Botcon 2007: Wicked Woman's Report

Venue: Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

Dates: 28th June - 1st July, 2007

*Just as I did for the Canadian Gathering in Ottawa, I will add tips for traveling to Botcon.

 

Wednesday June 27th

I was surprised when my Nana volunteered to drive me to the Greyhound bus terminal. I transferred in New York and met four other people heading to Botcon. We talked for a little bit during the trip and then we were there.

Thursday June 28th

After leaving the Greyhound terminal, I walked back and forth from Baltimore to Westin (which wasn’t bad since it’ near the terminal) and finally asked someone if they were by any chance Crab. He said yes and introduced me to his girlfriend (Akuhiryuu), whom I was also staying with. We went into the hotel (I still remember feeling like I was rich when they opened doors for me *blush*) and we went to room 1408 where Sapphire and Miss Special were. We then went to pick up our respectful packages and left them in the hotel room.

After a couple of hours we headed on over to the Westin Mall where the rest of the BWINT gang were waiting for us and where the sneak peek of the Transformers movie was going to be played. I was in line for theater room 16 so Beast Bot, his father and I were stuck in line until about 11 or so before we could get inside… and it was well worth the wait (I’ve seen it two more times since then and I’ll probably see it again). Sapph, Miss Special, Akuhiruu and I went back to the hotel and we went to sleep.

Friday June 29th

I woke up at about 9:30 in the morning and was able to meet everyone, whom were not on the Hasbro tour, at the David Kaye panel where we also met Ben Yee. I learned a bit about him and how crazy some of us are (btw, we stated our site in the panel and my sister still hates me for meeting him ;P). Ben helped me ask David to eat lunch with the BWINT gang and he said ‘yes’ (THANK YOU BEN). We went to the Cheesecake restaurant (correct me if I got the name wrong) and had a lot of fun talking and eating. It turns out David likes Bugs Bunny too. *thumbs up*

After lunch, We made our way to the Dealer room where I got several new Beast Wars figures. I got K-9, TM Optimus Primal, Scavenger, Rampage and Depth Charge. I also bought Pepsi Prime from the same room Prime was displayed as were the ‘Sector 7’ guys. It turns out that Prime even helped several fans get to Rhode Island too. Lol.

I met Landray Depth Charge and hung out with her, Dannn and Nurann. We all got to comment about our favorite episodes, lines, scenes, ect… while LDC was waiting in line. I ran into her a couple of times in the dealer room as well. *grin*

I felt tired so I headed back to the hotel to rest a little bit. Then went to the Mall with several of the gang, where we said ‘hi’ to David and Ben again (actually we did that several times throughout the event ;-P), ate dinner and walked around a little bit longer. I think we almost lost someone in a comic/movie/music store too. Sapph, Miss Special and I returned to the hotel and went to bed.

Saturday June 30th

I went back to the dealer room and bought Optimal Optimus and TM Blackarachnia, and the golden disks as well as a TM Megatron… but then I broke him so I bought a new one. I got David to sign the box too, although he signed it twice in case the first one rubbed out. I wanted to get the season 2 and 3 of Beast Wars but didn’t.

We watched Razor One get an autograph from Peter Cullen and I even got a picture of him in shock… I hope I didn’t delete that one :-\. He was like ‘huh did this just happen’ lol. I don’t think any of us really got a chance to read our fan fiction out to everyone as we all were doing our own thing. (couldn’t get everyone to sign the shirt I gave to Sapph either)

That night, we all got dressed up and went to the formal dinner – turned party. We played clue for a while and bingo. We also went downstairs to listen to Stan Bush sing live. I still wasn’t used to staying up as late so I went to bed (the actual bed this time, not the couch. Hehehe) and went to sleep.

Sunday July 1st

Sunday morning we got up early and Sapph received her gift and thanked us for it. After we finished packing, we checked out of the hotel… then checked our luggage back in when we remembered that the dealer room was still open. I bought Tigerhawk and Rattrap (original) before sitting around with the rest of the gang waiting for the draw for next years Botcon. I didn’t win but it’s alright. I would have only sold them to someone else anyway but I did get stickers with the Maximal and Predacon symbols and the first issue of Transformers Universe.

I went to the Hasbro panel where we got a first glimpse at the new Transformers series: Animated. The animation is alright but the storyline is very interesting.

After the dealer room (and Botcon) closed, Several of us (Razor One, SilverfromOz, Starath, Nurann, Miss Special, Sapphire and myself) went to Macy’s department store in search for luggage. I couldn’t stop laughing at the clerks, who looked really nervous as Silver walked in wearing his punk-goth attire and far behind the clerk he asked for help when we wanted to know about prices was. I asked him ‘is she scared; and he nodded, I chuckled harder.

After I got my new carrying bag, and said my goodbyes to the others, Sapph and Miss Special came back with me to the hotel and I got my luggage back. They waited with me for about ten minutes while I waited for the bus to come. We said our goodbyes and departed. I’ll admit that I was a bit teary-eyed but I held back. About fifteen minutes later, the bus arrived and I headed home.

And now for the tips:

#1: Write down the hotel/motel/bed and breakfast you are staying in. I forgot to – AGAIN! But this time, I didn’t spend two hours walking around the city looking for it. It also helps to memorize pictures of the people you know will be there.

#2: Remember how I said save your money while in another city/state/country? Forget about it for Botcon. It is inevitable that you will spend most, if not all, of your money of items from Botcon. The best thing to do is to save BEFORE going and if you know you have some self control, bring a credit card for emergencies.

#3: Don’t be afraid to ask a celebrity to have lunch with you and your friends. Some of them enjoy the company of fans who appreciate what they do.

#4: If you plan to bring your MP3 player with you for the voyage to Botcon and back, remember to actually bring the MP3 player not just the charger with you. We had a chuckle about it at the hotel.

#5: Feel free to talk about yours or someone else’s fanfiction. In some cases, they’ll even suggest an idea for a series or a scene. But don’t forget to give them credit.

#6: Make sure you get lots of pictures. I’ll admit I was distracted by the marvel of my first Botcon but I still did pretty well. (BTW, they’ll be up soon)

All in all it was a great time spent and I’d love to go again someday.