Fanboy Expo, Orlando's touring pop-culture convention, is packing up its usual convention-center digs and setting up shop at the Hilton Orlando this weekend, bringing along a guest list that spans Kiss drummer Peter Criss, Star Trek's Kate Mulgrew, and partial cast reunions from The Hobbit, Highlander, Mortal Kombat, and the National Lampoon's Vacation films. The three-day event runs August 28-30 at the resort on Destination Parkway, with tickets ranging from $35 to $999.
The move marks a shift from where Fanboy Expo landed just last year. According to Orlando Weekly, the convention held its September 2025 Orlando gathering at the Orange County Convention Center before relocating to the Hilton Orlando for this year's run, a shift also documented by ExpoFP. The new venue at 6001 Destination Parkway offers plenty of room to work with: per Travel Weekly, the Hilton Orlando spans 249,000 square feet of meeting space across 71 meeting rooms and 1,424 guest rooms, anchored by a 49,128-square-foot main ballroom capable of holding up to 5,460 attendees.
A Guest List Built for Eclectic Fandoms
Fanboy Expo has never chased a single genre, and this year's roster proves it. Alongside Criss and Mulgrew, the bill includes Patrick Warburton, John Ratzenberger, Randy Quaid, Delta Burke, Lita Ford of the Runaways, and Dave Davies of the Kinks, according to the same Orlando Weekly report. The mix of classic rock, sitcom veterans and cult-film alumni reflects the convention's long-running approach of pairing music legends with screen icons under one roof.
Criss, the Kiss co-founder, comes with his own set of ground rules. Official guest guidelines published by Fanboy Expo cap fans at four signed items per family and bar him from signing outside drum heads, drum parts, or copies of specific band biography books. Those restrictions are typical of the independent autograph contracts celebrity guests operate under at fan conventions, separate from general admission pricing.
A Decade-Plus Touring Brand Out of Knoxville
Fanboy Expo isn't a one-off pop-up. The convention was founded in 2012 by former sports memorabilia dealer David Heynen under Media Investments Global LLC, a Knoxville, Tennessee-based company, before expanding into a multi-city touring brand with events in Florida, Indiana, Nevada and Ohio, according to background compiled by American Image Displays. Heynen reportedly launched the expo to offer more intimate celebrity meet-and-greet experiences after regional Tennessee conventions in the area ceased operations.
Landing in a Record-Breaking Tourism Market
The Hilton Orlando's location places Fanboy Expo squarely inside one of the busiest tourism corridors in the country. Central Florida welcomed a record 76.7 million total visitors in 2025, a 1.8% increase over 2024 driven largely by 70.3 million domestic travelers, per the Northstar Meetings Group. A Tourism Economics study commissioned by Visit Orlando found that tourism generated $98.6 billion in total economic impact across the region last year, supported by nearly $63 billion in direct visitor spending. Orange County alone captured 85% of that regional visitor spending, according to Visit Orlando, while Osceola and Seminole counties accounted for 12% and 3% respectively.
The convention center district next door contributes heavily to those totals, generating an estimated $4.6 billion in annual economic impact while hosting nearly 200 major events and 2.5 million attendees each year, Visit Orlando reports. That corridor is also in the middle of a legal fight over a planned $560 million expansion, a dispute Hoodline previously covered as it headed toward trial.
One More Stop in a Packed Convention Month
Fanboy Expo's Hilton Orlando weekend caps an unusually crowded August for the city's fandom scene. Orlando already hosted Animate! Orlando August 1-3, Nostalgia Con August 7-9, and the Megaplex furry convention August 14-16 earlier this month, each drawing its own dedicated crowd to International Drive-area venues. Industry researchers at Dataintelo project global fan convention sponsorship revenues will reach $5.8 billion by 2034, growing at more than 8% annually as entertainment companies lean further into direct fan engagement.
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