From the 19th to the 22nd of March, the Orlando Convention Center held the biggest event for all things cosplay, anime, and gaming. Every year, this event rolls in around the spring season, lighting up the eyes of cosplayers and anime fans all around Florida. This event is none other than MegaCon!
MegaCon Orlando attracts con-goers from all around Florida for the four-day long weekend of fun. On Thursday, con hours are quite short, with the event only lasting five hours. However, during this time period, con-goers can experience meet and greets with their favorite actor, voice actor, comic artist, or wander around Artist Alley. Con-goers are also welcome to attend panels featuring the cast of certain TV shows.
Artist Alley is the main feature and experience of MegaCon. In the convention hall is a seemingly never ending sprawl of vendors, selling all things fandom related. From artists selling prints of their art, creations, and adorable keychains to big businesses advertising their professional photography, one person could walk multiple laps around the entire hall and still discover something new each time!
Not to mention another main feature of the event- cosplay! Across all four days, expect to see characters from all different video games, movies, and TV shows. This aspect of the event is enticing for many con-goers who wish to treasure a photograph with their favorite characters brought to life. MegaCon hosts the cosplay red carpet, where viewers are expected to applaud as hundreds of cosplayers walk across the red carpet laid out in the lobby of the convention center, posing for the press. Likewise, attendees have the chance to meet with their favorite cosplayer.
For the remaining days of the weekend, con-goers can view different panels and have the opportunity to meet famous actors on various days. For MegaCon 2026, John Cena was available for meet and greet on Saturday. Various actors from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Mummy, Hocus Pocus, and The X-Files attended the event, waiting to sign posters and take photos with hundreds of fans. English voice actors for the popular anime Death Note, such as Brad Swaile, voice of Light Yagami, and Alessandro Juliani, voice of ‘L,’ attended the convention, drawing lines of fans waiting to meet the voice of the favorite characters for hours at a time.
MegaCon is an experience that welcomes fans of anime and gaming of all ages, yet draws a large crowd of people from Seminole High School (SHS)! IB junior Gianelly Marin who attended the event stated that “MegaCon was very fun and a great experience, but I was in a large group of people and got overstimulated from the crowds and I left earlier than expected.” MegaCon is a very crowded place, and, throughout it all, the people can end up being chaotic. That is not without seeing the live shows first though! Marin stated that before she left, “we saw a live band that played the Mario theme songs while some people played the game. It was really cool to see.” Marin adds that she cosplayed at the event, dressing up as Princess Mononoke, a character from a Studio Ghibli movie. Another SHS student, Santiago Benfanti, stated: “ I loved my experience at MegaCon. It was fun seeing everyone else dress up, even though I did not, and it makes me look forward to the next MegaCon where I can dress up.” Benfanti adds: “I wish I could have seen the Halloween Horror Nights panel, they brought out live actors and had a stage performance to reveal a new house.”
All in all, everyone’s MegaCon experience is different, yet a great time nonetheless!