Due to a very good friend of mine (and coincidentally our home teacher) I recently had the opportunity to attend FanX in Salt Lake City. FanX is the spring equivalent of September's Salt Lake Comic Con so they call it FanX instead.
If you read my last blog post you'll remember I was excited for this one in particular, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend. I didn't have to do much smooth talking to get Brooke on board as you'll soon find out.
So last Thursday we packed up the van, loaded up the kids, and made the trek to Salt Lake City. We usually stay with family, but due to circumstances we ended up not being able to, so we booked a hotel. Even though we had to spend the extra money it actually worked out well. We got a hotel that was only a couple blocks from the Salt Palace, so we were able to walk there.
When we attended the Con in September of 2015 we had to pay for parking which kind of sucked. This worked out much better.
First things first, the con is CRAZY!
It's wall to wall people. At times you can get swept up in the throng of people and feel like you're being herded like cattle. No more so than when you're headed to photo ops (Which we actually scheduled this time), but everything is worth it.
As soon as we arrived on the floor Leslie and Sam spared no time in finding something to buy. Sam got a Roman Reigns figure with a WWE Championship belt. (That boy is all about the wrestling. I wonder where he gets it from.) Leslie got a Ms. Marvel figure, which is awesome. I'm kind of envious. Sam, of course, bugged us the rest of the time to get something else which we had already told him he couldn't because he'd already got something.
After scanning the vendor floor and getting some sustenance we made our way to our first photo op appointment with none other than....
WEIRD AL!
Yeah, it was awesome. You aren't given much more time than to take a photo, but I did take the time to thank him and shake his hand. We were given more time with him when we stood in his line and got him to autograph the picture that was taken. The line was long, but thanks to VIP passes it wasn't too bad for us. I feel a little bad passing all the people that had been waiting before me, but not that bad because it gave us more time to do other stuff. Sam was in heaven and would've talked his ear off all night if we'd let him. He took it in stride and gave Sam a high five. We thanked him again and he thanked us right back.
After that we were headed back to the vendor floor before our second photo op when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Holly Marie Combs of Charmed fame signing at her table. Now Brooke was a huge fan of Charmed and the instant I pointed it out she got excited. I asked her if she wanted to get in line to meet. She kinda skirted the answer. Like most good moms that are worried about their family's happiness, Brooke doesn't like spending money on herself. It also didn't help when another fan told us that she was only signing autographs and made it sound like that's all she'd do and nothing else. We started to move off, but I watched as she chatted with the fan getting their autograph and then got out from behind the table to do a selfie with them. I pointed this out to Brooke. I then made her get in line. Brooke was over the moon. We talked with Holly, Brooke got a solo picture and autograph from her and we were happy.
After some more exploring, in which we saw more celebrities at there booths, we went to our second photo op. We'd given the older girls the opportunity to get a picture and autograph from anyone they wanted, solo if they wanted to. Leslie choose Tara Strong, a voice actress that voices Leslie's all time favorite....Harley Quinn. After another rushed photo session we got in Tara's line for Leslie's autograph. When we got to the front Sam began talking her up, but Leslie stood there in awe. I took control of the situation and pointed out to Tara that Leslie's favorite was Harley Quinn. Right then and there she broke into Harley's voice.
IT. WAS. AWESOME.
She talked to Leslie as Harley Quinn and I've never seen Leslie's smile bigger. She was in heaven.
After that we perused the floor again and I found some awesome comic inspired cuff links. A pair of Nightwing cuff links and I finally got me some Green Lantern ones. They are awesome.
At one point Brooke suggested that we walk down an isle we hadn't before. I agreed and as we were walking someone caught my attention. It took me a moment to realize why I recognized the guy but when I did I went full on fanboy. It was none other than comics legend Marv Wolfman! Just sitting there at a booth. There was no line or anything. I quickly just up to him and started geeking out. Telling everyone who he was and how happy I was to meet him. I bought a poster, which he signed and took a photo with him. It was the coolest.
We finally called it a night and headed back to the hotel to check in and find some dinner. We decided on Cheesecake Factory. We'd always wanted to try it, but I.F. doesn't have one. It was an hour wait to get in, but well worth it. Our server was awesome and the food was killer. I had the best mushroom burger I think I've ever had. And they actually cooked my burger to medium rare! Restaurants usually ask how I want it, but it usually comes to me well done. Disappointing.
We ended the night in our hotel room where we fell asleep to the sounds of screams in the hall.
Yeah. You read that right. There was blood curdling screams for a little more than an hour as we tried to fall asleep. It was crazy. It finally ended and we nodded off.
Day 2 started off with breakfast at McDonalds. Not my favorite spot, but it was on the way to the Salt Palace.
We arrived to the same craziness as before. Since all our photo ops that day were later we decided to hit up the Princess Bride panel. We went to the one before it, a Walking Dead panel, so we could stay and get a good seat to the one we'd came for. I'm glad we did because even though I'm not a WD fan the panel was very entertaining.
The Princess Bride panel was amazing. It was Cary Elwes and Chris Sarandon, Wesley and Prince Humperdink respectively. They told hilarious stories about working with Andre the Giant and took questions from the crowd. Cary called up pretty much every kid that asked a question and took pictures with them and hugged them. He was a super nice guy.
At that point we did some more walking around. As you can tell there was a lot of that going on. I think I bet my step count goal by miles.
After killing some time, it had come to the moment I'd been waiting for. I was going to meet not one, but two Highlanders! As I'd mentioned earlier I was super excited for FanX, this was why. Brooke, Sam, and I got in line for the meet and greet. Kylie and Leslie stayed behind for Kylie's meet and greet with Danielle Panabaker. She's the gal that plays Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost in the Flash. That was Kylie's choice for a photo-op. We waited in line for what seemed like forever, but when the time came it was awesome. The three of us got our photo taken with Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert. I shook Adrian Paul's hand and thanked him. We immediately picked up our picture and got in his line for a signature. We waited for what seemed like forever before he got back. We were the first group for photo-ops, so he had to go through all those, plus his own solo ones. I'm glad we did wait that long though because they only took a limited number of people because he had to leave soon after. I got up to him and talked to him. I asked him who his favorite villain was on the show and then told him my favorite scene. I'm pretty sure I babbled, but it was totally worth it.
We then immediately jumped into Christopher Lambert's line and got his autograph as well. Sam was shocked when he saw a younger picture of him from Highlander. "That was you?" he said, which made Christopher laugh. I told Sam I'd show him that movie when he was older. He laughed and said "Yeah, you might want to wait until he's older." I shook his hand and thanked him. My FanX experience could've been done there.
Instead we met up with Kylie and got her into Danielle Panabaker's line. We got up to her, and much like her mom and sister before her, Kylie stood frozen. (No pun intended. Okay...maybe it was a little intended. She's Killer Frost, get it?) I interjected that Flash was our favorite comic show on t.v. and she thanked us. I also asked her if the contacts she wore while being Killer Frost hurt. Surprisingly she said no, they just made it hard to see.
We made another quick round of the floor. I bought Brooke, Kylie and myself a t-shirt. Kylie got an awesome Captain Marvel shirt. Brooke got a She-ra shirt, something she's wanted for a while. I got a He-man shirt, also something I've wanted for a while. I bought Leslie and Sam each a Pluto pin, (That's what they wanted) because I'd bought Kylie a Captain Marvel pin (Are you sensing a pattern here) on our first day and we headed back to the hotel and out to dinner.
On the suggestion of Aaron, the same friend/home teacher we hit up a place called the Pie. A pizza place that he highly recommended. When we arrived I was a little skeptical. The place was in a downstairs portion of a building and looked a little dirty. My feet actually made sounds on the floor due to it being sticky. The walls were written on. Regardless of the ambiance the place was packed. We got a table and ordered a pizza. I will tell you this. If you ever get a chance to eat at the Pie in Salt Lake, do so. The pizza was amazing! I dare say it was probably the best I've ever had. Usurping Lucy's here in town by far.
We ordered the Mountain of Meat in the largest size they had. That's 23" y'all. It was a beast. We ate until we were full and took the rest home. What was left over barely fit in a normal size pizza box. We'd eaten half the pizza. So yeah, pretty big.
All in all it was we had an awesome time. This doesn't cover all the cool costumes we saw and pictures we got with some of them. I got pictures with comic characters and Doctors. Daleks and the Kingpin. (That guys costume was amazing. Ask to see the picture if you ever see me.) We were all action figures at one point. I finally got my picture with the T.A.R.D.I.S. This also doesn't cover all the famous people I saw but didn't actually talk to. It was a blast. When we got home Brooke and I already talked about attending in September.
It's really become an addiction at this point, but unlike other addictions good times are had by all.
If you read my last blog post you'll remember I was excited for this one in particular, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend. I didn't have to do much smooth talking to get Brooke on board as you'll soon find out.
So last Thursday we packed up the van, loaded up the kids, and made the trek to Salt Lake City. We usually stay with family, but due to circumstances we ended up not being able to, so we booked a hotel. Even though we had to spend the extra money it actually worked out well. We got a hotel that was only a couple blocks from the Salt Palace, so we were able to walk there.
When we attended the Con in September of 2015 we had to pay for parking which kind of sucked. This worked out much better.
First things first, the con is CRAZY!
It's wall to wall people. At times you can get swept up in the throng of people and feel like you're being herded like cattle. No more so than when you're headed to photo ops (Which we actually scheduled this time), but everything is worth it.
As soon as we arrived on the floor Leslie and Sam spared no time in finding something to buy. Sam got a Roman Reigns figure with a WWE Championship belt. (That boy is all about the wrestling. I wonder where he gets it from.) Leslie got a Ms. Marvel figure, which is awesome. I'm kind of envious. Sam, of course, bugged us the rest of the time to get something else which we had already told him he couldn't because he'd already got something.
After scanning the vendor floor and getting some sustenance we made our way to our first photo op appointment with none other than....
WEIRD AL!
 |
| Everybody and Weird Al |
 |
| Brooke and Holly Marie Combs |
 |
| Leslie and Tara Strong |
IT. WAS. AWESOME.
She talked to Leslie as Harley Quinn and I've never seen Leslie's smile bigger. She was in heaven.
After that we perused the floor again and I found some awesome comic inspired cuff links. A pair of Nightwing cuff links and I finally got me some Green Lantern ones. They are awesome.
 |
| Me and Marv Wolfman |
We finally called it a night and headed back to the hotel to check in and find some dinner. We decided on Cheesecake Factory. We'd always wanted to try it, but I.F. doesn't have one. It was an hour wait to get in, but well worth it. Our server was awesome and the food was killer. I had the best mushroom burger I think I've ever had. And they actually cooked my burger to medium rare! Restaurants usually ask how I want it, but it usually comes to me well done. Disappointing.
We ended the night in our hotel room where we fell asleep to the sounds of screams in the hall.
Yeah. You read that right. There was blood curdling screams for a little more than an hour as we tried to fall asleep. It was crazy. It finally ended and we nodded off.
Day 2 started off with breakfast at McDonalds. Not my favorite spot, but it was on the way to the Salt Palace.
We arrived to the same craziness as before. Since all our photo ops that day were later we decided to hit up the Princess Bride panel. We went to the one before it, a Walking Dead panel, so we could stay and get a good seat to the one we'd came for. I'm glad we did because even though I'm not a WD fan the panel was very entertaining.
The Princess Bride panel was amazing. It was Cary Elwes and Chris Sarandon, Wesley and Prince Humperdink respectively. They told hilarious stories about working with Andre the Giant and took questions from the crowd. Cary called up pretty much every kid that asked a question and took pictures with them and hugged them. He was a super nice guy.
At that point we did some more walking around. As you can tell there was a lot of that going on. I think I bet my step count goal by miles.
After killing some time, it had come to the moment I'd been waiting for. I was going to meet not one, but two Highlanders! As I'd mentioned earlier I was super excited for FanX, this was why. Brooke, Sam, and I got in line for the meet and greet. Kylie and Leslie stayed behind for Kylie's meet and greet with Danielle Panabaker. She's the gal that plays Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost in the Flash. That was Kylie's choice for a photo-op. We waited in line for what seemed like forever, but when the time came it was awesome. The three of us got our photo taken with Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert. I shook Adrian Paul's hand and thanked him. We immediately picked up our picture and got in his line for a signature. We waited for what seemed like forever before he got back. We were the first group for photo-ops, so he had to go through all those, plus his own solo ones. I'm glad we did wait that long though because they only took a limited number of people because he had to leave soon after. I got up to him and talked to him. I asked him who his favorite villain was on the show and then told him my favorite scene. I'm pretty sure I babbled, but it was totally worth it.
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| One of my favorite pictures ever! Adrian Paul and Christopher Lambert |
We then immediately jumped into Christopher Lambert's line and got his autograph as well. Sam was shocked when he saw a younger picture of him from Highlander. "That was you?" he said, which made Christopher laugh. I told Sam I'd show him that movie when he was older. He laughed and said "Yeah, you might want to wait until he's older." I shook his hand and thanked him. My FanX experience could've been done there.
 |
| Kylie with Danielle Panabaker |
We made another quick round of the floor. I bought Brooke, Kylie and myself a t-shirt. Kylie got an awesome Captain Marvel shirt. Brooke got a She-ra shirt, something she's wanted for a while. I got a He-man shirt, also something I've wanted for a while. I bought Leslie and Sam each a Pluto pin, (That's what they wanted) because I'd bought Kylie a Captain Marvel pin (Are you sensing a pattern here) on our first day and we headed back to the hotel and out to dinner.
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| The shirts we bought |
We ordered the Mountain of Meat in the largest size they had. That's 23" y'all. It was a beast. We ate until we were full and took the rest home. What was left over barely fit in a normal size pizza box. We'd eaten half the pizza. So yeah, pretty big.
All in all it was we had an awesome time. This doesn't cover all the cool costumes we saw and pictures we got with some of them. I got pictures with comic characters and Doctors. Daleks and the Kingpin. (That guys costume was amazing. Ask to see the picture if you ever see me.) We were all action figures at one point. I finally got my picture with the T.A.R.D.I.S. This also doesn't cover all the famous people I saw but didn't actually talk to. It was a blast. When we got home Brooke and I already talked about attending in September.
It's really become an addiction at this point, but unlike other addictions good times are had by all.
IT. WAS. AMAZING!!! I can't wait to go back and see who else is coming!!
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