I recently attended a convention here in Orlando that was quite the opposite of what I am used to. It was held in the Double Tree across the street from Universal Studios over a 3-day period from August 1-3. Compared to Megacon, it was a much smaller venue but the itinerary was still extensive.
Sadly, the Tampa Bay Comic-con was being held on that same weekend and that seriously hampered the attendance to the Dream Con (aka Conjure Con). I wasn't sure what to expect but I didn't let that deter me. I didn't get a chance to attend the Comic-Con like two of my daughters so I took advantage of a convention right down the road from me.
On the first day, I stepped over into the hotel lobby and grabbed a coffee from Starbucks to enjoy as I entered into unfamiliar territory. A short walk later and I was walking through the doors of the convention center of the Double Tree and directly into the main entrance for the con. There were 3 people behind a counter, all smiling and all seemingly very happy to see me. This was an odd experience but not unpleasant. Anyone that has been to a large convention or similar gathering knows that the people who work it become automatons after the first several thousand people.
After mulling over a single day or full 3-day ticket, I decided on a single day, just to check out the convention. My wife would be off the following day and if I liked it enough, I would bring her then. Most of the convention halls and panels were empty as I walked down the hallways so I went straight to the vendor hall to see what was for sale. One item in particular caught my eye as soon as I walked through the door. The Throne!
Damn uncomfortable seat but wicked cool to sit in for a pic.
Just around the corner from the throne were some other displays.
The Dino Rentos booth offered a display service and rental of props which could come in handy sometime in the future, I suppose.
Moving from booth to booth, two things became evident very quickly but subtly. There were no crowds and there was a lot of space in the aisles between the rows of booths. Very much different from the larger cons where, at times, one can not move in any direction for several minutes because of human traffic jams. I, for one, do not miss the zombie shuffle at Megacon.
I was early and missed out on some of the special guests. One person that I was looking forward to seeing was Eric Garcia, the special FX artist from the TV show Face Off. I enjoy the show because of the instant creativity those artists exhibit. Another cool one would have been Erin Gray. What a blast from the past! Buck Rogers. Silver Spoons. Ah well. I eventually moved from the vendor hall after buying a few comics. There weren't that many booths of interest to me anyway and I could always go back later just in case new booths had been added.
Moving back towards the entrance, I noticed that some of the panel rooms had people in them which was good to see. I liked the freedom to be able to move from one area to another in the con but would have felt bad if no one showed up at all. Just down the hall was a movie screening room so I entered that. There was one tender in the room making sure that the equipment was up and running at all times but no one else. I decided to sit down and see what kind of amateur films were playing. I had never seen an amateur film longer than a few minutes so this was a novel experience for me. I don't remember the name of the movie but it was about experimental science, super heroes and super villains. One of the super villains had the power to make other humans desire her beyond anyone else. Corny but amusing. I actually watched the entire movie and it wasn't bad at all.
After the movie, I walked to the gaming rooms. They had a vast double room set up for gaming with dozens of round and rectangular tables set up. There were only about a dozen people when I first entered so I decided to come back later. Further down that hallway to the left of the entrance, I found the LAN center. I enjoy playing video game so I stopped by to talk with the staff. They were set up to play pretty much anything anyone wanted but had no people there yet. The room was very dark but lit up here and there by the blue LED lights on the computers.
There were a few panels that I wanted to attend but they weren't scheduled for the time that I was there that first day so I left in the late afternoon. There would be get togethers, parties, celebrations of different genres in sci-fi and fantasy, gaming and comics that night and the next two but I didn't take the time to attend any of them. Not that there is anything wrong with immersing yourself fully into the convention culture but I am taking things one step at a time and picking my activities with some forethought.
The following day, I brought my wife to the convention. She wasn't too impressed but the attendance was very low at that time in the morning as it was the day before. She enjoys crowds so the lack of people was more disconcerting to her, I think. The people at the entrance were pleasantly surprised that I came back and brought my wife so when we paid the admission price and bought two con shirts, they gave us two extras of a different type. Nice people! Our visit was much faster than mine from the day before. We still have yet to attend a panel but the next big convention is only 6 months away and I have full confidence that we will finally get to see someone famous talk about important things in the realm of fantasy or what not.
Oh, I did get my queen to sit on The Throne:
And while we were there, my daughter won a prize at the Tampa Bay Comic-con:
Zombie Alice in Wonderland for the win!!
Overall, the smaller convention was a neat surprise. Had I known ahead of time that it was going to be right down the road, I would have set up for it better, checked the con schedule and pre-purchased a ticket. Finding out about it on or around the date makes it an impulse trip although it was fun. Hopefully next year they don't hold it on the same weekend as the big convention down the road!
Very cool trophy; great conversational piece too. "What's that for?"
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