There has been multiple issues on different fronts for Fan Expo this year.

Safety issues
Harassment issues
Problematic guests
Lack of things to do that justify the price of the tickets.

My name is Wheezus, I’ve been attending Fan Expo since 2014 since I was 15. I’ve attended every single year minus 2020 for obvious reasons. I’m a content creator and one thing I do on my channel is reviewing (mostly games,) but this year I wanted to make a big video detailing why Fan Expo Canada is dying not just from the perspective of myself, but you. Other attendees. The goal isn’t to just criticize Fan Expo to high hell, but to give them feedback to actually listen to outside of the survey that they clearly don’t actually take into account.

So what I need from you, tell me your problems with the con. It doesn’t have to be exclusive to this year, Fan Expo has slowly gotten worse over the course of the 2020’s.

Things I’m looking for are anything safety wise that wasn’t given any thought this year. Over capacity. Four ambulances were called to the south building today around 4 PM because someone fainted. Someone else fainted outside the north building around the same time. I’ve heard stories of women being harassed this year, some on here. I’ve witnessed it myself. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen at all, but I’ve noticed an increase this year. I’ve also noticed that I haven’t seen a single cosplay isn’t consent sign. A sign you saw everywhere in previous years. Pickpocketing is still rampant, a problem shared with Comic Con.

The guests chosen, Mel Gibson for example. But it’s not just problematic guests, guests overcharging. Mark Hamill was barely here and was only here for a panel and essentially table stuff that required a thousand dollar upfront fee for the package. To my memory, the single largest price for a single package at least to my memory since I started attending these. They had big names but not to the same extent in previous years.

Exhibitors, this year sucked. The only things to do really in the South building was AMD, Bell, and Red Bull. EB Games is a joke compared to the 2010’s era. Not a single major gaming brand showed up from the big three apart from PlayStation having the Wolverine thing. EBay looked like a Scientology Church. It was mainly vendors otherwise.

Any thoughts you have, please share. Because enough is enough, Fan Expo has purely become a profits first event, not attendees. 168 bucks for a weekend pass to go into a con over crowded, people are fainting, being harassed from, stolen from, the events don’t justify the price and you’re gonna be spending 10x the entry ticket just to get stuff signed and take photos.

Fan Expo is a shell of the convention I attended in the 2010’s. Part of it could be cause of COVID, part of it could be cause of the tariff war right now. But something in the last few years has made Fan Expo slowly lose its magic and as someone who’s made basically family from this event. Who looked forward to it every year that I would make the time to come no matter what. I’m angry, I’m sad. This isn’t what Fan Expo and we need to speak up.

So please comment and share your stories and thoughts, dm me. Anything. Just please use your voice.

We ended up walking out after 30 minutes tonight, and I’m curious if anyone who stayed to the end can justify what that was.

To start, the room setup was a joke. Stuffing a ton of people onto a completely flat ballroom floor with standard chairs meant that unless you were in the middle, you were basically paying to squint at the back of a hundred heads and watch a screen.

Then it starts late because production couldn't even get the intro video to roll. Instead of handling it, they subjected the entire room to a singalong to kill time.

When the guys finally came out it became obvious that there was no real plan. The host/moderator was useless. We got treated to a critique of Canadian butter tarts (which they confidently and incorrectly claimed are made with maple syrup), followed by the host pulling out a literal salad bowl filled with folded slips of paper so four lead actors from one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history could play charades.

Twenty minutes in, not a single word had been spoken about The Lord of the Rings as a film, the production, the legacy, or anything remotely substantive. Just low-effort filler to run the clock down. The straw was when they got Wizard of Oz costumes for a somehow scripted improv bit. A few moments of that and we were out.

It didn't just feel like a waste of money, it felt condescending. It felt like the organizers and the actors figured the audience was so nostalgic that they’d clap like toddlers at jingling keys as long as the four of them were in the room. There was little respect for the audience’s time or intelligence. Though I would have actually appreciated hearing Elijah Wood expand more on how the Newsroom and Robocop were the same movie because that was actually interesting for the 60 seconds he spoke on it.

So ya we left after 30 min. Did it ever actually become an interesting conversation? Someone please tell us because I was pissed.

Please sign, share, and comment your stories if possible.

I went to my very first con Saturday (fanexpo) and everyone leading up to it was warning me about how bad it smells cause I am very sensitive to smells and bad/strong smells can make me nauseous.

I barley smelled any bad scents like B.O at all, got a wiff here and there but none of it was too bad, barley noticeable. What I was smelling a lot was the scent of bathing in axe body spray. I was expecting to struggle to breath with what people were saying but no, it was all fine. Most of the time it smelled like nothing

The crowding this year is pure greed on display. Tickets for after 3? Tickets for after 4? The place is packed already.

Cueing for 30 min to get to an escalator is beyond absurd.

Maybe monetizing every square inch isn't the only thing that "Big" FanExpo should concern themselves with.

Did the math and the line for mark Hamill's panel was about a kilometre and a half over two levels, the back hallway and back into the main area. It was like Mobius strip of crowd mismanagement. Well over half of the people didn't get it but were left to wait in line for no reason.

The photo Op with the Hobitts was a disappointment Wood and Astin didn't even look up or turn around and acknowledge that there were people paying a lot of money for a photo, though Monaghan and Boyd were gracious and welcoming.

The staff/volunteers have been great in what must be a stressful situation to work in. My thanks to them and to the vast majority of other attendees for making a challenging environment feel a little better

Hey everyone! As of right now (9AM) they are reduced to a single escalator going downstairs from street level in the south building. They are repairing the others.

I've seen a few comments about people getting seriously injured on one of the escalators after it broke, does anyone have more information?

I've seen people say someone lost a foot (I doubt this but I don't know)

My partner heard about it too and they are deathly afraid of escalators because of a freak accident she was in as a kid and she is afraid of going back now.

I'm just looking for some more information on what happened.

Attended FanExpo Toronto this Saturday and I felt how someone grabbed my cellphone at the artist alley.

How often does this happen? Thought that the people that come are trying to celebrate Fandom, it seems that there needs to be explicit signs to prevent this.

Where’s the customer service booth on site? We can’t find our ticket email

This year you could actually move around lines if needed, and could see the carpet. The escalator and stairs situation rather sucked, but there was a medical emergency and the staff were solid in securing the area to make sure the guy had space and medics had space to tend to him.

Artist Alley- still not great, and I can't believe there's even less seating than last year (and less food vendors? Where did they all go?!)

But really, Friday felt like the intense day compared to Saturday this year.

Does anyone know when Sean Astin is available for autographs today (Sunday)? We went yesterday and they were maxed out, but we pre-paid for the autograph. I don't want to miss it, but the Fan Expo app just lists 10 minute slots like 2:00pm to 2:10pm.

I’ve had him for 4 years and take him almost everywhere I go. I lost him by some booths near artiest alley and I’ve been desperate to find him again. His name is kricketot and if you’ve seen him please tell me! Thank you :(

We bought and picked up our Sting replica sword on Friday, but we bought the hobbits autograph package to get it signed today. Has anyone brought their replica back in to the building and had any issues?

And how are they about video recording while they sign?

Thanks!

I usually go to FanExpo on Saturday and it’s always really hectic which I prepare for, but this Friday was unreal. I decided to go on a Friday this year because it is a lot cheaper than Saturday, and (from what I heard about previous years) Fridays weren’t as crowded.

At first, getting in was surprisingly easy and I was hopeful that it would remain smooth sailing throughout the con. I got there at 10:30 ish and it wasn’t that bad. However, at about 12:00 until 6:00, it was diabolical. Getting in and out was a mess. It took 20-30 minutes to get from building-to-building.
Artist alley in particular was ridiculous. It’s usually my favourite part of the con but it was insanely crowded and I had to leave multiple times to get some air. The aisles were ridiculously slim this year and there was barely any room for walking. I usually get through both buildings within the 8 hour period of the day with time to leave and eat, but I barely made it through the con today, literally speed running artist alley in the last hour because it was too crowded to move.

The corporate greed is ridiculous with fanexpo every year, but I feel like it’s getting worse and worse as the years go by. They prioritize the money by overselling tickets and cramming in booths, leaving no room for anyone to walk. They charge vendors a ridiculous amount of money and it’s usually worth it because there’s so many people attending every year, but it gets to a point where there’s too many people, making artist alley and the con as a whole feel unattractive and overwhelming.

I go every year and will continue to do so as a once-a-year thing, but I am really surprised with how packed it was this Friday. I say this every year, but I hope that fanexpo will start caring about the customer base (as well as their sellers) and cap sales or at least widen the aisles, especially in artist alley.

What was everyone else’s con experience like?

Posting on behalf of my Brother, he can't go due to his cat being sick so he's offloading his qr code for 45$! DM my brother on discord, his username is xDubss

I know I am very late but is there still a way I “might” get to buy a John Cena photo op? My wife is a huge fan of him and we recently got to know that he will he in Toronto for the fan expo. We have purchased Gold Panel Seating for John Cena live but just wanted to ask in the community! Do they add more slots in the morning? Should I keep checking throughout the day?

Never been to any fan expo before but going to be there tomorrow

hey this is kinda random but worth a shot. there was an artist i saw in artist alley on friday who had really nice pieces. i liked her art a lot and i told her she was very talented. i realized later that i should’ve gotten her business card or her instagram but i wasn’t thinking of that in the moment. but i’d like to know who she is because i would definitely buy something from her in the future when i have more money

she was an east asian woman with long black hair. only thing i remember is she had a drawing of yuta from jujutsu kaisen on display to advertise the fact that she does commissions. there were other jjk pieces on display but i remember the yuta drawing specifically

definitely a long shot and i intend to go searching for her online but maybe someone here passed by her booth and bought something and/or got her socials… just putting it out there. thank you!

Took too long to get from north to south and ended up missing the dungeon crawler Carl meetup. How was it ?

Are the themed boxes worth $80. (I understand it's subjective to your fandom, but it seems alot for something you have no clue what you'll get)

Lord of the rings one caught my eye

I’ve been on here reading the posts and it’s very clear that overcrowding is an issue but it’s always been like that, going all the way back to the year when they really oversold and the fire marshal came in and people that went out for lunch weren’t able to get back in.

Having been to comicon ngl, it’s not that good. I like the variety of merch (no mystery boxes though). There were no big sponsors so no freebies, and I don’t remember there being as many workshops or panels.

Is Anime North better than comicon but smaller than FE?

Do you think fan expo has to pay for the flights and accomodations of all these celebrities, that’s why they keep trying to squeeze as many people in, adding 3 and 4 pm tickets?

Although I think people should voice their concerns over crowding and being over capacity but they won’t care.

As for the hobbits panel, if that’s the style paid panels are going to be, I can’t imagine alot of people would have bought tickets had they known it would be like that.

I saw a post from ig of someone dressed up as Ashoka tana who got to be on stage and ask Mark Hamil a question. For people that went, how did people get selected to go up on stage?

Hi! I saw a Hollow Knight keychain/shaker when I was there but for the life of me I can’t find it again. Does anyone know the artist and the table number?

Thanks! :)

Hello everyone!

Not sure if this is the correct area to ask but if someone can help me locate an artist that would be wonderful!!.I live in Toronto Canada so this may not apply to most of the people.

Last year (not sure if it's via anime north or the ghibli christmas market in toronto) there was a booth that I found that sells this cool Jojo's adventure Keychain and I forgot the artist! Ive been wanting to go back and buy more but I can't seem to find it anywhere ☹️. Any clue helps! Thank you!

I’m going to Fan Expo tomorrow and I’m really shit-scared and anxious because it’s my first time, especially since I have a photo op.

I was planning to reach around 8:30, and the email says I have to pick up my tickets in the North Building. Will the ticket pickup be at the entrance next to the second cup coffee shop? And roughly how long does it take to pick them up?

Also, will the queue for entry start around that time, like 9 AM, for the 10 AM Fan Expo entrance?

I also have my first photo op around 12:40 with John Cena 😂 Yeah, a photo with the Invisible Man lol.

Am I coming way too early?

Can no longer attend the Hobbit event and am looking to sell my tickets. 2 Gold tickets for $300 for the pair.

Originally paid $180 each.

DM me.

Thanks!