Oz Comic-Con 2015: Day 2

We headed into Jeff's Shed this morning for day 2 of Oz Comic-Con ... the whole family this time, which was, as anticipated, a very different and vastly more expensive experience than two adults spending most of their day serving customers.

Once again, the superpower known as "the exhibitor's wristband" got us in the door before the hordes and without queueing, which worked extremely well with our kids (especially the youngest, who is not noted for her patience-in-queues skills). We divided forces today, with one adult helping on the stall while the other was out and about with the kids.

The three key questions about today were always going to be:
1. Did the kids enjoy it?
2. Did the adults also have an opportunity to enjoy it? (1 and 2 can be mutually exclusive, although happily not always)
3. Did we have to re-mortgage the house to pay for all the expenditure?

Broadly, I'm going with:
1. Yes
2. Yes
and
3. No, but it was not cheap

Altogether not a bad result!

The kids were vastly entertained, as I knew they would be, with the cosplayers. I got far more and better photos today, but they are all full-face photos of the kids, so not for here. They got to hug Daleks, pose with Baymax (from Big Hero 6), and get photographed with multiple superheroes and anime characters.

The free kids area at the con also came into its own today, with all three getting faces painted, playing giant chess, and doing some drawing. It's good that a space like this is provided - it gives a welcome break for kids and their carers from the intensity and crowding of the show floor, and lets kids relax in a space designed for them.

However ....

The kids also loved the show itself, and both my husband and I (taking turns) got to see more of the stalls today than yesterday. While interesting, this led, inevitably, to requests to buy ... well, maybe not ALL the things, but let's go with, Quite A Lot of The Things.

We compromised in the end on one item each paid for by us, and they could use their own birthday / Christmas money from relatives for extra items if desired.

My eldest chose a Doctor Who poster and Doctor Who miniatures as her item from us; I also bought her some Mockingjay and Tardis earrings as part of her birthday present for her forthcoming birthday.

Second girl chose a Doctor Who apron from us, and used her own money to buy a Dalek necklace and get a henna tattoo.

The little one chose a Baymax figurine from us, and used her Christmas money to buy a plush Dalek and have a henna tattoo just like big sister's.

I also treated the whole family to an ice cube tray which makes Tardis and Dalek ice cubes.

(If you're thinking there's a theme running through this, well, you'd be right - they practically mobbed the BBC stall, or, as I like to call it, "The Doctor Who Shop With A Small Side Order of Sherlock, What Do You Mean The BBC Has Other Shows?")

Even with the one-item limitation we placed, we also bought lunch and snacks today, so it was not by any means a cheap day. Think quadruple yesterday's effort and you'd be in the right general vicinity. It was almost comparable, price-wise, to the bundle we dropped at the Royal Melbourne Show last year, an event we enjoyed but have agreed will have to be an occasional treat only.

That said, though, the kids did really have a great time. We were there just under 5 hours, and although they were flagging by the end, they remained enthused and good-humoured throughout.

So, Con again with kids? A yes, with reservations. (Mostly financial!)