mendolia and the Nebraska builders. They are great folks, cranking out great droids. Moose even let me drive Patches.



I wrapped up the day by taking some pictures around the room again. So many droids, so little time...








We were notified that tomorrow we will have a special visitor in the room before show-opening. We were also told no pictures are allowed, so I don't know if I will or won't be able to get any pictures of this visit, but I'll try.

Today's full photoset is here.