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Visit Anaheim and Visit California explore the power of fandom at SXSW Sydney

Visit Anaheim hosted a session exploring the significance of fandom to the travel industry at the recent SXSW Sydney 2024 festival at USA House – the centre of action for a number of events. Karryon attends to learn more.

Visit Anaheim hosted a session exploring the significance of fandom to the travel industry at the recent SXSW Sydney 2024 festival at USA House – the centre of action for a number of events. Karryon attends to learn more.

There’s big business in fandom and Cosplay, all clearly on show during a ‘Power of Fandom’ panel discussion at USA House at Pumphouse in Sydney, hosted by Visit Anaheim. 

Friday 18 October saw a celebration of all things California at USA House – through a number of activities, performances and immersive experiences that included a Cosplay creation workshop hosted by Chris Stanley (Cosplay Chris) where guests created their own piece in a hands-on workshop; a California wine masterclass hosted by sommeliers from Jackson Family Wines; a live performance by singer/songwriter Evie Irie in the evening; followed by a ‘West Coast After Dark’ DJ dance party.

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L-R: Suzy Shepard, Brand USA; Eva Huezo, Visit California; Lexie Miliatis, Brand USA; Monique Campanella, Gate 7; and Michael Cassis, Visit Anaheim. Credit: Katrina Holden.

Karryon headed along to the lunchtime panel discussion, joining team members from Visit California, Visit Anaheim and Brand USA for the ‘Power of Fandom’ session which explored the travel trends driven by fandom across sports, Cosplay, fan conventions and major celebrations. 

The panel session featured key voices in the Cosplay community and delved into some of California’s favourite attractions: from Disneyland to the Anaheim Ducks ice hockey team. 

The panellists included Chris Stanely (Cosplay Chris); Kate Allman, a sports commentator and travel writer who discused how Anaheim has become a key destination for sports lovers; Rod Addamo,  Australia’s biggest Spider-Man fan who runs Metro Con; and Skye Roberts, a ‘Disney Bounding’ expert, who discussed how fans creatively channel their love for Disney into fashion.

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The panelists at the Visit Anaheim discussion, USA House. Credit: Katrina Holden.

The session was moderated by Jayden Rodrigues (Jrod), a prominent figure in cosplay and pop culture, who was dressed as Woody from Toy Story. 

In the discussion, the group represented a fast-growing sector of fans who make their travel choices based around games, conventions or major events in their field of interest. 

Skye Roberts, who was dressed as Anna from Frozen, spoke about her love of the three-day Disney D23 conference.

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Guests and the panelists at USA House. Credit: Esteban La Tessa.

“D23 is basically the Disney version of Comicon, except it’s just Disney. There’s a massive show floor, and you can actually meet animators, people that work at Pixar, and you can get people from Marvel signing comics (those lines are always very, very long!). There’s a show floor with huge displays,” said Roberts.

“But the best thing about it are the panels…they show footage that hasn’t been shown to the public yet. For example, we got to see a Zootopia 2  clip that no one has seen yet, and that’s releasing at the end of next year. We got to see concept art from Frozen 3. And obviously, when you’re at D23 there’s no rules for how you can dress, as compared to the Disney parks, so you can go as full out as you want,” said Roberts. 

Roberts, who is fully committed to the cause, admits she had to purchase extra luggage so she could take home merchandise and her outfits.

“One time, I went as the character Belle with the yellow dress….that was one entire suitcase just for that costume – but it was great!”

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Guests listening to the panel discussion. Credit: Esteban La Tessa.

Spider-Man fan Rod Addamo spoke highly about the sense of community these events enable among fans from all over the world. 

“WonderCon is another convention that’s in Anaheim. These shows bring people together, they encourage community and fandom. Wherever you look, it’s fun. Everybody is smiling…it’s just a really great vibe and a really great place to be. There’s no judgement; there’s no one that’s out to have a bad time. Everyone is open to the idea of fun,” said Addamo. 

With regards to sport, Kate Allman pointed to the scale and investment that goes into sports fandom and its affect on tourism.

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A game of basketball at USA House. Credit: Katrina Holden.

“The thing to understand is we have an audience in Australia of 25 million people. There’s 300 million people in America, and the money that goes into sports is exponentially bigger. So every element that you love about attending an AFL or an NRL game for instance…it’s going to be 20 times as big,” said Allman. 

Chris spoke about the influence of visiting Disneyland on his life and the evolution of the parks, now that Marvel is part of the Disney family. 

“I’ve done Disneyland and Anaheim three times.. I’m obsessed. It’s like an event for three days, then you go and hibernate because it’s so full on – but so good! The production value in the park is ridiculous, especially now that Marvel is part of the Disney family. We’re seeing these costumes in the parks, and essentially, they’re liaising with the costume departments from the films….they’ve got Deadpool and Wolverine wandering around the park, which I never thought I’d see the day,” said Chris Stanley.

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Californian wines available to taste at USA House during SXSW Sydney 2024. Credit: Katrina Holden.

The growing concept of ‘Disney Bounding’ was also mentioned – where people wear just a small token to represent their favourite character, as there are strict rules at Disney parks against dressing in full costume. 

“They don’t want people to get confused with the real characters,” explains Skye Roberts.

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All things California at USA House. Credit: Esteban La Tessa.

“So it’s just giving a taste of the character without actually dressing up,” said Roberts. 

“But you are able to Cosplay fully if you go to any of the Halloween parties. The Oogie Boogie Bash is exclusive to Disneyland and it’s like an after-hours Halloween event. You get to meet new characters that are rare, like Hans from Frozen who isn’t normally out there, or Hercules. You get to go trick or treating…it’s fun!”

For more information see visitcalifornia.com