My 90s Con experience! Seeing as a lot of book bloggers I follow/follow me are millennials, I’m sure y’all will appreciate this post. If you haven’t heard of 90s Con, don’t worry, this was only its second year. Basically, it’s a Comic Con but 90s themed. The first one ran last year (2022) in mid-March in Hartford, CT, and it seems like it’s going to be an annual thing.

So, this past Sunday (Marth 19th) I went with a friend for the last day of 90s Con, and we had a blast! It’s a little overwhelming, since there’s so many people/vendors to see, panels, and other things to do. They hold cosplay costume contests (we missed that), have a retro video game area, professional photo ops, tables to meet celebs, and more. Plus, they have a ton of cool, official merch!

The only thing is that we spent a lot of time waiting in lines, which I guess is to be expected at any sort of convention like this, so I wasn’t very surprised. Thankfully, none of the lines were excruciatingly long waits, so I have to applaud the people who run 90s Con for that. My friend and I also had a rough game plan to go by, but we knew it probably wouldn’t have been followed since it was our first time going to this. Next year we’ll be a little more prepared (and might get the weekend passes so we can go Saturday and Sunday).

Right off the bat (after an hour and a half wait for the doors to the event area to open), I went straight for the booths of Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC. I knew for sure I’d be getting Joey’s autograph to surprise my mom with, since he’s her favorite of the group, and I didn’t decide to get Chris’s until I was paying. I got selfies with both of them, and made sure to tell them both that the NSYNC shirt I was wearing was the one I got when I saw them in concert 21 years ago (yes, it still fits!).

They were both so sweet and funny. We got to see them later, with Jeff Timmons, for the Boy Band panel, and that was fun as well. Eleven year-old me probably never thought I’d end up meeting two members of *NSYNC one day.

The only thing we missed out on seeing was the Sabrina the Teenage Witch panel, due to Joey Fatone taking forever to get to his table for photos and autographs. I would have gone afterward, but he was going to be busy in the afternoon, so I wasn’t sure if I’d get a chance to meet him if I didn’t go first thing. After all, I had a card from my mom to give him because she wanted to give him her autograph, haha!

However, we did get to do a professional photo-op with Melissa Joan Hart. Those are pretty cool since you get a digital download and a printout of the photo right after taking it, but the only thing is that you don’t get a chance to talk to the celebrities because they move the line so quickly. It’s get in, take your picture, and get out for the next people in line. However, for those 30 seconds with Melissa, she was a sweetheart saying hi to us and giving us a little direction for the photo.

Prior to our photo-op time, my friend and I were walking around for a bit shopping and taking photos at the photo sites before we decided to see what other celebs were at their tables. Some of the Sabrina cast were at their tables, and I noticed the line for Beth Broderick (Aunt Zelda) wasn’t too bad, so I popped in to get a selfie with her. She was very sweet when I talked to her for a minute before getting the picture. I would have liked to have gotten one with Caroline Rhea as well, but we didn’t have time, which is completely okay.

One other thing we didn’t do, because we didn’t know they had it, was the video gaming center. They had every retro system that you can remember from the 90s! And multiples of each so more people could get a chance to play them. I geeked out a little over seeing Pokémon Stadium loaded and ready on one of the Nintendo64 systems, but I didn’t stop to play it. I might take time next year to play a game or two. We also got our pictures taken in some cool photo spots, including a payphone, an old news stand, a TV, the Jurassic Park Jeep, and The Mystery Machine. I wish my gramma was still alive because she and I always watched Scooby Doo, and it would’ve been great to show her these photos.

Overall, the day was so fun and a great experience! I hope we do get to do the entire weekend next year, but even if we do one day, I’ll be happy with it. I already can’t wait to see who the guests will be for next year. Not to mention, after going once, we’ll be a little more prepared for it. Also, if anyone is interested in this event, you can check out the company’s website, That’s4Entertainment, and they’re having another 90’s Con in Tampa, Florida this September! I highly recommend going if you can!

Socials/Links
Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Etsy | Bookshop