Paid the high-tier price for a photo op at the Cherry Hill event on March 12 and arrived about 20 minutes after the designated starting time, thinking I'd be on line for a few hours anyway. When I asked the bouncer at the doorway of the photo room if that was the right location for that celebrity, he smirked and said nope, it's over and didn't offer any other explanation to me or another fan who arrived at the same time and was also confused. Just kept smirking and said it was over, practically giggling with glee at our disappointment. I realize I must've overlooked some instruction to be there right on time - although the instructions seemed to emphasize NOT getting there too early and said the actor would be doing photo ops for about 90 minutes - so it's my lo$$. But that self-important prick's condescending attitude was beyond unacceptable. read more

Monster Mania Convention - I arrived only 20 minutes into the photo op event, only to be told by a smirking staffer that the photo ops were DONE. - Performing Arts Near Me

I attended Monster Mania on October 8th. I wanted to purchase tickets for David Howard Thorton. He was sold out. I was not warned before I purchased tickets, by Dave, the owner, that this was a possibility. There was not information on The Monster Mania website. At the convention, I spoke to Dave and he was apathetic. "What do you want me to do, put you in front of the line. I told him I would like a credit for a future show and he replied "this happens at conventions." I also spoke to his son, also David. He seemed flustered and unsure how to help. Attend Monster Mania at your own peril. read more

I have always had a great time at MONSTER-MANIA, and I have been going for many years; are there a few problems? of course...this is a major convention, with thousands of people over three days, so not everything is going to be perfect. But overall it's a lot of fun, the celebrities are very friendly and seem really appreciative of their fans, and the vendors have many interesting items for sale. I was there last night and everything moved like clockwork (at least in my case). I want to point out that folks need to understand the difference between a photo op (and autograph) at the TABLE where the celeb is sitting, as opposed to a PRO photo op which is taken by a very skilled professional photographer. NO celebs hang around for 90 minutes in the PRO room; things need to keep moving in order to make sure everyone who paid for a PRO photo gets their celebrity pic. If you feel the PRO photo op is out of your budget, you can take a pic (with your own cell phone or camera) with the celeb of your choice, at the TABLE that he/she is sitting; and they usually are there for hours, minus a meal break and when they are posing for the PRO photos in a different room. Some celebs charge for a selfie or posed picture; others do it for free provided you purchase an autograph from them (either an 8x10 photo that can be purchased at the table, or you can bring an item to have signed; DVD, poster, book, etc). The folks who run the convention do NOT have anything to do with celebrity pricing; that's solely up to the celeb. By the way, and I can only speak for myself, I have NEVER encountered any rude volunteers or employees at MONSTER-MANIA or the Crown Plaza Hotel itself. Do a little online research before you arrive; it will make your experience at MANIA that much better...and if you get a PRO photo, check the schedule posted at the entrance to the photography room to make sure you arrive at least 15-30 minutes early in order to get in line...not 15-30 minutes late. read more

Terrible. They over sell tickets. No guarantees to get any photos or autographs that you pay for in advance, with no apologies. I don't understand how they get any celebrities to return. The whole place smells like feet and armpits. I'm not certain how they get fans to return, either. They treat them like garbage. Stay away! read more

It gives me no pleasure to do this. For something to warrant one star from me, it has to be remarkably dysfunctional. Monster Mania 39 was the most poorly planned event I have ever attended - that is seriously saying something. All I wanted was your typical convention experience. Take a look around the dealer's room, maybe buy something fun, sit through some panels and possibly chit chat with the talent that shows up. It's a simple concept. The hotel was not nearly large enough for the crowd and there was bottlenecking at every turn. There were very few staff members there to direct people, and the few who were there were unable to keep any sort of order at all. It was unclear where lines began and ended; wouldn't some velvet ropes help set that up? There was also zero security that I could see, which made me extremely anxious, seeing as weapons are actually sold here. There's two people at each doors just saying "Wristbands, wristbands" over and over again, not really looking, and I'm fairly certain a flood of people without wristbands managed to make it past anyway. Want to see a specific guest? Forget it - the lines to get into any of the autograph rooms are insane and spiral all throughout the hallways. The line to see Tim Curry took up the entire lobby, and it's quite a large lobby. I dropped all hopes of seeing any of the guests after seeing that. There were just far too many people packed into this mid-sized hotel. I was on the verge of a panic attack because I was being squished from all sides by a huge crowd, no one moving, nowhere to go. Apparently they sold out this year but in my opinion they still sold far too many tickets - how is it okay to pack that many people in there? Parking is a basically nonexistent and there were crowds of people just running across Route 70. There's really nowhere else to park in this area unless you take refuge in one of the nearby shopping centers. I wanted to like this. I'm a lifelong horror fan and I love conventions, but if this one was at all indicative of how it goes typically, I will not be returning. Beyond disappointed! read more

The most diplomatic criticism of MM39 I've read so far was "I think you guys flew too close to the sun this time." I think that's an excellent summary and includes the awful truth about the fiery crash back to Earth on Saturday. This isn't a review to condemn what I believe to be a great convention, but a note in the hope that things change. I didn't enjoy myself. It was not a great experience. And I paid for that experience. My opinion is that the convention inadvertently created the perfect "License Renewal at the DMV" simulator because that was our entire Saturday. And we paid $50 for two day passes, plus gas and food. We pre-paid $100 for the photo op. But it was Tim Curry. And he was worth every penny. The Crown Plaza in Cherry Hill was the site of this event. The hotel was filled beyond capacity and the lobby flooded with both casual day-trippers and people waiting in line for photo ops. By 9:30am the hotel lot was full and blocked off. Cars took up every curb spot for a half-mile around. I know because that's how far away I parked after scoping the neighborhood for 40 minutes. The line for Tim Curry wove around the lobby, touching three of the four sides and folded back on itself across the center. It was the THIRD line people had to stand in to reach the celebrities. Some folks jumping to the con's defense online offered, "Well, just buy your tickets online, first!" We did. And were told we had to wait in a line to exchange that printed ticket for a "hard ticket" printed by the photography company. That line consumed three hours of our morning. We were later informed by other attendees that they just walked in, stepped up to the photog's table and got their "real" tickets. Meanwhile, overcrowding brought the Fire Marshal out and they closed the gates. There was a vibe carried along the photo op lines that the event might be shut down because of it. Rumors spread fast in the lobby because there was no con presence on the floor aside from a few volunteers who admitted they knew little more than we did about what was happening. No signage to indicate where certain lines began or ended. No communication between con management and volunteers. When the con tried to adjust to changes, the volunteers kept doing what they were told because there was no chain of command to execute those changed. The overcrowding made it impossible to enjoy the dealer rooms or get anywhere else without feeling like a SEPTA subway at rush hour. Not enough seating. They actually cleared out part of the lobby to set up a buffet-style snack bar, which seemed incredibly stupid because it was set up just outside the hotel restaurant that had more than enough space to serve sterno-heated potato wedges and heat-lamp burgers. read more

Needs better organization and needs volunteers who aren't rude and are at least have an idea of what's what.

Came on here because it's the only place where they can't delete any negative reviews. As a previous poster said, this event is a total money grab. The guy running it is completely incompetent and treats customers like they are a complete and utter inconvenience to him. The venue is too small for what they try and do in it, and I can only imagine they just don't want to spend money to do it elsewhere. Was near impossible to even walk around without being in just a line of people unable to even stop and look at anything. Dave is a jack ass that doesn't take any criticism to try and improve his show, but rather gets offensive and has a response for everything even if he doesn't even know wtf he's talking about. His own volunteers and staff were more helpful than he was and was apologizing for his behavior. Staff was nice, but most didn't know anything, they sent us to the wrong line that we waited in for hours before being told we weren't even going to get an autograph and to come back three hours later, and then to top it off on three different occasions we saw staff just allowing friends and family to cut in front of everyone. I have a lot of respect for people who work hard and try and organize events, I know it's not an easy thing to do, and I'd never write a negative review for someone just straight up trying their best in this world, but as previous posters have even said here, Dave was so rude and condescending he's not really even worthy of that courtesy. read more

Monster Mania constantly is saying guests are coming to the event that are not coming. This is in order to get fraudulent ticket sales. They refuse to refund tickets and will block you from their page for asking. read more

This review is ADA specific. I've been to several different conventions and every one of them either had 1) A special line for the handicapped & their party or 2) A card with a time to come back so the handicapped don't have to stand & wait. This can be accomplished by someone in their group who is given an aide wristband so the handicapped person doesn't have to walk unnecessarily. This con does neither. Instead, you walk up to the celebrities' lines that you want to meet (they are in multiple buildings with a bit of a walk between them) and they will give them a seat, while the aide waits on line. This is fine when the line is reasonable, but for celebrities with lines that take hours it is not very practical to leave a handicapped person alone that long. The only person that had a ticket system that we saw was Charlie Hunnam, with the same expectation - the aide leaves the person in the lobby & stands on line. The line on Friday started forming at 9am & they didn't start giving out tickets until 5pm so you're looking at leaving a handicapped person alone all day if you're a party of 2. There is no official policy for ADA, so you're at the mercy of explaining the situation and hoping that the person giving out the tickets gives you one around the time you arrived & doesn't just give you the last ticket. The hotel itself is ADA compliant and I can not stress enough how awesome Celeb Photo Ops are - they are the best in the business! The con itself is a fun time & the volunteers are amazing!!! I truly enjoyed talking to them as much as the celebrities! But if you are attending with someone who has mobility issues I wanted to share this so you were aware of the challenges. We had fun but passed on meeting some celebrities & skipped Sunday entirely because it was too much for my mom. Most cons also have some sort of lounge for the handicapped to sit, which this con does not have. It can be a struggle to find a chair in the lobby. I hope it's addressed in the future to be more ADA friendly. read more

Just a little update to my previous review. This was my third Monster Mania. Each one I have attended has shown small improvements in the way things are handled. The late Summer/Fall edition was no different. The workers handled everything much better than previous MMs. Crowd control was nearly perfect. Autograph lines were handled really well. Much improvement over previous years. I didn't feel like I was in a fire hazard when down in the lower room. As always, they plus it with more bigger name stars. This time around, Carrie Fisher and George Romero headlined. Add in Danny Glover, Christopher Lloyd, and Gary Busey along with horror and movie favorites like Malcolm McDowell, and some younger stars from hot current properties like Hunger Games, Under the Dome, and Being Human and you had a huge lineup that really made this con a huge success. So, MM is really close to getting a 5 star. It is just missing a little something extra, yet. I am not sure what that is, yet. I like the venue. I hope they can stay there. But they continue to grow and I am wondering if they will not have to move to a bigger spot, eventually. Maybe if they add temporary cattle chutes in that lower room. Also, the vendor floor tends to get so crowded you can't move. It makes it difficult to interact with the vendors or look through their stuff when people are trying to push through the hall. Everyone is cool, though. I have yet to see flared tempers or problems. It is definitely a great community atmosphere. The celebs seem to love the interaction as well. So good job, MM. Keep up the great work. You guys started as the little con that could. Now you guys are the big con that the other guys want to be. read more

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This event is SO unorganized and the customer service is awful. I purchased VIP weekend tickets, even though I could only attend Friday, in order to make sure I got both a photo op and autograph with Michael C. Hall. After the many posts from the show-runner Dave, I decided to reach out and make sure I had all the details correct. I was met with hostility and a bad attitude. He informed me that because of the time of my photo op (which was poorly planned at the time of show doors opening) I would not be able to use my skip the line on that day because that's when they would be lining those with VIP up for the autographs. This makes absolutely NO sense and this was clearly not planned out in advance. If they had planned on lining up VIPs during photo ops, why was this not mentioned when purchasing photo op sessions or VIP/GA tickets? I've been to plenty of cons in my day, with VIP tickets, and I have never once heard of something so ridiculous. I have work Saturday and Sunday, so I basically wasted $160 to not be able to use my "skip the line" pass. This show does not care about the customer experience whatsoever and is just a huge cash grab. read more

This was a horribly planned event. To start the hotel staff was great and very helpful. As far as accommodations for disabled people the hotel itself seemed to have 9 handicap parking spots . For normal every day use this should be fine. For an event planned on the scale of this , totally unacceptable, but like I said the hotel staff completely tried to rectify this situation and much thanks to them. Secondly the piece of shit Dave Hagen that ran the event is a total joke. When asked about what can be done for the handicap his attitude and remarks were non caring and basically had a too bad then don't co attitude. Even his staff was appalled at this creep. Fitting name since it is Monster Mania. We posted the incident on the Monster Mania page and it was abruptly taken down. Don't worry Dave this doesn't end there. Not seeking my ass kissed but some sort of accommodations for the handicap people in attendance was basically told " To bad you can wait on lines like everyone else" or basically don't come! This will be taken as far as it can go . He is a disposable man. Shawn Michaels people the night before saw the situation and did everything they could to help all in attendance with and ailment or handicap as for weeding people into the regular line to cut waits and to provide seats for people overcome by heat and stress. Way to go Team Michaels and Thank You for your kindness. Back to Dave , only thing he seemed to care about was the money as the event was way overcrowded and lines for some guest were 2-3 hours long. To say a Burn Victim , a Child with Cerebral Palsy and other ailments should wait these times on lines or be told to stay home is ridiculous and I promise you you fat slob son of a bitch it won't end here. So enjoy all the greed you sucked in this weekend , I actually hope you choke on it .Every organization and lawyer will be contacted on Monday to deal with you. read more

My comments on Facebook were also deleted so I shall post here. I went Friday with the intention to buy a Saturday pass the next day. Friday was alot busier than usual but I got my place in line for my Tim Curry photo op. Mind you we were advised get in line twenty minutes early. After parking two or three blocks away the time was 3:15pm and despite the convention not being open until 5 we got in, signed up for the photo op and got in line. We finished there at 6 which isn't too bad. It was the hallways and vendor spaces that were my issues. There was nowhere to move, people were pushy and staff was kinda snippy. It took about two hours just for the vendor areas and again that was Friday night. Left for the night got to my hotel down the street and honestly had every intention to return Saturday. Until Saturday morning came. I woke up to the several messages from friends saying it was super packed and if I wasn't there don't push your luck. So I made the decision that for my personal safety, I would just make plans elsewhere and get back to Baltimore. I don't blame the volunteers they were left in the dark like everyone else but I won't be coming back if I run the chance of getting blocked out, ticketed, having a crowd related medical issue, ect. This convention has outgrown it's venue and I made that observation in 2013 only to see it snowball from there. Hopefully changes will be made for next monster Mania. read more

I was in Cherry Hill for Monster Mania's convention held at the end of July. My only previous criticism of Monster Mania's spring convention was with their lack of star power and a rather anemic guest list; this was not an issue for the summer show. The headliner, Neve Campbell, was making one of her first-ever horror convention appearances and joined by her Scream co-stars Skeet Ulrich and Roger Jackson. A child when the first Scream movie was released, I was at a prime age to be swept up in the fandom and horror hysteria that followed. The cast of Scream graced the cover of every movie magazine during the mid-90s and were heralded as the new scream queen and kings. The critical and financial success of Scream ushered in a half-decade revival of the slasher subgenere, though the Wes Craven directed film remains the best example of pre-millennial horror. All four Scream movies were screening during Monster Mania and I had a chance to reacquaint myself with the quadrilogy. The original is still the best and holds up remarkably well, but I contend that three out of the four entries are worth watching and range in quality from good-to-great. There were also other film screenings at Monster Mania and I was able to attend the showing of one of my favorite horror films: TerrorVision. An underrated horror-comedy from the late 80s, written and directed by Ted Nicolaou and produced by Charles Band, TerrorVision stars cult-icon Gerrit Graham, who was in attendance, and Factory superstar and Warhol muse Mary Woronov. The song that plays over the opening credit sequence is one of the catchiest in film history. I was also able to sit in on the Malcolm McDowell Q & A. The iconic British actor was very entertaining, regaling the audience with behind-the-scene stories about his classic and some not-so-classic films. News broke that "Rowdy" Roddy Pipper, star of They Live, had passed away. His death cast a shadow over the first day of show. We lost a lot of genre superstars this year; Wes Craven passed away only a few months after the convention. It might be odd next time I watch the Scream movies, knowing the genius that created so many great horror films will never again step behind the camera. read more

Monster Mania Convention - Performing Arts Near Me

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My boyfriend and I came to the Monster Mania convention this year, after learning about the Lost Boys reunion that was going to happen. It was advertised that Jason Patric, Chance Michael Corbitt, G Tom Mac, Billy Wirth and Jamison Newlander would be in attendance. We were super excited and wanted to buy our tickets right away. Considering this was our first time attending the event, we weren't sure what tickets to purchase- the VIP weekend tickets package ($150 each) or the weekend pass ($60). We had some questions about the VIP tickets, so my boyfriend e-mailed Dave Hagan, who runs the show and is listed as the main contact person on the Monster Mania Convention site. Weeks went by, no response. So I figured he just missed the e-mail and thought I would send him one as well. So I did... no response either. He was constantly tweeting, so clearly spent a lot of time online, but wasn't using that time to get back to inquiries about the convention. Since our questions weren't answered, we went with the $60 passes instead of the VIP tickets- meaning that the convention lost $180 from us. The day that we arrived at the convention, we had a couple questions for the folks working the event, to see if Jason Patric or Chance Michael Corbitt would be there, since we didn't see their names at the autograph table. The people we asked had no idea and said they would talk to Dave, who was sitting only a couple seats away but talking to someone else. We waited there for about 5 minutes- as Dave just casually talked to whoever and none of the staff approached him to ask. We walked away, annoyed. 10 minutes later, I decided to go up there and ask, again. I was able to speak to Dave this time, who said, "No he won't, we posted it everywhere". Um, somehow it wasn't mentioned on Twitter at all. Bottom line, their customer service is literally terrible. They seem annoyed by your questions & didn't even bother e-mailing us back when we were traveling 5 hours to get to this convention. It's very frustrating. On the other hand, the Lost Boys cast that did attend the event, as well as the vendors, made the convention worthwhile. G Tom Mac, Billy Wirth and Jamison Newlander were amazing and incredibly friendly. Their Q&A session was awesome and G Tom Mac's performance was outstanding. They made the trip from Pittsburgh completely worth it for us. Danny Trejo was also very friendly and had an awesome Q&A session. The vendors were great- we bought tons of t-shirts, posters and other awesome memorabilia. The hotel itself worked well for the event, although we didn't have great customer service there either. When we arrived on Friday around 3:30 pm, we had a lot of trouble finding parking and literally had to drive around for 30 minutes looking for a space, since we didn't feel comfortable with the valet folks driving down the street to some random lot with our car. Even though we were staying in the hotel, there weren't spaces reserved for us- and anyone who lived close by could just park right in the hotel lot. The hotel was clean though and we enjoyed our room. Overall, we had a very good time. Yes, the customer service from the operations of the convention are terrible and yes the hotel is completely overpriced and somewhat of a hassle to deal with, but the convention itself was great. We enjoyed ourselves and are considering to come back next year. I just wish that Dave Hagan and his staff would be a little more helpful and appreciative of folks who are attending the event. I would warn anyone who plans on attending to not expect much when it comes to their customer service. read more

They have great guests. Beware, they may sell out of tickets fast so it is in your best interest to purchase the weekend pass. If you cannot buy them online buy the weekend passes at the door because they will sell out read more

This is a really fun horror convention. There's an autograph room, where I had a nice conversation with the actress who hung from the meat hook in the original Texas Chainsaw movie! Then there are sections for shopping, with amazing monster dolls and clothes, etc. I am into doll making and I met and learned about alot of cool doll makers, like Terry Cruikshank. There are alot of independent film companies there too, Troma was there, giving out cool stickers and just being their friendly wonderful selves. Wicked Pixels was there, also very nice. Also the company that made Punk Rock Holocaust! There are casting calls and try outs for films, celebrity lectures (I met Amanda Plummer she was cool!), film screenings and people who show up in costumes you can be photographed with ( I had my pic taken with Nosferatu and Freddie Kruger). I want to come in a costume next time. There are film stars who attend ( you do have to stand in line for their autograph but its worth it!) I had my photo taken with Mr. Tom Savini, the amazing actor and special effects artist! I learned he has his own special effects school and he lives in a haunted house!! Such inspiration!! Get there early because there is limited parking ,we had to walk a long ways and i wore heels which sucked. Also bring money because the atms went down. There is a bar, so you can chill out and get drinks and food. They have a discount hotel rate too for those attending the convention!!! I think this happens twice a year, the next is Aug 22-24 2008 woo hoo!! read more

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We were at Monster Mania (March 2019). The venue was nice and spread out but it was too over crowded, I mean hardly walking room but that's probably due to the great line up. I felt like the most vendors were fairly priced but some were way over priced. Friday night was great and the staff was very accommodating to my husband, who walks with a cane and my son, who is in a wheel chair. On Saturday I went to speak with Dave Hagan, the coordinator of this event. I wanted to thank him and ask him if we could request, not to be put in front of line, but if we could make other provisions because my husband and son couldn't wait on the 2/3 hour line for one guest. He told me no, when my husband went to ask him, he very rudely said handicap people have to wait in line like everyone else. We weren't asking to cut lines, just for some assistance. I posted this on the MONSTER-MANIA Facebook page and my post was taken down. I guess they didn't want the bad press. It's a shame. read more

I had a terrible experience! I went to a covention March 10 in Cherry Hill New Jersey, The place was over sold and the Fire Marshall was called in, I was locked out 2 hours and was not able to see actor Kane Hodder, I told them i had Type 2 diabetes and they refused to let me in and i almost passed out two times, I had to urinate and my eyes were blurry! The volunteer told me I would have to wait on the line at the front to go in, I was very polite but at the end of the day my patience was running thin! The event was a disaster and very unprofessional! It was packed like sardines, it was disgusting and I am very angry! I wrote about my experiences on Facebook and I wrote to Dave Hagan and my posts were deleted! A fan even was cut by a blade which is not allowed at the event! They were hiding all the comments about what happened! I think they should be fined and I want to be compensated for what i went through ! read more

Been going to Monster Mania for some time now, today the lines to get in were insane. Just to pick up a wrist band was a mission. Was way to over packed if the fire Marshall had showed up it would of been shut down. They need to find a convention center that can hold all these people. read more

They were very disorganized on their method on how to get their celebrities to distribute autographs. There were hundreds of people turned away disappointed. The fans were not given a raincheck to come back the next day or what they should do. Don't attend events at monster-mania. Totally unprofessional. read more

Best Horror Convention I've ever been to!!! Great celebrities. Cool merchandise!! Must check it out!! Runs twice a year in Cherry Hill, NJ, plus also runs in Baltimore, MD read more

Easily my favorite Horror Convention. Inexpensive ticket prices, great guests and friendly staff. Highly recommended for horror fans.

I've never been to monster mania but I've always heard wonderful remarks towards the whole event. Today I went an hour after they opened (Saturday) and they are sold out. To an extent i understand it's out of their control but who ever is in charge of operations needs to seriously reconsider their location because they clearly exceeded capacity leaving many fans disappointed and frustrated read more

As always the show was great this past weekend. Plenty of great guests, great organization, and the lines moved quickly. Already looking forward to the next show! If you haven't been to Monster Mania yet you are definitely missing out! read more

Me and my bf went twice this year and both times we had a great time.There are so many tables of horror themed movie items that you can buy. Some people dress up in coustume and some don't. Theres heavymetal band designed clothes and tons of horror collectibles. We never leave empty handed. The first time we went Robert England was there. The second time we went some of the original cast from Hellraiser were there and some of the first season cast of the walking dead. My bf bought me a teaddybear thats mouth is ripped open dripping with fake blood, theres masks and horror movie posters, they have everything. They play selected horror movies for people to watch. If you want to rent a hotel room there you have to do it in advance, because there always sold out the day of the event. Everyone's friendly and it's a great fun thing to go to, i can't wait until the next one.I recomened this to anyone who loves horror movies. read more

Is it just me or do they have the same revolving roster of guests each year. Walking dead, kane hodder, and American horror story. Once in a blue moon we get someone worth our 25 dollar admission (dario argento, george romero, john carpenter, etc). I'm still waiting for bruce Campbell . read more