Michael Jackson Fan Fest

Would I have paid the full $ 30+ per person ticket? Probably not. But I snatched a deal on Living Social for tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show as well as the fanfest– totally worth it. The fanfest is basically a showcase of MJ’s props, clothes, memorabilia and more. They have a recreation of his living room, the castle he had made for his house, the video games he had at neverland.
There were lots of staff and everyone was super friendly and enthusiastic. They were always offering to take pictures of you by the props and music video backgrounds. You could sit in the same chair he sat in– it’s all rather nostalgic. The number of sparkly gloves– too many to count, I was distracted by the shiny.
All in all, a great oppurtunity to see the blood, sweat, and materials that went into Michael’s life and music. Check it out.

Considering my less than glowing feelings about the «Immortal» show, I wanted to see if anything could be salvaged out of this rush of new MJ related entertainment. So in order to try to find some sort of balance and sense out of this experience, I tried this «Fan Fest». Was this truly «for the fans»?
I’d have to say «Yes».
It’s striking how a bunch of inanimate objects and some livelier selections in music tracks could provide a much more entertaining event. This event focused on costumes, props and sets from his music videos and live performances, numerous awards, and a glittering wardrobe and attention to lavishness that would give even Liberace pause.
Best of all, it was far more interactive than your average self-​guided tour. The staff encouraged you to sit on some of the prop items, and were all too happy to take photos. The room was alive with Jackson’s more pop and rock driven tunes, and while it played a slow song every once in awhile, it wasn’t as heavy as the Cirque show was. This seemed more like a celebration than the actual «tribute».
But how could one not be charmed by a recreation of his study with bookshelves and giant chess set, or the popcorn and ice cream trolleys from the Neverland estate, or a sampling of his arcade games, or the massively huge castle, or the Disney created dioramas that used to be in his movie theater? There were also the lavish interiors of his numerous cars, or the collection of fan art, or people playing the Wii version of «Michael Jackson: The Experience». Seriously, for someone who mourned the loss of his childhood, he had an amazing adulthood. Or at the very least, he had some REALLY cool things to play with. I was excited for the chance to play with the few items offered.
But the Fan Fest wasn’t as large as I would have hoped (I know, we’re never really satisfied, are we?). After seeing online catalogs of an auction that would have taken place to sell his things years back, this almost felt like the tip of the iceberg of what could have been seen.
Don’t believe me? Here:
Some of these things were at the Fan Fest, but you just wanted to experience more.
Regardless, I had fun at this Fest. To see these things up close, and in select cases, touch them, made for a very personal, informative, and entertaining tour. It makes me wish that they would just turn Hacienda Palomino (his old stomping grounds here) into a museum, because I think THAT would just be awesome.

Michael Jackson Fans got the opportunity to catch a glimpse of a few items from the MJJ Estate including items from his world tours and TV appearances, to props and accessories from his videos and movies and a few items from Neverland Ranch as well. Going on until December 14^th, you will have the opportunity to view the following:
–The HISTORY Statue
–Various costumes and accessories-​most notable ones are the costumes from his BAD Tour, the top from the American Music Awards, the costumes in Billie Jean and Remember The Time, and the fedora hat and glove MJ used for the Mowtown 25^th Anniversary performance.
–All of his honors, awards, and achievements
–Try your luck with the King of Pop’s dance moves on The Michael Jackson Experience game
–Props and accessories from the following videos and movies– Moonwalker, Remember The Time, Earth Song, Leave Me Alone, and Scream
–Stage Props and unused/​unfinished costumes from the «This is It» Tour
–A few items from Neverland Ranch
–Artwork from fans around the world
–Costumes that will be used in the Immortal World Tour
Definitely worth a visit… ALOHA!!!
Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE-(114/365) «For the Fans»