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06-20-2017, 04:17 PM | #1 |
He Who Remains
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Florida
Posts: 9,380
|
Surprisingly, I don’t see any posts commenting on anyone’s first Joecon experience this year (or experience in general). So I thought I would chime in with my experience, and feel free to add your experience below.
(Warning, this post is long and I start to ramble a bit) So my daughter and I hit Disney at about 9:30 AM Saturday Morning, with the idea that we are going to park for free at the Disney Yacht Club resort and walk over to the Dolphin Hotel from there. Well, the guard at the gate at the Yacht Club was giving me the third degree, and eventually instructed me to park over in the Disney Beach Club Resort, the next resort over from that. So, realizing I need to step my game up, I channeled my inner Saul Goodman and conned my way past the Guard at the Beach Club and we were able to park for free (and save $20!). The only problem was that where we finally parked, must have been a good 1.5 - 2 mile walk from the Dolphin Resort. So now we’re double timing it in the humidity and my 11 year old daughter is doing her damndest to keep up. We end up entering the Dolphin through the back entrance, exhausted, and the place is huge. Very little signage (if any, or maybe I’m blind) pointing the way to the convention. Then, storming out of nowhere, it was Outback to the rescue, Survival shirt and all (Great Costume). He led the way and we made it just in time for the doors to open at 10. We went straight to the Declassified booth first, to get our free Gary Goggles exclusive figure. This is a great figure, and since we didn’t purchase anything directly from the club (except the comic), we consider this our attendee exclusive. I then let my daughter park herself at the bargain bins while I scoped out the room. I was surprised at how brisk paced everything was those first few hours, and how busy/crowded it was. This wasn’t your average Sunday stroll through your local flea market. For all the ‘death of the line’ talk, there sure was a lot of cash flying around. I’d love to hear comments from some of the Joecon vets, as to how the Orlando Con compared with previous years. Here are my buying highlights (more details & pics to follow on the vintage haul thread in the coming days) : Rumbler - $15 Tomahawk, complete - $45 2005 Winter Operations 6 pack – $35 (This set isn’t on Ebay, at all. I’m considering it my convention box set) 2007 Collector’s Club Flaming moth Arctic Theater Set - $20 2 Black Major/Red Laser - Cobra De Aco Customs (strangely hard to come by) Also scored about 10 other loose figures at incredible prices, and some missing pieces to my rolling thunder. I bought my daughter some light saber earrings which she is thrilled with, something you don’t find every day. The guy I bought the Arctic theater set from was kind enough to give my daughter a free Scarlet figure. My daughter really had a blast here (despite getting bumped around a bit and some guy supposedly yanking tiger force figures away from her, lol). A few more things of note: I was surprised that I saw almost zero Killer Whales there. I saw maybe one, total. In contrast I saw maybe 10 Terror Dromes. There were more booths (with a ton of large containers) than expected, and if you really LOVE GI Joe, you truly can’t see it all in one day. While there were a lot of bargains there, I didn’t really see any international figures at good prices. (other than a bagged set of Bronze bomber figures for only $165, wish I had bought it) There were two Giant vintage (80s/90s) dealers in close proximity to one another. One had AMAZING prices, and the other had Sky high prices. Really odd. When I went to make a decent size purchase at one of the vendors, I found out it was cash only. So the guy was nice enough to put my stuff aside while we went to the ATM and back. When I returned, some customer had snagged my two python patrol figures out of my pile (behind the clerk). They were good priced, I was bummed. To his credit, to make up for it, he comped two figures for me! Just a great overall con experience for us. The two of us are all over the Saturday pictures on the Convention website. Yo Joe!! |
06-20-2017, 04:39 PM | #2 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: chicago
Posts: 680
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2015 TF Springfield was my first. I drove through vicious category 5 tornadoes that day to get there. As a annual C2e2 vet , I was not disappointed in the smaller venue. Why? It was ALL gi joe. The panels , the dealer floor, the big huge box full of exclusives and the atmosphere of just hanging out with Joe bros in club line . Loved it . Didn't make it to Colorado or Florida. I just had my honeymoon at Disney last summer and no way could I afford back to back trips to Disney . I will be at next years though.
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06-20-2017, 07:17 PM | #3 |
I just want foam gliders.
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tooele (two-willa), Utah
Posts: 18,727
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What two? I have two, Copperhead and either the Trooper or Officer (I can never remember) for sale.
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06-20-2017, 07:44 PM | #4 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cobra Island & Massachusetts
Posts: 6,378
|
This wasn't my 1st JoeCon but I will post my experience here anyway.
1st the Positives... Personally I had a great time this year. I got to put some faces to some of the names here so I did enjoy that. I bought all the exclusives except for the Polar bear, and the two Jets (partially because I already have the originals and partially because I am running low on space). I got to have some great conversations while standing in the lines and Greg passing out free beers made the wait all that much better. I also got a chance to pick up some missing parts and file cards that I have been in need of for sometime. 3DJOES HAD SOME AWESOME DEALS ON POSTERS AND THEN ALLOWED MY SON TO PICK ONE FOR FREE AS A FATHERS DAY GIFT. Guys if you seen this thanks again!!! The Declassified Sightline figure is fantastic and the fact that it was free was amazing. So I would also like to thank them and the 30+ people that got together the night before to get these assembled for us. IMO a perfect tribute to Gary!! The Customs were all great and I definitely enjoyed checking those out. This goes for the Figures, Dios, and Photographs I applaud all who participated. The negatives.... The hotel was like a f'ing maze and you are correct there wasn't to many signs. (This wasn't and issue if you walked in the main Door at the dolphin but walk in the wrong one and you were the lab rat looking for the cheese) I thought the show room floor was a bit small this time around and I didn't seen nearly as many vendors with totes full of accessories for sale as in years past. (Vehicle parts were plentiful on the other hand) I thought alot of the vendors were seriously over priced on a lot of the ME stuff. I did run into a few people that came off as if they thought they were just to cool to be cool. While Joe product was plentiful I didn't see to many other vintage lines that I typically look for like TF and thundercats as in years past. ( I know its joe con so it shouldn't be a complaint but thought I'd share anyway). The Parachute drop location could have been a lot better but that was probably on the Hotel and not the Club.
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06-20-2017, 08:01 PM | #5 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 966
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this is my fifth, I had a lot of fun seeing people again that I'd met at previous cons. For all those who want to go, I highly encourage it. That first time, waiting in line to pick up my box set was like Christmas Morning when I was 12. I was so excited! Almost every year, I find myself not liking the box set near as much as when I get them in hand. This year is no exception. Now if I can just get Clay to hand out beer and soda every year....
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06-20-2017, 08:42 PM | #6 |
Bald Master
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Wolverine Lake, MI
Posts: 15,130
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Quote:
This wasn't my 1st JoeCon but I will post my experience here anyway.
1st the Positives... Personally I had a great time this year. I got to put some faces to some of the names here so I did enjoy that. I bought all the exclusives except for the Polar bear, and the two Jets (partially because I already have the originals and partially because I am running low on space). I got to have some great conversations while standing in the lines and Greg passing out free beers made the wait all that much better. I also got a chance to pick up some missing parts and file cards that I have been in need of for sometime. 3DJOES HAD SOME AWESOME DEALS ON POSTERS AND THEN ALLOWED MY SON TO PICK ONE FOR FREE AS A FATHERS DAY GIFT. Guys if you seen this thanks again!!! The Declassified Sightline figure is fantastic and the fact that it was free was amazing. So I would also like to thank them and the 30+ people that got together the night before to get these assembled for us. IMO a perfect tribute to Gary!! The Customs were all great and I definitely enjoyed checking those out. This goes for the Figures, Dios, and Photographs I applaud all who participated. The negatives.... The hotel was like a f'ing maze and you are correct there wasn't to many signs. (This wasn't and issue if you walked in the main Door at the dolphin but walk in the wrong one and you were the lab rat looking for the cheese) I thought the show room floor was a bit small this time around and I didn't seen nearly as many vendors with totes full of accessories for sale as in years past. (Vehicle parts were plentiful on the other hand) I thought alot of the vendors were seriously over priced on a lot of the ME stuff. I did run into a few people that came off as if they thought they were just to cool to be cool. While Joe product was plentiful I didn't see to many other vintage lines that I typically look for like TF and thundercats as in years past. ( I know its joe con so it shouldn't be a complaint but thought I'd share anyway). The Parachute drop location could have been a lot better but that was probably on the Hotel and not the Club. I'm sorry we didn't get more time to chat--was interrupted by a phone call, as my wife was late to the casino dinner. She was delayed on the buses, as there was multiple fatalies on Buena Vista Blvd; car accident...rollover and fire, apparently. Did anyone hear about that?!
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06-20-2017, 09:11 PM | #7 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cobra Island & Massachusetts
Posts: 6,378
|
Quote:
Good summary.
I'm sorry we didn't get more time to chat--was interrupted by a phone call, as my wife was late to the casino dinner. She was delayed on the buses, as there was multiple fatalies on Buena Vista Blvd; car accident...rollover and fire, apparently. Did anyone hear about that?!
__________________
Find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CLfj0G2A...d=pgwcw5tzs78m truejoefan's B/S/T Thread TJF's ARAH B-S-T http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...rah-b-s-t.html | truejoefan's Feedback Thread |
06-20-2017, 09:50 PM | #8 |
I just want foam gliders.
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Tooele (two-willa), Utah
Posts: 18,727
|
2016 in Loveland Colorado was my first.
So, long and weird story. I live in Utah and couldn't really afford to travel all over for GI Joe. However when they announced the location and being next door, with family in Denver, it was a no brainer. My wife was pretty excited that I could go. Then she passed away and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do GI Joe anymore. With time and meeting someone else, I eventually got back on my feet. My new girlfriend really helped me heal and saved me from a deep despair. She is also a little nerdy, so my GI Joe hobby didn't scare her away. When she heard about Loveland she said we should still go. So we did. We made a week long trip out of it. Drove to Steamboat, stayed the night. Drove to Denver, stayed with some of her family and some of mine. Hit a few Goodwills for some vintage shopping, saw some dinosaur tracks, then made our way to Loveland. The hotel was really nice, but had sold out before I decided to go... so we found a runty extended stay for about half the cost just across the street and just drove to the con every day. The staff was friendly, the parking free. (the Rockies are cool like that) The con set was meh... and the exclusives were also sub par... but I did like the parachute figure and both 2 and 3 packs. Standing in line sucked, being told one thing, then another, truck delays, rumors that the stuff hadn't arrived... and to top it off my girlfriend got sick. The sales floor was amazing, I'd been to Star Trek conventions, but never a GI Joe one, so I didn't have anything to compare it to. However I noticed the prices and selection was good. Met Carson from 3DJoes, had the customizing class (A must!) and met all the Hasbro and Club guys, Greg Berger, Larry Hama (!) even other fans that I'm sure didn't care much for me because of my affiliation with Hisstank. (meh) Glad I went, but ended up shelling out over $2300 for the trip and I didn't really come home with much, haha. So my girlfriend said we can try for Tennessee next year, she really wants to go there, so I might get to go. That would be fun.
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06-20-2017, 10:08 PM | #9 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cobra Island & Massachusetts
Posts: 6,378
|
Quote:
2016 in Loveland Colorado was my first.
So, long and weird story. I live in Utah and couldn't really afford to travel all over for GI Joe. However when they announced the location and being next door, with family in Denver, it was a no brainer. My wife was pretty excited that I could go. Then she passed away and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do GI Joe anymore. With time and meeting someone else, I eventually got back on my feet. My new girlfriend really helped me heal and saved me from a deep despair. She is also a little nerdy, so my GI Joe hobby didn't scare her away. When she heard about Loveland she said we should still go. So we did. We made a week long trip out of it. Drove to Steamboat, stayed the night. Drove to Denver, stayed with some of her family and some of mine. Hit a few Goodwills for some vintage shopping, saw some dinosaur tracks, then made our way to Loveland. The hotel was really nice, but had sold out before I decided to go... so we found a runty extended stay for about half the cost just across the street and just drove to the con every day. The staff was friendly, the parking free. (the Rockies are cool like that) The con set was meh... and the exclusives were also sub par... but I did like the parachute figure and both 2 and 3 packs. Standing in line sucked, being told one thing, then another, truck delays, rumors that the stuff hadn't arrived... and to top it off my girlfriend got sick. The sales floor was amazing, I'd been to Star Trek conventions, but never a GI Joe one, so I didn't have anything to compare it to. However I noticed the prices and selection was good. Met Carson from 3DJoes, had the customizing class (A must!) and met all the Hasbro and Club guys, Greg Berger, Larry Hama (!) even other fans that I'm sure didn't care much for me because of my affiliation with Hisstank. (meh) Glad I went, but ended up shelling out over $2300 for the trip and I didn't really come home with much, haha. So my girlfriend said we can try for Tennessee next year, she really wants to go there, so I might get to go. That would be fun.
__________________
Find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CLfj0G2A...d=pgwcw5tzs78m truejoefan's B/S/T Thread TJF's ARAH B-S-T http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...rah-b-s-t.html | truejoefan's Feedback Thread |
06-21-2017, 12:26 AM | #10 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Sicklerville NJ
Posts: 46
|
Quote:
2016 in Loveland Colorado was my first.
So, long and weird story. I live in Utah and couldn't really afford to travel all over for GI Joe. However when they announced the location and being next door, with family in Denver, it was a no brainer. My wife was pretty excited that I could go. Then she passed away and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do GI Joe anymore. With time and meeting someone else, I eventually got back on my feet.
__________________
"If you want to get anywhere in Cobra, you have to start out as a Viper. That's the bottom of the pyramid, and serving in the Cobra infantry is a small price to pay to gain access to the glittering prizes at the top. Cobra doesn't reward success with parades and medals. They offer material wealth, power and an outlet for the terrible urges that drive the greedy, the envious and the cruel. If that doesn't make a Viper a dangerous opponent, nothing does!" *Radio Telecommunications |
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