GalliFriday

So, yeah. We partied so thoroughly Thursday night that I didn't really sleep. I napped for a little bit and then awoke still inebriated. It didn't last long though, since my excitement was able to chase the vertigo away. I bumbled downstairs to get a smoothie from Latitudes at 8 a.m. , determined to galvanize myself in anticipation of the fun to start in two short hours.
Victorious, I headed back to the room with smoothie in hand, glanced up and saw Sophie Aldred coming down the hall. Oh dear. I was so excited I had to bother her. She was simply gracious and didn't seem bothered by the interruption on her way to rejoining her breakfast party (she seemed to have run up to the room to grab some papers and was returning). I asked how she and her family have been enjoying their stay (knowing that they came in a few days in advance of the convention), and she replied that they had a great time in Disneyland yesterday. But a guy walked up and started talking to her with such familiarity that I thought they must know one another, so I awkwardly excused myself. Instantaneously I discovered that he was a fan as well and that I had just missed a nice opportunity to talk with Ms. Aldred. Ah, well! I told myself it was only beginning and I ought to get another chance.
So I rustled Keefe out of bed and we got downstairs in time to see Nicole, register, and run into the Dealers Room. Dan (CaptJackFaceOfBoe) was manning the door as a volunteer, so we said hi and leapt into the bright expanse of merchandise. We should have been banned. See the pic header for Doctor Who on the right and you'll understand.
While shopping, we talked with so many people. Saw Steve and met his wife Sue, saw Justin and met his wife Kathy, and then met John for the first time, though briefly. By chance, we noticed that in the corner were two guys at a table. Looking closer, it was none other than Sylvester McCoy and, we learned momentarily, his son Sam. We wandered over there, curious as to why no one else was mobbing him. It was our deduction that people just didn't realize he was there. He wasn't on the schedule to be in the room, and so people saw what they were seeking, which was merch, instead of Sylvester hanging out and able to do autographs. We bought a really snazzy picture of him as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace, and he signed it as well as a figure that we had just bought. Wicked!
We actually had to run our purchases up to the room at this point, since we couldn't possibly lug it around with us. Also, we didn't want anything to happen to the signed Sylvester McCoy figure nor the really cool circa 70's Tom Baker figure that Keefe had found. We were giggling, heading upstairs while everyone else was heading down to the con, our arms full of bags and toys. Comprar!
Knowing that the rest of the weekend would be busier each day, we wanted to get in line for autographs. So we brought the pic we had just bought from Sylvester McCoy to have Sophie Aldred sign it and went looking for the room. Sadly, we had just missed the cutoff. But Keefe, adorable thing that he is, put his hands together and pleaded with Ann, who was the special guest liasion, to let us in. Really, he's so freakin' cute I don't think anyone can resist him. She was so nice and allowed us to go in after monitoring that the line was moving at a decent click.
So we found ourselves in line and very quickly talking with Sylvester again and Sophie. It was great because I had the chance to ask further about Disneyland (her boys were entranced). We also had a fabulous moment of realizing who Rob Shearman is when we saw that he had written the ep Dalek from Eccleston's season. This is the ep that reintroduced the Daleks, setting the tone for the new series and how it deals with previously glossed over issues between the Doctor and the Daleks like the similarities that exist between them. Great stuff. We were quite excited to meet him. Regret washed over us as we realized that Gary Russell was there and we didn't have any comics for him to sign, though. Finishing the autograph gauntlet, we once again had to go to the room to drop off our precious new acquisitions and sprint downstairs to catch more programming.
We caught the end of Lisa Bowerman's interview when someone gaffed and spilled the ending of an audio. There was much groaning over that. Though Keefe and I hadn't gotten into the audios yet, after the con we started listening to and loving them!
After her interview was the joint interview of Sylvester and Sophie, with random questions being asked by an audience member selecting a number. Really fun. Highlight of course was when asked what their favorite toy from childhood was and if they still have it, Sylvester looks down at his lap. From that point on, the subtle nature of the carnal references sharpened into more overt statements, garnering laughter and pinked cheeks from Sophie.
We stayed in our seats for the Opening Ceremonies where all the guests were brought up to the stage. It was short, but funny, and everyone was released for dinner. We had some burgers, realizing that we were starving at this point, and headed up to the room to relax before the evening showing of Time Crash (Children in Need special) and Voyage of the Damned (DW Christmas Special that is still unavailable in the states on DVD). I also wanted to head over to karaoke, where even more people from the forums would be meeting.
Alas, we fell asleep. Blearily checked the time around midnight and decided to give up the ghost. We were done.