Source: SVCC
Silicon Valley Comic Con took place this weekend in San Jose. Everyone from around the Bay Area came to see what the Woz had in store for fans this year. This would be the conventions fourth year running the event at the San Jose Convention Center. The Terminator Reunion and Jason Momoa were the events to see with long lines that lasted all day. Jason Momoa even graciously stayed after the convention to continue signing autographs for fans. There were a lot of rumors running around that he was overbooked. The reality was that he almost missed his flight in the morning and was late coming in. We were one of the first General Admission people to get our pop signed and we were lined up at 10am. We didn’t get through till close to 11:30 am before he had to go to photo ops. All the other celebrity’s lines though were pretty decent and not a long wait at all. We ended up getting to talk to a lot of actors one on one while they were on the floor about various topics. There weren’t very many panels scheduled but they did have overflow rooms and televisions outside so that fans could catch a glimpse of what was going on, but you could barely hear them. While the convention was definitely a 3/10, the cosplays are what made the convention.
We can say honestly that SVCC was a step down from years past. We never saw the Woz once. Normally we see him multiple times a day on his golf cart or segway running around. It was almost like he disappeared this year. It was clear that the convention was under new management. Everything was extremely disorganized. Press wasn’t given any instructions, workers had no information on what was going on, and security was an absolute joke. There was no consistency with security and there were rumors going around that security wouldn’t let in outside food or drink. I must have been lucky because I was never asked to throw out my food or water. To make matters worse, the inside food vendors were horrid with limited choices and no concern for people with allergies. Multiple times during the day they ran out of specific items like hot dogs, water, or sodas which in return made the lines exceptionally long to get in and out each day. The “outdoor garden” was nothing but tables out in the boiling sun with four vendors selling food for $15 a plate. All the entertainment that was supposed to be out there during the weekend was canceled due to the high heat. I really miss the outdoor park feature they had in 2017 with all the food trucks. It was so nice to take a break throughout the day from the convention floor. The Kid’s Zone was also greatly decreased along with the gaming floor. We honestly spent very little time on the lower level of the convention due to the lack of activities. I also have to admit we saw a lot of vendors that had nothing to do with Geek or Nerd Culture like Geico, Cookie Dough, and State Farm to name a few. This includes the five different Wild Bill Soda stops where you had to pay $35-$40 for a cup in order to get free refills for the rest of the day. At one point, they had run out of ice and the floor was sticky from people spilling everywhere. Even though the refills with the cup were $5 each day, the soda was so overly sweet and warm that you could only drink one cup before getting a headache.
In all, there were a lot of complaints from fans and vendors ranging from “It wasn’t the best but I had fun” and “won’t be coming back”. Even some people stated, “I want a refund.” There is plenty to read when you check out the Silicon Valley Comic Con comments on posts. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the huge feature of the Terminator reunion, so a lot of people were upset to find out he wasn’t even attending the reunion panel that required special tickets. The con had even offered free Sunday tickets to anyone who bought the reunion panel tickets. Arnold attended the con only for autographs and photo ops that were whopping $450 apiece. Most fans though complained over the long lines, lack of food, parking issues, and price of the con. I will say this, a lot of the complaints heard could have easily been fixed if the attendees were prepared ahead of time. It was like some of them had never been to a convention before. One lady had the information volunteer in full-blown tears because she was late for her photo op due to not finding parking. Honestly, if she hadn’t tried to show up 30 mins before her photo op, she probably would have made it. There were also a lot of people who flat our demanded refunds for Jason Momoa because they refused to “stand in that long of a line.” To be frank, I literally rolled my eyes at these people and their ridiculousness. Please know that when you attend a convention there will be lines, regardless if you are VIP or not. Most photo ops and autographs are NON-REFUNDABLE unless the celebrity actually cancels. Vendors apparently got the worst of it though. They were charged $200 loading fees and forced to stay HOURS before and after the convention waiting for their stuff to be loaded into their vehicles. Most of the vendors we talked to said they wouldn’t be back due to the disorganization, unexplained last-minute fees, and the fact that it was a very slow convention.
Photo Source: Shannon For The Game of Nerds
Now, even though Silicon Valley Comic Con was disorganized. One of the big reasons, The Game of Nerds was there was to show off our latest Funko Pop Cosplays! This year we unleashed two new boxes from Super Troopers, Farva, and Ramathorn. Needless to say, they were a huge hit with fans walking around the convention. We even competed in the SVCC Cosplay contest and met so many amazing cosplayers there. Cosplayers didn’t have much time to talk about their cosplay or show it off since the event was packed. It would have been nice to hear what the judges were looking for or hear about the cosplays. Instead, we were subjected to readings of the MC’s book while the judges deliberated. So naturally, we were surprised when our Super Troopers went so far as to win “Audience Favorite” at the Contest! The prize, you ask? A paperweight with the convention date and category won. At the end of the day, both Jon and Andy are beyond humbled by all the love and support their cosplay received over the weekend! If you have any pictures, please tag us in them. We would love to see them and add to our growing collection! We honestly did have a great time at the convention with our cosplay. Silicon Valley Comic Con returns for the fifth year to San Jose, California in October 2020.
I’ve never heard of this convention before, it sounds like it was a disaster. I’m glad to hear that you tried to make the best of the situation through cosplay. By looking at the featured photo, the Funko Pop idea is very creative! Since this convention will take place next fall, I hope this gives the organizers and employees enough time to resolve the issues from this year’s convention so the event can be worth guests’ time and money.