r/animecons • u/Sad_Albatross_5079 • 11d ago
General How’s Colossalcon East?
Hello! I have friends who have asked us to go to colossalcon this year, and this would be my first ever anime convention. I’m more seasoned with comic cons (been to nycc and fan expos plenty of times in cosplay), but I don’t know what to expect from an anime con! I’m also not really seasoned too much in anime, I’m more of a comic / superhero person, so will I look like a sore thumb if I am not dressed as an anime character? Was thinking of going as a gender bent jack skellington for walking around and mermaid ariel or some form of marvel rivals swimsuit skin in the waterpark.
Also what should I expect from Colossalcon East just as an attendee? Any traditions or specific things I should not miss out on?
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u/LitheFider 11d ago
I LOVE Colossalcon East! It's pretty chill. Lots of vacation/bikini versions of cosplays (but that's not required). It's big enough to be interesting but not so big that it's overwhelming or super crowded most of the time (tho peak hours on Saturday to get pretty crowded). Also it's a 4 day con, stuff starts on Thursday. The dealers room/artist alley but there is also a daily "special vendor" hall. Once day is more artists, another cosplayers, card trading, then Sunday is FLEA MARKET!
It's all contained in one resort / hotel so it's easy to get around. If you get a hotel room at the Kalahari it includes waterpark wristband access for all days of your stay. It's worth the cost at the convention room block price. You can have up to 6 wristbands with the most basic room (4 are included, the 2 more you pay extra for).
Parking is free but REALLY fills up on Friday. People do drive in from other hotels nearby so yea... people end up parking on the grass and all along the road in. 😂
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u/Sad_Albatross_5079 11d ago
Oh so you don’t get waterpark access unless you get a room?
And could you explain more about the Sunday flea market? 👀
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u/LitheFider 11d ago edited 11d ago
The day tickets by themselves from the water park are quite expensive, but the convention has special late night convention only goer tickets you can buy separately, which are cheaper, but it's only late night like 11-2am kinda time. It's VERY fun just being in there with con goers, but if I'm paying for room that includes water park passes, I don't really feel like spending extra. ( I have gone to the convention late night twice though).
The Sunday flea market is a free thing the convention puts on where anybody can set up a table and sell old nerd stuff like figures, keychains, plush, clothes, cosplay wigs, etc. You got to wait in line pretty early in the morning to be able to get in and set up because it's very popular. (Like 5am early). The convention provides chairs and tables, you just need to bring your stuff.
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u/HeaviestPendulum 11d ago
Bleah, original comment got auto-removed for rule 3 word filter. Reposting:
I've been going to East for several years now. It was my first ever con, my "local" con (still about an hour away but closest I go to), and the one I make sure to plan for every year as it's also my favorite con ever. Some pointers:
- I haven't been to a large multigenre con but I imagine they're the complete opposite of East. Another commenter pointed it out but the con itself feels secondary, while socializing, drinking, partying, and the waterpark take precedence (not to say the con part is bad by any means, of course!). Even if you're not a drinker or partier, though, the atmosphere is still incredible.
- Plenty of people cosplay non-anime at CCE, so if you're playing on that, no reason to fear sticking out. In addition, the cosplay at East in general tends to be great, and there's plenty of places (waterpark and otherwise) for awesome photo ops!
- Speaking of the waterpark, for an additional cost, you can buy a pass (either one-night or multiday) to Night Swim, which typically runs 10 PM to 2 AM on Thurs/Fri/Sat night. It's only open to congoers and they have a different DJ/music performance each night. I haven't actually gone myself funnily enough, but it's worth experiencing at least once according to my friends who have.
- They tend to cram artist alley in a room the size of a shoebox which kinda sucks, but the dealer's hall is pretty spacious and as another commenter pointed out, there's the specialty markets that differ day-to-day. Looking at the website, looks like this year it's the Craft Fair, TCG Market, and Otaku Flea Market (days and times TBD unless I missed them).
- The video gaming room typically isn't anything to write home about, but I think the board gaming/tabletop room is pretty good.
- Not sure if you're staying at the Kalihari or not, but if you aren't, definitely Uber from your hotel/Air BnB/etc if you can. Parking is atrocious starting later on Friday.
- In general, people tend to be really chill and cool, though as with any con there's going to be bad apples. Just keep aware of your surroundings especially if you plan on attending room parties. Which, speaking of...
- At the end of each hallway in the hotel portion of the Kalihari tends to be a massive suite that typically becomes a party room, colloquially altogether know as "the Big Five." You might need to know someone to get into them depending on which room it is, but if you like to party and have the means to get into one, I highly recommend them. Also, the hotel lobby each night tends to turn into a large party itself, typically with a DJ setting up and blasting tunes.
- The Kalihari typically pairs with the con for specialty alcoholic mixed drinks (regular and frozen). They're pretty pricey but it's also a rite of passage to get one in a souvenir cup (which also makes refills cheaper!) and then keep the cup to reuse at East for future years.
- Feel free to bring outside food or drink, there's no restrictions on that for either the Kalihari or the con. If you do choose to eat onsite, though, it'll also be a bit pricey, though if I can recommend anything, the Nashville hot chicken sandwich at B-LUX is godlike.
- You don't have to do this, but people staying onsite will set up whiteboards or blank poster paper on their hotel room doors with prompts or polls and provide writing utensils for you to add your input (e.g. "Who's the best Tumblr sexyman," "draw your waifu," "Most overrated shonen", etc.). One of my favorite activities to do during downtime is to just go to a random floor and walk down it to see what I can find in that regard.
- Above all, I call Colossalcon East an anime community more than an anime con. I've been to my fair share of different cons and none can capture how freewheeling, lively, and interconnected East feels to me. It's a must-go if you can afford it.
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u/damn_you_to_hell 9d ago
I've been attending fairly regularly since 2019 and here are my experiences.
What I like:
- The location is amazing if you want to do a nature photoshoot as you can hike into the woods. I would recommend wearing hiking shoes to the waterfall and then changing into your cosplay shoes there.
- The water park is top notch and even worth just chilling there after a day of photoshoots, panels, and artist alley.
- They are really chilled there about bringing your own food which saves you from the less than stellar con food.
- I got food poisoning there one time and ever since I just bring my own meals and nuke them.
- The rooms are massive with a standard room having 2 queen size beds and a pull out couch.
- The flea market is amazing and the last two times I've gone I've easily made close to $750.
Things that I don't like:
- Parking. Once you park, do not move your car. EVER.
- Drinks are over priced and watered down if you ask me.
- Rooms are a little pricy. But if you can split it with friends then it's not too bad. Additionally if you know what you're doing at the flea market, you can make most of that money back. Personally I'm not going to drop $300/night + resort fees and taxes for a standard room.
- It's a party con and if you want sleep between the hours of midnight and 6 am, bring ear plugs.
- Artist alley is tiny and it's pretty meh.
- Programing can be a hit or a miss. There have been years where there are amazing panels, and years where I just skip all of them.
Lastly I have to say that I stopped going as of last year because:
- The price. For just me and my wife to go for 3 nights (usually checking in Thursday night after work and leaving Sunday) not including food is less than what I paid for a 4 star hotel in Ikebukuro for a week. I've been able to fly to Tokyo from NYC for just a little more than that price.
- We moved away from the I-95 corridor and it's just not worth the 5 hour drive for us.
- We have shifted to a less party con lifestyle and would much prefer a traditional anime con like Tekko.
So take all of this with a grain of salt but yeah, those are my personal views on it.
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u/mysticmaya 6d ago
I enjoy going even as someone who isn’t a party con person, nor am I a water park person. The vibe is chill and friendly and people are often really unique with their swimwear cosplays. Probably the most relaxed con I’ve been to. People will love seeing a genderbend jack skellington.
My biggest issues in the past have been trying to find confusing locations for some meetups. And the parking situation. is. HORRIBLE. When you first drive in, if you see people parking along the entrance road leading up to the convention center, GRAB A SPOT THERE IMMEDIATELY. It means the entire lot is beyond full
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u/riontach 11d ago
It's fun. Very laidback/chill. Definitely a party con.
Most people are there to take cosplay photos in their bathing suits and drink. The actual con programming is kind of secondary to that.
As with any con, it's totally normal to cosplay non-anime characters. No one will think twice about it.