My MEGACON 2025 Wrap Up

MEGACON Orlando 2025 is in the books! This was my third year with press credentials for Disney Over 50, and I appreciate the opportunity to share with you what my daughter and I experienced. It took place at the Orange County Convention Center from February 6 through February 9.

For us, this year MEGACON Orlando was mostly about the cosplay. There were some amazing creations! One woman told me that she had worked on her costume for about nine months. That’s dedication! One thing that is nice about MEGACON Orlando is that it isn’t for one specific genre, so for cosplay anything goes. Unless there was a group picture being taken, we always asked before snapping a photo. As the sign says, cosplay is not consent. No one turned us down.

My daughter dressed up again three of the four days. Her cosplay is Loonette from the 90s PBS show The Big Comfy Couch. This show meant a lot to her when she was a kid, and it obviously meant a lot to others as well. We lost track of how many people said she “made their childhood.” We were also told several times that seeing her cosplay “unlocked a core memory.” There was a booth on the show floor from Retrokid that featured the show, and my daughter took pictures with several people at the booth. We also had some guests tell us that they are now watching the show with their kids, so it’s multi-generational.

We attended several panels. My favorite was Ashley Eckstein, as always. If you ever have the chance to hear her speak, do it, even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan. She’s so inspirational! It was also fun to see Ron Howard, Don Most, and Anson Williams from Happy Days. That’s one of the things that I like about MEGACON Orlando. Older shows are included, it isn’t just for people who are under 40.

The show floor was filled with vendors and exhibits. Some of the exhibits were to raise money for good causes. Once again, the Star Wars Village was a fundraiser for Give Kids the World. The show floor tends to be packed on Saturdays, so we avoided it then.

One thing that stood out at this MEGACON Orlando was how many nice people we talked to. Whether we were in line for a panel or taking a cosplay picture, people were upbeat and happy. It was such a nice break from the real world.

MEGACON Orlando wasn’t without its problems, but no big event is perfect. We didn’t buy any photo ops or autographs this year, but I heard a lot of complaints from those who did. Many of the complaints were from Saturday, which was the busiest day by far. There were also complaints about rude workers, although I didn’t see that at all. I think that for the workers, it was often a case of treating others the way that they were being treated. A smile and a quick “hello” can make a big difference.

If you plan to attend a future MEGACON Orlando, purchase your parking ahead of time. Also, Orange County Convention Center does not take cash for parking. On Thursday the line was a mess and people had to back up because two different cars hadn’t prepurchased parking and the lot was full. Things were better the other three days.

There’s one thing to keep in mind when attending anything at the Orange County Convention Center. The internet is terrible! It will work in some spots, and then three feet away there’s no signal.

My daughter and I had a great time at MEGACON Orlando this year. The dates have been released for 2026. It will be a little bit later; March 19-22. Tickets will go on sale on March 20 at 11:00 AM Eastern. I’ve heard that next year MEGACON Orlando will be in the larger West Building, but I haven’t seen official confirmation on that. Until then, I’d like to thank the hard working staff at MEGACON Orlando for another great event. It was a fun four days.