Things to know before going to a big convention

Armageddon is a sci-fi convention similar to Comic-Con and it’s held every year at the Auckland Showgrounds.

I was really looking forward to the whole experience, but I didn’t dress up because I wanted to enjoy being at the event.

On arrival on Friday evening, we didn’t have to queue up to get in as it was reasonably quiet. Because it wasn’t busy, I found it easy to get around in my power chair, but if it was busy, I would think it could have been difficult, and I would have felt nervous and claustrophobic.

I found it very exciting when we arrived and there was lots to see and do. 

The access to the venue was step-free, but the first problem we encountered was that accessible parking wasn’t close enough to the entrance in my opinion, and we had to ask a staff member where to go. It would have been helpful if there were better instructions on where to safely park. Once parked, it was easy to get back to the entrance. I thought the parking was expensive for $20, although it was free on Friday.

There were lots of stores selling books, posters and other memorabilia, such as T-shirts depicting superheroes. I purchased a 3-D poster of the LA Lakers basketball team and had to pay a dollar for the bag!

There was an interactive zone where you could win a supply of noodles for a year. But the game was set up too high for wheelchair users to play, so that part wasn’t very inclusive. 

The main stage was closed when I went on Friday, so I didn’t get to see any of the stars who were appearing on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I didn’t see any NZSL interpreters, but that was probably because there were no shows on Friday. I think the ticket price was too expensive at $70 just to see the stalls. It was easy to get through the stalls in my power chair.

I felt there weren't enough food trucks. Many of them weren’t open on Friday, so there was a limited choice of food on offer. The food trucks were also too high, so if I didn’t have my support worker, I would have found it a problem. 

Overall, it was a great experience!

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