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Hi everyone! 
This is my personal recount of the 2015 My Little Pony Fair experience, with the help of my awesome friend Emi / @Paaradox. In this review, you'll find highlights of the annual My Little Pony Fair & Convention, tips for traveling, and our general shenanigans. Enjoy!
DAY 1: The Never-ending Journey
We left for the airport around 7:15pm on Wednesday, with the goal of getting to the hotel in Chicago by 12:30am.
...We did not meet that goal.
Twilight suggested Google Maps as a backup for the GPS.
When we were nearly to the airport, a bad accident on the exit ramp we needed to take caused us to re-route, but Siri remained faithful and steadfast during our crisis and came quickly to our rescue--we were at the Fast Park before we knew it. Now is a good time to begin counting how many times we had to move all of these suitcases (I was filming at the Fair this year and had to take my equipment) : 4 large, heavy suitcases and 4 heavy carry-ons. By ourselves.
From car to Fast Park shuttle: 1 moving of bags. Multiple trips, of course.
Are we there yet?
We had the shuttle bus to ourselves and debated asking the driver just to drive us to Chicago. Looking back, we probably should have.
From Fast Park shuttle to curbside check-in: 2 baggage trips.
As the sun began to set over the tarmac, we explored concourse A of the airport. We got to the gate with about 20 minutes to board, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And just when we thought we were finished waiting...
...We waited some more.
Our original departure time of 9:55pm somehow ran straight past 11pm. We eventually observed as the wheelchair-bound older Native American-looking man playing his wooden flute (the only calming thing in the airport, it was so pretty to listen to!) pre-boarded, along with a version of the Van Trapp family, and many others, including the 3-year-old who tried to climb on Emi like a jungle gym.
Though we had at long last made in on the plane, we seemed to drive several miles on the runway without actually taking off. Emi and I wondered, not for the last time, if we were indeed going to drive to Chicago that way.
Once in the air, Emi earned a new nickname-- Easy on the Eyes. I love Southwest flight attendants--they always have such a fun way about them. Everything was going smoothly despite our now-lack of wifi because of a last minute plane-change, that is... until my sleep-deprived self spilled some ginger ale on Emi's lap mid-flight.
Whoops.
How was I to know that gingers attract ginger? They never taught us that in chemistry class!
[Side note: I have gotten really good at the classic PC game Hearts. I had nothing else to do for an hour in the air.]
Despite some questionable right side brakes, and a split second of wondering if our last moments would be spent in a crowded fuselage, we landed in Chicago and exited the plane into a nearly empty terminal. We trudged a few miles (or what felt like a few miles) to the baggage claim and found that there are generally no skycaps after midnight. Nor any carts we didn't have to pay for. When I asked an employee about how to find help, he recommended I "go look around in the parking lot" for a paid cart that someone "may have forgotten to return," then walked away.
....Welcome to Chicago.
Eventually we got as far as the Rental Car Shuttle stop outside the airport.
Bag trips: 3
The shuttle arrived and we hauled our hundreds of pounds of baggage (not an exaggeration) onto the bus and flopped into the seats. I asked the driver if we would get there before the car rental place closed. He assured me we would. We arrived at the rental place a few miles from the airport and unloaded our stuff.
Bag trips: 4
Inside, no one was at the rental desk. No one was anywhere. We ran back to the shuttle before we were abandoned there until, presumably, the place reopened in the morning. With all the bags and our inability to carry them all at once, it was more like a maddened relay race.
Bag trips: 5
Back at the airport, it was now well past 1am (2am our time). We hauled the bags across the airport drive and into the line to get a taxi. They had to call us a van, and eventually one came rolling along through the smoggy, ill-smelling mist and we were quickly ushered onto it.
Bag trips: 6
Now in a cab with a super sketchy driver who we would discover pretended not to speak English and "didn't know" how to use his own GPS, we finally set off for the 45min trip to Schaumburg. Highlights of the ride included something on fire outside the airport, a recurring horrible smell like a sewage treatment plant, the driver's inability to stay in one lane, and a high-speed police chase that by my estimate, was over 100mph.
Not after us, thankfully.
After Emi left the cab to get a luggage cart at the hotel (no bellhops at this hour, either), our previously-silent driver bullied me into giving him a large tip. And at nearly 3 in the morning, with lightning in the skies and rain threatening to pour at any minute and this man staring at me with all the charm of a Disney villain and impeding my personal space bubble, I had little choice but to go with the flow lest he get angry and throw my $5,000 camera out the back of his van. Some battles aren't worth it right there, right then. For the record, it should not cost $150.00 to get a cab from Midway to Schaumburg (36 miles). Even when the driver forces you to give him a $20+ tip. (I'll revisit this later, to explain how to get your money back from a cab scam.)
...Welcome to Schaumburg!
Bag trips: 7
We pushed our commandeered luggage cart to the front desk with all the grace of an unwieldy drunken elephant, and we were greeted by a very nice receptionist. As we signed in and looked at her with what I can only imagine was hair like Sweeny Todd, makeup like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and half-broken souls, she looked upon us with pity and suddenly smiled and handed me a card: "Congratulations! You're today's guests of the day!"
Huh? Free breakfast? Is that a choir of angels I hear? It was like being offered water at the end of a trek through the desert. Something GOOD happened today? Hallelujah!
Thank you, receptionist lady!
Bag trips: 8
In all honesty I don't remember much of what happened after that, only that I woke up about 7 hours later still in my clothes from the day before.
Day 2: The Long Sleep
The best thing about Thursday (or rather, the continuation of Thursday) was that it was, for all intents and purposes, a new day. Technically, it had already been Thursday for about 10 hours. This was the Thursday that never ended. Even as you are reading this, it may very well still be the same Thursday.
Our room had a great view when it wasn't 3am.
Emi and I woke up with one thought on our minds: Free. Breakfast.
That was the single motivating factor behind getting dressed, making an effort to look human, and somehow managing to get down to the lobby without running into too many walls.
We had ditched the luggage cart outside our room around 3:30am in hopes it would disappear by morning and find its own way home to the nook in the lobby. But alas, since it was there to greet us, there was no acceptable course of action other than to return it ourselves... and do a little luggage cart surfing in the halls.
*There were no Jewels harmed in the taking of this photo.
We enjoyed the tail end of an awesome breakfast buffet that to my great delight included quiche, brie, croissants, and potatoes, hit the little overpriced lobby store for water bottles, and returned to the room and crashed.. again. For many, many hours.
No better sight after the Longest Night Ever.
Twilight suggested we plan ahead and stash some of our buffet breakfast for later.
It wasn't until late in the evening that my debilitating headache from the previous night wore off, and we were able to start assembling my variety of filming equipment and testing everything out.
We used all of those batteries and more over the weekend.
We managed to get the GoPro remote control car up and running, and after (literally) running into @sweetiebabyfizzy and @princessluna11706 (and many walls, until we fixed the alignment problem), we settled in for the evening with a feeling of readiness and accomplishment. And about 2 hours of the 90's nostalgia that is Boy Meets World on tv.
...and the Weather Channel, in Japanese. It meowed at us.
Two hours later, Emi went to take a shower only to find we had no hot water. We waited about 20 minutes for it to warm up before I went in and turned it to "COLD" instead of "HOT" and voila, we had hot "COLD" water. Who the heck designs these things? Twilight was not impressed.
Not wanting to spend $40 on breakfast, I used the coffee maker in the room to make some oatmeal for myself.
Rainy Day...
After checking out the Fair setup to figure out where and when to film over the weekend and how to adjust our schedule accordingly, Emi and I hopped the hotel shuttle to the nearby mall. The driver was a really nice guy, talkative and interested in the pony collecting phenomenon. He dropped us off at Macy's and we walked through the mall until the familiar smell of fake mist and the distant sounds of drumming jungle music alerted us that we were near the Rainforest Cafe.
We could have gone for something more "local" I guess, but.... it's Rainforest Cafe. How could we not? Neither Emi nor I had been there since we were both at Disney World many years ago.
Twilight says: "The scientific name for tiger is Panthera Tigris."
After we ate some delicious food, we set off in search for a store I had heard rumors of on the pony boards, a place that sold bootleg anime merchandise.. or so they said. With a name like "Hello Anime" it wasn't terribly hard to spot. Inside were a number of G4-style plush, few of them actually licensed (Ty brand). I spotted the one plush I would have ever considered commissioning someone to make-- a G4 version of G1 Firefly.
So, I bought it. Rather gleefully at that.
The only G4 plush I've ever really wanted!
After Hello Anime, I lost Emi in Lush for a while, my allergies keeping me away like a cat from water. We returned easily to the hotel via shuttle, and returned to the room to rest and prepare for the Hall of Fame dinner.
Fancy-shmancy!
Everyone who attended the Hall of Fame dinner was given these gifts:
Emi and I sat with friends, and made a new friend who works for the MLP division of Fashion Angels. We had a great dinner buffet, and finally.... my video was played.
Online version coming soon.
Overall, well-accepted. Much applause and some laughs. The good kind. Many compliments and much relief on my part. The most nerve-wracking part of my weekend was already over!
Well, mostly. I still had to capture the entire Fair experience in less than two days with a film crew I had yet to meet in person.
...Anywaaaay...
The Hall of Fame dinner never disappoints! Even if the potatoes are inexplicably cut to look like mushrooms....
The following is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at your table while seeing to A/V stuff:
...You come back to a slew of Twilight selfies.
After dinner, we changed out of our fancy clothes and descended once again for the Fair Staff Sale. This sale is so that the Fair staff, who are endlessly busy throughout the Fair and unable to run their own tables to sell their ponies and wares, can have a chance to do so before the chaos of the weekend sweeps them away.
Twilight says: "A good vantage point helps you spot the deals!"
We procured a helmet for Twilight Sparkle (she had a big weekend ahead and wanted to be prepared), and a carriage to pull behind her motorized car. After more relaxing time.. it was time to sleep. A big day awaited!
...I say that like it's ever been easy to sleep the night before Pony Fair.
Room service arrived with our pre-ordered breakfast--since the portions here are so big, we were able to easily share a single order. We got ourselves ready, grabbed the equipment, and headed into the fray.
Even an hour before the Fair opened to the public, the line stretched down two long hallways and into the lobby of the hotel.
We got some crowd shots and GoPro RC footage, and got the equipment safely stashed where we could easily get back to it. We then commenced power shopping as soon as 10:00am hit, resulting in the acquisition of quite a few beautiful ponies which I am VERY happy to now have!
Let me just say... the vendor hall on Saturday morning is THE most chaotic sight you will ever see at Pony Fair:
These were some of the items available to purchase at the MLP Fair booth:
Promptly at noon, Bridget and Joe, my crew hirees, arrived. We commenced our 5 straight hours of filming, with Joe, Emi and I on primary camera and Bridget free-range b-roll gathering. Here are some highlights from our filming endeavors:
Our first stop was the Hasbro panel, which we were assigned to moderate. I can't remember if they said anything particularly interesting--We were working out some technical issues during the first part. It was mostly just the usual "Stay tuned!" and "Not as this time."
"Sea ponies? Not at this time."
After that, we went to Tea with Bonnie Zacherle (the creator of My Little Pony), which is always a great joy. If you haven't had the chance to talk to Bonnie or listen to her stories, you are really missing out!
Group photo following the costume parade.
We caught some of the costume parade, and IDW comic artist Jenn Blake's panel as well. Every spare moment we had, we grabbed mini-views (very brief interviews) with the pony celebrities in attendance this year.
Andrea Libman's panel (voice of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie)
Halfway through the afternoon, we hopped into the lobby restaurant and got some very quick food; We were all fed for about $40 total, and I can't complain about that. A fed crew is a happy crew--is a productive crew!
Pony Bingo!
Image courtesy of Katie R.
Artist Sarah Keefer painting Mimic
Once Bridget and Joe were dismissed for the day, Emi and I took a little time to say hello to some vending friends and do a little more perusing. We ended up with a few last minute ponies. Because... ponies.
Then, exhausted and sore, we made the trek back upstairs to our room and debated going to bed. But, we forgot about dinner! It was a beautiful evening out in the courtyard, and as quasi Fair staff, we were invited to enjoyed roast beef, potatoes, green beans, salad, and dessert while catching up with fellow staff members, then returned to the room once we had finished.
Image courtesy of @drusilla
Twilight says, "Thanks, but... I need to recharge my batteries. All of them."
The MLP Pajama Party (sponsored by Shout!Kids) would be starting in a little while, but a day of filming, directing, and pony purchases had worn both Emi and I out. So we decided to rest up, check the equipment, and get ready for the next day instead.
Shortly after we settled down, however, we beheld the strangest sight directly outside our window....
"Emi... You see giant ponies outside too, right?"
"Well... that's new."
Day 5: Bienvenido a Venezuela
After breakfast, Emi and I went down early to temporarily take over the gallery room so that we could conduct a few filmed interviews...
You'll have to wait for the MLP Fair promo video to see those, though!
The Gallery was set up all weekend to show several different displays:
My Little Pony Through the Years exhibit
Original Pitch Art by G1 pony designer Susanne Riette-Keith
Original MLP watercolors by Sarah Keefer
All of the My Little Pony Celebrities had allotted times for autographs both Saturday and Sunday.
Andrea Libman (voice of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie)
Jenn Blake (IDW comic artist for My Little Pony)
Susanne Riette-Keith (G1 pony designer)
This whole weekend was so busy and filled with so many awesome things to do, I didn't even have a moment to think about what I might be missing back in Maryland.
Apparently, all I was missing was typhoon season. This is a text message I got over the weekend:
........... Meanwhile, back at home on the East coast............
...... Yeah... let's stay in Chicago .....
Back to Susanne Riette-Keith. One of our last stops of the day was to a small ticketed group where Susanne talked about her experience at Hasbro, and what it was like to develop not only ponies for the G1 lines, but for G2 and G3 as well.
Some of Susanne's original My Little Pony items (pre-production items) were auctioned off via silent auction at the very end of the Fair. I made the certificates!
No budget left for me... there were some lucky winners though!
Image courtesy of @drusilla
The weekend wrapped up with the Awards Ceremony, where the winners from all the different artwork and costume categories were awarded their prizes, as well as the winners of the many raffle prizes.
You know, it's a funny thing about raffles. I like to support the Fair and I like the thrill of a surprise win (especially because I rarely win), so I put one in each box this year.
....And ended up winning about 8 of the prizes.
I think all in all it was 6 Equestria Girls dolls, 8-10 single ponies, 2 fashion style ponies, an RC scooter (not yet released in the US), and something else I'm forgetting. Emi has those photos!
One of the best parts of winning was finding a little gaggle of girls to give some of my ponies to. As Emi and I were hauling my big box of wins through the hall following the ceremony, we came upon 3 little girls--and at that time, I had 3 singles left to give away. They swarmed like a little flock of ducklings and it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.
With a ton of equipment to pack up (and a big box to pack up to ship home....), Emi and I returned to the room for celebratory room service food. For some reason, we decided on calamari.
Applejack says, "Well... Any ideas, Twilight?"
Twilight says: "Always think outside the box."
We asked for extra ketchup with Emi's meal.... and the hotel went above and beyond.
I was thinking like 1 or 2, but uh... thanks?
Once we had finally packed 4 huge suitcases and 4 carry-ons full of equipment, and packed up my big box to be shipped home in the morning, Emi and I crashed for the night.
Day 6: OMG Not the Airport Again.
We got our hotel bill under the door, and once I recovered, we headed to ship off my box and check with the reception about a weird charge. All was explained (we had a weird reservation thing going on), but apparently because we worried (I guess?), we were given free vouchers for coffee and croissants/danishes from the hotel shop. I'm really liking the generosity of this place with their free vouchers! After a spendy weekend like we had, we weren't going to turn down free stuff.
With 2 hours to kill, we headed back to the mall across the street with our luggage locked in the hotel's coat room (and my camera in their office) and who should we run into but @KitKatVintage!! I couldn't believe it when we found each other looking at My Little Pony merchandise at Hot Topic!
Hanging out with KKV made the time fly, and I wish I had had more time to talk with and hang out with people over the weekend. Hopefully next year, when I'm not filming, I'll have more of an opportunity to do so.
We had hired a cab through the hotel (which we did not have the luxury of doing when we first arrived in Chicago) and the ride back was a million times better in every way than the ride there.
Twilight says, "The hotel cab can give you a flat rate!"
Chicago is flat.
With traffic, the whole return trip to the airport took close to an hour and a half. But we had planned for that.
Back at Chicago Midway, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Emi and I were able to grab some dinner and have a few relaxing moments before boarding the plane home. Despite the malodorous lady sitting next to Emi on the way home (always bathe when you travel, kids!), the flight was mostly smooth and easy, and notably shorter than the flight out.
Thus concludes our weekend adventure at the 2015 My Little Pony Fair & Convention.
Now, how about some loot?
With my wish list growing ever smaller.. it was time to embark on upgrades!
The artwork in the back is original pitch art by Susanne Riette-Keith!
The last sparkle mail order pony I needed--and isn't she beautiful?
The pièce de résistance: Venezuelan Lickety-Split.
HUGE thanks to @SweetTune and the rest of the Fair Staff, and to all the awesome people I have the joy of seeing there year after year. So many of you do so much to make this event so fun and so spectacular. This was certainly one of the best ones yet!
1) When you have the option, always use a cab service associated with or recommended by your hotel. Many of these offer flat rates to nearby airports and attractions.
2) When you inevitably cannot, take note of the following and write them down (or take photos with your smartphone) as soon as you're in the cab:
Also, when you send your paperwork back, I highly recommend getting tracking on your envelope. It's going to cost a few dollars, but you will have proof that you returned it (as this paperwork directed) within 7-10 business days.
This is my personal recount of the 2015 My Little Pony Fair experience, with the help of my awesome friend Emi / @Paaradox. In this review, you'll find highlights of the annual My Little Pony Fair & Convention, tips for traveling, and our general shenanigans. Enjoy!
DAY 1: The Never-ending Journey
We left for the airport around 7:15pm on Wednesday, with the goal of getting to the hotel in Chicago by 12:30am.
...We did not meet that goal.
Twilight suggested Google Maps as a backup for the GPS.
When we were nearly to the airport, a bad accident on the exit ramp we needed to take caused us to re-route, but Siri remained faithful and steadfast during our crisis and came quickly to our rescue--we were at the Fast Park before we knew it. Now is a good time to begin counting how many times we had to move all of these suitcases (I was filming at the Fair this year and had to take my equipment) : 4 large, heavy suitcases and 4 heavy carry-ons. By ourselves.
From car to Fast Park shuttle: 1 moving of bags. Multiple trips, of course.
Are we there yet?
We had the shuttle bus to ourselves and debated asking the driver just to drive us to Chicago. Looking back, we probably should have.
From Fast Park shuttle to curbside check-in: 2 baggage trips.
As the sun began to set over the tarmac, we explored concourse A of the airport. We got to the gate with about 20 minutes to board, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And just when we thought we were finished waiting...
...We waited some more.
Our original departure time of 9:55pm somehow ran straight past 11pm. We eventually observed as the wheelchair-bound older Native American-looking man playing his wooden flute (the only calming thing in the airport, it was so pretty to listen to!) pre-boarded, along with a version of the Van Trapp family, and many others, including the 3-year-old who tried to climb on Emi like a jungle gym.
Though we had at long last made in on the plane, we seemed to drive several miles on the runway without actually taking off. Emi and I wondered, not for the last time, if we were indeed going to drive to Chicago that way.
Once in the air, Emi earned a new nickname-- Easy on the Eyes. I love Southwest flight attendants--they always have such a fun way about them. Everything was going smoothly despite our now-lack of wifi because of a last minute plane-change, that is... until my sleep-deprived self spilled some ginger ale on Emi's lap mid-flight.
Whoops.
How was I to know that gingers attract ginger? They never taught us that in chemistry class!
[Side note: I have gotten really good at the classic PC game Hearts. I had nothing else to do for an hour in the air.]
Despite some questionable right side brakes, and a split second of wondering if our last moments would be spent in a crowded fuselage, we landed in Chicago and exited the plane into a nearly empty terminal. We trudged a few miles (or what felt like a few miles) to the baggage claim and found that there are generally no skycaps after midnight. Nor any carts we didn't have to pay for. When I asked an employee about how to find help, he recommended I "go look around in the parking lot" for a paid cart that someone "may have forgotten to return," then walked away.
....Welcome to Chicago.
Eventually we got as far as the Rental Car Shuttle stop outside the airport.
Bag trips: 3
The shuttle arrived and we hauled our hundreds of pounds of baggage (not an exaggeration) onto the bus and flopped into the seats. I asked the driver if we would get there before the car rental place closed. He assured me we would. We arrived at the rental place a few miles from the airport and unloaded our stuff.
Bag trips: 4
Inside, no one was at the rental desk. No one was anywhere. We ran back to the shuttle before we were abandoned there until, presumably, the place reopened in the morning. With all the bags and our inability to carry them all at once, it was more like a maddened relay race.
Bag trips: 5
Back at the airport, it was now well past 1am (2am our time). We hauled the bags across the airport drive and into the line to get a taxi. They had to call us a van, and eventually one came rolling along through the smoggy, ill-smelling mist and we were quickly ushered onto it.
Bag trips: 6
Now in a cab with a super sketchy driver who we would discover pretended not to speak English and "didn't know" how to use his own GPS, we finally set off for the 45min trip to Schaumburg. Highlights of the ride included something on fire outside the airport, a recurring horrible smell like a sewage treatment plant, the driver's inability to stay in one lane, and a high-speed police chase that by my estimate, was over 100mph.
Not after us, thankfully.
After Emi left the cab to get a luggage cart at the hotel (no bellhops at this hour, either), our previously-silent driver bullied me into giving him a large tip. And at nearly 3 in the morning, with lightning in the skies and rain threatening to pour at any minute and this man staring at me with all the charm of a Disney villain and impeding my personal space bubble, I had little choice but to go with the flow lest he get angry and throw my $5,000 camera out the back of his van. Some battles aren't worth it right there, right then. For the record, it should not cost $150.00 to get a cab from Midway to Schaumburg (36 miles). Even when the driver forces you to give him a $20+ tip. (I'll revisit this later, to explain how to get your money back from a cab scam.)
...Welcome to Schaumburg!
Bag trips: 7
We pushed our commandeered luggage cart to the front desk with all the grace of an unwieldy drunken elephant, and we were greeted by a very nice receptionist. As we signed in and looked at her with what I can only imagine was hair like Sweeny Todd, makeup like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and half-broken souls, she looked upon us with pity and suddenly smiled and handed me a card: "Congratulations! You're today's guests of the day!"
Huh? Free breakfast? Is that a choir of angels I hear? It was like being offered water at the end of a trek through the desert. Something GOOD happened today? Hallelujah!
Thank you, receptionist lady!
Bag trips: 8
In all honesty I don't remember much of what happened after that, only that I woke up about 7 hours later still in my clothes from the day before.
Day 2: The Long Sleep
The best thing about Thursday (or rather, the continuation of Thursday) was that it was, for all intents and purposes, a new day. Technically, it had already been Thursday for about 10 hours. This was the Thursday that never ended. Even as you are reading this, it may very well still be the same Thursday.
Our room had a great view when it wasn't 3am.
Emi and I woke up with one thought on our minds: Free. Breakfast.
That was the single motivating factor behind getting dressed, making an effort to look human, and somehow managing to get down to the lobby without running into too many walls.
We had ditched the luggage cart outside our room around 3:30am in hopes it would disappear by morning and find its own way home to the nook in the lobby. But alas, since it was there to greet us, there was no acceptable course of action other than to return it ourselves... and do a little luggage cart surfing in the halls.
*There were no Jewels harmed in the taking of this photo.
We enjoyed the tail end of an awesome breakfast buffet that to my great delight included quiche, brie, croissants, and potatoes, hit the little overpriced lobby store for water bottles, and returned to the room and crashed.. again. For many, many hours.
No better sight after the Longest Night Ever.
Twilight suggested we plan ahead and stash some of our buffet breakfast for later.
It wasn't until late in the evening that my debilitating headache from the previous night wore off, and we were able to start assembling my variety of filming equipment and testing everything out.
We used all of those batteries and more over the weekend.
We managed to get the GoPro remote control car up and running, and after (literally) running into @sweetiebabyfizzy and @princessluna11706 (and many walls, until we fixed the alignment problem), we settled in for the evening with a feeling of readiness and accomplishment. And about 2 hours of the 90's nostalgia that is Boy Meets World on tv.
...and the Weather Channel, in Japanese. It meowed at us.
Day 3: Tango Pancake Cow House
We were roused at 7:00am by a somewhat belligerent housekeeper who neglected to read the PRIVACY hanger on the door. It wasn't even an hour later before another housekeeper came by and knocked so hard that the swinging latch on the back of the door flew open. Do those things even serve a purpose?
Two hours later, Emi went to take a shower only to find we had no hot water. We waited about 20 minutes for it to warm up before I went in and turned it to "COLD" instead of "HOT" and voila, we had hot "COLD" water. Who the heck designs these things? Twilight was not impressed.
Not wanting to spend $40 on breakfast, I used the coffee maker in the room to make some oatmeal for myself.
Rainy Day...
After checking out the Fair setup to figure out where and when to film over the weekend and how to adjust our schedule accordingly, Emi and I hopped the hotel shuttle to the nearby mall. The driver was a really nice guy, talkative and interested in the pony collecting phenomenon. He dropped us off at Macy's and we walked through the mall until the familiar smell of fake mist and the distant sounds of drumming jungle music alerted us that we were near the Rainforest Cafe.
We could have gone for something more "local" I guess, but.... it's Rainforest Cafe. How could we not? Neither Emi nor I had been there since we were both at Disney World many years ago.
Twilight says: "The scientific name for tiger is Panthera Tigris."
After we ate some delicious food, we set off in search for a store I had heard rumors of on the pony boards, a place that sold bootleg anime merchandise.. or so they said. With a name like "Hello Anime" it wasn't terribly hard to spot. Inside were a number of G4-style plush, few of them actually licensed (Ty brand). I spotted the one plush I would have ever considered commissioning someone to make-- a G4 version of G1 Firefly.
The only G4 plush I've ever really wanted!
After Hello Anime, I lost Emi in Lush for a while, my allergies keeping me away like a cat from water. We returned easily to the hotel via shuttle, and returned to the room to rest and prepare for the Hall of Fame dinner.
Fancy-shmancy!
Everyone who attended the Hall of Fame dinner was given these gifts:
Emi and I sat with friends, and made a new friend who works for the MLP division of Fashion Angels. We had a great dinner buffet, and finally.... my video was played.
Online version coming soon.
Overall, well-accepted. Much applause and some laughs. The good kind. Many compliments and much relief on my part. The most nerve-wracking part of my weekend was already over!
Well, mostly. I still had to capture the entire Fair experience in less than two days with a film crew I had yet to meet in person.
...Anywaaaay...
The Hall of Fame dinner never disappoints! Even if the potatoes are inexplicably cut to look like mushrooms....
The following is what happens when you leave your phone unattended at your table while seeing to A/V stuff:
...You come back to a slew of Twilight selfies.
Twilight says: "A good vantage point helps you spot the deals!"
We procured a helmet for Twilight Sparkle (she had a big weekend ahead and wanted to be prepared), and a carriage to pull behind her motorized car. After more relaxing time.. it was time to sleep. A big day awaited!
...I say that like it's ever been easy to sleep the night before Pony Fair.
Day 4: Telecapapathy
Room service arrived with our pre-ordered breakfast--since the portions here are so big, we were able to easily share a single order. We got ourselves ready, grabbed the equipment, and headed into the fray.
Even an hour before the Fair opened to the public, the line stretched down two long hallways and into the lobby of the hotel.
We got some crowd shots and GoPro RC footage, and got the equipment safely stashed where we could easily get back to it. We then commenced power shopping as soon as 10:00am hit, resulting in the acquisition of quite a few beautiful ponies which I am VERY happy to now have!
Let me just say... the vendor hall on Saturday morning is THE most chaotic sight you will ever see at Pony Fair:
Image courtesy of @SweetTune
These were some of the items available to purchase at the MLP Fair booth:
Promptly at noon, Bridget and Joe, my crew hirees, arrived. We commenced our 5 straight hours of filming, with Joe, Emi and I on primary camera and Bridget free-range b-roll gathering. Here are some highlights from our filming endeavors:
Our first stop was the Hasbro panel, which we were assigned to moderate. I can't remember if they said anything particularly interesting--We were working out some technical issues during the first part. It was mostly just the usual "Stay tuned!" and "Not as this time."
"Sea ponies? Not at this time."
After that, we went to Tea with Bonnie Zacherle (the creator of My Little Pony), which is always a great joy. If you haven't had the chance to talk to Bonnie or listen to her stories, you are really missing out!
Group photo following the costume parade.
We caught some of the costume parade, and IDW comic artist Jenn Blake's panel as well. Every spare moment we had, we grabbed mini-views (very brief interviews) with the pony celebrities in attendance this year.
Andrea Libman's panel (voice of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie)
Halfway through the afternoon, we hopped into the lobby restaurant and got some very quick food; We were all fed for about $40 total, and I can't complain about that. A fed crew is a happy crew--is a productive crew!
Pony Bingo!
Image courtesy of Katie R.
Artist Sarah Keefer painting Mimic
Once Bridget and Joe were dismissed for the day, Emi and I took a little time to say hello to some vending friends and do a little more perusing. We ended up with a few last minute ponies. Because... ponies.
Then, exhausted and sore, we made the trek back upstairs to our room and debated going to bed. But, we forgot about dinner! It was a beautiful evening out in the courtyard, and as quasi Fair staff, we were invited to enjoyed roast beef, potatoes, green beans, salad, and dessert while catching up with fellow staff members, then returned to the room once we had finished.
Image courtesy of @drusilla
Twilight says, "Thanks, but... I need to recharge my batteries. All of them."
The MLP Pajama Party (sponsored by Shout!Kids) would be starting in a little while, but a day of filming, directing, and pony purchases had worn both Emi and I out. So we decided to rest up, check the equipment, and get ready for the next day instead.
Shortly after we settled down, however, we beheld the strangest sight directly outside our window....
"Emi... You see giant ponies outside too, right?"
"Well... that's new."
Day 5: Bienvenido a Venezuela
After breakfast, Emi and I went down early to temporarily take over the gallery room so that we could conduct a few filmed interviews...
You'll have to wait for the MLP Fair promo video to see those, though!
The Gallery was set up all weekend to show several different displays:
My Little Pony Through the Years exhibit
Original Pitch Art by G1 pony designer Susanne Riette-Keith
Original MLP watercolors by Sarah Keefer
Andrea Libman (voice of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie)
Jenn Blake (IDW comic artist for My Little Pony)
Susanne Riette-Keith (G1 pony designer)
This whole weekend was so busy and filled with so many awesome things to do, I didn't even have a moment to think about what I might be missing back in Maryland.
Apparently, all I was missing was typhoon season. This is a text message I got over the weekend:
........... Meanwhile, back at home on the East coast............
...... Yeah... let's stay in Chicago .....
Back to Susanne Riette-Keith. One of our last stops of the day was to a small ticketed group where Susanne talked about her experience at Hasbro, and what it was like to develop not only ponies for the G1 lines, but for G2 and G3 as well.
Some of Susanne's original My Little Pony items (pre-production items) were auctioned off via silent auction at the very end of the Fair. I made the certificates!
No budget left for me... there were some lucky winners though!
Image courtesy of @drusilla
The weekend wrapped up with the Awards Ceremony, where the winners from all the different artwork and costume categories were awarded their prizes, as well as the winners of the many raffle prizes.
You know, it's a funny thing about raffles. I like to support the Fair and I like the thrill of a surprise win (especially because I rarely win), so I put one in each box this year.
....And ended up winning about 8 of the prizes.
I think all in all it was 6 Equestria Girls dolls, 8-10 single ponies, 2 fashion style ponies, an RC scooter (not yet released in the US), and something else I'm forgetting. Emi has those photos!
One of the best parts of winning was finding a little gaggle of girls to give some of my ponies to. As Emi and I were hauling my big box of wins through the hall following the ceremony, we came upon 3 little girls--and at that time, I had 3 singles left to give away. They swarmed like a little flock of ducklings and it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.
With a ton of equipment to pack up (and a big box to pack up to ship home....), Emi and I returned to the room for celebratory room service food. For some reason, we decided on calamari.
But we were not prepared for the tentacle parts.
Applejack says, "Well... Any ideas, Twilight?"
Twilight says: "Always think outside the box."
We asked for extra ketchup with Emi's meal.... and the hotel went above and beyond.
I was thinking like 1 or 2, but uh... thanks?
Day 6: OMG Not the Airport Again.
With 2 hours to kill, we headed back to the mall across the street with our luggage locked in the hotel's coat room (and my camera in their office) and who should we run into but @KitKatVintage!! I couldn't believe it when we found each other looking at My Little Pony merchandise at Hot Topic!
Hanging out with KKV made the time fly, and I wish I had had more time to talk with and hang out with people over the weekend. Hopefully next year, when I'm not filming, I'll have more of an opportunity to do so.
We had hired a cab through the hotel (which we did not have the luxury of doing when we first arrived in Chicago) and the ride back was a million times better in every way than the ride there.
Twilight says, "The hotel cab can give you a flat rate!"
Chicago is flat.
With traffic, the whole return trip to the airport took close to an hour and a half. But we had planned for that.
Back at Chicago Midway, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Emi and I were able to grab some dinner and have a few relaxing moments before boarding the plane home. Despite the malodorous lady sitting next to Emi on the way home (always bathe when you travel, kids!), the flight was mostly smooth and easy, and notably shorter than the flight out.
Thus concludes our weekend adventure at the 2015 My Little Pony Fair & Convention.
Now, how about some loot?
With my wish list growing ever smaller.. it was time to embark on upgrades!
The artwork in the back is original pitch art by Susanne Riette-Keith!
The last sparkle mail order pony I needed--and isn't she beautiful?
The pièce de résistance: Venezuelan Lickety-Split.
HUGE thanks to @SweetTune and the rest of the Fair Staff, and to all the awesome people I have the joy of seeing there year after year. So many of you do so much to make this event so fun and so spectacular. This was certainly one of the best ones yet!
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Epilogue: How to Get Your Money Back from a Cab Scam
And How to Avoid One in the First Place
And How to Avoid One in the First Place
1) When you have the option, always use a cab service associated with or recommended by your hotel. Many of these offer flat rates to nearby airports and attractions.
2) When you inevitably cannot, take note of the following and write them down (or take photos with your smartphone) as soon as you're in the cab:
- The color and make of the car (even if just sedan, van, etc)
- The name of the driver
- The number of the cab
- The cab company and the phone number of the cab company
- A brief description of the driver
- Your starting and ending address, and the approximate time
- GET A RECEIPT and hold onto it!
Also, when you send your paperwork back, I highly recommend getting tracking on your envelope. It's going to cost a few dollars, but you will have proof that you returned it (as this paperwork directed) within 7-10 business days.
