I’m back in Los Angeles after a whirlwind trip back home to Florida to attend MegaCon Orlando over the weekend!
MegaCon Orlando is a multi-day convention held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
It covers several fandom genres such as comics, anime, science fiction, gaming, fantasy, and cosplay and attracts big name guests related to those communities. This year it took place Thursday to Sunday, May 16-19, 2019.
Thursday/Preview Night
A bit like San Diego Comic Con, MegaCon has a sort of “Preview Night” held on Thursday from 4-9pm. This year I had to work my remote job from my hotel room and was not able to attend. I thought I would have some time after picking up my badge but our car trunk got stuck and it took about an hour before we were able to get it to open (thank you, Youtube!). I was pretty disappointed as I really enjoyed my “sneak peek” of the con last year. It’s a great way to get an idea of the floor layout and take some fun cosplay photos with the various backdrops and photo props in the cosplay area without lots of people around.
It was probably for the best I stayed in my room, however, as I was still recovering from our long flight and the extra day of rest was good before jumping into the busy weekend.
What I Wore
I started off this year’s MegaCon wearing the same cosplay I started it off with last year: my trusty red original Star Trek series Starfleet uniform. I bought it off the Wish app and highly recommend it! It’s super affordable (I believe I paid under $20 for it) and the quality is fantastic! The only con is that the gold wrist bands can be a bit itchy. For those interested (because I always want to know where people get their cosplay stuff), my boots were bought off of Poshmark and my ita bag was bought at Anime Expo last year. I usually wear hoop earrings with this cosplay but forgot them back in LA along with my communicator and phaser.
Museum of Costumes & Curiosities
I had some time before my first planned panel of the day so I decided to check out the Museum of Costumes and Curiosities by the Central Florida Steampunk Association. Inside were so many beautifully handmade costumes, props, and accessories I wish I could share photos of them all. Most were original designs inspired by different time periods, steampunk, or movies/TV.
Just look at all that work and detail!
Angelica! Eliza! And Peggy! These Hamilton gowns are spot on!
Love these Captain America and Thor inspired looks!
Q&A with the Cast of RWBY
My first panel of the day and my first panel in the Main Theater room which I would return to often over the weekend. RWBY is a series I really need to catch up on! It’s a show I haven’t watched in a while but I was still curious to check out the cast Q&A. The cast members (Barbara Dunkelman, Arryn Zech, Lindsay Jones, and Kara Eberle) had a lot of chemistry on stage and it was super fun to watch them interact with each other.
One fan asked them to name some of their favorite cartoons growing up. Some of their answers included Pepper Ann, Rugrats, Arthur, and Home Movies. Kara said she’s watched The Simpson since she was 10. One mentioned she had a beta fish named Johnny Bravo. Another fan asked the silly question, “For $1 million, would you switch your hands with your feet?” Only Barbara said she would.
Fairy Tail Q&A with Todd Haberkorn
Todd is a voice actor who has worked on several popular anime dubs. Two of my favorite roles of his are Haru from Free! and Death the Kid from Soul Eater. Some of his most recognizable roles are Natsu from Fairy Tail, Hikaru from Ouran High School Host Club, and Italy in Hetalia: Axis Powers.
One fan asked him his opinion on Sailor Moon. Todd says he’s seen some of the show but jokingly said he holds a grudge against it for killing his character off so early on in the series (Jadeite). Someone was bold enough to ask if he’s talked to Vic (Mignona) – he said he hasn’t in awhile and the moderator quickly moved on to another question. When asked about his favorite role, he said Natsu (from Fairy Tail).
The Improvengers Live Comedy Show
I’m a huge fan of improv and have always wanted to check out the improv show. I finally got to do that this year! They performed several audience suggested improv skits (all with a fandom twist). One of my favorite bits was “Hangry Nic Cage.”
Q&A with David Tennant
Looking back, this was my favorite panel of the whole weekend and also the one I had been looking forward to the most. David aka the 10th and BEST Doctor from Doctor Who is just so charming and entertaining. Listening to him talking about anything is a delight (even when that thing is talking about signing the word “diarrhea”).
He was asked whether his podcast would be back for a second season. (If you haven’t listened to David Does A Podcast With… you’re missing out.) Right now, he says there are no immediate plans, he’s still figuring out the time table but he would love to. He did announce that an extra episode of various previous interview bits would be coming out.
My dad and I waiting in line for David Tennant’s panel
There were some good and not so good questions. Someone who must’ve forgotten what their actual question was, asked “Did you like being the Doctor?” One question that was kind of interesting referenced his work in multiple fandoms and the modern Shakespeare movement. They asked “Who’s more difficult to keep happy? Geeks or thespians?” David said there is much more precedence when it comes to characters like Hamlet than the Doctor (and Doctor Who fans can be very “generous of spirit”) while the people who critique Shakespeare can be a bit more judgmental.
There was a humorous bit branching off from a question about his leather pants from Fright Night. He said they were very tight saying they had to use talcom powder to take them off, but quite comfortable. He said he doesn’t know where they are now and jokingly said he is now annoyed about that fact.
When asked his travel recommendations in Scotland, he said Glasgow is the way to go. Concerning being the Doctor, he said it was a difficult thing to let go but it was the right thing to do and he’ll always look back on it fondly. Someone asked if he wore his own Converse sneakers as the Doctor and if he did, does he still have them. He said he wore his own at first as he really wanted the sneakers to have a really worn in look. Eventually they got too tattered though and those were trashed, unfortunately. He does, however, still own a pair from the show.
Can I just say I’m loving the pink shirt?
He makes the most entertaining expressions and faces, I have SO many I wish I could post more!
Dragon Ball with Chris Sabat
Chris is a voice actor that started working in anime in 1998 on Dragon Ball Z and himself said he’s the go-to guy “if there’s a guy with swords or muscles or hates everyone he’s with.” His most popular roles (and some of my favorite) include his various ones on DBZ (Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, etc), All Might in My Hero Academia, Alex Louis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Christophe in Yuri On Ice and Kuwabara in Yu Yu Hakusho.
I’ve been to his panels before and they’re always really popular (the room was nearly completely full) and really entertaining. He said he thinks Broly is the best Dragon Ball movie ever made and loved the Saiyan legacy story – if it continued, they could have called it “3 Men and 3 Babies.” He also announced there was a 12-year-old kid named Broly in the room.
The Floor
On my way to the Star Trek cosplay meetup, I was able to check out the floor a bit. My time was super brief but here are a couple things that caught my eye.
Being the huge cat lady that I am, of course I couldn’t help but stop at this booth!
I thought these were too funny!
I’ll have a whole post dedicated to each day’s cosplay but here’s a little Thanos vs Ghost Rider until then!
Star Trek Cosplay Meetup
I ended my first day at MegaCon with the Star Trek cosplay meetup in the cosplay area. I was happy to see all the original series love and it was fun getting to discuss the new Star Trek: Discovery show (that I LOVE) with other fans.
Live Long and Prosper
Wrap Up
That’s it for my first day at the con! Afterwards, I went back to my hotel room to change then caught up with my friend Marye over dinner at Denny’s before joining the rest of my family.
Look out for a lot more MegaCon content in the next coming week or two. My dad and I took a TON of photos so it’ll take a while to edit but I’ll do my best to try to get everything up ASAP! In the meantime…
