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[idontknow]

Parking/Security: Does anyone know if you can get someone from the con or hotel (like security) to escort you to your car late at night? I drive in from Benicia and usually go back to my car late at night to go home (past midnight when the events we are interested in are over) when a lot of weirdos are out. It seemed like there were more shady people than usual (ghetto, “gangsta”-looking guys in large groups taking up the whole sidewalk that made insulting comments at us, scuzzy-looking (homeless, I'm guessing) people (one of which was peeing all over a pillar in clear view), a few hookers (yes, hookers), etc., that were clearly not part of the con) hanging out a couple blocks from the convention center where we usually park and it was only my female friend and me on Saturday, so I felt a bit paranoid walking there with no other con-goers around. It honestly makes me want to carry pepper spray. Next year, I’ll try parking in the parking garages that are closer to the convention center, but since we get there relatively late in the day on the busiest days because the main events we are interested in aren't until late afternoon to evening, it’s hard to find close parking at times. For future reference, though, I’m curious if there are people who can escort you to your car at night. If not, then I think it would be a great idea to offer that as a service in future years for those who have to park further away and don’t have a group of people to go back with to the parking lot late at night to go home. It would be a huge help.

I completely agree. My friend and I were very disconcerted walking to our car in the 2nd & San Carlos garage on Saturday around 3AM. We could clearly hear shouting and violence further down the road (some gangbangers screaming "die m********** die!" and then when we tried to get in the elevator at the garage a homeless guy jumped out at us, so we bolted up the stairs. I don't know whats happened to San Jose since it used to be one of the safest cities in the country, but things are getting scary down there around con time and it's hard to feel safe. I'm definitely considering hotel next year even though i only live 15 minutes away from the con by car, just because of the poor experience with the parking experience downtown this year.

A suggestion (if possible) is maybe Fanime should advertise some kind of escorting services? Like maybe talk to the SJ Police Department and see if they have some sort of service available to escort people to their cars. You can charge a fee if you have to, just anything along of the lines of being able to walk with someone at night would be something good that Fanime can offer if possible.

[Jelly Soup]

Parking/Security: Does anyone know if you can get someone from the con or hotel (like security) to escort you to your car late at night? I drive in from Benicia and usually go back to my car late at night to go home (past midnight when the events we are interested in are over) when a lot of weirdos are out. It seemed like there were more shady people than usual (ghetto, “gangsta”-looking guys in large groups taking up the whole sidewalk that made insulting comments at us, scuzzy-looking (homeless, I'm guessing) people (one of which was peeing all over a pillar in clear view), a few hookers (yes, hookers), etc., that were clearly not part of the con) hanging out a couple blocks from the convention center where we usually park and it was only my female friend and me on Saturday, so I felt a bit paranoid walking there with no other con-goers around. It honestly makes me want to carry pepper spray. Next year, I’ll try parking in the parking garages that are closer to the convention center, but since we get there relatively late in the day on the busiest days because the main events we are interested in aren't until late afternoon to evening, it’s hard to find close parking at times. For future reference, though, I’m curious if there are people who can escort you to your car at night. If not, then I think it would be a great idea to offer that as a service in future years for those who have to park further away and don’t have a group of people to go back with to the parking lot late at night to go home. It would be a huge help.

I completely agree. My friend and I were very disconcerted walking to our car in the 2nd & San Carlos garage on Saturday around 3AM. We could clearly hear shouting and violence further down the road (some gangbangers screaming "die m********** die!" and then when we tried to get in the elevator at the garage a homeless guy jumped out at us, so we bolted up the stairs. I don't know whats happened to San Jose since it used to be one of the safest cities in the country, but things are getting scary down there around con time and it's hard to feel safe. I'm definitely considering hotel next year even though i only live 15 minutes away from the con by car, just because of the poor experience with the parking experience downtown this year.

A suggestion (if possible) is maybe Fanime should advertise some kind of escorting services? Like maybe talk to the SJ Police Department and see if they have some sort of service available to escort people to their cars. You can charge a fee if you have to, just anything along of the lines of being able to walk with someone at night would be something good that Fanime can offer if possible.

As I understand it, convention center security will escort you anywhere on the property if you ask. Same with any SJPD member who is on duty.

[PLUMPKIN]

Dance Staff ;

In regards to the Black&White Ball, the set up was lovely, but I have a few objections for the dance staff, or rovers. I was told by two of my friends that following their dress code check, they were approached by a few young men that were expressing concerns about their attire. These gentlemen apparently pursued and spoke to them claiming that they were "unsure if they were dressed properly". Mind you, this was after they cleanly passed door-inspection. What's even worse, these men offered to take my friends to a different location, not in the hall, not at the door, but a separate place to "officially check them".

After this, one of my friends found them later in the ball and demanded to see their badges, which they revealed. Now, I don't know if this kind of aggressive behavior is typical for Fanime rovers, however I see this as a transition into harassment.

So please, staff, I'm not trying to dismantle your dress code or security system, I'm simply suggesting (strongly) to find individuals who are serious and mature for these dance occasions and will not take advantage of their badge power. ~ Thank you very much.

Reading this makes me feel extremely uneasy, especially the part about taking your friends to a separate place to "officially check them".  This sounds shady and borderlines sexual harassment.

Reflecting on the Black and White Ball, I remember being asked at least three times to lift up my floor length dress so they could check my shoes (which were not pointed and about three inches in height).  By the third time, I couldn't help but wonder why it was necessary for three different people to ask me to lift up my dress.  In some ways, I thought I was being targeted because I was wearing a long dress.  I think it may be better to have ONE person check attire at the door, instead of repeatedly having ones' clothing questioned by multiple people.  It's certainly understandable that some people see this as harassment/sexual harassment.

[Salty Pearl]

Dance Staff ;

In regards to the Black&White Ball, the set up was lovely, but I have a few objections for the dance staff, or rovers. I was told by two of my friends that following their dress code check, they were approached by a few young men that were expressing concerns about their attire. These gentlemen apparently pursued and spoke to them claiming that they were "unsure if they were dressed properly". Mind you, this was after they cleanly passed door-inspection. What's even worse, these men offered to take my friends to a different location, not in the hall, not at the door, but a separate place to "officially check them".

After this, one of my friends found them later in the ball and demanded to see their badges, which they revealed. Now, I don't know if this kind of aggressive behavior is typical for Fanime rovers, however I see this as a transition into harassment.

So please, staff, I'm not trying to dismantle your dress code or security system, I'm simply suggesting (strongly) to find individuals who are serious and mature for these dance occasions and will not take advantage of their badge power. ~ Thank you very much.

Reading this makes me feel extremely uneasy, especially the part about taking your friends to a separate place to "officially check them".  This sounds shady and borderlines sexual harassment.

Reflecting on the Black and White Ball, I remember being asked at least three times to lift up my floor length dress so they could check my shoes (which were not pointed and about three inches in height).  By the third time, I couldn't help but wonder why it was necessary for three different people to ask me to lift up my dress.  In some ways, I thought I was being targeted because I was wearing a long dress.  I think it may be better to have ONE person check attire at the door, instead of repeatedly having ones' clothing questioned by multiple people.  It's certainly understandable that some people see this as harassment/sexual harassment.

Seriously I think a majority of the dance rovers were going on a power trip...

Especially during the wait in line, along the escalators, there was very little room to move
but they proceeded to demand that we place our lefts hands at our side and touch the wall.
It was slightly ridiculous. While they did do this when you entered the rave, I thought it was fairly informal and bold for them to do in such a classy setting...

Plus, I do agree, they should return to their dress check system from 2010
-- which was a simple up-down in the hotel lobby.

[Salty Pearl]

I don't want to regurgitate what everyone else has clearly said, but
I really only had two complaints.

I the schedule thing, or lack of, did bother me. Or maybe it was the presentation of the booklet in general that seemed underdone. If they were trying to save paper, I get it. But it seemed that just too many pages in the booklet were wasted on simple pictures or ads, you would think that at least, very least, it would include the traditional scheduling.

Honestly, if the booklet had included a paper schedule, I think my
weekend would have gone much smoother...

And also, just a note about the timing for the main events. Next year I strongly suggest that
the Masquerade is placed so that it won't have to compete with the Black&White Ball.
I feel like maybe the concert was isolated to bring in more revenue, but according to what I heard, it was a little bit of a let down.

The concert, skits, and Ball are all key points in the convention, and I don't think that cosplayers attending only for one day shouldn't have that kind of disappointment
when they have to miss or choose one event to go to.

[Glitch]

-a huge sign in front of the cc. such as:
(Image removed from quote.)

Not gonna lie, that would be an awesome thing to have for fanime.
Although that would probably eat up so much of the budget.

[tkdteo]

Dance Staff ;

In regards to the Black&White Ball, the set up was lovely, but I have a few objections for the dance staff, or rovers. I was told by two of my friends that following their dress code check, they were approached by a few young men that were expressing concerns about their attire. These gentlemen apparently pursued and spoke to them claiming that they were "unsure if they were dressed properly". Mind you, this was after they cleanly passed door-inspection. What's even worse, these men offered to take my friends to a different location, not in the hall, not at the door, but a separate place to "officially check them".

After this, one of my friends found them later in the ball and demanded to see their badges, which they revealed. Now, I don't know if this kind of aggressive behavior is typical for Fanime rovers, however I see this as a transition into harassment.

So please, staff, I'm not trying to dismantle your dress code or security system, I'm simply suggesting (strongly) to find individuals who are serious and mature for these dance occasions and will not take advantage of their badge power. ~ Thank you very much.

Reading this makes me feel extremely uneasy, especially the part about taking your friends to a separate place to "officially check them".  This sounds shady and borderlines sexual harassment.

Reflecting on the Black and White Ball, I remember being asked at least three times to lift up my floor length dress so they could check my shoes (which were not pointed and about three inches in height).  By the third time, I couldn't help but wonder why it was necessary for three different people to ask me to lift up my dress.  In some ways, I thought I was being targeted because I was wearing a long dress.  I think it may be better to have ONE person check attire at the door, instead of repeatedly having ones' clothing questioned by multiple people.  It's certainly understandable that some people see this as harassment/sexual harassment.

Seriously I think a majority of the dance rovers were going on a power trip...

Especially during the wait in line, along the escalators, there was very little room to move
but they proceeded to demand that we place our lefts hands at our side and touch the wall.
It was slightly ridiculous. While they did do this when you entered the rave, I thought it was fairly informal and bold for them to do in such a classy setting...

Plus, I do agree, they should return to their dress check system from 2010
-- which was a simple up-down in the hotel lobby.

The dress code for the BWBall is meant to keep with the elegant theme of the dance but more importantly it is there for the safety of the attendees.  There was some miscommunication this year that can be improved upon and we are working on resolving those issues for next year.  I do apologize if you feel that you were harassed but thank you for bringing this to out attention.  BWBall and Rovers will work on making things smoother for next year. 

As for the dress code, we were a bit stricter on shoes this years for a few reasons.  We rent the floor from a professional dance floor company and they are not happy when their floor gets marked up.  Last year, due to some people wearing sneakers, the floor was marked up in some place and due to people wearing high heels and stilletos, there were some dents that were made in the floor.  Some people also wore shoes that did not have a backing and that could lead to potential injury like twisting your ankle.  So this year we were a bit more firm with the shoe choices.  It is something that we are working on and will try to better enforce next year.

The time of BWBall and other events - Please keep in mind that we have many large events during the weekend such as BWBall, Musicfest, Masquerade, etc, and that we cannot accomodate everyone's wishes.  Last year BWBall was opposite Musicfest and this year it was opposite Masquerade.  We try to make it so that everyone can attend the events but in some cases it is just impossible to schedule things to accomodate everyone.  We did extend BWBall until midnight this year for anyone who as at Masquerade that wanted to come to BWBall.  We are still entertaining other possibilities for next year so keep your suggestions coming.  If you would like to message me further about any other issues with BWBall feel free to email me at bwball@fanime.com.

- Jim

[eHash]

Seriously I think a majority of the dance rovers were going on a power trip...

Especially during the wait in line, along the escalators, there was very little room to move
but they proceeded to demand that we place our lefts hands at our side and touch the wall.
It was slightly ridiculous. While they did do this when you entered the rave, I thought it was fairly informal and bold for them to do in such a classy setting...

just to make sure i got this feed back right...you are talking about the dance in ballroom j and not the b&w ball in the fairmont...

[MPLe]

Ignore this post.

(I'm just marking this so I know where I left off on my notes).

[Salty Pearl]

Seriously I think a majority of the dance rovers were going on a power trip...

Especially during the wait in line, along the escalators, there was very little room to move
but they proceeded to demand that we place our lefts hands at our side and touch the wall.
It was slightly ridiculous. While they did do this when you entered the rave, I thought it was fairly informal and bold for them to do in such a classy setting...

just to make sure i got this feed back right...you are talking about the dance in ballroom j and not the b&w ball in the fairmont...

No, sir, I'm referring to the Fairmont Black&White Ball that started at 6:oo pm.
It only happened once, twice at most, but it still seemed to bother both myself and the crowd in line.

[eHash]

Seriously I think a majority of the dance rovers were going on a power trip...

Especially during the wait in line, along the escalators, there was very little room to move
but they proceeded to demand that we place our lefts hands at our side and touch the wall.
It was slightly ridiculous. While they did do this when you entered the rave, I thought it was fairly informal and bold for them to do in such a classy setting...

just to make sure i got this feed back right...you are talking about the dance in ballroom j and not the b&w ball in the fairmont...

No, sir, I'm referring to the Fairmont Black&White Ball that started at 6:oo pm.
It only happened once, twice at most, but it still seemed to both both myself and the crowd in line.

That's what I thought, thank you for the clarification.

[Rank]

It's been brought up already but I want to reiterate that scheduling EVERYTHING on Sunday at the same exact time (except for the J-rock whoevers concert) was ridiculous and stupid.

-a huge sign in front of the cc. such as:
(Image removed from quote.)

This would make Fanime look quite professional, I like this.

[GoodAsianDriver]

Hello everyone. :3

I motion to have signs to indicate the differences for the different kinds of registration lines at Fanime. While the status quo may already be abundantly clear to most of you, please read the following story to illustrate my point:


This past year at Fanime Con, my girlfriend purchased a pre-registration ticket. Unable to attend the convention until Saturday, she arrived around noon to pick-up her badge. Having never been to fanime before, she saw a long line, at the front convention hallway, and asked other attendees if this line was for registration. They said it was, and upon hearing this, she then proceeded to wait in the line. For three hours. In an effort to be a good boy-friend, and because I already held my staff badge, I waited in line with her to keep her company during the long wait. I was shouted at by the registration management for taking up the unnecessary space of one-person in the line, and was forced to wait outside of the line for her. After the long wait in line, she went to the computers to pick-up her badge only to be informed that she waited in the wrong registration line. Upon request, the volunteers at the computer-purchase terminal did not provide any help in locating the pre-registration badge pickup. I had to ask other staff to find the answer.

What happened to her was rather tragic, and almost completely ruined the Fanimecon experience for her. She cried for another half hour after the line, so we couldn't enjoy Fanime until much later than anticipated. I understand that volunteers, are, volunteers-- so perhaps our experience with the volunteers can't be helped. But the entire debacle could have been avoided had official sign-age been posted.

I understand that the hotels and convention center have their own rules and policy for what Fanime Con can and cannot do. One of these policies may have been a zero-tolerance policy for signs in the long hall on the first floor of the convention center. If such a policy exists, I strongly urge those in charge of registration to find an alternative other than a sign to indicate which registration line is for which. It may very well be worth it to have a volunteer holding a sign or indicating at the end of each line what the line is precisely for.


I hope this post is received well, and I bring it up in the interest of improving future Fanime Con experiences.

[Mantaray3000]

Is it possible for fanime to hold a casino night?

[DayDreamerNessa]

GUESTS I would truly appreciate any of these type of guests-->> artists, character designers, lead animators, magaka's etc.

I'd rather have quality over quantity and think that repeat names really shouldn't be in the line-up for many years in a row. I do appreciate Gainax's repeat guests as they contribute a lot, but not so much on other repeat guests.

I would love to go to fanime, and have guests I look forward to seeing that are anime and manga related.

[Mantaray3000]

How about holding another charity auction in which the money would go into funding for more guests or different events in the future?

[HotelGhost]

Are we ever going to use the south hall for events? Someone in staff said there were problems about holding events in it, did they ever get resolved?

[Crackerjaxx]

I think that the maidcafe should have their own room, I don't know if it has been suggested yet but I think that would add to the Maidcafe a lot to have its own designated room. Last year, it was at the end of the hall, separated by some (hospital?) curtains, which really turned me off to the whole thing. It would be a lot more of a magical experience to have a nice room, maybe decorated, for the maidcafe. I know that the con staff works hard to pull everything off, but I'm sure the cafe would get a lot more business if it were in its own room, and I know I would have been a lot more likely to go.

[MPLe]

It's been brought up already but I want to reiterate that scheduling EVERYTHING on Sunday at the same exact time (except for the J-rock whoevers concert) was ridiculous and stupid.

-a huge sign in front of the cc. such as:
(Image removed from quote.)

This would make Fanime look quite professional, I like this.

Most of our main programming lands on Saturday or Sunday and thus many things have to overlap. The goal is to have enough counter programming that people can enjoy something without downtime during the day and early-evenings and still get a good night's rest.

As for the sign in front of the convention center, we always have cool ideas that we try to implement, but are unable to do because of budgeting concerns. Besides, I'd rather save that money and spend it on other things that will benefit the convention.

Hello everyone. :3

I motion to have signs to indicate the differences for the different kinds of registration lines at Fanime. While the status quo may already be abundantly clear to most of you, please read the following story to illustrate my point:


This past year at Fanime Con, my girlfriend purchased a pre-registration ticket. Unable to attend the convention until Saturday, she arrived around noon to pick-up her badge. Having never been to fanime before, she saw a long line, at the front convention hallway, and asked other attendees if this line was for registration. They said it was, and upon hearing this, she then proceeded to wait in the line. For three hours. In an effort to be a good boy-friend, and because I already held my staff badge, I waited in line with her to keep her company during the long wait. I was shouted at by the registration management for taking up the unnecessary space of one-person in the line, and was forced to wait outside of the line for her. After the long wait in line, she went to the computers to pick-up her badge only to be informed that she waited in the wrong registration line. Upon request, the volunteers at the computer-purchase terminal did not provide any help in locating the pre-registration badge pickup. I had to ask other staff to find the answer.

What happened to her was rather tragic, and almost completely ruined the Fanimecon experience for her. She cried for another half hour after the line, so we couldn't enjoy Fanime until much later than anticipated. I understand that volunteers, are, volunteers-- so perhaps our experience with the volunteers can't be helped. But the entire debacle could have been avoided had official sign-age been posted.

I understand that the hotels and convention center have their own rules and policy for what Fanime Con can and cannot do. One of these policies may have been a zero-tolerance policy for signs in the long hall on the first floor of the convention center. If such a policy exists, I strongly urge those in charge of registration to find an alternative other than a sign to indicate which registration line is for which. It may very well be worth it to have a volunteer holding a sign or indicating at the end of each line what the line is precisely for.

I hope this post is received well, and I bring it up in the interest of improving future Fanime Con experiences.

The at-con side of registration is something that the Registration and Fan Services (the division that Registration is under) keep an eye on. There are way too many people there for us to put many signs, which is why we have a staffer paroling that can also give directions and answer questions. I wasn't there the entire time, so there definitely could have been other issues preventing the staffer on duty from assisting your girlfriend (I can't rule that out).

Is it possible for fanime to hold a casino night?

It is possible, but doesn't look likely for this year.

GUESTS I would truly appreciate any of these type of guests-->> artists, character designers, lead animators, magaka's etc.

I'd rather have quality over quantity and think that repeat names really shouldn't be in the line-up for many years in a row. I do appreciate Gainax's repeat guests as they contribute a lot, but not so much on other repeat guests.

I would love to go to fanime, and have guests I look forward to seeing that are anime and manga related.

Noted. Please note that although we have repeat names, this doesn't mean that our GR department is purposely giving up on other guests. There are also other related issues to this, but I can definitely see our GR department working hard to try to get the best guests that we can.

Are we ever going to use the south hall for events? Someone in staff said there were problems about holding events in it, did they ever get resolved?

We have ideas for South Hall events this year, but they are still in the works (not confirmed). Some of the issues that we have is that we would have to shut down events at a certain hour and the walk way to get there isn't convenient.

I think that the maidcafe should have their own room, I don't know if it has been suggested yet but I think that would add to the Maidcafe a lot to have its own designated room. Last year, it was at the end of the hall, separated by some (hospital?) curtains, which really turned me off to the whole thing. It would be a lot more of a magical experience to have a nice room, maybe decorated, for the maidcafe. I know that the con staff works hard to pull everything off, but I'm sure the cafe would get a lot more business if it were in its own room, and I know I would have been a lot more likely to go.

When the Fanimaid Cafe idea was brought to me, I didn't really like the location (but it's not up to me ). I thought the location was going to completely ruin the cafe experience, but after experiencing it two (three maybe?) times now, the maids do a good job of helping you ignore anything that happens beyond the curtains.

Having them in their own room would be interesting, but I don't know how much this has been looked into (note: I don't know everything that goes on during the planning stages unless I'm doing research to answer your questions ).

[PyronIkari]

Note: despite this is coming from me, who is the co-head of the cafe none of this is official reasoning as to why the cafe is not in a separate room. This is purely my opinion on what I think of the matter.

I've thought about this myself plenty of times and have never brought it up because in the end, I'm against it. Outside of getting a large panel room, the normal venue rooms are much to small. Just some fun numbers(not exact but a rough idea) at any point in time during the cafe, there are 50-60 patrons, with a full capability of seating over 100 if every party is completely full sized. There are about another 60-100 people in line at all times. A normal room cannot accommodate this nor handle the line. Also with the flow and pacing(as well as how much we need to run around the con to do errands, girls need an area to retouch their uniforms store items and other things) I very much enjoy the open space.

 I've also thought about ease and capabilities of the convention centers catering service. With it on the concourse it is much more accessible to both attendees as well as convention center staff to get more food ready and be quick about it as to not delay operations.

If your issue is privacy and setting, trust me when I say that fades the instant you sit down. Although I do wish things could be done more environment like to add to it, I'm quite happy with the open venue and think it's for the better. I've ran ideas for hours about floor plans and decorations, space capabilities and think this is for the better. I'm not against moving to a room, but if we do we would need one that can properly accommodate the cafe correctly.