MegaCon 2014, Part 2

Saturday at MegaCon was the truly infamous day - a day that will live on in tragic ballads, a day that saw many of the show's own vendors trapped in traffic for hours past the con's opening, a day when the roads for a dozen square miles ground to a halt, as somewhere around 75 THOUSAND people all tried to get into the same building at once. (Those are Dragon Con numbers, you guys. I still can't wrap my brain around it!)

Some attendees averaged over two hours to drive three miles. Most got out and walked for the last mile or so. The "lucky" ones arrived in the pre-dawn hours, so that there was a massive line stretching outside the building by 7:30 AM - and the doors didn't even open until 10.

It was insanity.

And I was so, SO glad I decided to skip the costume that day.

Thanks to my phone's traffic app and arriving a little later (around 11 or 12), John and I missed the worst of it coming in. It still took an extra hour, and we had to park a mile off and walk, but that beats sitting in gridlock!

The true scale of the crowd didn't hit me until we stepped onto the entrance escalators - a new logistical nightmare that requires everyone entering the convention to go DOWN an escalator and funnel through a tiny bottleneck to reach the doors.

This was my view going down, and my first real glimpse of the crowd:

And I was all:

Again, I don't have crowd anxiety; I have "escape" anxiety - but in the face of that wall of people - most of whom were not moving - I felt a heavy rushing in my ears and a split second of panic, thinking I would be crushed at the foot of the escalator. Then I mentally shook myself, focused on the ground in front of me, and pushed through - literally!

Within seconds of making it through the doors my panic was forgotten, as I focused on taking pictures. I'll say it again: after a smartphone, a camera is THE best anxiety distraction.

K, I've already written about John's fantastic experience as Dreamfinder that day, and you've waited long enough - so let's get to the costumes!

My photo just barely shows it, but this Hiccup even had the false foot attachment!

And I love Toothless perched on his head. :)

You always see a lot of Poison Ivys at cons, but this steampunk version was especially lovely:

And the lady on the right used REAL pufferfish for her hat and balloon/bag thing. Which kinda freaks me out. But the goggles & wings on the top one are cool.

 This creepy Hatter had a rather brilliant hat design:

 Recognize the interlocking floor mats? Lots of great details there, too.

Ready for the best pun costume of the con? Ok. Then meet...

DEF BEATER.

Yep, instead of a turn table (or clock), this guy has a giant TIME TURNER.

(Srsly, the genius. It is blinding.)

And speaking of genius: THAT'S NO MOON:

Her hair clip is a LEGO tie fighter!

A snappily-dressed Joker (or Duela Dent?) & Pinkie Pie:

And a stunning Wonder Woman in full battle armor:

We saw some fabulous wheelchair and scooter costumes this year:

I'm pretty sure this guy was the most popular, tho - Wil Wheaton even tweeted his photo from the con!

Not only did he turn his chair into the Iron Throne, he even added false legs so he could cosplay as Tyrion! That is some genius construction, right there. Love it.

And now... DUCKY MOMO!!

But we all know it's *really* Candace Flynn in there, right? 

:D

(I just realized I have no idea how that cosplayer can see anything. Theories?)

Not a great pic, but here's Elizabeth from the first half of BioShock: Infinite:

...plus some Power Puff Girls ('played by guys) flying the Mayor around.

I think I mentioned before there were a LOT of Jack Frosts - but this was the most adorable of the bunch:

A beautiful Rarity:

And female Skeletor? Maybe?

 

[Correction: she's Evil-lyn, Skeletor's second-in-command. Thanks, guys!]

 (Those giant windows you see on the right are the one true advantage of the con's new location in the OC convention center - they almost make up for that awful escalator bottleneck. That much light flooding the whole wing makes for some suh-WEET photos - provided you get the cosplayers to face the light, of course.)

 And finally, a fabulous Guardians of the Galaxy group:

Whew! Ok, I'm going to break here and give you guys another batch of pics next week; looks like I have at least two more post's worth to go, so I have to pace myself. :)

Hope you guys are enjoying your extended virtual visit to MegaCon! And I cannot WAIT to show you the rest!