So my next convention took me to my first con in Illinois for C2E2.  This was one I was considering for a little while but the announcement of all of Critical role and the fact that it had several people that my fiance wanted really made it easy to decide to attend.  Now this is a huge convention that features guests from all aspects of nerd culture so it’s got a little something for everyone and it’s clear they know how to set up a good formula for a great experience.

Guests

Like I said before, I went to this con for the cast of Critical Role which is an amazing feat in itself; however, this convention also had several people from the DC televised universe, two of the four impractical jokers, the voice of spongebob and the Netflix Daredevil.  This convention had a very large guest list so it’s one that’s bound to have someone you want to see.  The only downside was the lines.  Numerous lines were incredibly long so I wound up spending a lot of time in line for autographs which were well done and did a great job in getting as many people through the line as possible.  The only thing is if you’re going for guests then you really need to prioritize the autograph times and get there plenty early for them.

Panels

Like their guests, this convention had a wide variety of panels.  Unfortunately I did not have the time to go to any of them.  Truthfully I was in line so much for autographs that I just wanted to walk around and go shopping afterwards, rather than go to another line to go into a panel.  Now with what I did see of the panels on the app they had some nice ideas but most of the ones that caught my interests were the Q&A panels.  Hopefully next time I go to this con I’ll be able to catch a panel or two.

Vendors

I walked into the vendor area and immediately felt the need to comfort my wallet as it wept for the money that could be spent at this event. Vendors as far as the eye could see and the variety of merchandise was an amazing sight.  I found a Funimation booth which had a replica of the crater where Yamcha from Dragonball Z has infamously been seen lying after his defeat in the Saiyan arc.  Of course I had to lay down and take a picture and it caught quite a bit of attention.  There was a stage where you could take a picture of yourself with the infinity gauntlet next to the poster for Avengers 3 and another booth, which interested my fiance, where you can buy golden mugs and soda like you would see out of a western movie.  I walked away from this event with way less money then when I started for sure.

Organization

I have to say this convention really did a good job with organization.  Lines were frequently bad but the staff was ready to do what they could to keep things moving and to keep people out of the way from those trying to get from one place to another.  The security was well done as we managed to get pre-screened in a quick manner before going into the convention.  The final thing I wish to bring up is the app.  The app was amazing as it kept up with all the events, how many people were keeping up with the same event and the app was updated if lines were capped so it was a tool I used very frequently while I was here.

Overall I loved this event and I’m considering going back to it.  In fact I think I’ll splurge for a VIP pass next time to avoid some of the lines and be able to see more in less time.  This convention had so many vendors, panels and guests that a standard pass quickly proved to be inefficient if you want to do a little bit of everything at this convention.