Lines on Day 0

[djmonolith]

The lines were INSANE!  And I live about a mile away from the convention center.  Luckily we met a lot of nice people and saw loads of great cosplay... so it wasn't THAT bad, but i really hope this year is better.

Please!!!

[Lucifargundam]

The lines were INSANE!  And I live about a mile away from the convention center.  Luckily we met a lot of nice people and saw loads of great cosplay... so it wasn't THAT bad, but i really hope this year is better.

Please!!!

Please what? Nothing can be done to get rid-of the lines. Only management and there's a good-enough system already in place. If you don't want to wait in line then get there earlier. Either way, you're in for a long wait.

[royjovero]

Last year's line was gnarly, but it wasn't too too bad (with the exception of the power outage that required staff to hand out water, which I didn't experience). I'd be more upset if I had to wait the same amount of time in line Friday morning instead, like a lot of my friends had to.

[TravelingPumpkins]

I trust that after last year, the staff has taken measures to hopefully reduce the lines.  Kind of curious to see what new ideas they'll be implementing this time around...

[royjovero]

There is really no way to reduce the lines. If a thousand people want to wait in line for badges, a thousand people will wait in line for badges. The only thing the staff can really do is watch out for people trying to cut in line, and maintain safety.

It's highly unlikely that they would be willing to send badges out via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. I'm sure people would be willing to spend a little extra on their badges for this convenience, but having to maintain a record of tracking numbers for delivery confirmation purposes would be a burden.

In a nutshell, if you want you badge on Day 0, wait in line. Get there early for a shorter wait.

[echoshadow]

Well one thing that I want is two lines to be clearly marked Pre-Reg(pre paid) and normal Reg.(pay at door)
There is always major confusion on that. To me it just seems like one big long line for both.

[Lucifargundam]

Well one thing that I want is two lines to be clearly marked Pre-Reg(pre paid) and normal Reg.(pay at door)
There is always major confusion on that. To me it just seems like one big long line for both.

I didn't see that last year, but in 2010 I believe the marriot side was at-door with the hilton being prereg.

Yup, signs would help. Not everyone would think to ask someone and rovers don't really stand out(good and bad thing at that).

[djmonolith]

Is it true that the non pre-reg people didn't have to wait very long?  Would it be worth it to just pay at the door?

[SOawesomeness]

Is it true that the non pre-reg people didn't have to wait very long?  Would it be worth it to just pay at the door?

It depended on the day/hour you went.

We're changing some things up for Fanime 2013. I'd recommend pre-regging because it's cheaper, and *most likely* the lines are shorter.

[TravelingPumpkins]

There is really no way to reduce the lines. If a thousand people want to wait in line for badges, a thousand people will wait in line for badges. The only thing the staff can really do is watch out for people trying to cut in line, and maintain safety.

It's highly unlikely that they would be willing to send badges out via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. I'm sure people would be willing to spend a little extra on their badges for this convenience, but having to maintain a record of tracking numbers for delivery confirmation purposes would be a burden.

In a nutshell, if you want you badge on Day 0, wait in line. Get there early for a shorter wait.

Sure, it's difficult to reduce the lines, and yes, the Fanime staff seems completely averse to mailing out badges.  However, after the number of complaints following last year's convention, it would be extremely disappointing if Fanime turned a blind eye to its fans and simply told us to "suck it up".  Fanime is growing in size each year, and at this rate we'll be having 10 hour waits.  Other larger conventions have significantly shorter wait times and hopefully Fanime can adopt some of their ideas.

I guess we'll see what happens this year.  Looks like it'll be pretty interesting with the construction and such.

[Gwydion]

There is really no way to reduce the lines. If a thousand people want to wait in line for badges, a thousand people will wait in line for badges. The only thing the staff can really do is watch out for people trying to cut in line, and maintain safety.

It's highly unlikely that they would be willing to send badges out via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. I'm sure people would be willing to spend a little extra on their badges for this convenience, but having to maintain a record of tracking numbers for delivery confirmation purposes would be a burden.

In a nutshell, if you want you badge on Day 0, wait in line. Get there early for a shorter wait.

Sure, it's difficult to reduce the lines, and yes, the Fanime staff seems completely averse to mailing out badges.  However, after the number of complaints following last year's convention, it would be extremely disappointing if Fanime turned a blind eye to its fans and simply told us to "suck it up".  Fanime is growing in size each year, and at this rate we'll be having 10 hour waits.  Other larger conventions have significantly shorter wait times and hopefully Fanime can adopt some of their ideas.

I guess we'll see what happens this year.  Looks like it'll be pretty interesting with the construction and such.

Other than the Death March of 2012 (and whoever coined it that is a genius ^^), I've never waited longer than a couple hours on Thursday to get my badge. This will be my 9th time at Fanime, all but the first year I pre-reg'ed. Yes, the line has always been enormous, but it moved well, and I was never able to show up early but got through all the same. You want an even more terrifying line? Try Otakon's sometime. Actually last year was the first time I managed to get there well before 6pm. 2012 was just extraordinary circumstances, everything that could go wrong did. Both Fanime and the Convention Center don't want a repeat 'cause that's even more an embarrassment and terrible for business. Who's going to want to bring their convention to a center who's transformers keep exploding? I'm sure they'll do everything they can to make it just one of those weird things that happened one year.

[royjovero]

What were the complaints about the line last year? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the biggest complaint was the fact that people had to wait X amount of hours in line. Yes, there were power issues, and printer issues, and other stuff going on, but things happen. Like I've said before, if you're gonna be all like, "ZOMG, I haz 2 wait here 4 s0 l0ng because t3h linez iz t00 l0ngggg," get there earlier.

Last year was the worst I've heard it's ever been. Hopefully the staff will do a better job preparing the badges this year. I've had friends who've pre-registered, only to end up with a paper badge instead of the color one. To me, the only justified complaints are the ones pertaining to registration itself--not the line.

[TravelingPumpkins]

What were the complaints about the line last year? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the biggest complaint was the fact that people had to wait X amount of hours in line. Yes, there were power issues, and printer issues, and other stuff going on, but things happen. Like I've said before, if you're gonna be all like, "ZOMG, I haz 2 wait here 4 s0 l0ng because t3h linez iz t00 l0ngggg," get there earlier.

Last year was the worst I've heard it's ever been. Hopefully the staff will do a better job preparing the badges this year. I've had friends who've pre-registered, only to end up with a paper badge instead of the color one. To me, the only justified complaints are the ones pertaining to registration itself--not the line.

I think the complaint about the line wait times are perfectly justified, actually.  Unfortunately, some people have jobs and don't have the luxury of showing up 6 hours early.  I also have friends who have back and leg problems, though not severe enough to warrant disability.  Standing in line for that many hours is a hardship for them.  Additionally, I had friends who came for a single day on Fridays and weekends and missed half the day because they were stuck in line.  These people woke up early in the morning and drove long distances, too.  It's not really fair, considering they still paid for an entire day.

In previous posts, there were suggestions on how to handle the line situation.  Eliminating custom badges, having more staff on hand, having multiple pickup locations, etc.  Probably too late to implement those now, but caring attendees provide constructive feedback each year.  My hope is to simply see lines run more efficiently this year.  Especially since badge pick-up is going to be at the Fairmont, so they won't be encountering union issues, which I heard was the main reason there were only 10 individuals on computers for badge pickup.  I've talked to people who attended bigger conventions (Comic-Con, Wondercon, and AX) and they've never had to wait more than 2 hours in line.

Like I said, we'll see how things so this year.  Maybe it'll be better, maybe it'll be the same.  As someone who cares about a convention run "By fans, for fans", and someone who cares enough to provide constructive criticism and encouragement, I appreciate that comments be considered than be tossed out because it's from some "idiot" who "haz 2 wait here 5 so long because t3h linez iz t00 l0nggg".

[royjovero]

I just realized that my posts in this thread have come off really pessimistic regarding the issue at hand. And for that, I will apologize. I hope that last year's wait times do not happen again this time. I was having my patience tested last year, but I also understood that these things unfortunately happen.

(From this point on, when referring you 'you,' I am referring to Fanime staff)

There are so many ways that the line issue can be resolved, and I don't quite understand why so many of them are dismissed. I guess that brings up a slew of 'why' questions...

-Why do you not want to mail badges out?
-Why were you so unprepared last year?
-Why weren't the Day 0 problems resolved for people getting badges Friday or Saturday?
and so on.

Will these, and other, questions ever be honestly answered? Probably not. And that's sad.

I like how the 'By fans, for fans' thing was brought up, because it really doesn't seem like those words are being upheld. We, the fans, deserve to get, if anything, answers to our questions. Simple vague apologies don't really cut it anymore. Last year had the badging fiasco, and this year is off to an extremely slow start. Yes, the power problems weren't your fault, but there were things under your control that weren't resolved in a timely manner.

Meh. I'm rambling. I need food.

[urza]

i like how very few people seem to grasp that "by fan" means that its all volunteers, and thus if they only get say 15 people to volunteer, they can't really run 30 check in stations (counting each computer as a station).  i think people need to just relax.  if you find the lines to be so deal breaking then please don't attend, it just makes it more annoying of a wait.

i'm sure they understand people have jobs, and that not everyone wants to wait in line, but in the end they are doing the best they can with the resources they have.  if you really want to make a different why not volunteer to help with day zero.  maybe it will help cut down on the wait.  otherwise get over yourself, you aren't entitled to anything.  if you really want to have a short line, just pre reg and show up on day one.  when that line is maybe a 30 mins wait.

[TravelingPumpkins]

i like how very few people seem to grasp that "by fan" means that its all volunteers, and thus if they only get say 15 people to volunteer, they can't really run 30 check in stations (counting each computer as a station).  i think people need to just relax.  if you find the lines to be so deal breaking then please don't attend, it just makes it more annoying of a wait.

i'm sure they understand people have jobs, and that not everyone wants to wait in line, but in the end they are doing the best they can with the resources they have.  if you really want to make a different why not volunteer to help with day zero.  maybe it will help cut down on the wait.  otherwise get over yourself, you aren't entitled to anything.  if you really want to have a short line, just pre reg and show up on day one.  when that line is maybe a 30 mins wait.

From my understanding, the lack of people manning computer was due to union regulations at SJCC, not volunteer issues.

Personally, I've done my share of volunteering at fanime.  I have volunteered at Day 0.  I have stuffed registration bags.  I have helped people with badges.  I plan on helping out again this year.  I think that I am entitled to my opinion, and even if I didn't volunteer, I feel that I should be able to provide my feedback as a consumer who has spent significant amounts of money attending this event for several years.   Implying that people who don't volunteer (for whatever reason) are less legitimate fans is frankly an insult to the hordes of people who flock to fanime each year.  Without their financial support, this event would not take place.

[ewu]

I just want to say that there are a number of threads that address these questions. I would suggest doing a search first before posting. But this being a forum, I understand how information is scattered everywhere and that posts repetitively ask the same questions. So, I'll see how I can gather the information, but until then I will say, me having seen every Fanime post on the forum, I know these questions have been answered in good faith and thoroughly, just not on this specific page of the thread.

TL;DR - use the search function and you'll find direct and specific answers:)

and lets not get mean either, or I will have to lock this thread even if it will stifle discourse.

[TravelingPumpkins]

I just want to say that there are a number of threads that address these questions. I would suggest doing a search first before posting. But this being a forum, I understand how information is scattered everywhere and that posts repetitively ask the same questions. So, I'll see how I can gather the information, but until then I will say, me having seen every Fanime post on the forum, I know these questions have been answered in good faith and thoroughly, just not on this specific page of the thread.

TL;DR - use the search function and you'll find direct and specific answers:)

and lets not get mean either, or I will have to lock this thread even if it will stifle discourse.

Thank your for your response.  I'm excited to see what changes are implemented this year.  I'll definitely help out if I can.

[otakuya]

As pessimistic as it may seem, to avoid lines on day 0, the best thing to do is not get your badge on day 0. I got my badge on day 0 last year (right before the power outage, I could only imagine what the back of the line was like), but also on-site registered with my friend on Saturday, and it was like night and day. By Friday, I'm sure the line is not as long as a Day 0 line.

[djmonolith]

"union regulations at SJCC"???????  SERIOUSLY?  barf!!!  How insanely illogical!  Let's make a system LESS efficient by following inane "union" rules.  ugh!  I really hope that is not the case! 

Well, I think everyone knows by now that the lines will be long.  Like I said before, waiting for hours was actually fun.  It was an interesting way to usher the weekend in.