By SuperToyCon 2016 – Overview
Orleans Arena
Las Vegas, NV
August 5-7, 2016
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| A-Team van replica |
I hadn’t heard of SuperToyCon until I saw an ad on Facebook earlier this year. I’m not a fan of Las Vegas, but I have a friend who goes to Vegas pretty often (he gets comped rooms and game play credit) so I seriously considered going. Once they announced David Prowse as a guest, I knew I had to go. I bought a discounted VIP 3-day ticket (which also included the Hall of Champions dinner on Saturday night), and posted on Facebook to see if anyone was interested in going to Las Vegas that particular weekend so I could at least save on a hotel room. Of course my fan of Vegas friend had a comp room he could use that weekend, and he booked it at the Linq which was closest to the Orleans shuttle.
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| I love the details on this Batmobile. |
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| Batmobile |
He decided he would get a general admission 3-day ticket for the convention as well, but he wouldn’t have a ticket to the dinner unless he purchased it separately. We left Los Angeles Friday morning and went to the Orleans Arena prior to checking into the hotel so that we could get our badges/wristbands before the Saturday crowds. I used my autograph/photo-op ticket, which was included in the VIP package to get my “Darkside” hockey jersey from Geeky Jerseys signed by David Prowse.
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| David Prowse signing my Darth Vader jersey (Photo Credit: John Base) |
There wasn’t much going on as far as panels go so we walked around and checked out the dealer floor before heading The Linq to check-in. After checking-in, we relaxed for about an hour while trying to figure out where we wanted to eat for dinner (my friend also had a $50 food credit at various restaurants on the strip). We decided to head to Gordon Ramsay’s Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace. We noticed that Caesars was celebrating their 50th Anniversary that weekend and were hoping to be finished with dinner in time to catch the fireworks. Dinner was amazing (I didn’t know a pesto chicken sandwich could be so good!), and we were able to catch at least half of the fireworks.
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| Car in the \”Car show\” area outside. |
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| Hot Wheels car in the car show. |
We spent most of Saturday checking out panels and the Hot Wheels racing room. I’ve mentioned in my panel recaps that they were too short at 30 minutes, and they really should have them be an hour long. The dealer floor was pretty small as was the car show behind the Arena. My friend and I both headed back to the hotel because we were pretty bored. My back was also hurting, and I wanted to take a nap before getting ready for the dinner (business attire dress code.) My friend headed to the casino to spend his credit, and I rent to the room to nap.
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| Great Cars Land set up on the dealer floor |
The dinner was a nice buffet, and there was a lot of food. Sam Jones was there and went around to a few of the tables to chat. I sat at a table where there were mostly females and two males, and Sam Jones tells us when he’s about to leave our table to let him know if we have any problems. I asked him if he was going to be our bouncer, and he said that he was a Marine before he was an actor and smiled. I regretted not getting a picture with him, but I caught him at the end of the event to get one. I mentioned to him that one of my favorite movies is “My Chauffeur” and he said, “Oh, good!”
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| Sam Jones and I |
My friend and I decided not to attend the convention on Sunday as there wasn’t anything else we wanted to see or do that day. We had lunch at the newly opened Wahlberger’s then headed back to Los Angeles.
Overall, the convention was small and relaxed, but I would only return for the guests and the dinner. There really wasn’t a need for the VIP ticket as the lines were pretty short, and it didn’t give you priority access to the panels. There was priority access to the dinner, though, and a goody bag at the dinner for VIP badge holders, but I’m not sure it’s worth the money for a regularly priced VIP badge. I happened to get a discount on my VIP badge so I would only get a VIP ticket again for a discounted price.
On a personal note, the weekend ended horribly for me when I came home to a 3-day notice from my landlord and it turned out that my rent payment had been stolen from the mail, forged and deposited. I can’t recover the money and a police report has been filed, but I’m not holding my breath for getting my money back (the amount was just under the $950 to make it grand theft). It’s caused me to cancel my trip to San Jose for Heroes and Villains Fan Fest which really upsets me as that is probably my favorite convention to attend. The guest list this year was insane, too!! I’m going to do my damnedest to get to Heroes & Villains Fan Fest in Orlando in June (my birthday weekend, too!!!!) as long as I can get the time off from work in addition to the week I take in July for San Diego Comic Con. Cross your fingers!
TTFN,
V
Weird Life of V 