R2-D2 - Star Wars Fan Club Breakfast

ArtooDetoo.com Attends the Official Star Wars Fan Club Breakfast at Disney-MGM's Brown Derby Restaurant on June 7th.

Every seat in the house was taken by Star Wars Fans at the Brown Derby Restaurant at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, FL. Here fans get ready to enjoy breakfast sponsored by the Official Star Wars Fan Club. Notice all the goodies on the tables. Each fan received loads of stuff courtesy Hasbro, the Fan Club, and LucasFilm.

Mary Franklin, Director of Marketing & Operations for Paizo Publishing, and Editor of Bantha Tracks acts as master of ceremonies for the Fan Club Breakfast.

Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz address the fans. Lisa is the President of the Fan Club and CEO of Paizo Publishing, publishers of the Official Star Wars Fan Club Magazine, Star Wars Insider. Vic is Director of New Product Development and Associate Editor of Star Wars Insider.

Paul Palmer, Senior Brand Manager for Star Wars Toys at Hasbro, mixed with the crowd of fans at the breakfast. Here Paul is seen getting ready to take some fan pictures of his own.

Steve Sansweet listens to a fan's question as he enjoys a glass of fresh Florida Orange Juice at the Fan Club Breakfast held at the Brown Derby restaurant at Disney-MGM.

Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz address the room from the podium as fans line up to get autographs, pictures, and handshakes from Bulloch and Mayhew.

Mary Franklin, on right, shows off one of the door prizes given away at the breakfast: A Disney Star Wars Weekends poster that had been signed by all of the Star Wars celebrities that had been at the Weekends events since they opened in May. The killer thing about this particular poster was that I held a ticket that was one number away from winning. 716 won and I had 717. But, a miss is as good as a mile, and the lucky fan that did win was thrilled.

Steve Sansweet, the man who invented Star Wars collecting. Steve is the author of several Star Wars related books, and is now head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm. Steve addressed the crowd of fans at the breakfast, as Mary Franklin looks on. Steve told the fans to expect great things in the future for the Star Wars Fan Club.

Fans enjoy the company and choose the items they want signed as they wait after breakfast to get autographs of the two Stars in attendance that morning.

Each fan received tons of goodies as they left the breakfast. Included in the gifts were MicroMachines, posters, folders, sticker sheets, Topps trading cards, and a Lego mini building kit. All of this, and action figures of Boba Fett and Chewbacca.

Each guest also received a souvenir ticket to the breakfast from the Official Star Wars Fan Club.

Let the Fun Begin!
June 7th was the date of an exclusive Fan Club Breakfast held at Orlando Disney-MGM's elegant and famous Brown Derby restaurant of Hollywood, re-created on the grounds of the theme park. The breakfast, hosted by the Official Star Wars Fan Club, packed the house with excited and enthusiastic Fan Club members and their guests.

On hand to greet the fans were Lisa Stevens, who is not only an avid Star Wars collector, but is the President of the Fan Club and CEO of Paizo Publishing, publishers of the Official Star Wars Fan Club Magazine, Star Wars Insider. Vic Wertz, Director of New Product Development and Associate Editor of Star Wars Insider also participated in the day's events.

Mary Franklin, Director of Marketing & Operations for Paizo, and Editor of Bantha Tracks acted as master of ceremonies for the event. Bantha Tracks is published four times a year and is included in special issues of the Insider. Mary was the person that kept fans that registered for the event posted via email during the weeks leading up to the breakfast.

Steve Sansweet, World renowned Star Wars collector, author of several Star Wars related books, and head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm, and Paul Palmer, Senior Brand Manager of Star Wars toys for Hasbro also attended the breakfast and chatted with the fans.

Star Wars Stars Meet and Greet the Fans.
The celebrity guests at the breakfast were actors Peter Mayhew and Jeremy Bulloch. Bulloch is the man behind the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett. Fett captured the interest and imagination of Star Wars movie goers as the only bounty hunter Darth Vader spoke to. The character became the subject of books and comics, and his popularity with the fans certainly had an impact on the development of the story for EPII.

Mayhew, a gentle giant of a man, played Chewbacca, loyal sidekick of Han Solo and one of the central characters of the classic trilogy. Like Fett, Chewbacca, or "Chewy", has been immortalized in comic books, novels and action figures and is a huge favorite among fans. Mayhew's interpretation of Chewy is largely responsible for the popularity that the character now enjoys.

Great Food, Great Gifts, Great Fun!
Fans were treated to a sumptuous breakfast and loads of gifts from the Fan Club, Lucasfilm, and Hasbro. As the fans made their way to the tables, they found a SAGA action figure of Chewbacca and Boba Fett at each place (compliments of Hasbro), along with a souvenir ticket made especially for the event courtesy of the Official Star Wars Fan Club and emblazoned with pictures of Fett and Chewbacca.

While waiting to be served by the gracious and efficient staff at the Brown Derby, fans could partake of a fresh fruit cup, coffee, fresh orange juice, and breads, muffins, and pastries that were abundant on each table. Friendly chatter filled the dinning room decorated with caricatures of hundreds of movie stars from Hollywood's "Golden Age" and beyond. What better place to celebrate one of the best stories of all time? After a breakfast that included a delicious veggie omelet, crisp bacon and tasty breakfast potatoes, fans had the wonderful opportunity to chat with the celebrities and get autographs from legends Mayhew and Bulloch. While video taping was not allowed, fans were encouraged to take all the still photos they wanted.

As the fans enjoyed the company of one another, Stevens, Sansweet and Palmer all spoke in turn to the audience about the wonderful opportunities that the future holds for the Fan Club. Steve Sansweet remarked that Kenner used to have a saying that Star Wars would never die, and that because of the phenomenal response of the fans to the movies, we were about to embark on a whole new chapter of fandom. Steve's words garnered hearty approval from the crowd.

Paul Palmer spoke to the crowd about how impressed Hasbro was with the strength, loyalty and love that Star Wars fans displayed toward the movies and how happy and excited Hasbro was to be a part of it all. The crowd responded with cheers and applause as he said that there were plenty of new things in the works from Hasbro for Star Wars fans in the coming months and years.

Lisa Stevens thanked everyone, fans and guests, for attending the morning's special event, and said that the Fan Club was enjoying the beginning of a new life that promised to be exciting for everyone involved. If the breakfast is any indication of what the "new" Fan Club has to offer, we can't wait!

All This, and Door Prizes, Too!
Fans had been given numbered tickets as they entered the park and told to hang on to them. During the course of the breakfast, Mary Franklin randomly drew numbers for door prizes that included a vinyl AOTC poster used for the IMAX opening; a Star Wars Weekends poster that had been autographed by each of the Star Wars stars that had been at the park since the beginning of Star Wars Weekends in May; and two chances to ride with Mayhew and Bulloch in the motorcade/parade that happened later in the morning.

Goodies and Gifts Galore!
To top off the morning's activities, each breakfast guest received an AOTC "Size Matters Not" IMAX movie poster, (rolled and in a protective tube) and a bag loaded with goodies as they left the restaurant. The gifts included a MicroMachines miniature three pack; a Lego Mini Star Wars building set; well over a dozen Topps trading card packs; several Star Wars postcards, folders, fold-out posters and sticker sheets, and souvenir invitations to the Smithsonian Museum's National Air and Space opening of the "Star Wars Magic of the Myth" display in 1997.

Breakfast ended with enough time for the fans to carry their goodies back to their cars and get back to the park as the gates opened at 9am. Everyone was smiling and laughing as they left, and it was more than evident that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast and all of its activities.

We had a great time! The atmosphere was friendly and jovial. The food was great and the people were terriffic.The fans were happy to be there, as were the speakers and guests. We hope that the Official Star Wars Fan Club will plan more of these events in the future and, more importantly, that Fan Club Members will support them. The Fan Club can be a source of excitement and entertainment for its members if they support it. The Club can also be an invaluable way for fans to communicate to Lucasfilm and to Hasbro.

JOIN THE CLUB!
As Lisa and her staff have shown, we can have a Fan Club that is fun, exciting, and rewarding to be a part of. If you aren't a member and you like Star Wars, ArtooDetoo.com strongly urges you to get off your duff and become a member! All you have to do to be a member in the Official Star Wars Fan Club is subscribe to the Star Wars Insider magazine. You can go HERE to subscribe. Just scroll down the page when the link opens and hit "subscribe". Follow the instructions and fill out the form. That's all there is to it. Believe me, if you're a fan, it's well worth it. The magazine alone is worth the price of the subscription, but by joining you'll get so much more! Do it now! The more members the Fan Club has, the better it will become.

ArtooDetoo.Com is an independent Fan site. ArtooDetoo.com is in no way affiliated with Lucasfilm, Hasbro, Disney, or Paizo Publishing. Star Wars and the characters mentioned in this article are the property of Lucasfilm. All rights reserved. "Star Wars Weekends" is a trademark of Disney. Star Wars Insider is the magazine of the Official Star Wars Fan Club. Droids just wanna have fun.