Convention Fans

I’m sure you all have read the story about Deborah Fourzan by now (the girl who went missing and was potentially heading to IKKiCON). Well, the authorities didn’t find her there, and the convention went on ahead as scheduled this past weekend. As you may recall, Jason David Frank, a former Power Ranger, was one of the big headlining guests. The web is starting to see convention reports, videos, and pictures posted from the event.

I’ve collected some of this feedback and posted it below! Special thanks to my new friend “theshyfox,” who acted as my eyes and ears at the convention (see her pictures here). A lot of this feedback was collected by her meticulous note taking. The rest comes from various message boards around the web. Enjoy!

Travel and Hotel:

- Hotel staff was very gracious, especially when [attendees] arrived way earlier than check in time.
- Hotel staff made sure that ice water and cups were readily available to everyone at the convention.
- The carpets were plush, and very easy on the joints.
- There was extra bedding in the closets.
- Alarm clock/radio in room had a direct line in so you could hook up your mp3 players to it.

- Cleaning crew knew little to no English, was hard to communicate that [attendees] didn’t want the room cleaned.
- The elevators at the Hilton Hotel are express elevators “gone wrong”. They go quickly, but the sudden change in pressure with every ride taken made [attendees] ears pop.
- There were lots of extra fees. The hotel not only charged $16 a day for parking in the garage, but also charged state, city, and federal taxes for having stayed in the room for two days. Instead of the original bill calculated to be around $300 for two nights, it ended up being over $400.
- Staying in the same hotel as the convention was convenient and gave [attendees] a lot of freedom. […] They could come and go as they pleased with or without the rest of the group. Though it was expensive, if you can afford to do this no matter what convention you are going to, it is recommended.
- Escalators had been turned off throughout the majority of the convention. Although some attendees understood, it make it difficult for those with mobility problems to get around.

Artists’ Alley:

- Some corners were way too cramped (artist alley, and the art gallery). Wing wearers beware.
- “Amazingly priced” prints, one of a kind jewelry, and commissions available.

Jason David Frank:

- Jason David Frank was really nice, and even though he was supposed to keep his autograph line moving quickly, he didn’t try and rush through each signing, giving each of his fans a small bit of his time.
- There was confusion about the line situation when it came time for autographs. Not even Jason knew were he was supposed to be.
- There was an unexpected fee for having things signed, but they let [attendees] know a few minutes in advance, and part of the money went to charity.
- Jason’s panel’s were funny and gave everyone a chance to ask him questions about his time on the Power Ranger shows.
- Jason ran a martial arts introduction class the last day. It was “intense” (fans are reportedly still sore), but it was “so much fun” to be taught martial arts by a 6th degree black belt, who stared on the Power Rangers show.

Dealers Room:

- The vendor room was large, with a lot of different things to see.
- No one in vendor room was selling Pocky.
- The vendor room had a lot of “old school” merchandise, which was very surprising.
- The yaoi, yuri, and hentai vendors were really pushing their wares. Meaning that they weren’t quietly sitting there selling their items. They were yelling very sexual things at people as they passed by. Which was not only offensive, but annoying.
- Most of the vendors were really nice and attentive to all who were interested in their booths, but some didn’t really care who bought what, and just sat there, which deterred [some attendees] from buying from them at all.
- The dealer room opened late every day of the con (sometimes more then a couple hours late) but the shut down times remained the same.
- Fantastic deals were made the last day.

Food:

- Lots of food near the hotel, including everything from expensive Japanese restaurants, to cheap fast food.
- Pizza was easy to order and have delivered directly to the hotel.
- There was a Starbucks right inside the hotel lobby.
- Rumors of a “snack ban” in areas of the hotel.  (Can anyone confirm this?)

Security:

- Head of security was very polite.
- Security was fast to act in any situation. They worked quickly to get a girl who looked woozy water and have her sit down. They made sure someone who had gotten dizzy and nearly passed out to the hospital. When informed that kids were causing bruising around their necks with choke collars they stopped the problem.
- Some cosplayers’ weapons were damaged by the “weapon check” booth.

Panels:

- Wide variety of panels.
- Cosplay modeling and photography panel was very informative, and helped [attendees] to take better photos for the rest of the con.
- Gaia Online meet up was not as organized an event as everyone thought it would be. It ended up being user run by a couple people, but was fun and informative on every level.
- Gaia Online meet was cut short due to check out being at 12. Even though [attendees] had the room reserved till twelve, people left at 11 so they would be out of their hotel rooms well before noon, thus avoiding being charged for another day at the hotel.
- Anime Auditions panel was “EXTREMELY informative”.
- Some panelists were no shows, others were plagued by lack of sufficient/working audio visual equipment.
- Ouch: “The constantly late events and the plague of technical difficulties at almost everything attended made me embarrassed to have invited […] friends to [the convention].”

Misc.:

- Some of the photographers at this event were “pervs.” Taking pictures only of girls in extremely short skirts, or running around trying to pick up chicks.
- There was an amazing variety of costumes at this event. Everybody from Sonic, to Jack Skellington.
- Acoustics for concerts were terrible.
- Wide range of movies were played all day and almost all night, in the two video rooms. Including oldies like Big O.
- The organization of the schedules could have been a bit better as [some attendees] had a few run ins with some “really annoying” volunteers for the on site sign up that wouldn’t answer questions.

If you have feedback, pictures, or videos of your own, go ahead and post a comment!

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