Editing MegaCon (section)

==History==
===Founding===
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>{{cite web |title=Hal Foster Signed Letter & Signed Photo With Roy Crane. |url=https://hakes.com/Auction/ItemDetail/238417/HAL-FOSTER-SIGNED-LETTER-SIGNED-PHOTO-WITH-ROY-CRANE |website=Hake's Auctions |access-date=10 November 2023}}</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>{{cite news |title=Comic Book and Sports-card Christmas Mega-Show |agency=Orlando Sentinel |date=5 December 1993}}</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>{{cite news |last1=Canning |first1=Michael |title=Comic show for kids of all ages |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1996/05/31/comic-show-for-kids-of-all-ages/ |access-date=15 September 2024 |agency=Tampa Bay Times |date=31 May 1996}}</ref> The convention was acquired by the [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]]-based publisher [[CrossGen]] in 1999 with the smaller Mega-Shows being discontinued,<ref name=Weiland>Weiland, Jonah. [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=5168 "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>{{cite news |last1=McCaw |first1=Derek |title=Comic-Con 2001 Flashback: Remembering CrossGen |url=https://fanboyplanet.com/comic-con-2001-remembering-crossgen/ |access-date=10 November 2023 |agency=Fanboy Planet |date=31 July 2019}}</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 (role-playing game)|Paranoia]]''.<ref>[http://www.paranoialarp.com 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>[http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/3910.html "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>{{cite web |url=http://www.megaconvention.com/programming.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203123559/http://www.megaconvention.com/programming.asp |archive-date=2007-02-03 |title=MegaCon Convention <!-- no archive copy found containing previous quote for this date: |access-date=2007-02-16 --> |publisher=MegaCon Convention |quote=hosting the 6th annual Web Cartoonist Awards. After six years of growing, world-wide popularity, the WCCAs will, for the first time ever, be presenting the 2007 winners at a live ceremony.}}</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>[http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp Project Fanboy Awards to be announced at MegaCon] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528180632/http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp |date=May 28, 2009 }}</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>{{cite press release |url=http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp |title=MegaCon Headquarters move to Live Oak, FL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528180632/http://www.megaconvention.com/news.asp |archive-date=May 28, 2009 |publisher=MegaCon official website}}</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 series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' TV show.<ref name=Chien>{{cite web |first=Philip |last=Chien |url=http://www.neatinformation.com/entertainment/Megacon%202009.html |title=MegaCon |publisher=NeatInformation.com |date=2009 |access-date=July 12, 2012}}</ref>

===Fan Expo===
[[File:MegaCon Tampa Bay Logo.png|thumb|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>{{cite news |first=Caitlin |last=Dineen |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |title=Orlando's MegaCon sold to Informa |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/2015/04/07/orlandos-megacon-sold-to-informa/ |date=April 7, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2015 |archive-date=April 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409085114/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/2015/04/07/orlandos-megacon-sold-to-informa/}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |first=Shelley |last=Mantei |publisher=Fan Expo HQ |location=Orlando, Florida |title=Informa Exhibitions Expands Pop Culture Convention Portfolio With MegaCon Orlando |url=http://fanexpocanada.com/wp-content/uploads/MegaCon-Purchase_Press-Release_04072015.pdf |date=April 9, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2015}}</ref>
Following MegaCon 2015 it was announced that for the first time MegaCon will be extended to 4 days in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Busdeker|first1=Jon|title=MegaCon 2016: Convention extended to four days next year|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/2015/04/13/megacon-2016-convention-extended-to-four-days-next-year/|access-date=23 April 2016|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=April 13, 2016|archive-date=April 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409090533/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/2015/04/13/megacon-2016-convention-extended-to-four-days-next-year/}}</ref> as well as another mini-MegaCon event, "MegaCon Fan Days" in November 21–22, 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=MegaCon: Fan Days |url=http://megaconfandays.com/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120175636/http://megaconfandays.com/ |archive-date=20 November 2015 |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=MegaCon: Fan Days |publisher=Wayback Machine}}</ref>
Shortly after MegaCon 2016, MegaCon Tampa Bay was announced for October 28–30.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pavlinskaya|first1=Anastasia|title=MegaCon Orlando: Fantasy and Fandom|url=http://knightnews.com/2016/06/megacon-orlando-fantasy-and-fandom/|access-date=26 June 2016|work=Knight News|date=June 10, 2016}}</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>{{cite news |last1=Biunno |first1=J. B. |title=Stan Lee was a superhero for Florida, attended MegaCon for Irma victims |url=https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/stan-lee-was-a-superhero-for-florida-attended-megacon-for-irma-victims/ |access-date=16 October 2023 |agency=WFLA |date=12 November 2018}}</ref>

===Post-pandemic era===
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>{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Ashley |title=MegaCon Orlando 2020 Canceled Amid Coronavirus Pandemic |url=https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2020/05/07/megacon-orlando-2020-canceled-amid-coronavirus-pandemic |website=Spectrum News 13 |access-date=7 May 2020}}</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>{{cite tweet|user=MegaConOrlando|number=1420744930914357248|date=July 29, 2021|title=@JamesMarstersOf is no longer able to attend the show - he's been called back to production on an upcoming project. Epic Photo Ops will be in touch with those that bought a Photo Op, and if you had tickets to James Marsters Unplugged you'll see a refund processed for that ticket|link=https://twitter.com/MegaConOrlando/status/1420744930914357248|access-date=April 16, 2022}}</ref>

2022 featured a return to normal operations with [[Elijah Wood]], [[Sean Astin]], [[Dominic Monaghan]], and [[Billy Boyd (actor)|Billy Boyd]], the Hobbits of the [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|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>{{cite press release |title=FAN EXPO Announces Whatnot as Official Livestream Partner |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220420005865/en/FAN-EXPO-Announces-Whatnot-as-Official-Livestream-Partner |website=Business Wire |date=20 April 2022 |access-date=28 July 2022}}</ref> Numerous traffic issues in the surrounding areas due to record attendance reached local news headlines.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kondolojy |first1=Amanda |title=Fans deal with massive crowds, parking woes at MegaCon 2022 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/events/os-et-megacon-orlando-2022-parking-waoes-crowded-event-20220522-az7omvw7ojhsbbopaviul6mcdy-story.html |website=Orlando Sentinel |date=22 May 2022 |access-date=24 May 2022}}</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>{{cite news |last1=Moyer |first1=Matthew |title=Memorial service for late comics legend George Pérez to be held at Orlando's MegaCon |url=https://www.orlandoweekly.com/arts/memorial-service-for-late-comics-legend-george-perez-to-be-held-at-orlandos-megacon-31550665 |access-date=13 August 2022 |agency=Orlando Weekly |date=May 10, 2022}}</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>{{cite web |title=MegaCon Convention on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/MegaConOrlando/status/1640817289447587840 |website=Twitter |publisher=MegaConOrlando |access-date=28 March 2023}}</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>{{cite news |last1=Gollon |first1=Chris |title=MegaCon Attendees Describe Crowded, Potentially Dangerous Conditions |url=https://newsdaytonabeach.com/stories/megacon-attendees-describe-crowded-potentially-dangerous-conditions,38167 |access-date=17 January 2025 |agency=WNDB |date=4 April 2023}}</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's===
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>{{cite web |title=Floor Plan |url=https://fanexpohq.com/megaconorlando/floor-plan/ |website=MegaCon Orlando |publisher=FanExpo |access-date=17 January 2025}}</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.