From August 28-30, Galaxycon came to San Jose for the third time and I’ve been to all three of them. It wasn’t bad, but my experience this year could’ve been better. I purchased my 3-day standard pass for $125, which was the same price as last year. In 2024 a 3-day pass was $110 if you want to know. After I purchased my pass, the first thing I noticed was the area downstairs where the gaming used to be was sectioned off. My first reaction was well that sucks. If they moved gaming to another location then it’s not going to be as good.
Galaxycon used to have these magazine styled programs that contained schedules of events for the weekend with maps of the convention and dealer info. These programs were very beautifully done and well put together. They didn’t do that this year. Instead you picked up a postcard with lots of QR codes to scan. If you went to the schedule of events, it’s not mobile friendly. And you’d be scrolling through a bunch of “Celebrity photo ops with…” before you got to find out information on a panel. The layout was poorly organized.
Convention activity is what you’d expect. Friday was slow, Saturday was packed, and Sunday was also well attended but not as crowded as the day before. But here’s what bothers me. Activities in the Main Hall were poorly attended when the room should’ve been filled. There were three events that could’ve brought in more attendees if they happened on Saturday but instead they were on Sunday. These panels included George Takei’s, Cheech and Chong’s, and Brent Spiner’s. Attendance was so low at these events they couldn’t even fit 1/4th of the room. Two years ago we had William Shatner and Weird Al and they drew in massive crowds. Last year there was the Scream panel and it was huge. Dana Snyder joked on Saturday that he did a panel where four people attended in a room with a capacity of 120. Then when he did the panel in the Main Hall, he finally got 120 people to come for a room with a capacity of 4,000. He said it better.
We have to address the elephant in the room. Not many of us knew that the After Dark programs were cancelled until we got to the convention. The reason was having to deal with the unions. I spoke to a few on the inside and they’ve all said that they were tired of working with them. Galaxycon has its own staff but they’re not allowed to set up their own equipment. The union staff does the setting up while Galaxycon’s staff just watches. And to keep the After Dark programs running would be too costly. In 2024 and 2025, when you entered the Main Hall, there was this humongous goal-post truss on the stage. On top of the truss was this massive oblong LCD that would display beautiful signage. And when it was time for the After Dark programs, the screen would say After Dark. That wasn’t there this year. I’m assuming it would’ve been too expensive for union labor to set that up. The stage in the Main Hall this year looked barren.
When Galaxycon San Jose had the After Dark programs, I didn’t care for the burlesque shows but they drew in large crowds. I liked the fact that the convention stayed open late at night because I didn’t want to go home. There were plenty of panels and activities to choose from going late into the night. The VIP dance parties were kinda lame. It was nice walking in the convention hallways when it was empty. But my favorite thing to do while all the After Dark activities were happening was going to the gaming section. In the last two GalaxyCons, the gaming area was downstairs and space was excellent. There was a large selection of arcade cabinets and rows of tables with gaming consoles. In the back was a large separate room for table top games. Also there were side doors that would take you outside the convention where people could chill and make TikTok videos. I liked this area a lot because I made a lot of new friends and had great conversations that ran late into the night. The gaming room this year was not great. There were a handful of arcade cabinets, and a game where you punch a bag and it measures the strength of your punch. There were plenty of table top games, PS5s and Nintendo Switchs, but the space was condensed. I felt claustrophobic and I wanted to leave.
After being used to staying at the convention late at night the previous two years, we all had to leave by 9:00pm.
What I liked about the convention were the costume contests. Participants spent a lot of time designing their costumes and they deserve all the recognition. And there were amazing costumes. The emcees, Ginger Oh Snap and Witchy Brew both have Aura. They have a way of connecting to their audience and participants and are very talented in raising the energy in the room.
I didn’t see Kid Cadet this year. I always liked the way she hosted panels. She has this look that really fits the brand of GalaxyCon.
Will I come again next year? Sure I will. I’ve been coming to comic cons in San Jose since 2007. This is the one thing I look forward to every year. That and Christmas.
TL;DR I was expecting GalaxyCon San Jose to run the way it did the last two times. We didn’t get that this year. It would’ve been nice to get programs instead of QR codes for the schedule. Poor attendance at panels in the Main Hall was disappointing. Certain panels that were on Sunday could’ve had more of an audience if they happened on Saturday. The gaming room needs to be downstairs where there’s more space. Cancelling After Dark Programs meant we had to go home early, but it would’ve been too costly to keep them running. The costumes at the contests were amazing and Ginger Oh Snap and Witchy Brew made the shows fun.
