Dallas Fan Days 2014

About a week ago, I attended one of my go-to cons here in North Texas: Dallas Fan Days! I attended all three days this year. After attending Dallas Comic Con at the Dallas Convention Center in May, it was a little surreal to head back to the Irving Convention Center. To be honest, it feels like even the “smaller” events (can you really call an event that brings in Elijah Wood a “small” event?) have outgrown the Irving Center. It’s still a nice location, but Dallas has a lot more to offer, both in terms of space (the 4th floor was insanely packed during the big Q&A sessions, to the point of *again* shutting down the escalators), and nearby food options. It was nice to see that the con really listened to attendee feedback, as there were lots of improvements made. I’ll get to those in a moment. First, costumes!

On Friday, I joined the lovely Chelphie Cosplay. She was part of the Disney Princess/Sailor Scout crossover group at A-Kon and A-Fest earlier this year. She wanted one more run, so I joined her as Sailor Ariel. I probably won’t write a full post on this costume, since the only “new” pieces I made for this costume were the bust and butt bows. Almost everything else was borrowed from other costumes. I did spring for a new wig (a Luthien from Arda that I loooovvveee) and a set of gold seashells for my shoes and hip roll ornament, but I’ll probably reuse those for another costume (*cough* Bombshell Mera *cough*). I also bought a Flounder plush. Because reasons.

This costume was so well received! So many little girls (and grown-ups, lol) recognized me as Ariel immediately. Ariel actually holds a special place in my heart. I watched the Little Mermaid on repeat as a child and Ariel was my favorite princess for years. I’m really tempted to make her blue Kiss the Girl dress one of these days! Ursula is also on my eventual cosplay list 😉

On Saturday, I attended the con as Ms. Marvel. I made a few tweaks on this costume since the last time I wore it, including a touch up on the sash and a new mask from Ravenwood Masks. This one is soooo much better than my Worbla one! Unfortunately, I think it’s about time to retire this version of Ms. marvel. My leggings/tights are starting to show some wear, along with the gold spandex for the lightning bolt. That’s okay, though, since I’m planning to get started on Captain Marvel soon!

I had hoped to make it to the Elijah Wood panel on Saturday, but the line was capped by the time I got there. Later on, I found out that they capped the line way too soon and the room was only about half full for the panel. While I do appreciate the way they organized the lines, the con still has room for improvement in this arena.

The costume contest on Saturday was fantastic! I really like the improvements the con has made regarding the contest, including the addition of pre-judging. So many gorgeous costumes entered, including my friends over at Gone Catawampus and Ohheyabear Cosplay.

Sunday was pretty casual. I had a shoot with Cayden Vierra Cosplay and made sure to get in line early for the Weasley Twins’ Q&A. Otherwise, I just hung out and chatted with friends as I saw them.

All in all, this was a pretty good con experience. I have two more cons this year: Tyler Rose City Comic Con on Saturday and Anime North Texas, which is the weekend of November 15th. I’m hoping to have a new Moonie costume to share with you by then! More photos from this con are on my Facebook page.

Are you planning to attend more cons this year?