Conventions can be such a fun way to connect with people who share similar interests as yourself, which is why it used to be sad when there was only one big cosplay convention that would come each year. But now there are a few other conventions popping up through out the year which gives cosplayers more opportunities to show off their hard work. Recently UwU Con hosted it's second three day convention for all anime & cosplay lovers at the Legacy sports complex in Mesa. This event included specialty panels, guest actors, creators and cosplayers along with dozens of vendors, food trucks, tattoo artists and more. This was a three day event, you could purchase tickets for the entire three days or select just one date that worked best for you. Tickets ranged from $35-$55 for a single day, $95 for all three days or they had a squad bundle + VIP package for purchase. Children ages 10 & under received free admission with paying adult. Additional passes you could purchase was a Otaku pass which allowed you to meet & get autographs from all of the Japanese voice actors that day, and they had individual photo ops & signature opportunities with the rest of the voice actors which range in price. My family & I received media passes to stop by & check out the event, we had a blast and we can't wait until it comes back next year. What did we dress as for this event? I dressed as Chopper from One Piece, my son went as Sans from Undertale, my daughter went as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy & my husband went as Nightcrawler from X-men.
We've been to a few comic & anime conventions in the past and I have to say I think this is one of our favorite convention we've been to. I like the complex it was hosted at, it is a decent drive for us to reach it, however I enjoy how the complex is laid out it made everything easy to navigate. Getting our passes & getting into the con was a breeze, it took us less than five minutes to get through security, get our badge and get into the convention doors. The event offered several panels throughout the day, we had checked the website before we left & there was a panel or two that we thought about checking out depending on how everything went time wise. I had checked under the "schedules" section however I didn't realize there was a small link on the homepage with a bigger program for the event so there were two panels I would have loved to see, but we missed them as we weren't aware of them at the time of the event. If we attend again next year I will have to be sure to keep a better eye out for the link on their page.
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When you first enter into the convention you walk into event hall B where they had merchandise vendors, a main stage where panels were taking place & the area where actors/creators were singing autographs + taking photos. (Prices varied depending on who you wanted an autograph from). We really enjoyed how they had their vendor hall set up, there were over 150+ vendors but you didn't feel cramped. The area where they had the vendors set up was huge & they had plenty of space in the isles in between each section of vendors so you were able to stroll and view wares are your own pace without feeling the need to rush, get out of someone else's way or feel claustrophobic. I'd definitely say that the vendor area is where we end up spending most of our time at conventions, it is so easy to lose time going around looking at everything the vendors have to offer. It is a lot of fun to window shop, remember favorites you want to shop from online & of course pick up some goods along the way. While browsing the vendors we were also chatting with others who cosplayed, stopped for photos with cosplays we enjoyed & also stopped to take photos with those who asked.
When it came time for lunch, there were plenty of food options to select from. Not only was there a food alley where quite a few food trucks & food vendors had set up shop, but the sports complex itself has a few food spots. We bought food from two of the food trucks, one of which we've already tried & my husband loves them, the other was new to us. There were also quite a few drink vending machines scattered all over the event so you didn't have to worry about finding a drink if you wanted one. Since the event was hosted at a sports complex there were quite a few bleachers lining the walls where you could sit & take a break if you needed to & there was plenty of seating in the food areas so you didn't have to resort to sitting on the floor if you needed a place to rest/eat.
Along with snapping photos with fellow cosplayers, there were several spots set up with fun backgrounds & even a funko pop style box for you to take photos in front of/in which we found to be a lot of fun. Over all the event was very low stress & a ton of fun for the whole family! Since the event was right before Halloween many of the vendors has small buckets of candy or small packs of Halloween themed Pokemon cards that they were giving away to kids who visited their booths which added an extra layer of fun for our kids. If you are in Arizona you should follow their social media pages so you can be kept up to date on when they will be hosting their next event.
Here is a look at what we bought from vendors at the convention! We also received some freebies from different mini games at vendor booths that aren't shown here.
Disclaimer- UwU Con. provided media passes for the convention for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.
