BotCon 2023 - August 24-27 at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey

[Sabrblade]

Just saw that there will also be some additional toys at Botcon. Using the Beastdrive velociraptor as Gobot Scales was inspired.

View attachment 14906
View attachment 14907

Where did you find that? It's not on the BotCon website, Facebook Twitter, Instagram, or Discord channel.


Though, something that is up on the website (but not very well advertised, admittedly) is that Dinostorm has an alternate combiner configuration called Dinogorgon, which puts Magma as the head instead of Smolder:

I'm guessing this is a more aggressive, fire-breathing configuration, since this is a team of firefighters and probably wouldn't be breathing fire normally.


On a different note, Garry Chalk has a special message for BotCon 2023:

 

[Sabrblade]

Where did you find that? It's not on the BotCon website, Facebook Twitter, Instagram, or Discord channel.

Okay, NOW they're up on all those.

BotCon 2023 Non Attendee Package PLUS Souvenirs now available!

Can't attend Botcon 2023 but want to nab some of the goodies?
BotCon 2023 Non attending packages are now available for order! We have TWO options for you to choose from!

Botcon 2023 Non Attendee Package PLUS Souvenirs

• Limited 4-Figure Exclusive BotCon 2023 Convention 52Toys BEASTBOX Set With Pin.
• All 4 Dinoforce Figures Transform And Merge In To Dinostorm!
• This Set Was Produced In Far Fewer Quantities For Release Through BotCon, So You Won’t Want To Miss Out!

Plus Package also includes:

• Both 52 Toys Beastdrive Souvenir Figures With BONUS Translucent Squirrel And Dino Armor Add-On Set. ONLY Available To The First 500 Premium/VIP Registrants/Non-Attending COMBINED.

Botcon 2023 Non Attendee Package

• Limited 4-Figure Exclusive BotCon 2023 Convention 52Toys BEASTBOX Set With Pin.
• All 4 Dinoforce Figures Transform And Merge In To Dinostorm!
• This Set Was Produced In Far Fewer Quantities For Release Through BotCon, So You Won’t Want To Miss Out!

Head on over to our Exclusives page for a full gallery of our exclusive box set and souvenir offerings!

And the two souvenir Beastdrive toys: Rodimouse (named after an unproduced BotCon proposal of Transmetal Rattrap in G1 Rodimus colors)

We saw him on the first page, but here's the full gallery of Scales (based on the Tonka-original GoBots Renegade toy of the same name)

 

[Donocropolis]

I had seen it on the 52Toys thread over on TFW, but couldn't say where it had come from before that. Good to see the official reveal.
I'd love to have that Scales, but not for those prices.
I've aaaallllmost bought Beastbox toys a few times, but never have quite taken the plunge. I love the look of them, but it feels like a dangerous path to start down.

 

[Sabrblade]

I'd love to have that Scales, but not for those prices.

Yeah, it's likely be far less than that when sold individually at the con.

 

[Sabrblade]

Custom class news update

BotCon 2023 Custom Class figure will feature an NEW head sculpt!

While we are keeping the character a secret for now, we are thrilled to show off the head turnaround for the character AND announce that the backstory will tie in to the Official BotCon Beast Wars legacy from the late 1990’s/Early 2000’s. There will also be a very special ‘guest’ writer for this years Custom Class tie-in. Someone who is quite connected to the original official BotCon Beast Wars story!

There are still some class spots available for both AM and PM. Don’t miss out on this one time opportunity to build and paint this VERY limited Transformers Beast Custom toy with instructor Shawn Tessman.

For registration info visit BotCon.com.

You can order the classes right now here:

https://www.agabyss.com/botcon/botcon-2023-thurday-am-custom-figure-class

https://www.agabyss.com/botcon/botcon-2023-thurday-pm-custom-figure-class

Judging by that description, the guest writer is likely Simon Furman, since he wrote the late 90s/early 2000s BotCon epic "Reaching the Omega Point", and last year's custom class figure was Leonicus, the only protagonist character from Omega Point who never got a toy back then, which was also made with Furman's involvement.

So this head is probably another character from that storyline. But the question is who? It doesn't look like anyone recognizable, but it does look female, which narrows things down a bit. Maybe it's another member of the Covenant like last year's Leonicus was. Cancix was confirmed female in Beast Wars: Uprising, TFWiki lists Libras as female for some reason, and Virgol does look very feminine, but several of the Covenant looked slender and feminine and this new noggin doesn't really resemble any of theirs.

It definitely doesn't resemble Nightracer, who probably wouldn't fit anyway since she was from BotCon 1995, mid-90s instead of late-90s/early-2000s, and was G2 instead of Beast Wars.

 

[Sabrblade]

Schedule news and comic news.

Preliminary BotCon 2023 schedule of events

Daily Admission available At-The-Door
Friday $45/Saturday $45 /Sunday $25
ALL KIDS 12 & Under are FREE

Numerous Product, Celebrity Guest, and informational panels will take place on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.
(All events take place at American Dream unless noted otherwise)

FULL Event Schedule to be released on August 7th.

Voice Actor autographs/pictures available for purchase at guests table. Scott McNeil autographs are ONLY available as a FREE bonus with Weekend/Premium/VIP package due to guests preference and time constraints.

BotCon Unlimited #2 Cover Reveal

After seeing the amazing work Alex Milne did on the IDW Shattered Glass homage covers, we knew he was the perfect artist for our next issue of BotCon Unlimited!

Old School Marvel Transformers fans will get the reference right away, but if you are a little newer to the fandom check the comments for a look at the original cover.

BotCon Unlimited #2 will debut at BotCon August 24-27 in East Rutherford, NJ at American Dream.

Side Note: We have now opened up submissions to be a volunteer at BotCon! We always try to go above and beyond other shows, so know that volunteers will also get some pretty awesome swag (including free toys) as a thank you for helping! Conventions only work with the help of the Volunteers and support of the fans, so we want to make sure you are taken care of!

If interested, email us at [email protected]

 

[DarkeklawGW]

I don't live far from where BotCon is going to be, maybe an hour and a half drive, but I've already made my convention plans for this year. I'll be going to ColossalCon East (Which is held about a 5 min drive from my house at Kalahari Pocono. I had the tickets and time off requested back in May.

Would have been nice to finally get to a BotCon. Oh well At least many moons ago I was able to participate through the Battle Protocol Project.

 

[Sabrblade]

A couple of updates to catch up on.

First, a rather unexpected Robotech announcement:

We are pleased to announce that BotCon (Official), The Transformers Convention, is now a part of the Robotech Convention Tour!

TICKETS: https://www.botcon.com/

Second, the final guest announcement, which is another unexpected surprise:

Our final guest announcement, and we called up one tall order for sure! Making his first ever Transformers convention appearance, straight from the Toys “R” Us flagship store at American Dream… Geoffrey The Giraffe!

If Optimus Prime was the hero of your childhood, Geoffrey the Giraffe was likely the one that officially introduced you to the leader of the Autobots. Or maybe he was there to prepare you for the might of Megatron? One thing is for sure, he was there for millions of kids around the world as they built their Autobot, Decepticon, and then later, Maximal and Predacon armies! Now, nearly 40 years later, we are thrilled to have Geoffrey as a guest at BotCon ’23 to meet fans both young and old! Geoffrey will be available on Friday and Saturday at BotCon, with exact appearance times to be announced on the schedule being released on August 8th.

The voices of Optimus Primal, Arcee, Dinobot, Prowl, Blacharachnia, Hot Rod, Grimlock, and now Geoffrey the Giraffe live “in person". You can meet all of them and so many more fan favorite guests at BotCon ’23.

For the ULTIMATE BotCon experience be sure to pre-register for a VIP package. You get special access to all of the guests that will be at the show Friday evening for an amazing Meet & Greet. Scott McNeil, Garry Chalk, Sue Blu, Venus Terzo, and many more! Check the comments for the full breakdown of everything you receive with each package.

We will see you all at BotCon ’23 in East Rutherford, NJ August 24-27 at American Dream. For more details visit BotCon.com

*Note - Stay Tuned for an additional update regarding all the great Transformers Toys you can buy at the flagship Toys “R” Us store that is right around the corner from BotCon ‘23!

 

[Sabrblade]

A full rundown of the different attendance options:

 

[Sabrblade]

With the writer/actor guest announcements finished, now begin the artist announcements.

While our "Special Guest" announcements have ended with Geoffrey the Giraffe... We're not done announcing the awesome and talented individuals who will be at the show! Starting with a two-for, we're honored to have these two amazing artists joining us in East Rutherford, NJ - Candice N. Santora and Robby Musso!

Candice's Beast Wars/Machines art is an awe to see. Her pencil work makes each character look real and alive. And Robby has done comic books, packing illustrations and toy concepts for just about every nostalgia brand out there!

This is just the beginning; we will have more artists, podcasters, and presenters to announce as we draw in closer to the convention!

BotCon '23 is August 24-27 in the American Dream Mall, 1 American Dream Way, East Rutherford, NJ.

For those unaware, it is via Candice's YouTube channel that Garry Chalk performs all of his Christmas greetings videos and other "Primal Parodies" videos every year.

 

[Sabrblade]

Final schedule of events and cosplay contest news

BotCon ’23 Schedule and Cosplay contest info is here! Check out all the details below and then feel free to drop any questions in the comments.

Haven’t registered yet? What are you waiting for! BotCon starts NEXT Thursday! Get your VIP/Premium/Weekend packages now at Agabyss.com/botcon/. Daily admission will be available at the door on each day of the show. Want a full look at all the guests and more info about this years show? Visit BotCon.com for all the details.

Get ready for the World’s ORIGINAL Transformers Fan Convention, landing in East Rutherford, New Jersey August 24-27.

Thursday

9:00am - 1:00pm - AM Custom Class
10:30am - Vendor Registration/Exhibit Hall Set-up
2:00pm - 6:00pm - PM Custom Class
4:00pm - VIP/Premium Package Pick up
4:15pm - BotCon Store Opens for VIP/Premium/Class
6:00pm - Weekend Package Pick up/Weekend Pass BotCon Store Access
10:00pm - Registration/BotCon Store Closes
11:00pm - Exhibit Hall Set-Up Closes

Friday

8am - Late Package Pickup
9am - Late Registration
10am - VIP/Premium/Weekend Pass entry
10:30am - 12:30pm - Scott McNeil Autograph session (VIP/Premium FIRST ACCESS)
11:00am - 11:50am - Robby Musso: From Transformers to Divine Circuits
11:30am - General Admission
12:00pm - 12:50pm - Simon Furman & Bob Budianski
1:00pm - 2:00p - Sue Blu G1 Panel: Meet G1 Arcee
2:00pm - 4:00pm - Scott McNeil Autograph session (VIP/Premium/Weekend FIRST ACCESS)
2:00pm - 2:50pm - Cyberverse Script Reading
3:00pm - 3:50pm - Podcasters & Youtubers Panel
4:00pm - 4:50pm - Harmony Gold Panel
5pm - Vendor Room Closes
5:30pm - BotCon Opening Ceremony (American Dream Main Stage*)
7:30pm - VIP Meet & Greet (Located at Hilton Meadowlands)
8:30pm - ROC Fan Event
*Full American Dream Main Stage Schedule will be released next week.
Events at the Dream stage, including the Opening Ceremony, interactive play for kids, and a presentation by Robosen, will be open to the general public from 11-6 on Friday.

Saturday

9am - VIP/Premium/Weekend Pass entry
9:30am - General Admission
10:00am - 12:00pm - Scott McNeil Autograph Session (VIP/Premium/Weekend FIRST ACCESS)
10am - General Admission
11am-11:50 am - G1 Comic Panel Bob Budiansky & Simon Furman
12pm - 12 :50am - Realm of Collectors Panel
1:00pm- 3:00pm - Scott McNeil Autograph session (ALL)
1:00pm- 1:50pm - Benson Yee
2pm - Cosplay Contest
2:00pm - 2:50pm - Harmony Gold
3:00pm - 3:50pm - Beast Wars panel w/ Scott McNeil, Garry Chalk, Venus Terzo, & Sue Blu
4:00pm - 4:50pm - Product Reveal
5pm - Vendor Room Closes

Sunday

9am - Showroom opens - All
10:00am - 12:00pm - Scott McNeil Autograph Session (VIP/Premium/Weekend FIRST ACCESS)
10:00am - 10:50am - Cyberverse Q&A
11:00am - 11:50am - Harmony Gold
12:00pm - 12:50pm - 50 questions with Scott McNeil
1:00pm - 1:50pm - BotCon panel
2:00pm - 3:00pm - Scott McNeil Autograph session (ALL)
3pm - Vendor Room Closes

Custom class reminder and exclusive headsculpt render

To all our crafty friends out there, we have a couple new Custom Class updates for you! Starting with a look at the NEW head sculpt for the Class figure! Digitally sculpted and rendered by the very talented Azim Venksta, the head represents a brand new take on a previously established character. Who is it? You’ll have to wait until the Class to find out!

Speaking of the Class, the Thursday PM Class is now completely SOLD OUT! And only four (4) seats are left in the AM Class. Act fast to be a part of this awesome, staple BotCon event!

The AM Class is Thursday, August 24 at 9:00am - 1:00pm. The PM Class is 2:00pm - 6:00pm. Both classes take place in the Dream Live area of the American Dream Mall. We can’t wait to see you there!

For more information about the convention: BotCon.com

For Weekend Passes and to purchase the Custom Class: Agabyss.com/BotCon

BotCon ’23 is August 24-27 at the American Dream Mall, East Rutherford, NJ

And more guest announcements: YouTubers

We're thrilled to announce the first two of our YouTuber/influencer guests: RodimusPrimal and Deluxe Baldwin! We're excited to have them on hand for the weekend and are looking forward to hearing what they have to say about the world of toy reveals, retrospectives, and video discussions!

We will have the full list of vendors, guests, artists, and influencers this week. Stay tuned!

BotCon '23 is NEXT WEEK! August 24 -27 at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ.

For more information about the convention head over to BotCon.com

To purchase Weekend Passes, Premium or VIP Packages, or Non-Attending souvenirs, check out Agabyss.com/Botcon

We hope to see you next weekend!

 

[Sabrblade]

BotCon is only days away and they keep churning out more announcements.

Full list of dealer room vendors and two more guests from Radio Free Cybertron

We are just one week away from the ORIGINAL and this year's Transformers event of the Summer - BotCon '23!

You know the guests. You know the toys. You know the panels. Let's talk the tens of thousands of Transformers and transforming robot toys/art that will be available for purchase at BotCon! Here is our full list of companies and artists that will be at the show. Note, in addition to the list here, there will be plenty of individual vendors as well who will be at American Dream to sell their wares!

Company List:

Ages Three and Up
Toy Dojo
Robosen
MegaToyFan
Pappi's Collectible's
MegaPrimeCollectibles
Iacon 3D Labs
Pop Culture Pastimes
Rocket Shark Toys
Agabyss
Hero's Haven
IG's Insane Toy Box
Night Shining
Alpha Prime Toys
Riot Press
Ramen Toy
TransWarp Toys

List of Artists:

Candice N. Santora
Dan Khanna
Johnathan Snyder
Denzell Littlejohn
Riot Hashimoto
Robbie Musso
Joseph Kennedy
Kevin O'Ayoola
Laureta Linett
Brandon Maginley
Will Mcdonald

And a first for the NEW BotCon, we will have multiple content creators at the show, happy to share info and details about their craft with their fellow fans! Great to announce two more today - TMReviews & Diecast from RFC Reviews!

For more information about the convention, head over to BotCon.com

And to purchase your Weekend Passes or other BotCon '23 packages, check out Agabyss.com/BotCon

BotCon '23
August 24-27
American Dream Mall
East Rutherford, NJ

Two special deals to hang out with the Beast Wars actors, one more voice actor guest from Rescue Bots Academy, and a Realm of Collectors charity toy drive

Mini-Golf w/ Optimus Primal, Rollercoaster rides with Rattrap, a last minute appearance of a Rescue Bot, and a Toy Drive for those in need of sickle cell care resources!

It’s the Tuesday before BotCon and the updates just keep rolling in! You can now order the Saturday Night experience package which will allow you a once in a lifetime chance at hanging with your favorite voice actors for a night of mini golf or riding rollercoasters at the amazing Nickelodeon Universe theme park, both located at American Dream. Visit https://www.agabyss.com/botcon/ for the event description and to order your tickets. Book now as these are very limited!

Next up, a last minute surprise guest. Making her first appearance at a convention of any type, Courtney Shaw, the voice of Rescus Bots Whirl, will be at BotCon this Saturday and Sunday! Be sure to stop by her table and say hi!

Last, but far from least, there will be a ROC sponsored Toy Drive to benefit those that are undergoing sickle cell care and treatment. Be sure to bring a toy with you to BotCon this weekend to donate to this great cause!

Browse the Experience Packages here:

BotCon 2023 Rollercoasters and Rides with Rattrap experience package with Scott McNeil and Venus Terzo

BotCon 2023 Angry Birds golf experience package with Garry Chalk and Susan Blu

 

[CEEFAX]

Apologies for bumping the thread for naught but a request, but if anyone has a Snarliehog they’ve found themselves ambivalent to, please sell it to poor old CEEFAX here who definitely isn’t!
I’m in Japan at the moment, so very happy to help source anything in particular to make it more worth someone’s while.

 

[Sabrblade]

As far as I know, I might have been the only person on this board who actually went to BotCon this year and got Snarliehog via registration. And I want to keep mine.

Unless someone else on here did go and I just never knew about 'em.

 

[CEEFAX]

No probs; thanks for the reply!

 

[Kup]

As far as I know, I might have been the only person on this board who actually went to BotCon this year and got Snarliehog via registration. And I want to keep mine.

Unless someone else on here did go and I just never knew about 'em.

Not to be negative in any way, but can you summarize what the convention was like? Busy? Empty? High energy? An after thought?

Long story short, we seriously considered going but couldn't make it work with soccer schedules. I started checking Sunday afternoon for highlights/photos/etc but didn't see a ton. Checked again the next day and got the same vibe.

I accept that it could be the case that a) the type of people that didn't go would b) also be the same people that would use the same internet-based media as me. That I may have missed stuff on TikTok or Discord, essentially. I know I'm old, and the same group of fans who became adults around d the turn of the millennium are, like me, probably saddled with the typical "life" obligations.

So, since you went...what was it like?

 

[Gizmoboy]

I know, being in my 50's now, I don't have a lot of desire to go to conventions anymore. I would be interested to hear how this went though.

 

[Sabrblade]

Not to be negative in any way, but can you summarize what the convention was like? Busy? Empty? High energy? An after thought?

Long story short, we seriously considered going but couldn't make it work with soccer schedules. I started checking Sunday afternoon for highlights/photos/etc but didn't see a ton. Checked again the next day and got the same vibe.

I accept that it could be the case that a) the type of people that didn't go would b) also be the same people that would use the same internet-based media as me. That I may have missed stuff on TikTok or Discord, essentially. I know I'm old, and the same group of fans who became adults around d the turn of the millennium are, like me, probably saddled with the typical "life" obligations.

So, since you went...what was it like?

In lieu of a full detailed report on the entire weekend (since there's seems to be little interest on here), I'll try to summarize it.

BotCon 2023 was fun and full of life. Like last year, it was run by Agabyss, spearheaded by Hany Agaby as the main organizer.

It was held in a mall called American Dream, a mall so big that "enormous" doesn't even begin to describe it. This place had its own massive indoor rollercoaster theme park, its own indoor water park with a giant wave pool and crazy long water slides everywhere, its own indoor professional-grade ice hockey rink, its own indoor miniature golf course, its own indoor walk-through garden area, and (if all that wasn't crazy enough) its own indoor ski slope complete with a working ski lift and people snowboarding and skiing down the slope all weekend. Not to mention its own two-story Toys R Us that BotCon registered attendees received a 10% off coupon for.

The guests were people from Beast Wars, people from Cyberverse, the voice of Rescue Bots Academy Whirl (who is every bit as much of a sweetheart as Whirl is), Ben Yee, Simon Furman, Bob Budiansky, and a number of artists and YouTube content creators. Two comedic script readings were held, a Beast Wars one held publicly in the center of the mall, and a Cyberverse one held at BotCon during a panel. A representative from Harmony Gold was also there, who hosted three Robotech panels (and this man had an amazing sense of humor regarding the whole situation with the G1 Jetfire mold). Arguably, the panel of the weekend was the Beast Wars panel with Garry Chalk, Scott McNeil, Venus Terzo, and Susan Blu. The room was so packed full with attendees in the audience that there were more people than seats available (several folks, mostly children, willingly sat on the floor at the front of the room). Many of the weekend's panels were recorded by Ben Yee and others, so they can all be easily found on YouTube.

The dealer room was full of all kinds of vendors with all kinds of products, both official and unofficial. While last year's dealer room was mostly light on third-party product (maybe two or three booths at the most had any for sale), this year I'd say about one-third of the room had some, but the official first-party products still dominated the scene. I myself picked up quite the selection this year:

Spoiler: My haul from BotCon

BotCon 2023 BeastBox exclusives:
Dinoforce: Cauldron of Fire

• Magma (colored in homage of G1 Swoop's toy colors)
• Smolder (colored in homage of G1 Sludge)
• Spot (colored in homage of G1 Snarl)
• Slagge (colored in homage of G1 Slag/Slug)
• Combined form Dinostorm (colored in homage of G1 Grimlock)

Attendee freebie

• Snarliehog (colored in homage of G1 Snarler's Pretender Beast shell, named after both Narliehog and Snarlie-Narlie from Rock Lords)

BotCon 2023 BeastDrive exclusives:
Souvenirs

• Scales (named and colored in homage to Scales from GoBots)
• Rodimouse (named and colored in homage to the never-made Rodimouse redeco concept from the Beast Wars Transmetal Rattrap)

Attendee freebies

• Velasa Raptor (optional armor set for Scales)
• Night Glider (optional armor set for Rodimouse)

BotCon 2023 other exclusives:

• Early-bird registration pin
• BotCon Unlimited issue #2 (attendee freebie)
• Scott McNeil Beast Wars art print (attendee freebie, unsigned)

Beast Wars:

• McDonalds Happy Meal Transmetal Blackarachnia (loose)
• Beast Wars Universe guidebook (reprint)

Robots in Disguise (2001):

• Tow-Line (loose)

OTFCC 2003 Universe exclusives:

• Sideswipe (packaged)
• Sunstreaker (packaged)

BotCon 2005 exclusive:

• Descent into Evil (packaged)

Beast Wars Telemocha Series:

• Rhinox (packaged)

Henkei! Henkei!:

• Cyclonus w/ Nightstick (loose)

BotCon 2010 exclusive:

• Land Shark/Air Shark/Sea Shark Sharkticon 3-pack (packaged)

Campaign items:

• Vector Oracle (packaged)
• Mito Prime's Town Matrix (packaged)

Combiner Wars:

• Prowl (loose)

Adventure:

• Override (loose)
• Runabout (loose)

Earthrise:

• Soundbarrier ×11 (packaged)

And two more packaged items that were acquired during BotCon but not purchased from the dealer room:

Kingdom:

• Golden Disk Collection Puffer and Road Ranger (purchased from the Toys R Us at the American Dream mall where BotCon was held)

Rise of the Beasts:

• Yolopark AMK Series Optimus Primal model kit (won in a raffle at the Cyberverse Q&A panel)

Like last year, the convention exclusives were BeastBox toys from 52Toys, but also four BeastDrive toys from the same company. And also like last year, they were each colored and/or named in homage of various official Transformers toys/characters, or even ones from GoBots and Rock Lords. Descriptions of each can be found in the above spoiler text.

I didn't do the custom class this year (as I never do it every year since it's just one more expense on top of everything else), but the figure was a purple and black redeco of the Vintage Beast Wars reissue Terrorsaur mold with a new 3D-printed head, meant to represent a Beast Wars version of Cybertron Quickslinger. Simon Furman wrote a new prose story about Quickslinger that was included as part of the custom class. The story is said to tie into Furman's old BotCon Beast Wars stories from the late 90s/early 2000s, and a digital copy of the story will eventually be posted online at a later date.

Saturday night had two special events for certain people who purchased one of two last-minute options that went up on Agabyss mere days before the convention (which were supposed to go up long before, well in advance of the event, but they regretfully went up so late). One of these events was a chance to hang out with Scott McNeil and Venus Terzo at the mall's indoor rollercoaster theme park that evening, while the other was a chance to play miniature golf with Garry Chalk and Susan Blu. I didn't do either of these because of how close to the convention they went up on Agabyss, but if they had gone up sooner (as originally intended) and if I could have worked them into the budget, I would have gone with the golfing event since it was cheaper ($150 as opposed to the theme park's $200) and since I would have been too tired to go to a theme park that night; mini-golfing with Garry and Sue would have been more relaxing for me. Alas, I was not among the lucky ones who were able to afford either of these evening events. And, funnily enough, neither of them fully sold out, even though they were each limited to about 20 people or so.

So, yeah, there were a few minor imperfections, but there always are. No convention is flawless. And none of those were deal-breakers, either. This was a great weekend with great people, and great fun had all around.

 

[MPSP Theater]

Hey guys. I'm Nick.

Botcon was fun. I don't really go for the conventions anymore, and instead go to hang out with my nerdy friends and party.

I did get a ticket for Saturday for the show. It was a pretty damn good dealer room. Agabyss got a chance to shine, but the other booths were also well equipped. As far as exclusives go, again, not something I was there for.

Personally, not a fan of the location. I don't mind not being in the hotel of a con, but having to uber or cab to the event wasn't ideal. No opportunity to drop purchases at your room, or get off your feet for a sec to recharge.

Amenities wise, it was good. Different places to eat, shops, heck a rollercoaster was in the mall.

I'm 44, and an overgrown kid. For me, as long as my friends are going to keep going, so am I. This was my first Botcon, but I've been doing TFCon up until 2021. Any questions or observations you need from me, I'm here.

 

[Sabrblade]

Personally, not a fan of the location. I don't mind not being in the hotel of a con, but having to uber or cab to the event wasn't ideal. No opportunity to drop purchases at your room, or get off your feet for a sec to recharge.

They did accept that feedback at the final panel on Sunday, and actually addressed that issue directly. Hany explained that, when initially working out a deal with the hotel for the weekend, he and the hotel person he had originally spoke to were in talks of the hotel providing a shuttle service to and from the mall, for three hours each morning and three hours each evening, allowing people to go back and forth between each much easier.

However, that did not come about because of an unfortunate and unexpected tragedy. The hotel person with whom Hany was in talks about this... suddenly passed away before the shuttle arrangements could be made. And he apparently did not pass on this information to the other hotel staff before his sudden passing. So when Hany later tried to talk to the other hotel staff about the shuttles for BotCon, the other staff members were completely unaware of this, and it was apparently too late for these arrangements to be made.

So it was a combination of unfortunate circumstances and miscommunication that led to the lack of the intended complimentary transportation between the hotel and the mall.

Also, they are aware of preferences that people may have for the convention to be held at the same location as the convention lodging, and are taking these into account for next year. But whether that means it will be held all at one place or at yet another separate venue like this year is not yet known.