This past weekend, the first annual Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest (yes, it was confirmed to return next year. Date will be determined when the Arizona Cardinals schedule is finalized in April) was held at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The convention came about from all the suggestions from attendees of Phoenix Comicon of having a convention in the winter.

I was able to attend Friday and Sunday, had the chance to spend a lot of time on the exhibit floor while also checking out a few panels of the guests of the convention. The exhibit floor was large and very spacious, only experienced a traffic jam once and it was very brief. The exhibit floor had a nice mix of exhibitors, costuming groups, and artists while space was still provided for the photo op/signature areas.

Let me touch on a few things about the convention:

The Good
Like mentioned above, plenty of space and lots of booths. Most first time conventions would take a few years to reach the size that Fan Fest started out with. It isn’t Phoenix Comicon but its no slouch either.

The staff was well organized and helpful. Everything appeared to run smooth and flawless from an attendee stand point.

If you had a child with you then chances are you took them to the bounce house style slides and obstacle courses. I did and my kid had a blast. During the Phoenix Comicon 2015 Preview Panel, they confirmed that they would be bringing back the bounce houses to Fan Fest (not Phoenix Comicon because of the heat). Great idea.

What Needs to be Improved
This is probably less to do with the convention and more to do with the limited amount of time they had but the convention didn’t have that one marquee name for a guest that made it a must attend convention.

I honestly felt bad for any one who purchased a fast pass, I didn’t see a single line that warranted the purchase of one. Maybe down the road when attendance is higher that it would be worth it.

You can see photos from both days here and here.

For live tweets during conventions, make sure to follow me on Twitter! I look forward to hearing from everyone and maybe we will run into each other at the next Arizona convention!

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