Convention Review: Connecticon 2025

Connecticon 2025 was a blast fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

What can I honestly say at this point about this convention that I have said about it in the past. It’s been close to my heart for an incredibly long time at this point, and it’s always managed to surprise me in all of the right & wrong ways with each year I go. 2025 is no different, and this year’s definitely did make me do a double take a few times. So, with that said, Let’s sit down & take a look at my review for Connecticon 2025. Let’s begin!

Good Points
The Hartford Marriot has continued to be a high point for me. It’s far grander than anything that could have been found around where Genericon once was, far more opulent (Though certainly not on the level of the Gaylord where Katsucon takes place), and has a lot more resources than one would think upon visiting it for the first time. In addition to that, the escalator that was down the count last year was working perfectly fine this year, so not having to use the elevator to get from the lobby to the 3rd floor & vice-versa constantly was incredibly welcome. I used the bar for the first time when I hung out with John St Jon & his friends, and the Vodka Tonic I had was quite lovely. 

Dealer’s Room & Artist’s Alley are still two of the biggest draws for people to come to Connecticon. Though there was a hiccup last year, and a bigger hiccup this year (More on that later), the sheer variety of goods to purchase always catches me off guard. The dealers that came back for the once a day thing in the upper part of the convention center came back, and although I didn’t get anything from them, there was a lot of variety there as well. Also, just like last year, I managed to have enough money for the next MTG release I’m going to in a few days (Edge Of Eternities anybody?).

Connecticon continues to rock it with the events. From the panels, to the AMV Contest, to the Idol show, to the Cosplay Chess, and finally to the Cosplay Deathmatch (Which is easily the best that has taken place in it’s entire history), you’ve got the living embodiment of “Something For Everybody!”. I may not have gone to a lot of panels, but the ones I did go were fun. The Eating of the Costco Chicken, John St Jon’s Sexy Late Night Panel (Never gets old, btw), and Cosplay Championship Wrestling were just some of the events I went to, and they were all great. Speaking of CCW.....

Cosplay Championship Wrestling keeps on being fire at Connecticon, especially since they’ve be coming to the con for almost 5 years now. Every single wrestler, both the men & the women, embodies the characters they play, and the heels and the faces have everybody in the crowd by the balls (Or ovaries). For 2025, they did something extra, and have the wrestlers play as their own characters from their parent company, and that was just as good if not better. You know things are better when you have a wrestler basically play as Prince.....yes, that Prince!

The food trucks are still a huge plus for me! A far cheaper alternative to how much most of the things to eat in the hotel cost, it’s like a culinary rainbow. From the poutine, to the cheesesteak, and to all of the other foods savory & sweet, and normal or vegan, you’ve got a lot to choose from that won’t hurt the bank account. Hell, even the most expensive items won’t been too much of a problem (The highest cost I saw was 19-something), and some of those you can share with people! 

One final good point I’ll mention is a bit of a smaller one, and that’s the water posts. In the lobby of the hotel, there was a table with two glass containers with flavored water (Flavored with natural things, and it was different each day), and there were two above the lobby by the games rooms & panel room. Over in the center itself, there were plenty of water booths in some of the panel rooms, and this definitely was a smart move. My only complaint was that there should have been some in every room in the center given what the weather was like for most of the weekend, but if they weren’t able to cause of how many there were, then I can’t really complain.

Okay Points
Honestly, I don’t think there was anything that was just okay with Connecticon this year. Everything about it in 2025 was either Good, or bad. Nothing in between was seen or hear by me. Speaking of bad however.....

Bad Points
Unfortunately for the con this year, it’s biggest fault is something I had an issues with in 2024, and that’s the lack of manga & anime sellers. If anything, it might have been worse this time around! There was absolutely no manga sellers except for one (Maybe two), and no anime sellers save for Otaku Joe’s (If there were more, I never saw them). Camp Anime didn’t even have any of there figures this year, and if they did I never saw them. Magic The Gathering was in surprisingly short supply oddly enough (Save for a few vendors), but Pokemon & Yu-Gi-Oh was shockingly plentiful! If there is some kind of shift in what’s getting pushed in the Dealer’s Room, I don’t know, but if there is then somebody let me know.

(Like last year, I was still able to purchase a bunch of things btw)

Final Thoughts & Rating
Connecticon 2025 stumbles ever so slightly on account of some of the issues I had with the Dealers Room, but otherwise everything else was great! The convention staff have really nailed what Connecticon is supposed to be, and I don’t think that’ll ever waver in any way. Going to this Mecca of awesomeness for close to 2 decades has become a staple for me during the summer.....and I hope it’s a staple for all of you.

Connecticon 2025 gets an 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review for Connecticon 2025. An absolutely wonderful time, despite the shift in products sold. In just a few short years, I will have been going for 20 years (2029), and I definitely look forward to that! With this out of the way, got my second no. 1 album of 2020, so look to the sky & join me at the end of the month. See you then!


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If you’d like to see what I thought of last year’s con, click on the link below:

Convention Review: Connecticon 2024