Sarah O'Connor

Welp, another Fan Expo has come and gone, which just means I need to write a blog post about exactly what happened!

My sister and I left for the GO Bus to Union Station at three o’clock on Friday and her boyfriend and his friend got on at another stop so we all traveled to Toronto together. We were meeting another group of friends in Toronto who were already at the Con during the other days. We booked a hotel for the weekend, our first time doing so but it made staying for the weekend so much easier. It was only a five minute walk from the convention centre so we could drop off any merch we bought during the day to make it easier and not have to wake up so early in the morning.

Once the four of us dropped off our bags and went to the Spaghetti Factory to eat, because it’s my favourite and I only go here whenever I’m in Toronto (which is not as often as my blog posts make it seem) and since it was a twenty minute walk from our hotel to the restaurant (but so worth it) we managed to time it right where we only had to wait a few minutes before being seated.

The meal was of course amazing, and then we walked back to our hotel and relaxed there for a bit until our friend who was staying in our room with us came by after the Con. We then got in contact with our other group of friends and wandered over to their hotel which happened to be right across from ours and played board games until one in the morning where we then returned to our hotel and went to bed.

Saturday was our first day at the Con but the third official day of Fan Expo. My sister and I dressed up as Pin-Up Sailor Scouts based on an art design by Little Paper Forest (my sister was Sailor Jupiter and I was Sailor Pluto). My sister’s boyfriend and her friend dressed as Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and our other friend dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. We then made a Starbucks run for breakfast (the line was too long for the continental breakfast at our hotel) and then made our way to the convention and went our separate ways, planning on meeting up at some point later.

My sister convinced me to get an autograph/photo with Deedee Magno Hall who voices Pearl in Steven Universe (my favourite show in case you’ve forgotten, also my favourite Gem) and the price was good for it ($40 for both) so I did it. My sister waited in line with me and we waited for longer than expected but finally Deedee Magno Hall came. She was very nice to talk to, even though I’m awkward and didn’t know what to say, and she gave me a hug which was cool. Now I just need to find a place for the autograph!

My sister and I then wandered around the dealer’s room when one of our friends joined us after a panel she’d gone to ended. We made our way to Artist’s Alley, separated again and shopped, and then went to the panel for Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. It was an awesome panel, and she ended up singing Part of Your World live which was amazing to see!

We then met at a park and took some pictures of our cosplays and waited for the rest of our group (10 PEOPLE!) to meet and decide on a place for dinner. To put in the most Canadian way possible was a complete kerfuffle that worked itself out in the end, we went to Boston Pizza, we ate, and we talked about our day at the Con and other things. My friend Ramblingnic Cosplay ended up getting a Charmed themed choker and gave it to my sister and I (which I’m STILL not over, why are you so nice?!). After dinner we all went to our own hotels, home, and other sleep arrangements. In our room we watched some of the Harry Potter marathon on Space (Prisoner of Azkaban) and went to sleep, all exhausted from our first day at the convention.

Our second day, the last official day of the convention, was much like the first except we had to check out and leave our bags at the hotel before we went to the convention. After another Starbucks run we went to the convention and went our separate ways. I dressed as Hipster Ariel from The Little Mermaid, my sister was the Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose for you Broadway nerds), our friend was Kim Possible, and my sister’s boyfriend was Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen (his friend didn’t dress up the last day).

My sister, one of our friends, and I wandered and shopped on the dealer’s floor for a bit before the Steven Universe panel which I was looking forward to all weekend! The four main voice actors from the show were doing the panel and luckily my sister and I got in line early enough to get a good spot in the hall, where another one of our friends joined us later. The panel was amazing, with a surprise appearance from another one of the voice actors who also happened to be in Toronto during the weekend. They offered a lot of great advice to fans, and it was really cool to see them do the character voices in real life.

The rest of the Con was spent in Artist’s Alley, my favourite place at any conventions where I always spend too much, and this weekend was no different. My sister’s boyfriend and his friend then met up with us where we went out to eat, get our bags, and head home (our other Con friends had left earlier to avoid the Toronto traffic).

And now onto Forest City Comic Con in September! Honestly this is probably the most conventions I’ve done in such a short amount of time (Con Bravo in July, Fan Expo August, Forest City September) let alone in a year as total, and I don’t know who I’ll dress up as yet, (probably someone I’ve already done to save money) but I never have any doubt about how much fun I’ll have. So bring it on Forest City Comic Con, because I’m ready!

(Sorry about all the confusion and vagueness with friends, I don’t know who’s okay with their identities being shared and who isn’t so it’s better to be vague.)

(Photo on left taken by my friend using Pizza Dog Cosplay’s camera. Photo on right taken by same friend using my phone.)