Thursday, June 1, 2017

MegaCon Orlando 2017: The Best Cosplay!

MegaCon is Orlando's largest convention, with attendance reaching over 100,000 - and growing. To accommodate the massive crowds, this year MegaCon's new owners relocated to the opposite concourse of the Orange County Convention Center.

Trouble was, this new concourse has a show floor one level down from the main entry floor, and when MegaCon tried this same switch back in 2014, this happened:

People were nearly trampled - and definitely panicked - by the down escalators continually dumping more people into a near standstill of a crowd.

To avoid the same safety issue this year, MegaCon did something rather ingenious:


They made everyone walk outside, around the building, and enter through a large bay door directly onto the lower show floor.

The massive ticketing area.

While this dealt neatly with the bottleneck problem, it did present some new - albeit minor -  problems: 1) it's HOT in Florida, and no one likes a longer walk outside, and 2) the show floor lighting is terrible for photos, since all the sunlight is one floor up. I miss my natural light, y'all.

Still, I did my best, so let's get to some costumes! 

In fact, I'm going to hit you with the cutest cosplay of the con first thing:

BABY GROOT. Eeeee! So adorable!

This Ariel has rock, will travel:
Literally; I watched them roll it along!


Who wants the redhead?
Oh, that's right: WE DO!!
(This makes my Dizgeeky lil' heart so happy.)

The new Guardians of the Galaxy inspired plenty of Yondu love: 

 
 (Love how lady Yondu made the arrow trail - super cool. [And of COURSE Ace Ventura is a fan!])

And you better believe there was a Yondu Mary Poppins or two!


Plus a Rocket Raccoon chimney sweep?



If you're a big Tested fan like me, then you'll recognize this Totoro build:


Adam Savage made one just like this for a One Day Build, then encouraged fans to make their own. This guy totally nailed it! (I'm addicted to Adam's One Day Builds, btw. Go watch 'em.)

Then... this happened:

Cap was really twirling that boa, y'all. :D
And dang if these boys don't rock fishnets better than I ever could!

Speaking of fishnets: totally crushing on this Merida;
I mean, these ladies all have gorgeous costumes, but Merida's is singing my song with that orange silk skirt & knee-high boots. SO GOOD. Plus that hair!

Oh! Here's another big plus MegaCon added this year:

An enormous Cosplay Repair Center, smack in the middle of the show floor. I couldn't fit it all in frame - there's more to the right! There were stations for body paint, sewing, appliance adhesives - even a changing booth with privacy curtains. All staffed by friendly volunteers, all free. AH-mazing.

Here's Jamie - aka Chief Miracle Worker - repairing a belt for my friend Steph:

Steph later got more help re-attaching her lekku with better adhesive. Seriously, great folks over there. (They have a tip jar to help pay for supplies, btw, so drop a few bucks in next year, yeah?)

I saw quite a few Star-Lords, but this is the only one who can leave his helmet OFF and still get double-takes:
Chris Pratt's doppelganger!

And a more grown-up Groot:
I met this Groot and his folks last year - and they all cosplay! You can follow them on Instagram here.

This Hamilton group was incredible:

I kinda want to steal LaFayette's coat. And is anyone else doing a double-take at "Lin?" She totally looks like him!

It's rare that I see something new/original in cosplay, you guys, so this next one completely delighted me. Remember when Elsa wakes up Anna in the short Spring Fever?

Well someone cosplayed sleepy Anna:

And she has a pillowcase for a purse! AAAAA!

This Alien family had a little wagon complete with retro computer & a konked-out operator:

The screen was even running animations! Super cool.

I'm not sure who was having more fun: these kids or every single person who saw them:
They were so excited, told me they'd just been filmed for the local news. 
"Did you clop the coconuts?" I asked. 
"Of course!" 
See, these kids are being raised right. 

 Another classic: Robin Hood: Men In Tights!
"It's an Everlast!"


Somehow I have no memory of the 90's cartoon Street Sharks, but thanks to Google I now know it was about "four brothers accidentally transformed into half-shark, half-humans."

And for our visual aid:
Bahahahah! (Though technically the Orca is a whale, right? Or am I overthinking this?)

And just for that EXTRA dose of meta, the one in the middle has a Vin Diesel hand puppet. Because Vin once did a demonstration of Street Shark hand puppets. (See, this is the kind of research I do for you guys. Because I love you.)

As you can see, the sharks would politely chomp your head if asked. And the orca could blow water out of his blowhole! 


This little Leia was WAY too happy about being in a Mandalorian holding cell:

Pretty sure she'll just charm her way out, though. I mean, look at that smile.

Last MegaCon Undertale was the hot new game getting all the cosplay love. This year? Overwatch:

So much Overwatch! And I haven't even played the game yet, so I know I missed a bunch.
That's a gorgeous Widowmaker up there, and here's Tracer:



Any Series Of Unfortunate Events fans out there?

Because this Count Olaf & Violet Baudelaire are PERFECTION.

(That's Daniel & Emily, btw - click the links for their Instagram accounts!)

I managed to get some actual sunlight for this Levi from Attack on Titan:
 
Awesome wings! (And see why I wish everyone could be in this light?)

Here's a first: dapper Bugs & Lola Bunny:

 
 Loving the carrot in his glass. Ha.

Here's a reference, since I can't be the only one who doesn't remember Lola:

Finn and a gender-swapped Rey from Force Awakens:


And here's my friend Steph-the-Twi'lek again, after her belt was patched up:



A beautiful Aurora - in blue! Yes! - and the Dread Pirate Roberts protecting Buttercup:


Lego Superman & Lego Batman:
Their expressions are cracking me up.

Mashup time! First:

Indiana Jones and the Sorting Hat of Doom.

And next:


Harley Rey! She did a great job on the outfit - so pretty. 

There was plenty of Steven Universe cosplay, but this was my favorite:
Lapis' body paint was flawless - and that dress! Hnnng.

This Five Nights at Freddy's cosplay is NOT lovely, but it's terribly clever:
The head is the cosplayer's head, but the rest of the body is a puppet! You can just see the rods on the arms, so it could wave at you. CLEVER. And, you know, disturbing.

And I'll leave you with this hilarious Jack:

"WHY IS THE RUM ALWAYS GONE??"

Bahaha!

Stay tuned for the rest of my favorite MegaCon cosplay - Rocky Horror, Stranger Things, The Mummy - sooo much more goodness, coming soon!

19 comments:

  1. Oh wow, love the Overwatch cosplays ( I haven't played it either ) Aww Lola!

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  2. "CALL THE LOCKSMITH!"

    I need to rewatch Men in Tights. It's been too long.

    As always, the pictures are wonderful. Some people are so clever with their cosplay. Never fails to impress me.

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  3. If you want to REALLY overthink it, you should know that orcas are definitely not sharks. They're also called killer whales, but they aren't whales, either. They're actually dolphins. They're called killer whales because their name was translated from Spanish, which puts the adjective after the noun, and in Spanish orcas are called "whale killers" because they have been seen killing whales.

    The more you know.

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    Replies
    1. Katelyn, you beat me to it! :)

      Jen, gorgeous photos, as always. Thank you for sharing!

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  4. Lafayette's coat looks like an Elhoffer Design piece (https://elhofferdesign.com/collections/revolution-collection/products/lafayette-hamilgown-tunic). So gorgeous!

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  5. Thank you for sharing your awesome pictures.

    It's a bit pricey but you don't need steal LaFayette's coat. Its made by Elhoffer Design, who makes some pretty fun geek inspired apparel.
    https://elhofferdesign.com/collections/stock-items/products/lafayette-hamilgown-tunic

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  6. I don't know if you heard, but Hamilton is coming to the Straz Center in Tampa for the 2018-19 season. We are GOING!!! I will keep you updated on ticket sales if you are interested.

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  7. We were so bummed we missed you! My husband and I have been hoping to run into you a couple times now and were on the lookout for a BB8! We were Jessie and James from Team Rocket, disguised as ~Salon Roquet~ haha
    Love your blogs!

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  8. I love cosplay posts, even if the lighting is less than ideal. ;-) People are so creative and clever! I'm not even a Harry Potter fan, but I freakin' LOVE that Indiana Jones mashup! Totally cracked me up. And tiny Leia. And Sleepy Anna. And wow, *swoon* over that Starlord! So much awesome! Definitely need to get my behind in gear and get my cosplays done for DragonCon!

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  9. WOW! I always love seeing people's cosplay. It amazes me the clever ideas some folks have. Was that rock!Ariel's tail glowing or was it just a trick of the light?

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    Replies
    1. I think her tail fin was a little reflective, and caught the light just right to give it that glow.

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  10. OMG the Indiana Jones/Harry Potter mash-up is genius! I love it! People are so creative at cons. Last year at Rose City Comic Con we met a guy who looked exactly like George RR Martin and my husband chided him for being there and not working on the Song of Ice and Fire series. He responded by giving us a slip of paper with a link to his blog and said he WAS writing. LOL!

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  11. Loooove these costumes! Thank you for sharing!

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  12. Lola Bunny was from Space Jam.

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  13. I always love to see an Aurora in blue!!!

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  14. Yay Hamilton Group!!!!! Those are my kids. Well, one if them is mine biologically, but they are all my kids. My daughter is Angelica and her boyfriend is King George. She made both of those cosplays as well as Peggy's. The next day she and her boyfriend went as JD and Veronica from Heathers.

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  15. Loving the Aurora in blue. There aren't enough of us!

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