This summer holidays, my Bro and I went on the trip of a lifetime! 2 weeks of amazing was on the Grand Bro Trip in Orlando, Florida.
Day 6, 31/7 (Sunday)
Today was Day 3 of LeakyCon - and Harry Potter's birthday!
Bro was feeling better today so we headed in together in time for the first panel - Potter Online. It was the Goblet of Wine podcast hosts (Charlie and Hannah), Cherry Wallis and Chanel Williams, and they talked about the impact of being online. It was interesting because I learned that Warner Brothers is upset with Chanel about her McGonagall impression because of copyright reasons, although it's clearly satire. They also talked about how it was hard because of romance and relationships - there is a lot that any potential friend or partner can learn about these girls before they've even met by listening to podcasts and watching the Youtube videos and that's super one sided and puts them at a disadvantage, which seems fair. Cherry in particular did feature a previous relationship in her videos and now regrets it because people ask intrusive questions, and it just makes everything more complicated and 'ruins' the content. They discussed their chosen platforms (youtube, podcasts, tiktok) and the advantages of podcasting for women. Charlie and Hannah explained that it's better because they actually listen to what people are saying instead of judging by looks.
After that we went to the Hufflepuff Pride and talked some more about how great it is to be a Hufflepuff! We talked about how Hufflepuff is about inclusion - aggressive inclusion to make sure that EVERYONE IS INCLUDED. We all agreed that Newt Scamander is amazing for the representation of Hufflepuffs, and representation in general (as he is portrayed by Eddie Redmayne as being ASD), and recapped how many of us have Slytherin relationships and how that is a win win for both parties.
After lunch (I forgot to write what we had but it was in the convention centre still - we didn't want to miss a second of the talks!) we headed to the Flamel Room to a talk about corruption within the Ministry of Magic. It was run by some people who were in charge of an organisation supporting marginalised people and exposing people in power who abuse it, and made some good links to real situations. They talked about how the Ministry is so concerned about protecting the Official Secrecy Act that they let other bad behaviours slide. Also how corrupt Cornelius Fudge was - not intentionally bad but lazy and that that was causing bad things to happen. He was to blame for gaining power, and it took Voldemort coming back for him to finally realise that he was wrong and to step down. It was interesting but very heavy.
We were planning on going next to a talk on leadership, but after such a heavy topic we decided we needed something lighter. There was a live podcast going on then at the same time and so we headed over there. We had been exposed to the hosts on another panel and thought they were a bit funny. It was Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them (Live), a podcast where the hosts Sequoia Simone and Kim take turns to read each other fanfiction and laugh about it. They did a story each and before each get the name, genre, and when it was written in relation to the rest of the books so that everyone can guess. You get points for every correct guess, but they find the craziest stuff! One story was an AU fic in which a girl was at a rock concert (Good Charlotte, obviously) and got called up on stage with a boy - who turned out to be Draco Malfoy. It seems hilariously promising but also ended on a cliffhanger and was only one chapter! We both thought it was hilarious and are now subscribed and thankfully there are almost 150 episodes for us to catch up on. I have been addicted and listen to an episode a day on average, it's so funny I laugh out loud every time. And now Bro and I quote it to each other on the regular.
The last thing on the schedule was PotterCast Live. It's a tradition to close out the Con now with the live recording and I always wanted to be around for one! It was full of fun and games hosted by Melissa with the Goblet of Wine girls again, Chris Rankin and Mike of the Potterless podcast. It was really fun, they also included audience members, giving out tees and having a ribbon contest (I definitely didn't win!) The Con as a whole was absolutely amazing. I had imagined it but not even close. There were fun and silly things, serious things, deep things and personal things to choose from. We struggled a couple of times over what to choose for some sessions but that's the best problem to have! I would absolutely love to go again - there is one in Denver in October but I am hoping they will announce 2023 in a nice location soon so that I can see if I can make it work. If they keep it around Harry's birthday then it will be in my summer holidays so I should always be able to make it.
We also bought some cool merch over the days, going around to the stands multiple times to make sure we got all the coolest stuff we wanted. I got the LeakyCon tee, some really beautiful common room prints (Hufflepuff for me, Ravenclaw for some friends, and Slytherin for the Husband), a couple of pins from a few different stands. I was sorely tempted by the section that was tattoo artists doing live HP tattoos all weekend long, but the Bro (probably sensibly) talked me out of it. Also, I do already have a badger tattooed on me!
After the con ended, we (very sadly), headed back to the hotel in another Uber. We had checked out that morning, so gathered our bags and headed over to hotel #2 and the second part of our trip - DISNEY!
We were staying in the Polynesian hotel so checked in, getting our 1st Visit badges and leis to wear. The lady who checked us in was super nice and gave us a voucher for free dole whip (special ice cream) to use while we were staying there! We headed to the room, but quickly learned that they had given us one double bed rather than 2 singles. We spoke to guest services and they lined us up for a change to a different room the next day (the Bro was a super gentleman and took the couch on this first night, thanks for that!). We had dinner booked at the Grand Floridian cafe, but Bro wasn't hungry and needed the sleep so he went to bed and I went on my own on the resort monorail to the Grand Floridian. I got a chance to explore, bumped into a cast member who gave me good advice to keep an eye for the characters on the floor, and it was gorgeous! I even saw the castle for the first time from afar!!!
Dinner was fab - I took my phone to read my fanfiction (one recommended by the panel at LeakyCon I had started) while I ate and I got great service due to my badge and being on my own. Bob, my server, checked in on me a bunch. I had a delicious cocktail with a shiny ice cube (it lit up!) and some really lovely miso salmon which was very appreciated after the convention centre food! I even had another server stop by on her way past to wish me a happy first visit and to have a little chat about how it was going so far. I asked the Cast Members about what rides and snacks they recommended to start some ideas going. I took the resort monorail the long way round to get back which was very cool - going past the Magic Kingdom entrance, the Transportation and Ticketing Centre (not so exciting though) and through the Contemporary (which was our first pick to stay in but was booked out by the time we got to it). When I got back I wanted to chat to someone so I called Mum and Dad for a little bit while I wandered around the resort and then I snuck back into the room to go to bed! I even managed to not disturb my Bro.
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