Disney's Star Wars Weekends - Part 1: In The Park

This year I was able to experience Disney's Star Wars Weekends not only as a 501st member, but also for the first time as a park guest. Which is where I will start. This year I had a couple tickets left over to take my son, Gavin with me. We got there early enough to get fast passes to meet Jake Lloyd who over the past has gained a stubborn reputation but I found him a really cool guy. He chatted with Gavin about being nearly his age when filming Phantom Menace and asked if he ever thought about being in a movie. Then he saw my 501st shirt and laughed, telling me that he had friends in the Rebel Legion and in the Mandalorian Mercs, but thought we were a little too snooty with costumes. I had to reply take it up with Lucasfilm, they want us to be as screen accurate as possible.

If there is one thing that SWW is well known for is their Swag! They have huge store set up named the Darth's Mall where many exclusive items are sold plus some really cool Star Wars items like the Wampa hat below and a whole store set up inside for Her Universe. There was also copies and original fine art on sale, and yes one with a Wampa.

Another benefit of showing up early is being able to participate in the Jedi Training Academy, where they teach you the ways and moves of being a Jedi and they bring out Darth Vader and a second badie, this time Darth Maul, sometimes Asajj Ventress to test out their skills. Gavin got to challenge Darth Maul, but later said he could take them and their moves are too slow! Got to love the confidence of a 7yo.

Also we got to watch the parade from the crowd this time, and getting to hear and watch the fans from the sidelines is a totally different experience than being in the parade. When marching especially in bad guy armor, you have to be very stiff and militaristic. This time I got to cheer on the bad guys and boo the rebels! Where normally I hear the opposite. Disney really lets everyone know through their shows and employees that they are always rooting for the good guys and the bad guys, just like many Disney villains are just that bad guys. So through the day I enjoyed poking fun at any employee that gave a fun  little mocking jab in return at my 501st shirt calling me a Empire Sympathiser.

As for all the extra goodies and shows that they had in the park, I really wanted to attend some of the Q&As but my son being 7 didn't quite get the concept of sitting and listen to someone talk. So I let him do what he wanted to and ride rides and go see other features like one of his favorite spots in the park, the Walt Disney: One Man's Dream exhibit. I think it is really cool that he enjoys museum type exhibits and loves history. 

We ended the day watching the Hyperspace Hoopla which is the big show at the end of the day, the hoopla is the dance battle between good and bad and it is crowd voting on who wins, when we were there the Empire won, which was awesome. My son loved Palpatine and the punching bag. 

Part 2 coming later this week.. 

Happy 501st Day everyone!

Well folks, it is May 1st, better known to costumers as 501st Day. Deciding to join the 501st was one of the greatest decisions I have made and would recommend it to anyone. We are often mistaken as a bunch of nerds and geeks that can't get women and like to prance around in costumes and play with our pew pew plastic guns, I have seen the news stories. But that would be the furthest from the truth. I have found a new family within the Legion, a group of super creative craftsmen and women who share the love of a movie franchise, but also have huge hearts that take the time to volunteer their time and resources to bring smiles to children's faces.

While in the 501st I have participated in many events that involved sick children including Autism, Cystic Fibrosis, Hydrocephalus and even met some Make-A-Wish kids at Star Wars Weekends. These troops can be very difficult because can be hard to stay in character when meeting these kids. It is always humbling knowing that your day to day issues are nothing in comparison to their struggles.

Like I mentioned before we are one big family thousands strong around the world. When we hear of a fallen trooper that has succumb to an illness or was in an accident, you feel it as if you have lost a close friend. The same when you hear of one of the kids you met have passed. It can really get to you, but it just drives you more to want to participate and get more creative and move on to the next best costume.

I have been part of the Legion since 2010, right before Star Wars Celebration V and now we are on the eve of Celebration VI. When I started I only had the wampa, attending a convention knowing very little people in a big costume I felt like I was on my own in a way in a organization filled with people in armor. Now going into CVI, I have 5 costumes planned. Plus I will get to meet up with all the new friends I have made in the past years. It will truly be a family reunion of sorts. I really look forward to seeing my Stormtrooper mentor Hyper, and the rest of the Great Lakes Garrison who brought me up to Michigan last year for a troop. They were the ones that really opened up my eyes with the legion beyond Florida.

Plus there is no better place to see creativity on display then Celebration. 501st members from all over the world will be meeting in Orlando this summer, and expect BIG surprises from some garrisions. Trust me, I have seen what the Belgian's have been up to!

http://www.501st.com/
http://starwarscelebration.com/

Check out the Star Wars Celebration VI commercial

Check out some of my fellow 501st buddies in the national commercial with Mayor Teresa Jacobs as Princess Leia welcoming people to Orange County to visit Star Wars Celebration VI. Tampa Bay Squad members include Tim as Darth Maul, Jason as Tarfful, Mark the Royal Guard, Brian as Darth Vader and Gaines as an Imperial Officer. Also included a handful of other 501st and Rebel Legion guys and girls to round out an even amount of good and bad. Great job guys!

The Latest Sith Lord in the 501st! I have been approved!

Yes folks, my latest costume was approved this week, and this has been one of my dream costumes since joining the 501st. I am now SL-2638, representing the Sith Lord Emperor Palpatine. The biggest bad guy in the entire Star Wars Saga. (well not including Jar Jar Binks, but that would be a topic that would fill an entire post.) I am a big fan of good ol' Palpy. It all started as a kid when I got one of these in the mail.

Kenner made Palpatine one of their mail away figures. To a 9yo kid this was one of those things that blew your mind. I got this guy and he is special, he was the one that was Darth Vader's boss! Sure we saw the monkey faced version of him in Empire, but once Jedi came out that was it, he was the real bad guy. Watching Vader act like his lapdog and unable to resist, he really scared the crap out of kids. But why would I want to scare kids..... oh, well because it is fun. With a face like this, you do get double takes from the little kids.

 But that really isn't what we are supposed to do in the 501st. So what approach do you take when playing the character. Some folks stick with the stoic approach. The senator that rose to power to control the entire galaxy without whining about his dead family (take that Anakin!). Sure that is a good approach, but after watching the movies as many times as I have I see another character. A cocky smartass that is drunk with power. Just watch as he snubs and toys with the Jedi in the prequels, watch as he mocks Luke and belittles Vader all in one breath. And being the smartass that I am, I have a lot of fun playing with the kids, and nobody helped that character develop into a fun one to play to the kids than Robot Chicken.



Seth Green and his bunch saw Palpatine the same way I did. I personally think Palpy stole the show in all 3 of their Star Wars episodes. With him, I knew I would have to talk to people in this costume, and well I don't have the accent of the great Ian McDiarmid, I would have to find a voice for the character. It only took one time for someone to walk up to me and give me the "My Lord" from the clip above to know thats what I have to do. The first troop I did in the prosthetics, I couldn't shut up. I had kids surrounding me asking me questions like I was the Dark Lord of the Sith wondering who trained me, why did I chose Darth Maul, Dooku and Vader. I was having a blast. By adding a little bit of Robot Chicken Palpy, my vast knowledge of Star Wars, and coming off listening to the Darth Plagueis novel, I had all the answers which actually had the parents starting to ask questions. It is fun having Darth Maul at the troops being able to try to recruit new young apprentices  getting down to their level and saying "oh that guy gets cut in half" or pointing to Vader and giggling and saying "Ohhh I miss Padme". Oh and the laugh, boy is that fun. So expect to see more of Palpatine around the Tampa Bay area, Star Wars Celebration VI and maybe even marching in Star Wars Weekends Parade at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

We were pirates at the The Disney Dream Christening!

The 501st was asked to help launch with the christening of their latest cruise ship the Disney Dream. 66 of us dressed as pirates and acted out a skit with Captain Jack Sparrow.

This is the amazing thing about the 501st. Although it wasn't an official event for them, Disney thought of us to be their crew of pirate baddies. Not every day you get a chance to be part of a 700 person cast with the top brass of Disney right there in the crowd. I could not pass this once in a lifetime opportunity.

There was a lot of secrecy when it came to this event. We got very little info from Disney and that was understandable given the surprises involved in the show (like Jennifer Hudson's appearance). We had no idea what we would be dressed up like. Were we going to be Capt. Hook cartoony pirates, are we going to be generic Disney pirates, or dirty realistic Pirates of the Caribbean pirates. We lucked out and got the PotC costumes, and boy was there a variety. My costume was interesting and a little miss matched. I had the shirt and pants of a deckhand and a long captain jacket. I had to find a belt and hat from the extras table. Genna had a wig that more resembled Joan Jett than a pirate wench. Others actually involved fruit with their outfit for comedic effect including Duck and his pirate pear!

Our task was to run on stage carrying props, mine was a black pirate flag, and pose while we got audio cues from Capt. Jack, which most of the time we couldn't hear, not until we saw the video did we finally get the plot. We would laugh at his jokes, point to the ship and then change positions. Then throw little foam doubloons to the crowd and then duck for cover from him firing his cannon. At the end of the finale we would also come out with a big ladder and do our cheesy hand waves with the music and then pose as they cracked the giant bottle against the ship. Now we aren't really in the video because we were all the way on the far right side of the stage but it wasn't really about face time on tv or for the cameras. It was more to say to the grand kids that you helped launch a cruise ship.

After we were done we got, I got to see one of the funniest moments of the event. Redboy down in Everglades Squad has been begging to wear the wampa. I thought he was just crazy enough to try on the wampa stilts. I have seen many people try my stilts on for the first time, and they get wobbly kneed and give up after less than 5 minutes... Redboy was no different, in his own words, he fell in slow motion! Once again, I think I proved the point that noone is crazy enough to wear the Wampa other than me.

Introducing The Jolly Wampa - The Official WampaDude Logo

For a while I felt that I needed a brand for myself and this roller coaster ride that has been my experience with the Wampa and the 501st. I have seen many individuals withing the group marketing their alias with patches and shirts and since the Wampa seems to become a popular costume, I felt  the need to come up with a symbol that represented myself and the costume. In the past years my logos revolved around the simple pirate jolly roger design. The TampaBayDrunks logo consisted of a skull and cross beers and for some reason this never clicked until the pirate event we attended for the launch of the Disney Dream.

So here is the design, a Wampa skull and cross bones dubbed the Jolly Wampa. I pondered changing out the bones with lightsabers, blasters or something a little more Star Wars but when it came down to it, I settled with the bones when one of the scenes has him gnawing on a big bloody leg bone of the Tauntaun.

I have had a few people already say they would buy anything I put this logo on, and here are some lofty ideas including a shirt, a patch and for some reason I like the idea of it as a biker vest logo. I plan on trying to submit them to the daily t-shirt sites first like TeeFury and RiptApparel and may consider doing a run of the patches for conventions and on the boards. 

501st Troop Report - The R2-D2 Droid Phone Release Party

We were recently asked to help with the Verizon R2-D2 droid phone release party. They went all out with spotlights, free pizza, free Chick-fil-A and they even brought out the cow. There was a light turnout but this was another great time to bond with the new family that is the 501st. This was also the first troop testing out the new shoulders on the wampa. They felt great and the posability with the fans was really improved. The night ended with one of our very own 501st members winning a new R2-D2 droid phone!

Next troop: Star Wars Grand Florida Alliance at Emerald City

Verizon Droid R2-D2 Phone Release Party with the Wampa!

Meet the Wampa, Anakin Skywalker, IG-88, Darth Vader and more when the 501st & Rebel Legion helps launch the Droid R2-D2 in Florida. Wednesday Sept. 29th at Verizon on Park St. in St. Petersburg, FL

Costume contest wins a FREE R2-D2 Phone!

Check Out This Fan Video - The 501st Group Photo with the Wampa

I found this amazing video from the 3rd level shot by Pitu Vision. You can hear the enthusiasm of a fan as he narrates what he is seeing. It also shows my favorite candid moment of the 501st photo, the late arrival of Greedo. You can hear all the guys shouting out "Greedooooooo" at the 7:50 moment. We do have some obscure characters and you can hear him trying to figure them out. His "Ball Sack" Alien interpretation of Ponda Boba did catch me off guard.

Star Wars Celebration V Review: Day 3 - Part 2: The 501st Group Photo

(click to enlarge...see if you can find me!)

For me I can pinpoint the exact moment when I knew I had to go to Star Wars Celebration V. There were rumors, will it be Orlando, will it be Chicago, Steve Sansweet kept playfully dancing around the subject in any of his interviews. It was October of last year in a Spirit Halloween store. While taking my kids to check out costumes by the front door they had a display, win CV tickets. How can you have a contest if there hasn't even been an announcement for one? There wasn't even an official logo on it. But they did use a great trick to get kids and adults hooked into putting entering the contest, a photo of hundreds of imperial costumes... it was the Celebration 4 501st Group Photo seen below.


(The 501st Celebration 4 Group Photo)

I would sit there and stare at it like a kid in a candy shop window, trying to figure out all the costumes. Hey there is a Grevious, and a Darth Traya, that Darth Maul is short, I could probably pull it off. I actually hunted down the photo online and looked at it at home. Eventually they announced that Celebration will be in Orlando, right here in Florida, and that got me really excited to go. As I said before I want to build a costume and since I go big, I went with the wampa. I wanted to make something that would be noticeable and it was for my love of the movies and wanted to do something to give back. I had looked up before if a wampa was 501st eligible and figured it would be a long shot. I thought to myself, damn I would love to be part of that photo that sold me on going to CV.

So fast forward to Saturday at Celebration, the day of the group photo. We finally made it outside of the 501st room in the little hallway that we found that we could suit up without a crowd and rested for a bit. Although this was away from the crowds we still got traffic anytime someone saw the suit and even had a reporter come over and ask some questions. We started to hear the call out to the legion members from the atrium below and knew it was time for the Wampa to make it's appearance. We got dressed and headed to the near by elevator.

As soon as the elevator doors opened and I stepped foot into the opening where everyone was assembling, a roar came over the crowd..... the Wampa had arrived. I wasn't even in full suit, my arms were out and had the head in my hand but the crowd and the fellow 501st members didn't care, they just erupted. It was an amazing feeling, the 6 months of building, the hard times the day before the pain I was in wearing it for the 3rd day in a row, every hardship I felt for the suit just melted away and pride overtook everything. The goal of the suit was to give back to Lucasfilm and the fans and this was the moment I knew that the suit was a success.



All weekend when someone complimented me about the suit, I tried to be as humble. I tried to redirect any praise towards the good deeds that the 501st did. I didn't want anyone to get the impression that I was out for personal glory or to out do any other costume makers or prop builders and take any attention from the stars of the movies that were there. But at that moment I felt like one of those stars. But the minute I stepped into my place for the photo any feeling of individual accomplishments meant nothing to me. I was part of something much bigger.


(Hyper getting a nose full of wampa butt)

I am a firm believer in the power of group thought. Each one of these brothers and sisters standing next to me have built their suits for the same reason. They love the Star Wars movies, they do it for the fans and many of them built their suits to be part of the good will and charity that the 501st represents. Our charter does not allow us to accept payment for appearances. In return we ask the hosts to make a charitable donation. This is why you can understand my feeling that you really become part of a greater good. So my suit is big, it dosen't make it any better than those hundreds of other 501st costumes next to me, each one of them deserved to have that same reaction from the crowd when they took the floor. Some of these guys have 20, 50, 100 troops under their belt, take our new buddy Craig "Hyper" Provine who was two rows behind me, he has over 160 of them. I want you to take a moment and look at the list of the troops he has made, all the great causes, he is what I inspire to be. This is what the 501st does all around the world. You could feel that sense of pride in the air and it was humbling to be part of it.



There were chants of 5 0 1.. there was the collective chants of character names when they were coming in a little late, my favorite was GREEEEDO!!!!!! When the celebrities in the pics arrived like Adrianne Curry and Dave Filoni the legion and the crowd started hooting and hollering, but the biggest cheer of them all came when the founder of the 501st, Albin Johnson arrived, the fans probably didn't know him but boy did the legion, the crowd soon caught on and cheered with us. I took a look at the crowd form my high vantage point. The stairs were filled with photographers, there were 2 more levels going up with people hanging off of the ledges. We were the biggest thing going on at that convention, it was time.



We were set for our photo though it took a few attempts, step forward, buckets off, buckets on, buckets off again... wait a bit, buckets on, take a few more steps forward, then once again buckets off. I did get accused of cheating once when they called buckets off, everyone held them high... well I got big arms, I held those about 3 feet higher than everyone else, it was a good laugh, but I did follow along with everyone else the next time and held the wampa head high. Once we were done the crowd showed their appreciation and the legion gave one big hoot and broke position.

Now all of the individual 501st detachments to get their group photos, the Imperial Officers, the F.I.D.S.(First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment) and all the rest, but the Wampa really doesn't fit any of these detachments, and I do regret not staying around, because I am sure many of the individuals would of loved to have my picture taken with them, but someone else had bigger plans for me, and pretty much kidnapped the Wampa as soon as the photo ended.....

and that comes with Day 3 - Part 3: LEGOs, and Droids and Rebels.. Oh My.

Stay tuned

Star Wars Celebration V Review: Day 1 - A Night With The Wampa At ICEBAR

Down the street from the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive is ICEBAR Orlando. When I saw a post on the 501st boards and hearing that there will be an actual room that is kept at 27*f I knew I had to take the Wampa in there. So after we dropped off my son and a bit of a break we headed down the street to ICEBAR.

Inside is a regular bar called the fire lounge. This is your typical bar with an added fire theme. But the real attraction is the ICEBAR. Inside here it is lined with blocks of ice and they offer a poncho and gloves for anyone heading in. Fellow 501st legion members showed up as well as one pesky Jedi and we had a blast posing with customers and ourselves. They also have their own photographer on hand to bring home a souvenir of your experience.

The alcohol inside the Icebar is actually served in cups made of ice and there was a big penguin that you can take shots off of too. To help with the Star Wars theme inside they also had some of the wampa rugs and tauntaun and wampa ice sculptures that they were providing for the Hoth Ice Bar inside the convention center.

This place has a great gimmick and normal admission is $20, I would recommend it to anyone staying on I-Drive in Orlando and if you have a night to spare

My Wampa is now a part of the Wretched Hive!

Who knew when I was building this that the Wampa going to be eligible for both the 501st and the Rebel Legion. While posting in the 501st boards, the suit caught the eye of the CO of Rebel Legion's Ra Kura Base (Florida) and she said I should apply over there too. Now the suit has been approved by both costuming groups. To add to the membership the Rebel Legion, the Wampa has been added to a group known as The Wretched Hive. They are a group consisting of all alien species and not to mention an awesome logo. So now going into Star Wars Celebration V, it seems like I have a lot of support to help me along entertaining the fans!

My First Troop with the 501st

This weekend I participated in my first troop with the 501st Florida Garrison - Tampa Bay Squad. We were at the last regular season for the Tampa Bay Storm. I got to say I was nervous being the guy in the unconventional costume around a bunch of seasoned troopers. But after meeting everyone and having a fellow trooper Jason help me out, I felt right in place. With us was Darth Vader, ANH Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ep. III Anakin Skywalker, Jango Fett, an Imperial Officer, a 501st Clone Trooper, a Sandtrooper, a Snowtrooper and a handfull of TK Stormtroopers. We had a meet and greet on the plaza before the game, though because of the heat (over 95*) they kept myself and fellow furball Chewbacca inside as much as possible. We made our appearances in front the stadium on the plaza, through the hallways by the ticket gates and even in the Suite level where they had us positioned for the whole stadium to see.

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The costume held up quite well. I was able to stay in costume for over an hour with the head on, which is something I had not attempted yet. It is more of a mind over matter situation, when you are in character you tend to not think about yourself, especially when kids are coming up and hugging you. I have always said to do something like this you have to have a little bit of an "Evel Knievel" gene in you. Putting your body on the line to give the fans what they want. My only regret is I did not bring my camel pack. The 501st handlers did a great job of providing us ice and water when away from the crowds, but there was that long stint that if I had some water then I could probably of been much more comfortable inside, I really started to feel the effects of the heat at the end. The fan in the back was also a big help, and I got some tips on how to improve it from fellow legionnaires.

For being in a big costume for the first time in years it felt good, but this time there was something more. This time there was a overwhelming feeling that I was part of something bigger. Before my costume was mine, as an individual. This time I was there in front of thousands of people, representing Star Wars. Watching people flock with cameras and wanting their pictures taken is a great feeling, and knowing that we do it many times to promote a great cause is an even better feeling. To stand next to legendary screen characters like Darth Vader, Princess Leia & Chewbacca was a childhood dream. To be recognized as one of them 12 months ago wasn't even in my thought process. And here I am, a member of the 501st. I would recommend this to anyone!

Amazing new entry for the 501st TK Project

This TK Demon Helmet has been created by Melita Curphy from MissMonster.com

The horns/teeth, etc are hand sculpted from epoxy clay. The helmet was painted with acrylic with several layers of wet/dry applications...no airbrushing. The forehead eye has been painted with flourescent orange and will glow in certain light. The mohawk is made from high quality National Fiber Technology hair that i hand dyed.

Come see this and many more TK helmets at Celebration V where they will be auctioned off to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation.

The Wampa is now a proud member of the 501st Legion

I am pleased to say that the Wampa has been accepted into the 501st. For those who do not know who the 501st is, they are the World's Definitive Imperial Costuming Organization. If you have seen a Darth Vader or a Stormtrooper on TV or at an event, more than likely they were a member of the 501st. As much as they are known for representing Star Wars in the public they are equally praised for their charity work. Making appearances at children's hospitals and the fulfilling the requests for Make-A-Wish, the 501st menbers are true heroes in the eyes of many kids.

Here is a thier mission from their charter:

"...The Legion is an all-volunteer organization formed for the express purpose of bringing together costume enthusiasts under a collective identity within which to operate. The Legion seeks to promote interest in Star Wars through the building and wearing of quality costumes, and to facilitate the use of these costumes for Star Wars-related events as well as contributions to the local community through costumed charity and volunteer work..."


To Promote Interest in Star Wars
While a growing number of people are experiencing a reawakening of their Star Wars fandom, new generations are seeking ways to celebrate their passion for George Lucas's modern mythology. The 501st Legion brings these fans together, reinforcing the enduring longevity of the Star Wars saga.

To Facilitate the Use of Costumes
Some fans are content to collect action figures...other fans want to be action figures. Nothing professes your passion quite like building your own detailed costume replica of a classic Star Wars villain, and there's nothing quite like the feeling that comes from bringing the characters of Star Wars into the real world and sharing the magic with others.

To Contribute
While our organization was founded to simply provide a collective identity for costuming fans with similar interests, the 501st is proud to put its resources to good use through fundraising, charity work, and volunteerism.