Twin Cities Con is a first come first serve event from what I was told. I managed to snag a table January 1st.
In October we got information for load in. Since I had already attended MadEx by the same parent company, I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like. What is interesting is that the map made me think a lot more about how Galaxycon organizes things in the end. They were using different halls than what I had experienced at this convention center previously. I had been in Hall A for GeekCraft, they were using B, C & D for this event.
They mentioned that they partnered with SpotHero for parking in order to reserve spots around the city. I already had a parking plan since I learned where I liked to park back in April 2024 for GeekCraft's event at the same convention. The load in area is completely different than GeekCraft, however. I actually didn't realize how large the convention center was until I looked at a map. GeekCraft barely used anything.
Before the Event & Setup
Load in information was sent out to us on several occasions.
Loading dock was straight forward to get to. We were directed by the security guard to dock C East to park and unload. We were given a ticket for our window so they could keep track of when we arrived so we didn't overstay in the parking lot. I think it took us 45 minutes, which was a little over what we intended on but that is okay.
Badge pickup was through the doors and very easy to locate. I even asked for an extra badge and received one without paying extra! It was awesome. I snuck a photo of the map of the building so you can see. The X is where we came in from the loading dock.
My booth neighbor to my right was Spadeset (left if you're standing in front of my table) and behind me was Scout Bennett! So I was blessed with good company on top of my husband, daughter and Jenny being with me for the weekend.
We set up partially then headed out for the day. 
Friday morning was pretty busy. Dropped my daughter off at school after we got coffee and then loaded up the car. Told Jenny from Bao Wow Corner we'd get her around 9am. We brought some mail to the outside of the post office where I managed to get it STUCK IN THE DROP SHOOT but it did eventually update so clearly they got it unstuck (thankfully). Loaded Jenny up and headed downtown to the loading dock of the convention center much like Thursday. Once unloaded, Kenny and I chatted with Ronni from Tentacle Kitty for a good 20 to 25 minutes and learned so much. Kenny had to move the car, so he headed off to do that while I headed back to the booth to finish setting up.
We got everything done early enough to go get a coffee from Dunn Brothers, courtesy of Jenny (thank you for treating us!) and wander around the convention hall until opening at 11:45am. I will say that for a Friday, the hours were really long and early.
The Event Itself
We were pre-warned and even just prepared for Friday to be slow given the number of vendors anyways, and it turned out to be a pretty decent day despite that.
Around 2:10pm, we left to take photo with the people from Boy Meets World cast that was there. That felt pretty organized. VIP went to a separate line and went first. We were second in the non-VIP line. The photo op was like seconds. You basically walk in there, they have you take a photo and then it's over. Seems like getting an autograph and taking a selfie is probably more worth it and about the same price.
Around 2:45/3pm we decided to eat and found a pizza place in walking distance called Mother Clucker's Pizza. Ya'll, do not order online. Whatever dumb order services that exist make a $20 pizza cost like $30. Just walk over there, order and wait. Pizza was good, gave the extra to Spade and their helper.
We left the event at 5pm to go to the ball, leaving Jenny to handle any transactions for the last two hours. We had a military ball to attend at University of St. Thomas.
Saturday was the busiest day of all. We parked without issue, but once inside we saw the very long line of people waiting for the convention to open. I think we arrived around 9am? Maybe a little earlier/later. VIP hours started at 9:45am on Saturday. I am glad we got our photo op in on Friday afternoon. The celebrity area was insane for the entire day on Saturday. You could tell what the vast majority of people were at the event for.
The traffic at the event reminded me a LOT of Momocon. It was very steady the whole day. Not a fan of how weak the chairs felt, but I stood on mine to sort of get a quick overview of how busy it was just on my aisle (M). I didn't participate in any badge ribbon things or stamp rallies for this. I wish I did, but at the same time there was no way I would have been prepared in time. Stamp rallies definitely push people to find your table even if they don't always buy something or complete their cards.
When my husband and I walked around the event at one point, we could barely move through the crowds. Vendor area was so much worse than where my booth was located, but as you can see it was still quite busy. We were not too far from the bathrooms and the celebrities, so I think my aisle was more of a walkway people used to get to the other side over shopping.
Sunday was busier than Friday, but not anywhere near as busy as Saturday. We strolled in before 9am and got our coffee. The line was super short and easy to get through. We were able to stroll around the artist alley before everything opened and look at what was available. I also dropped off some Backerkit orders to the local artists I know while I wait on the last few designs to finish up and arrive to me.
I watched Cassie's booth for a portion of the morning (Craft Quest) while she got in line to get a signature on a print she designed from that voice actor. I managed to get two sales while she was gone and chatted with her booth neighbor who was next to me when I was at Convergence.
Sales were pretty slow but came in spurts. I think Friday and Sunday were basically the same as far as sales - neither were very good. Saturday was a bulk of everything for the weekend. Most of the passes people had were day passes instead of weekend passes which was interesting. Seems like people were only attending for certain celebrities or because it was something to do for the day (based on people we chatted with).
I wasn't a fan of people coming up to me asking me for my plush manufacturer's information. Look up laws before you start asking for manufacturer information. The number of people who don't understand safety testing and registration is really high. Sorry for the small minor gripe. I wasn't as bothered at the time but looking back, it really does consume my time and money to walk people through things.
I don't think I heard that the event was closed at any point over the loud speakers, but several people had already packed up early and left. We got stuff cleaned up behind the booth while we waited for the event to end. I am not sure why so many people pack up so early. You can get blacklisted from events for doing that if they catch you.
What Worked & What Did Not
Tables were just like MadEx and Animate! Des Moines where they were slammed up against one another not leaving much space between them. Vendor aisles were worse as many made the already small aisles more narrow.
There was a lot of wasted space they could have put tables or seating between the exhibitors and bathrooms. People were sitting on the floors against the walls because there weren't many places to relax.
I liked that they let us renew for next year while we were there. We knew by Sunday whether or not we'd be returning either way, so a discount for a guaranteed spot for the next year is always a bonus.
Too many vendors. I think if they spaced us out more and reduced quantity of vendors, that would have increased sales we made overall. This is a really minor complaint.
Location was great. Plentiful parking. Easy load in and out even if you weren't using the loading dock. The window for load in was quite large and there were several ways to use it, which is nice if we ever ended up with a large truck that needed to be backed up to a raised ramp.
Food at the convention was extremely expensive, even the coffee. Thankfully there were plenty of options within walking distance for those of us who had helpers who could fetch them.
Bathrooms were constantly being cleaned and restocked, but Saturday they fell behind. They struggled to keep up with the trash/recycling emptying causing overflow that often ended up on the floor.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the event a lot. Despite how long the hours were, it was still a very good event in the grand scheme of things. I actually expected significantly lower numbers of people attending than what really showed up.
I did hear (and later see) on the news that someone had claimed the event would attract around 40,000 people. I know some of the canceled celebrities made people not show up. There is a Facebook group for fans where a lot of chatter went on about it. I do not think this had the same attendance or even close to the same as Momocon though, so I do believe the 19,000 that was mentioned in the vendor discord later from the staff. Maybe they sold 40,000 badges - it's hard to say.
The Details (TLDR)
Event: Twin Cities Con 2024
Dates: November 8-10, 2024
Location: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Hours: Friday 11:45am-7pm, Saturday 9:45am-7pm & Sunday 9:45am-5pm CST
Total Vendors: ~453
Attendance: ~19,000
Travelworthy: Probably worth it for certain vendors if you're in the midwest.
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Booth Cost: $229.95 (Bao Wow Corner & I shared a $304.95 table)
Total Sales: $1,576.05 (this is before all costs are taken out)
Transaction Fees: $36.47
Taxes: $121.70
Total Profit: $1,187.93