Midsummer Scream 2018 Was Magical!
Midsummer Scream 2018 happened this past weekend and it was all the Halloween magic a fright fairy could have wished for!They are in their 3rd year an the convention crowds have grown so large it’s hard to believe there could truly be enough stuff for everyone, but there is.Midsummer Scream has everything on your Halloween wish list waiting for you. There are a variety of things for the Halloween or horror lover in your life. There are panels about attractions, panels about movies, shopping, workshops, demos, fashion shows, kids activities, themed bars, and the crown jewel; The Hall of Shadows. If you weren’t done at the end of the day there was also an after party Saturday evening which required a separate ticket.
Shopping
So much shopping a ghoul could go broke! Too many vendors to list here! I would recommend saving time to look around at all the great stuff and money to spend, because you will want to.
Panels
My favorite panel was for the film Elvira: Mistress of the Dark 30 year anniversary. Cassandra is delightful and Elvira is the Queen of Halloween.You can’t catch them all so you have to choose wisely. You also have to get in line at least 30 minutes early for the popular ones. The attraction panel that I gave me goosebumps this year was Horror Made Here by Warner Brothers Studios, Hollywood. Their special offering of horror is on its 3rd year. I have to say I haven’t been yet, but after hearing the details, I will not be missing it. Midsummer Scream panels are great! There is no room for improvement when it comes to the “who” and there’s no question “why”. The “how” needs help. The lines were disorganized, the crowds were not well managed. When we were let into the room nobody seemed to be assisting so not all seats were completely filled in on all panels. I heard that people were turned away because there weren’t seats due to this problem. Exiting was a nightmare, trying to swim through the crowd, waiting to get in to the next panel along with the group leaving in such a small area felt impossible.
Hall of Shadows
It was much bigger this year. There were a few vendors here that looked great on the dark. This year was chocked full of so many amazing mini mazes. The highlights in my opinion were Donnie Darko which was done entirely by teenagers and Trick-r-Treat which had several details that pushed this house way above the others.
The after-party
It was full of fun lighting and great tunes. There was a costume contest and the costumes were good and creepy. The bartenders took forever! One thing that went wrong here was that the lines for drinks were ridiculous. I hope they fix this in the future because as much as they charged for drinks they can afford more bartenders. 
The best part of the after-party though was just down the hall from the ballroom where we thoroughly enjoyed the live commentary of the classic original, Child’s Play with the director himself, Tom Holland.Overall Midsummer Scream did not disappoint. I can’t wait for next year!
