March 30, 2013, 3:30 AM, I awake to start a long day in Anaheim for WonderCon. My camera was ready to go, along with my DSi and PSP in case I needed them. By 4:45, my brother and I were out the door and heading up the freeway towards Anaheim.

We arrived at 6:15 and parked. Had to go all the way around the convention center to find the line for professional registration. Obtained my pass at around 8:30 and soon after walked to a nearby 7-11 to pick up some Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. Walked back to the fountain area outside of the convention center and watched as more people started to appear and checking out the food trucks parked nearby.

By 9:30, I had my camera out and ready to go…and that’s when I started taking pictures…

Soon after I started taking pictures, the exhibit hall opens and I decided to head in…

As with any convention celebrating the popular arts, there’s plenty to be purchased…

There was definitely a lot to see and do…

For me, the one thing that stuck out the most was none other than the playable DuckTales Remastered demo at the CAPCOM booth…

I had a chance to play the demo and it plays just like the original NES game. The original voice actors are in the game as well, though I have to admit Uncle Scrooge and the Beagle Boys don’t sound the way they used to… I was able to record a little bit a footage of the game play, which you can see below…

The best part of the day was running into a small crowd at a booth, only to see that Grant Imahara from MythBusters was there chatting with a guy at the booth!

And now, without further delay, I present the cosplayers that were found throughout the day (not including those already shown above)…

Before I knew it, 6:30 PM was fast approaching and it was time to head home, especially since I was only able to make it to this convention for just one day…

Overall, it was a nice change of pace from what Comic-Con has become. Much easier to get into, halls not overcrowded, no other events taking place simultaneously. However, WonderCon did sell out two out of the three days, so it is getting up there with Comic-Con. Parking wasn’t too much of an issue, but I did hate the fact that I had to walk all the way around the convention center just to get to the registration area. Other than that, there weren’t any other major issues.

And to top it all off, I survived the whole day on nothing more than a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. The reason for this is simple. Having lost my job just two weeks prior, money became an issue. There was only enough money for gas to make it to Anaheim and back and parking. My brother and I ended up spending only $5 for soda the entire time at WonderCon. It was a rather tough thing to do, but it was better than spending the day at home staring at my laptop…

If WonderCon ends up in Anaheim again, I may attend, hopefully under much better circumstances…

Next up, Anime Conji…