MegaCon
Template:Short description Template:Infobox Convention
MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large speculative fiction convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, RPG, and gaming communities, often occurring in spring at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The convention is the largest fan convention event in North America with an attendance of 210,000Template:Citation needed in 2025 and generating an economic impact of 205 million dollars in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
HistoryEdit
FoundingEdit
The first comic book convention held in the Orlando area was OrlandoCon, held annually from 1974 to c. 1994. Regular guests included C. C. Beck, Floyd Gottfredson, and Hal Foster.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A competing show, "Mega-Show" was founded by James Breitbiel in December 1993 at the Holiday Inn International Drive (Now the Avanti Palms)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mega-Show would occur a few times a year with a larger show "MegaCon", also by Breitbiel, first debuting in 1995 at the Orlando Expo Center (Now the UCF Center for Emerging Media).<ref name=Walt/> Along with the new show, there was a smaller sister show, Tampa Mega-Show.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The convention was acquired by the Tampa-based publisher CrossGen in 1999 with the smaller Mega-Shows being discontinued,<ref name=Weiland>Weiland, Jonah. "Battling Conventions? Talking with the NY Comic Con and MegaCon Organizers," Comic Book Resources (June 10, 2005).</ref> with Elizabeth Widera brought on to run the show in 2000 and Breitbiel moving on to become CrossGen's Marketing and Distribution Director.<ref name=Weiland/> During this period, from 2000 to 2003, MegaCon heavily promoted CrossGen products as the show continued to grow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=icv2/> After being the venue once in 1997, the Orange County Convention Center has since 2001, been the host of the convention. The new location allowed MegaCon to be the home of the long-running "Paranoia LIVE!" from 2001 to 2019. LARP, based on Mongoose Publishing's Paranoia.<ref>Paranoia LIVE!</ref> In 2002, the logo was changed to one with rounded rectangular letters with a capital "G" in lowercase size.
2003 introduced after hours entertainment at the convention. This expanded to offsite locations in 2006. In late 2003, Widera purchased the convention from the failing CrossGen, which was restructuring<ref name=icv2>"CrossGen Sells MegaCon To the Show's Director," ICv2 (November 19, 2003).</ref> (the publisher went bankrupt in 2004). Widera, who is a board member of the comics charity The Hero Initiative, ran the show along with her daughter Christine Alger until 2016.<ref name=Walt/>
In 2007, MegaCon hosted the first live presentation of the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was followed in August 2008 with the convention hosting the first inaugural Project Fanboy Awards ceremony, awarding authors, writers and publishers with honors voted on by Internet users on the Project Fanboy website.<ref>Project Fanboy Awards to be announced at MegaCon Template:Webarchive</ref> Following 2009, the Project Fanboy Awards event was discontinued.
In September 2008, MegaCon headquarters moved from Safety Harbor to Live Oak, Florida, although the actual convention remains in Orlando.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In 2009, in addition to the main show, held February 27–March 1, convention organizers produced a "mini-MegaCon" held August 22–23 featuring a number of actors from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show.<ref name=Chien>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Fan ExpoEdit
File:MegaCon Tampa Bay Logo.png
MegaCon Tampa Bay logo
On April 7, 2015, it was announced that MegaCon had been sold to Informa. The con now operates under the auspices of Informa's Fan Expo group from Toronto and a regional office in Sarasota, although it has maintained the MegaCon branding.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Following MegaCon 2015 it was announced that for the first time MegaCon will be extended to 4 days in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as another mini-MegaCon event, "MegaCon Fan Days" in November 21–22, 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Shortly after MegaCon 2016, MegaCon Tampa Bay was announced for October 28–30.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> MegaCon Tampa last happened in 2018 and has not returned since due to the increasing sizes of convention rivals Tampa Bay Comic Con and Metrocon as well as the size limitations of the Tampa Convention Center. Stan Lee made a surprise appearance at MegaCon Tampa Bay 2017, his last at MegaCon, to raise funds for those affected by Hurricane Irma weeks prior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Post-pandemic eraEdit
The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially planned to be held April 16–19 and June 4–7, it was replaced by a smaller "limited edition" "mini-MegaCon" restricted to 25,000 in attendance with the next main event to be held on March 18–21, 2021. These dates were also cancelled with the next date, August 12–15 being a return to operations, though masks were mandated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During Covid, the show's website was redesigned with a new logo introduced as part of a larger rebranding of FanExpo with the text forming an arch. The 2021 event was plagued with many guest cancellations due to pandemic-caused filming conflicts affecting many including Elijah Wood, Brendan Fraser, and James Marsters who were to be among the headline celebrities of the event.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
2022 featured a return to normal operations with Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd, the Hobbits of the Lord of the Rings, reuniting on stage as well as Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes of the Jay and Silent Bob show, Brendan Fraser, and Gina Carano being other highlight guest appearances. MegaCon inaugurated FanExpo's partnership with virtual auction site WhatNot, featuring a Virtual MegaCon with virtual celebrity signings, comic artist sketch streams, and streams of cosplay contests, as well as a WhatNot booth.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Numerous traffic issues in the surrounding areas due to record attendance reached local news headlines.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several tiers of tickets including family packages and youth tickets were sold out on Saturday. Surpassing Comic Con International's attendance cap of 130,000, MegaCon became the second most attended fan convention in the United States after New York Comic Con. The last day of the 2022 convention hosted a memorial service for the late comic artist George Perez, who was a frequent guest at the convention.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2023 introduced advanced paid parking from several parking lots as well as shuttles to the convention as a way to alleviate traffic issues.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A Wednesday pre-launch party was added to the afterhours party line up at ICON Park. Tickets for the 2024 event went on sale the day after the 2023 event ended, a change in tradition from tickets going on sale 5–6 months prior to the event. The 2023 event was plagued by overcrowding in celebrity areas and some hospitalizations occurred while a small fire also occurred in one of the food stands but no injuries resulted from it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 2024 event did not see a repeat of these woes due to a redesigned celebrity area. 2024 debuted an afterhours takeover of Universal Islands of Adventure theme park.
Late 2020'sEdit
In 2025, MegaCon expanded their exhibit hall to take up the entire North/South Concourse, an area of 950,000 sqft, surpassing New York Comic Con's Javits Center as the largest used exhibition hall of a fan convention in North America.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The theme park afterhours event from the previous year was expanded to both parks at Universal Orlando resort. A few events were added to the nearby Rosen Centre hotel including a breakfast event featuring Ashley Eckstein. Reaching over 210,000 attendees, the convention surpassed New York Comic Con in attendance to become the largest fan convention in North America.
Dates and guestsEdit
Notability guidelines for listing guestsEdit
File:Red Dead Redemption 2 Cast - MegaCon Orlando 2.jpg
Red Dead Redemption 2's cast in a panel at MegaCon 2019
- Actors and voice actors are to be listed.
- Comic guests may be listed only if listed on MegaCon website or noted to have attended pre-2000.
- Youtubers may be listed only if they have reached the 100,000 subscribers eligible for a Silver Creator Award.
- Music performers may be listed if on MegaCon website as a guest.
- Book Authors may be listed only if on MegaCon website as a guest.
- Cosplay guests, tattoo artists, other artists, and retailers may not be listed.
- Guests partnered with vendor booths may be listed if they are actors/voice actors, renowned comic creators, or have met the 1 million subscribers eligible for a Gold Creator Award.
Mega-ShowEdit
Mega Show was the predecessor to MegaCon and 1995-99, was operated alongside MegaCon as a mini comics show by the same organizers.
| Dates | Guests | Building | City | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 12, 1993 | Holiday Inn, 6515 International Dr | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| February 6, 1994 | Holiday Inn | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| February 20, 1994 | Martin Nodell | Holiday Inn University Center, 316 W Tennessee St | Tallahassee <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| May 1, 1994 | Marriott Hotel, 8001 International Dr | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| May 15, 1994 | Ramada Resort, 820 E Busch Blvd. | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| May 22, 1994 | Holiday Inn University Center | Tallahassee <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| July 10, 1994 | William Tucci | Colony Hotel (formerly Ramada Resort) | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| July 24, 1994 | Colleen Doran | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| September 25, 1994 | Buzz | Colony Hotel | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| October 16, 1994 | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| November 6, 1994 | Howard Chaykin | Colony Hotel | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| December 11, 1994 | Marat Mychaels, Tim Townsend | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| June 4, 1995 | Miran Kim | Colony Hotel | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| July 23, 1995 | Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| September 17, 1995 | Ben Dunn | Best Western Resort (formerly Colony Hotel) | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| November 5, 1995 | Ricky Carralero | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| November 19, 1995 | J. Scott Campbell | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| June 2, 1996 | Michael Turner, David Wohl | Best Western Resort | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| July 28, 1996 | Dark One | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| September 29, 1996 | Tim Townsend | Best Western Resort | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| December 8, 1996 | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| August 3, 1997 | Brett Booth, Jessica Ruffner | Best Western Resort | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| September 21, 1997 | Adam Hughes, Jason Pearson | Marriott Hotel | Orlando <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| November 23, 1997 | David Mack | Best Western Resort | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| July 26, 1998 | Matt "Batt" Banning | Best Western Resort | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| November 15, 1998 | Walter McDaniel | Best Western Resort | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| July 25, 1999 | Bob Layton | Travelodge (formerly Best Western) | Tampa <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
1990s and 2000sEdit
Early years and CrossGenEdit
WideraEdit
| Dates | Official guests | Building | Notes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 5–7, 2004 | Actors: Amy Allen, Michonne Bourriague, Angela Cartwright, Brad Dourif, Ken Foree, Mark Goddard, Sid Haig, Noah Hathaway, Virginia Hey, Herbert Jefferson, Jr., Walter Koenig, Marta Kristen, June Lockhart, BarBara Luna, Deanna Lund, Allison Mack, Bob May, Kenny Miller, Bill Mumy, Glenn Shadix, Marc Singer, Brian Thompson<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall C | |||||||||||
| February 25–27, 2005 | Actors: Melody Anderson, Douglas H. Arthurs, Julie Benz, Jackson Bostwick, Jeff Breslauer, Thom Christopher, Devin Devasquez, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Richard Hatch, Richard Herd, Sam Jones, Sam Jones III, John Kassir, Mercedes McNab, Debbie Rochon, Felix Silla, Michael Bailey Smith<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall D2 | 22,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||||||||||
| February 24–26, 2006 | Actors: Tony Amendola, Steve Bacic, Julie Benz, Jason Carter, Cleopatra, Alexis Cruz, Mira Furlan, John Kassir, Lloyd Kaufman, Clare Kramer, Cirroc Lofton, Mark Lutz, Chris Rankin, John Schneider, Tracy Scoggins, Marina Sirtis, Arne Starr, Brinke Stevens, Cathy St George, Jamie Yeates<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall D | ||||||||||
| February 16–18, 2007 | Actors: Sean Astin, Jamie Bamber, Brian Downey, Gigi Edgley, Lou Ferrigno, David Franklin, Mark Goddard, David Hedison, Virginia Hey, Lloyd Kaufman, Margot Kidder, Bob May, Mary McDonnell, Michael McManus, Noel Neill, Wayne Pygram, Efren Ramirez, Xenia Seeberg, Kevin Sorbo, Arne Starr, Cathy St. George, Vergil, Michael Winslow<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall C | ||||||||||
| March 7–9, 2008 | Actors: Steve Bacic, Leah Cairns, Trish Cleveland, Jarrett Crippen, Adam Danoff, Erica Durance, Gil Gerard, Mark Goddard, Erin Gray, Lloyd Kaufman, Gail Kim, Peter Mayhew, Cindy Morgan, Dylan Neal, Noel Neill, Jack O'Halloran, Adrian Pasdar, Pete Postiglione, Jon Provost, Jennifer Rhodes, Kyle Schmid, Mark Sheppard, William Morgan Sheppard, Marc Singer, Arne Starr, Kristy Swanson, Adrienne Wilkinson, Dan Williams, Nell Wilson<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
South Concourse Hall B | First in North/South concourse | |||||||||
| February 27–March 1, 2009 | Actors: Melody Anderson, Dirk Benedict, Traci Brooks, James Callis, Luciana Carro, Gareth David-Lloyd, Darcy DeMoss, Ami Dolenz, Micky Dolenz, Lou Ferrigno, Jennifer Halley, James Hampton, Tricia Helfer, Christy Hemme, Alaina Huffman, Herbert Jefferson, Jr., Charlotte Kemp, Margot Kidder, Richard LeParmentier, Anne Lockhart, Peter Mayhew, Cindy Morgan, Phillip Morris, Aaron Pabon, Michael Papajohn, Felix Silla, Al Snow, Arne Starr, Mia St. John, Cathy St.George<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall D | 32,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |||||||||
| August 22–23, 2009 | Actors: Amber Benson, Adam Busch, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Dorian Gregory, Jackie Haas, Hannah Hindi, Hillary Hindi, The Kat, Lisa Loring, Shelly Martinez, Sylvester McCoy, Tarah Paige, Terri Runnels, Felix Silla, Arne Starr, SoCal Val, Sean Waltman<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name=Chien />
|
West Concourse Hall E1 | "mini-MegaCon" |
2010sEdit
Pre-InformaEdit
| Dates | Official guests | Building | Notes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 12–14, 2010 | Actors: Maria de Aragon, Jeremy Bulloch, Levar Burton, Ellen Dubin, Richard Hatch, Virginia Hey, James Hong, Lloyd Kaufman, John De Lancie, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Kristanna Loken, Peter Mayhew, Nichelle Nichols, Ray Park, Robert Picardo, Brent Spiner, Arne Starr, Lea Thompson, Russell Tovey, SoCal Val, Claudia Wells, Billy Dee Williams<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name=Chien />
|
West Concourse Hall D | 35,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||||||||||
| March 25–27, 2011 | Actors: Robin Curtis, Michael Dorn, Lou Ferrigno, Jonathan Frakes, Mira Furlan, Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, James Hampton, Herbert Jefferson Jr., Doug Jones, Clare Kramer, Anne Lockhart, James Marsters, Cindy Morgan, John Schneider, Matt Senreich, William Shatner, Marina Sirtis, Kevin Sorbo, Arne Starr, Jack Stauffer, SoCal Val, Zeb Wells<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall D-E1 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||||
| February 17–19, 2012 | Actors: David Anders, Bruce Boxleitner, Paul Bradford, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Tia Carrere, Lauren Cohan, Brennan Elliot, Tom Felton, Stephen Furst, Peter Jurasik, Richard LeParmentier, Daniel Logan, Peter Mayhew, Eddie McClintock, Paul McGillion, Cindy Morgan, Joseph Morgan, Corin Nemec, Valerie Perrine, Robert Picardo, David Prowse, Saul Rubinek, Tim Russ, Matt Senreich, Michael Bailey Smith, Brent Spiner, Arne Starr, Scott Tepperman, Zeb Wells<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Halls D-E | 51,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> First time a separate hall, D1, is used for ticketing and entry que | ||||||||||
| March 15–17, 2013 | Actors: Paul Blake, Blixx, Paul Bradford, Jeremy Bulloch, Levar Burton, Dean Cain, Denise Crosby, Huggy Cub, John De Lancie, Michael Dorn, Ellen Dubin, Gigi Edgley, Lou Ferrigno, Jonathan Frakes, Johnny G, Morgan Gendel, James Hampton, Michael Hogan, Jersey Jess, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Koske, Jimmy Mac, Gates McFadden, Meatball, Larry Nemecek, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, David Prowse, Sampson, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Arne Starr, Daniel Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Sunshine, Tanaka, Scott Tepperman, Wil Wheaton<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Halls D-E-F | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||||
| March 21–23, 2014 | Actors: Aaron Ashmore, John Barrowman, Dirk Benedict, Manu Bennett, Ming Chen, Lauren Cohan, Gareth David-Lloyd, Eliza Dushku, Jason David Frank, John Glover, Burn Gorman, Danai Gurira, Richard Hatch, Jon Heder, Richard Horvitz, Herbert Jefferson, Jr., Bryan Johnson, Emily Kinney, Anne Lockhart, Allison Mack, James Marsters, Sonequa Martin-Green, Peter Mayhew, David Morrissey, Eve Myles, Rob Paulsen, Ron Perlman, Mike Reed, Michael Rosenbaum, Matt Senreich, Arne Starr, Karl Urban, Laura Vandervoort, Wil Wheaton, Stephen Yeun, Mike Zapcic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
South Concourse | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||||
| April 10–12, 2015 | Actors: Robbie Amell, Adam Baldwin, Mark Boone Junior, Clifton Collins Jr, Tony Curran, Lou Ferrigno, Sean Patrick Flanery, Karen Gillan, Summer Glau, Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan, April Hunter, Alex Kingston, Danielle Panabaker, David Ramsey, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Michael Rooker, Ryan Stratis, Alan Tudyk, Milo Ventimiglia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
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West Concourse Hall B-A3/4 | 97,000 attendees <ref name="orlandosentinel.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||||
| November 21–22, 2015 | Actors: Karen Allen, Billy Boyd, Ryan Hurst, Jason Isaacs, Sean Maher, James Marsters, Paul McGann, John Rhys-Davies<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
West Concourse Hall C | "MegaCon Fan Days mini event" 12,000 attendees <ref name="orlandosentinel.com"/> |
Four days and Tampa BayEdit
| Dates | Official guests | Building | Notes | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26–29, 2016 | Actors: Curtis Armstrong, Hayley Atwell, John Barrowman, Jeremy Bulloch, Katie Cassidy, John Cusack, Anthony Daniels, Tom Felton, Vivica A. Fox, Jason David Frank, Michelle Gomez, Elden Henson, Jason Isaacs, Lennie James, Christopher Lloyd, Daniel Logan, Ralph Macchio, Jason Mewes, Nichelle Nichols, Tom Payne, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Billie Piper, James Remar, William Sadler, William Shatner, Kevin Smith, George Takei, Carlos Valdes, Burt Ward, Adam West, William Zabka<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
|
West Concourse Halls A-B | First 4-day event. First to reach over 100,000 attendees<ref name=Carchidi>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||||||||||
| October 28–30, 2016 (Tampa Bay) | Actors: Levar Burton, Brett Dalton, Rick Danford, Robert J. Emery, Will Friedle, Krista Grotte, Lynne Hansen, Matthew Lewis, Graham McTavish, John Mocsary, Rosemary Orlando, Mitch Pileggi, Billie Piper, Glenn Register Sr., Wallace Shawn, Kevin Sorbo, Brent Spiner, Kevin Sussman, David Tennant, Verne Troyer, Henry Winkler<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
Tampa Convention Center East Hall | debut of MegaCon Tampa Bay, 30,000+ attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||||||||||||
| May 25–28, 2017 (Orlando) | Actors: Richard Dean Anderson, Catherine Bach, Barry Bostwick, Nicholas Brendon, Nell Campbell, Tom Cavanaugh, Cyndi Crotts, Tim Curry, Jason Daly, Rick Danford, Felicia Day, Eliza Dushku, Elyes Gabel, William Grefe, Shandi Hampton, Hannah Hindi, Hillary Hindi, Famke Janssen, Matthew Lewis, Caity Lotz, Kyle Marlett, James Marsters, Robert Massetti, Gaten Matarazzo, Dave McElfatrick, Caleb McLaughlin, Meat Loaf, Danielle Panabaker, Ray Park, Patricia Quinn, Matt Reynolds, Jeri Ryan, Aaron Sagers, John Schneider, Ian Somerhalder, Brent Spiner, Gina Torres, Joel Watson, Spencer Wilding, Tom Wilson, Justin Woods-Robinson, Tom Wopat<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
|
North/South Concourse Hall A,South B | ||||||||||||
| Sept 29–Oct 1, 2017 (Tampa Bay) | Actors: Dr. Paul Bearer II, Walt Belcher, John Barrowman, Katie Cassidy, Ruth Connell, Rick Danford, Krista Grotte, Alex Kingston, James Marsters, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Jason Mewes, John Mocsary, William Shatner, Kevin Smith, Ian Somerhalder, Ed Tucker<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
Full Tampa Convention Center | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||||||
| May 24–27, 2018 (Orlando) | Actors: Amy Acker, Alexa Bliss, John Cena, Moises Chiullan, Charlie Cox, Michael Cudlitz, Rick Danford, William B. Davis, Keir Dullea, Cary Elwes, Joe Flanigan, Annabeth Gish, Jeff Goldblum, Amy Jo Johnson, Lucy Lawless, Gary Lockwood, Jason Mamoa, China McClain, Jennifer Morrison, Stephen Moyer, Shinsuke Nakamura, Devin Pike, Mitch Pileggi, Jeff Rector, Norman Reedus, Paul Reubens, Aaron Sagers, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Jewel Staite, Brinke Stevens, Braun Strowman, Joonas Suotamo, Catherine Tate, Billy Dee Williams, Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, Elijah Wood<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref>
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West Concourse Hall A-C | ||||||||||||
| Sept 21–23, 2018 (Tampa Bay) | Actors: Manu Bennett, Corbin Bernsen, Peter Capaldi, Jonny Cruz, John de Lancie, Michael Dorn, Jason David Frank, Summer Glau, Pearl Mackie, David Mazouz, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sean Pertwee, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Christian Serratos, Marina Sirtis
|
Full Tampa Convention Center | Final MegaCon Tampa Bay event, 22,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |||||||||||||
| May 16–19, 2019 (Orlando) | Actors: Stephen Amell, Sean Astin, John Barrowman, Mark Brooks, Lynda Carter, Mike Colter, Corey Feldman, Danielle Fishel, Dan Fogler, Michael J. Fox, Jason David Frank, Will Friedle, Tyler Hoechlin, Kristin Kreuk, Zachary Levi, Christopher Lloyd, Rose McIver, Lana Parrilla, Jason Patric, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ke Huy Quan, Michael Rosenbaum, Ben Savage, Mark Sheppard, Rider Strong, Kiefer Sutherland, David Tennant, Lea Thompson, James Tolkan, LeeAnna Vamp, Peter Weller, Tom Welling, Tom Wilson<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
|
North/South Concourse Hall A, South B | 120,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
2020sEdit
Post-COVIDEdit
NOTE: The Wayback Machine has been unable to properly archive the MegaCon guest lists since the 2021 event due to a page script and all guests were added here shortly before each event.
| Dates | Official guests | Building | Notes | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Strikethrough Cancelled |
No guests were announced before cancellation | Template:Strikethrough | Planned 2020 Tampa Bay event | |||||||||||||
| Template:Strikethrough Cancelled |
|
Template:Strikethrough | "mini-MegaCon" planned after cancellation of the 2 dates for the main 2020 event. April 16–19, 2020 June 4–7, 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Aug 12–15, 2021 | Actors: Kevin Alejandro, Stephen Amell, Leslie David Baker, John Barrowman, Mark Boone Jr, Katie Cassidy, Dave Coulier, Ray Fisher, Aimee Garcia, Ryan Hurst, David Koechner, Robert Patrick, Ron Perlman, Michael Rooker, Bob Saget, Adam Savage, William Shatner, John Stamos, George Takei
|
West Concourse Halls A-C | 100,000 attendees
Originally scheduled for March 18–21 but pushed back. Masks were required. | |||||||||||||
| May 19–22, 2022 | Actors: Jeff Anderson, Sean Astin, Britt Baker, Dante Basco, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Alexa Bliss, Billy Boyd, Lorraine Bracco, Tanner Buchanan, LeVar Burton, Gina Carano, Carmella, Adam Cole, Ashley Eckstein, Giancarlo Esposito, Trevor Fehrman, Ric Flair, Brendan Fraser, Nathan Fillion, Martin Kove, Jerry Lawler, Matthew Lewis, Caity Lotz, Jes Macallan, Ralph Macchio, James Marsters, Jason Mewes, Dominic Monaghan, Mary Mouser, Rey Mysterio, Brian O'Halloran, Kevin Owens, Chris Sarandon, Adam Scherr, Mark Sheppard, Kevin Smith, Mike Smith, Brent Spiner, John Paul Tremblay, The Undertaker, Robb Wells, Elijah Wood, William Zabka
|
North South Concourse Hall A, South B | >140,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |||||||||||||
| March 30-April 2, 2023 | Actors: Dana Barron, Brec Bassinger, Jon Bernthal, Jacob Bertrand, Christie Brinkley, Steve Burns, Neve Campbell, Chevy Chase, Hayden Christensen, Gwendoline Christie, John Cleese, Charlie Cox, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ashley Eckstein, Giancarlo Esposito, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Anthony Michael Hall, Garrett Hedlund, Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Kennedy, Martin Kove, Zachary Levi, Mario Lopez, Vivien Lyra Blair, Matthew Lewis, Matthew Lillard, Ralph Macchio, Xolo Maridueña, Sonequa Martin-Green, James McAvoy, Gates McFadden, Anson Mount, Lana Parrilla, Ethan Peck, Sam Raimi, Emilio Rivera, Katee Sackhoff, Emily Swallow, Skeet Ulrich, Mercedes Varnado, Cerina Vincent, Carl Weathers, Henry Winkler, William Zabka
|
Whole North South Concourse Building sans part of North Hall B | >160,000 attendees<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Prepaid parking introduced | |||||||||||||
| February 1–4, 2024 |
Actors: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Paul Bettany, Don Bluth, Johnny Yong Bosch, Gina Carano, Hayden Christensen, Holly Marie Combs, Kevin Connolly, Anthony Daniels, Keith David, Geena Davis, Felicia Day, Kevin Dillon, Shannen Doherty, Cary Elwes, Eman Esfandi, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Farr, Jerry Ferrara, Michael J. Fox, McKenna Grace, Adrian Grenier, Sean Gunn, Butch Hartman, Tom Hiddleston, Michelle Hurd, Ke Huy Quan, Diana Lee Inosanto, Jason Isaacs, Alex Kingston, Jason Lee, Juliette Lewis, Matthew Lewis, Christopher Lloyd, Daniel Logan, Gaten Matarazzo, Rose McGowan, Ewan McGregor, Vivienne Medrano, Alyssa Milano, Cameron Monaghan, Shameik Moore, Temuera Morrison, Jaime Pressly, Jason Priestley, Randy Quaid, Jacob Romero, Eli Roth, John Rhys-Davies, Katey Sagal, Chris Sarandon, Susan Sarandon, Aidan Scott, Greg Sestero, William Shatner, Wallace Shawn, Joonas Suotamo, Ethan Suplee, Loretta Swit, Lea Thompson, Marisa Tomei, Danny Trejo, Alan Tudyk, Grace Van Dien, Jeff Ward, Ming-Na Wen, Rainn Wilson, Thomas F. Wilson, Finn Wolfhard, Robin Wright
|
West Concourse Halls A-D | >190,000 attendees <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Whole buildingEdit
| Dates | Official guests | Building | Notes | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6–9, 2025 | Actors: Freema Agyeman, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Hank Azaria, Morena Baccarin, Jim Beaver, Corbin Bleu, Jamie Campbell Bower, Tanner Buchanan, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Alexander Calvert, Tom Cavanagh, Jenna Coleman, Ruth Connell, Arthur Darvill, Erica Durance, Peter Facinelli, Fabien Frankel, Seth Gabel, Mel Gibson, Mandip Gill, David Giuntoli, Danny Glover, Lucas Grabeel, Ashley Greene, Carla Gugino, Grant Gustin, Travis Landry, Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Walter Hauser, Tyler Hoechlin, Willa Holland, Nicholas Hoult, Bryce Dallas Howard, Clint Howard, Ron Howard, Manny Jacinto, Alex Kingston, Martin Kove, Kyriana Kratter, Kristin Kreuk, Jude Law, Brandon H. Lee, Matthew Lillard, Caity Lotz, Dolph Lundgren, Kellan Lutz, Ben McKenzie, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donny Most, Mary Mouser, Judd Nelson, Yuji Okumoto, Genevieve Padalecki, Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Billie Piper, Priscilla Presley, Ella Purnell, DJ Qualls, Joseph Quinn, David Ramsey, Jackson Rathbone, Emily Bett Rickards, Molly Ringwald, Michael Rosenbaum, Brandon Routh, Matt Ryan, Katey Sagal, Adam Savage, Andy Serkis, Ally Sheedy, Mark Sheppard, John Wesley Shipp, Elisabeth Shue, Robert Timothy Smith, Matt Smith, Samantha Smith, Sting, Catherine Tate, Bitsie Tulloch, Skeet Ulrich, Carlos Valdes, Tom Welling, Anson Williams, Bonnie Wright, William Zabka
|
Whole North South Concourse Building, Rosen Centre | >210,000 attendees
First full building event | |||||||||||||||||
| March 19-22, 2026 | Actors: Jodie Whittaker
|
Whole West Concourse building |
Show layout and eventsEdit
Exhibit hallEdit
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Video gaming at MegaCon 2010
MegaCon since 2012 has had an exhibit hall sectioned into many different sections listed below:
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Ticket Hall: The ticketing hall is where attendees pickup their badges required for attendance or buy new tickets. The lines are separated by ticket type. Past the ticketing booths is the show waiting area where attendees await the show's opening hours. The MegaCon store is in this area and sells convention themed merchandise as well as convention exclusives.
Retail: The retail section is home to shops numbering in the hundreds. This section is often subdivided into comics and anime sections. A small section "Tattoo Alley" is home to several tattoo vendors. While a majority of the businesses are small, some larger vendors also appear with more frequent ones including NASA and Dragon's Milk.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Artist Alley: A section where several hundred artists are given a booth to sell their wares. This section is surrounded by a ring of comic book guests ranging from independent publishers to writers for DC and Marvel.
Community: The community section is home to life-size replica exhibits from many fan organizations including the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, Daleks of Florida, the 405th, and the Delta Fleet. These groups often raise funds for local charities via voluntary donations or paid photo ops.
Celebrity: Actor guests of MegaCon have booths in this area. The booths form a ring that is empty in the center to allow for longer lines for the more popular stars attending the convention. A separate area adjacent is used for photo ops of more popular celebrities.
Food Courts: Multiple areas of the show floor and lobbies contain food courts with food options provided by the convention center. Cuisine options often include: Chinese, Papa John's, barbecue, Starbucks, Häagen-Dazs, and Tex-Mex.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Events and panelsEdit
Outside the exhibit hall, the show has many events in the convention center lobbies and panel rooms.
Panels: MegaCon is host to panels of many genres relating to cosplay, anime, gaming, and world building among many other subjects. Celebrities attending MegaCon may also star in their own panels.
Gaming: Several RPG games are hosted at MegaCon including Dungeons & Dragons living campaigns, Living Forgotten Realms, Pathfinder Society and Legends of the Shining Jewel. Non RPG gaming is also hosted at MegaCon ranging from the card-based Magic: The Gathering to strategy games. E-gaming arcades are available and tournaments are held at the event for games like Super Smash Bros.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Cosplay Contest: Since 2018, MegaCon has been home to the FanExpo Masters of Cosplay Grand Prix Sunshine Qualifier where dozens of cosplayers display their talent in costume construction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Family Zone: The MegaCon family zone is hosted in a large panel room with activities directed towards preteens and younger. Activities include a kids cosplay contest, a sorting hat ceremony, and padawan training.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Afterparties: MegaCon has been host to afterhours entertainment since 2003. These events grew to include offsite locations in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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Celebrity guestsEdit
MegaCon brings in large numbers of celebrities of various professions for fans to meet and receive autographs and photos with.
Actors: Since its migration to the Orange County Convention Center, MegaCon has drawn in celebrities who have starred in various films and television shows. Some years may see a collection of actors from a particular franchise like the four Hobbits from Lord of the Rings in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Voice Actors: MegaCon is frequented by voice actors from various western animated and anime shows as well as video game characters.
Comic Artists: From its beginning, MegaCon has had a large number of comic guests both veterans of the industry from Marvel and DC as well as indie publishers wishing to use the convention to kickstart their jump into the comic scene.
Other guests: In some years, MegaCon has been host to popular guests of other professions including authors and internet celebrities. Some vendors at MegaCon like RangerStop may also share their table space with a few non-actor celebrities.
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Multigenre conventions in North America Template:Informa