Hello fellow Geeks and Oncers! All good things must come to an end. The series finale for Once Upon A Time is Friday, May 18th. Once Upon A Time is one of my favorite shows! Honestly, I’m sad to see the show go, but the show hasn’t been the same since many main characters left at the beginning of season 7. In any event, I’ve been a really bad fan, and haven’t watched majority of the 7th season (no spoilers in the comments please). In honor of Once Upon A Time ending, I thought I’d share with you guys my experience at Once Upon A Time Convention 2017.

Once Upon A Time…

Last year, I was watching Once Upon A Time with my mom when we saw a commercial about a Once Upon A Time Convention. The commercial instantly caught our attention and we both screamed like little girls when we heard that the convention was coming to our hometown, Chicago. Once we calmed down, I grabbed my laptop and we purchased tickets.

There were a bunch of different ticket packages you could get that included photo-ops and cast autographs. Since this was our first year going, we decided to purchase Preferred Admission tickets, which were one of the cheapest options. We learned that this convention mostly consisted of Q&A panels with the OUAT cast. Our Preferred Admissions tickets allowed us to choose and reserve our seats for the entire day’s events. The convention was Friday to Sunday, but we chose to go on Saturday. My mom and I were excited that Lana Parrilla (Regina), Colin O’Donoghue (Hook), and Emilie de Ravin (Belle), and more of our favorites were going to be attending the panels that day.

Emmas, Hooks, Regina’s…Oh My!

Once Upon A Time Convention 2017 was held on Saturday, June 10, 2017 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois and was organized by Creation Entertainment. My mom and I arrived at the hotel after 10am, where we saw OUAT fans galore dressed up from head to toe in cosplay and graphic tees. It was so cool to be around people who loved Once Upon A Time as much as we did. I decided to sport a black leather jacket, black leather boots, and an “I’m Hooked!” tank top in honor of my favorite pirate, Captain Killian “Hook” Jones.

Opening Cermonies with Lee Arenberg

The Grand Ballroom, where majority of the day’s events would take place, was open to the public at 10:35am. At 10:50am, the event kicked off with a surprise vocal performance by OUAT’s Prince Eric, Gil McKinney. That guy can sing! After Gil’s performance, we were welcomed by Lee Arenberg (Grumpy), who was going to MC throughout the day.

Panel #1: Lee Arenberg, Michael Coleman, and Gil McKinney

The first Q & A panel was Lee Arenberg, Michael Coleman (Happy), and Gil McKinney. All three of them are very delightful human beings. It was great getting to learn more about each of them. Lee had a bunch of questions about his role in Pirates of the Caribbean. In case you don’t know, he played the pirate named Pintel, who says that famous line, “Hello, Poppet,” when he discovers Elizabeth Swan in the closet during the pirate attack. That was super sweet to hear him talk about his experiences in those films. Throughout the panel, the standing joke was about how little screen time Gil had on OUAT. He only appeared in four episodes, which is such a shame because he’s so charismatic!

Panel #2: Keegan Connor Tracy, and Karen David

The second panel was with Keegan Connor Tracy (Blue Fairy), and Karen David (Princess Jasmine). Both of these ladies were super lovely inside and out. Not to mention, Karen’s British accent was music to my ears! I have to say OUAT has so many cast members with some great accents. While listening to their panel, I felt like I was spending time with girlfriends. They were super sweet to the fans who asked them questions. My favorite story from Karen was when she visited one of the Disney Parks and met Princess Jasmine. She tried to swap stories and secrets with her, but of course, Princess Jasmine isn’t allowed to break character. Keegan is very spunky and I enjoyed learning about her past roles on Bates Motel and Disney’s The Descendants, which were vastly different I must say!

OUAT Costume Contest = Lunch Time

During the panels, people were called by row to go to their photo-ops. My mom and I decided to forgo photo-ops. Although I would have loved to meet the OUAT cast, I’m glad I was able to watch all of the panels in their entirety. After the first two panels, which were both about 45 minutes each, there was a OUAT costume contest. Since my mom and I didn’t want to miss any panels, we took that hour break (during the costume contest) to grab some lunch.

Getting Our Swag On: Part 1

When my mom and I came back from lunch, we still had some time before the next panel, so we thought it would be a good time to check out the merchandise room. There were vendors that sold both official Once Upon A Time merch as well as inspired items. The room was pretty small and had just a handful of vendors, but my mom and I found some things we wanted. At the official OUAT table, we both bought some swag. I bought the tour t-shirt, a Emma and Hook t-shirt, and a beanie with the OUAT logo. Once we purchased our swag, it was time to return to the Grand Ballroom. We figured we could come back later to check out the other vendors.

Panel #3: Emilie De Ravin

The third panel we attended was the lovely Emilie De Ravin, who plays Belle. I was really looking forward to her panel because I’ve seen her in multiple movies and TV shows prior to Once Upon A Time. The first TV show I saw her in was Lost (she played Claire), which has the same writers as OUAT. Emilie was such a sweetheart and I really enjoyed listening to her Australian accent (What can I say? I love a good accent!). She was such a doll to the fans. My favorite part was when she talked about her experiences playing Claire and Belle, and her off-screen non-romantic relationship with Robert Carlyle (Rumple/Mr. Gold). It was fun seeing her as a blonde again too!

Getting Our Swag On: Part 2

At 2:25pm, there was a 15 minute intermission to reset the stage. During this time, my mom and I returned to the merch room. First, I bought a one of a kind Alice in Wonderland necklace from a bookish jewelry company. Second, I purchased official OUAT playing cards because each number had a different character on it. Very well done!

Going Once, Going Twice…Sold!

We arrived a few minutes late to the next event, which was a No-Minimum Bid Auction. The items in the auction were mostly Once Upon A Time Convention banners signed by the cast, various signed celebrity photos, and OUAT merch. I didn’t bid on anything, but it was fun seeing how high all of the items would go for. The convention banners went for I believe $300 and $500! That’s crazy expensive, but definitely a cool item to have in your possession.

Panel #4: Colin O’Donoghue

The fourth panel was my most anticipated – Colin O’Donoghue, who plays Captain Killian “Hook” Jones. He’s one of my favorite characters, has a great Irish accent (yes, again!), and is super attractive. Let’s just say Captain Hook didn’t look like Colin when I was growing up! When Colin came out on stage, all of the girls went wild. During the Q & A, I could tell that all of the fans were starstruck and super nervous to ask him their question, which I totally sympathize with. Colin could tell they were nervous too, so he decided to give a couple of hugs, even though he wasn’t supposed to. However, some girls were super bold and told him how much they loved him. I remember one girl opened her question with, “Hey, handsome!” Colin’s reaction was priceless. He looked behind him pretending that he didn’t know who she was talking to. Haha! Colin’s Q&A was a blast! He was such a sweetheart to the fans and super cheeky. My favorite part of Colin’s Q&A was when a fan requested him to sing, “Revenge Is Gonna Be Mine” from the Once Upon A Time musical episode. It was awesome – Colin killed it!

Panel #5: Lana Parrilla

The last panel of the day was Lana Parrilla, who plays Regina (The Evil Queen). I just loved her – she’s one cool chick! She’s silly, edgy, and overall very nice! Like the other OUAT cast members, she interacted great with the fans. I loved hearing Lana talk about her character, and her experiences as an actress through the years. She had this adorable proud mom moment when she talked about her on-screen son, Jared Gilmore (Henry). I could tell they have a wonderful bond. My favorite part of the Lana’s Q&A was when she did her Evil Queen laugh for us! I was fangirling hard!

…And They Lived Happily Ever After

After Lana, the convention was wrapped up with farewells from Lee Arenberg and a song from Beverley Elliott (Granny). My mom and I had such a fun time at Once Upon A Time Convention 2017. We felt we got to know the actors a lot better. They are an amazing group of people, and I’m glad I got to see them at a convention before the end of the series. This year, Creation Entertainment has put together a Once Upon A Time Official Convention Farewell Tour. The tour came to Chicago in April, but my mom and I decided not to go this time around. Especially, since we haven’t watched season 7 in its entirety. The tour still has a few more stops to go:

• Orlando, FL – June 1-3, 2018 (Hilton Lake Buena Vista)
• Whippany NJ – October 26-28, 2018 (Marriott Hanover)
• Burbank, CA – November 9-11, 2018 (Mariott Burbank)

If you are interested in attending the OUAT Farewell Tour, you can visit their website for more information. Get your tickets now…before they are gone!

That concludes my story time about Once Upon A Time Convention 2017. I hope that it got you pumped for the series finale. Have you been to a OUAT convention in the past or are you planning on going to the farewell tour? What OUAT character is your favorite? Mine is a tie between Hook and Regina!

I can’t believe Once Upon A Time is finally having it’s Happily Ever After ending. I’m really going to miss it. Luckily, I have over half of season 7 left to watch. Don’t forget to watch the series finale on May 18th, 8/7c on ABC.

Oncers forever and always! See you in my next blog post!

♥ Candis

DISCLAIMER: This post is not sponsored. All thoughts and opinions are my own.