Author Topic: Review thread  (Read 7520 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline xxxchihiroxxx

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2561
    • My deviantart
Review thread
« on: September 07, 2009, 05:58:47 pm »
we have a few threads going on about the hotel and what not but overall i think we need a general review thread so here goes mine:

Dealers room- I LOVED IT. There were a LOT of different dealers, and the artist ally was fairly well laid out in its little section (but hopefully one year will be on its own and not grouped in with dealers hall) MAJOR props to Jen for running the AA so well, it went smoothly after the badge issues got worked out and I was very happy I went this year and my group is planning on coming back another year : )

i liked it in the garage, it did give a decent place for the dealers line to develop where they would be out of traffic and what not. Though I was disappointed with some of the hassles getting there. On Friday I had just been going up and down the escalator then through the ramp to get to the hall, and that had worked fairly well for me. Saturday i was utterly confused on where to go. I thought I would go the same way and when attempted to do so got yelled at by hotel security I was not aloud down there. I showed them my badge as proof I was artist alley and I needed to go down there to sell my merchandise. Eventually A staff member overheard my pleas and took me where I needed to be. I thanked him extensively for showing me where I needed to go. It was a bit of a two way there, the security could probably have explained to me that the mode of getting to the exhibitors hall had changed, instead of just yelling at me, and it would have been nice to know I had to go through the garage earlier.

but overall I liked it a lot. the dealers hall was well planned out, and ran very smoothly from all the things I saw and experienced.

Location- this is not the hotel but where we were. I was overall VERY disappointed with our location. Though food near bye was great I was really wanting to have a park or what not near by as we did last year and the year before. The square was close but still a good block or so away which made it a hassle. Also though the concept of "storming down town" sounded pretty fun at first, it didnt go over very well for me as I didnt really enjoy being hassled by bums and city folk.

Hotel- oh boy I bet youve been waiting for this one. i was VERY unhappy with the hotel. THis is the first year ive seen the hotel so involved in this. It feels like they were afraid we were all going to break lose and destroy their lobby and pretty decorations or something. We were lead around like cattle and this hotel WAS NOT MEANT FOR OUR TYPE OF CONVENTION. Their meant for Dental or Business cons, not Anime cons. I dont think they knew what to do. This was not a good choice for the convention. I understand that it is the biggest venue next to the center, but I think it is time to move to the center.

also as far as hotels go, this was not a nice one. THe place was EXPENSIVE i paid over 400 for the whole thing. And it was cramped, there was hardly any walking space, small bathroom, no microwave, no mini fridge, not to mention we found two cockroaches in our room.

also a complaint about the staff of the hotel....

the maids tried on my hoop skirt, when my group all left it was on the bed. when the first one one of us to return got back it was on the floor with a rip in it. And I'm also pretty sure they stole my corset.

Panels- I didnt see many panels that interested me at all : / I had a few ones that friends were running but sadly conflicted with my schedule so I couldnt really attend them. Also it was odd having the panels in the other building.... It just felt a bit of a pain to me to walk back and forth : /

Staff- I loved the staff this year, you were all VERY nice to me and I god help when ever I needed it. I dont have much else to say, just nice job.

Overall- I had a fun time, Im pretty sure I'm returning next year but I dont expect it to be nearly as much fun and hope that things get better soon and there is a way to break the two year contract.
returning with a vengeance to K con~

Offline DemonSpawn

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1290
Re: Review thread
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2009, 06:35:10 pm »
There was also this issue today after check out. At about one o'clock this chick who said she worked for the manager started screaming for about fifteen minutes in the lobby about us having to leave right now because we weren't paid guests anymore... Um, rude much?

Also, it was crap that us attendies were put below everyone and not considered guests, they get special priveledges for staying at the hotel even though Kumoricon probably spent a great deal of money paying for the space, not to MENTION the fact that we paid for our rooms, too.

It was way cramped and the lines were uber ridiculous because of this.
And we WERE herded like cattle, I mean wow, you're employees, not babysitters, you really don't have to be rude. I was shoved by people in lines COUNTLESS times because we were being completely compressed against walls.

There was a total of ONE employee I found to be civil and I only saw him on duty once.
I miss 2010.

Offline Syd-chan

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1338
Re: Review thread
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2009, 06:42:06 pm »
Seeing as I was in your room and everything, I was a little disappointed. For the amount of money, I expected a little more. A mini fridge would have been VERY nice. The TV was nice, and the view, but the bugs were a little putoffish. ;;>>

Also, about the hotel. If the hotel staff weren't so rude and involved, I think this would've been a much better con.

I can't really add more, since what I want to have been said was said already. x'D

EDIT: I do feel bad for the people who have just came to KumoriCon. Like, if it's their first KumoriCon. It's a pretty bad way to be remembered, I think, for people like me who go to just the one con. Really, the hotel/hotel staff/location pretty much just made everything really difficult. If this was my first KumoriCon, I don't know if I would return. ><

Also, the rave. I understood the curfew, but having the concerts run late pissed off a lot of people, I heard.

And the Elevators. D8 I know you can't do much, but I feel like it should be said. Being on the fifth floor was a hassle, since every single elevator was full, and getting up to karaoke was awful.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2009, 06:56:11 pm by Syd-chan »

Offline Alderfairy

  • Cabbit
  • *
  • Posts: 27
Re: Review thread
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2009, 06:44:30 pm »
I think it'd be great to have the con at the Convention Center in the near future, but I heard it would be rather exspensive to hold it there.

I also didn't like the fact that there wasn't a park close by. My firends and I saw the open square, but there weren't really any other con-goers hanging out there because of the distance from the hotel.

My favourite place was the artist's alley and exibitor's hall. It seemed the most well organized place at the con.

I didn't really hate the convention this year, but it was pretty easy for me to get lost. The hotel staff wasn't very helpful. Even when I was waiting for my friend at the restroom, they told me to keep moving. I was up against the wall, I wasn't blocking anything or keeping anyone from gettig past me, I was just waiting for a friend.

Maybe next year it'll be planned out better. (Unless of course the hotel breaks off the contract and we're relocated, I wouldn't mind that too much.)

((Hey Jill, lol, the maid trying on the hoopskirt thing was ridiculous, I remember Sam and I came in the room, right after the maid left, and the skirt was on the bed with a big rip in it. D; This is Kumori-chan speaking btw. :3 ))

Offline xxxchihiroxxx

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2561
    • My deviantart
Re: Review thread
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2009, 06:52:29 pm »
I think it'd be great to have the con at the Convention Center in the near future, but I heard it would be rather exspensive to hold it there.

I also didn't like the fact that there wasn't a park close by. My firends and I saw the open square, but there weren't really any other con-goers hanging out there because of the distance from the hotel.

My favourite place was the artist's alley and exibitor's hall. It seemed the most well organized place at the con.

I didn't really hate the convention this year, but it was pretty easy for me to get lost. The hotel staff wasn't very helpful. Even when I was waiting for my friend at the restroom, they told me to keep moving. I was up against the wall, I wasn't blocking anything or keeping anyone from gettig past me, I was just waiting for a friend.

Maybe next year it'll be planned out better. (Unless of course the hotel breaks off the contract and we're relocated, I wouldn't mind that too much.)

((Hey Jill, lol, the maid trying on the hoopskirt thing was ridiculous, I remember Sam and I came in the room, right after the maid left, and the skirt was on the bed with a big rip in it. D; This is Kumori-chan speaking btw. :3 ))

D: I KNOW next year will be better even if were at the hilton again. Because this time we know the layout, and the hotel knows what their in for.

((it had like two semi medium rips in it when i left, but im always careful with it cause the fabric up top rips fairly easly (i saftey pin it when i put it on so it wont) so i dont like it when people put it on with out asking ))
returning with a vengeance to K con~

oslapedo

  • Guest
Re: Review thread
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2009, 06:56:14 pm »
I could complain about the crappy parts but everyone's been doing a pretty good job of that for me so~

Karaoke- I fell in love with it! It was so much fun and it was definitely my favorite area because it wasn't too crowded and the view was beautiful. Us Vocaloids got some dang good pictures there too.

Karaoke Contest- Kinda weird. I was surprised that there were so few contendors.

Cosplay Contest- Um, I just have one question- why didn't that effing amazing Grave of Maria stilts thing win anything? And the Fruits Basket skit was amazinggg!

Cosplay Chess- SO AWESOME, WHITE TEAM FOREVER. Except it did kind of drag so I couldn't stay around to play the second match.

Viewing Rooms- Having viewing rooms open 24/7 is really cool when there's nothing else to do and that detective Majin Nero whatever show is awesome.

Food- There are no places open 24/7 within walking distance which sucked. Walking to Voodoo was fun but I didn't want to eat there every day, dang.

Concerts- Mehhh.

Rave- Minors not being able to go to the second one was [Moderator edit: Removed offensive langauge], if I do say so myself.

Lack of "hang-out" area- I missed out on seeing a lot of cool cosplayers because I couldn't find them.

Para Para- So cool! I wish I lived in Portland, I would totally join a Para Para group <3

Pre-reg Friday- It was pretty chill, it was nice getting settled early.

Hotel- Much as I love Kumoricon I probably won't go if it's in the same place next year.

Cosplayers- <3

Dealer's Hall- The only thing I bought the entire time was a little Meiko keychain. The layout was a bit maze-esque.

That's all for now. The whole con was like a blur so I can't really remember everything.






[Moderator edit by JeffT: Removed offensive langauge]
« Last Edit: September 09, 2009, 10:42:22 pm by JeffT »

Offline BloodyWhisker

  • Sailor Scout
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Review thread
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2009, 07:05:54 pm »
I love the Con and all, so please don't get me wrong from this post. Just a little prewarning.

So, this year the Con was actually not too great. I found it the least enjoyable year of all the years that I have gone to KCon. The staff were very rude and controlling, and not just to the attendees. I spoke to some of the guests that were staying at the hotel and some of the parents. One, in particular, that was staying at the executive tower even talked to me a bit about it. I had heard that she had went to the main building to go to the bathroom or whatever, since she was told by staff in the executive tower that she could, and once she got there the guards weren't just being a little bit grumpy towards her. From what she told me it seemed like they had told her that she couldn't go in and once they did let her in, they had very sharp tones with her. I experienced similar issues with some of the guards.
For instance, I had been waiting in line for the Rave on Saturday night, though one of the people watching the lines said that we needed our I.D. and badge. So I went down to where my friends were to get my I.D. and once I had come back, they decided it was for 18+ only. I had been irritated about that, but I didn't complain. After getting out of line, I decided it'd be best to go downstairs and round up my friends to go home. I went to the ballroom escalators to go down and get them and they told me I couldn't go down, even for my friends or purse, since there was only 10 minutes until midnight. I was really really PO'd about that since I was tired, my feet hurt, we needed to get my friends and I just wanted my crap. And I couldn't get it.

Other than that, I say the Con was okay this year. I slightly disliked how everything I was dying to do was during the Ouran Tea Party, which I was hosting, but I got over it. I just really wanted to see the Anime Hunters. Dx I think it'd be nice if next year the big events were spread out throughout the days evenly instead of having them all cooped up into one day. That way I could do what I want without being crammed up in my tight schedule all the time.
Also, I loved the dealers room. c: This year they had really good stuff. I loved how there was more Marchen Awakens Romance and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles there. The charity auction was also pretty good.
Cosplays for '12:
Homestuck: Sollux - 45%

Offline MiriaRose

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 3155
    • The Kingdom of Heaven
Re: Review thread
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2009, 07:26:54 pm »
My only complaint is the hotel and its staff.

The staff were awful to us. They told the cosplayers to go outside in the RAIN on Sunday, and from what I remember, they wouldn't let us near the escalators or the lobby bathrooms on Saturday morning. They seemed afraid of us, like we were going to overpower them and take over the hotel or something.

I seriously was expecting them to ask for our papers.

As for the hotel, it was not made for a convention. The lobby was too small and cramped, the elevators were in one area, there were not enough elevators, if you wanted to go to certain panels you  had to go to another building, and there just was not space for panels.

The convention center would have been a much better idea. When the rumor that the Hilton broke the contract went around, everyone I talked to was overjoyed.
"Would you kindly. ."

Offline xxxchihiroxxx

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2561
    • My deviantart
Re: Review thread
« Reply #8 on: September 07, 2009, 07:39:16 pm »



And the Elevators. D8 I know you can't do much, but I feel like it should be said. Being on the fifth floor was a hassle, since every single elevator was full, and getting up to karaoke was awful.

why i took the stairs whenever i could.
returning with a vengeance to K con~

Offline murder_of_raven

  • Chibi
  • ***
  • Posts: 345
Re: Review thread
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2009, 08:13:45 pm »
I've been planning this review since I got to the convention so, if you aren't wanting to go through a fully detailed review let me just summarize my thoughts-- This was by far the worst Kumoricon I've been to in the last 4 years, but it was still Kumoricon.

Pre-Reg Day: First of all, whose idea was it to make it /not/ pre-reg day? Despite pre-registering nearly 11 months ago and arriving 30mins before check-in started, I stood in line for over 2 hours. This was after being told four different things by four different staff members, including "the line doesn't exist yet" and "we've already done check-in for people with badges". In the end I was shuffled into the same line with people who hadn't registered yet, while at the same time my friends who were on will-call got through the line in 15mins. Why was this so unorganized? Didn't we learn the year before last that putting pre-registered people in the same line with everybody else just frustrates everything? But all this really leads into my second subject...

Yojimbo: I know that every year it is a popular thing to hate on the Yojimbo so I'd like to start with this-- some of my friends are Yojimbo and I've literally never had a single problem with them previously. Until this year. This year they were, honestly, totally awful. I witnessed 4 arguments between Yojimbo with conflicting instructions, wherein they literally ignored the person who asked a question in favor of bickering, one of these times I was the person who asked the question (why is "are people who are pre-reged supposed to be in the same line with people who aren't?" a controversial question?). But that was almost better than my most common experience-- Yojimbo that literally admitted to not knowing the answers to simple direction questions and suggesting that the person "figures it out themselves" or "asks someone else". I don't expect these people to be perfect but couldn't we find people who are at least trying? The Maid Squad were at least friendly, although they seemed just as confused about the location of lines/events.

Venue: I have absolutely nothing positive to say about the Hilton. The worst thing about it were the tiny halls connecting lobbies far away from each other. Not only were they totally not conducive to cosplay, it made it so sometimes you had to take 15+mins to get from one panel to the next. And considering the staff were so unhelpful I found myself and lots of other people wondering aimlessly. The Hilton was also really hard to get to and from, 20mins away from even the closest residential area, and only conveniently accessed by the MAX which closed early Sunday night. It was also really awful to have to go outside in the pouring rain just to get between the panels and the main building. All of this was so bad that my girlfriend and I literally decided not to return today (Monday), which is the first time we've ever done that.

AMVs: Finally something I have a positive review for. The AMV Contest was exceptional this year, easily competing with the shows at conventions much larger than ours, such as this year's Sakuracon. The other AMV related events were also really awesome and it was really nice to see a Sakuracon-style AMV-only viewing room. I wish I'd spent more time there, it was definitely the least stressful place I found. Unfortunately I don't only have good things to say about this. For some reason tickets were cut off really early, leaving the AMV Contest barely 1/2 full, I find myself very happy to be a creator (because I was issued a VIP pass). If I hadn't been able to attend I would've been really disappointed. Also, the contest's projector was totally awful, which was disappointing because some of the panels I attended had better ones. This sort of felt like a misappropriation of resources? Finally, although the AMV stream was an awesome idea I wasn't able to use it because I couldn't find somewhere close enough with a power jack I wouldn't feel super uncomfortable hanging out next to.

Panels: Generally I feel that Kumoricon's strongest point is it's panels and this year was no exception. Despite having (in my opinion) rather lukewarm guest appearances (no offense to any of them! it's just that many of them were either returning or weren't very famous). I feel that our panelists have an unusual level of ingenuity and dedication resulting in great panels even if they're run simply by fans. Unfortunately, our variety wasn't that great this year and little thought seemed to have been put into spacing out panels related to an interest group. Throughout the whole convention I went between having literally nothing interesting to me to having to prioritize between two or three panels I really wanted to attend. And then there was absolutely nothing I wanted to attend Monday! Couldn't some of the programming have been moved around to prevent this? But I am not too upset about this, I'm sure that scheduling is trickier than it seems and maybe I was in an unusual situation here. Then again, the largely negative response I'm reading suggests that perhaps there is a trend here.

Dealer's Hall: A little unexciting but I worry that I am biased after going to Sakuracon. Certainly it is not the conventions fault who is/isn't interested in being there and the artist's alley was great as always! Unfortunately, this time it was literally an alley, a dead-end one at that, which made it extremely congested. I am only annoyed by this because it was a planned dead-end, one that was roped in rather than pre-existing. With a better layout that problem shouldn't have existed at all and I bet the sales of the people at the very end of the alley's sales suffered for it, which hardly seems fair. I would also like to take a second to point out we had an impressive manga selection this year, which ended up being the only thing I purchased outside the alley.

Manga Library/Gaming Room/Karaoke Room/TCG Room/Etc: I have no opinion because I couldn't even find them! Well, that's not entirely true, I think I could've located the Gaming Room I just assumed based on the congestedness of the rest convention that it would be awful trying to get there. But I couldn't even figure out if we still had a manga library and none of the staff seemed to know either. I didn't play in the TCG room but I found it ironic that it was literally as far away from the rest of the convention as it could be, seemingly so that it could be in the only room I saw with huge mirrors on the walls. Certainly that made not cheating difficult  :D

Other Comments: The glow-in-the-dark 18+ stamp made me really paranoid that I'd washed it off, although it was fairly cool. The booth to get one was also sort of hard to find and fairly out of the way. Having the convention downtown was really awful because of the high concentration of rude people, some of whom went past being rude and made me actually uncomfortable about my safety. Downtown is a place I am already paranoid about, without being in a short catgirl costume at 1AM. There was also a rather unusual cop presence, which you'd think I'd be happy about given my previous comment but they actually prioritized regulating us to keeping us safe. It made me feel like we were being treated as criminals or something. The hotel staff didn't seem very friendly either, although they mostly left me alone. Also the lack of gender neutral bathrooms this year didn't give me any real alternative to the 30mins between my friend's house and the convention in order to use the restroom. Considering they were so far apart to begin with, I think gender neutral bathrooms would have benefited everyone.  :-\

Overall: Beginning this year, I run a panel at Kumoricon and am getting to know the AMV crowd, so I won't say that I "won't come back next year if it's as bad as this", but I really do think that the Hilton does not match up with Kumoricon's needs and in fact will hurt our previously wonderful reputation. No, I do not think it'd be better next year because "we know the layout and maybe the weather will be better" the problem is the building itself (although the staff didn't earn it any points). I would be really sad if we end up there next year, not just for my own personal experience but because it would mean our staff had completely ignored the extremely negative response the venue has received. Aren't we a convention by fans for fans? Please listen to us and find a better place. Otherwise I fear Kumoricon's numbers will decrease rather than increase and we'll never get big enough to use the convention center.

oslapedo

  • Guest
Re: Review thread
« Reply #10 on: September 07, 2009, 08:24:11 pm »
No, I do not think it'd be better next year because "we know the layout and maybe the weather will be better" the problem is the building itself (although the staff didn't earn it any points).

Thisss~~~

Offline Hige

  • Sailor Scout
  • **
  • Posts: 169
Re: Review thread
« Reply #11 on: September 07, 2009, 08:24:42 pm »
Well yeah this is post from my other thread I just thought I'd put it in here seems a better place for it
Hotel/Staff of Hotel: Horrible
ConStaff: 10 stars! you guys were awsome

First Of all I didn't have an trouble With the Kumoricon staff only one staff member actually made me so mad I almost socked him for pushing me on the escalator yelling in my ear and then Almost breaking my Ankle after forcefully pushing on the escalator. I was crying when I finally got up to the main floor My Ankle had been twisted and I ended up leaving the con and not coming back.
and the other staff could have helped instead of watching me in pain and tears collapse to the ground because my ankle was soo messed up.

But then again this Hotel is soo inclosed makes you feel almost like being buried in a coffin alive, everyone was in a bad mood because of how inclosed everything was and accesing the floors was almost impossible This Location was a very Bad bad Choice and I know alot of people agree with me.

The Hotel staff was Rude and treated us as though we were animals, herding us around, half the time they didn't even know what was going on and we were late for panels or missed them entirely because they told us floors were closed off or they were told we weren't allowed to have access to them
The right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing!

They wanted to make me wait outside in the rain for my minor that was in the bathroom, there was no way the minor would know where I was thus getting lost and panicked.

There was no room period, the bathrooms were too small and holding the dealers room in the basement parking lot was a nightmare, no one wanted to go down there because it was too damn hot and walking up and down the ramp practically killed the desire to go buy things.

Over all I enjoyed the con staff I had no trouble from them what so ever except the one
I never got to catch the guy, I was in soo much pain All I thought About was sitting down, just in case I really did break my ankle, Two friends tried to chase the guy down but getting around through everyone was pointless. Its not really my Ankle Im worried about at the Time It was My knee I could care less about my Ankle My Knee hit the sharp edge of the Escalator stairs, I had a knee injury when I was in middle school, a very bad one I thought for sure My knee cap had been popped off.
But yeah it was too hard to get the guy even after I fell he still pushed me up the escalator for holding the crowd up, So I did my best to get out of the way, then the guy dissapeared, I was wearing Heels and I tell you My feet could not move anymore after that, I was done for the rest of the con
ひげ 馬
Cosplays 2010
Pirate France
Young Russia
Belarus
Canada
Possibly-Oz or Hungry
America depends on Jacket

Offline ichigoxcupcakes

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2186
    • Website
Re: Review thread
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2009, 08:39:02 pm »
I posted this on the other thread~ but here is it again.

This is going to be long.
But it's what I experienced, so I would like to share it.
Please do not flame me, because this is what I personally think. You do not have to agree with me.
I wanted to write more, but these are just small summaries (I'm tired lol)

THE HOTEL/THE LOCATION
This was just a terrible mistake. It was a small venue, and it didn't fit all the attendees, that is for sure. Most events were cancelled, over-packed, and very VERY rude. I have never heard such people. I was so upset with the service and the staff yelling at us, that I took the stairs EVERY DAY. (now I look pretty good~lol) the elevator situation was RIDICULOUS, to the point where I never took one. I went up the stairs ALL THE WAY TO THE 23RD FLOOR. That should tell you something, that how ridiculous it was!  The rooms were too small for panels and such, and reached maxiumum compatcity ridiculously fast. I know my friends were all looking forward to the masquerade ball, and were in lines for HOURS, then they told them they reached maximum people. I understand the fire rules and everything, but it was to the point where it was utterly stupid and ridiculous. I had more fun in MY HOTEL ROOM than being near the convention center. It was that terrible I have to admit, which makes me sad. I wanted to stay as far away as possible, which is sad because I PAID MONEY TO BE THERE. And I couldn't even attend what I wanted to go to. Which was very dissapointing.
The location was not good at all for the convention either, we were mixed with everyday people (lol) and we did take up A LOT OF THE SIDEWALK (to the point where the police were involved) it was not a smart location at all for 3,000+ congoers *(and thats only pre-reg)
I know this was the VERY FIRST year at the Hilton downtown, but if you think it will change next year. I highly doubt that. Due to look at this year, how rude and inconsiderate they were of us. We are all people, but they treated us more like cattle then humans, I think.
I thought it was also confusing that the two Hiltons were used as well (most of us thought it was just in the Downtown Hilton, not Executive tower)

THE KUMORICON STAFF
I congrats you for putting up with all of this chaos. It was very difficult for con-goers, but I know for a fact, it's much more stressful for the staff. I hope you all did your best, and understand that Hilton, was a terrible mistake. DX
I hope you seriously think about severing the contract for 2010, because look at all the responses >///< and I know that A LOT of people will not attend if it is at the Hilton next year.


HOTEL STAFF
Terrible. Absolutely.
That is hands down, the most horrible hotel staff I have seen. Never in my life have I seen people mistreat us as such, (freaks, jerks, and worse!) If you are going to talk down about us, WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE THE CONVENTION THERE. It's no surprise there are going to be people in interesting attires. It's what a convention is, and if you nothing to say that is nice, then do not say it at all. I was told we were in the way numerous times AND WE WERE ON THE STAIRS GOING UP.
My friends dressed up as NORMAL PEOPLE. (took off their badges, ears etc .) and went up to the hotel staff confused and asking questions, AND THEY WERE THE SWEETEST PEOPLE TO THEM. seriously? seriously. Yes. It shows that they weren't considerate to us con-goers. I know yelling and screaming are tactics of telling us to move, but calling us names. Does not help.
It was ridiculous how lost we became and how they didn't even know where the stairs were. They didn't even want us to take the stairs!! How ridiculous, you think people are going to wait for an elevator that skips floors? I do not think so. (I was on the 9th floor one time, and the elevator skipped me 15 TIMES. Hence, why I took the stairs)

PANELS/EVENTS
Most events were cancelled, over-packed, and very unorganized (they didn't start on time etc.)  The map was confusing if you were just browsing at it as well, not very good for first time con-goers. Luckily all of us were with veterans and finally figured the darn thing out (after hours of studying) We tried to attend 18+ events, but they were packed (we wanted to watch Yaoi) and the Yuri event was in the same room, and people STAYED in the room, so no one else could enter, because it was at full. (which again was stupid, not large enough rooms)
I thought it was terrible that most events did not happen on time or were cancelled (though that is understandable)
I attend the Ramen eating contest today, and the Hilton CANCELLED it, due to them serving OUTSIDE food. I know that event has taken place in many hotels previously, and that is stupid. They were already a few rounds in, then they had to cancel it. Seriously, terrible.

PHOTOS
After the winners of the skits were announced everyone wanted pictures. So we did our best and then we were told to move out of the way (We were against a wall....)
I thought that was just silly, We did our best to stay out of the way at all possibilities!!

BEHIND THE SCENES
I took part in the cosplay contest, and we needed to attend the PRE-MEETING. We were told it was the Rounds over email, so we arrived and they told us it was in the Creation station on the 3rd floor. THEN they told us it was in the other Hilton tower, and we only had 5 minutes to arrive on time. This pissed me and my skit partners off, because we were stressed enough during the day.
During the meeting, we were told to arrive 30 minutes before our scheduled time. We did, and got there prepared to start. WE WERE THERE FOR THREE HOURS waiting for our time!! Cosplay walkon was supposed to end at 8:15, the skits didn't get to rehearse until 10:30 or later, we missed all of our plans that day and such due to it. It was RIDICULOUS. Most of us slept on the chairs, and were starving so we left. And when we came back, they still weren't starting.
 I'm sorry, but if you say we need to be there at this time, we will. But if you are going to just start at the time you told us, we will not be happy campers at all. I know, you did your best, but at the same time....it was extremely frustrating to the point where I was pissed off the the extreme.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Definitely different hotel, since the Hilton was absolutely terrible (and if you haven't found that out, seriously read all the previous posts...)
I would suggest doing at one of these past hotels, since for me and my friends were were the BEST experiences of Kumoricon we had (out of the 6 years we have gone) I'm going to suggest WHY as well, that Kumoricon should be here.
Because if it is at the Hilton next year....a lot of con-goers will not attend (I will be one of them)

Double Tree (Portland, OR)
This was a nice location, it had food nearby, and a park. It seemed like everyone had a good time last year there, and it was very nice location. It had shade, and it was slightly secluded from "normal people".

Red Lion Hotel (Janzen Beach, OR)
I know this was a very hard hotel for the staff, but it was the best BEST Kumoricon I had ever attended. The locating was AMAZING, beautiful scenery, amazing rooms and spaces. And I never once had to deal with anyone who was rude, or packed rooms/hallways. It was a very large convention space. It also was a great location. It was literally the best Kumoricon, ever *(all my friends agreed)
It was amazing, because it was friendly, and just perfect. If you have it here, I will definitely attend in less than a heartbeat.

Hilton (Vancouver, WA)
I know the downtown Hilton was a pain, but this one was again, a wonderful location. It was VERY SPACIOUS outside, to the point where it was so large that people could roam off and do their own thing. We didn't disturb others with or antics, and they appreciated our efforts and cosplays. It was friendly, and very nice. Though there were some hiccups, it was a very nice convention. Though it is out of the way, it was worth it because it was very spacious and friendly.


But none the less, if the contact is still valid with Hilton next year, all of my friends and myself will not attend~

Offline VampireFangs103

  • Catgirl
  • ****
  • Posts: 714
Re: Review thread
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2009, 08:43:53 pm »
I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said. Just thought I'd post a review anyways, since this convention is supposed to be for fans and by fans.

I have nothing positive to say about the hotel or the staff. As mentioned, we were treated like animals, being shoved every which way. Most of the time, the hotel staff didn't even know where we needed to go, they just yelled at us and forced us into a direction. I found it rediculous how we had to ask to go to the bathroom most of the time. I really felt like they were baby-sitters, not hotel staff. I saw no sign that they wanted us there.

The hotel itself wasn't fit for us either. It was like a maze full of small halls with a ton of floors and not enough elevators for them all. There were so many doors that you weren't allowed to use. You had to go outside and around the building on a trek to find the dealers hall. There was barely any areas just to chill out, part of that being because there was no park extremely near, though it was raining for the first two days.

Don't get me wrong, the panel I went to was a blast. I didn't go to any of the shows, but I'm sure they were great too. The guests were amazing, some of the nicest people I've ever met! The problem wasn't the convention, but it seemed to be completely the hotel we were at, staff included.

Overall, I'm sad to say that I was very disappointed in this years con. Yes, it was still kumoricon, but I wasn't as thrilled and energetic as usual. And it was almost as if you could feel that same feeling coming from everyone. I'm obviously not alone in disliking the hotel and staff. I really do feel bad for all of those who came to their first anime convention this year. I've heard people saying that they aren't coming back. We're losing attendees. I'm certain that if we hold it at the same hotel next year, we'll lose even more. Holding it at this hotel again would hurt us badly. I beg the staff to please find somewhere else for us. ;.;

Offline MiriaRose

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 3155
    • The Kingdom of Heaven
Re: Review thread
« Reply #14 on: September 07, 2009, 08:48:31 pm »
I had more fun in MY HOTEL ROOM than being near the convention center. It was that terrible I have to admit, which makes me sad. I wanted to stay as far away as possible, which is sad because I PAID MONEY TO BE THERE.
^ THIS. SO MUCH. Dx
"Would you kindly. ."

Offline xxxchihiroxxx

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2561
    • My deviantart
Re: Review thread
« Reply #15 on: September 07, 2009, 08:49:09 pm »
I had more fun in MY HOTEL ROOM than being near the convention center. It was that terrible I have to admit, which makes me sad. I wanted to stay as far away as possible, which is sad because I PAID MONEY TO BE THERE.
^ THIS. SO MUCH. Dx

THIRD
returning with a vengeance to K con~

Offline LtCommanderRichie

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2069
Re: Review thread
« Reply #16 on: September 07, 2009, 08:49:50 pm »
Cosplay Contest- Um, I just have one question- why didn't that effing amazing Grave of Maria stilts thing win anything?

D:< THIS.

Offline xxxchihiroxxx

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 2561
    • My deviantart
Re: Review thread
« Reply #17 on: September 07, 2009, 08:53:46 pm »
Cosplay Contest- Um, I just have one question- why didn't that effing amazing Grave of Maria stilts thing win anything?

D:< THIS.

D: YOU DESERVED IT DUDE <3 Granted I gotta support Rune cause she did awesome and I'm her friend

but you deserved at least something!!!
returning with a vengeance to K con~

oslapedo

  • Guest
Re: Review thread
« Reply #18 on: September 07, 2009, 09:16:02 pm »
http://www.bureau42.com/view/5761/dispatches-from-kumoricon-2009-day-1

Quote
However, the biggest problem I observed is with Hotel Security. At the Vancouver venue, Kumoricon handled it’s own security. The hotel had people on staff, but they were generally out of the way, and if they were involved, they were helping the Kumoricon people, and calling problems to their attention. However, everywhere I encountered Hilton Hotel Security, they were large, in charge, and not particularly fond of all these people wandering around their lobby wearing, not only street clothes, but worse – costumes! They were, on occasion, hostile to con goers, but worse, they shut down the ballroom level and the access to the Dealers Room, and without giving staff notice – and forcing con staff to scramble so people could get down to the dealers room another way – by taking the planned egress, straight through the parking garage (1 lane), with the ingress, again, coming through the landing), and making it go both ways, and I wasn’t the only one noticing security being significantly more obtrusive and hostile, which was made worse by the attendees being universally friendly, helpful, appreciative, and cooperative, making the hostility entirely unnecessary

Informative blog kinda thingy I found when I googled KCon 09.

What went wrong during the planning process?




Offline TanisNikana

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 865
Re: Review thread
« Reply #19 on: September 07, 2009, 09:34:04 pm »
Like I said, the hotel staff was terrible.

Offline gladimus

  • Sailor Scout
  • **
  • Posts: 80
Re: Review thread
« Reply #20 on: September 07, 2009, 09:46:12 pm »
You're excited for the convention, the day has finally come, you spent all morning preparing yourself to go and have a great time. What you never expected was the chaos that was about to break loose.
You're tired from walking up and down flights of stairs and stressed because no one knows where to direct you, you've gone where they told you, and you are greeted by being told to go somewhere else. The crowd is closing around you, your prop is at risk for being damaged, and when you, like many others, are desperately trying to just get out of the building, you hear someone bellowing behind you in a booming commanding voice to move, to keep going, to get out of the way... But you can't... You are moving as fast as you can, but the people in front of you are in the very same situation as you, and there is no way to control it. Desperately, you try your best to manuever, but it's not good enough. The shouts and demands of the security officers are still just as loud and threatening as before. When you are brought to a stop by the people around you, you begin to panic. The voices are still shouting at you to move, you're holding your prop close to you for dear life in fear of something being damaged, and you just want out. You feel shoving, people around you trying their best to move as well, and you notice the hotel staff have no regard or sympathy for any of this. They chaotically direct you and the crowd somewhere loudly, without explanation as to why, and you hope maybe, just maybe this is the way out, that you're finally free... Until you realize they are leading you to something irrelevant to what you want. You turn around as best you can to confront the staff and inform them that you're not in the right place, you want to get out. But before you can get a word in they give you a look that makes you feel afraid and uneasy, like you're doing something wrong, and they demand you move. When you finally explain, they let you go the correct way, but this is no the end. Once again, you are stuck in the crowd, and when you finally endure the grueling experience and escape the building, you are trapped out in the rain. Once again, your precious costume is threatened, but at least you can breathe. At least no one is shouting at you, and at least you can cool off from the hot temperatures of cramped bodies. Or so you thought... Someone asks to take a picture of you, you're on the sidewalk, not blocking doorways, and you blissfully agree, glad to be noticed now that there is no crowd to block your way. You strike a pose, and just as the person is about to take a picture, a hotel officer demands that you move, he steps between you and the one taking the picture, he pushes you away as you try to gather your things to move. By this time, there will be no picture taken. You move out of the small bit of shelter as the hotel staff had demanded, and you look for anywhere to rest. You sit on the side of some stairs, out of the way of people passing though, stairs that hardly anyone is using, and you try to stay dry and relax. Just as you settle... Another dreaded staff demands you move. By now.. You have nowhere. You don't want to get trapped inside, you don't want to leave the convention, but you have nowhere to go...

This was the unpleasant experience I had, and other people has similar experiences as well. This was how Kumoricon started, and this was the only time it ever was like this. My beloved Kumoricon, that event I look forward to every year, was suddenly tainted.

Here is my review for Kumoricon of 2009.


Kumoricon Staff-
The kumoricon staff did much better than the hotel staff, at least. I commend them for trying their best, and I understand some of you might have been frustrated and confused just like everyone else. I hope the staff next year are better prepared and better informed though, there were a lot of k-con staff members who didn't know what was going on or where to go.

6/10



Hotel Staff-
Pushy, rude, sometimes even insulting, and unhelpful. They are one of the main reasons so much chaos happened, they closed off locations, directed masses of people in the wrong directions, and shouted rudely as if we were all animals being commanded around. We are not sheep, we are people, and most of us are old enough and mature enough to listen to simple directions. We aren't dumb, we don't need to be shouted at to understand things. And we don't need rolling eyes, invasive attitudes, and we should not have to feel like freaks in an event that's supposed to bring everyone together openly and freely. The day after the chaos, some of the hotel staff became too nice. It was obvious they were forced to, they clearly wanted nothing to do with us. All other conventions, hotel staff typically are helpful and don't get in the way, they tend to what they need to and leave the convention mostly to the kumoricon staff. They step in only when hotel rules and regulations are broken, or when someone is lost. The hilton hotel staff had terrible customer service and treated everyone like children or a herd of animals.

2/10


Location-
Location, Location, Location... This hotel is placed in the downtown area of portland, smashed between towering buildings with small sidewalks. To get anywhere with open free space, you have to walk a while in the rain, or risk getting lost. And once you get there, there are strange and creepy people waiting for you. They beg for change, invade your space, try to touch your things, smell of alcohol and smoke and maybe even excruciating body odor. The sidewalks were easily cramped, it was hard not to step out in the road to get around people, and there were smokers out there as well making it difficult to breathe.

2/10


Hotel-
Terrible staff was one thing, but the hotel design itself was not the right type for a convention. The perimeter was smaller than most places we'd been too, and inside was full of stairs and elevators that were right in the middle of everything, rather than off to the side like most other places kumoricon was held. This took up hall space and made it more difficult to get around. The con was held in 2 buildings, but the other building felt insignificant. Not much was happening there at all.

Food venues-
The basic food places were ok, Subway, McDonalds, VooDoo... But those places aren't exactly the healthiest, except for subway which was packed and running out of bread types. If you wanted to walk a while you could get to the Pioneer Place foodcourt, but again, it's a little ways to walk in full costume when it's raining.

5/10


Dealer's room-
Congratulations! For once I wasn't feeling crowded in the dealer's room! It was hard for many people to find, though, so that will knock down points. But other than that it was handled well! No crowding, lots of space, easy to get from one place to the other, and the venues weren't bad either. Some were a little expensive, but that's a given at conventions. There were some very nice artists there too! Though, on the last day, I didn't see very many deals, which is supposed to be a con tradition. What's happening to the deals, anyways? It's not just kumoricon, but recently a lot of conventions have had a lot venues that wont drop the price at all on the last day. Don't you guys want to sell anything? No one's gonna buy a manga for 11-12 dollars when another venue has them for 5. Smarten up, please...

7/10

Organization-
This was terrible. The maps weren't too clear, the locations of panels weren't made clear, there were no signs except for the viewing rooms and pre-registration area. But there were no directional signs to the ballroom, the registration line itself, the panels, the dealers room, or anything. Lines got mixed up, people were directed to the wrong areas, locations were opened and closed off without warning so that once you got used to going one way, suddenly it wasn't available.. And panels and events were running late and even missed because of this. Too much was crammed in one building so there were too many people crowding one place while the other building was barely utilized. I walked into the executive tower, and saw hardly anyone in there. More needed to be split between the 2 places.
Too many people got lost and stressed, and missed their panels.

2/10

Crowd Control-
As stated earlier, we were treated more like cattle than people. Previous years usually it just took one person shouting to get everyone's attention (That guy is awesome, by the way) and then calm directions are issued. But this year, it was shouting and unclear directions with no explanations. It was full of stress, confusion, and chaos. Shouting at people to move wont help.

3/10

Entertainment-
There really wasn't much to do other than the main events. And this is very sad... A lot of the good panels from previous years were  either not present or were early in the morning so I wound up missing them.
Workshops need to be spread out more, they were all crammed in before 1, at least the really interesting ones.
The showing rooms were ok, there wasn't much anime that peaked my interest, but later at night they started playing better anime. The rooms were a bit small though, bigger rooms would have been nicer, and the walls were a little thin.
Panels often ran late or not at all, which was a big bummer, even though many panels didn't look too appealing in the first place anyways.
People enjoy playing games every year, but this year there was nowhere to play them. Glomp Circle, Red Rover, Tag.. None of this could really be enjoyable at this location.
The gaming room was confusing to get to, and it was rather small, so it was hard to play games without waiting a while. There was a good selection of games though.
Overall, the entertainment level of this con was far below expectations this year. I've never left a con before 8, but I found myself leaving around 5 or 6 because I found nothing to do and I had no desires to be cramped in a building to get away from rain.

4/10

Fellow con-goers-
As always, all the lovely otaku were carefree, fun, and open, and very polite. I was never glomped out of nowhere, people would approach and ask for a hug or open their arms for one. There were a few eccentric people but it wasn't too over the top. I didn't meet any party poopers like years before, such as people who might insult you for asking for a hug (yes, this once happened to a friend of mine, she wanted to hug someone and they said no in a very rude way and insulted her) Everyone was well behaved and carefree, which is how it should be. I would have enjoyed being with them more if only there was more space to do it.

9/10

As a whole-
Nice con-goers and costumes seemed to be some of the only ups here. The hotel and its staff were terrible, the location was horrid and uncomfortable and the people in the area were overwhelming. Previously there might have been a bum here and there, but this year they were everywhere! Downtown is not a place for a convention, and neither is a hotel with little space and horrible staff.
More panels and workshops need to happen and be spread out for a more interesting day. There are countless blocks of time with literally nothing interesting to do!
A different location, better planning, and more activities next year would be great. But I know for sure it will take a lot to make up for this horrible experience. Kumoricon staff, you have a lot of work ahead of you if you want to impress us and make it up. Remember, the con-goers make the con, and when they aren't happy, there's no point to it. Please, next year, make it worth the money, I beg of you...


Offline AllyKat

  • Administrator
  • *******
  • Posts: 804
What We've Got Here Is...
« Reply #21 on: September 08, 2009, 09:58:15 am »
Failure to Communicate.


That seems to be the running theme of issues had at this con. Pre-requisite to reading my review is that I am a first time con-goer and a small hotel employee (our hotel has 70 rooms). I have wanted to go to Kumori-con since I first heard about it in 2005 but have never had the funds and the friends to go with! This year was a random happenstance and amazingly serendipidous situation that allowed me to go, so with that in mind I really loved going to the Con and want to go to more because of it. I would like to see how a longer running, more solid convention behaves before I really criticize the staff/issues with this con but as we are discussing it's future...

________
Hotel to Con Communications:

I'm not a member of the staff, I'm not a employee of a large hotel, but I do have two cents worth of insight that I intend to share on the subject of communication between venue and event.
Basically it is that, quite simply, it seems little was talked about as to what type of event they were agreeing to host and we were agreeing to put on/regulate. Was it not stated over and over again to the hotel staff and management that this would be a convention of eccentric fans and enthusiasts? Did the hotel not communicate to K-con staff that there hotel is narrow, bottlenecked and maze like at times of mass capacity? Either these things were said, but not in the serious nature that should be made clear when signing a two year contract, or they were never said and so as two ships passing in the night they fired upon one another without realizing they were both flying the same flag! It ended up destroying many simple pillars of con happiness because confusion breeds stress and stress breads lathargy, which breeds choas and boredom which almost always spells disaster when teenagers and expensive items are added to the equation.

To be fair; it seems like very few people knew what they were getting into on either side of the system. Hotel staff felt it was there duty to step up to the plate when chaos ensued due to boredom, and then felt it unwise to relinquish the power when "normalacy" was regained. Con staff seemed to be anxious because of lack of power/control/advance access to important areas/persons/things and then took it out on Con-goers and hotel staff by either dissapearing from their posts and hanging out with friends durring high traffic times or going full tilt army-drill sergant on everyone to compensate for lack of direction.

Which is not to say either or didn't do well at their job. With what they seemed to have to go on everyone kept fairly calm and maintained a sense of sympathy to the confused durring stressful moments.

In the end what I wished to convey to con staff, hotel staff and attendees is a basic premise for how to choose a hotel and how to prepare that hotel for an Anime Convention:

CONVENTION VENUE QUESTIONARIE
  • Where is the Hotel Located?
  • Is this a safe place for minors/young adults to be late at night?
  • Is this location close to cheap food/food available late at night?
  • Is this location close to a park/mall to wander or enjoy?
  • Is this location in a easy to locate/navigate area?
  • What is the worst thing about the hotel/location?
  • What is the best thing about the hotel/location?
  • How many elevators are there (compare w/ con attendance)?
  • How many staircases are there (compare w/con attendance)?
  • How many abreast can the sidewalk and the the halways of the Hotel take?
  • Has the hotel ever hosted an event like ours (minors/fan-people)?
  • Where are the/How many places Staff would need to be placed permanently?
  • What is the hotel's prefered role in securing/managing con attendees?
  • What is con-staff's prefered role for hotel in securing/managing con attendees?
  • What is the max capacity of each room/what is the est. desire for each event?
  • Who is the Fire Marshall on duty at the Hotel/What are there concerns?
  • What are the Hotel's policies on: Signs, Masks, Costumes, Minors, Noise, Elevators, Alcohol?
  • What are the Con's policies on: Signs, Masks, Costumes, Minors, Noise, Elevators, Alcohol?
  • Can these two sets of policies work together for the good of the Convention?
  • How many are est. to attend the con (with room for error)?
  • Do we have 1 security for every 30 people in attendance(30 per 1000)?
  • If not do we have other staff willing to work security durring high-traffic times?
  • Who are our transit/traffic authorities and do they know the hotel layout?
  • What are the logistics of movement from floor to floor, room to room?
  • What kind of rules need to be in place for staircases and elevators (flow of traffic ect..)?
  • Can the hotel and staff handle 3,000 teens-young adults 1,000 12 and under and 1,000 adults?
  • What kind of signage can be posted and where for all the rules and restrictions for the con?
  • Who has ultimate veto/green lighting authority at each con event and why?
  • What kinds of conduct are prohibited at the hotel; why and how do we inform Con Attendees?
  • Is this hotel a good fit for rambuncious, sleep-deprived fanatics who get bored easily?
  • How cooperative is the underling staff to the con (bellhops, vallet's, maidservice ect..)?
  • Does this Hotel seem like a good fit?

If we can answer all these questions and come away with a straightforward, concise and manageable plan of action at least 6 months out of the con, then many of the circumstances that made the slightly exaggerated comments of con life "sucking" completely moot. If we knew before hand "hug me" signs would be "innapropriate" to other guests at the hotel, perhaps vendors would not have brought them to sell, sending mixed signals to convention attendees about the rules? If we knew that absolutely no masks would be allowed in certain areas of the convention area for the entire con, we could have posted signs alerting all attendees to that fact and put something into the Con book so as to prepare them for the need to remove the masks, instead of having to yell at each person who walked into the lobby with one on. If it had been made clear that no lines could be started prior to 30 minutes and that loitering was prohibited in the main landings near the panel and live rooms, then perhaps a venue that was not so paranoid of loiterers could have been chosen or signs could have been posted with rope offs for line starting points to prepare people for the eventuality of lines. Not to mention aside from the registration line and maybe the dance line, few of the queue's were planned out in a way that made the lines easy to control, resulting in congestion and anxiety for many staff.

There were many instances where I noticed a sincere lack in con staff attending to an issue, leading to the Hotel staff jumping in to reign on the con. And once things were settled in, Con staff would attempt to regain control only to find there power completely gone and instead being sent to regulate mineal parts of the system. Which meant that, when someone had a con related question and addressed it to Hotel staff, they were often times rebuffed or given bad information, creating more negativity and animosity.

With all that said....

I think this has really given me a great desire to help staff the next convention! I'd love to help the Maid Squad with registration and information, cull the lines and maintain the peace with the Yojimbo and help plan panel logistics and event management/coordination, maybe even help procure guests of honor and groups for performance. The idea of controling and assembling a con in such a tight and currently... shall we say "negatively viewed" space seems like an excellent challenge. I'm sure with a better understanding of the floor plan and a few trips to both hotels (not to stay, just to walk through and get a feel for) I could create a plan that might be easier to post for people to navigate the hotel. We can't do much for the amount of people at the acutal con, it's gonna be bigger, and that means more crowding, but we can layout and decide routes for the things with the most traffic and keep them from intersecting and create queue zones for things that have limited space, as well as posting yojimbo and maid squad staff on every floor and at high traffic zones (similar to what was done this year with more emphasis on knowledge and having relief for all the possitions).

It would be fun and I look forward to 2010 if only for the reason of attempting to make a bad situation better through my obsessive compulsive planning! I encourage anyone else with a beef about what went down this year to consider putting in two hours assistance at the con next year to help alleviate some of those problems. Believe me, two hours of help is ALOT to the people who are doing it 16 hours straight and just want a nap and some lunch!

Thanks for a great first convention experience and I look forward to helping out with next years!

~Ally kat
2009 - Attendee
2010 - Facilities Liaison
2011 - Director of Publicity
2012 - Director of Publicity
2013 - Facilities Liaison
2014 - Vice Chair

Offline MiriaRose

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 3155
    • The Kingdom of Heaven
Re: Review thread
« Reply #22 on: September 08, 2009, 03:16:23 pm »
Allykat, I recall it being in the con rules that you aren't allowed to have Hug Me signs. :o
"Would you kindly. ."

Offline AllyKat

  • Administrator
  • *******
  • Posts: 804
Re: Review thread
« Reply #23 on: September 08, 2009, 03:58:40 pm »
I'm not talking about those signs, I'm talking about the little Uke, Semi, I heart Glomps and such signs they were selling in the Dealers room.
I personally witnessed two times where girls with these signs held out and smiling were asked to turn them over to hotel staff, when they refused and said they'd bought them in the dealers room they were asked to put them away or they would be taken from them.

I'm not saying this is the rule, perhaps only the exception but it doesn't mean that that should be allowed to occur. If people are selling signs that say similar things, what makes you think that kids aren't going to MAKE similar signs and hold them up or carry them around? It's a sort of double standard.

Also, I was under the impression (though it's not often that I'm right) that the signs which were banned delt more with the semi-prostiution nature of a few of the lines, such as; "Will Glomp for Pocky" or will "Yaoi for Ramune" ect... Those signs, as clearly exchanging a good for a service or the like, are boardering on offensive due to the abuse of peoples for things. A simple sign that says "hug me" or "I love hugs" is liken to (in my opinion) a shirt that says "Kiss me, I'm irish" on Saint Patty's day. If you wear it, be prepared for random PDA. No one forces you to hug them, it's a part of Convention culture to be merry and gay and thats all fine well and good, just don't force it on other people or expect anything in return for the love.

I honestly don't care one way or the other, I'm far to A-social to carry such a sign, but the double standard and the issues it caused as well as the lack of Con staff to enforce it made the Hotel staff seem like really bad guys, which... with more planning, wont happen in the future I hope! ^_^

~Allykat


2009 - Attendee
2010 - Facilities Liaison
2011 - Director of Publicity
2012 - Director of Publicity
2013 - Facilities Liaison
2014 - Vice Chair