In August I would attend two cons within the same week. Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Show in Hunt Valley, MD and Fanboy Expo in Orlando. Initially there were many rare names at Fanboy Expo, but sadly they dropped like flies. I was upset and stuck with the plane ticket. So I ended up going.
First up, Mid Atlantic. My main want there was Louis Gossett Jr. I botched meeting him at NYCC in 2019, so it was good to finally be able to make that up. While there I also got to hang with my good buddy Troy B from Richmond.
First up I go for actress Jo Ann Harris who was in a movie with Clint Eastwood. She had a face shield on but took it off for ops and did over the table photos (fine by me).
Next up, child actress Mary Badham. She was virus phobic but did FREE no mask shots socially distant across the table. Sounds good to me.
Then get Louis Gossett and opt for the full combo since he is looking frail. Then Mariel Hemingway who was in Superman IV. And end my time with soap star John James.
Now to Fanboy Expo. I arrive at Orlando, rent a car, and that would also double as my sleeping quarters. I would end up putting about $2 worth of gas in the car as I would hardly end up driving it during my time in Orlando. Essentially airport to the con and back. Thankfully I found a spot in the shade to park in or the Florida sun would have killed me.
Despite the heavy cancellations, I would get some good rare names. And I split almost everyone which made things more affordable.
First off, Renee Jacobs who voiced April O'Neil in the original TMNT. You had to stand a couple of feet away for the photo op, but that's fine by me. Next up ops with Peter Behn and Donnie Dunagan from the original Bambi.
Then I get Bret Iwan who is the current voice of Mickey Mouse. His op was over the table distant. Doesn't look too good but at least it was a split. I then get an op with Lee Arenberg from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Then I get a cool music name, Bob Berryhill from the The Surfaris. They are best known for the iconic tune Wipe Out. He also co wrote the song. Most everyone else from the band is dead.
On the the "creator" side I get Tim Jacobus (Goosebumps), Tony Isabella (comics), and Nik Ranieri who was an animator for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and a lot of Disney stuff.
I wanted to get Dog the Bounty Hunter, but he was doing distant ops from TWO tables away. I didn't want to pay for that. So that was heartbreaking. This marks my first ever con photo op pass due to the virus.
My final guest for this con would be Dante Basco from Hook fame.
He was coming around the table for ops, but only with a mask (and people were paying for it!). If you wanted no mask, he would stand behind the table behind the glass (but the glass was on the table so his torso and up would be above the glass).
Then I saw that in the pro op he did normal photos. No glass and no mask and multiple people huddled together with him. My mind was just baffled.
So I started pleading/suggesting to go with him behind the glass and against the wall with no mask. I got my way. Score!
No comments:
Post a Comment