Annie and I are going to go to FanExpo Toronto 2013. We are only planning on attending on Friday, the 23rd of August. It should be interesting. Tickets for the single day were $35 per person, which is fairly reasonable.

I will, of course, be bringing my fully charged camera. I doubt that I’ll be doing the autograph/photo circuit as the prices are just too far outside what I feel is reasonable.

The guest list for FanExpo 2013 looks okay, but doesn’t really blow me away. I would love to hear Nathan Fillion, Zachary Quinto, Ron Perlman, Aaron Ashmore, or Shawn Ashmore talk, but they are all currently listed to only appear on Saturday and Sunday.

Overall, the biggest draw for me personally is Richard Dean Anderson and he is listed to be appearing on Friday. I’ve missed his comedic timing and Stargate SG-1 since he left his lead role and then the show ended.

Then there are all the people have have dropped out. Katey Sagal, Morena Baccarin, and Lena Headey. I would have loved to hear them talk about their various experiences.

Of course, I am not very excited about some of the people that they have coming, like Chumlee from Pawn Stars. Really!? And all the sports stuff this year? Meh. Slash and Alice Cooper. Why?

Some other people that I might be interested in seeing are Vic Mignogna, Tara Strong and George Takei. They have all done a variety of interesting roles and voices.

I love seeing people in cosplay, and I hope that they have a large number of people there on Friday all dressed up. One thing I won’t be able to go to this year is the masquerade. Held on Saturday evening, even if we had decided to go on Saturday, it is only open to Deluxe ticket holders and above this year because of limited seating.

I know I’ll still get to see some great exhibitor booths, lots of great artists, and some good panels and discussions. They have uploaded a draft schedule and there are definitely some sessions that interest me.

For example:
11:00 AM – Room 713 – Basic Kickstarting & Crowd Funding / Gaming
11:30 AM – Room 714 – Marvel: Infinity & Beyond / Comics
12:45 PM – Room 715 – Steampunk Gadgets and Prop Building / Sci-fi
1:00 PM – Room 701B – Preview Screening of Max Steel / All
2:00 PM – Room 713 – Writing, Making & Selling Your Web Series / All
2:15 PM – Room 715 – How to Make Doctor Who Props & Costumes / Sci-fi
2:30 PM – Room 105 – Celebrity Q&A with Richard Dean Anderson / Sci-fi
4:15 PM – Room 206 – Celebrity Q&A with Linda Hamilton / Sci-fi
5:15 PM – Room 105 – An Hour with George & Nichelle – Oh My / Sci-fi
6:00 PM – Room 701A – Independent Web Series Creators of Canada Panel / All
6:15 PM – Room 703 – Pro Author Panel – Epic World Building & Magic / All
6:30 PM – Room 105 – The Emperor Speaks – Celebrity Q&A with Ian McDiarmid / Sci-fi

I know I won’t get to see them all as some overlap, and lines… the endless lines. But some of them should be really great to see and well worth $35.

At the end of the day, I’ll be exhausted, but happy. Nothing will beat last years run at these kind of fan events, but I’m still happy to be attending a few this year. I feel like I’m spending time with likeminded people, and that’s never a bad day.

The best part, the whole trip will be budget friendly, unlike last year and with a wedding to save up for, saving money is key. We won’t need a hotel room or any expensive transportation.