Created by Thats4Entertainment, it was the company’s third time doing 90s Con after launching the nostalgic fan event in 2022. With 90s pop hits blasting through the speakers and a Slime Machine drenching fans in green goop, it was an elder-millennial and young Gen X paradise.
Here are all the coolest things we saw during the three-day convention.
‘90s celebrity reunions
The biggest draw of 90s Con was its seriously stacked guest list. There were stars from every decade-defining TV show—from “Boy Meets World” and “Full House” to “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Saved by the Bell.”
Three members of Backstreet Boys were in attendance (Nick Carter, AJ McLean and Howie Dorough) as well as Joey Fatone from *NSYNC.
Like at all cons, Saturday was the busiest day with panels and cosplay content every hour on the hour. In the morning, Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton and Kellie Williams talked “Family Matters,” then Melissa Joan Hart reunited with “aunties” Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick and other stars of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
‘90s Disney fans were then treated to a Disney Princess and Winnie the Pooh reunions with Jodi Benson (“The Little Mermaid”), Paige O’Hara (“Beauty and the Beast”), Linda Larkin (“Aladdin”), Susan Egan (“Pocahontas”), Judy Kuhn (“Hercules”) and Jim Cummings (voice of Winnie the Pooh).
In the afternoon, nearly the entire casts of “Full House” and “Boy Meets World” reunited on stage in their own panels. The beloved Mr. Feeny himself, William Daniels, was even there.
During a heartfelt panel with the stars of "Beverly Hills 90210," actress Shannen Doherty teared up when the audience gave her a standing ovation.
Back in June, Doherty shared that she had surgery earlier in the year to remove a tumor in her head. Dohery was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and five years later revealed that the cancer had returned as stage four.
Also on Sunday were panels for the stars of “Halloweentown,” “Saved by the Bell” and “Charmed.” TLC’s Chilli and T-Boz also got together with McLean, Dorough and Fatone to talk about their iconic 90s pop music.
Slime Machine
While it wasn’t exactly the same as the thick, fluorescent green slime made famous by Nickelodeon, the slime at ‘90s Con was still green and goopy. There was a consistent short line to get slimed. Guests were given clear plastic ponchos with hoods and
‘90s thrifting
While my one complaint about ‘90s Con was how few vendors were there, the show floor did have a solid variety of arts, crafts and vintage collectibles to shop from. One the more popular booths was Chris Says Shop Here, which saw plenty of people sitting on the floor and sifting through the dozens of decades-old music and lifestyle magazines. There were still plenty of copies of Seventeen, Teen Beat and J-14 to go around.
The crafter behind No Rhyme or Reason sold jewelry, keychains and bags from 90s toys and materials, including pre-loved McDonald’s toys and Power Rangers bed sheets. She added her own personal touch by giving the plastic Happy Meal Furby toys earrings.
There were several vendors who sold vintage t-shirts that have been repurposed with acid wash or tie-dye designs. Cosmic Disco’s wares included splatter bleached Blockbuster tees and denim and a selection of VHS tapes and MCD Music on the Go keychains (98 Degrees’ “Heat It Up” and Bewitched’s “Rollercoaster”).
Artist Jaimito Soto set up his “ilikecoolshit” booth as a “Coolbuster Video” complete with a rack of videos, a Blockbuster popcorn bowl and a VHS tape rewinder with a copy of American Pie inside.
90s Con merchI’ve been to a lot of different fan conventions, and none of them had as cool of merch as ‘90s Con did.
Thats4Entertainment understood the merch assignment with ‘90s Con branded t-shirts, windbreakers, scrunchies, slap bracelets, matching jogging suits, multi-color pens, yo-yos, slinkies and more – all sporting 90s color combos like purple and teal. The massive merch table also sold a helpful souvenir—an album to put all your printed celebrity photos in one place.
Other fan conventions, take note.
Cosplays
Surprisingly, there weren’t as many cosplayers walking the halls of the convention center as seen at other events.
However, the most popular were cosplays of Cher from “Clueless” and Belle and the prince from “Beauty and the Beast.” There were also Lisa Frank-inspired outfits, at least one Where’s Waldo and Carmen San Diego and a group of friends cosplaying the high school teens from “Saved By the Bell.”
On the show floor, famous musical drag group The Golden Gays offered #TokenSophia photos with the ladies of Richmond Street and accepted tips for cheesecake.
Florida man who collects “Titanic” on VHS
One of the biggest films of the 1990s was “Titanic,” so, of course, Tampa Bay’s own titanicfan97 (a.k.a. JD) was in attendance at 90s Con. JD and his partner Miss T were roaming the convention center with a cart full of “Titanic” on VHS. Along for the ride was JD’s Jack Dawson mannequin, and all three were handing out small treasures themed after the James Cameron classic.
