FanX 2016, day 3

That last day at FanX was a doozy in all the good ways! Oh, my goodness. It was a good day.

Steampunk Theresa, me as River Song, and cutie Laura

We spent 10am-2pm in the Main Ballroom drinking in the panels. Laura was bummed we had 7th row seats. They were our "worst" of the weekend (and yet they were excellent. We were really spoiled all weekend, mostly because Laura is amazing at spotting and grabbing and saving seats).

Ashleigh and David sat behind us and we joked about how "gross" they are. Ugh, engaged people. So much PDA.

I feel like this is an accurate depiction of them as humans

Their PDA was actually kinda cute

The first panel was Alex Kingston. SHE IS HILARIOUS! So candid and fun. She was unapologetically herself, wacky clothing and all. I think she had even more fun than we did, and that's saying something. She is entertaining and insightful, and I could tell it meant a lot to her that we have enjoyed her work as much as we have.

Theresa said that Jason Isaac's panel was the biggest surprise for her. The guy was friggin' hilarious and totally owned the stage. He started out telling everyone to hurry up and take photos while he did nothing interesting so we could put our phones away and actually take part in the experience. Then he proceeded to get all of the "commonly asked questions" out of the way. Jason told us the story of how he was cast as Lucius Malfoy (even though he originally wanted to be Gilderoy Lockhart) and what it was like on set. He talked about his character in The Patriot and how no villain ever sees himself as a villain -- they always have a reason for being how they are. I was so, so happy, because it turned out he was the thoughtful, insightful, character-oriented actor I always hoped he was.

And then he started talking about how Peter Pan is really a story about Wendy, and I cried. That's exactly when I got from his version of Captain Hook. He gets it! He really gets it! I LOVE YOU, JASON ISAACS!! Good storytelling is worth fighting for!

I know. I need help.

Kate Beckinsale was surprisingly funny and cool. She seemed a little uncomfortable with the size of the crowd, but she was utterly charming and honestly answered every question put to her. UTI's and cranberry juice will forevermore make me think of her response to haters everywhere. Man, she's gorgeous.

Note her stiff, "don't touch me" body language. Every photo I've seen of her from the Con looked like this. Poor (rich and beloved) Kate.

Jeremy Renner's panel was only half an hour... and that was plenty of time. I hate to say it, but it's probably the worst panel I've ever seen. He's not a nerd and wasn't willing to joke around or expound on his character in Avengers. He was dull. He was awkward. He kind of acted like he didn't want to be there. It was disappointing. Anyone can have a bad day, but when he was one of he big draws you'd think he'd try a little harder. Good thing he's good on film. I'm still a fan of his acting, but I probably won't be running to see him speak again anytime soon.

Then came the best moment of the entire day. I had wanted a photo with Alex Kingston since she was announced as a guest for the Comic Con last September (and then cancelled because she was filming the Doctor Who Christmas special). I knew I needed a photo with her while I was dressed as River Song. SHE HAS MY HAIR AND HER CHARACTER IS AWESOME. And then Matt Smith announced that he was coming, too, so it was a no-brainer that I had to have a photo with both. I considered a lot of poses, but when the moment came, I said something like, "If I hug you [Alex] will you [Matt] hug me and it's kind of like, um, a sandwich?" They were really sweet about it and hugged me extra tightly. Everyone in line went "Awwwww!" And Matt gave me a side-hug while I thanked them both. His shirt was so soft. I walked away and felt a little overwhelmed. I'd spent about $200 on that photo. I was out of work and probably shouldn't have spent the money, but when it came down to it, it was totally and completely and in all ways worth it. I started crying because I felt so happy. It was a great moment. And then I saw the photo and I couldn't believe how cute it was. It was even better than I'd hoped it would be!

Come on, this is awesome!!

Later, I decided I needed Alex to sign my photo. I only had $20, so Theresa paid the difference, and we begged her manager to let just one more person in before she called it a night. Alex adored Theresa's outfit, and asked about the story behind it, which made Theresa's year. And then Alex saw my photo and said, "Aw, it's like a Love Sandwich!" And then she signed it. Haha! It's perfect!

What's funny is that I posted the photo on Instagram, and later found out that it's been tweeted around a bunch of Matt Smith fan sights. "An Alex, River Song, Matt sandwich." My photo is famous! Geronimo!

Maybe someday I'll ask Matt to sign it, too

I think it's time to retire my River Song cosplay. Now that I've met Alex Kingston, I feel nothing I do in this costume will ever equal that coolness. Plus, the sweater is too big on me now. I've loved being her, and had a few more adventures that day in honor of her.

Clockwise from top left: Megan, Tim (as the 11th Doctor), and me, Melody and Amy Pond (that redhead girl was a perfect Amy and flattered me wanting a photo with me, too), River at the TARDIS ponders "Spoilers" in her diary, the teenage girls we made friends with in line for the Doctor Who photo op, a cyberman and the TARDIS, weeping angels will always be terrifying, and a tiny baby River -- adorable!

River Song and River Tam. That needs to happen sometime. The 'Verse would never be the same.

It's no surprise Star Wars was a popular cosplay choice, coming on the heels of The Force Awakens. A lot of the costumes were rather stellar!

Clockwise from top left: Darth Maul and the Inquisitor from Star Wars Rebels, jedi from the 501st Legion, General Hux, old Luke, Rey, and General Leia, engaged and now famous couple Rey and Finn, with Baby 8, and Mandalorian Merc bounty hunters.

We caught the last ten minutes or so of the Twisted Toons panel. Han Solo with Roger Rabbit's voice was priceless.

Then we enjoyed a bunch of DC Superhero Girls mini-cartoons and hearing from the women who created and brought the concept to life. It was nice to have the female superhero represented. They gave all the littlest kids who asked questions some pretty fabulous action figures. Girl power!

All too soon, it was time for the final event: The Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Sing Along. I sat on the front row and sang my heart out! It's the best way to end the event. The best moment was during the raffle when David won a custom-made Captain Hammer doll. When he stood up and was dressed as Captain Hammer, everyone cheered. The raffle-caller commented that he'd never before seen a crowd so happy to lose -- haha!

Afterwards, we took our now traditional fake panel. I think Carrie took about 20 photos. It was tough narrowing them down! Sad I didn't get a photo with Carrie herself. I won't make that mistake again!

And it was over. They were an excellent three days. Can't wait to see what the next Con brings!

FanX day 1
FanX day 2

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (No spoilers)

Finally! I saw Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens at 9:30 on the 17th. Yep, the day before it officially opened. What can I say? I'm a nerd and I'm friends with nerds who wanted to see it as much as I did, and I definitely needed to see it before anyone could spoil it for me.

The movie was HUGE. It broke records for presales, first-day ticket sales, weekend ticket sales, and hit $1 billion within 2 weeks - fastest ever. Good thing it was a good movie. Well done, Mr. Abrams! The Force was with him.

I watched A New Hope and Return of the Jedi with Allison and her friends the week before The Force Awakens opened, so it only made sense we see the movie together. (Don't worry, I watched The Empire Strikes Back, too, but couldnt make the group showing).

Note that Allison is wearing a sweater reminiscent of Jedi robes,
and my shirt indicates a starry sky, plus the Sith red scarf ;)

I loved it. It did a great job bridging the original films with the new characters, the special effects and characters felt true to the Star-Warsian (hey! I made up a new word!) galaxy, the story was a fun mash-up of all the things I love about the originals (and now I hope we can move on with something new), included easter eggs for the fans, wasn't too complex for those new to the universe, and brought up as many questions as it answered. I laughed, I cheered, I applauded, and I cried (only a little). I am relieved and very happy.

I've seen it three times already. I need to see it a few more before it leaves theaters, but I have to see it with people who have seen it because I have a LOT to say about it!

I cannot WAIT for the next one (due out May 2017 - only 16 months to go).

FL trip day 7: Disneybounding at MK and Studios

Sometimes, when you're at Walt Disney World for ten days, you decide you can dedicate an entire day to having photos taken with characters. That's what we did our last full day at Magic Kingdom

We rode a few rides, too, but it was mostly all about the characters.

Tip #11 Disneybound (dressing up)

The idea behind Disneybounding is you dress in similar colors and pieces to a Disney character, but you aren't necessarily in costume. Jillian and I cheated a bit with her headpiece and my tiara, but our outfits were legit.

Her Maleficent was a huge hit.
I am always up for wearing a tiara!

All ways are MY ways!

We didn't get wet on Splash Mountain.
I still think it hilarious we had no problem with Kali River Rapids or Splash Mountain and were drenched on Pirates of the Caribbean.

Aurora balked when Jillian asked her to cower.
Too bad, 'cause that photo would have been funny.
This dress is amazing -- so flowy!

We had lunch at Be Our Guest and sat in the ballroom this time. For dessert, I tried the chocolate cupcake with "grey stuff" frosting, and it was delicious! If you're wondering what it tastes like, Jillian says it's like oreos, and I agree.

Gaston was excellent. When we walked up, he immediately put his arms around us. We then proceeded to talk for about five minutes. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, and there were a lot of people waiting behind us, so finally Jillian asked if we could take a photo. We like to think he wouldn't have minded standing there like that all day.
Me: Have you killed anything today?
Gaston: Why would I?
Me: Why wouldn't you?
Gaston: Good point.

These women were possibly my favorite of the day. Drizella is friends with someone who is friends with Jillian, so they had fun playing together. Anastasia and I talked about curly hair and the color pink. Truly good times.

Peter Pan was kind of ADD -- this was the only time he stood still. We played follow the leader and musical chairs (with no chairs). He was utterly charming.
According to Peter: I lost Wendy -- on purpose... She drools and snores!

Rapunzel loved my shoes

Adorable and so fun

Admiring Cinderella's shoes.
She said they were a gift from her Fairy Godmother.

I was a little disappointed by Cinderella. She is my favorite Disney princess, so I was annoyed that she spoke so quietly I could barely hear her, and she didn't let me talk to the prince at all. I will say that she and Prince Charming were darling in their quiet moments alone together. I liked watching them. They had a very sweet chemistry.

Tip #12 Line up early for character meet-and-greets

The characters are only out for a certain amount of time before they take a break. The attendants let the lines get to a predetermined length, then they close it off. So it's smart to get in line before the characters come, especially the popular ones like Gaston or Peter Pan, or rare ones like Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters. It's a good idea to show up to the line at least 10 minutes before the characters are scheduled. The line fills up quickly ones the character appears. The good news is they make sure to take their time with each guest and will make the wait worth it. (I was about the end that sentence with "especially for little kids" but they made an effort with Jillian and me, too.)

Other fun things:

• Tomorrowland Speedway... well, I didn't enjoy this one, so maybe it was less than fun
• Space Mountain and People Mover again
• Small World
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

When MK closed for the Very Merry Christmas Party (we didn't have tickets for), we took a bus to Epcot. We rode Star Tours and found our friend Brandon who was in town with his family. The three of us saw most of Fantasmic, then took a ferry to Epcot and the Boardwalk hotel for a snack. At that point, I hadn't eaten in about 8 hours and I was STARVING!! Hanger is real, kids. I should have packed an extra PBJ. Lesson learned. A chocolate croissant has never tasted so good.

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 2: First day at Epcot

Day 3: First day at Magic Kingdom
Day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron
Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine
Day 8: DAK and Studios again
Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK
Day 10: Characters and hotels

FL trip day 4: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Harry Potter books. I have wanted to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Florida ever since they first announced the concept. I finally, finally had the chance on this trip.

It was absolutely, without a doubt, worth the wait.

Dragon Alley

In the words of JK Rowling:

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Tip #6 Start in Diagon Alley

Dragon Alley was Harry's introduction to the wizarding world. I firmly believe every muggle and every wizard-at-heart needs to start there. Plus, it makes a little more sense when you ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade (Larissa clued me in to this).

Jillian and Aaron were excited to go, but they weren't quite cry-as-soon-as-you-walk-through-the-wall excited. Guess who was?

Thank you for this video, bro. I love it!

You guys, I cannot adequately describe how cool this place is. The rest of Universal Studios is just ok, but I think they knew that if the Wizarding World wasn't incredibly detailed and accurate the fans would have a fit. As such, it is incredibly detailed and accurate, right down to the stuff sold in stores and restaurants. You can't get the same candy in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as you can at Honeydukes. In Diagon Alley, there are tons of Quidditch supplies. In Hogsmeade you'll find Hogwarts souvenirs. I absolutely loved it.  

Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

The park seems to take place during all of the books at once, so Ollivander's and Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes exist together, and characters that otherwise might not interacts are all there. It was kind of comforting. It was both pre-war and post-war at Hogwarts. Rather idyllic and sweet.

Ready to take a trip through Gringotts' caverns

A puppet show telling Beetle the Bard's tale The Fountain of Fair Fortune

My first butterbeer of the day

Tip #7 Get the parkhopper if you want to take the Hogwarts Express

It's smart from a commercial standpoint, and annoying from a tourist standpoint, that Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are in two different Universal Studios parks, so you have to get the parkhopper pass if you want to go to both in the same day. If you do this, you can take the Hogwarts Express. It's a short ride, but a fun one, and the story is different depending on the direction you come from. As I said, start in Diagon Alley if you've never been before.

Hogsmeade, outside Hogwarts. It looked beautiful, though the snow on the roofs was odd in 80 degree weather.

I think I found my dream job. I love singing in a quartet, and it delights me to no end that the Slytherin is the soprano. Of course she is!

Hogwarts is beautiful

My favorite ride is inside the castle.
Plus, they have references to all of the books and you get to go through all the classrooms and the Gryffindor common room while on line.
So. Much. Detail :D

Lunch at The Three Broomsticks.
This "feast" fed Aaron, Jillian, and I and was delicious.
(I ate a LOT of good food on this trip.)

Geoff and Andrew joined us at lunchtime. Geoff brought Kristen's wand, so we got to do some magic around the park. I had a rough time with wingardium leviosa and seriously questioned whether I'm a muggle after all, but managed the spell in the end.

We went back to Ollivander's so I could watch the wand selection. I had heard they usually pick a child, so I didn't expect it to be me. Then I realized everyone in our group were adults. I started bouncing off the walls, practically shooting "pick me!" out of my eyeballs.

The wand master picked Aaron.

And then Aaron asked if the wand master would do a favor "for my sister" and the wand master agreed.

And my wand choose me.

Ivy with unicorn hair.
Of course I bought it. It chose me!

There is no other word for it. The moment was magical!

Other fun things:

• Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees sang "A Cauldron of Hot Strong Love"
• Flight of the Hippogriff baby roller coaster
• Dragon Challenge roller coasters -- rode the Chinese Fireball (red) and Hungarian Horntail. The Fireball was the better of the two and it's worth it to wait to be in the front row on the outside ;)
• Bought a Hogwarts Christmas tree ornament -- Geoff had a discount for being a season pass holder. Hooray!!
• Wandered into the regular Universal Studios for the Jurassic Park ride

When we returned to Diagon Alley, Aaron and Jillian stood in the middle of the street for a good 10 minutes waiting for the Gringotts dragon to breathe fire. I don't blame them for wanting a photo. The fire only lasted two seconds, so it's good they were prepared.

As you can see, they weren't the only ones waiting

Jillian and Andrew went off before closing to ride the Gringotts ride one last time. While they were away, I spotted this sign:

Obviously, I had to check it out. Aaron, Geoff, and I looked through the forbidden objects (and Deatheater-themed clothing) in Borgin and Burkes until closing and watched a show in the regular park until Andrew and Jillian appeared again.

Aaron and I headed to Disney Springs while the rest met Kristen for dinner somewhere. We ate a Ghirardelli sundae, watched a lip sync contest, danced the "Cupid Shuffle", and browsed a few stores.

Day 1: First day at DAK and Studios

Day 2: First day at Epcot

Day 3: First day at Magic Kingdom
Day 5: Magic Kingdom with Aaron
Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and Food and Wine
Day 7: Disneybounding at MK
Day 8: DAK and Studios again
Day 9: Last day at Epcot and MK
Day 10: Characters and hotels