Walker Stalker Con made it’s first West Coast appearance in San Francisco this last weekend. The convention sold out of general admission tickets early on so we were expecting it to be a bit of a madhouse. Rather than driving in each day we grabbed a hotel near enough to walk and we were ready for a weekend full of zombie and Time Lord goodness. The convention was held at the Fort Mason facility. Being that the location sits on almost 2 square miles of land we were at a bit of a loss as to exactly where to go. There wasn’t much signage up so we just followed the flow of traffic until we got to the middle of the site. Luckily where there was signage lacking, the excellent volunteer staff was both knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. The whole weekend we continued to be impressed with the staff. If we had a question all we needed to do is find a green shirt and if they didn’t know the answer they found out.
Walker Stalker treated the media and press very well, allowing us outstanding access to both the guests and all the events. As you can see from the picture gallery we talked to just about everyone.
There were multiple chances for fans to get to meet and interact with their favorite characters from the shows. The con hosted a panel with Karen Gillian, Matt Smith and Arthur Davill named Night of the Doctor, where fans could listen to them talk about their time on the show and even a acapella version of Bohemian Rhapsody. They were incredibly fun and personable. If you were a fan of The Walking Dead, good music and Emily Kinney on Saturday night you could attend a special concert and see Emily perform. She had a gorgeous voice and was just darned adorable. There was so many chances to get the chance to listen to actors talk about being in the show. I was excited to be in a panel with David Morrissey where he brought up Viva Blackpool a show he starred in on the BBC. There was even a stage set up outside where different actors would come and be interviewed, the best part about this was it wasn’t overly crowded in that single space so you could actually hear them speak and see them.
Every single one of the guests were incredibly nice. I loved that they enjoyed hanging out with their fans and seemed generally involved in being a guest. They interacted and even gave out free hugs. It was a very welcoming environment. I haven’t really attended many star driven shows and wasn’t sure what to expect but I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
There were a lot of cool vendors. Lots of zombie, and The Walking Dead merchandise to fulfill your ghoulish needs. There were also jewelry vendors, one chick made super cool earrings and even had a pair of David Meowie (Bowie) earrings. I loved the zombie purses and all the special effects makeups you could purchase from different vendors.
There were a lot of cosplayers walking around the convention, most of them dressed in Walking Dead and in Dr Who costumes. We even saw 10nant Cosplay and his epic Tardis. He had an impressive line every time we walked by him. It was awesome seeing Reel Guise, The Walking Dead cosplay group. There are so many of them that look just like the character they are portraying. Check out both 10nant Cosplay and Reel Guise, they are worth a look.
Overall I am definitely happy with my experience and I am super glad I made the trip to go to the con. It was a blast and I look forward to the next one that comes out near me.
Check out our gallery below and click on the photos to see them full size.
Photos in this gallery taken by Danny DeLuna and Douggary Grant