Enchanted - Once Upon A Time Convention - Friday 17th June 2018

Enchanted – Birmingham Once Upon a Time Convention
Friday 15^th – Sunday 17^th June 2018
Birmingham Metropole Hilton Hotel

After having such a good time at the StorybrookeUK3, Once upon a time convention in Blackpool in 2017, I just had to book tickets to Enchanted in 2018, even if I did have a whole year to wait.

Enchanted would be my second Once upon a time convention So I was hoping there would be some really good cast members there.

Cast Members
Lana Parrilla – Regina Mills/Evil Queen/Roni

Rebecca Mader – Zelena Mills

Sean Maguire – Robin Hood

Jared Gilmore – Henry Mills

Adelaide Kane – Drizella/Ivy

Victoria Smurfit – Cruella

Kristen Van Bauer – Maleficent

Jaime Murray – Fiona/Black Fairy

Giles Matthey – Gideon

I had already met Lana, Rebecca, Sean and Jared at StorybrookeUK3 and Kristen at MCM Belfast Comic Con but I was excited to meet them all again. I was also excited to meet different cast members than I hadn't met before. I had been hoping Colin O'Donoghue or Jennifer Morrison got announced but sadly they didn't. I had a year before the convention but I managed to purchase all my photo ops, except for my Giles one. Michelle and I both purchased Gold tickets which was the best ticket you could get. All my autographs were included in my gold ticket. In the week leading up to the convention, I planned all my outfits, including my party outfits. There was a Alice in Wonderland party on the Friday night and a Princess/Villains one on the Saturday night. Sadly we weren't going to be there on the Sunday night as we were flying home.

Friday 15^th June – Travel Day
Outfit: Black Captain Hook t-shirt
Dark blue Primark jeans
Pink Hollister zip up
Pink Converse.

It was an early start for me as my flight was at 8:35am. Simon took me up to Belfast City Airport before he headed on to work. I met Michelle and Audrey there. We checked our suitcases in first. I was worried that mine would be overweight but thankfully it wasn't. It was then through security which was pretty quick for once. Once through, Michelle and Audrey got themselves something to eat then we had a look around the shop so we could get something to drink and some snacks. We then boarded our flight just after 8am. I was sat several rows behind Michelle and Audrey. I made myself comfortable and then our flight took off on time. I listened to the Once Upon a Time musical episode songs (well the best I could as I went slightly deaf due to my ears popping).

The flight lasted just under an hour, so we touched down in Birmingham about 9:30am. The sun was splitting the slates and it was actually quite warm. We went to collect our cases then got a monorail to Birmingham International Train Station. It was then down the steps and outside to the Hilton Hotel bus stop to wait on the bus to take us to our hotel. We had to wait for ages. I was expecting a mini bus but it was only a 7 seater people carrier. The hotel was about 10 minutes away by car. Traffic was quite bad due to the Food Show being on at the NEC Arena. The hotel looked very fancy and big from the outside. It was too early for us to check in so we left our luggage with the hotel. The hotel seemed quite busy already with Once fans.


We jumped back into the people carrier and spotted Penny Smith who used to present GMTV outside our hotel. The bus took us back to the train station and purchased our train tickets to take us into Birmingham City Centre. We were on one of the fancy Virgin trains but we didn't have far to go. Birmingham New Street was the next stop, so only 10 minutes away. The Bullring Shopping Centre was right across the road from the train station. Our first stop was the Disney Store but there was nothing of interest to me in it. Then it was off to find Primark which was out on the main street somewhere. I stopped off to say 'Hello' to the Bullring, bull. 

We finally found Primark but it wasn't as good as I was hoping. Then again, I didn't have much money to spend due to moving in Simon two months earlier. Next up was Poundland to stock up on some snacks and Pot Noodles. We were starting to get hungry so we found a McDonalds to get some lunch. Our last stop on our shopping trip was Victoria Secrets. There was a massive sale on but I didn't see anything I liked. The three of us walked back to Birmingham New Street to get the train back to the airport station again. Again, it didn't take us long as it was only one stop. We didn't wait on the Hilton bus as there were too many people waiting on it. We decided to walk back to the Hilton which I didn't mind as it was a nice day. The walk back wasn't too bad or far. Our hotel was so busy now with a long queue for check in. Audrey went to collect our luggage while Michelle and I went to check in. Our room was on the 4^th floor of the hotel. It was a lovely room with a double bed and a sofa bed. We didn't have the best view but that didn't bother me. 

After quickly unpacking, it was time to go and get registered for the convention. The queues were manic and the convention area was so busy. First we got registered, getting our lanyards, booklets, free posters and gold passes. We did have a look at the A4 pictures of the cast but you had to purchase an autograph to get the pictures which was a shame. Our next stop was collecting our photo op tickets, in another long queue. I also purchased my Giles photo. Michelle and I raced up to our room to get ready for the Opening Ceremony. I changed into my black and pink Queen of Hearts themed dress, black dress and black heels. 

On our way to the main hall, we stopped off at the food carts to get something to eat. I had a cheeseburger which cost me £7.50 but it wasn't very nice. We then went into the main hall for the opening ceremony. It was packed already with hardly any seats left at the gold tables. Giles, Kristen, Victoria, Adelaide, Jared and Jaime were all at the ceremony but Lana, Rebecca and Sean weren't. The ceremony didn't last very long. 

It was then time for the gold meet and greet reception with the cast. We were all sat at tables of 8 with two empty seats. Each of the cast members went around the tables chatting to the fans. They had about 15 or 20 minutes at each table. It did take forever for anyone to come to our table, though. If I can remember rightly, Adelaide Kane was first to our table and told us a funny story about how she came across Giles on a dating app. Fiona and Giles both told stories about how Fiona kept making Giles laugh during filming a scene in Mr Gold's shop. Jared, who had drank a lot of coffee, was slagging off a certain America president and doing impressions of him. Kristin just happened to appear when we were discussing Northern Ireland and she told us the story about how her husband couldn't get into Northern Ireland due to having the wrong visa and she explained to the others about how our currency is slightly different. We have Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland notes which are still British sterling. Victoria was questioned about Jedward and Ireland and was very funny. She went around the group, giving us hugs and asking our names which was nice. It was nice to meet the cast but it was hard to actually get speaking to them as there were so many of us wanting to ask questions and speak. Then again, I was a bit too shy to speak or ask questions. 

When it was over, we went into the party which had already started. The party was really good with brilliant music playing. Michelle and I danced ourselves dizzy to the Once musical soundtrack, The Greatest Showman soundtrack, cheesy party songs and good pop songs. Despite being awake for over 17 hours, I didn't feel tired at all and was happy dancing away, even in my heels. I was a bit disappointed by the bar though as it wasn't really a proper bar. I only had coke to drink. I think Michelle and I called it a night around midnight as we knew we had an early start the next day. My bed was very comfortable and I slept brilliantly. 

Me and Michelle

 My Gold pass