Original post author: Ryan
Last weekend, Jess and I went to the Fan Expo (formerly known as Comic Con) in Boston. We didn’t go for any particular reason other than to simply experience something rad. I was excited to see some enthusiastic fans and to see a big energetic event. Our actual experience was a slight let down. But that’s partially our own fault, because our expectations were all wrong.
Right off the bat, things were going poorly when we tried to park. First, people working at the Hyatt (a hotel right next to the convention center) tricked us into thinking they worked for the convention, told us that the standard parking lot was full, then directed us to their parking lot which was $25. Not cool, and I was upset that the convention was letting Hyatt do this because it was happening right outside the main entrance. Then, after getting back into the right parking queue, we were directed through a dozen turns by convention staff and eventually directed out onto a street in the Boston seaport with no further directions, instructions, nothing. Then we had to find our way back to the convention center and we finally parked in a private lot for $15.
At that point the convention really needed to be stellar to lift our spirits back up. We bought tickets, but I struggled with how tiny the exhibition area was compared to the annual Pax East convention (which takes place in the same building). It’s totally rediculous to fault a convention for being smaller than a different convention - but it was hard for me to really get into it. The energy of Pax with in the back of my mind, and that same energy just wasn’t there.
Now that I’m done with all that negativity, I’d like to describe what was good about it! There were tons of artists showing of really great, unique, quirky art. No boring art here! There were many areas where fans could line up and meet various personalities, like writers, artists, actors, etc. I think it’s cool that fans could connect directly with people they admire. There were tons of vendors selling weird and neat stuff. I actually kind of regret not buying something weird that I could wear at a music festival or something. Everyone there was very friendly and it good spirits. I’d say around 25% of the people were dressed up in some way.
So if it weren’t for the parking frustrations and my silly expectations, this would have been better experience. I will treat this as a lesson: don’t let expectations stand in the way of a good time.
I didn’t take many good pictures. The image above is of an exhibitor who had amazing Star Wars droid replicas. I thought they were super impressive...and then they started to move around and make noises. It was surreal.
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