FAN EXPO Canada celebrated its 30th anniversary from August 27 to 30 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, bringing together comics, gaming, anime, collectibles, movies, television and plenty of pop-culture fandom for four busy days.
With so much happening across the show floor, it would be impossible to cover every booth in the same amount of detail. Instead, we focused on the activations that caught our attention, especially the ones that gave us something to experience rather than simply something to photograph.
For our family, LEGO, Disney Consumer Products and Wacom were three of the biggest standouts. Elsewhere, PlayStation, Bell, MGA, Hasbro, Red Bull and several other exhibitors added their own take on the convention experience.
Here are some of the moments that stayed with us after the show.
Quick facts: FAN EXPO Canada 2026 — August 27–30, 2026 · Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto · 30th anniversary. Official site: fanexpocanada.com — see hours, tickets and floor map.
LEGO Brings Pokémon, Star Wars and Super Heroes to FAN EXPO
LEGO had one of the most varied booths we visited, bringing together Pokémon, Star Wars and Spider-Man alongside several hands-on activities.
The Pokémon presence was especially hard to miss. A life-size Pikachu stood at the booth as part of LEGO's celebration of Pokémon's 30th anniversary, while nearby displays showcased the company's recently launched Pokémon sets.
For fans who wanted more than a photo, LEGO also offered a Pokémon-themed Make & Take. The booth had similar hands-on opportunities tied to Star Wars, giving visitors a chance to build something rather than simply look at the latest sets.
One of our favourite parts of the booth was the Heroes: Origin Story experience. We were able to build our own Hero Crest before stepping into a comic-book-inspired photo opportunity. It was a simple activity, but it gave the booth a nice balance between LEGO's traditional build experience and the larger world of FAN EXPO.
The displays themselves also gave us plenty to stop and look at. Spider-Man had a life-size brick-built display, while Star Wars had its own large-scale experience, including a life-size AT-RT photo opportunity.
The booth also featured LEGO Insiders activities, a retail area and a Star Wars-themed scavenger hunt. Those elements helped make the activation feel more like a collection of smaller experiences than one giant display.
We also had the opportunity to meet Paul Sun-Hyung Lee during the event, adding another memorable moment to the LEGO visit.
What made the booth work for us was the variety. One person could come for Pokémon, another for Star Wars, and someone else might be there for Spider-Man or the building activities. It gave families and longtime LEGO fans plenty of reasons to stop, even if they weren't interested in exactly the same thing.
For us, the Hero Crest build and the chance to explore the different displays made LEGO one of the more memorable stops of the weekend.
Disney Consumer Products Goes Big With Toy Story, Star Wars and Marvel
Disney Consumer Products was another highlight for our family, and in some ways, it was the booth we enjoyed the most.
The activation featured photo opportunities inspired by Toy Story, Star Wars and Marvel, giving fans several different worlds to step into. The Toy Story presence was particularly notable this year as the activation expanded its lineup.
But what really stood out to us was the photography.
The booth had photographers capturing families as they moved through the different areas, which made a surprisingly big difference. Instead of trying to manage the kids, find the right camera angle and take a quick phone photo at the same time, we could actually focus on the experience.
Our kids came away with photos that looked like something more than a rushed convention snapshot. That made the activation feel much more worthwhile for us as a family.
The Star Wars and Marvel areas also gave adult fans plenty of recognizable imagery, while Toy Story added something especially appealing for younger visitors. The combination made the booth easy to enjoy even when different members of a family had different favourite franchises.
Disney's activation also included a range of licensed products and partner brands, but the photo experiences were what stayed with us.
That is an important distinction for a convention booth. A display can be visually impressive, but an activation becomes much more memorable when you actually participate in it and have something to take away afterward.
For us, those photographs became part of the FAN EXPO experience itself.
With so many booths competing for attention across the convention floor, Disney managed to give our family something we genuinely wanted to keep.
Wacom Lets Young Artists Get Hands-On
Wacom was a particularly natural stop for us because both of our kids enjoy drawing.
The company showcased its current creative hardware at FAN EXPO, including the MovinkPad Pro and MovinkPad 11. We also spent time with Sarajean, who walked us through Wacom's current lineup and demonstrated the products. For more on how Wacom hardware performs long-term, see our Wacom Intuos Pro review.
The most useful part of the visit, however, was getting our kids in front of the hardware.
Both of them tried the MovinkPad and immediately started drawing. They were interested in the experience itself rather than spending time figuring out how everything worked, which made the demonstration especially easy for us to understand from a family perspective.
We were not testing the device as part of a long-term review, so we're not going to make claims about durability, battery life or how the MovinkPad performs after weeks of use. What we can say is that, during our time at the booth, both kids found it approachable and enjoyable.
That firsthand experience also showed us something that a product sheet can't.
For someone already interested in digital art, being able to pick up the pen and start creating makes the appeal of a portable drawing device much easier to understand.
Wacom's presence at FAN EXPO also tied neatly into the company's focus on the creative process, with the booth highlighting how artists use digital tools to create characters and visual worlds.
For our family, though, the simplest test was the most useful one: did the kids actually want to keep drawing?
They did.
That made Wacom one of the booths we were happy to spend extra time with, and it gave us a better sense of where the products fit into the creative side of the convention.
More Highlights From the FAN EXPO Canada Show Floor
The show floor had far more than our three featured stops, and several other activations caught our attention along the way.
PlayStation Puts Wolverine in the Spotlight
PlayStation brought Marvel's Wolverine to FAN EXPO with a themed photo opportunity and a claw-speed challenge. Fans could also pick up a prequel comic connected to the game while supplies lasted.
It was a straightforward concept, but it fit the convention well. Wolverine is instantly recognizable, and the claw challenge gave visitors something to do rather than simply pose for a photo.
Bell Brings Esports to the Convention Floor
Bell's presence focused on competitive gaming, with the Bell Esports Challenge amateur finals taking place during FAN EXPO.
The tournament featured $60,000 CAD in prizing, giving the activation a real competitive edge beyond the usual convention free-play setup. Bell also offered gaming challenges and other activities for attendees.
It was one of the more substantial gaming-focused activations at the event because it combined entertainment with an actual competitive tournament.
BMO NXT LVL Turns Banking Into a Game
BMO NXT LVL returned with its gaming-inspired activation, complete with arcade-style activities, Plinko and claw machines.
The “Banking Meta” concept played into familiar gaming mechanics such as collecting points and redeeming rewards, giving the booth a lighter approach to a financial brand.
It was certainly a different kind of convention activation, but that was part of what made it noticeable.
MGA Brings Back Miniverse and Hyojo
MGA Entertainment featured both Miniverse and Hyojo at the show.
Hyojo included a claw-machine challenge, while the Miniverse activation offered listening stations and a Toronto-themed photo opportunity tied to Miniverse Real Music.
The biggest thing we noticed, however, was the line. MGA's booth consistently had one of the longer lineups we encountered, showing just how much interest the activation generated throughout the weekend.
Hasbro Leans Into Nostalgia
Hasbro's Collector's Corner took a more nostalgic approach, bringing together brands such as Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers and Marvel.
The booth also offered collectible displays and photo opportunities, including a free photo keepsake and a miniature cereal-box giveaway while supplies lasted.
For Hasbro, the appeal wasn't just about new products. The activation also played directly into the memories many fans have attached to these franchises for decades.
Red Bull Brings F1 Racing to FAN EXPO
Red Bull Gaming Ground returned with F1 racing simulators, where attendees could try to beat a lap time set by Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing driver Jarno Opmeer.
A replica Red Bull F1 car added another photo opportunity, while the racing setup gave gaming fans something competitive to try for themselves.
It was a nice change of pace from the convention's superhero, anime and collectibles-focused attractions.
Audio-Technica Adds a Gaming and Audio Stop
Audio-Technica brought its audio products to the show floor with demonstrations focused on gaming and headphones.
The booth gave attendees a chance to explore some of the company's latest equipment and see how its products fit into gaming and entertainment setups.
eBay Live Brings Collector Deals
eBay Live returned with collector-focused deals, penny drops and giveaways aimed at fans looking for something unusual to take home.
We didn't have as much time to explore this activation as we would have liked, so we're keeping our coverage brief rather than pretending we had a full experience of the booth.
That was one of several reminders throughout the weekend that even four days isn't enough to see everything at FAN EXPO.
Cineplex Brings Godzilla and Panem to the Show Floor
Cineplex Pictures used two major film properties for its convention activation: GODZILLA MINUS ZERO and THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING.
The booth gave fans themed photo opportunities tied to both films, creating another easy stop for attendees looking for convention photos connected to upcoming releases.
The Stunt Driver Displays a Rocket Car
The Stunt Driver brought a different kind of spectacle to FAN EXPO with the rocket car connected to the story of Ken Carter, the stunt driver who attempted to jump the St. Lawrence River in the 1970s.
Visitors could see the vehicle, take photos and pick up promotional material ahead of the film's theatrical release.
Seeing the car itself gave the activation something tangible that stood apart from a standard movie poster or backdrop.
Audible's Bobiverse Activation Was One We Didn't Get to Experience
Audible planned an ambitious Bobiverse installation based around the HEAVEN Vessel and the sixth audiobook in Dennis E. Taylor's series.
We stopped by the activation more than once, but unfortunately it wasn't ready during our visits.
Because we didn't experience it firsthand, we're not going to describe the installation as though we did. It looked like an interesting concept from the information provided, but that's where our firsthand coverage ends.
Princess Margaret's Charity Arcade Gives Gaming a Purpose
The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation's Charity Arcade offered a different kind of experience, with arcade basketball, boxing, Time Crisis, VR and F1 racing.
Participation supported the Foundation, giving attendees a chance to combine gaming with charitable giving.
Among all the commercial booths and product activations, it was a welcome reminder that convention gaming can also be used to support something beyond entertainment.
The Booths We Remember Most
After a weekend of walking the show floor, the booths that stayed with us weren't necessarily the ones with the biggest displays.
They were the ones that gave us a reason to stop.
LEGO let us build and explore different fandoms. Disney gave our family a photo experience we genuinely enjoyed. Wacom let our kids draw. PlayStation turned Wolverine into a physical challenge. Bell brought competitive esports directly to the convention.
Those experiences gave us something more valuable than another promotional message: a memory of actually doing something.
That feels especially fitting for FAN EXPO Canada's 30th anniversary.
Thirty years is a long history for any convention, and the show's growth is obvious in the sheer variety of what now fills the floor. Comics, gaming, anime, film, collectibles, technology and family entertainment can all exist in the same space.
But the sheer number of exhibitors isn't necessarily what makes a convention memorable.
It's the moments between them.
For us, that meant our kids drawing on a Wacom device, building a LEGO Hero Crest, getting professional photos at Disney and stopping to see everything from Wolverine to a real stunt car.
There was much more that we didn't get to fully experience, and that's part of the reality of an event this large. Some booths deserved more time than we could give them, while others simply weren't ready when we visited.
Still, that variety is part of what makes FAN EXPO Canada work.
Thirty years in, the event continues to give fans plenty of reasons to walk through the doors. For our family, the best ones were the experiences we could actually take part in — and the memories we brought home afterward.
Disclosure
GameHaunt attended FAN EXPO Canada 2026 as press/media. Some event, activation and product information was provided through exhibitor or public-relations materials and cross-checked against available official information where appropriate. Firsthand observations in this article are limited to what we personally experienced during our visits. Wacom review hardware was not provided for this coverage; comments about the MovinkPad are based on our hands-on experience at the event. We also attempted to visit Audible's Bobiverse activation but were unable to experience it because it was not ready during our visits.
