Fan Expo Dallas 2024

Today’s editorial is about my 3-day experience at Fan Expo Dallas 2024. Last year I went for one day. I met Jason Mewes & Kevin Smith. At the time, it was my first-time attending a fan convention without any knowledge of navigating a huge place. I was inexperienced, didn’t know where to go from Point A to Point B, I had no clue which panel is located. 2023 was a fun time taking my photo op with Jay and Silent Bob. This time, I planned my next visit for 3 days, choosing which celebs I should take my pics with, budgeting and selecting which panel/Q&A session to attend.

As an early birthday present, my mom and dad bought me a 3-day ultimate VIP package to attend Fan Expo Dallas which is located at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The building’s interconnected to the Omni-Hotel. A five-star resort. They got legit restaurants not too far. If you’re new to Fan Expo Dallas or any other fan convention, I have some tips and tricks up sleeve. Take notes, you’ll thank me later.

Tips & Tricks

1. Plan your trip accordingly. Discuss your friends or family which celebs to sign an autograph, take a snapshot and panel (Q&A) to attend. Most importantly, work as a team. Why? Because teamwork is the key to victory.
2. Create a budget on how much you’re going to spend your money on autographs, celebs and merchandise.
3. Keep a steady diet. Grab small individual bags of snacks to store your bag. Just don’t eat too much.
4. Stay hydrated. Bring a few bottles of water.
5. Before you go out, apply lots of deodorant.
6. Wearing a costume’s fun. Only downside, you’re gonna get hot and sweaty. Word of advice, wear a t-shirt and shorts. If you wish to go cosplaying, your call.
7. Get a hotel reservation at the Omni-Hotel. I’ll have you know, it costs extra money to use Wi-Fi. It costs $70 per day to enable.
8. Put lots of deodorant. Apply cologne/perfume.
9. Download the app, Fan Expo Dallas. Select which panel to attend and have a snapshot/autograph with a celeb.
10. If you feel lost, obtain a map. For an alternative solution, a crew member wearing an orange shirt will assist you. Don’t be shy. They’re nice.
11. Never bring a baby. They can be disruptive. Bringing an infant to a panel, can ruin the experience.
12. Have a kick-ass journey.

There are tiers based on how you’ll gain access. A badge allows you access and perks. In order to activate your, badge enter the link fanexpo.com/activate

• Single Day Pass – One time only if it’s Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
• Three-Day Pass – Stay longer. Equip your handy-dandy badge of the day.
• VIP Package – Let’s you enter a quicker way to take photo ops. Same benefits as three-day pass.
• Ultimate Package – An early two-hour access before non-ultimate people makes their arrival. You sit in front row at any panel. The best seat in the house. Same benefits as VIP Package. You also get exclusive merchandise including a t-shirt, a reprint of Detective Comics number 27 featuring Batman’s first appearance, a poster and a Back to the Future collectible. I went with the Ultimate Package.

Over the course of three days, I met five people. On the top row from left to right. William Shatner, Giancarlo Esposito & Danny Elfman. It was a blast meeting them.

Bottom row from left to right. Justin Cook & Chris Rager. The former’s known as Yusuke Urameshi from “YuYu Hakusho,” Raditz, Super Buu & Dende from “Dragon Ball Z” & Kirishima/Red Riot from “My Hero Academia.” The latter’s known as Hercule Satan from DBZ, Mr. Torgue from the ” Borderlands” series and Cementoss from My Hero Academia. I got Hercule’s autograph. Mr. Cook’s one of my favorite voice actors. I was honored to meet him. I can cross it off my bucket list.

Fun Fact: Mr. Rager told me he’s working on promoting the upcoming video game “Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero” and “Dragon Ball Daima” in California. I can’t wait for ’em. I’m glad I got his autograph and photo. Hercule’s one of my favorite DBZ characters.

By the way, Mr. Rager and many other voice actors were signing autographs and taking photos with fans at Anime After Dark. An afterparty filled with K-Pop, anime theme songs, cosplay and other merchandise. It was also my first time at an afterparty.

I went to five panels in chronological order. William Shatner, My Hero Academia, Danny Elfman, The Mandalorian & DBZ Kai. Giancarlo Esposito’s really a talkative nice guy in real life. When he got the role as Moff Gideon, he was giddy and geeking out. I also uploaded two YouTube videos on My Hero Academia’s panel and William Shatner talking about the late Ricardo Montalban. Click on the videos below. It’s interesting to learn about the Cast reflecting their process on how they felt making a specific project. Some of the stories they share are funny.

The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!

I had an awesome time spending three days at Fan Expo Dallas. I cannot wait for 2025. If I were you, make a modest investment in case you wanna meet more famous faces. Which famous faces do you wanna meet? Please leave a comment. Here’s my predictions.