KumoriCon 2014- four days!

[garfieldelric]

Simply put, this just asks what you all think of KumoriCon being four days next year (presumably, to stack up with PAX).


I like it. One extra day to celebrate anime and football!

[RoriLei]

I'll probably end up only being able to go 2 or 3 days anyway, so whatever

[Su Lu]

What will the fourth day be? Friday or Tuesday?

[meb9000]

I've heard the extra day will be Friday. I'm guessing Thursday would then be Day 0/Pre-reg.

The idea of a 4-day con is exciting to me, since the 3-day con has been the paradigm quite a while. Hopefully they will be able to fill it all up with events and panels though, since if there isn't enough to do it can get boring just walking around.

[superjosh]

Oh man, that sounds FANTASTIC! For the last couple years I felt things were really starting to get awesome by Sunday night, then only having the half day on Monday was a bit of a let down.

Starting on Friday will be amazing, especially since Day 0 was crazy awesome this year even without the con being "officially" open. Great idea!

[PaladinCecil79]

I really like this idea, too. It'll be really cool to see what all events get scheduled.

[Animeman73]

Kumoricon is going to last four days next year. MAN! I'm gonna' need an extra day off. Still it sounds like fun.

 

[JeffT]

Here was the official announcement.

[VampireFangs103]

I think it's a fantastic idea. I have a difficult time finding panels to attend, and often when I do, many of them overlap or are clustered together (just my luck). Hopefully this will help make more panels available at times I'll be able to attend!


Also, with how large Kumoricon has grown to, I've been unable to attend the ball the past few years. I'm hoping that maybe with an extra day, there might also be an extra ball? I'm really not much of a raver or anything, so I don't attend the dances.


All in all I think an extra day is a great and exciting idea!   And hey, it means we're one day closer to Kumoricon than before. =w=

[superjaz]

That is a pretty big stretch, unless running a panel or the small chance of being staff, I think my group will prob end up picking one day to go.

[JaegerDarkness]

With Kumoricon being four days next year, my post convention meltdown, could be even worse. And if my dad continues to lack empathy towards my sadness, the **** may hit the fan

_{(Modified language per code of conduct. ~ @random)}

[acton]

I said hate it
1. finding parking  and parking cost  on Friday, a business day, is gong to be a bear. Most parking is restricted during the work day
2. I5, I84, Highway 26 rush hour traffic jams  is going to be a huge problem

[JaegerDarkness]

I said hate it
1. finding parking  and parking cost  on Friday, a business day, is gong to be a bear. Most parking is restricted during the work day
2. I5, I84, Highway 26 rush hour traffic jams  is going to be a huge problem

Hitch a ride, with a friend (just remember to pay them, for their kindness.)

[acton]

I said hate it
1. finding parking  and parking cost  on Friday, a business day, is gong to be a bear. Most parking is restricted during the work day
2. I5, I84, Highway 26 rush hour traffic jams  is going to be a huge problem

Hitch a ride, with a friend (just remember to pay them, for their kindness.)

Sorry I drive alone and avoid the drama of wanting to get there, eat out, ( I drive out of downtown for good food)  and get home on my schedule.

[JaegerDarkness]

I said hate it
1. finding parking  and parking cost  on Friday, a business day, is gong to be a bear. Most parking is restricted during the work day
2. I5, I84, Highway 26 rush hour traffic jams  is going to be a huge problem

Hitch a ride, with a friend (just remember to pay them, for their kindness.)

Sorry I drive alone and avoid the drama of wanting to get their eat out, ( I drive out of downtown for good food)  and get home on my schedule.

*kicks myself* Why do my good ideas seem to fall apart?

[superjaz]

] I5, I84, Highway 26 rush hour traffic jams  is going to be a huge problem

oooo yeah friday holiday traffic..,.shutter

[meb9000]

I drove from North Seattle to Vancouver on Friday, got there in just about 3 hours flat, only encountered some traffic heading into downtown seattle from the normal commuter traffic. Despite being Friday on a holiday weekend, traffic wasn't the big concern IMHO.

[superjaz]

I drove from North Seattle to Vancouver on Friday, got there in just about 3 hours flat, only encountered some traffic heading into downtown seattle from the normal commuter traffic. Despite being Friday on a holiday weekend, traffic wasn't the big concern IMHO.

What time of day tho? more in reference to city driving, which anything south of con has to drive thru/past portland areas.  Lots arrive the morning of the first day of con, which, had been a Saturday but change that to a Friday morning now during rush hour traffic,
it wont be pretty, and God help anyone having to drive anywhere near the airport.  if possible I can see people who would normally arrive day of con wanting to arrive before, tho hotel rooms get spendy.
Not  dissing a 4 day con but it will def take planning

[meb9000]

I started out from North Seattle at 8 am. My route took me straight past Sea Tac airport, and I was seriously expecting Labor Day weekend travel-related traffic but found none. The only traffic was just before downtown seattle due to the morning commuters.

[PaladinCecil79]

I'd suggest taking a train. I take it to Kumoricon each year and even though it costs more than driving, it's pretty cheap and you avoid rush hour traffic.

[princess_of_zeal]

This is good because I can do more cosplays.  I have too many to choose from in the first place so getting one more day will help with that a bit.

[veraca]

I really think this is going to be a good thing if we stay at the same location. Parking isn't too bad, there is food nearby, it's right next to I-5, and the park is right there for us to overflow into. I do think that the continual problem of "nothing on Monday" will remain, but with more days, that means a better way to organize panels around and Main Events- since so many things need that large stage area.

[TurboSaiyanJason]

This is good because I can do more cosplays.  I have too many to choose from in the first place so getting one more day will help with that a bit.

That was my delemma this year too. 3 days, 4 cosplays. Though for those that collect their pre-reg badges on day 0 that means 5 days...or 4 and a half days, so 5 cosplay opportunities. Speaking of Pre-reg, it said that badges won't come by mail anymore as some got lost in transit, so all Pre-reg badges would have to be collected at con. So everyone will get their badges, just they'd wanna take something to do while they wait. The lines would be only a little bit shorter than at-con registration and only a little bit faster. We do have a turbo-charged hard working con staff, but one can still only work so fast.

4 days means a whole 'nother day to fill with panels, but that also makes room for any panels that probably couldn't get registered in time if it were only 3 days. And to those who work during the week, it means one more day to ask time off from. But with how things are looking, it should be worth the trade-off and highly anticipated through all of this next year.

[LexManos]

As someone how has been staffing for several years my reaction to the announcement was a mixture of:

And:


It just means more opportunities for everyone to hang out and have a awesome time.
But it also means we need more boots on the ground, so if anyone was thinking of being staff or volunteering next year I would say go for it. It's great fun, and you instantly get to become great friends with 6000 attendees

[superjaz]

it would be really cool if they allowed 1 day preregs like some cons do

[JeffT]

Speaking of Pre-reg, it said that badges won't come by mail anymore as some got lost in transit, so all Pre-reg badges would have to be collected at con. So everyone will get their badges, just they'd wanna take something to do while they wait. The lines would be only a little bit shorter than at-con registration and only a little bit faster. We do have a turbo-charged hard working con staff, but one can still only work so fast.

A large number of attendees chose Will Call already this year. Retrieving a badge takes significantly less time than processing a new registration with a form and payment. Additionally, with mailing badges, we need to have a longer managers' line to deal with people who had issues with badge mailing like their badge getting lost. Reducing this frees up people to help with the regular lines.

[moiramctaggart]

I'm not sure that Kumoricon is really big enough to support an extra day.

[KingOfSassgard]

I feel like as long as they have new and exciting events then it will be really awesome. But if not, I'm unsure about how this will turn out to be honest. 

[Valkyrie542]

An extra day does sound nice; but I probably would only be able to attend two or three days.
But, if there was an extra day, I really hope that there are more games that will be stretched out over the weekend.

[TuxedoSchwab]

If the costs goes up, please included more panels and signings. And by that I mean AAA panels with industry names and authors.

[moiramctaggart]

How much is this going to affect the cost? An extra day will up the badge cost, plus an extra day for the hotel, plus extra food costs, plus taking a day off work. That can be an extra $200-$300 dollars. I'm really hoping there will be a three day and a four day pre-reg option.

[TuxedoSchwab]

How much is this going to affect the cost? An extra day will up the badge cost, plus an extra day for the hotel, plus extra food costs, plus taking a day off work. That can be an extra $200-$300 dollars. I'm really hoping there will be a three day and a four day pre-reg option.

I agree. The extra should not cost much more due to the other costs with it. Weekend badges should come at the same costs if there are no additional panels. 

[Valkyrie542]

Most importantly, since the convention is going to be four days next year - I really hope that they'll host it a bit earlier in August.
 
Some people start school in early September; The con is great but it shouldn't interfere with education.

[DarkStar]

Most importantly, since the convention is going to be four days next year - I really hope that they'll host it a bit earlier in August.
 
Some people start school in early September; The con is great but it shouldn't interfere with education.

The dates are August 29 (Friday) through September 1 (Monday), 2014.

[Kimiski]

As an attendee I would freaking love this, but as a staffer, honestly it just feels like a band-aid is being thrown onto something that needs stitches. I heard the reason for a fourth day was not only to compete with PAX, but to deal with the jump in attendance. I don't see how adding an extra day will help with attendance, it seems like a work around solution. We need to get other things in working order as a three day convention, before becoming a four day convention, it's just going to be another day of the same chaos, not a solution to anything.


Like my sister said, she would much rather have a bigger venue and smooth running lines and panels, than an added day of con.






As a response to some things people posted: (from what I have heard):


The badge increase will be no more than $5. In the past when we have gotten bigger, it has only gone up $5)


It will still be Labor Day Weekend and it will not interfere anymore with school than it has already. Day 0 will become day 1. The con will still end two days before school starts, one day for those starting 6th and 9th grade.

[hexdef6]

As long as we continue to grow (and we should) in 2 years i see us across the river at the convention center. from what i was told by one of the higher up staff a couple years back was that we need closer to 10k people to make the convention center feasible (not sure how true that is) but we are almost there so if it is indeed the case i can and will support, and wait for a new venue.
Edit: although I will admit the 30k square ft. of the hilton is to small and the red lion isn't any better. but we dont have much of a choice. I cant think of any venue that is larger(that wants us back anyway) but if we could book the roughly 1000000 (with 2 Grand ballrooms) sqft of the oregon convention center I think we would be there by now.

[Zensuke]

I'm with Kimiski, I like the idea of having another day to be awesome and hang out with awesome people but I felt like we didn't have enough content density this year with only 3 days. I fear that if we add another day with out a serious jump in the number of events going on it's just going to add to time where I'm sitting around waiting for stuff.

[Prinz Eugen]

I can add back a couple of my panels I have not run before that are not fixed to dated concepts (like any particular show, which of course would become 1 year older by 2014...) Maybe Metallurgy of the Japanese Sword, which people have enjoyed before.

Also, 4 days might be long enough for another try at a 'real' AMV Iron Chef.
Most other cons' AMV Iron Chef competitions are substantially on-line; the
coordinator informs participants of the constraints, such as selecting limited
ranges of music or anime, and all of this is done a few weeks before the con,
just to see what editors can put together on short notice.

A 'real' Iron Chef is exclusively on-site AT THE CON. I can hand out sealed packs
of media - music and video, and a theme or constraint,  such as some element
which must be included.

With FOUR DAYS there's a better possibility that a few brave folks will pound away
and make a 'something' for us by the final day.

I'd be willing to set that up & see what happens...
 

[Prinz Eugen]

Also the extra day would give me a little more prep or recovery time between big AMV events. Especially a one-day gap between the AMV Overnighter and the Monday Morning Re-cap.

Maybe the contest runs on Friday NIGHT, (not an afternoon, so it can be a little less kiddie-like in terms of content and category definitions) then the Overnighter on Saturday night, (then Sunday Mass for me as always) and off to the Monday re-cap...

[veraca]

A lot of people already cosplay Day 0 and have been ready for con to start then, either by work schedules or not. I actually plan a whole week off: Wednesday before con til the Tuesday/Wednesday after just so I can recover and put my stuff away.

I've actually seen the Contest at various times over the years of attending conventions, and off and on it seems to do best when it's done before 4-5pm. So people can get out and get dinner. However, that means it starts closer to 1pm, and that eats up a lot.
Plus, logistically, the tech set-up from the morning is in the way. And the main guests need the Main Events room for the stage, so things do get in the way. If they want the Contest to be earlier in the day, they would need a whole 'nother day to just schedule everything out properly.

[reppy]

Oh man, that sounds FANTASTIC! For the last couple years I felt things were really starting to get awesome by Sunday night, then only having the half day on Monday was a bit of a let down.

Starting on Friday will be amazing, especially since Day 0 was crazy awesome this year even without the con being "officially" open. Great idea!

That is my feeling, too. Sunday night things are starting to get going. And you're really excited. And then Monday hits you like a brick wall and all you see is people packing up their stuff and it's constant reminder that it's almost over!

[Sailor-Jeimi]

Those talking about the whole traffic problems thing....Remember, most people go to the hotels on day0. This would now be thursday..You are upset that there will be traffic on thursday going down correct? Think about it this way. Would you rather leave durring rush hour on thursday (which, honestly unless you are close or work that day, that's completely a dumb idea anyway), or leave on the day (friday) that everyoe will be leaving the state on the same freeway ALL DAY LONG. Which is worse? A few hours of traffic or all freaking day? Honestly, it's better to leave on a day where the entire state isn't trying to leave on the same road. Honesty, unless you live really close, or work that day, then thursday you would have LESS traffic problems..

[reppy]

In my experience, heading north on I-5 past 3PM is rough. Doable, but not the best. After 4PM and you're gonna have a bad time.

But if you're traveling during those hours, try to carpool and you can use the HOV lane.

I-205 is usually pretty smooth riding. There's an exit you could take that would put you on Mill Plain. From there you'd wanna get on Fourth Plain. And that will take you past Clark College and into downtown Vancouver.

[Valkyrie542]

I just checked up the information on the website for 2014 and I'm shocked to find out that badges for pre-registered attendees will no longer be mailed out. 
 
I can understand why they do this, it's so that no badges will get lost in the mail. But, I personally prefer to get mine in the mail because at least then I know where it is and know that it is with me when I go. What if their filing system fails and badges get lost anyway? Then, a bunch of people will go to the con - having paid for their hotel room, brought all their luggage and traveled upstate - only to find out that it's been lost. And, worse case scenario, they don't have the equipment to make spares.
 
This doesn't really sit well with me. And I know that I'm overreacting and it'll probably be just fine, but...

[JeffT]

What if their filing system fails and badges get lost anyway? Then, a bunch of people will go to the con - having paid for their hotel room, brought all their luggage and traveled upstate - only to find out that it's been lost.

Most anime cons do not mail badges. Kumoricon was the odd ball out. We have a number of ways of verifying that you registered even if, supposedly, our files should fail--including our ticketing service provider and our payment processor. Remember, a huge number of our attendees registered via Will Call this year, so this won't be new for us to handle, but a continuation of what we've already been doing.

This change is really going to streamline registration and we're ready for it.

[CaptnPoptart]

Sounds great! ^^ Pros and cons on this idea though...


Pros: One more day of awesome good fun time, more cosplays to do, after Day 2 I won't be saddened that it's the end.


Cons: Will there be enough fun events??? More cosplays=More work, Possibly might be more expensive since we'll stay another day at a hotel, I may get too tired to go on another day.


My friend Dom and I are thinking of having a table at Artist's Alley next year though, so maybe some Pros and Cons on that too...


Pros: More days and merch to sell=more cha-ching $$$


Cons: More merch=more work to make more, more days=more sitting around


Well...I'm excited anyways!

[veraca]

I can say from driving 101/26 into Portland that there was no "less" traffic on Wednesday this year. I passed a lot of cars on 26 leaving Portland. I assume that applies for Thursday as well, and there always was a lot of traffic in town from 3pm and on. If you're planning to travel, I'd suggest it sometime between 9am-2pm that you'll be on the road for a pretty fluid travel. You may be slow, but it won't be stop-and-go hopefully.

[TalaRedWolf33]

I don't see what the big deal about traffic is... granted I don't drive, my boyfriend does that for me.
But still, if you're going day zero, just leave after 445 if possible. If not, then come day one super early before traffic.  To me, this seems like the most logical solution.

[superjaz]

Its a long ways away which leaves tons of time to plan and such, but I know either way (besides say if decided to go for a day or the whole thing) that to avoid traffic and such going Thursday would not be an option cuz I know for us (my group) an extra hotel day would eat into limited spending money and messes husband-mans work schedule.  It does affect IF (I say if because as said its a year away plans not set) going to do a one day, which day and events and such, say going saturday to avoid Friday traffic.

Cons do get spendy, tho I know there is the whole year to save and plan, tho these days there are a lot more options to temp money from the budget, like other anime cons as well all the comic-cons and such.
(not to mention other 'real life' expenses that come up un expectedly)

[VampireFangs103]

I posted before, but reading through this I did think of a few more things.


I'm concerned as to how much the price is going to raise. My fears have been somewhat calmed by people speculating that it won't raise anymore than five dollars, but still, for someone who only has enough money to go to one con a year, I could pretty much pre-register for Sakuracon as early as allowed and get in for the same price. And what's stopping me, honestly? They have more panels to offer, more guests, a much larger vendors hall. I'm not saying that's what I'm going to do- I'm for sure going to Kumoricon, even as my "one convention a year". Kumoricon is my home. But I know not everyone is like that- if people have to choose between two conventions, wouldn't they rather choose the one with more to offer? Especially if the prices are beginning to even out (and of course I'm referring to Sakuracon's earliest reg price).


Also, I don't mind too much about not having the badges mailed to me, though I was a little shocked. It's nice to be reassured that we'll still be getting our nice plastic badges as long as we pre-reg. Still, I'm a bit sad, because I'm guessing those of us who pre-reg will no longer get a special button. :/ I know this might not be a big deal, but I've started a rather large collection of buttons, and I always LOVE getting a "special" button from Kumori every year.


I'm certainly not trying to be a downer, because I am in fact EXTREMELY excited about the con being four days.