Friday may have kicked off WonderCon, but Saturday pushed the convention into high gear with many of the weekend’s biggest panels and festivities for “Day 2”. While Friday had been a much more laid-back affair, Saturday saw a few early-risers in line (though nothing near the level of San Diego Comic-Con madness) hoping to score a good spot for the Arena or the exhibit floor.
We headed for the Arena first, the Hall H of the Anaheim Convention Center, and where most of WonderCon’s biggest panels of the weekend could be found. Unlike at SDCC, those who entered the ballroom walked in at a leisurely pace to pick their spots, and quickly filled up the first two sections and part of the third and final section.
The first panel of the day was a two-hour extravaganza from Warner Bros., with presentations for Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Storm, and of course, Godzilla. Director Gareth Edwards was on hand to discuss Godzilla and show a clip that not only showcased one of the monsters, but gave attendees the first total reveal of the title Japanese creature. And let us tell you, it looks awesome.
Holy freaking crap! Godzilla looks amazing. Exclusive #wondercon footage has moved me from 'want to see' to 'have to see'.
— danregal (@danregal) April 19, 2014
Following Warner Bros. was 20th Century Fox, which brought four properties (and even a surprise or two). Up first was How To Train Your Dragon 2, which showed attendees the first five minutes of the film, and then offered something even better — for a select few attendees who followed online clues, WonderCon attendees could win VIP passes to a screening of the first hour of the film at Downtown Disney, with an introduction from director Dave DeBlois and actor Jay Baruchel.
Every 15min we’ll give you the location of our Viking team @ #WonderCon for VIP passes to see the 1ST HOUR of #HTTYD2 pic.twitter.com/tG4fYaz4iC
— DreamWorks Animation (@Dreamworks) April 19, 2014
Next up for Fox was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which brought the most Hollywood star-power of the day with Keri Russell, Andy Serkis, and Gary Oldman (and Russell let slip that James Franco will be returning as well). The Maze Runner followed, along with a surprise trailer and full scene from the upcoming Colin Firth film Secret Service, based on the comic by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. Finally, the biggest panel of the day came on — X-Men: Days of Future Past. Fans were treated to a clip from the film starring several of the original mutant X-Men (including Shawn Ashmore’s Iceman and Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde), followed by a quick discussion on the film from producer Simon Kinberg.
However, even the most anticipated panel of the day couldn’t completely fill the Arena, and it was possible to walk in just minutes before X-Men. In fact, the only panel we heard about completely filling up was Adventure Time, which was so popular that the line for it stretched outside, and the Batman 75th Panel was supposedly filled with Adventure Time fans waiting for their panel. Adventure Time truly is WonderCon’s version of Game of Thrones.
After a long day of panels, we headed out to the food trucks to try some of the offerings. The ten different trucks filling the plaza have consistently had a long line as attendees flocked to them for something more appetizing. We tried Burger Monster, Garlic Scapes, and Chunk-n-Chip — and all three were well worth the 30+ minute wait. We also had the added benefit of some free entertainment from this guy:
https://twitter.com/kellykauffman/status/457746231456825344
Finally, we capped off our day with a screening of the season two premiere of Orphan Black, which finished just a few minutes before the west coast airing on TV, but gave attendees a chance to watch the popular BBC America series on a big screen with other fans.
Saturday was a much longer, busier convention day than Friday both in terms of programming and the general atmosphere in the area. And now we turn our sights to the final day of WonderCon: Sunday.
What was your favorite moment of WonderCo Day 2? Let us know in the comments.
