Convention Review: WonderCon 2023

It's been a while since I reviewed a convention, this time I attended WonderCon 2023 in Anaheim. This is a convention I have attended since 2018 and it's a really fun event to attend. It is a 3 day convention by the same people who do San Diego Comic Con and it brings in tens of thousands of people throughout the long weekend. I only attended one day so my review will be for that day but I know that going all three days really elevates the experience!

Ticket price: $120 online early bird, $35 - $45 at door depending on the day

Parking: $20 - $30, depending on the lot

WonderCon is a three-day convention but I only recommending going the best day that fits your schedule and preference. This is WonderCon's second year back after being closed from the pandemic. I attended last year on Sunday to see the Bob's Burger Movie Panel and it was really fun. Before then I had only attended on Saturdays, this year is my first time attending on Friday. Having gone all three days, I would recommend Friday if it's possible for you and if the panels you want are on Friday. Friday does not bring as many attendees as the other days which allowed for a great shopping, browsing, and panel experience. It was a great combination of all the benefits of attending a large convention with the attendee count of a small one. 

WonderCon has so many things going for it, like its proximity to Disneyland. It is right next door and your WonderCon badge gives you a ticket discount to Disneyland. The adjacent parking lot gets full around mid-day, but you are allowed to park in the Disneyland parking lot at the convention rate. It's location also allows you to take public transportation from many cities. I personally used the metro from Los Angeles and the Metrolink to get to the convention and back home. 

Before you enter the convention center you are greeted by a row of food trucks outside the convention center, more than a dozen options to choose from. With lots of shaded seating available between and around the food trucks. Then you are greeted by the main fountain, the central location for the large cosplay gatherings. If you go to conventions to take pictures or look at cosplayers then the main fountain is your go to location and it's impossible to miss. A list containing all cosplay gathering locations with fandoms is shared before the event date.

From all the conventions I attend in a year, WonderCon's Artist Alley is the best. Its the majority of the reason I go and its also where I spend most of my money. The halls are large, the art variety suits all fandoms, and its location is perfect. If you show up early the entrance leads directly into the artist alley, it is the first 4 halls on the left side of the exhibit hall. I talked to some artists and many stated that this would be their only convention because they like vending at it so much. If you love getting autographs at the convention this area also has many comic book artists, cartoon artists, and voice actors. And they're there to sign as many products as you'd like.

WonderCon's Exhibit hall is the largest from all the conventions I attend, so you should be ready to walk about 12 thousand steps just walking up and down every aisle and checking out every booth. This convention lays out booths by merchandise type so if you aren't looking for for a certain type of merch you can skip an area. In the rest of the convention you will find such a great variety of merch, more than I see in any other conventions. That's what makes this convention so good, you'll find stuff you didn't even know you were looking for. You will find small press, you will indie studios, you will find fan favorites like Bandai or Funko. 

I really love convention exclusives and in previous years they had more exclusives but it seems like convention exclusives are becoming more rare. This year the only exclusive were from the Funko Booth. WonderCon handles exclusives by opening an exclusive portal, giving badge holders 12 "tickets" to be preselected for an exclusive slot. In previous years the exclusives included chances at getting free autographs from the many guests that the convention brought. I do see exclusives coming back in future years and if you love them like I do I suggest attending WonderCon.

I had a lot of fun at this convention, I walked so much and their food options were cheap. I would give this convention a perfect 10/10. This convention gets tens of thousands of attendees every year but you could not tell if you attend. Lines are fast, you'll be able to attend any panel you want, and you can find rare and exclusive merch easily. In previous years WonderCon has sold out so if you plan to attend in future years I suggest buying your ticket as early as you can.

Thank you for reading. Read some of my other blogs:

• Budgeting for a Convention Part 1
  
• Avoiding Con Crud
• Event Review: Harajuku Day Los Angeles January 2023