Tokyo DisneySea

From Tokyo we were able to take a train directly to Tokyo DisneySea. Once we arrived at the park, we took a second train that took you to each of the Disney Parks and hotels. We had all our stuff from spending the night in Tokyo, so it was nice to be able to drop our stuff off in the lockers, right outside the train station. I think it was about $5 for us to use the lockers and they were pretty big!

The Nerdy Girlie at D23 Expo 2013

For me D23 was a complete last minute decision.  Even up until the night before I wasn't sure if I was going to attend {Vidcon travel on Saturday was a bit crazy!}.  But then I thought...you are a journalist you HAVE to cover this event...get on it!  So I DID!  

I traveled up to Anaheim from San Diego and arrived to the convention center at about 9:30 a.m.  There was already a HUGE line so I jumped in, not knowing if it was the correct one or not.  So when it began moving at 10 a.m. I asked a cast member and they said, that I had to go up to will call.  So I headed that way.  Stood in that line for another 30 minutes.  Then some one mentioned that this was NOT the will call line and if you had tickets {I thought I did, because I had an email} so I then changed to the actual will call line.

Here's were it gets even more fun.  There ended up being no one in that line so I was taken right away.  Come to find out I do NOT have tickets and the email I received was ???  I was told to go back into the 2nd line I was standing in and I walked away with tears forming in my eyes.

BUT a VERY NICE man by the name of James {black polo, ginger beard at Will Call booth} told me to come back and he began walking me over to the box office.  While on the way over he paused and pulled out a D23 guest badge and gave it to me.  I was STUNNED!  I gave him the HUGEST hug and thanked him immensely!

SO I WAS FINALLY IN!!

Right away I saw some awesome cosplayers from Emperor's New Groove!  The Gamer Geek and I's FAV Disney movie!  We love quoting it together!

Then I ran into Twitter friend Ali!  We missed each other at SDCC so it was so great to chat with her while I waited in line to get my make up done by Sephora, they were showing off their Ariel inspired products.

There was so many CUTE Disney products! Minnie Mouse's booth had some of my favorite things!

The pretty castle from E3 that The Hunny got to see, but not me, so I was happy to see it in person myself!

Hallmark had out a preview of their ornaments from 2014!  LOVE these two!

Star Wars had a nice huge booth & I even saw a few Star Wars cosplayers.

Little Golden Books had a cute little booth.  I LOVED their books when I was little, so it was a nice little walk down memory lane for me.

I got to run into a 2nd Twitter friend Angi who was cosplaying as the Snow Queen from the new Disney movie Frozen coming out this November.  She even promised to give me sewing lessons, I'm gonna hold her to that! :)

Outside the convention center around lunch time there was hardly anyone around!  It was nice to be able to sit out in the SoCal sunshine and relax and eat my lunch.

Outside had this amazingly HUGE Doffenshmirtz Waffle-inator!  

I got some AWESOME swag.  Though small, this stuff is mighty!  TWO quality bags.  One for volunteering at the con by filling backpacks for kids {which I am in love that they did that!}.  A balloon lightsaber from Party City.  A new Ducktales poster.  I was able to play the game {there was only ONE station} for a few minutes with no wait {unlike Wonder Con}!  An Avengers decal.  An ADORABLE starfish barrette and lastly my MOST favorite is the Perry the Platypus bracelet.  Another VERY SWEET cast member Holli gave me hers!

Overall I had a great time at D23 and would defiantly go back and try to get into some panels.  Although I heard the lines for those were madness!

I have over 100 pictures from D23 over on our Facebook page!  Go check them out and if you are a cosplayer and I took your picture, please tag yourself!!

Geek Girls Gab with Karen Hallion Art

I am from a small town in Massachusetts just north of Boston called Nahant.  I went to Ringling School of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in Illustration.  Up until a few years ago, I was an elementary school art teacher.  Now I am working full-time as an artist. I live with my husband and two small sons who we are raising to be well-versed in all of Geekdom.  I currently live on the North-shore of Massachusetts with my husband, our sons, and our cats, Obi and Kenobi. 

The Nerdy Girlie:  What is your 1st nerd memory?

Karen:  Role playing Battle of the Planets, a.k.a. G-Force in the backyard with my siblings and some neighborhood kids.  I always got to be Princess.

TNG:  How and why did you start drawing?

Karen:  I really started drawing in high school, after I saw the Little Mermaid, and decided I wanted to be a Disney Animator someday.

TNG:  When and why did you decide to start your own Etsy shop?

Karen:  I opened my Etsy shop in 2009. I had lost my job as an elementary school art teacher and decided to give freelancing a try.

TNG:  YOUR favorite Etsy shop?

Karen:  I love Crafty Ginger Mama, who is making some very cool stuff with my fabric from Spoon Flower, as well as aprons, legwarmers, and reusable totes and bags.

TNG:  What is your favorite thing to nerd out about?

Karen:  Disney! I love to know all of the behind the scenes things about the parks, like any insider tips, all about the rides, the history, the food, and the characters.

TNG:  Any tips for San Diego Comic Con?

Karen:  Well, C2E2 in Chicago was my first convention and it was definitely a learning experience.  My tips would be to organize your stock before you go, make sure you are clear about prices, and bring more business cards than you think you'll need!  I ran out of business cards on the second day.  Also, use any downtime you have to network with other artists and talk to people at your table.

TNG:  Girlie things you love?

Karen:  I am addicted to Sephora and nice bags (particularly Disney ones) and recently I am obsessed with nail polish!

Thank you so much to Karen for taking time to answer these questions for us!  Doesn't she have THE best cat names!!??  I first fell in love with her work when I saw some of it on Pinterest.  Her Doctor Who and Disney mashups are amazing and cry out to my nerdy and girlie sides!  She makes the rounds on all the internet t-shirt shops so keep and eye out!  You can also find her:  Etsy: Karen Hallion Art. Twitter: @khallion. Facebook: Karen Hallion Art