Tampa Bay Comic Convention 2023
Tampa Bay Comic Convention returned to the Tampa Bay on July 28th – 30th, 2023. This year’s guests included Grant Gustin, Pauly Shore, Michael Rooker, Grace Van Dien, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and many others. TBCC reunited three of the cast of The Flash and Lord of the Rings.
Throughout the years, TBCC has seen an impressive increase in popularity, and it looks like this trend will continue as more people become aware of the amazing world of fandoms. TBCC has learned from some mistakes made in previous years, but not all. Rather than having everyone lining up outside in the hot Florida sun; they corrected this mistake this time by having them lined up along the side of the building in some shade.
Tampa Bay Comic Convention announced that next year’s dates are August 23-25, 2024.
Overall Thoughts
One of the issues I encountered was in the autograph area; some queues were organized while others only had stickers indicating ADA/VIP in the middle of the walkway. It was impossible to walk through the walkways because some voice actors, such as Steve Downes and Jen Taylor (aka Master Chief and Cortana in Halo games), had such long lines.
TBCC offers a great variety of food options, although seating choices are limited to a few outdoor tables near the convention hall. It seems they overlooked this issue from last year, as ticket holders, both VIP and general admission, are all lined up together when entering the convention building.
I loved how they organized the photo op on the floor above. It made it so much easier to navigate without battling the crowd. They also had multiple maps and info boards throughout the convention building. This year, there’s a wide variety of vendors, but the artist’s alley seems to have more booths than before. Which I’m a huge fan of. And the best part? The lines were constantly moving, unlike other conventions with poor line control.
I had such a great time at the convention! The guests and vendors were all amazing. I’m already looking forward to attending again next year.
