LFCC 2014 - experience of a newbie

[Jedimasterjon]

Hi everybody, this is my first posting on the forum, and I thought I would start by telling you about the experience I had of my first LFCC event. I have been to a couple of other showmasters events, such as DST1 and at Cardiff & MK and also another well-known SW convention in Florida, so I am not a complete newbie to the convention scene!

 

I decided to come after hearing that Ian Mcdiarmid was going to attend, being the huge SW fan that I am! Then when Stan Lee was announced that sealed the deal :) I bought an early bird ticket for Sunday and photoshoot tickets for both. I made the mistake when going to Florida of not pre-booking and I ended up being disappointed so now I always pre-book.

 

Then after finding out that John Hurt, Edward James Olmos & Carrie Fisher were going to be coming I decided to head down on the Saturday as well. I got an Early Bird ticket and photoshoot tickets for them all so that it was not a wasted journey. I also pre-ordered autographs for them all because I thought it would be too stressful to get autographs on the day as well! I also made a costume - steampunk Han Solo!

 

I got up early on Saturday -5am - then got a train from the Midlands - then tube to Earls Court for about 8:30. When I saw the queues I was shocked but glad I had an early bird! I did have a bit of trouble finding the right queue but it took about an hour and a half to get in. When inside it was a lot busier than the other conventions I have been to in the UK - the one in Florida had more people I am sure but never seemed crowded. I guess they just have more space for these kinds of things!

 

The photoshoots ran fairly smoothly. The staff did a good job considering there were a lot of people who weren't prepared to listen to instructions. I just waited patiently for my number to be called and didn't push forward.

 

I had to go back to my hotel about 12pm to drop my bags off and I was shocked by the number of people still queuing - I was just glad I had got an early-bird! I did feel sorry for them though - especially those in costume, but I guess they just took a risk that they would get in ok.

 

The talks did have a problem with sound - the paid talks could do with being held in a room where there is no background noise as the superstage suffered from this. The comic awards were shambolic but funny - thank goodness for Anthony Head!

 

The Sunday was more relaxed although I did get up early to get a good place in the queue. I even managed to get some autographs from Michael Madsen, Lena Headey & Michael Biehn that I hadn't planned. The most stressful time was waiting for the first Stan Lee photoshoot. I got there fairly early but was pushed back by other people walking up to the member of staff to be then told to move back. Some people need to learn to just have patience, wait calmly and listen.

 

In the end I got ALL the photoshoots and autographs I set out to get, including my treasured photo with Carrie Fisher! I even got some extra things I hadn't planned for and managed to leave in time to catch an earlier train. I was very tired but extremely happy!

 

I was worried that my pre-ordered autographs would not arrive - especially Stan Lee's - but they ALL came in good time on Thursday - most impressive!

 

So all things considered it was a great weekend - I got to meet some of my heroes and because I pre-ordered and planned ( got timetables, maps, water, food etc) it was not too stressful and I was not left disappointed. Bring on LFCC 2015!!