L.A. is a good place for a Star Wars fan

I gripe about Los Angeles. It’s a big, stinky city and I feel like I spend a lot of my life here sitting in traffic. One day I’ll move back to a place with trees and rain, but for now, this is home. Fortunately, lots of cool and geeky things happen here. Just in the next few months, there are enough awesome Star Wars events happening in the area to make any fan drool! Right now, this city is a good place to be.

March 31 – Star Wars Miniland opens at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA
I’ve been meaning to visit this amusement park for a while, and the inclusion of a whole miniland just for Star Wars seals the deal. There will be seven murals depicting scenes from the films and from the animated series, The Clone Wars. Here’s a picture of the Milliennium Falcon being moved in!

June 3 & 4 – Stars Wars in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl
Shaky YouTube videos have been my only experience with this concert so far. The sound was spotty, but it was still powerful and left me awestruck at the edge of my desk chair. I can’t imagine what it will be like in person. Check out this video for Duel of the Fates from a 2009 concert.


Star Wars In Concert: Duel of the Fates from Matthew Rex Downham on Vimeo.


June 3 – Star Tours 2.0 opens at Disneyland
The classic Disney ride is getting a makeover, and fans in Southern California get to see everything soon! We know that passengers will get to visit Coruscant and Tatooine, and more destinations are still a mystery. Boba Fett, Leia, Chewbacca, and more familiar faces will make appearances. Yes, this is one of few rides I will stand in an hour or longer line for.

View more concept art in this LA Times gallery.

I know it’s a stretch of a few hundred miles, but WonderCon is April 1-3 in San Francisco. You can find a list of all the Star Wars panels on the schedule at StarWars.com.

Yeah, I'm a pretty happy fan right now.  Hope to see some of you at these events!