I love living in Orlando. The weather is pretty great year-round, there are stellar restaurants, an amazing mall, and plenty of things to do, even though I have yet to step foot in a single theme park.
I also had not been to one of the Comic Con like conventions that roll into town several times a year.
Back in June when Spooky Empire came up while I was chatting with my friend, I was curious what it was, as I had never so much as heard of it. We debated on whether or not to go for awhile, but in the end, my friend, her husband, and I went to this year’s Spooky Empire.
Held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, a bustling hotel near the convention center, where cousin convention MegaCon is held, the convention sprawled across several ballrooms. While it is not a requirement, many people dress up, including the three of us. We dressed as Wednesday, Pugsley, and Enid from the Netflix show Wednesday. It was a fun costume, and several people did know who we were. My costume was an homage to Enid’s Dead Dance dress from this past season. Though not a perfect replica, the corset, tulle skirt, pastel makeup and nail polish, and pink streaks in my hair gave the same feel of the already iconic look.
While there are panels, bands, and parties, we did not attend any of those. This was more about exploring the convention to see what we thought and if we would go back. There are many celebrity signings and photo ops. We had one planned with Parker Posey, but she ended up having to cancel her appearance. I was definitely bummed, and I would consider a future photo op, but it turned out to be nice to just walk around the convention instead of standing in a long line.
Most of the rest of the convention is shopping. There are probably a couple hundred vendors selling everything from taxidermy to crystals to horror movie themed art. If it is horror related and you can think of it, it was probably there.
I could have bought a lot, but we all chose just a couple things to purchase. It’s mostly fun to walk around and see what people create, though I do love supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. I bought hair clips: ghosts, pumpkins, and a crystal Hello Kitty. I love them and will cherish them as a token of our day.
We had walked the full convention in under two hours. Before we left, I stopped to have a tarot reading. The woman, Ireland, was lovely and gave what felt like an incredibly accurate reading without knowing anything about me. It was a special moment that gave me chills.
The Hyatt has a couple restaurants that are open all day, so we decided to head to Descend 21 when we were finished with the convention. It is downstairs and near the pool. While it isn’t fancy, service was great, and the food and drink were a hit. It was a lovely, almost chilly, afternoon, and we were able to sit outside and relax. It was the perfect way to end what was truly an exceptional day.
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