After having such an amazing time on Day 2, I knew it would be impossible for me to keep my Silicon Valley Comic Con coverage to just one post. I have to admit Friday night I was extremely disappointed, but Saturday definitely made up for it.
Let’s start with Friday, I went in with the game plan of getting the lay of the land and showing my father the convention world for the first time. He had raised me on Star Trek and Star Wars. So I figured that being the best daughter in the entire world, I would set him up for a photo op with William Shatner. Unfortunately, Mr. Shatner made it through his panel but cancelled his photo ops for the evening. We were disappointed but completely understood. Since my dad couldn’t come back Saturday. They were able to give us a full refund for our photo op which wasn’t an option last year! We ended up venturing over to Steve Wozniak’s media party and had a wonderful time!
We were determined to have a better day on Saturday, until we got stuck in 30 minutes of traffic trying to find parking! We eventually parked the vehicle and made the trek over to the convention center! By that point, there was no room in the Star Trek panel, for even press. So unfortunately we missed it. Our first convention adventure of the day was over to the celebrity photo and autograph area! They really made the layout this year SO MUCH BETTER! My husband is a huge pop collector and was determined to get some signed! We were absolutely blessed to meet Caroll Spinney! Since 1969, he’s been the man behind Big Bird and the Grouch on Sesame Street. It was amazing to meet someone who had such a huge impact on our first years of life. We then decided that it was time to check out the Outdoor Festival that was being held in the park just adjacent to the convention center. What we didn’t expect was getting blocked in by the March for Science and meeting Mayim Bialik and Rachel Bloom. You can read about our March experience here.
After some marching fun and lunch, we headed back to convention floor once more. This time we were on a mission for Adam West. Two things we learned about Adam West: 1) He will only sign something if it’s personalized. 2) You can’t take pictures of him at conventions. Even the press. I tried and got yelled at, but in my defense, I at least asked first. From that point on, we just got luckier and luckier. Tom Felton chose which Draco Malfoy pop he wanted to sign and then decided he wanted his own HP scar by adding it to mine. Thanks Tom for defacing my pop! 😉 William Shatner was signing autographs but you could definitely tell he wasn’t feeling too well. We hope he feels better soon! John Cusack gave us a huge wave from his booth while in line for Steven Yeun! For someone who just got nailed by Lucille, he was amazing and gracious. He was even glad to hear our resident zombie expert, Jon, got his job by showing me Glen’s Zombie Kill Count. On my way out, Billy Boyd was hanging out by himself. If you know me, I have this obsession with hobbits. So naturally I wanted to be able to say “I high five a hobbit”. Not only did a high five a hobbit, BUT he was generally interested in The Game of Nerds! He was hands down the nicest person ever to me even though I was extremely nervous! Now for the real question folks! If I’m shorter than a hobbit, what does that make me? Dwarf? Elf? I need some clarification!
Billy Boyd and TGON Owner Shannon Parola
Check out Part 2 of my SVCC Adventure tomorrow! Plus don’t miss out on any Silicon Valley Comic Con coverage by following The Game of Nerds on social media!
We were lucky enough to meet Shannon and her husband at SVCC this year while waiting in line for Tom Felton’s autograph! Some of the nicest people you could meet!
I’m glad to hear you guys had fun at the con! It was our first con but it was amazing…cant wait until next year!