I know I said it last year, but . . .

[MistressLegato]

THIS year was by far the worst Kumoricon ever.

Kumoricon 2006, where I got terrible heat stroke from standing in the sun for 3 hours to get my PRE-REG BADGE! How could it possibly be worse than that, you ask?

The Hilton in my hometown, Vantucky, is WAAAAAY too small. I refused to go to any indoor events because is was just too crowded. I missed EVERY indoor event because the crowds were AWFUL, the lines were HUGE and there was jus tno breathing room!

Even better, it was HOT, hot, hot outside the Vendor's room/artist's alley was IN THE INSULATED PARKING GARAGE!!! So not only was everyone who was shopping dying of heat exhaustion, people had to WORK in there! A parking garage, how ridiculous!

The maps for food were incorrect (with some great places ignored) and some places that weren't in existance anymore.

There were still not any extra registration staff, despite the fiasco for reg. last year.

If Kumoricon continues its downhill spiral, I may just quit going all together.

[AzuKyo]

If Kumoricon continues its downhill spiral, I may just quit going all together.

By all means, please do.

You seem to enjoy taking the negative look at everything. The indoor events were not too crowded, it was unbelievably easy to nagivate around all the crowds and lines.

It was your hometown, and you're complaining about the food maps being wrong? I found everything on the map with ease when I looked.

Registration, except for badges, from my stand point went really well. Pre-reg was done extremely quickly. If you have a problem with waiting in lines, Pre-reg or pay for VIP. Of which, Pre-reg is actually cheaper and easier.

The Hilton, while it didn't have the best layout, wasn't too small. From the sound of it, you didn't spend all that much time actually experiencing the building. It was an awesome hotel, with awesome staff.

Finally, if you don't like Kumoricon, don't go. Going with a negative look just influences you negatively and you cannot think objectively. Kumoricon is a very happy and friendly convention, as an attendee I don't want to attend it with people who already think it is going to suck.

[Kimiski]

Really?
I thought this year was MUCH better than last year minus a few bad things like yeah... a very very bad incorrect map guide. Not just food, but more importantly rooms in the con itself. I don't member it right now, but one of the rooms listed that things were to take place in, wearnt even ON the map, and when I asked information and other staff members, they all sent me in circles. *dizzy* I also think things like WHERE to line up should be thought of in advanced and placed in the guide somewhere, people lined up against the wall for cosplay and had to move outside to the back when they were technically there first. I told a few people the line was outside who were sitting there before i went out myself, glad I asked someone. And things like... after the A-Key-Kyo concert I asked 3 differnt staff members if I should just stay in there or line up for closing, I got a "I don't know" "I think just stay in there." and a "Yes." My friend she asked people too and she got a "Yes." "Yes." "No." and an "I don't know." So everyone in there who though they could stay got thrown to the back of the line. I was also kinda disappointed in the wait in lines, not registration, that was wonderful how fast we got in! Well done for mailing the badges and everything you did! I mean to events, I thought "huge main events room...no worries about getting in." But some people couldn't come in cause we ran out of tickets or something, but the worst line was to the masquerade, omg... if I hadn't been looking forward to that and brought a special dress for it I would have gone back to my room to watch those awesome anime channels the hotel had!!

But all together as a whole, I think everything ran alot smoother than last year. Besides people not being able to get in, the actual line to get into the cosplay wasn't bad at all. Long yes, but hey it IS a convention. Getting people seated went by fast and I was very hmmm touched? happy? pleased? I thought it was nice staff was trying to let friends sit together!!! That was great!! Again... pre-reg line went ALOT better than last and I mean, ALOT!!! I didn't think it was too hot outside, only on the last day today. It's gonna be kinda hot after walking around looking at anime and merchandise with how many other bodies giving off body heat. I kinda liked having the vendors room in the parking garage, kinda cool and underground thing going on there! Overall out of the cons I've been too... (04-07) I'd rank 2007 my 3rd favorite, good but still can't live up to 04 or 05, probably just cause I was a noob there with sparkles in my eyes and now I'm famillair with everything. Good job staff!

[BoredHorror]

don't get me wrong...there were good and bad things about con this year

like the rave was really fun! and I really liked the music they played the first night

and the pre-reg line went very fast

but I completely agree with the space issue. every event I went to seemed so overcrowded and not enough room for everyone to breath.

also, the masquerade was soooo dissapointing. it has been one of my favorite events in the past. but because the dress code rules were not inforced (strictly formal/cosplay event + mask..I saw lots of people walking around in jeans and a tee-shirt) and the music was not waltzing music- it was just like another dance.  which was sad because it was suppose to be formal and different.  (not to mention the room was tiny so it was hard to not crash into anybody when waltzing)

[Kimiski]

don't get me wrong...there were good and bad things about con this year

like the rave was really fun! and I really liked the music they played the first night

and the pre-reg line went very fast

but I completely agree with the space issue. every event I went to seemed so overcrowded and not enough room for everyone to breath.

also, the masquerade was soooo dissapointing. it has been one of my favorite events in the past. but because the dress code rules were not inforced (strictly formal/cosplay event + mask..I saw lots of people walking around in jeans and a tee-shirt) and the music was not waltzing music- it was just like another dance.  which was sad because it was suppose to be formal and different.  (not to mention the room was tiny so it was hard to not crash into anybody when waltzing)

Ok yeah I must agree with that as well, I was sad the dress code wasn't enforced for the same reason.

[MistressLegato]

If Kumoricon continues its downhill spiral, I may just quit going all together.

By all means, please do.

You seem to enjoy taking the negative look at everything. The indoor events were not too crowded, it was unbelievably easy to nagivate around all the crowds and lines.

It was your hometown, and you're complaining about the food maps being wrong? I found everything on the map with ease when I looked.

Registration, except for badges, from my stand point went really well. Pre-reg was done extremely quickly. If you have a problem with waiting in lines, Pre-reg or pay for VIP. Of which, Pre-reg is actually cheaper and easier.

The Hilton, while it didn't have the best layout, wasn't too small. From the sound of it, you didn't spend all that much time actually experiencing the building. It was an awesome hotel, with awesome staff.

Finally, if you don't like Kumoricon, don't go. Going with a negative look just influences you negatively and you cannot think objectively. Kumoricon is a very happy and friendly convention, as an attendee I don't want to attend it with people who already think it is going to suck.

If you can't take some serious criticism, please don't bother replying.  Thanks.

I used to be on staff, I loved K-con in the past, so don't tell me not to come just because the past two cons were AWFUL experiences.  I want the con to return to its old and awesome self.

A place with spacious rooms for events and a better hotel.

P.S. this is a complaints forum. If you can't take it, go somewhere else.  Also, this was my friend's first con and, with K-con as MY first con, I hoped to be able to show him what it was like at a nice, smaller convention.  However, he is clausterphobic around too many people crammed into a tight space, as am I, and I didn't get the chance to show him anything, save for peek into the karaoke room once.

[Evaldas]

I thought it went pretty well this year.I can't say too much because I was working in the Artist Alley. I loved the space I had. Compared to last year's cramped and often being overlooked, much improvement. Thank you!!!

Sure it was crowed and lines are long, that could simply be a sign of more people attending. Think, this could have been crammed into Red Lion again like last year. I am sorry to hear you did not have a good time. Sure it was hot,  but I am sure 80+ degrees and 2000+ attendees at any given time didn't help keep things cool either.

Yeah, not so hot on the parking garage, but it created space that otherwise may have not been possible. Would you rather wait in line because they can only let some many in at one time?

But you are right, this is complaints and suggestions, so you have your right.

I guess my only concern and suggestion for the coming year is how Artist Alley is laid out in comparison to the Vendors. I knew a few of artists were left in quiet corner simply because people were not coming through or saw the empty tables and did not bother. My friend made a suggestion about putting the artists in center of whatever room layout while the exhibiting vendors circle around the outside, ensure a shared flow without have a section completely left in the dark.

I did not have that problem, I but I certainly don't want to be faced with that after paying what I did for a booth for 2008.

I also understand this is a trial and error process and something things are just not possible or are impracticable. But I thought I would offer my concerns and suggestions. Also I don't know how things are planned at this time, so yeah.

Thanks again, I had fun!

[Kimiski]

OH YES!! I agree about that!
All the Artist tables were all alone and isolated away from everything, and there wearnt people walking by at all, especially if you were the second row over completely away form the vendors. I didn't even notice one part of the artists tables until the second day cause they were so far away in back.

[Kyuubi]

@ Mistress Legato = I have to ask you something. Where in the hotel did you go? Sure, the hallways were crowded and everything; that’s because of lines and lines make the hallways crowded. We can’t do much about that other than sending them outside into the heat. Which leads me to your other remark about the Vendor’s room. Yeah, I don’t know where you were but it’s wasn’t hot down there. In fact, I was quite comfortable walking around down there and looking at stuff.

I’m sure that the people down there had a great time and they were probably cool enough. When I looked around, I didn’t really see anyone dieing of heat exhaustion. In fact, I saw people having a great time at Kumoricon. Which is what mostly everyone did have.

As for the maps for food, I don’t know what went wrong there. But you can’t blame someone for forgetting a place to eat and not putting it onto the map. Sure the places on the maps might have been a bit out of date and everything, but it still got you out into the city to look around. And it was a map, not everything on maps are concrete and set into stone.

And the registration was going smoothly. Well, at least on the side that I was helping on. I dunno how the pre-reg side went or anything. But the registration side went pretty smooth.

And as something to say to your comment about Kumoricon going into a downhill spiral. Yeah… If you don’t want to see it happen, then help out. I’m sure that’s crossed your mind. And if this is coming across as rude to anyone, I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to come across that way. I just meant to be blunt.

[MistressLegato]

@ Mistress Legato = I have to ask you something. Where in the hotel did you go? Sure, the hallways were crowded and everything; that’s because of lines and lines make the hallways crowded. We can’t do much about that other than sending them outside into the heat. Which leads me to your other remark about the Vendor’s room. Yeah, I don’t know where you were but it’s wasn’t hot down there. In fact, I was quite comfortable walking around down there and looking at stuff.

I’m sure that the people down there had a great time and they were probably cool enough. When I looked around, I didn’t really see anyone dieing of heat exhaustion. In fact, I saw people having a great time at Kumoricon. Which is what mostly everyone did have.

As for the maps for food, I don’t know what went wrong there. But you can’t blame someone for forgetting a place to eat and not putting it onto the map. Sure the places on the maps might have been a bit out of date and everything, but it still got you out into the city to look around. And it was a map, not everything on maps are concrete and set into stone.

And the registration was going smoothly. Well, at least on the side that I was helping on. I dunno how the pre-reg side went or anything. But the registration side went pretty smooth.

And as something to say to your comment about Kumoricon going into a downhill spiral. Yeah… If you don’t want to see it happen, then help out. I’m sure that’s crossed your mind. And if this is coming across as rude to anyone, I’m sorry I didn’t mean for it to come across that way. I just meant to be blunt.

I've helped out in the past and al it ever got me was completely ignored.  I've made offers and suggestions and none of it has ever been taken seriously, save for the CPMPLETLEY last minute offer to design the programming guide.

As for those who didn't think it was too hot in the vendor's garage, I'm very good friends with three of the people in artist's alley and talked to one other who bought her own fan because it was TOO hot inside.  All 3 of my friends who worked down tere complained about the heat.

Where in the hotel did I go?  I went through the lobby, through registration, and also visited a friends room.

No-one died, don't be dramatic.  As for the maps being dated, they had a "mini-con" and they could have updated some of the locations.  I walked several blocks to a restaurant that didn't exist.

I  also felt bad that the artist were crammed in the back corners of the vendors room.  How completely insulting . ..

[Kyuubi]

Crammed in the back corners? Seriously, I don't think you actually looked around. They weren't 'crammed' back there. They had a good amount of space back there. Sure, they were away from the con goers who were in the vendor's area. But they weren't crammed like they were in earlier forms of the Artist Alley.

And, if you don't want me to be dramatic. Then don't be dramatic yourself. Equal and opposite reaction. And, also I'm sorry that your ideas weren't taken seriously, and for your friends down there. But, it wasn't that hot down there.

And, if you only went into those three areas of the hotel...then you really didn't see much of the other stuff, did you? If you did go into the other areas of the hotel, it wasn't cramped like last year. The Gaming Room was big enough to accept a great deal of people and still have some room to spare. The other panels had ample room for people. The Creation Station wasn't full to bursting and the Manga library wasn't either. The Random Panel (of Doom) was full to bursting, but that's because of the nature of the panel kinda added to that.

[kekame]

Hmm... I have my fair share of complaints about things, but let me get this straight...

Despite the fact that it was way less crowded (wider hallways, more places to go) than last year and no one was screaming 'keep moving in the halls!' constantly, you think it was more crowded than last year? Honestly, I agree that it was a little packed, but worse than last year? No way.

And yeah, it was hot. Really hot! But... its not like people can control the weather. And logically, where else would they possibly put the dealer's room than the parking garage? I thought the spaciousness of it was awesome, and they had a fan in there, obviously, the heat problem was being acknowledged in some form.

As for the food map, I didn't look at it in depth, but the one place we looked for, we found right away and it was really good. Plus there was Subway and Quiznos and Thai and Fish and Chips and Teriyaki and a BBQ place 1 block away (on the other side of the park), so even for people like me, who had never been in Vancouver, WA before, I was perfectly able to forage for food regardless of whather places were listed off for me. Plus, like you said, if you live in that area, you already know all the good joints anyways, so its not like you were affected, right?

Like I said, I have my share of complaints too, but I'm trying to see the best in it and concentrate on what I did have fun doing instead of what wasn't fun. I met some cool people, even if I ended up meeting a few really rude ones as well. I got to see old friends, as well as make new ones. Every con I've been to has ups and downs, though I'd have to say KC 2004 will always be my favorite. =)

Mind if I ask what your favorite part of the con was?



As for complaints - personally, I get that we need to wear our badges, and I DID wear mine the whole time, but why do they have to be specifically at the neck? Don't people realize that this is inconvenient AND looks horrible in pictures? On the first day, I had spikey hair, and I couldn't even get it around my neck without ripping my costume apart, which really annoyed me, and on the second day, the red and blue just looked idiotic and obvious compared to my black and white costume and the fact that I was already wearing a necklace. By the end of the day, I decided that I would just wear it on my belt loop if I freaking felt like it. >.>

Also, someone needs to post some sort of official, 'Convention Common Courtesy Rules'. Stuff like, don't walk up to someone and point out every detail of how you think they're costume is bad or innaccurate. That happened to my best friend and she felt insecure about her costume the rest of the night. Be nice people! Most of us are nerds and don't have high self esteem to begin with! >.>

As for stuff I liked - It was convenient, parking was cheap, lots of good food nearby, awesome farmers market, and people were really cool about letting you know when they liked your costume. I got way more attention at Kumori-con than I did at Anime Evolution. The masquerade music was too fast to waltz to and it was a little packed, but I had fun there anyways, and appreciated that it existed at all. The hotel staff was unobtrusive but helpful when they needed to be. They sold stuff like aspirin, drinks, etc, right inside the hotel. The reading room had a good variety.

[Kyrraven]

Crammed in the back corners? Seriously, I don't think you actually looked around. They weren't 'crammed' back there. They had a good amount of space back there. Sure, they were away from the con goers who were in the vendor's area. But they weren't crammed like they were in earlier forms of the Artist Alley.

And, if you don't want me to be dramatic. Then don't be dramatic yourself. Equal and opposite reaction. And, also I'm sorry that your ideas weren't taken seriously, and for your friends down there. But, it wasn't that hot down there.

I found the vendor's/artist's space uncomfortably warm, due mostly, I think, to lack of airflow. A few large fans, stratigically placed would have improved the area greatly. I also talked to artists and one vendor who agreed that it was overly warm (the first day, near closing)

As far as physical area, the garage was an excellent choice, with little crowding. However, why is artists' alley always centralized in the "back", basically kiddy-corner to where the room entrance is located?

Anyway, the parking garage was an interesting change. That said, if one is used at future cons, advance planning for airflow would be nice.

[PinqFuu]

To be honest, last year I said I wouldn't return to Kumori Con after last years fiasco. But i decided to return and change up a few things myself. I decided to get an Artist table and stick it out. I was discouraged by the fact we were being held in the garage and that they had told me there would be carpet laid out and there weren't. Also the hotel staff were very nice to your face, but there were two hotel officials standing next to my booth as I sat there saying "I'm glad you didn't put out the carpet, because they're in their own little world..." Uhh... thanks. I don't mind having to walk around in oil slicks and dirt as well as finding ants trying to crawl over small bits of garbage from lunch.

Besides that, coming in on Friday to check in, there were people wandering around in costume. But there wasn't a line. Of course we got in at the tail end of things and I had to run and grab my badge from downstairs but made it. It was easy. There was a line in the morning outside my window that we could hear, but it was moving fast and there was a little trolly that was providing breakfast to those who may have missed it to get in line early. Within the hour it was taking me to get ready I checked on the line and saw that people were moving swiftly.

The dealers room felt limited, same hashed vendors over and over again. But the supplies of snacks and food was awesome and everyone seemed to really love the NekoPan bakery and it brought many people over to visit the Artist Alley. Unfortunately for some odd reason, people were visiting the artist alley in that aisle and kind of skimming over the other wings of the Artist Alley making poor traffic and slow sales. Overall I'm satisfied with my sales as I broke even the first day and made profit the rest of the weekend. As for the heat, I became accustomed to the heat and usually seemed hotter outside than it did inside. But I understand the effect, for some reason when I went outside and then came back to the garage I'd break out into a small sweat but I'd get accustomed to it all and be very comfortable.

When we did go around trying to see panels and things, it wasn't crowded at all, I could get around comfortably, even those in costumes and those not. We found seating every time, may have been in the back but we could have come sooner no doubt. If anything there was more room. It was awesome to have a large park across the street so everyone could be outside and enjoy things there than be inside cramping everyone else.

Overall, this year I highly enjoyed everything. We also had no problems finding food by the directions provided.

[reppy]

I pre-regged and pre-checked in. It literally took about 10 minutes to check-in on Friday, and that's actually a gross exaggeration. My friend did end up sitting out in line for about 2 hours or so (he wasn't pre-reg). That said, I think the line was actually longer than the one last year.

Also, maybe I'm crazy, but I kind of enjoy waiting line as long as it's not too bad. You get a chance to relax a little and really get to know your fellow anime fan. I met some really cool people last year while waiting in line, haha.

Maybe Disneyland should do something about all those long lines, too. I mean, how long have they been in business and people still have to wait hours to go on ONE ride?!

[FizzTheCarbonated]

As for complaints - personally, I get that we need to wear our badges, and I DID wear mine the whole time, but why do they have to be specifically at the neck? Don't people realize that this is inconvenient AND looks horrible in pictures? On the first day, I had spikey hair, and I couldn't even get it around my neck without ripping my costume apart, which really annoyed me, and on the second day, the red and blue just looked idiotic and obvious compared to my black and white costume and the fact that I was already wearing a necklace. By the end of the day, I decided that I would just wear it on my belt loop if I freaking felt like it. >.>

I agree with this.  My long Emeraldas wig got tangled enough without trying to add the badge lanyard around my neck to the equation.  I really prefer having clips, it makes it a lot easier to take it on and off for pictures.  Maybe the edges of the badge-holders could be red or something next year to prove you've checked in, rather than the lanyards.  They're less convenient than other forms of badge attachments.

[xxxchihiroxxx]

hm last year at the time i thought it was wonderful (it was my first con i still had stars in my eyes) but looking back on it now i find this year to be MUCH better! less crowded and even though i cam only on the last two days the line wasnt bad at all for registration. (i was foolish and got there 2 hours early anyways like i did the year before) i have to agree the artist should have a better place to be then in the back.

it wasnt to hot down there. o.o course im a freak of nature that doesnt have a good cold warm ratio. (I can still wear a sweater in 90 heat and a tank in a giant freazer at the oregon food bank) anyways the venders where good and the little snack place close to the artist was good! it atrackted some attention to them and the cupcakes were a treat while looking around ^_^

last year it was crowded and i think i got to the line 2 hours early (a friend who goes every year warned me) and waiting an aditional 2 hours to get in and register. the idea of mailing the badges this year was wonderful!

[kekame]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! The pre-reg was handled the best way I've ever seen. It took like 2 minutes to get my badge! =)

[MistressLegato]

As for it being my hometown and being unaware of where the restaurants in the area were, I lived completely on the other side of Vancouver.  That's like asking you Portlanders to know where EVERYTHING in your area is.

This isn't a tell Marci you think she didn't look around enough, or how she should have had a better time thread, this is a COMPLAINTS forum and a complaint thread.

It comes from MY observations from being at the con.

If you don't like what I have to see go find yourself a happy go lucky, I love everything about Kumoricon thread.

I love K-con very much.  It was my first con and the first few years I went were AWESOME.  I have definately noticed, however, that it is losing a lot of what made it an attractive con to begin with.

[Lit_of_Fey]

Okay sounds like most of this stuff is just people's opinions, and really misstress legato, sounds like you're just mad about the convention getting bigger and bigger. I have to admit I was a little afraid of all the people, and the waiting in line for hours was definitely not fun, but it was a pleasant experience over all. But that's just my opinion. lines probably could've been handled better, and people could've been treated more nicely as well. Sounds like people just weren't well-informed. It seemed to me that they didn't train the staff as well as they could've or maybe not at all? I don't know. The way that the schedule was printed in the pocket programming thing was kinda hard to read sometimes, like "does it get out at 3:30 or four?!" but oh well. I just hope kumoricon doesn't turn into the giant homogenous blob that is sakuracon, I'm sure some people like the hugeness, but for my own selfish sake I hope kumoricon stays smallish ^.^;;;

This is a weird rant o_O sorry if parts didn't make sense.

[kylite]

ya know mistress, Iv noticed that you enjoy starting flame wars on quite a few boards and nothing seems to make you happy.  I know you "have" to let us know how much you dislike how the con is going but seriously, if you aren't even looking for the good parts and just focusing on the bad parts then why bother at all.

If you are just addicted to drama and flame wars, there are plenty of OTHER boards out there to do this.

[Hawkeye]

Mistress, if you have that much of a problem with things, instead of complaining so violently and doing so on many different issues, perhaps you should move on with your life and stop being so negative.  Constructive criticism is appreciated by staffers such as myself, but the constant flaming gets you nowhere.  The lines were still pretty hectic because we had over 3000 attendees this year, if you have a problem standing out in the sun or any such issues you should have located a staff member and informed them of this, not stay there and complain afterwards.  As others have may have said, would you rather be back in the Red Lion again?  As far as not having other Vancouver locations, perhaps you should have spoke up and PM'd tomthefanboy on the forums for having him add restaurant suggestions BEFORE the con even started since he's the one who set up the map with locations.

[MistressLegato]

I have no idea what this "constant flaming" you guys are talking about is coming from.  Excuse me for being honest about the past two cons being terrible.

I've given my constructive criticism comments and all it ever got me was completely ignored.  I've offered to help and all that ever got me was ignored.

Not enjoying the past two cons and saying such doesn't constitute flaming at all.

I'm really sorry that you all have no idea how to take criticism.

As I've said before, I don't like on that side of town, so why in the world would I pm someone about things I don't know about?

[kekame]

Okay sounds like most of this stuff is just people's opinions, and really misstress legato, sounds like you're just mad about the convention getting bigger and bigger. I have to admit I was a little afraid of all the people, and the waiting in line for hours was definitely not fun, but it was a pleasant experience over all. But that's just my opinion. lines probably could've been handled better, and people could've been treated more nicely as well. Sounds like people just weren't well-informed. It seemed to me that they didn't train the staff as well as they could've or maybe not at all? I don't know. The way that the schedule was printed in the pocket programming thing was kinda hard to read sometimes, like "does it get out at 3:30 or four?!" but oh well. I just hope kumoricon doesn't turn into the giant homogenous blob that is sakuracon, I'm sure some people like the hugeness, but for my own selfish sake I hope kumoricon stays smallish ^.^;;;

This is a weird rant o_O sorry if parts didn't make sense.

I'm really glad I'm not the only person that's noticed that Sakura-con's completely lost that smaller con feel. Its impersonal and expensive to attend, so I decided I'd probably give up on it this next year. I hope Kumori-con stays small too. Or atleast retains the personal feeling to it. I do plan on attending KC 08, though, since I had lots of fun this year.

[JeffT]

Maybe Disneyland should do something about all those long lines, too. I mean, how long have they been in business and people still have to wait hours to go on ONE ride?!

Actually, they have. Disneyland rides have a sort of "pre-reg" called FastPass where you take a ticket and come back at a specific time to walk onto the ride. Also on at least two popular rides, if you are willing to ride alone (in a leftover spot in a car), you can walk on immediately through the back entrance (the "single rider line").

[bucketmouse]

Hm, mind, it could just be that it's because the last convention I'd been to was AX, but I thought Kumoricon was l like a dream. I opted to have my badge mailed to me. ONE -- IT ACTUALLY ARRIVED ON TIME (I did the same for AX. It arrived at my house in WA, uh, the second day of the con. Goooood planning there.), with time to spare in fact (though that did lead to me compulsively checking my wallet every day to make sure it didn't fall out or get misplaced). While the map might not have been entirely accurate as far as food went, it lead to us going to the Thai place instead of just getting Quizno's (a very delicious unplanned event, I don't normally like Thai!).

The lines went amazingly fast! I was also expecting a long registration line -- again, my last experience was AX, and some of you might have heard the stories about pre-reg lines being a minimum of four hours long in DIRECT SUNLIGHT with no shade in sight in midsummer LA weather. I assure you, they are all true. There was no 'almost' about those heat strokes. I just went right in and asked where I needed to go to pick up a lanyard for my badge (again, expecting a line) and was directed to a table staffed by two people who punched my badge and gave me a lanyard right there. The only time it took was the time it took me to stop someone already with a badge and ask where they got their lanyard.

The dealer's room was a little warm, but I am chalking that up to the unusually hot weather we've been having. Seriously, WTF. At this time of year, it's often raining buckets, or at least partially cloudy with drizzling rain. The garage seemed like a good idea as well. Insulated or not, heat rises, and it was certainly warmer on the 2nd floor when I was there. As for the selection, I often say that I don't go to Kumoricon for the dealer's room -- it's a small con (no matter what people want to say about how 'crowded' it was), and the huge, wide-selection dealer's room are something you have to go to medium to large size cons to get. I go to Kumoricon to have fun, and I certainly did. Then again, my short-of-breatness and overheated-ness was also chalked up to the fact that I'm a little, uh, 'ample' and I firmly believe that if you want to crossplay (which I did) you should bind as effectively as possible.

About the only complaint I have was the AMV contest -- I would have liked to have been told beforehand that the doors would be locked and re-entry would not be permitted. If that had been the case, I would not have left to go use the restroom right before the 'action' section. Instead, it took me until the middle of the second-to-last video to get back into the room, which caused me to miss the XXXHolic video. Which was a big disappointment for me, since I love that series.

[JeffT]

As I've said before, I don't like on that side of town, so why in the world would I pm someone about things I don't know about?

As for the maps being dated, they had a "mini-con" and they could have updated some of the locations.  I walked several blocks to a restaurant that didn't exist.

We could have updated the information if we had received corrections. The information on the map came from the hotel's list of restaurants, and a couple of staff members who visited or researched the restaurants and submitted information about them. It's not surprising that it was not error-free, but the information was no more than a couple months old and was likely accurate for 80-90% of the restaurants.

I specifically offered to you to help design the programming guide because of your complaints after the con last year, and expressing interest in doing so. I understand if you didn't have time, as I did offer it very close to when we had to submit it to the printer (which was unfortunately the tight schedule we were on), but I'm just saying this as proof that you aren't being ignored.

[Dark-hobo]

I have no idea what this "constant flaming" you guys are talking about is coming from.  Excuse me for being honest about the past two cons being terrible.

I've given my constructive criticism comments and all it ever got me was completely ignored.  I've offered to help and all that ever got me was ignored.

Not enjoying the past two cons and saying such doesn't constitute flaming at all.

I'm really sorry that you all have no idea how to take criticism.

As I've said before, I don't like on that side of town, so why in the world would I pm someone about things I don't know about?

Whether you are being ignored or not is no reason to stop sharing your opinion or helping. Because no matter how little difference you think you are making, you are at least offering people the chance to change it. Also if you want your criticisms to be more well recieved I would suggest that next time you accompany them with possible solutions. Or word them less abrasively "THIS year was by far the worst Kumoricon ever." I mean even by your own posts I don't see how you can say that this year is by FAR worse. Sure in your perspective it could be worse just because you add more value to certain things that were negative this year and less to things that were positive. But seriously Pre-reg moved WAY faster, reg moved WAY faster and was still larger than last year.  The reg and pre-reg lines were in the shade for a good portion of the day. Water was being handed out from the beginning and the hotel provided a food and drink trolly that you could purchase from. The halls were larger and there was less crowding due to this. Yes some panels were over crowded but panelists and staff just didn't think their stuff would be so well recieved. Also I was in the vendors room a great deal and the only time it got over 80 in there was about 4PM at the hottest part of the day. What do you consider a comfortable temperature level, because from your posts I am estimating you want things to be about 55-65 all the time and that is just not possible in the beginning of september on sunny days with 3k+ people in one hotel.

Before you post and possibly view this post negatively please take this into mind. I am merely attempting to find out if my assumptions are correct. Also I am trying to find out exactly... what went wrong. Because you may state negative things, but those points you make seem to be vague and difficult to gauge your level of discomfort. I am in no way flaming you or seeking a flame. I would love to hear you elaborate in great detail all that went down.

[Hawkeye]

That's a good way of putting it from both dark hobo and Jeff.  It's not that we don't want to hear what you have to say, it's just that when things are phrased so abrasively it can turn some of us off completely.  If you're willing to try to work with us, we're willing to do the same.

[Crystal]

Some Constructive Criticism

This year was my first Con so I cannot compare it to K-con of the past or sprawling S-con. But I felt that overall, this event was excellent. I had a lot of fun. I'm still huggly-happy about the whole thing, but I don't want some valid points to be washed away because they were presented in a negative fashion. So here is my bid for some constructive criticism.

1) Crowds - Even though there were times when I felt there was a huge crowd and a lot of people, I never personally felt crowded. There was plenty of room to move through the space despite the large number of people. I never felt pressed or jostled. Just impressed by the sheer number of awesome cosplayers.

I think it is important to keep in mind for next year that the Con is definitely growing. Even though V-Hilton worked this year I have a premonition that it will be way too small next year.

2) Lines - I know some people get stressed with too many lines, but I never felt they were too excessive.

One thing we could do in the future to minimize lines would be to build in set-up times for events into the schedule. That way the volunteers running the event wouldn't be arriving and trying to set up right as the event is set to start. In many cases this was the reason for a line. Set up was still going on and they couldn't let attendees into the room yet.

A couple of other lines I saw seemed to be because an event was more popular than anticipated and the room was too small. The mask making workshop, the mask ball, and the host club tea party all had this kind of line. I don't know if anything can be done to predict if an event is going to be a big hit, other than to note that those three will probably be popular again next year. 

3) Creation Station Events - I went to several creation station/fan art/fan fiction events this year and I enjoyed them all, except... The room for creation station was too small, there were never enough seats, there were too many events overlapping on top of each other and the schedule was hectic and catch-as-cat-can.

I'm not trying to detract from the creation station volunteer's awesome efforts, I'm just saying we need to give these ladies some more room, more resources and more time. Creative projects take time. And that means con-goers who participate are going to be in the creation station taking up space for some amount of time.  If they had a larger room (like one of the small ball rooms) they could have been running their con-long events in one corner while the other half of the room could be used for special events. That would give attendees the freedom to wander from the special event to the con-long event and back or even hang out with the volunteers & read the fan fiction for longer periods of time.

4) The vendors/art gallery - The parking lot was dark, muggy, stuffy and a little unpleasant. But I can see how a lot of other potential problems were solved by having the vendors & artists downstairs. Still, I would rather see them in decent lighting.

Also, this is going to sound like prejudice, but I think we should give the priority position to artist over vendors. We should have their space set up in a way that foot traffic has to flow past the artists to get to the crap stalls. Don't get me wrong, Crap is important. I bought some very nice crap this weekend. But I would rather see more strategic support for our local fanartists. We all know that we're going to see the crap stalls anyway...

I really don't feel that Pockey Club -- the volunteers in charge of hallway events, or NekoPan -- a FOOD vendor belonged downstairs in the parking garage. I think there was on other guy selling food too. They should have been upstairs where hungry/thirsty attendees could easily find them.

[RoamingGnome]

When it comes to artist alley I think they should be given a place for themselves.  Outside of the vendor areas.  Now I don't mean in some corner but an area where people don't feel rushed and can take time to talk to the artists about there work.  Also making sure its a nicely lit place to show off their work.  Thats just my opinion.

[FizzTheCarbonated]

When it comes to artist alley I think they should be given a place for themselves.  Outside of the vendor areas.  Now I don't mean in some corner but an area where people don't feel rushed and can take time to talk to the artists about there work.  Also making sure its a nicely lit place to show off their work.  Thats just my opinion.

I disagree, because at con I often don't carry all my money around unless I'm going into the dealer's room.  If the artists are right in with the dealers, they're more likely to end up with me buying something from them because I'll have my cash right there.

[Crystal]

I disagree, because at con I often don't carry all my money around unless I'm going into the dealer's room.  If the artists are right in with the dealers, they're more likely to end up with me buying something from them because I'll have my cash right there.

I'm the same way. Having the artists up front would give them a better chance of getting my money before I blow it all on plastic figurines by the pound.

[TomtheFanboy]

OK, first off, I'm going to take responsibility for the maps. When I was working on the food map for Jeff I had to place some spots I'd never seen or heard of. I tried to visit a bunch of them but I was misinformed about a couple of locations. I even went and tried to eat at Quiznos and found that my own map had located it about a block from its actual location. I'm always working on maps for the convention and I promise everyone to actually go to the places I put on the exterior map this year so that I can know where they are for sure. I can't promise they'll stay in business the whole year, but if I find them then the map will at least show where they ACTUALLY were.

I adressed the issue of the dealer room fans in athe Rant and Rave thread, I will quote my entry there; The first day in the vendors hall was cool and pleasant. There had not been a crowd in there all day and the fans were moved to the entrance late at night too blow cool air inside. After the crowds the fans were not moved back to the entrance on the first and second night which left us with a much worse situation on Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunate how that went, but we won't be in a basement car park next year (we'll be NEXT to the car park!  ) so we'll see how that goes.

Pocky Club and the Vendors in charge of Hallway events? OK, the food thing is a cxomplicated issue. Kumoricon isn't supposed to sell food because the Hotel does that for themselves and we'd be stealing "their business". I'd love to have owned half of the info booth on behalf of the Hall Cosplay Contest and Pocky Club but that wasn't avialable. Nekopan Bakery was doing its very first convention as a vendor so they didn't have any choice over the matter either. However, as the day wore on the Hotel set up their own snack booth over by Gaming around 8 o'clock and it was open pretty later (though not until 2am like they promised).

Artist vs Vendors. Vendors pay more money to get the best locations. It's really just a money thing when it comse to the exhibitor's hall. I personally think that we could have had the Artists all together in one row among the smaller booths, but the high profile corners near the entrance will always go to the vendors with the big money. Since we have a more normal location for the exhibitors hall this year it may be possible to make Artist's Alley a little closer to the front.
I suggest that you get together with other Artists and form a petition to get better placement, have a representative bring itt to the election in October so that you can present it to the Relations Director (and Eric since he ALWAYS seems to be the Exhibitor Manager).

[RemSaverem]

3) Creation Station Events - I went to several creation station/fan art/fan fiction events this year and I enjoyed them all, except... The room for creation station was too small, there were never enough seats, there were too many events overlapping on top of each other and the schedule was hectic and catch-as-cat-can.

I'm not trying to detract from the creation station volunteer's awesome efforts, I'm just saying we need to give these ladies some more room, more resources and more time. Creative projects take time. And that means con-goers who participate are going to be in the creation station taking up space for some amount of time.  If they had a larger room (like one of the small ball rooms) they could have been running their con-long events in one corner while the other half of the room could be used for special events. That would give attendees the freedom to wander from the special event to the con-long event and back or even hang out with the volunteers & read the fan fiction for longer periods of time.

Thank you so much for having come to and complimented our events in the Creation Station (which I coordinate).  We were thrilled that we had such a great turnout for basically every one of our events. Last year, at the Red Lion, our room was at least twice the size. Two years ago, at the Doubletree, we had an enormous amount of space, over in the Executive Meeting Suites of the hotel, which is a hypothetical possible placement for our niche of programming for next year *hopes*. This year, we did the best with what we had. The hotel was short on chairs over all. We had to work closely with KC and hotel staff to get enough tables for folks to be able to engage their art and writing. I personally prioritized leaving some space available for folks who might be in wheelchairs of have other mobility impairments, which meant pulling one table and some chairs (and which was at least periodically in fact used for this purpose).

I agree with you that it's helpful to have space large enough so that ongoing events/contests and more time-limited workshops/demos could occur in separate parts of the room. We were blessed with this arrangement at Anime Evolution this year, and at Kumoricon the two previous years, albeit that this year's room, which we otherwise liked, occasionally felt small. Please remember, there are only a handful of cons anywhere in the world that actively dedicate a room to fanfiction and/or fan art (and in our case fan improv theatre too). And Kumoricon was the very first (that we know of, anywhere), with our Beta Station in 2004 at the Marriott (which I also coordinated). So we love our KC administration for having managed to find space for developing this burgeoning nice of programming every year, and eagerly look forward to more

[goatchild]

I realize this topic is a little ways back in this thread (I have read all the ones after it, though : P), but I personally think that Kcon growing is not a bad thing. It's also not really something that can be controlled without angering many con goers, anyway. I think the only way to keep it small would be to limit registration, both pre- and normal, which would result in turning away possibly hundreds of attendees at the door -- something I don't think any con relishes doing.

Instead of wishing that Kcon would stop growing, I think those who wish for a small con experience should look into starting a new, and therefore smaller, con. I realize this is a huge commitment and a great deal of volunteer work as it takes time to gain any profit from such a huge project, but it can still be done. Perhaps a committee of some sort made up of those people could be formed to work with Kcon itself to start a smaller sister con.

I suggest this simply because I feel we can't force a con to stop growing. If it's popular, than it's popular. It may indeed end up being similar to Sakuracon in size, in which case I'm sure a smaller con will be started with or without the help of those wishing for one here. ^^

[babysugarbear28]

*helps dust off this thread alittle*

I have to say a few things....

First Legato I respect you as an artist and as a person,but if you wish to call this constructive criticism you do need to put in suggestions for improvement, because whether you think so or not people here do listen and do take into consideration a good deal of what the atendees have to say. Also Legato if you are going to make a statement about not coming back if the con goes down the drain then don't whine when people tell you not to come back. People don't wish to have negativity like that about something that is fun. Personally kcon is like a second christmas to me and I save up half the year to attend. So if you are gonna be negative have alittle positive because things have improved in the short time I've been going to Kcon.

Reg/Pre-reg was wonderful this year... As far as I'd heard Reg stayed under what... an hour? Now that compared to the three hour wait for opening ceremonies the year before in the sun and the up to five/six hour wait for some people at the redlion.. this was considerably better. Getting people through was a breeze (I volunteered for reg duty) and if you want it to be faster then why not try helping at reg? Even doing things like handing out forms and pens helps so that we can get people processed quicker.

Space was a tad crowded at times, but that comes with growth... events such as the Mask making, the ball and the lolita things were events that we thought were going to be fairly small in size. This assumption was due to what we see on the forums for the most part. When you can only see a fraction of what atendees think it can be really hard to make a guess of just how interested people will be in certain events, but we do learn from these minor setbacks and adjust for the coming year. Not only that, but with X ammount of rooms staff has to decide what events go in which rooms. I feel sorry that the creation station doesn't always get a big enough room, but there are other events that need a bigger space first such as main events ect. Like I said things are always taken into consideration with each hotel we go to.

I have to say that the hotel staff was extremely pleasant to work with this year as they came to staff multiple times while I was there asking if we needed anything and were very helpful. Pssst if you stay in the rooms and you end up meeting the people that clean your room thank them, they do a wonderful job. Not to mention the con stank wasn't nearly as bad as the year before thanks to the hotel's air system sucking out the bad air and putting in fresh clean air.

As for it being stuffy in the vendors room. It is always going to be stuffy when you have a bunch of otaku filling up a room that is meant to have cars stored in it. They are from what I've heard building another room that could be used as a vendors room in the future, but as always they con may grow too fast for us to use the hilton again. I digress... yes the vendor's room was hot and stuffy and yes the artist alley people got put into the back corner, but I had no problem wandering around and looking at the things that the artists had available so why should other people? I even bought things from people back there and yes artists pay less than big vendors so yeah they aren't going to get priority spots... I'm sorry but that is economics at work. I am glad that you are offering suggestions to be used this next year.

As for the map, yeah it wasn't 100% accurate, but no map even on google is 100% accurate and I was thankful that the restraunts I wanted to go to weren't that far away. The thai food was delicious by the way. Besides we had that great farmer's market/festival that we were so lucky to have the same weekend as the con not to mention the free burgerville burgers that one day. I have to suggest though that if the room has one name on the map it needs to be the same on the shedual.. i think we had that problem with rounds?

As for Kcon losing the small con touch? What has it lost? People wanted the con to grow and so it did. We have alot of the same great programming and some extras that were tried out and the panels are done by fans for fans. I've been to Sakuracon and Kumoricon is still my home when it comes to anime conventions. There is a far greater connection between people and staff the con here at Kcon than there was at Sakuracon. Don't get me wrong I love Sakuracon but Kumoricon will always be first in my eyes even as we grow beyond the small scale con. Besides growth is good, the more interest we have the bigger the guests we can get which appeals to a greater majority of the fans attending not to mention that leads to more good buys in the vendors room and bigger more well planned events which hey means more space.

Remember people if you complain or make comments in a negative light make sure that you give nice comments too. Even better volunteer or become staff so that the con remains for the fans by the fans. I know alot of people go to the convention purely to get away from everyday life, but you have to understand the dedication of the staff, hotel staff, yojimbo and volunteers that put their lives on hold to present you with a convention every year. Even just a few volunteer hours over the three days does an incredible ammount of good. Say what you want, but keep that all in mind.

[ichigoxcupcakes]

THIS year was by far the worst Kumoricon ever.

Kumoricon 2006, where I got terrible heat stroke from standing in the sun for 3 hours to get my PRE-REG BADGE! How could it possibly be worse than that, you ask?

The Hilton in my hometown, Vantucky, is WAAAAAY too small. I refused to go to any indoor events because is was just too crowded. I missed EVERY indoor event because the crowds were AWFUL, the lines were HUGE and there was jus tno breathing room!

Even better, it was HOT, hot, hot outside the Vendor's room/artist's alley was IN THE INSULATED PARKING GARAGE!!! So not only was everyone who was shopping dying of heat exhaustion, people had to WORK in there! A parking garage, how ridiculous!

The maps for food were incorrect (with some great places ignored) and some places that weren't in existance anymore.

There were still not any extra registration staff, despite the fiasco for reg. last year.

If Kumoricon continues its downhill spiral, I may just quit going all together.

I had to stand in line for NINE HOURS when I was pre registered, for a different convention. I know three hours is a long time, but at least you got into the convention right? Think of all the people who where pre-registered, and standing in lines longer than three hours.
And you have to expect, with an anime convention, the rooms are always going to get VERY HOT because of the all the people in it.  And everyones first con has to horrible one way or another. I know mine did, I still remember it to this day, but then I went to more conventions, and with each one my experiences became better and better.
Not to sound rude, but I thought Kumoricon this year was pretty good, and with your negative outlook, your are kind of making Kumoricon look bad. Every convention has it's year when its bad, but other people think differently.

[Hawkeye]

For any moderator that may read this, I ask that this thread be locked.  It turned into a massive flame war after kcon 07, and I easily see it happening again.

[ichigoxcupcakes]

For any moderator that may read this, I ask that this thread be locked.  It turned into a massive flame war after kcon 07, and I easily see it happening again.

woahh sorry I just noticed the date on this DX
my bad. I'm sorry Megean. [hides]