Universal Orlando – Fan Fest Experience

Hmmm… It was before I moved down here.  I moved here in 2005.  So I always thought it never was here since after I moved here it never was here.  I am excited they finally brought it back.  Would love to go get Butterbeer too, but not sure i will have time

I really enjoyed the Days Fan Fest, but man, people like to complain – lol

So I managed to meet 5 of the actors and got pictures and signatures of them.

John Aniston (Victor) – He was different than I expected.  Didn’t joke around like the actors, but had a dry humor during Q&A.  He could be very Victor like in that he didn’t want to be bothered with the small stuff.  He asked your name and then signed the card and handed it to you.  But I just think it was him.  He also went back to school at one point for pre-med, so that was interesting.

Camila Banus (Gabi) – She was funny and really stuck up for her character in the Q&A.  She seemed to get along with all her cast mates.  Fun fact, she loves to wear her baby bump out in public.  She was so cute about it.  She wanted to get into acting because of Jim Carey.  She wanted to do all of his roles and that is why she got into acting.

Shawn Christian (Dr. Dan) – You can tell he is a complex individual.  He was very personable, but keeps many things to himself.  He would not answer the question about his necklace, but it means something to him.  He could really joke around and the big joke of the Q&A with him was jumping into bed with his patients.  But he LOVES the Maggie is his mom storyline and feels it gives his character roots and something for him to really use in his charcater development.  He really seems to also love the SL with Jen.

Galen Gering (Rafe) – OK, you can tell he is not sure what is up with the Kate SL, but he was really funny.  Him and Camila seemed to have a good relationship and you can tell they enjoy working together.  He also seemed to really get along with Eric.  Being that they were together on Passions.  They both think Days is more grounded and that they love that.  Pasions they said had too many, "You serious? This does not really happen" moments.  He is so down to earth and really the jokester of the group.  But he is just happy to have a job and that is his attitude.  You can tell that everything doesn’t get to his head.

Arianne Zucker (Nicole) – She is SOOOOO funny and cute.  She just loves her character and loves to joke around with the entire cast.  I said how much I love her, espicially the dynamics with Alison and she said Thank you, it is nice to meet one of my seven fans – lol  She plays the, "I have a big head it is all about me attitude", but you can so tell it is an act and she just wants to be funny.  She was so nice and sweat and had some great answers.  She went to school to be a Vet – lol

I did not meet the first group as they were there from 9:30 AM to 11:30 PM.  I could not get there that early as I had my son with me and he needs a ton of medical stuff in the morning that getting out of the house before noon is amazing.  I would not have been able to meet anyone, except for a very nice employee there.  I couldn’t wait in the heat with my son (yes it was 85 and sunny) because of his medical conditions.  I was hoping there would be signatures in the Q&A, but she said no, but she then told me to wait there.  She came back and took me up on the stage.  She also took pictures with me and all the actors.  It was amazing and I was very grateful.  I knew I may not be able to do a lot with my son and I was fine with that.  I just wanted to experience being there, so anything else was a bonus for me.

Additonal people at Q&A from first session that I did not meet (but did get signature cards of some).

Peggy McCay (Caroline) – OK, so in reality she is getting old and a little out there.  Not sure if this is who she is in general, but she did this Caroline rap in the beginning and I don’t think she answered any question properly.  Like she was asked about if she could be any other character on the show and she started talking about another role she had which was playing a homeless person and how she liked that.  You would think she just misunderstood the question, but all 9 other actors answered the question before her.  All of her answers were like that and they were hard to understand at times.  I really like her character, but not sure what is up with Peggy.  She did mention Victor and her realationship with Victor several times.  Almost like how her character is jealous she is too.  Just was odd in general.

James Scott (EJ) – OK, so he is FUNNY.  Him and Eric were always talking to each other even off microphone.  He also talked to Ari a lot.  You could tell he loves his job and his castmates.  He also had some good answers when it came to Sami and Nicole and he likes playing Evil EJ, but he thinks sometimes he is too Evil and he doesn’t like that.  He would love to play Stephano, so he could win one of these arguments one of these days.  He also talked about a girlfriend and how in the middle of an argument he realized he was acting like he would on Days.  So he overall was very funny and down to earth.  I did get a signature card of his after the event.  You could tell he loves interacting with the fans too.

Eric Martsolf (Brady) – OK, he thinks the Kristen SL is really funny.  He made a joke is their any cougars in the audiance and also said he would like to play Kristen to know what in the world she is thinking.  He also was very funny, but you could tell he is a family man at heart.  Him and James Scott I would have loved to been able to meet them during the signature part, because they seemed like cool guys and seemed to really get along.  One question was which was more powerful Kirakis or DiMera and of course He said Kirakis and EJ said DiMera, it was cute and funny.  He mentioned that he did pre-law and that he told his dad he was taking a year off to act and then would go back to school to get his law degree.  He also joked that being a lawyer and actor were very similar.  I also got his signature card.

Kate Mansi (Abigail) – She was cute, she seemed slightly shy.  Honestly she seems the least memorable of all the actors.  She did talk about the family atmosphere at the show and how everyone welcomed her when she came on the show.  I also got her signature card.

Casey Deidrick (Chad) – He was pretty down to earth, also not as memorable.  He had some good lines and you can tell he enjoys his new persona as a DiMera.  Very cute in person.  I missed out on getting his signature card as they got handed out too quickly.

They all had a running joke of their boss was there so they, "LOVED" all the storylines written for them and other stuff like that.  It was cute watching them try to answer questions like who is the best kisser, who do you like working with the most, things like that.

They were also in the Mardi Gras Parade and it was so interesting seeing them enjoy that.  James Scott was looking around and taking pictures, you could tell they thought it was "cool" doing that.  Which it is, I was in Universals Mardi Gras parade once and it is a very neat thing to participate in.

Now there is always drama when you get a bunch of woman together that watch soaps.  They were mad they didn’t get their question answered or that some questions were dumb, or they get the first group of signatures, but not the second, etc etc etc.  But overall it was a really good event, but I guess others may not have had the same opinion.  I went in with lower expectations knowing how limited I was with my son.  Of course I also had a good day because it was the first time that I had a mommy/son day out together.  So it was nice going to the park with just my son and not having to worry about my daughter flipping out because I was holding him or changing her diaper or feeding her.  I could just concentrate on one child’s needs.  So I told my husband (who took my daughter to the beach and also had a good time) that we need to do this more often.  It started with him and her being sick and wanting to seperate the healthy and sick people, but also he had no desire to see days stars.  But it was such a great day for me overall and was so nice to have that time with just him and also get to meet some great people.  So I ignored the grumbling in the crowd – lol