The Phantom Menace

I don't have words. Checking other coverage of the event doesn't give the view of the convention that I saw. There's some good ones out there; see the links on the right. For best picture variety, see the official Star Wars coverage, for best in-depth reports some of the sessions, see TheForce.net, and for best "personal" (and frequent) impressions, see the USA Today blog.

One facility employee said he had never seen so many people in the complex. Today was supposedly the lightest day in attendance.

We picked the most poorly managed area of the convention to visit first: the official merchandise store. Thousands spent 2-10 hours in line in this store today. A couple I spoke to arrived at 6 AM and took their place in line outside the convention center a block from the entrance. When doors opened at 12, they went straight to the store, and left with their merchandise at 4:30 PM. We arrived at 10:30 AM, outside, and left the store at 6:30.

Having left the lines, the atmosphere was great, and put us in a great frame of mind to tackle real actual stuff in day two.

Our story is best told in pictures, but there are a lot that we don't have. View a glimpse into our day here.