UPDATE: DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON WEEKEND was amazing.

The Disneyland Half Marathon had 18,000 runners attend and now the races are over and many of the runners are looking to the next Disney race in their future. Perhaps it’s the Tower of Terror or the Wine and Dine in Orlando, Florida or Avengers at Disneyland here in Anaheim, California. We always have so much fun so it’s only natural to get excited for the next one. I hope you’ll consider joining us for the next one.

It was great to see all of you who came out to enjoy the fun. Thank you for finding me to say hello. This year the races were full of surprises for me. One was that Stitch turned out to be the spokes-alien for the 5k and the 10k. The T-shirt was to die for and the medals, stunning making finishing even more rewarding. It was great to see everyone get so excited to see Stitch.

Secondly, I was also invited to be a guest of Tim Callaway at the Mouse Castle Lounge, his podcast. You can hear all about the race from Sean Astin, myself and more.

Finally, I got to visit the amazing home of Kevin and Jan Doherty. What an amazing experience. They collect everything Disney, like many of you. I’m always so impressed with how collections are displayed and organized. A highlight for yours truly, besides getting to chat with all the folks who attended the party, was to see all the ride vehicles they have collected and displayed so beautifully in the home and backyard. My personal favorite was a classic Autopia car designed and also signed by Imagineer Legend Bob Gurr. Wow! It was super cool . . . and as a special feature it had all of Bob’s favorite Martini ingredients on ice in the trunk!

Lots of pictures were taken so be sure to go to my Facebook page and check them out.

Now, on with the show. To catch up with my four part Star Wars story, please follow these links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

STAR WARS: THE FILM THAT CHANGED MY LIFE-Part 4

I wish I could find the picture that was in every paper coast to coast. I looked so goofy. I was in a corduroy coat with a hat on top of my hair that had expanded due to the moisture in the air. I looked just like the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

At long last it was showtime and the rope was dropped. I alone crossed to the ticket booth, the rest of the crowd was held back. The cameras filmed my every move as I went to buy the first ticket. There wasn’t a single television or radio station that hadn’t come to cover this night as the line and crowd was so huge you couldn’t get within 2 blocks in every direction of the theater.

I paid my money, held the ticket up for the cameras to see, then turned and began to walk toward the theater entrance. I think people were applauding.

The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood had a long outdoor corridor between the booth and the entrance.

The walk seemed to take forever as I was going on very little sleep, but I felt like I was floating as my heart raced. I was finally going to see The Empire Strikes Back. My hand reached out to open the door, as it opened the crowd erupted in cheers.

In I went and grabbing some popcorn and a drink I went down the center aisle to the third row, third seat and settled in. I was the only one in the theater.

Suddenly the aisles were full of chatter as the crowd scrambled to take their seats as well.

The newspapers reported that everyone chanted my name, Terri, Terri, Terri, much like in the film Rollerball when the crowds chant Jonathan’s name. However that was not exactly the truth.

The truth is that as I went back up the aisle to visit the lady’s room, people would call to me trying to get my attention.

“Terri!” and I’d smile and wave. Then again they’d call out, Terri! and again I would smile and wave.

The film began and I almost fell asleep. I didn’t, but it sure took all my will to stay awake. The film was beyond anything I could have imagined. Far better then the first and so much better then the third Star Wars installment. The Empire Strikes Back took my breath away.

There’s no need for me to elaborate, as you all know exactly what I mean. From every battle to Yoda saying, “There is another” we all screamed and clapped. The curtain closed and the crowd went mad, cheering and clapping. I got up to leave and was met by the theater manager who invited me to come back soon.

“Call me anytime and I let you in for free.”

I did call him and he met me at the door, “I have a surprise for you.”

He led me down to my seat, third row, third seat. My eyes widened as I saw that the seat had a velvet rope across it and on it was a sign that said Reserved for Terri Hardin.

I saw The Empire Strikes Back 91 times at the Egyptian Theater, always sitting in my very own seat.

For the most part, my Star Wars experience had a Happily Ever After tone to it. But that’s not entirely true. Everyone’s journey is their own and it is the struggle that make us stronger. Remember, a dream is worth fighting for, so never ever give up on your dreams.

In the weeks that followed, many things occurred. The good things were that many people from all over the world had heard that I collected one-sheets (the movie posters you see displayed in theaters) and they sent them to me to add to my collection. One of my favorite one-sheets came from Poland.

Another great thing, or so I thought at the time, was being invited on a talk show to speak about my love for Star Wars. When I got on the show, I found that I was part of a group of people who had all seen the films multiple times. Opposite us was a group of doctors who sat and discussed right there on the show if we were crazy or not.

“Harmless fandom or serious disorder, we’ll be right back after this commercial.”

Have you ever been in a situation like this due to your love of Disney? It was just absurd. To make matters worse, the other guests had only seen these films a handful of times. Then there was me, miss 181 + 91. These TV doctors looked at me as if sizing me up for a straight jacket.

Then there was the time I finally got to go on an interview to work on a film. A guy narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.

“Aren’t you that crazy girl who stood in line for Star Wars?”

When I answered yes, I almost didn’t get the job as it turns out that the film industry is not a big fan of squid fans (A squid is someone so obsessed with the thing they love, as in my case with Star Wars, that our tentacles just attach onto everything and grab it.), I was definitely this type of fan back then I assure you.

All in all, I have Star Wars to thank for my career in the film industry. I’ll always be grateful to the young George Lucas who had a dream and never gave up.

I will say that I wish that George had remembered his younger self when he made the prequels. He didn’t want to make those films and it showed. Seeing the prequels truly hurt my feelings as these films disregarded everything that the original three had so cleverly laid out.

It didn’t have to be that way. There are so many people like me, who went into the film industry because of the inspiration they got from Star Wars. Many are now well known directors and producers. He could have asked them to handle the prequels and they would have been happy to do the saga justice.

It’s my hope that Disney will be our champion, returning the Saga to its true glory.

George Lucas wrote a treatment for 12 films. All that needs to be done is to follow them. I used to have that set in my collection.

Star Wars is also responsible for my husband and I getting to take a first-class trip to Japan after I sold my collection at auction. Yet another dream come true.

 

FEEDBACK

No, I never waited in line for the prequels. I didn’t like them at all either. Despite that fact, there was really no need to stand in a long line for those or any other films as the Internet has burst upon the scene.

You no longer needed to get in line to get a ticket as you can simply go online and pre-order.

I do remember some guy standing in line for a couple of days, but that was to grab some publicity. That, or he was truly crazy. Believe me, if the Internet had been available I would have just been the first to pre-order that ticket.

Nowadays, many stand in line for the first show in order to dress up in costume and get together with like-minded fans to cheer and celebrate the film together. This is how it’s done today. Fans don’t stand in line for the first show because they must, but rather because they want to.

I look forward to reading your comments, and if you have an idea of what you’d like to hear next, don’t hesitate to let me know.

 

Sharing is caring!