We are only three days away from the start of Fan Expo 2012. It is now the third largest convention of its kind in North America (behind the San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic-Con) and it can be very easy to get overwhelmed by this very large convention.
In fact, it's probably best to get a full weekend pass instead of a basic single-day admission. While the basic passes are less expensive, you will only be able to see a small percentage of what Fan Expo has to offer.
In this post, I thought I would breakdown the official schedule and try to point out the events and attractions that you shouldn't miss.
Autographs and Photo-Ops
The selling point of most conventions are the celebrity guests that show up to meet and greet with the fans. While there will be plenty of opportunities for free autographs at the Expo (mostly by lesser known talent), the celebrity guests will charge a fee to put their pen to paper. Another growing trend in recent years involves you paying to have a professional photo taken with you and the celebrity.
Depending on the popularity of the celebrity, you will be paying anywhere between $25 and $80 for an autograph and/or photo. Fan Expo posted a convenient price chart, so you can plan your spending wisely (in addition, here's the photo-op schedule).
Panels
In addition to meeting celebrities face-to-face, they will also participate in a series of Q&A panels. Since each are often an hour long, panels are the most likely to eat up time in your schedule. As such, make sure to only attend the ones you absolutely want to see.
Here is a list of what I consider to be the must-see panels of the convention:
- Stan Lee – Thursday 7:00pm – Hall G
- Cast of Flashpoint – Friday 3:00pm – Room 716
- Levar Burton – Friday 4:00pm – Hall G
- The Future of Fun with the cast of Electric Playground – Friday 5:30pm – Room 701
- Cast of Lost Girl – Saturday 12:00pm – Hall G
- Kate Mulgrew – Saturday 1:30pm – Hall G
- Cast and Creators of Continuum – Saturday 3:00pm – Hall G
- Norman Reedus and Jon Bernthal (from The Walking Dead) – Saturday 4:30pm – Hall G
- John Carpenter – Sunday 12:00pm – Room 701
- Gillian Anderson – Sunday 1:30pm – Hall G
- Christopher Lloyd – Sunday 3:00pm – Hall G
- Billy West – Sunday 4:00pm – Room 701
- The main attraction on the floor this year is an exhibition of props, sets, and puppets from Tim Burton's upcoming stop motion film Frankenweenie. You will be able to find this at booth 950.
- The DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future will be on display. If you want, you can even pay ($75) to have your photo taken with Christopher Lloyd and the car.
- The Toronto After Dark film festival will be announcing the first half of this year's festival at booth 1719.
- An attraction from previous years that I'm sure will probably return this year are movie studio promotions that allow you to insert yourself onto a movie poster via green screen. Check out the Alliance (booth 1138) or Warner Bros (booth 1156) areas to see what's offered.
- Some other booths that'll probably be worth stopping by:
- Continuum (booth 744)
- Dead Before Dawn 3D (booth 856)
- Electric Playground/G4 (booth 558)
- Rue Morgue (booth 2028)
- Space (booth 1737)
- XBOX 360 (booth 2154)
- Wreck-it Ralph (booth 400)
- Lou Ferrigno Ribbon Cutting (Hulk cosplay required) – Thursday 10:30am
- Fan Expo Speed Dating (hosted by 25dates.com) – Various Times all Weekend – 803A and 803B
- A Fan Expo Canada Wedding – Friday 1:00pm – Hall G
- DC Entertainment All Access – Friday-Sunday 1:00pm – Room 716
- Star Wars Masks, Props, and Costumes Workshop – Friday 6:00pm – Room 717
- Voice Acting 101 with Veronica Taylor – Friday 6:00pm – Room 715
- Screening: J.J. Abrams' Revolution – Friday 6:00pm – Room 701
- Jay and Silent Bob Get Old Podcast (Special Ticket) – Friday 8:00pm – Hall G
- Fan Expo Kick-Off Party (Off Site) – Friday 10:00pm – Tattoo Rock Parlour
- So You're A Gamer and No One Understands You – Saturday 11:00am – Room 715
- Pokemon DS Party Hosted by Veronica Taylor – Saturday 12:00pm – Room 709
- What is Goth? – Saturday 12:00pm – Room 703
- Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man – Saturday 1:00pm – Room 714
- Innerspace Live! – Saturday 2:00pm – Room 714
- Masquerade – Saturday 8:00pm – Hall G
- Candyman Screening (Off Site) – Saturday 9:00pm – TIFF Bell Lightbox
- History of Videogames – Sunday 11:00am – Room 713
- Dead by Dawn 3D Presentation – Sunday 12:00pm – Room 714
- Marvel: X-Men – Sunday 1:00pm – Room 714
- Brandon Cronenberg presents Antiviral – Sunday 3:00pm – Room 716
- Who is The Doctor? – Sunday 3:00pm – Room 703
