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Honestly there are no words to describe how sickening and just...ugh I AGAIN there are NO WORDS! SHE WAS 9! Freaking A! I used to think these a-holes were just stupid, but now they make stupid seem intelligent if that is even possible. Leave the child out of this! They chose to picket during the young girls funeral cuz they want their 15 seconds of fame screaming random bull that has NOTHING to do with this child's death. So God wants to kill children? Children too young to even do anything worth labeling as a sin? *throws her hands up in the air* I won't even laugh at these people if they show up at Fanime again. They don't even deserve a glance. I am so sickened.  >:(

Personally, I love Crowne Plaza to death. My group has been staying there for the past 3 years or so and we have never had an issue. The beds are comfy and the rooms are decently sized. The elevators are rarely if ever packed and noisy neighbors have always been a non-issue. The staff has always been very helpful and respectful, even when we are looking crazy in full cosplay. I would even go so far as to say that I like it much better than the Hilton (which is where I stayed my second Fanime).

Well that's a relief. ^_^ Do you happen to know if they charge for fridges? I heard from someone else that you can request one, but not if they charge you for it which would make sense.

I called fanime housing the very night it opened, but since it was a weekend day they weren't open. I then called Monday morning but since it was Martin Luther, they were closed. I then called at 6am the next morning and by then they said absolutely everything in both the hilton and marriot were taken. I asked about suites but they said there was no such thing. I don't understand how some people even in this forum were able to book suites at any hotel since the woman who spoke to me said there were none other than junior suites at the marriot. I'm just a little upset that I was there the moment the hotels opened, but waited to learn anything about the suites.

:-\ In any case, I was able to get a room at the Crown Plaza thursday to monday morning. Anyone hear any negatives about the hotel? I never hear anything about this hotel, which may be good or bad. I took whatever I could that was close enough to the convention center.

Again WOW, I managed to get a room for four at the Crown Plaza, but I was wondering if there were more rooms that aren't listed on the fanime website? Come Monday, if I call are there more rooms saved for phone call reservations still under the Fanime deal? I would prefer the Marriot since I like being connected to the convention center.

Edit: I was hoping someone could give me a review on the Crown Plaza?

cup half full people! perfection will never be attained with ~120 a night. Its about balancing the tradeoffs.

Take these comments and use them to make the best decision as to what the best place to stay is.

As they say, you pay to play.

Oh don't worry! I didn't want to come across as ungrateful!  :-[ There are just so many to choose from this year is all. This used to be much cheaper for myself and others because my group of people that go were all dating but now some have married so 5 bank accounts are now 3! Makes it more expensive haha. No biggie though!

Out of curiousity, do you remember the price you paid last year for a suite at the Marriot (or the Hilton)? I'm considering going that route, but I think I'm going to have to budget more, haha.

I remember seeing suites in the Sainte Claire, but I can't remember if they were available at the Fanime price or not >.<;;

I am interested in hearing this myself. ^_^ It is very hard finding a room that holds more than four people. A suite sounds like a good idea, but I am pretty sure that if I book one outside of the Marriot or Hilton my group and husband will probably shoot me lol. They don't like walking outside of the convention center haha.

 :-\ So it looks like no matter what every hotel seems to have a problem. *sighs* This is difficult. I prefer the Marriot, but I don't like the sound of the payment issues and this year my group WILL be driving a car rather than taking the train so we will need to house a car and I agree with Junon, I understand these people are trying to make a living, but it isn't in my budget at ALL to be forking over no less than $40 a day in tips.  :-[

Some photographers will also announce in advance (in various forums, LJ, etc) that they are doing shoots and you can sign up for a slot with them at a time that is convenient for you. They are usually first-come/pay, first serve on the choice of time slots. Some might be free, but more often, it's something you pay for...for example, a set fee for one person and a slight bump for each additional person. Split over a group, it can be fairly inexpensive in the end for getting an hour or so with a photographer committed just to you, one that you know you can get photos from later guaranteed without a lot of scouring.

I did this for Fanime this year and I was really happy. An hour of one photographer taking a lot of photos gave us a great result. You do need to do some research and look for photographers who have a style you enjoy. You'll also want to be aware of places you'd like to photograph in advance..that was our problem, mostly because we were new to the con and didn't know where some of the better photoshoot places were. The results still came out awesome from the person we worked with :)

That sounds wonderful! Do you happen to have a link to these forums from last year so I know what to look for when Fanime 2011 comes around? I know it is silly to already be working on something that won't be here until May of next year, but I am making sure we have EVERYTHING down to a "T" lol. Last year was the VERY first year that we had SOME semblance of order and we LOVED IT. My whole group and I have always wanted a GREAT photo of all of us in our favorite cosplay so this would be a GREAT help.  ;D

Hey, so I'm not sure if this is the correct area to be asking this question, but I keep seeing professional photo shoots taking place every fanime and I was wondering if there is a sign up sheet or if these people are just professional photographers that just pick and choose who they take pictures of? I know that some of them are affiliated with Cosplay.com because I have seen some of the photos on that website, but I have always wanted to get even just one or two professional photos of my best cosplays. Anyone know? :-\

Junsui_87:  The scythe is the easier question; yes, she can carry it provided it can fit through a normal doorway.

The guns are a little trickier (but not by much) you have to make sure they don't work in any way, and they have to have the orange tip.

Both of you would have to get peace-bonded to carry those.

I figured as much since ANYTHING resembling a weapon should be peacebonded. (I guess I forgot to mentioned that in my post.) :o It states all of the above on the first page in your post, but I wanted to double check. I don't want to lug something as large as a scythe all the way there, just to have it left in the hotel room for "funzies." I was more worried about my weapons since they are guns. Thanks for the advice though. ^_^

ACK! I just wish the hotels were up now lol! That way I wouldn't have to worry about budgeting too much while waiting. Thanks for all the advice so far!

My understanding that it is first come first serve.  However, it's not based on when you make the reservation, it's based on when you actually arrive.  Usually a request for a rollaway on a reservation is just that, a request.  The hotel can't be certain that you will arrive and if you do that you will still want that rollaway.  They make money from the rollaway so it's in their interest to rent them out as quickly as their requested so they make as much money as possible.  I would suggest contacting the hotel you choose a few days in advance of your arrival to talk to them about the fact that you want a rollaway.  They might be able to put your name on one then.   

Thank you for the information. Still concerned, as I did want a rollaway one year checked in at 3:00pm at the Marriott which was the earliest we could check in and they told me it wasn't an option. I'm not saying I don't believe you as it could have just been bad customer service that year. I will do what you advise and call ahead of time to double check. If both the Marriott and Hilton provide them, then I will call ahead. Thanks again!

I have been going to Fanime on and off since 2006 and have stayed in the Marriott, Hilton and Larkspur (Sainte Claire). So far I prefer being attached to the convention center (even though the Larkspur has adorable paintings on the bathroom ceilings...srsly they are cute haha :D) and I am having a difficult time figuring out which hotel to stay at with my 4 friends for 2011. I am aiming for the Marriott and the Hilton. I have been reading some comments in multiple different topics and excluding the elevator issue, I don't see too many problems in the Marriott. My ONE deal breaker is having the ability to get a rollaway. EVERY TIME I make a reservation through the Fanime website it says that both hotels provide them, but when I go to grab a room that can house 5 people with the rollaway, the rollaway availability just magically "disappears." I can't imagine why it does and I have been told (even by the fanime hotline people which was creepy) "just sneak your 5th member in." I'm sorry, I'm an honest person and I don't like the possibility of getting kicked out. So this is my question:
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-Which of the two hotels REALLY has a rollaway no strings attached?

-How do you get it?  (and I'm aware it could just be first come first serve, but honestly, I make reservations within only a few HOURS of them being placed
                              on the Fanime website and still have issues)

-How much do the rooms WITH rollaways generally go for? (I have checked the website before, but nothing conclusive.)

THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting this up so early! OMG you have no idea how much this will help me with my concerns with my cosplays! I was hoping you could help me out with two in particular. My group of friends decided that we should all go as Soul Eater. My character is Death the Kid who carries guns! I can go without if needed, but the whole point of this guy is his guns which sucks. I saw above that the policy mentioned we could use toy or fake guns that had no working parts AND the orange tip. Here is a picture of the cosplay I would be going as and I would make sure there was an orange tip. Let me know if this is okay.



and my friend would be going as Maka from Soul Eater with the possibility of using her scythe which I have seen others from last year carrying around, and I see that the image below shows a girl using one in the convention center (I am aware the rules can change however). We both understand that she would not be able to swing it around (as if a 24 year old would, but you never know lol) and that it must remain vertical at all times.



And thanks again for this! I have already favorited this on my computer.
EDIT: just realized how big this post is because of the pictures. SORRY

 :( well I guess you are right.

I thought of that too, but I have a history of not being listened to. *shrugs* well I guess there isn't much more we can do. I think it will be raining this year anyway, maybe that will keep people inside. My worst fear is just being in the convention center and hearing that a bunch of cosplayers were taken to jail for causing a disturbance. All the dumb people ruin it for everyone else. Were you there last year? Did their number seem to increase or decrease? My friends and I were joking around wondering if they plan their years around fanime too.

 >:(I know. I just know too many people that would fly off the handle. Granted, I was not there last year because I was getting married, but I heard from friends that people actually threw stuffed animals at them? I figure that is kind of assault....probably not the best thing to do. Is there a petition anywhere on this site where people can sign up basically saying to ignore them and go along their merry way?

Hello! I am very new at this and kind of late in creating an ID for the fanime forums (considering it is next weekend SQUEE), but I got on the subject of the protesters from last year and the year before. I figure they are there for their own reasons (whatever they may be) and will continue to show the more attention we give them. I doubt this will do anything, but I was hoping by creating this forum maybe others would agree and give them a wide berth. I don't agree with their methods and even if I were something extreme like a satanist I would still think it is their right to believe in what they believe. Having them there frightens me because if some ignorant child or some teen that feels the need to yell throws a punch or gets too out of line, it will cause a problem. I think the protesters honestly WANT that to happen so the convention gets cancelled. This is a big problem in my mind. What do you think?