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by J. Parker Adair, special to The Beat

The Virgin Experience, Day Two [Saturday, April 14]

Whether you’re going to Disney World, a comic book convention or being drug to a shopping mall for a White Sale (whatever that is), it’s imperative you have a plan.

I had one of those for Saturday’s events at C2E2. It took less than an hour to completely forget it.

One of my big goals was to spend some time in the documentary room as there were some pretty cool screenings. The first one started at 11 a.m.; I never made it there.

Flash back to 9:30; we were way early after a morning panic. This time we had taken the C2E2 shuttle rather than the CTA bus. The shuttle pulled us right into the bat cave. Realizing we still had more than 30 minutes until the doors open, we avoided the cattle call line and went for breakfast at this fancy Scottish restaurant called “McDonald’s”.

Immediately after, I went to admire the bathroom. It was quite impressive with 20 urinals! [Editor's note: It was!  I even took a picture!]

After some exploring, we discovered a mystical escalator that took us directly into the dealer room without having to go through the main entrance. It was an epic entrance as the crowd just appeared out of nowhere, not even noticing our conspicuous arrival.

Excited by my new environment, I must have dropped my plans on the escalator (or let them fly out of my brain), and I was in for … “The Day of the Dealers!” Dunn dun dunnnnnnn.

I brought $200 cash with me for the trip, anticipating spending a lot of time in panels and screenings and having no idea that the dealer room was the lost chapter of Homer’s Odyssey. By 1 p.m. it was all gone. I’m sure some of that was spent on food and cab fair, but most of it was spent on the floor.

Having run out of cash and smartly leaving my card in the room, I made my way down to the Quidditch demo. Being the Harry Potter nerd I am (for the midnight showing of “Half-Blood Prince” I dressed as Arthur Weasely dressed as a muggle). On my way down, I nearly got knocked over by a guy dressed in all gold, running up the stairs. Not at all abnormal, and I knew I was on the right path.

The game was pretty fun, but the best part came when members of the audience got to play. Oh, yeah! Having been a keeper in both soccer and lacrosse, I thought felt this was my strongest position. It was then I learned how much strategy there is in determining the line up for a quidditch match.

While I can now write a term paper on Quidditch coaching, I will leave out the boring details. I let in too many goals due to my inability to block the taller shots (I knew the Clean Sweep 5 was a bad broom choice) but ran the offense like NBA legend John Stockton. With the game in the balance, I decided to switch spots and play chaser. Clea

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Photography by J. Parker Adair, Commentary by Torsten Adair

Well, it’s been a week since C2E2 occurred, and we’ve recovered from the excitement, caught up on emails, and finally unpacked our luggage.

When we last left our stalwart confrere, he was confluxing, enjoying the spectacle and energy of C2E2.  While we await his final report, we offer a sampling of photos he took at McCormick Place, with whatever notation I can conjure up or conjecture.  I did not witness all of the moments depicted, but I will do my best to explain each.

I did witness: Snowths (phenomenal!), Godzilla, a Playboy bunny, Tron, Voltron, various Doctors, Lady Deadpool, Tintin, and He-Man.  And Delirium and Effie Trinket at the American Libraries booth.  (Saturday, Effie was pink; Sunday, she was teal.)  The Variant Stage hosted a daily costume contest each evening.

Click on each image to see it alone, then click on it again to enlarge.

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Link, of Zelda fame. (Have Link and Mario ever compared notes?)

American Dream and movie Captain America. The shields are wrong, but it's still pretty cool.

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Golden Age Green Lantern and Hawkman pose with the McCormick Place concierge, AKA "Answer-Man"!

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Okay… you’ve made it to McCormick Place for C2E2!  You’re staring at the big red sign, and quivering with anticipation!

Head up the stairs.  You’ll be on the second level.  There’s another staircase of similar grandeur which will take you to the third level.  There will be signage directing you… you want to head to Hall B1.  (Yes, it’s on the Third Floor.  B is the Hall, 1 is the hall in front of B2, where the Artist Alley is located.)  B1 is the main show floor.  Registration is located right up front, the “stockyards” (the queue hall) is to the left, everything else will be front and center.

Once you’ve got your credentials, you’re set to explore!

Remember when you entered the convention center?  See the picture to the left?  On the left side is the entrance to the Hyatt Hotel (site of the CBR Bar), as well as the coat check.  On the right is the main concierge desk.  They can answer almost any question!  If you head to the right, past that desk, you’ll discover all the stuff on the first level of the South Building.  Most importantly, that’s where the hotel shuttles are located.  The Grand Ballroom is the IGN Theater.  Quidditch is at S103.  The Press Office and Programming Office are also located right behind the ballroom.  Underneath the two massive escalators which rise to the Third Level (closed) are vending machines.  The rest of that huge hallway is mostly empty, so it’s a good place to escape from the crowds.  Lots of restrooms as well. Ignore the signs which suggest a path to the panel rooms on the Fourth Floor.   The doors are locked when the South Hall is not in use.

Panels?  Most of them are located up on the Fourth Floor.  Keep walking towards the Lakeside Pavilion (where C2E2 2010 was held) via the Grand Concourse, on your right will be the staircase and escalator to the Fourth Floor.

North is to the left

This is the fourth floor of the North Building (on the left) and the South Building (on the right).  There are two bridges over the concourse below.  The only staircase/escalator is located near the eastern bridge.  If you wander westward to that other bridge, the only safe way down is one of the elevators, which can be crowded.  It’s a long walk back to the escalator.   Need to figure out the scale?  See those little boxes with X’s in them?  Those are elevators, and hold about ten people.  You can also see the escalators (