I've Always Wanted to Go to a Harry Potter Fan Conference

And this one looks amazing: LeakyCon 2011.

It's being organized by the same people who do The Leaky Cauldron website. It's in July of 2011 in Orlando, Florida, which means many fun-filled days spent at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

There's going to be lectures and presentations on Harry Potter as well as wizard rock bands, Quidditch games, vendors, balls, costumes, and more. They're also going to arrange for everyone to attend a showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which will be released that week. I think I'm hyperventilating a little.

Oh, and this is really cool (and also writing-related). The conference will feature a Lit Day with a panel of guests who will discuss the world of children's literature. The panel will include writers, editors, and agents. Some of the names I recognized right off the bat were Maureen Johnson, Libba Bray, Rebecca Sherman, and Kate Schafer Testerman.

See, I have to go. Not only is it a fan conference, it's also a writing conference. It's being held at my dream vacation spot and I'd get to see the final Harry Potter movie along with 1000+ other hardcore fans.

I just talked to my husband about the whole thing and he surprised me by actually saying he thought it might be fun to go. He's a fan, but not a mega-fan like me, so I was prepared for him to tell me it sounded lame or something.

Now, the only hang up is our budget. The whole thing is kind of pricey. The conference is $350 a person and then you have to pay for admission to the park, the hotel ($200 a night, but you do get to stay on Universal Studios property), and airfare for two people. And don't forget the several thousand dollars I'm going to spend on Harry Potter souvenirs (just kidding... well, probably not).

Fingers crossed. We're hoping to make a decision within the next few days. I really, really, really want to go!

What do you guys think? Is it worth it? Doesn't it look like the best HP fan conference ever?

-- Lisa

PS - The Harry Potter Puppet Pals are going to be there!