Memories of Blizzcon 2008

I was recently perusing some old photo folders on my computer, and happened across my trip to Blizzcon 2008. I was fortunate enough to attend Blizzcon 2008 and 2010, and while both occasions were wonderful experiences, Blizzcon 2008 remains a singular event, unlike any Blizzcon since.

I must have been fated to attend because I bought my cross-county plane ticket before tickets were released. It is a good thing I managed to snag one. I flew into Anaheim on Thursday, October 9, registered, and visited Disneyland for the first time. I have been to Disney World many times so this was a bonus.

At the time, I did not know the Disney parks decorated for Halloween. I thought they permanently changed the Haunted Mansion into The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was happy to learn the truth. Although it still did not make sense; why decorate the Haunted Mansion for Halloween? It is a haunted mansion.

A Beautiful Sunny Day to Spend Indoors

Friday was a lovely morning, and I went out for a delightful pancake breakfast. I probably should have packed something or eaten earlier. When I arrived at the convention center, the line wrapped around the building and filled the rear parking lot.

I believe it is a shared feeling when attending any con, of being among kindred souls. No matter who all we were or where we came from, we shared the same love of World of Warcraft and the excitement for what would be the greatest expansion.

This chaotic looking mob was actually more orderly than the outside world. While we weaved back and forth that Friday, October 10, global and US stock markets crashed. The Great Recession was about to get very real.

Needless to say, I showed up much earlier on Saturday, joining the line near the entrance. I still went out for breakfast, but opened the joint at 6AM sharp, being their first and only patron.

Dark, Loud, and Glorious

The doors finally opened and we shuffled into the halls, thrilled and overwhelmed by the sensory experience greeting us.

I was nowhere near a professional photographer or fully adapt at digital camera settings, so it was not as dark as these pictures show, but it was pretty damn close. You can see, there were few ceiling lights on. Lighting was primarily via spotlights and the numerous backlit displays and video screens.

I was too enthralled by the Wraith of the Lich King panels to take pictures of the features’ reveals. I was just so happy to be returning to Azeroth and heading to Northrend. The Burning Crusade was fun, but my desire was to play a fantasy, not sci-fi, game.

There were screens everywhere, looping every Blizzard game announcement and in-game cinematic, in an overlapping high volume cacophony of sight and sound.

This arrangement of ten screens may have been over the vendor booth area. There were computer and graphics card manufacturers, holding sweepstakes and giving away swag. The inclusion of outside companies was noticeably absent at Blizzcon 2010.

According to Wowpedia, there were 15,000 attendees at Blizzcon 2008, and it felt it. The halls were crowded but it was okay. We were the faithful, on a pilgrimage to Anaheim, together.

My intention was not to take pictures of peoples’ heads, but of the decor. There was so much to see, everywhere you looked.

It would be cool if someone recognized themselves. Time has certainly flown by. Blizzcon 2008 seems such a long time ago, in a very different world. I suppose it was.

I wonder if I survived longer than the kid in the foreground. Our sample Wraith of the Lich King characters were logged onto PVP servers. My max level death knight was dropped into Dragonblight, where I spent maybe 5 minutes trying to figure out my abilities before being killed by another player. Good times.

Getting Into Characters

Of course, there was cosplay. I confess, I appreciate the time and effort that went into hand crafting these costumes more than today’s ability to 3D print everything to exact specifications. Not that today’s creations are not amazing. I just feel the love of the game imbued here.

This inventive draenei won the Best Cosplay title. She was an engineering student who built an actual walking turtle mount.

Looking at this picture gives me an idea for a company that builds riding robotic mounts. We have all seen how agile and fast quad robots have become. How cool would it be to ride one at 30MPH?

The Absolutely Worst Memory

Of course, everything was not perfect. I decided to remain inside for lunch. The only eatery in the venue was the convention center’s snack bar. I figured a simple hamburger would hold me over.

If you have been to a White Castle, then you are familiar with the concept of steam-cooked burgers. The convention center also prepared its burger via steam. But unlike White Castle’s tried and true delicious sliders, the pale gray burger patty I bit into was raw on the inside. Not rare, but red, raw, meat-stuff.

This was over a decade before my anxiety diagnosis and medication, which is why I did not take that atrocity of a burger back and demand a fully cooked replacement. I nibbed around the reasonably cooked edges and hoped I would not get sick. This did not happen, but I went out for dinner.

I remember more eating options at Blizzcon 2010, but I settled for a cheese pizza; always a safe choice.

The One True King

That is it for my pics, expect for this last one. I cannot imagine anyone attending Blizzcon 2008 who would not sit upon the Frozen Throne. If you did, please post your picture in the Comments. Let’s share memories of this great gathering of (Lich) kings.

Thanks for dropping in the Keep. If you enjoyed this article, please support the site with a Like and Subscription. Have a fantastic day.