Get Soaked with Colossalcon East 2021

Whew! What a rollercoaster ride this last year and a half have been. Am I right? Well now that conventions are coming back, we’re starting off with Colossalcon East! Located at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania. Many convention-goers and cosplayers come here to relax, party, and show off their best swimwear cosplays! After last year, we think this was well needed. Well let’s get into why this Colossalcon East was a blast:

Convention & Hotel & Staff

The convention center is huge with plenty of space to walk around, these hallways were always packed throughout the day! Morning to night there was always a crowd, with plenty to do at the convention from shopping early in the dealer’s room to ending your night at a concert or panel or room party. The scenery was great for everyone indoors and outdoors, whether you are just getting some casual pictures for the gram or doing a whole photoshoot for your cosplay, there was always perfect scenery everywhere. Colossalcon East is notorious not only as a family-friendly convention but also as a party convention. If you were lucky enough, you might have just wound up in the one of many room parties that get hosted here. The hotel is super helpful 24/7, although if you're attending colossal you’ll probably be in your hotel room for no more than 4 hours and that’s just for sleep. There are many places to eat here such as the buffet, B-Lux, Sortinos, and more. Food and service were great, is it a little expensive? yes yes it is but it’s worth it if you're looking for something filling especially an experience and that’s just what we got served. The convention staff were helpful, with Con Ops right at the entrance of concessions, it was easy to find help. The staff was super friendly and helpful with any and all questions that we had regarding the con. Also just an FYI if you plan on getting your tickets Thursday please make sure you leave your room hours early before early pickup to get your tickets because that line was a 2 hour wait.

Dealers Room & Artist Alley & Arcade

The dealer’s room is where all the con-goers are eager to go first thing in the morning. Ok, do we wish the dealer's room had a better selection yes yes we do but we understand that conventions are making a come back and things are not going to be the same for quite some time. We had some pretty good finds at the dealers room and although we wish we saw more dealers with their own unique merch we were still pretty satisfied with our haul. Artist alley is going to be the same, it felt pretty small and we wish there were more artist there however things are still returning to normal so it’s going to take some time. It is nice to see dealers and artist come out to conventions and get their stuff sold, with conventions going on haitus for some time it definitely took a toll on them. Hoping to see more variety with the next one!

As for the arcade, there were two arcades; the con arcade and the hotel arcade. The convention arcade was great with convention classic games such as DDR, Taiko no Tatsujin, and your usual fighting games. There is always a line for Taiko no Tatsujin, every con arcade has this game and if you haven’t played it then your missing out. The hotel arcade was massive and there was a wide variety of games to play there. It is also one of the photo shoot hot spots at colossal and you can definitely get some amazing captivating photos there. The arcade did have some amazing finds, one of them being a fully immersive VR game. The set up was wicked and definitely an experience that you have to try if you go. Did we mention that there is also an escape room? There are two one of which is for up to 4 players and the other which is for up to 8 players. Talk about another experience that was unforgettable at the arcade. These two games are a must to make your experience exciting and fun but be quick to book a spot as slots fill up super fast with these games.

Panels & Concerts & Events

Time for the fun parts! There was a wide variety of panels happening every hour at colossal. I am a huge fan of the 18+ plus panels but that’s just my cup of tea. We had panels that range from “how to host cosplay photoshoots” to “our lord & savior; worm on a string” and we have to say we really dig the creativity people come up with. There were some very insightful panels at the convention as well whether you wanted some insight on anime, cosplay, photoshoots, lgbtq+, or music, there was a panel for everything. A majority of panels we’re full of creative of titles and we’re pretty full most of the time, they were very entertaining and I can’t wait to see what new panels are around next year. More wilder than the last I hope.

The concerts and events we’re amazing! I don’t know where to start, well that’s lie because I’m starting off with Kazha and Super thrash Bro’s concerts. What an experience this was and I truly hope to see them at other cons, we even picked up some merch at their booth. Super Thrash Bros covered video game soundtracks from, as you guessed, Super Smash Bros along with other Nintendo franchises as well as MegaMan. Kazha was more unique with their rock, but they also covered Enter Sandman by Metallica and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. These two bands had the crowd go wild, they’re extremely talented and deserve a lot of praise for their performance. Definitely two concerts you should have caught at the con!

One event that we had some questioning about was the formal ball. Their was some confusion with this event as we we’re hearing it was cancelled but then bought back on. Most formal balls and masquerades usually require strict dress code but this one didn’t, pretty much anyone was able to get in which definitely left a lot of people with mixed feelings. I believe previous years there was stricter dress code for the ball but maybe this year they gave some leeway. You wouldn’t expect a formal ball at a con where a majority of it’s cosplayers are in swimsuits but it’s nice to give a change of scenery for those that might want an elegant evening.

The events at the convention we’re super fun and great overall. Starting your Friday with a variety of events to go to from concerts to starting your Saturday morning hearing Geoffrey the Giraffe give his input on cartoons. Yeah, weird right? You thought you’d see him in Toys’r’Us but here he is at conventions now. The cosplay contest and showcase was amazing as usual. It’s always incredible seeing the craftmanship people put into their cosplays whether you bought it or you made it, cosplay is all about having fun and sometimes a little friendly competition makes for some good fun. Each and everyone was amazing and unique in their own way and we certainly can’t wait to see what everyone brings next year.

Indoor Water Park

The water park is always the highlight. This is not only photoshoot and party central at the con but it is the busiest part of the convention. The water park is known for having massive lines to get in especially during the after hours. In order to get in during the after hour event, you have to have a wrist band, this part of the event is from 11pm-2am Fri-Sat. The grotto’s get filled up quickly because this is the hot tub & alcohol part of the water park. Granted, it’s great to relax in the hot tub after a long day of photoshoots, shopping, and just walking around in general. It also is a great spot for photoshoots so if your looking to get some photos in the water, the grotto has pretty nice scenery for it that’s if you can get in before it gets crowded.

Wrapping Up!

In conclusion, Colossalcon east is definitely a convention you want to go and should go to. If you plan on going, better book your hotel as soon as they drop because they sell out fast! We can’t wait to go back as we all had a blast at this convention. Being able to socialize again with people felt like something we haven’t done in ages. Hopefully, with cons making a come back, we hope to see more vendors at this event. Their is always something to do here, you can never find yourself bored because there is so much going on that it’s hard to decide what you want to do first to begin with. Thank you Colossalcon East, we can’t wait to be back!