6:30 am – Luke decides to work off some of his breakfast at the hotel gym while the rest of us go exploring. Danny didn’t arrive until late the night before and hasn’t seen the layout as of yet.

9 am – Danny picks up his Saturday pass, and Alex’s girlfriend, Jadelyn, arrives. We all head downstairs to the model room so Danny can see all the amazing pieces I featured in my last post. 

9:20 am – We leave the model room and go upstairs to the gaming rooms (which also opened at 9 am). After making a few unsuccessful attempts at “grabbing” a stuffed King Kong for Luke via one of those notoriously rigged “Claw Machines,” we decide that free video games are our safest bet. Luke and I duke it out in an old game called “Godzilla Save the Earth” that the kids played when they were growing up, while the others play “War of the Monsters.”

10 am – Artist’s Alley opens, so we all go back down to the basement level (the room is directly across from the model room) to see it. I didn’t see much of it the day before because there were too many people, so this was all new to me. The event’s creator, J.D. Lees, had shut down Artist’s Alley for the last few years, much to the anger of younger fans. Now it’s back and more crowded than ever. Just like the breakfast buffet, it’s better to get there right when it opens.

10:20 am – Also on the basement level is the G-FEST “Display Room.” This room serves as a reminder of the event’s humbler roots with photos taken at their earlier shows. We enjoyed looking at all the old pictures, especially from the ones we’d done together and at all the great guests we were so fortunate to meet before their passing. This year the room also had a tribute to Mothra, and some impressive artwork from past covers of G-FAN Magazine. The iconic Godzilla fan magazine just celebrated its final issue this year.

10:30 am – I walk back to where they’re selling G-FEST 2026 merchandise, hoping for the best.  Unfortunately, the line is not only twice as long as the day before, but the two items I was interested in (a red shirt and dad hat) are all sold out. Capitalism is alive and well and living at this convention!

10:33 am – The line to the vendor room is now completely out of control. The picture you see at the top of this piece depicts the official line area, which takes up about seven rows. What you don’t see is the full line that goes beyond this designated spot, extending all the way to the other end of the hotel. Every fifteen minutes, they let 100 people in, which still means a considerable wait. We decided to all bite the bullet and do so. I wanted to show Luke the items I thought he’d be interested in when I was inside the day before. To ease the monotony, G-FEST volunteers entertained everyone with trivia and contests. Alex’s girlfriend, meanwhile, was in her glory. She was playing “Pokémon Go” and managed to “catch” quite a few in line. I occupied myself photographing some of the costumes and cosplayers walking around.

I was interested in attending a panel on “Diorama Building” (I used to do STAR WARS dioramas and wouldn’t mind getting back into it) at 1 pm, but by that time I was still in line and far too deep to leave. This vendor room is like Godzilla, and the convention organizers are akin to the TOHO version of the Japanese military.  No matter what they do to deal with it, nothing works! The only obvious solution is to hold the event at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center next door. I hate saying this because I really like G-FEST at the Hyatt, especially this year with them utilizing more of its space.

The nightmare didn’t end once you got inside. Some parts were tolerable, but most were so crowded you could barely move. All this despite the event’s best efforts. Also, some of the prices were insane!

And what of that Kong figure I knew that Luke would like? Well, it was sold out, of course, but at least they still had a Mechani-Kong left. I did end up buying him a Mechagodzilla II figure that he could pay me back for later. It lights up and looks really cool.

2:50 pm – We head into the main panel room for a 70th anniversary retrospective on Rodan. The presentation is conducted by Ed Godziszewski, who co-authored the book “Godzilla: The First 70 Years: The Official Illustrated History of the Japanese Productions” (2025). I was so impressed by his presentation that I’ve since purchased and am reading it now. It’s a beautiful book (and HEAVY) that every G fan should get. As for Rodan, I watched it before this event, and it’s still one of my favorites. It’s a kaiju film that starts as horror before the true menace is revealed. I’ll delve deeper into this movie and the G-FEST panel in a future post. As of this date, it is only on DVD and in desperate need of a 4K/Blu-ray upgrade.

4:45 pm – We order a pizza for dinner from Giordano’s down the street. Before we eat, we break out a bottle of Sake and toast this year’s G-FEST. The kids would later go downstairs for the annual costume contest while I chose to take a hot shower and call it a night.

6:50 PM – The kids go downstairs to see the annual G-FEST costume parade while I opt to stay back.  I spend the rest of the evening reviewing photos while the house channel plays in the background (yet another Gamera movie, surprise surprise). Going through all the shots, I’m amazed how much we’ve done…and with still one more day to go.

Coming up…The Big Winners of G-FEST 2026!

~Dave