Please refer to the Bay Center’s website for more information about their policies, especially the new safety procedures that have been put in place.

Pensacon has events taking place throughout the day and night beginning Friday at 1:00 pm and ending Sunday at 5:00 pm. The main venue is the Pensacola Bay Center, with many other events takin gplace on the campus of First United Methodist Church of Pensacola. Each venue will have different hours based on events taking place there. See the Venues page for details.

Other venues throughout downtown Pensacola will be used for other events and official parties, both before and during Pensacon. Consult the program book, the mobile app, and the website for more information.

Pensacon welcomes families and attendees of all ages. Some panels and special events such as after-hours parties may not be appropriate for minors, so parents please use discretion when bringing your children to select events. Our staff and volunteers work hard to ensure a safe, friendly, and fun environment for all.

Due to the number of attendees and the Bay Center’s safety policy, strollers are not allowed in the Bay Center on Saturday. Pensacon and the Bay Center reserve the right to deny strollers entry on other days if deemed necessary due to capacity in the area.

Pensacon has grown too large to be confined in just the Bay Center, so we have spread out to various venues throughout Pensacola. The Vendor Floor, Artist Alley, Writers’ Block, celebrity signings, and celebrity Photo Ops will take place at the Bay Center, but celebrity panels, community/fan panels, special events, tabletop gaming and more will be held at the Wright Place campus. All venues are within walking distance, but free trolleys will be available as well to get you around town.

Many local hotels have partnered with Pensacon to provide special rates for attendees and vendors. As soon as this information is available, we will post it here on the Hotels section of the website.

Many of our attendees enjoy wearing costumes and spend a lot of time, effort, and money in creating their costumes (“cosplay”). However, it is absolutely not a requirement to wear a costume to attend Pensacon. Part of the fun is coming out to see how creative some of the costumes can be! And be sure to attend the WKRG Adult Costume Contest on Saturday night at the Henry Roberts Activity Center and the Papa’s Pizza Kids Costume Contest on Sunday afternoon in Poseidon’s Bay presented by Pensacola Honda.

Weapons Policy

1. ALL costume weapons must be inspected at the Weapons Check area. Security will thoroughly inspect and mark weapons of any kind to ensure that they are safe and inoperable. All costume weapons must conform to state and federal law.
2. All weapons must be easily distinguishable from real weapons and must be constructed from safe, lightweight material. Approved materials are: rubber, plastic (PVC, worbla, etc.), foam, cardboard, and papier-mâché. After each weapon has been checked, it will be tagged by security. Security will escort you to the Weapons Check area for inspection if weapons or props have not been properly tagged. Once your weapon(s) have been inspected, do not remove the tag for any reason. Costume props that do not pass security inspection may be temporarily dropped off with our staff.
3. All prop firearms must be incapable of firing projectiles and have an orange cap on the barrel. Projectiles or any type of ammunition are forbidden. BB guns, paintball guns, dart guns, blow guns, and water guns and their accompanying ammunition will NOT be permitted. Nerf guns are allowed, but ammunition of any kind (foam or otherwise) is prohibited. Nerf guns must pass weapons check and will have triggers zip-tied to prevent guns from firing.
4. Plastic air-soft guns are permitted with several requirements:
5. No ammunition or projectiles of any kind will be allowed.
6. Air-soft guns must be rendered completely inoperable beforehand, that is the gun shall not have any batteries installed or gas/propellant in the chamber, and the chamber must be filled with wax or similar material.
7. All air-soft guns must have a clearly visible orange tip on the barrel.
8. All air-soft guns will be marked by security at weapons check and have their triggers zip-tied to ensure that the gun is incapable of firing.
9. Metal weapons of any kind are forbidden, including hammers, scissors (including “safety scissors”), screwdrivers, saws, chains, nunchucks, brass knuckles, shields, X-Men-style claws, handcuffs, and the like. No “live steel” is allowed, such as metal swords, knifes or blades of any kind. If you have any of these types of weapons with your costume, please make sure they are made out of approved materials. Small, lightweight, metal objects like Sonic Screwdrivers, Lightsaber handles, umbrellas, and wooden wands a la Harry Potter are allowed, but must not be used as functional weapons. These items will all be subject to weapons check.
10. Costume bows are allowed, insomuch as they are so loosely strung so they cannot shoot projectiles of any kind. Prop arrows are permitted, as long as they are not sharply tipped, cannot be fired, are made of approved materials, and cannot conceivably hurt anyone. Costume swords/daggers made from approved materials are allowed, but may not have any sharp edges. Wooden swords are allowed, but must be tied to your costume in such a way that they cannot be drawn or unsheathed. Security will zip-tie swords to their sheaths to ensure that they cannot be drawn. If you wish to draw your sword to pose for a picture, it must be made of approved materials. Metal blades are not allowed, whether they are sheathed or not.
11. No wooden or aluminum/metal bats are permitted. This includes baseball bats, cricket bats, clubs, paddles, golf clubs, and similar objects. Bats made from approved materials are allowed.
12. Staffs (staves), similar to those found in Lord of the Rings, for instance, will be allowed, insomuch as they are used for walking and/or decoration, and not as a weapon. Wooden staffs are allowed, but must be lightweight and may not have any sharpened edges or tips. All staffs must be inspected by security.
13. Items such as bullwhips, ropes and lassos are allowed, but must remain rolled and secured at all times. These items will be subject to a weapons check.
14. Incendiary or flammable weapons are prohibited, including any items that are capable of igniting sparks or flames, burning, exploding, or combustion.
15. Do not display your weapons or props in a threatening or menacing manner. (For instance, it’s okay to pose for a picture, but cosplayers should not brandish weapons while walking the event floor.)
16. Keep prop weapons in convention areas. If you leave the premises or go out into public for any reason, please put away any and all prop weaponry immediately. Any real weapons purchased or won must remain in their original packaging and/or checked in with our weapons valet station as soon as possible. All prop/costume weapons purchased at the convention must be approved by security if they are to be carried during the convention. These items must also adhere to the weapons policy. Bags and backpacks are allowed, but are subject to a bag check at the discretion of staff and security.

Pensacon staff and volunteers work hard to ensure that everyone enjoys their time at the convention and is safe. Feel free to bring any problems you may have to our volunteers and they can escalate it up the chain of command as appropriate. You may also address your concerns with the staff at the Special Services table in front of the Bay Center. Our Safety Team will coordinate with venue security and onsite emergency personnel if the need arises.

We also provide Safe Havens located throughout each venue. If you are subjected to unacceptable, harassing, or threatening behavior, please contact a staff member or volunteer immediately. If a staff member or volunteer is not readily available or if you feel threatened in any manner, please proceed directly to any of the Pensacon information booths, merchandise booths, ticket booths, or vendor booth identified as a Safe Haven.

For more information on Pensacon’s Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Statement of Values, and Safe Environment Policy, visit our Info and Policies pages.

The gravel lots in fromt of the Bay Center will be reserved reserved for attendees with VIP passes. You must have the appropriate passes to park in this lot. Handicapped parking is available in the front parking lot of the Bay Center off Alcaniz Street.

VIP passholders with appropriate parking passes may park at the Pensacola Grand Hotel once the gravel lots are full.

The lot in the back of the Bay Center will be available for paid public parking while space allows. Please be advised that there will be no entry or exit through the back ramps at the Bay Center. No matter where you park, all attendees must enter and exit through security and Poseidon’s Bay in front of the Bay Center. .

Other lots throughout downtown Pensacola are not controlled by Pensacon, and pricing varies. Free trolleys will be running throughout the downtown area one hour prior to Pensacon’s opening each day, and will run all day and into the evening on Friday and Saturday.

See the Transportation page for more details.

Trolleys will stop at the Bay Center, the Wright Place campus, and elsewhere. Other stops and exact locations will be announced closer to the date of the convention.

Trolleys are free for all attendees, guests, staff, and volunteers of Pensacon.

Absolutely. Pensacon will have a merchandise booth on the vendor floor at the Bay Center. We will sell a variety of T-shirts, hoodies, and other branded merchandise.