MegaCon 2010 Review
Here I am again friends, on the trailing end of another Con. This time out my travels led me to the doorsteps of the magic kingdom and I found myself in the deepest darkest jungles of central Florida, braving Orlando traffic, Rabid disney-tripping families in mini-vans, and even a population of feral cows to bring you this MegaCon review.
My crew consisting of my friends Kisha and Tina, as well as my business partner and fellow upcoming cons writer Traci Tant, set out from our hometown of Atlanta, Georgia and headed south to the sunshine state for a weekend of fun in the sun at MegaCon 2010. Billed as "the southeast's largest comic book, sci-fi / fantasy, anime, gaming, toys multi-media event!!" Mega Mega Mega con as we lovingly refer to it was held at the Orange County Convention Center in central Orlando.
View pictures from MegaCon 2010
We arrived at the convention center at about 4pm on Friday. Parking wasn't too bad at $8 per car. We walked
nearly half a mile from the parking deck to the MegaCon entrance of the convention hall if that tells you just how large this convention center actually is. Once there the line for pre-registration folks was not too bad, I however had not pre-registered and had no idea what I was in for as I searched for the ticket line for us late bloomers. Much to my happiness I was able to walk directly up to one of the outside ticket booths, pay for my ticket
($55 for the entire weekend), and head straight inside. No line, no waiting, no pain, no fuss!
Once inside I flashed my bright orange snap on wristband to the security folks at the gate and was on my
way to the main hall of the convention. It was clear to me even this late on the first day of the con that Saturday was
going to be a mad house. Ecto1, The Mach 5, A full size Land speeder, and even the Flintstones foot powered car caught
my attention right away as I worked my way around the artist area and mentally spent every dime I had brought. Shopping
would have to wait, a few quick pics and it was back to the hotel to unwind after a long trip and gear up for Saturday which
no doubt would be interesting to say the least judging by what I had seen thus far.
Saturday we got a late start, the convention started at 10 but we didn't arrive till well after 1. As I had suspected the
line for at the door tickets was hundreds upon hundreds of eager fans long just waiting to get in. I smiled slyly as we rolled
past them on our way to the parking deck, thinking of the ease with which I had merely walked up and gotten my bracelet the
day before. The order of the day seemed to be Anime cosplay, a ton of Naruto,.. more Naruto than one could shake a stick at
if you will. Then the usual procession of DC and Marvel characters, followed by the more offbeat stuff like the inevitable
Hunter S. Thompson fear and loathing character, Various Venture Brother characters, etc. All in all it was a wonderful mix of
cosplayers from all genres on display. all in all on a cosplay level this convention definitely delivered. The steampunk Vader and
steampunk Baroness were probably two of my favorites.
The vendor area was pretty well stocked with the usual stuff. T-shirts, weapons, dvds, comics, toys, artwork, etc, etc.
Although my search for a watchmen Comedian smiley face button for my camera bag was in vain I did pick up some nice poster prints,
a watch, and even a collectors bag from comic con that had all my favorite watchmen on it. To be honest though, I could have walked in
a millionaire and left a poor man. There was so much cool swag my wallet started smoking at the thought of it all. The aisles were wide
but packed and maneuvering in and out of the various lanes of vendors reminded me of much larger cons like Dragon Con. Since the
entire convention (Not including panels) was jammed into one massive room finding what you wanted was fairly simple but the crowds were
at times overwhelming.
The celebrity area was open and easy to navigate as it was fenced off from the the rest of the main convention area, it almost
was an oasis in the sea of people where you could stop and regroup during your day and continue to push through the crowds at your
leisure. I waited maybe 45 minutes to meet with Mr. Ray Park and have him autograph a few items for friends, the other celebrity lines
were about as long and sometimes there was barely a line at all, even for the premium guests. It was a very open and friendly feel as
celebrity areas go for a con. And by the way, How cool is Ray Park, such a genuinely nice guy! Lea Thompson, Michelle Nichols,
John Delancey, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Billy Dee Williams, and James Hong were a few of the celebs meeting fans and signing
autographs.
If you were there to people watch Saturday was the day, however shopping and bargain hunting should be reserved for Sunday. Dealers trying
to make last minute sales would haggle with you and the crowd had thinned somewhat making it much easier to access everything. Several
celebs had no line whatsoever so Sunday was a good time to get your fame fix as well. There were still alot of cosplayers running around for
photo ops but not nearly the numbers that saturday had brought.
Of course I can't end the review without a commentary on the after con party scene. Being convention center based there were no
"Official" host hotels like you would find at many other conventions. Once it was over, it was over and people went back to their respective
hotels. That being said there were a few big parties planned by some well known con groups but they just didn't garner enough interest
to justify the 6 mile drive from the hotel we were at. I do think however that the hotels closer to the convention center would have had a livelier
night life scene simple due to the location and the amenities in the area. If you find yourself in Orlando, and you are bored
then you simply are just not trying hard enough.
In closing I'll say, I came to Megacon not knowing what to expect. What I found was a very well organized and fun con that I would absolutely go back to.
I came with a business agenda to take pictures for my calendar and website and left with new friends, cool swag, and a great experience that I'll remember
for years to come. If you have the means and the time I would recommend MegaCon be added to your con season checklist next year, its a great show.