Galaxy ConReviews of galaxycon.com

I am a new person going to cons and this was way to disorganized. Way to little staff, to many tickets sold, to little info given out to the volunteers, they couldn't help anyone! Got here at 12:30, took 30 minutes to find parking, then it took from 1pm- 2:45 to even get in the building? and they had us hopping from one line to another. first was for the main building, then they said if you had Saturday only passes to go to the Marriott hotel entrance, then a volunteer said it was only registration for the gaming lounge, and not for redeeming tickets i had already paid online for. Luckily a employee that was near heard it and told everyone near us it was for ticket registration, and they only had one guy doing it, and guess what, HE WAS A VOLUNTEER. They need actual employees who know what's going on instead of cheeping out and just getting people to volunteer for a day pass and 20$. The volunteers can't help if they aren't being communicated with. Got yelled at several times by employees, one from across the street who was also telling us it was only for the gaming lounge and that we needed to move or we wouldn't get in and was being hateful. Eventually me and my family got in, and it was SHOULDER TO SHOULDER almost anywhere you went, we went into the exhibition about 3pm. you could not walk, it was a terrible experience, causing me to have to walk out from how many people were in there to breath. they sold to many tickets. People with wheel chairs or disabilities couldn't even move and some had to leave. the panels I was able to go to with the time left were all jut about messed up in some way with audio, to not being able to hear the speaker etc. only good panel was how to craft a foam knife and he gave a kit to the first 100 people. it was really good when it came to new cosplayers. I also had a email from galaxy con stating I was aloud to enter the cosplay contest and to arrive 45 minutes before show time for pre judging. I showed up at 7:05pm (8:15pm is when the contest started) and saw the contestants already going back. I asked if this was the line to go for pre judging for the cosplay contest and craftmanship etc, and the short brown haired woman yelled at me and my dad despite us being next to her saying you already missed it they already did pre judging, and i asked if there was anyway i could still enter the line due to me having my email, and she yelled back saying no i couldn't get in even with my email saying i was aloud to? after her doing this was my absolute breaking point ever in something and at this point I've never felt any sort of anxiety and discomfort in public and started bawling my eyes out from being yelled at, to more people than 8 thousand people (which is what the greater Richmond center can hold maximum look it up.) being shoulder to shoulder. and not even being able to hear my own voice. they need better management, a better team, and need to thoroughly rethink how they plan cons because this was NOT IT. Never will i be going back to a galaxy con nor will i recommend anyone to ever.

Was my first time at this con. Never again. The line to get in was all over the place. Only one door to access. Getting badges was terrible. I’ve been to other cons before and this one had way too many people. Finding parking spots was horrible. I can tell they sold way too many tickets. I was standing in line to meet celebrity and one of the volunteers became very loud and aggressive because they saw me with my phone out while I was texting. They thought I was going to take a picture. Wi-Fi didn’t worked for vendors. People were lined up at ATM machine because everyone had to switch to cash, and then ATM machines began misbehaving.

I’ve went to this convention for 3 years now, and by far, this year was the worst. The line to get in was confusing and all over the place, and the signs didn’t help. We waited for 2 hours JUST TO GET IN. But once you do get into the building, it’s packed to the point where you can’t move. Not only that, but cellphone service is nonexistent. Even if you have a new phone with a good plan, you can’t call ANYONE. No texts, no calls, your phone may as well become a brick. Not only that, but this messed up the vendor’s experiences as well, because their card readers also suffered as a result! My god, what a mess! Not worth $60 in the slightest.

Two hours to pick up a badge for tickets that cost $65 per pop. Ridiculous that this event only has one opportunity to pick up badges in advance, and it is during a short window on a Thursday night. Never ever again.

Business practices of this con are unattractive. The tickets are extremely expensive and CAN'T be rolled over under any circumstances, so if you can't resell your ticket via THEIR official resell platform (some tickets are not even eligible for resale), tough luck. Either waltz into the building ripe with COVID and infect the entire building, or lose your 140+ dollars. There is nothing special about this con other than the guests, so they rope you into paying these outrageous prices purely with the guests they invite, so if you buy an expensive ticket and your guest cancels and the rest of their lineup doesn't appeal to you, also tough luck. Refusing to roll over tickets during a pandemic is already unacceptable and irresponsible particularly given how wall-to-wall crowded this con is, but to use guests to snag ticket sales and then not agree to a roll over because the rest of your guest lineup sucks is insult to injury. Awful convention practice.

I have just used GalaxyCon's "Mail-In Autograph Service" from the UK and it really couldn't have gone more smoothly or more perfectly! I have been a William Shatner fan since I was a child and realistically was never going to get to a convention to meet him or get his autograph. This is where GalaxyCon came in! I selected the photo I wanted Mr Shatner to sign on their website and paid extra for authentication via JSA (they witness him signing the photo and then certify they have done that). The estimate for arranging this, authentication and signing and shipping internationally to me was around 12 weeks, which is more than reasonable. After just 10 weeks I got an e-mail that my order had shipped and it was in my hands a few days later! The autograph arrived EXTREMELY well packaged with multiple "FRAGILE" stickers. They obviously took a lot of care packaging it! The autographed photo was in PERFECT unbent condition in a laminated pouch opened on one side so I could take it out if I wanted. The JSA sticker was on the back and the certificate of authenticity from JSA confirming they witnessed him signing the photo was in there too. It was packaged between two larger thick cardboard slabs to prevent any bending too! So thanks to GalaxyCon I now have an autographed photo of William Shatner on my wall in absolutely PERFECT condition, certified as authentic by the most well known authentication company JSA, and I really couldn't be happier with it and the entire order process! An absolutely HUGE thank you from me! 5 STARS all the way!

I attended Galaxycon Austin 2023. The line to get in the door was over two hours long in the Texas summer heat. It was nearly 100 degrees, no water was provided nor any shade. I was uncomfortable. For some people, that is a true health hazard. Only one entrance door was open and all guests were funneled through the one door. Then, after you got inside, you had to wait at least another half hour in a different line to get your badge. Crowd control was nonexistent. There was no signage other than what already existed at the convention center so it was very difficult to figure out where to go. So disorganized it was chaos. I missed the one panel I really wanted to see. I was profoundly disappointed with this experience.

Some friends asked me to come with them to the show in Columbus (December 2023). I'd never been, so gave it a try. For a day pass, you basically get nothing but a lanyard; no swag, no shopping bag, no event schedule....nothing. Unless you want to pay between $60. - $150. for autographs of washed-up celebs and athletes, this show does not really offer anything. They had many vendors with neat stuff, but it is all far cheaper online. The only saving grace was that you could play board games and video games for free in the gaming section. It should be called Money-Con.