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Really close to con but let's slide Robot Carnival in there this year if possible!  The Japanese R2 anniversary DVD release actually included the old English Streamline dub for "Presence" and "A Tale of Two Robots - Chapter Three: Foreign Invasion" and the transfer is pretty damn stunning.  The usual places online have it for download, or break out your original disc if you were fortunate enough to scrounge up a copy - and pay out the nose for it like I did.

Nostalgia room is one of my favorite parts of 'con - especially due the volunteer that was staffing the Nostalgia Room on Saturday morning last year (during VOTOMs and Patlabor) as he was awesome!  Very cool to talk with about old school anime, offered to turn the volume up if the bass from the marathon room was overpowering through the wall (which it wasn't), came over and apologized after a technical issue getting Patlabor to play; he was just an incredible person and one of the best staffers I have ever met at any convention.  I believe he was also staffing later during Fatal Fury 2 and Iria: Zeriam the Animation.  He also ran the dub tracks where available which is a big part of Anime nostalgia to a lot of us.

I've done so twice on the Facebook page but I'll echo the above statement here as well.  Thanks for allowing us to combine memberships into smaller groups!

[Group Registration]

Group Registration
Q: What is Group Registration?
A: It is online registration for groups of 2 or more people. This is so that someone can pay collectively. There is no group discount.

Q: Do we get discounts?
A: There are no discounts for group registration.

Q: Who can pick up the collective group's badges? What does the leader need to pick up the badges?
A: Only the group leader can pick up the badges. No one else may pick up the group's badges — this is to prevent theft. The leader must have either a valid student ID or a valid government-issued photo ID during pick-up, otherwise no one can pick up their badges. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BADGES TO THE GROUP MEMBERS. Any lost badges will result in a re-print fee.

Q: Is there a group size for Group Registration?
A: No. If you have single memberships and would like to create a group, please fill out the form at r.fanime.com/groups in order to have your memberships merged into a group using your confirmaton code found after payment.

Quoting this because so many people had issues with the changes to group reg this year.

r.fanime.com isn't up yet, unfortunately.

Wow, thanks for quoting that. I probably wouldn't have noticed that change. Time to merge some accounts so my boyfriend can take care of hotel stuff while I get the badges.

Awesome! Yes, thank you Admiral Donuts for bringing this to our attention.  I just completed the form - much more convenient as it means my girlfriend doesn't have to worry about getting downtown to pick up her badge on Thursday as I can take care of it for the both of us, like I have years before.

I don't know how I missed this thread but I will absolutely attempt to attend the "official" gathering with my girlfriend on Friday.  This year is my return to anything cosplay after an over decade-long hiatus and it will be her introduction to such.  We're cosplaying as one of Japanese video gaming's earliest couples - er, ex-couple as it falls under modern times.

I'll be Taizo Hori AKA Dig Dug from Dig Dug (1982), Dig Dug II (1985), Dig Dug Arrangement (1996), and a bunch of other Dig Dug spinoffs as well as the Mr. Driller series (began in 1999) as an occasionally playable side character.  I'm pretty much done.

My girlfriend will be Masuyo "Kissy" Tobi from Baraduke (1985), and the Mr. Driller series as an occasional supporting character.  We're in the process of working on her bio-suit but her ion cannon and jet pack are complete.

Outside of their own games they're best known as the parents of Susumu Hori, hero character in the Mr. Driller series as well as his older brother Ataru Hori and younger brother Taiyo Tobi, born shortly before Taizo and Masuyo's divorce.  As we're cosplaying as the characters at our current ages, Susumu would be a little baby (and yes, we already have a plush baby Susumu dressed in Mr. Driller colors) so it would be Taizo, Masuyo and Susumu around 1989.

We'd love to see more old school video game cosplayers!

This thread has been very helpful, thank you!

What about a really big drill?  All foam (with the exception of the hose which is thin plastic tubing) and everything is completely static as the hose can be magnetically attached or removed - it doesn't fire or anything like that.

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/059/4/c/taizo_hori_s_p3_drill___complete__dig_dug__by_insanedavid-d78dbk5.jpg

And an ion cannon - ABS, PVC and foam, no triggers, grips are from handheld packing tape dispensers, everything is completely static.

http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/091/9/5/masuyo_tobi_s_multi_function_ion_cannon__baraduke__by_insanedavid-d7co1dx.jpg

Both of those look fine. Not only are they clearly props, but they're well made. Just come by and get them peacebonded in costume, and be sure you behave while carrying them. ;)

Awesome! Thank you very much!

This thread has been very helpful, thank you!

What about a really big drill?  All foam (with the exception of the hose which is thin plastic tubing) and everything is completely static as the hose can be magnetically attached or removed - it doesn't fire or anything like that.

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/059/4/c/taizo_hori_s_p3_drill___complete__dig_dug__by_insanedavid-d78dbk5.jpg

And an ion cannon - ABS, PVC and foam, no triggers, grips are from handheld packing tape dispensers, everything is completely static.

http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/091/9/5/masuyo_tobi_s_multi_function_ion_cannon__baraduke__by_insanedavid-d7co1dx.jpg

Do like the idea of dividing up the Pre-reg/Early reg/At-Con/Groups lines.

This. All kinds of this.  Pre-Reg should be treated as the VIP's of the line and registration process.  They were the first con-goers to put money down on their membership.  They register at the earliest possible times.  Part of that reason is so that they can have a smoother transition into the con.  Pre-Reg should have a completely separate check in area and it should open up way before the other registration options can get their passes.  Start Pre-Reg pickup at 10am and Early-Reg pickup at 4pm or something.  Pre-Reg and Early-Reg shouldn't be mixed together.  Pre-Reg should really be pre-con with Early-Reg being handled along the lines the current Day 0 smash gets now.

Also, I've heard from staff that the reason registration is so bad is because of stupid union rules (hey SJ residents, vote against the unions for being stupid!

If only we had such control.

Just an idea, but maybe next year you can add a small blank template for the con-goers to write in their own schedule?

I actually used the inside cover specifically for this.  Also I scribbled down the outgoing times for lightrail between the convention center and Diridon Station during its last few trips.  I think parking over at the Diridon CalTrain lot is something like $3 a day so we were planning that as a backup if our preferred lots were full which ended up not being an issue.  Being able to write on the pocket guide is one of the main reasons it was so handy, you could plot out a day's events easily.

After swearing off cons years ago due to a number of reasons, I figured I'd give Fanime a try this year since it's local to me.  I've said the same in another thread about the Thursday registration hiccups but show staff did a great job keeping morale up and things from getting out of control during the power outage.  Yeah, the lines were long - the lines were really long since there were long periods of time without any movement and possibly the pickup system needs to be retooled.  However mailing badges out is a completely different can of worms (postage, packaging, dealing with incorrect addresses since registration can begin a year in advance, badges getting lost in the mail, mail theft, etc.) and won't necessarily make all the problems disappear instantly.  Once you got inside the pre-registration room you moved through really fast, which makes the slow moving line make little sense since the actual pickup point was moving rather quickly.

Due to the Day 0 line issues I missed Thursday Swap Meet but Friday's was excellent and the walk over to the Fairmont wasn't nearly as bad as some made it out to be - less than the distance from one end of the convention center to the other.  What was needed were more / better signs in the Fairmont pointing in the direction of the Swap Meet since hotel staff (not Fanime staff) over there didn't know what was going on.  I was disappointed that at the second overflow ballroom, staff (Fanime staff) was MIA for awhile on Friday and many people left the line to get in and walked right into the second room - no being turned away for jumping the line, no badge check.  However the line to get in was fast moving and we gained admittance to the Swap Meet within about twenty minutes.  There were some killer video game buys over there!

Video rooms were great with a nice diverse mix being shown.  I was pleased to see so many people stay for the entire two hour block of Super Dimension Century Orguss, one of my all time favorite series and one I feel is criminally overlooked (even saw a few VHS tapes of the awesome USRenditions dub in the dealer hall).  The video rooms are also, sadly, where I had my biggest issues with the con.  Staff sitting outside the door should understand that they are RIGHT outside the door and everything they say above a regular quiet voice will be amplified into the screening room.  This was also an issue with some of the smaller panels as staff checking badges at the door would get into a conversation with someone that would carry into the room and interrupt the panel in progress.  Staff sanding inside the video rooms should also understand that if they wish to have an extended conversation amongst themselves while a video is in progress, the sound of their conversation is being projected over the sitting attendees.  This was notably a problem in the Nostalgia Critic video screening and we were six rows up from the back.  If you have to talk over the sound from the video, you should probably take your conversation outside the room.  Lastly, don't bump the projectors!  Black Jack Final turned into a game of "fight getting vertigo" because the projector was getting shaken around so much.  Start it and leave it alone, please, no one likes to read vibrating subtitles.  ;)  Usual occasional extreme rudeness in a few of the rooms, namely parts of the Sailor Moon marathon but you have to expect at least a little of that from con-goers and over all it really wasn't much of an issue.

Dealer's Room was great with a nice assortment and most of the dealers were really cool and seemed to be having a great time.  The table at the front middle with all the old school stuff was of particular interest.  There were definitely some rarer items to be had at bargain prices if you really looked.  Artist Alley also had so many talented artists and cool people to chat with and buy wares from.  I heard at least one announcement about problems with Ramune bottle glass and to make sure to dispose of the bottles properly to ensure it doesn't become a banned commodity in future years, so ConOps was on top of that as well.  Panels were very enjoyable and started on time with minimal line issues prior.  Clockwork Alchemy over at the Doubletree was enjoyable but as with the events at the Fairmont they really needed some signs pointing to where things were.  Yes, if you knew what room each event or panel was taking place in you could eventually find it by walking the hotel maze and following the directions on the walls, but a simple sign with arrows leading around to the different events would have made things a lot easier.

The pocket schedules were a great reference to be able to pull out and plan you day or simply to regain your bearings over lunch or dinner.  I'm all for going green but a simple, small, paper reference like this was irreplaceable over the course of the weekend.  The reduced outdoor footprint of the convention center grounds due to construction did make the front of the convention center a bit of a choke point for getting in and out the front doors - but that's what the side entrances and hotel entrances are for.  :)  Both of which, especially the street entrance over by Peets, were the easiest way to get in and out.

So, here it is Monday afternoon after five or so days of craziness at Fanime 2012, years after swearing off cons over ten years ago.  All I can say is that I can't wait for next year and will most certainly be back for the entire convention.  I had a spectacular time and my only regret is that I haven't been attending for the past five years I've lived back in San Jose.  No more of that, see you next year.

worst fustercluck ever. Power failed and it took them forever to figure out how to handle it. 4 hours in line, most of it entirely stationary.

We apologize and appreciate peoples understanding. We are attempting to deal with the situation as best we can. The swap meet tonight does not require a badge so please enjoy it!

All of you did an excellent job handing an absolutely unpredictable situation.

Con staff did an incredible job keeping morale up and things moving during the power outage!

It seems they're not even fully certain what they're going to do O_o hrmm...

Welcome to Silicon Valley!  ;)

A bump for this one as I'm curious about it myself and it will decide if I pick up my badge on Thursday or Friday.

Thanks for this information!