Fan Expo San Francisco - November 24-26, 2023 0

[ExNihilo]

I didn't see an event topic for this, so I guess I'll get it started.

FAN EXPO San Francisco (fanexpohq.com)

@Kevin Boyd

[Kevin Boyd]

Show is coming up quickly!

CELEBRITIES

Mark Hamill
STAR WARS, BATMAN
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ewan McGregor
STAR WARS, OBI WAN KENOBI
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Elijah Wood
LORD OF THE RINGS, YELLOWJACKETS
Appearing: Sat

Temuera Morrison
THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, MOANA
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

William Shatner
STAR TREK, BOSTON LEGAL
Appearing: Sun

Katee Sackhoff
THE MANDALORIAN, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Appearing: Sat

Alan Tudyk
STAR WARS, FIREFLY
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Sean Astin
LORD OF THE RINGS, STRANGER THINGS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Sonequa Martin-Green
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, THE WALKING DEAD
Appearing: Sat

Carl Weathers
THE MANDALORIAN, ROCKY
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Rose McGowan
CHARMED, SCREAM
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ray Park
STAR WARS, X-MEN
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Dominic Monaghan
LORD OF THE RINGS, LOST
Appearing: Sat

Billy Boyd
LORD OF THE RINGS, OUTLANDER
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Eman Esfandi
AHSOKA, KING RICHARD
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jason Lee
MY NAME IS EARL, THE INCREDIBLES
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Jeff Ward
ONE PIECE, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Henry Winkler
HAPPY DAYS, BARRY, SCREAM
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

John Barrowman
ARROW, DOCTOR WHO
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Danielle Panabaker
THE FLASH, SKY HIGH
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Carlos Valdes
THE FLASH, ARROW
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Emily Swallow
THE MANDALORIAN, SUPERNATURAL
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mary McDonnell
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Holly Marie Combs
CHARMED, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Michelle Hurd
STAR TREK: PICARD, LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Emilie de Ravin
LOST, ONCE UPON A TIME
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Sean Gunn
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, SUICIDE SQUAD 2
Appearing: Sat, Sun

James Marsters
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Adrienne Barbeau
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, CREEPSHOW
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Denis Lawson
STAR WARS ORIGINAL TRILOGY, STAR WARS SEQUEL TRILOGY
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Daniel Logan
STAR WARS: EPISODE II, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Vivien Lyra Blair
OBI-WAN KENOBI
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

 

ANIMATION VOICES

Ashley Eckstein
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Daniel Logan
STAR WARS: EPISODE II, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS

Vanessa Marshall
STAR WARS: REBELS, HARLEY QUINN
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Taylor Gray
STAR WARS: REBELS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Matthew Wood
STAR WARS: EPISODE III, WHAT IF...?
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Helen Sadler
AHSOKA, WHAT IF...?
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Tara Strong
TEEN TITANS, MY LITTLE PONY
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Peter Cullen
TRANSFORMERS
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Richard Horvitz
HELLUVA BOSS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Brandon Rogers
HELLUVA BOSS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Rob Paulsen
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, PINKY AND THE BRAIN
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Maurice LaMarche
PINKY AND THE BRAIN, FUTURAMA
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Cam Clarke
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Townsend Coleman
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Barry Gordon
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Kathleen Herles
DORA THE EXPLORER
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

ANIME GUESTS

Adam McArthur
JUJUTSU KAISEN
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Justin Briner
MY HERO ACADEMIA
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Monica Rial
MY HERO ACADEMIA
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Sarah Natochenny
POKÉMON
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Natalie Van Sistine
SPY×FAMILY
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

David Matranga
MY HERO ACADEMIA
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Trina Nishimura
ATTACK ON TITAN
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

GAMING STARS

Nadji Jeter
SPIDERMAN: MILES MORALES
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Dameon Clarke
BORDERLANDS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Kellen Goff
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

David Hayter
METAL GEAR SOLID
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

COMIC CREATORS

FEATURED GUESTS

Marc Silvestri
Superstar Creator, Batman and the Joker: The Deadly Duo
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Arthur Adams
Legendary Creator
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Erik Larsen
Savage Dragon
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Stephen Platt
Cover Artist, Moon Knight, Wolverine
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Gene Luen Yang
American Born Chinese, Boxers vs Saints, Avatar, Superman, The Shadow Hero, Shang Chi, Monkey Prince
Appearing: Sun

Tom Grummett
Legendary Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Tony Harris
Starman, JSA, Star Wars, Ex Machina
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Dave Johnson
Illustrator - Renowned Cover Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jae Lee
Seven Sons, Cover Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

David Mack
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Kabuki, Cover
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Kevin Maguire
Justice League International
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

SPECIAL GUESTS

Jeremy Adams
The Flash, Green Lantern
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Enid Balám (TENTATIVE)
Spider-Gwen: Smash, New Mutants: Lethal Legion, Hawkeye: Kate Bishop
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mark Bodé
Illustrator and Cartoonist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

David M. Booher
All-New Firefly, Canto, Dungeons & Dragons
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Dan Brereton
MARVEL, THE NOCTURNALS, BATMAN: THRILLKILLER
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Afu Chan
Illustrator, Designer
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Joyce Chin
COVER ARTIST
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Joe Corroney
Star Wars, Lucasfilm
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Brianna Garcia
MY LITTLE PONY, DISNEY PRINCESSES
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

John Giang
Illustrator
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Justin Greenwood
Torrent, The Last Siege, Stumptown
Appearing: Sat, Sun

Jody Houser
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Stranger Things
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Collin Kelly
Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman Beyond, Star Trek, Captain America
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Derek Kirk Kim
Same Difference, Tune, Eternal Smile, Good As Lily, Adventure Time
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jim Krueger
Marvels X
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jackson Lanzing
Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman Beyond, Star Trek, Captain America
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Stephanie Lavaud
Illustrator
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jonboy Meyers
Cover Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mel Milton
Cover Artist - Wonder Woman, Batgirl
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Tony Moy
X-Files, Dungeons and Dragons
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Aaron Reynolds
'Effin Birds
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jimmie Robinson
Junk Rabbit
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Don Rosa
LIFE & TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Stephane Roux
Cover Artist, Zatanna, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Joe Rubinstein
Wolverine, Infinity Gauntlet, Justice League
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Arthur Suydam
Marvel Zombies, DCeased
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ben Templesmith
Crashdown, 30 Days of Night, Wormwood
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ramon Villalobos
America, Young Avengers, Nighthawk, WildCATS
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Walden Wong
Immoral X-Men
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Joe Wos
WosToons
Appearing: Fri, Sun

Thomas Yeates
Prince Valiant, Tarzan, Zorro
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

ALSO APPEARING

Don Aguillo
Spawn, Rise, Scorched, DC Pride
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jodie Rae Charity
Illustrator and Animator
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Jeremy Clark
TMNT, Lady Death
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ariel Diaz
Cover Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Chris Ehnot
Lady Death Universe, Zenoscope Cover Artist
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Fang Fang
Lineage, Beauty, Butterfly Tears
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mark Fenton
The Accursed, Planet Comics
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Erin Lefler - Butternut Gouach
Star Wars, Lucasfilm, Netflix, WB
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Bill McKay
Kim the Delusional
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

George Michail
Resilient
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mostafa Moussa
Justice League, TMNT
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Don Nguyen
Pablo the Gorilla
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mog Park
War Angels, Game of Thrones
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Ken Penders
Sonic the Hedgehog, The Lara-Su Chronicles
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Rodney Ramos
ILLUSTRATOR
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Matt Santorelli
Adventures of the Super Sons
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Christie Shinn
Demon person_without_enough_empathy, Personal Monsters
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

Mel Smith
Becoming Frankenstein
Appearing: Fri, Sat, Sun

 

 

 

[ExNihilo]

For anyone who's attended in the past, how difficult is it to get into the discussion panels?  I've never been to a major convention other than D23 Expo.  Do I need to camp out to get into some of these bigger ones?  Or are the rooms plenty large enough that I could reasonably wait 15 minutes and be okay?

[Kevin Boyd]

On 11/22/2023 at 1:52 AM, ExNihilo said:

For anyone who's attended in the past, how difficult is it to get into the discussion panels?  I've never been to a major convention other than D23 Expo.  Do I need to camp out to get into some of these bigger ones?  Or are the rooms plenty large enough that I could reasonably wait 15 minutes and be okay?

No need to camp out, should be fine. The full ones will be anything specially ticketed like Mark Hamill. 

[ExNihilo]

SHOW REPORT

I want to preface by saying SF Fan Expo has been my first "big" comic convention.  I use quotes because it's nowhere near as big as SDCC or NYCC (I imagine).  Pre-pandemic I went to Sac Comic Con which was a smaller day or two show with a very small number of creators and minor celebs.  Other than that, I've been to the Berkeley show a few times, but that's FAR different since it's 100% focused on comic vendors and virtually nothing else.  I'm gonna apologize because I know with traditional show reports people post pics of the vendor aisles and comic walls.  But the truth is, I haven't spent much time on the exhibitor floor.  I passed through and saw maybe 4 dealers, but they happened to be big quality players known domestically and/or locally.  Harley is set up there as are Bronze Age Batcave, Cape & Cowl, and another dealer who had a LARGE selection of backissues (I didn't see the name).  The truth is, I'm reducing my focus on runs and "small" keys and have my eyes set on saving for something big (AF15).  It's going to take a while, especially with my lack of restraint in buying other stuff (which I'll get to below).

To start, I purchased a 3-day pass and my #1 priority was meeting Ashley Eckstein and getting her autograph (though she would only appear Sat/Sun).  So Friday, I hoped to meet Marc Silvestri, Art Adams, check out the comic creators for sketch opportunities, get a lay of the land, and attend a panel or two.  Badges had to be picked up on location and then activated which meant getting in one line to pick up your badge, then getting in another to enter the convention building, all while activating your badge on your phone.  I knew there'd be lines, yet I still wound up arriving later than I hoped (3:50, door opened at 4).  All things considered, the lines moved pretty quickly and I was inside by 4:10.  Now, I've heard stories from SDCC of how creator lines can fill up and convention sketch lists filling up so I had sort of resigned myself to having missed out.  But when I went to the 2nd floor where comic creators are located, I was shocked to find the area devoid of many guests.  Marc Silvestri wasn't taking sketch opportunities, but he had a few pre-con head sketches available.  Art Adams had two people in line.  And the rest of the tables were still settling in.  That was basically the same story throughout the weekend (or at least Fri/Sat to date) every time I passed through to get to panels.

Speaking of navigating, floor 1 was full of exhibitors, comic dealers, and other pop culture shops.  Floor 2 was for comic creators, artist alley, and smaller panel rooms.  Floor 3 was live action/animated/video game celebrities, professional photos, and the main theater for the large panels.  The layout has honestly been fantastic and I love the clear separation across floors for the distinct interests.  Everything is spread out and it doesn't feel congested when walking from one area to the next.  Obviously the aisles of artist alley and the exhibitor floor are narrow, but they're not primary paths to get between key areas.  The comic creators seem to have a lot of space as do the celebrities.  Obviously, bigger celebs are in a larger room to accommodate lines, but otherwise, it all seems fairly tidy.  I heard that before the exhibitors and creators were on the same floor before and that felt cramped, but I guess last year they only used two of three floors, whereas this year, they're using all three floors of Moscone Center.

As for the panels, I must be scarred from my D23 Expo experiences and the difficulty in getting into the more popular panels.  That has not been the case for the biggest panels.  Generally, as long as you show up 20+ minutes early, you're guaranteed a seat.  Mark Hamill Friday night was the big thing and I wound up with a great seat in the middle.  Lord of the Rings reunion was tonight and similarly had no problems with seats.  In fact, the hardest one to get into was the Rebels panel which was held in a smaller room and filled to capacity that they resorted to standing room along the walls and back of the room.  Celeb autograph lines move slowly for the more popular celebs, but that's to be expected when they take the time to actually chat with each person.  I got in line for Ashley Eckstein this morning at 10 and couldn't have been more than 10th in line, but as soon as VIP guests arrived, they were given priority until at a certain point, they started mixing at a 2:1 ratio.  Even then, VIP ticketholders kept coming that it ultimately took me 1h45m to get my turn.  Still, she's a wonderful person to chat with and I just kinda expected a wait so it didn't both me.  Though, if I had to do a similar wait for 4 or 5 celebs, that would very nearly take up your whole day, especially if they go off to do a panel for an hour.

Panels are hit or miss.  The large panels have been entertaining, but the smaller ones only loosely pertained to the description.  The 60 years of X-Men and Avengers panel didn't dive into the history of the franchises and was just a big guest Q&A with Art Adams, Tom Grummett, and Kevin Maguire joking about how they have no idea why they were selected to discuss the subject when they spent almost no time on the respective main titles.  In fact, many of the small panels followed that formula of 15 minutes of moderated discussion followed by 30 minutes of guests approaching a microphone and carrying the direction of the conversation.  It's good because it's more interactive, but sometimes I just want to dive into the actual material described.

Overall though, it's been a fun weekend and I look forward to coming back next year assuming there are creators/celebs whom I'm interested in seeing.  I blew my weekend budget on day 1 getting original art and some prints, and (for better or for worse) will walk away with no comics.  I'll post my haul tomorrow when I collect it.

(In case anyone is wondering about logistics, parking is a breeze since there is a giant parking structure next door.  The only downside is 3 full days of parking cost me more than the actual 3-day badge.  Though, tomorrows Sunday so hopefully I can find free street parking nearby.  There are two mall food courts within two blocks of the convention center so you have a decent number of options for food.  I didn't even bother exploring what food they had on the expo floor.)

 

[ExNihilo]

FOLLOW UP (ART)

Last day of the expo was by far the chillest.  Whereas Fri/Sat had long lines to enter before Expo hours, Sun had no line.  If you wanted to meet a creator or get a celebrity autograph, Sunday was the day to do it because you could arrive when the Expo opened and not have to wait long for your favorite celeb.  The downside was some celebs and creators came in late.  (It's Sunday, I'm sure they want a slow relaxing morning).  But by and large, at least you were assured a good spot in line.

I went back to the exhibitor floor where I found a few more comic sellers.  Overall, it was like 4 big ones, and then 2 or 3 smaller ones.  I hardly bought any comics, but like I said, my budget was really for original art and got the following pieces from Marc Silvestri, Art Adams, and Joyce Chin.

I also bought a signed print of Marc Silvestri's Ghost Rider because it's a great rendition of ole flamehead.  Last were prints from David Mack, with the Destiny print signed by Neil Gaiman.  If I'm not mistaken, he doesn't sign all that often (though, he did have a recent CGC in-house signing).  Beyond the fact that David's watercolors are gorgeous, I just love the quotes for each of the respective characters.

[ExNihilo]

PANELS

LotR Hobbit Reunion with Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, and Sean Astin.  It being SF, they were asked to come on like a 90s sitcom and were given themed wardrobe (hence why Sean is in the gold jacket)

The many voices of Alan Tudyk

Hamill basically conducted a fire side chat, even bringing one of his dogs out.  Hamill got on late because he was busy signing autographs, and then went a half hour over the scheduled time, but it's not like anyone's gonna be upset getting more Hamill.  The Expo closed at 9 that day, he finished at 10.

Waited 1h45m to talk to Ashley, and a few people ahead of me was this couple who were expecting.  They had an envelope from the doctor and asked Ashley to be the one to reveal the gender.  They had already decided that they were naming their kids after Star Wars characters so a boy would be Caleb (or Kanan) and a girl would be Ashla.  Needless to say, Ashley was more than happy to be the master of ceremonies and the crowd cheered when it was announced they would be expecting a baby Caleb.

Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, and Emily Swallow from The Mandalorian.

The Rebels panel ended when Stormtroopers entered to take the panelists (Taylor Grey, Vanessa Marshall, and Ashley Eckstein) away for questioning.

William Shatner

Ewan McGregor

Billy Boyd

CLOSING

A great Expo and hopefully something they continue to build and develop.  The size of everything feels just right.  It's not so large that it's difficult to see and do everything, but it's also not a small local one day convention with only a handful of D-list celebs you might see.  I didn't get the opinions of any of the retailers so I don't know how the comic vendors did in terms of profitability, and whether or not they would return next year.  I think if you're looking for books, you're better off with the comic focused local cons like the Berkeley Comic Show.  But if you're looking to meet creators and celebrities, I got the sense that this was a good show for that.  (Again, I don't have a point of reference having never gone to any big shows like SDCC), but David Mack, Joyce Chin, and Art Adams sounded like they enjoyed the extra real estate of the creator tables as opposed to being right on top of each other.  They noted that the aisles were far less manic and that in general it was a better experience meeting fans in a more relaxed setting.  The biggest downside for the Expo sounds like its positioning on the calendar as it falls on Thanksgiving weekend which makes it difficult to attract talent since people want to stay at home with family.  I do think moving the date would create more interest from talent and attendees alike.

[Kevin Boyd]

Great review, for complicated reasons the facility is only available to us on the Thanksgiving weekend so we are working to grow the Expo then as best as possible and we saw a pretty spectacular jump in attendance between 2022 and 2023. But yes, this specific weekend makes it a little harder for talent and vendors but I’ve already got some great creators lined up for 2024. I really liked the layout for the creator guests this year as well, with great natural light and lots of room in front of the tables. 

[sckao]

Nice write-up. 

[ExNihilo]

On 11/27/2023 at 3:44 AM, Kevin Boyd said:

Great review, for complicated reasons the facility is only available to us on the Thanksgiving weekend so we are working to grow the Expo then as best as possible and we saw a pretty spectacular jump in attendance between 2022 and 2023. But yes, this specific weekend makes it a little harder for talent and vendors but I’ve already got some great creators lined up for 2024. I really liked the layout for the creator guests this year as well, with great natural light and lots of room in front of the tables. 

That's a great point about the natural lighting.  It's so subtle that it didn't even occur to me, but you're absolutely right.  The high ceilings between each level, and the windows that stretched all the way from the first floor to the roof brought in a lot of light which added to the sense of spaciousness.

I heard that in 2022, the Expo only utilized floors 1 and 2.  I'm not sure if that's related to budget constraints as I'm sure the event agreement was based on space used and not like the Expo was given the whole building for the weekend.  I'm also aware that a car show was going on at the same time in 2022, but that the car show was cancelled for 2023.  But whatever the case, by all accounts, everyone seemed to agree that 3 floors was better than 2, so hopefully that's the standard moving forward.

My one suggestion (and I don't know if this is something you have a say in), is that at the end of the night, the UP escalators should be reversed so that all escalators go DOWN.  When I exited the Hamill panel, all guests were forced to use the stairs, elevators, or the standard DOWN escalators in operation, all while a pair of escalators uselessly went up when no guests were going in that direction.  As it is, escalators serve as a bottle neck since you go from wide open floor to a narrow set of moving stairs, so distributing foot traffic would make exiting easier.  I'm guessing as a matter of safety, one escalator should be going UP, but that still means 3 of the 4 can be set to bring guests back down to the ground floor.

[CCEC]

I was there Saturday.  The A-list celebrities combined with the moderate crowds made it a nice experience.  It was easy to get into most of the panels.  The exhibit hall was not overcrowded, talking to the vendors was more relaxed.  As mentioned before, there were just a few comic book dealers, not an overwhelming number.  I was impressed by the number of cosplayers, about 50% were in costume.  Pretty high compared to other cons I’ve been to.  

I agree about the attendance numbers, but I also think people are reluctant to go to SF.  We were also reluctant, but our relatives assured us it wasn’t as bad as people say.  It was actually pretty normal/safe going from BART to Moscone.  

[Kevin Boyd]

On 11/27/2023 at 10:52 PM, ExNihilo said:

That's a great point about the natural lighting.  It's so subtle that it didn't even occur to me, but you're absolutely right.  The high ceilings between each level, and the windows that stretched all the way from the first floor to the roof brought in a lot of light which added to the sense of spaciousness.

I heard that in 2022, the Expo only utilized floors 1 and 2.  I'm not sure if that's related to budget constraints as I'm sure the event agreement was based on space used and not like the Expo was given the whole building for the weekend.  I'm also aware that a car show was going on at the same time in 2022, but that the car show was cancelled for 2023.  But whatever the case, by all accounts, everyone seemed to agree that 3 floors was better than 2, so hopefully that's the standard moving forward.

My one suggestion (and I don't know if this is something you have a say in), is that at the end of the night, the UP escalators should be reversed so that all escalators go DOWN.  When I exited the Hamill panel, all guests were forced to use the stairs, elevators, or the standard DOWN escalators in operation, all while a pair of escalators uselessly went up when no guests were going in that direction.  As it is, escalators serve as a bottle neck since you go from wide open floor to a narrow set of moving stairs, so distributing foot traffic would make exiting easier.  I'm guessing as a matter of safety, one escalator should be going UP, but that still means 3 of the 4 can be set to bring guests back down to the ground floor.

All three floors were used in 2022. Floor 1 was Exhibitors, Artist Alley and Pros, Floor 2 was community and food court + programming, Floor 3 was celebrity autographs. t

Good points about the escalators, I will point that out to the operations team.