Kumoricon 2010 Attendance

[KogaRyu]

I voted other.  For me it honestly depends on who is going. I chose Kumoricon over PAX due to the fact that I had friends that were going and others that I knew would be there. I had blast hanging out with friends and doing stuff with them in and outside the con.

Depending on how things shape up for 2010, I might just go to PAX instead.

[NickelZinc13]

Actually, maybe we'll do that and just hang around the Hilton for photoshoots. I love cosplaying and it kills me to miss such a great oppurtunity.

Hey, you're someone I know from K-con!

Yeah, if the opportunity exists, we should be able to have it!

In all due respect, I could have spent my time doing something much better, but I came because I love what Kumoricon has to offer.

[MichaelEvans]

As posted above the 18+ between Midnight and 6am is probably a local (non Kumoricon) ordinance that won't change while we're still in Portland (or whatever legal jurisdiction has that law).  I'm not even sure if other areas -lack- similar laws.

However, if your issue is inability to attend some form of -dance- then please state that clearly.  Holding a dance one night -before- midnight is something which COULD be solved.  Similarly properly estimating room capacity and enforcing safety limits for fire codes could be build in to ticketing (I think they were, but that the safety limits may have changed after our planning.  To be honest I'm not sure, but I did overhear things that sound like plans were changed for both the hotel and us by forces beyond our control.)

Which actually gives me an idea to ask about in the staff area...

[oslapedo]

Why does curfew restrict minors from being up late if they're supervised by staff/adults/etc?

And how come minors could stay up till 2am last year but not this year?

[Trumby]

Why does curfew restrict minors from being up late if they're supervised by staff/adults/etc?

And how come minors could stay up till 2am last year but not this year?

Because of how the law itself works, for question 1

For question 2..I don't remember it being that way in 2008, but it was that way in 2007 (because the WA law is different). But if it was 2am last year, it would be because the hotel is private property and they made their curfew for 2am instead (they don't actually have to go by the local/state curfew since it is private property) and the hotel this year kept it as the local/state curfew.

The biggest problem we had with the dances (at least with minors wanting to attend) was we just had a lot of events that needed main events so we couldn't have them earlier like in years past.

[oslapedo]

Thanks for answering my questions. It's just frustrating being so close to adult-dom. I just wanna be able to hang at night, woe is I.

[AllyKat]

In response to minor laws and Portland, Oregon:

http://www.portlandonline.com/police/index.cfm?a=193643&c=50412

Under 14, not yet in high school:
School days - 9:15 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Non-school days - 10:15 p.m. to 6 a.m.


14 or older, in high school:
School days - 10:15 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Non-school days - 12 midnight to 6 a.m.


I am sure the reasoning behind not following these portland ordinances last
year was either lack of knowledge or a sincere lack of understanding. As with
any kind of curfew law they are hard to enforce and honestly as long as a youth
is either;
A) with their parents or;
B) not really causing trouble/not drawing attention to themselves
being out on the streets at night is not going to land you in juvie. Of course, it
is for their own safety that they be off the streets after such a time, and cops
may see it as their duty to make sure the law is enforced in areas of high teenage
traffic. The con-simply recognized the much more centralized location of the con
this year in correspondance with police and public officials and probably felt it
neccessary to crack down on minor activity now, before the con gets to big and it
becomes impossible to enforce these rules (it's already hard enough).

So, for a final non-school ho-rah, Kumori-con has the privilage of letting anyone
over 14 hang out till midnight, under 14 till 10pm-ish. K-con extends this midnight
privilage I believe to 12 and 13 year olds (whose gonna really notice anyway?) and
requires tykes to be with their folks anyway, and it's really the parent's call if they
wanna get bothered by the police about having their kids out after curfew, at that
point it is their necks. However, for anyone without a parent on premises, the
con becomes the guardian and suffice it to say, the con is not a forgiving mommy,
when it is bed time, it is bed time. Lights out, no if's and's or but's about it.

I don't know where they allow under 18 out after midnight but I've never lived in
such a town. Not even Vegas or Gresham was that lenient. Portland would be the
least likely city to be forgiving on youth curfew, with the number of highschool's and
corresponding rivalries, thats asking for trouble.

Hope that helps your understanding!

~Ally

[DancingTofu]

I answered other, and here's why:

I will DEFINITELY go, barring DEATH; however, I will also be expecting significant changes.  We've run a con at this hotel now.  Let's make the best of being stuck in that hell-hole again by fixing everything we can.  We need to change a LOT of things.  The hotel isn't perfect, but when life gives you hiltons, make hilton pie.  AND MAKE IT TASTY.

[Koopa]

I will most likely not attend Kcon until they find a different place. This hotel was a BAD decision. But I might consider going again next year if they fire all the staff and start over.

Just so you know, there was only 50 Yojimbo. I agree with you that the hotel was a bad choice. I think with more organization it would of been a better experience for you. Most of the Yojimbo didn't know where most of the events were happening. I made sure that I did though. We where working at least 12 hour shifts. Some of us went 24 hours. It was just as hard for us as it was for you. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy yourself. That's really lame. 

[Koopa]

I answered other, and here's why:

I will DEFINITELY go, barring DEATH; however, I will also be expecting significant changes.  We've run a con at this hotel now.  Let's make the best of being stuck in that hell-hole again by fixing everything we can.  We need to change a LOT of things.  The hotel isn't perfect, but when life gives you hiltons, make hilton pie.  AND MAKE IT TASTY.

 I think that you will get nothing but skin and bones if you make Hilton pie. LOL There are going to be a lot of changes next year. I know the Ops directors personally. I've know them for years. I know that things will be better next year.

[shikyo]

I will be going next year. I already know the place so what they hey. I didn't have to bad of a time like a lot of people had, one of the things I would like to see changed is the escalators to be turned ON. I don't see why their could be a staff member allowing a certain amount of people on at a time, they go pretty fast so it wouldn't be to much of a wait so that way they don't "overload" which I heard what they thought would happen if turned on. They were on in the early morning hours 1am and on.

[Himeno]

They can't turn them on. Turning them off is for safety reasons. An escalator has a weight limit - that being the amount it can hold up. If that limit is reached, the whole thing just falls down and everyone on it at the time is tossed into a pile at the bottom. When an escalator is turned off, it gets locked in place with safety 'pins'. Turn it on, those pins are removed and bad things can happen.
With the amount of people using them, the wear and tear on the motors is higher, making them more likely to break.

The escalators were turned off because it was not safe to have them on.

[xcthulhux]

the hilton sucked.
the only reason i voted yes is because i support the convention.
HAIL KUMORICON!

[Jamiche]

Why does curfew restrict minors from being up late if they're supervised by staff/adults/etc?

And how come minors could stay up till 2am last year but not this year?

Last year, the minors were allowed to stay in one of the dances until 1am.  Due to miscommunication, it ended up being both dances... and if it was until 2am, it was a mistake.  Because of the difficulty in enforcing it last year (and it is an actual law), we left the curfew at midnight.

[Sakis01]

It doesn't matter to me that the Hilton had it's flaws. Kumoricon is Kumoricon and I'll most definitely be going.

[oslapedo]

Thanks for the clarification Jaki~

I 99% won't go to KCon @ the hilton but things can change I guess. I'd love to go to the KCon events however (dances, KCon lite) so long as there not at the hilton and I look forward to '11 b

[ChibiNinja13]

I didn't like the hilton but i'm going next year because i love k-con and almost nothing will make me stop coming 

[HardstyleZombie]

ya im going next year and hopefully as staff

[Roddy Manic]

I said I would go because Kumoricon is my teen size con, I love it. The hotel is a bad choice. But I am sure when it was picked they wouldn't have known about some of the things that came up. Like the escalators. But it is a good con. I had no issues with staff myself, anytime I delt with them they were good.

One thing I liked is when I saw some people sleeping, in sleeping bags, in the hall at I think it was 6am. I am not sure how long they where there before I got there, but it was only a few minutes until, I think it was hotel staff it might have been con, woke them up nicely and kindly told them the rules and that the needed to stay up. They did a good job, although the people woken up made rude comments after they left. Also, I was sitting a little to close to a door once, and the staff that asked me to move did so nicely.

I think the only thing that can be chaged that I like to see is curfew being held for minors on staff too.

[princessmoon]

I fully support K-con and will be attending 2010. It's hard managing and organizing a function like K-con, so a few blemishes will not deter me from a fun weekend. 

[doryishness]

I'm gonna skip next year and save up money to go to SteamCon in Seattle in October.

I'll plan on being back 2011, because it is nice to have an animecon in your own backyard, but this year was less then thrilling. It was a pain in the ass for some of my friends to take their masks off in the lobby, it was crowded and kinda smelly, and I was a little annoyed with all the bums surrounding the building. I did think the dealer's hall was nicely done.

[Firemousey]

I know that this years convention at the Hilton was met with complaints, which were doubled when we discovered it's being held in the Hilton again next year. So, I want to see, based on this years convention, how many people plan on attending next year, if it promises to be the same sort of deal. Because the Hilton is not going to get any bigger.

I definitely intend on coming next year even if most of my friends aren't going to. At least I know Master Lynx will be going and he's fairly fun. xD

[Cyprus]

My G/F & are are going for sure...yes I agree that the Hilton was not prepared for this...but at least now they know what is coming. Plus, I had a blast meeting new friends & going to all the events/panels.

[xxxchihiroxxx]

i have all intentions of coming back.

this year was eh, but from what ive read on the forums in the reviews and what not staff has talked to the hotel and a few things are changing for the better in the way they treat us.

all i want is for the hotel to back off a bit, their not baby sitters which I think they thought was their job at the con. Im used to hardly seeing hotel staff around the con, let along hotel security blocking off odd places for no real good reason.

anywho, I'll come back : P I'm always coming back xD

[leonmasteries]

well that's good, if that's the case, I will be more than happy to come back... I did enjoy the events I did go to and this time, I will have a much better outfit that doesn't make me over heat.

[oslapedo]

I stayed at the hotel and filled out the survey thing that got emailed to me. Anyone else get this email back?

Dear Sahara Sooter.:

My name is Tracy Marks, General Manager of the Hilton Portland and I just received the comments from your recent stay at our hotel. Thank
you for taking the time from your busy schedule to provide us with  your valuable feedback which we use to improve our product and
services. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience we may have  caused you due to the large youth group that overran the hotel during
your stay. I do understand how challenging it was waiting for the  elevators due to the number of attendees using them. I hope you give
us another opportunity to regain your trust and stay with us again as my guest on your next trip to Portland. Please don't hesitate to
contact me so I can assist you with any future hotel needs.

Sincerely,
Tracy  Marks

I found it funny that they pointed out the "large youth group" as a negative. And I didn't even complain about elevators in my critique, hohoho.

But uh... hopefully it's better for you peeps going next year.

[Coconutty93]

Damn, I was waiting for her to put something like, "We heard from your neighboring rooms that you were noisy and had more people in your room than were allowed." Lol. xD

[superjaz]

wow large youth group? lord they didn't say they were the ones who booked the large youth group and all the money that youth group spent in the area

[Rathany]

Wait?  We are a youth group?  With 21+ karaoke and sake tastings?  And ... umm... hentai? 

Dude, we are a pretty irresponsible youth group

[Firemousey]

I didn't see what she said as a negative thing. I think she was just trying to find a more formal way of saying "large group of young or young-looking people."

[Rathany]

I didn't see what she said as a negative thing. I think she was just trying to find a more formal way of saying "large group of young or young-looking people."

I know, I am just amused  

[Animeman73]

All that I can say is "What the *%$#@#!"

[ChibiNinja13]

Even our oldy moldys look young
XD

The staff were real... bleh.
I think I'll send a letter myself, Sahara!
Osla, you have inspired me!

[Cyprus]

Even our oldy moldys look young
XD

The staff were real... bleh.
I think I'll send a letter myself, Sahara!
Osla, you have inspired me!

Ewww...moldy  Atleast I look young!

But seriously, I have stayed at Hilton hotels MANY MANY times & have only ever had good things to say about them...I just think they were overwhelmed and unprepared for this event. As I said before, that will not stop me from attending as I look forward to hanging with friends & making new ones as well. Sure the lines and waits were stupid, but I enjoyed all the panels and stuff that I got to see. Not to mention...I have a group of new friends/local cosplayers to spend time with while up there so there is no way I would miss it!

[Animeman73]

You know it's funny. I'm not one of the Kumoricon staff. But a lot of people at my workplace tend to think from my looks I'm in my late teens to early twenties. I guess my genes have been good to me  .

[The_Panda]

I still find it funny that I COMPLETELY dodged the bullet on these mistreatings and such. The elevators I had no problem with, cause I'm patient, and the staff were never rude to me (save one small time.) In fact, the only real complaint I had was it seemed like there were less panels than usual, and that we couldn't stay in the dances.

I know your hoops, K-con. And I am willing to jump through them all to come. Because you are just that good.

[AllyKat]

yeah.. on the elevator bit... I never had to wait for an elevator when I really really wanted one,
which... apparently was a big issue...

As far as it being my first convention I was WAAAY WAY impressed. I was a bit surprised by the
hotel staff (being a hotel worker myself I feel that is justified, I am never stressed at a guest even
when I have no clue whats going on, because that is bad bussiness, but I do like to know everything
and anything about a group coming in before they arrive... sometimes I know more than my managers!)

And of course, it's the kinda thing that just makes you want to come back and see what they do with
the cards they are delt for each year!

~Allykat

[DancingTofu]

The elevators were really only a problem for the first day until people got fed up with them, at which point nobody wanted to deal with them and thus avoided them at all costs.  By the end of day 2, I could catch an elevator with no line any time I needed it and go right to any floor I wanted without worrying about unwanted stops.

[ebasilio]

I too, like other con attendees had a issue with the hotel. The hotel just couldnt handle that many people. I think the con should take place somewhere else. I hope changes will be made. I was a yojimbo and I plan on being a yojimbo again and hopefully by then I will be DPSST certified.

[mangakaluna]

I didn't have any problems at the hotel. All the staff (both K-con and Hilton) were courteous and polite to me. I did not witness anyone being mistreated either (Although I did hear of it happening).
I didn't have any problems with the elevators either. I just used the stairs (good workout for eating fastfood all weekend!). I didn't go to many panels because I couldn't find some of them, but I didn't feel too much of a loss :3 I just hung out with other cool people.
I'll be back again this year :3

I'm sorry to hear about people who had a bad experience, and who won't be coming this year.

[The_Geek]

I'll just be knowing what goes on, and that's good enough for me.  
So, yes, I did like the venue and will be attending k-con once more.

[Lin]

I'm not gonna let some issues ruin the first and only con I have been able to attend! Going for my 5th year and even if its crowded and there are problems I will enjoy myself. Cause the events are great and everything but I mostly go to meet friends and hang out! Heck even waiting in crazy long lines is worth it! You meet such amazing people. Hmmm I maybe babbled a little much but thats how I see it! Hope to see you all in the upcoming years!

[Teddy_Bearxx]

After getting used to how it was set up there wasn't a problem at all for me. It took about a day for things to settle down. I had a lot of fun this year. The only thing that bothered me were the elevators really. I will be going back next year even if it was in the same spot.

I agree. I had to use the stairs alot but it was no problem for me
Also I heard the staff was being very unfair or too fair.
I had no problem.

[Pchan]

I am going, yes, but I am not pleased with the staff last year, or the lay out :| That was crappy. I couldn't even get upstairs to go to the panels. :| And I lost my badge and would've had to PAY to replace it. - No way. I left. I was disappointed. I also was mad with the dealers line, I was sent to the END because we came from by the edge of the opening ceremony area. :| By the game room? And we had to walk all the way up, wait 2 hours, then go back down.

I am attending, I hope it's better this year or I'm done with K-con.

*edit*

I was also one of the people that got YELLED at by security staff for waiting in line to go downstairs. If he yells at me this year, I'm done. :| [Mod edit by JeffT: Removed inappropriate personal attack]

[AllyKat]

I'm terribly sorry you had such a less-than stellar convention experience last year! Thats never fun!

Of course, I'm sure you understand the issue with badge replacement, losing badges is a serious issue at ANY convention, and most conventions put a penalty on it, up to charging a full badge replacement. Thats why it is so important to be mindful of your badge at all times! I bet that was probably the most stressful part of your convention weekend! No doubt losing my badge would have totally ruined it for me!

The issues regarding dealers hall and security as well as movement throughout the convention are being remedied to the best of our ability as I am sure you have read all over the convention forums!

We are putting a registration cap in place to hold the attendance level and prevent overcrowding.

We are working closely with the hotel staff to provide them information and experience with our group.

We are re-distributing events in a way that allows for a more freely flowing traffic pattern.

But of course, as this is a convention that has grown to big for it's britches, you should prepare yourself for the convention by taking these two steps;

1. Plan extra time to get to events/panels so you arent rushing last minute and getting stuck in lines!
2. Relax and take it easy at the convention, a Sunday pace will prevent stress and make the con more enjoyable even when you are stuck in a line!

When you know what to expect from an event, the issues that arise can easily be circumvented by quick action and creativity! So we appreciate knowing what it is exactly we need to tell the hotel and pretty much ANY venue so that they can learn with us and work with us to make K-con a quality convention for Portland-Metro and Oregon at large!

YAY!

~Allykat

[Pchan]

My badge got blown away by the wind Saturday afternoon when I left to get lunch, Along with 200$. :| I was out lunch and a max ticket, so I had to wait for my grandparents to come and get me.

I hope this year is better. I would hate to have this be the last year I attend. I enjoy K-con but the stress of losing 235$ [200 + pre-reg 35 badge] :| Just killed me...

[kylite]

In regards to the badge, we had a ton of lost bages in the Yojimbo Office. If you ever lksoe a badge come on by, we are quite friendly and always willing to help.

In regards to security: was it a hotel security or oneof the Yojimbo?

[Pchan]

It blew off down with the max into Portland street. :| It was GONE. I mean just GONE.

--
it was a hotel staff I believe
[Mod edit by JeffT: Removed link to page containing inappropriate personal remarks]
I'm not the only one who had a problem with him.
ANYONE waiting to go downstairs did.

[kylite]

We had quite a few come in from people who found badges on trimet. both max and bus
Never underestimate the power of human kindness in this odd city

as for the hotel security, I am soooooooo sorry.

[Pchan]

The security having sticks up their butts isn't the con's fault. It's their mangers fault for not training them to handle the randomness of Kumoricon. They should be able to. It's Downtown Portland for goodness sakes. Anyway.

I lost my badge, was extremely disappointed.

The security was what got us the most, It was my self, and two of my friends. :|

I just hope this time he realizes that we're still guests there and some of us are sleeping in the hotel and if it happens again -- I will be writing letters. Long, mean, nasty letters to his supervisor..
I am ADHD, and an anime fan. This is something I am bulit for.
[[Criticizing and/or loving something that is ]]