I’m scratching my head over here. I’m not sure what good karma they are putting out into the world, but Pensacon must be doing something right. The weather was perfect, the crowds were great, and everyone was so lovely. Our review of Pensacon 2020: a complete success.
More on this later, but going to a con with a kid is a different ball game. Our little one just turned two (and had a parade for her party), so we didn’t venture out from the Pensacola Bay Center. This meant we only really ventured into the celebrity hall, the vendor and artist area, and the outside activities. Still, it was a jammed pack weekend for us.
Review of Pensacon 2020
Celebrity Guests
Pensacon is a dream for the serious autograph collector. They might not get the most prominent names, like Ewan McGregor, but they will have his uncle Dennis Lawson. Mr. Lawson is Wedge Antilles on Star Wars: A New Hope and Rise of Resistance. For people like us, this is a dream get.
Practically, every single guest seems delighted to be at Pensacon. It could be the weather that seems to be perfect every year for the convention. But since they are indoors for three days, it must be how Pensacon treats them that keeps some coming back. Those that have been before must tell friends about their experience.
Being huge I, Claudius fans, we were delighted to meet Dame Sian Phillips. My wife was thrilled to meet Kieth David and fill out a good bit of her Star Wars collection with a lot of the people who worked behind the scenes. My wife also got a Titanic dual photo signed with David Warner and Billy Zane. The highlight for me was meeting Bernard Hill as Theoden on Lord of the Rings.
Yet, the best celebrity guests we met were Disney guests. Jason Marsden was an absolute delight to meet. While we got a Max from Goof Troop signed, he had a stuffed animal black cat on his table representing his role as Thackery Binx on Hocus Pocus. Our little one loved this cat (we have two real black cats at home), and whenever we were in this hall, she found her way to that table. Then our little one got to meet Jim Cummings. He did his Pete and Winnie the Pooh voice for her.
However, she was over the moon at meeting Bill Farmer. The moment he did the Goofy voice, her eyes lit up. She recognized it immediately. Then she got confused until she saw the pictures on his table. While we know she didn’t completely understand, she was happy nevertheless.
Vendor Floor
If there is one area where Pensacon has outgrown its location, this is it. It’s too small of a space for the number of people that attend. However, as in almost everything they do, they find a way to make it enjoyable.
They limit how many people can go on the floor, but the wait is never that long. All the volunteers and staff work to make it a pleasurable experience.
We didn’t spend a lot of time down there, but when we go to the Love Me Knot booth, our little one fell in love with a crocheted Pikachu. She instantly started hugging it and saying, “Awwww, Pikachu.”
As parents, we should know not to be manipulated like that. But we were.
One thing that was new this year (at least new to us when we’re in the vendor area) was the setting up of the symphony in the seating area of the arena. Hearing orchestrated renditions of geeky themes was a beautiful and welcomed touch. Pensacon, if you are reading, keep this one.
East Side, West Side
While vendor space is limited, Pensacon does a magnificent job of using the space they do have. One area that makes Pensacon truly special is Posiden’s Bay. This is the outside area on the east side of the Bay Center. Very few conventions are afforded an enclosed outdoor space.
For us, it was a beautiful place just to go outside with the little one and let her run around. But it’s so much more. If done right, it’s a great place for cosplay photoshoots. It’s also a big enough area for Live Action Role Play (LARP) battles. Plus, it allowed for a few organizations and vendors to set up shop. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, so this was a happening spot.
While the Bay Center has good food options, the west side allowed for food trucks. The wood fire stove pizza was simply fantastic. I loved my brisket from Hot Spot BBQ, but their lemon icebox pie is to die for.
Review of Pensacon 2020 with a Kid
Pensacon was exhausting for me this year. Last year my mom bought a three-day pass and watched our little one. Our little one wasn’t walking yet, so she was easy to contain, and she slept most of the time.
She could not be contained this year.
She loved every second of Pensacon. She loved waving to people. Our baby girl ate up the attention of the celebrities. She just had a ball.
This meant most of my time was following and sometimes chasing her. I don’t know which of you nerds taught her this, but when she decides to “run fast,” she does the naruto run. Thanks, guys.
Her favorite places to run were between the East and West Celebrity halls. There is a small hallway that connects them. She loved to run from one end to the other end.
She also did two cosplays. She was a pirate on Friday. I have absolutely no pictures of her dressed that way. I was too busy chasing her that I simply forgot to do the job.
She did dress up as Belle on Saturday. Again, she believed she was the belle of the ball. She worked that outfit. She especially enjoyed meeting another Belle (cosplayer and burlesque star Remy Dee).
Going to a con with a toddler is such a different experience. In fact, for at least one of the parents, it is no longer your experience because it is now the child’s turn.
For me, this was a great thing. It allowed me to see the convention through her eyes. She treated everyone the exact same. In fact, at one point, she ended up on Dee Wallace’s lap. She just sees people and potential friends.
That’s a great way to look at the world if you ask me.
Pensacon is Good for Pensacola
A couple of years back, there was some talk of Pensacon not being in Pensacola. It had to do with scheduling, and that all seems fixed and in the past.
Pensacon is a win-win for Pensacola. Hotels are booked, and restaurants are filled. But, as repeat goers and especially with a child now, we look at the weekend now as more than Pensacon. It will be a while before our little one can sit through a panel. She will need more than just walking around. And she definitely can not do much of the after-Pensacon stuff.
So this year we took a break from the con a little early on Saturday and went to the beach. We found a great small park. The wind was a little too cold to enjoy it, but we now know that it is there.
We also plan on working around the crowds on future Saturdays of the con, by doing more things in the area such as Fort Pickens, The Pensacola Children’s Museum, and Uncle Sandy’s Macaw Park.
Mrs. Nola Nerd Couple’s family lives in the Panama City area. Before Pensacon, there was no reason to actually visit Pensacola. It was a drive-through city for us.
But because of Pensacon, we plan on spending more of our time – and more importantly our money – in Pensacola
Pensacon 2021
Pensacon doesn’t take a break. They announce the first wave of next year’s guest in the waning moments of this year’s convention.
The first set of actors is from Back to the Future.
An, unlike other conventions, they announce throughout the year.
So keep Pensacon.com in your bookmarks and follow them on social media because they will be making more announcements fo Pensacola 2021 shortly.
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