Calgary Expo 2015
Like always, we had a great time at the Calgary Expo. Some of the highlights from our trip include:
+ Meeting Luke Perry. Honestly, I've always been a Team Brandon kinda girl but after meeting Luke in person, I've changed my mind, Team Dylan ALL THE WAY. Not only was he on time (which is beyond rare for morning autograph signings) but he was so charismatic. Sometimes you picture celebrities in a certain way and meeting them can sometimes affect the way you feel towards them. Luke was AMAZING. He was funny and friendly and after all the celebrities we met at the convention when people ask me what my favorite part was, I keep gushing "I met Luke Perry!"
+ Meeting Gwendoline Christie who definitely has the convention type personality. You always come across a few celebrities who seem like they don't want to be there, but she fit right in. She asked everyone at her autograph table how their weekend was going, looked at the costumes people were wearing and only had nice things to say about Calgary and Canada.
+ Meeting Jason Momoa who didn't need the security he came in with. This guy is super strong and probably could have taken on a mob of people by himself.+ Photo ops ran smoother than any other year. Not only was the photo op queue line tent helpful but it was also helpful that when they said "Only show up 15 minutes in advance" they actually meant it. In the previous years they would say that but if you showed up only 15 minutes in advance, you were pretty much in the back of the line. Also having staggered photo op times really helped for Jason Momoa, as I'm sure there were several hundred people in line.
+ Calgary Delta South. Every year we stay at the Delta South and every year we get such good service. We upgraded to a suite because there were three people in our travelling party and I fell in LOVE with the brand name shampoos/conditioners/body lotions that were left with the giant soaker tub (which came in handy after he expo when we could barely walk) and the rainfall shower. Besides the fact that it's right on the LRT line and parking is free, they also have two pools and an attached bar (which makes the best pepperoni pizza!)
Some of the downsides from our trip:
- Morning autograph session times. For the last time Calgary Expo, PLEASE don't schedule autograph starting times at the same time as general admission. If you schedule a celebrity for 10:00 when the doors open at 10:00, it's almost a guarantee that they will be late. Only twice (in 7 conventions) have we ever encountered otherwise (Thank you John Ratzenberger and Luke Perry. Your punctuality is much appreciated!). Start scheduling them for a half hour after the doors open, which will give the celebrity a half hour window before making them late. Sometimes it doesn't matter as much because they are signing from 10:00 to 1:30 but this year some of the signings were only for 1 hour in the mornings and if the celebrity is half an hour (or more) late, you have to change your scheduled plans on the fly which affects the rest of your day. (Yes, I do have color coded schedules for the Expo. Only way to keep
everything straight!)
- Pretty sure that too many VIP tickets were sold. I understand that VIPs pay a lot of money for their passes but unfortunately when regular lines get cut off (Danai Gurira for example), the VIP lines should also be cut off. The doors opened at 10:00 for her and we were waiting outside the building for 30 minutes before they opened and dashed when they let us in. If we had been behind 15 or so more people, we wouldn't have made it into the line. She showed up late and it took WELL OVER AN HOUR for the constant stream of VIPs getting their stuff signed first. Even though the regular line was cut off the VIP line never got cut off. By the end, we waited almost three hours and that set us back for the rest of the day.- Please don't make announcements so close to the Expo. Yes, it was exciting that Neil Patrick Harris and Rosario Dawson were able to make it. However, having the announcement made AFTER we were already in Calgary was frustrating because our schedule was already written up, our photo ops were already paid for and there was no time to get in extra people.
Overall, the convention was great just like always. It's amazing how I always forget just how much walking and standing is involved. Can't wait to see the line up for the Saskatoon and Edmonton Expos in September!!
Photos from top to bottom:
- Luke Perry (Beverly Hills, 90210)
- Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones)
- Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
- Kristin Bauer (True Blood)
- Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210)
- Scott Wilson (Walking Dead)
- Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- David Morrissey (Walking Dead)
- Skeet Ulrich (Scream)
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