C2E2 in Chicago is one of my favorite conventions. I’ve mentioned that before but it’s just a really nice mix of different talent, a wonderful artist alley, and I get to see most of my friends. Normally the convention is in March or April, but this year it’s much earlier, falling at the end of February! I’m very curious to see how this plays out weather wise. I feel like having a con during the winter months can always be a gamble. If you have guests/fans coming from the East Coast, snow and ice can be a big factor. Not to mention Chicago can have rough winters as well. I’d hate to see guests drop like flies due to weather concerns and most of them would probably be last minute. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that everything turns out OK!
On my end though I pretty much have everything taken care of! I booked the hotel for the squad and this time we’re returning to the Hyatt. A few new hotels have popped up near the convention center and over the past few years we’ve stayed at a few just to check them out. They were all fantastic options but we’ve missed being in the thick of things. And while one of the other hotels we stayed at was attached to the convention center, it was still a bit of a hike. When you’re walking around in cosplay, every extra step really adds up. Plus the staff at the Hyatt has always been great to us and this year it turns out they have the lowest rates! I was honestly very shocked when I saw that but I guess that’s one upside of new hotels in the area. The Hyatt is where a lot of after hours events take place too, like Drink & Draw. It’s a great people watching spot too! If you’re looking for a hotel during the show, I highly recommend it. I think they still have some rooms available.
They’ve just started announcing guests for the show. Comics wise they’ve announced Jim Lee, Cat Staggs, and Terry Moore just to name a few. Yesterday they dropped some big name “Star Trek” guests that include William Shatner, George Takei, and Walter Koenig. I’m really curious to see who else they add as we get closer to go time. I might have spammed their Guest Request form with Tom Ellis from “Lucifer.” A girl can dream right?
As we get closer to the show I might do a few more posts with tips, tricks, and C2E2 insights!
Last year, I stayed with a friend who lives outside Chicago. Even though it’s free to stay there, the problem is with transportation, it takes an hour to get from her house to the blue line to transfer to the green line to get to the convention. I still had a great time, but if I do go to C2E2, I’m going by myself, so I have no one to split a hotel room with.
I think I may still go, but I will probably stay with her again.
I have friends in the area too and the first year or two we did the drive. We realized quickly how much it sucked and now we just get a room. It’s so much easier and not that bad when we all split it! If you put the call out early enough, you might be able to find someone to split a room with!
I would love to do a con in the States, whilst SDCC is the obvious choice, but I do like the look of C2E2.
Added bonus I love Chicago!
I love Chicago too! If you ever hit up C2E2 let me know!