Megacon 2014 recap

Robot

Active Member
I went to my first comic convention in quite a few years (Megacon 2014 in Orlando) this weekend. I guess I was happy to see the large amount of people at the con but also disappointed with the large amount of people. It was so busy and jam packed that it was almost impossible to look at anything the vendors were selling. I was there on Friday and it was very busy, went back on Saturday (early) and it was crazy busy. I only ended up staying about 2 hours on Saturday and was outside for quite some time waiting for my ride to pick me up. During this time, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more people were arriving. I really don't know where they would have all fit. At least San Diego will stop selling tickets after they max out, apparently Orlando does not.

The cosplay participants were extremely heavy and interesting to say the least. It was worth the price of admission just to people watch, both good and bad.

I was able to meet the governor from the walking dead but had a hard time finding some other attendees that I wanted to see.

One thing I found interesting was the amount of vendors actually selling comic books. I would estimate there were only 10-15%.
 
how big is the convention out there? did you take pictures?

I'm not sure how to equate it to San Diego since I've never been there, but this convention center is HUGE! The building has 2 million total sq. feet, and Megacon took up half, with basically 3 levels including the lobby area.
I have a few pics from day one but have to get them off my phone. Day 2 was just too crowded to take good pic's
 
I'm not sure how to equate it to San Diego since I've never been there, but this convention center is HUGE! The building has 2 million total sq. feet, and Megacon took up half, with basically 3 levels including the lobby area.
I have a few pics from day one but have to get them off my phone. Day 2 was just too crowded to take good pic's

oh ok... SD convention is about 2.6 million sq. ft and Comic Con is using every space which is still not enough so they use a spread out area of Downtown San diego right outside the convention center from Hotel funtion rooms, empty lots, baseball stadium etc. it seems like they have a bigger footprint now outside the convention than outside.

MegaCon should have taken advantage and used the whole convention if they wanted to sell more passes..
 
You can read my rants in one of the other megacon threads. The previous two time I have been were in a different building and I think that might have been one of the problems. I think they will be back to that other building next year so it might not be as bad.

Sent from my Etch A Sketch.
 
Waaaaaay too many people this year. Security even stopped checking for wristbands at one point, and some of the building was closed off. Very disapointed in this year's Megacon.
 
It was my first & last Megacon:(

I may go back as a vendor, but probably not as a fan boy.

Another note: For as much money as I would project the "star guests" make in that weekend, why aren't there a few better ones?
It was $40 per autograph for the walking deads governor. The line was endless, and I'm sure he could sign at least 100 per hour.

WOW! Do that all weekend!
 
Me & DRBJR went last year. Got tickets online, showed up EARLY, got in pretty quick, walked through the gig twice, & were completely done & ready to leave around lunch-time. There were a lot of people, but no super-ridiculous wait-times or anything. Even when we left, no huge delays or traffic, coming OR going.

So this year, we decided to go around noon. Ended up stuck in a 45-minute, crawling traffic jam on the Beachline Expressway. Finally got to International Dr, which had become a parking lot, with, easily, 10,000 people waiting to get into convention center parking. We decided to hit the restroom at Bass Pro Shop, & about an hour later we went back to try again. Another 45-minutes or so, & we got to the parking booth, where we got told that tickets for Saturday were sold out. So we drove home.

I can't speak for him, but I ~may~ not be going again next year (or ever). It's basically not worth the hassle.
 
My family stayed at universal studios while I went both days. The hotels at universal have drivers waiting, and for $20 I was dropped off at the convention door. On Saturday the driver was extremely pissed that it took him over an hour to pick me back up.

I was gone before the lobby area looked like this
Megacon-2014-Was-The-Convention-A-Fail-Or-Just-Overcrowded-665x385.jpg
 
I was gone before the lobby area looked like this
View attachment 302064
That is what the lobby looked like when I left. Around 4:00 I decided I needed to leave before I bought one of the $70 "real swords" and started attacking the idiots who would stop in the middle of the isles to chat with their friends or the idiot teenagers that would sit in clumps on the floor around the edges and you had to walk around them.

Next year will probably be a make or break event for me. I am going to try to get there earlier, but if it is as bad as this year I'm done. I'm just glad I was able to make it to the one panel I really wanted to see and that I smuggled in some food. Half of the $23 million that someone claimed this was supposed to put into the local economy probably went to the food vendors.

This was the back of the line. Behind me you would go around a corner, walk up some stairs, go inside, walk downstairs, and get in a theme part back and forth type line to buy tickets. When I first got there and saw it I almost turned around and went home.
line megacon 2014.jpg

I was so busy trying to get through the crowds I only got one picture of people in costume.
lilith and maya megacon 2014.jpg
 
Being my first trip to Megacon, I was amazed at how packed it was, myself and several friends went and I think I wore my costume for a total of maybe 5 hours between Friday and Saturday because it became so packed that despite the fact that I had 3 people to guide me, I continually bumped into people (couldn't see where I was going in my Solaire helmet) and carrying it became a hassle because people kept bumping into it to the point where it almost needs another coat of paint because it was beaten so badly. I hardly took any pictures because trying to find space in the crowd was ridiculous, however, I enjoyed the time I spent there, especially in costume. Met tons of fellow Sun Bros and overall, I enjoyed the con. Assuming I can afford it, I'll probably be heading back next year.

On a side note, did anyone run into Solaire? :D
1795649_636825869699040_1031829429_n.jpg
 
Gotta comment since this was my 4th/5th Megacon. While I still had a good time, I have to agree this year was not run that well, not in comparison to years prior.

The biggest issue IMO is the change of location. In the other side of the OCC, crowd control was easier and less hectic. This past weekend, proved the other side is no good for a convention like this, primarily because of the fact that you are FORCED to use stairs/escalators to go in one way and out at a different exit! You've got this narrow funneling of thousands of people and that's why the lobby looked as bad as it did on saturday. Granted there was a lot more people here this year, however, the other side of the OCC where it has been before has much more space to spread people out in the lobby, as they are much wider, and overall, it's areas outside the con itself is much more spacious than where it was this year.

It was estimated to have approx. 80,000 people on saturday alone. That's more than this past Dragoncon, and Mega "still" does not even rank with the rest of the country for whatever arbitrary reason.

The 2nd gripe. How cheap Megacon was operating the tickets/passes. The first 2 years I went, they actually gave you an actual badge for the 3 day weekend. Last year it wasn't a badge, but a decent quality plastic wristband. This year, when going to pick it up, I was handed a cheap yellow paper wristband. I had to ask this woman 1. "I have a 3 day pass, I think you gave me the wrong one" and 2. "Can I even take a shower with this thing?" So moving on from just that..the stupid advanced order pickup line. Why? Tell me why this is absolutely necessary when for a couple extra bucks you should just MAIL the passes to us. The line to buy a pass the day of, just like last year, was next to no wait. Yet, those that pre-order are forced to wait up to an hour and a half to get their pass for the day.

Then they decided to place these RIGHT at the main entrance of the con at the bottom of the stairs/escalators.

This was ridiculous.

Summery:

- Move back to the OTHER side of the OCC
- Stop being so damn cheap and give us badges again
- Mail the badges!!!!!!!!!!
 
You found me! Thanks!

Sweet! It was on Sunday, not Saturday (I ran into someone with a purple head that had lights wired into it that I thought might have been you). I was wearing my Geek Squad T-shirt. Not sure if you remember me or not. But still glad to have run into you. :D
 
Sweet! It was on Sunday, not Saturday (I ran into someone with a purple head that had lights wired into it that I thought might have been you). I was wearing my Geek Squad T-shirt. Not sure if you remember me or not. But still glad to have run into you. :D

No, I do remember you, just not at the moment, but I do remember the geek squad shirt!! Sunday was just as crazy for me as saturday lol
 
Hey all I was at Megacon 2014 wearing the space marine white armor and if anyone took pics could I possible get copies, the camera my wife used failed misirbly and I only got 5 usible pics and they arnt great, so if you got shots plz send
 
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