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Woot woot~ Very excited! That time works perfectly with me actually. Can't wait to see you all there! Thank you for letting us know~

It looks like they removed the maps as of right now, possibly to fix the point made about the artist gallery and other last minute changes. Hopefully those will be back up soon!

Ah yes that's right they usually do~ I've also seen they have photographs of the locations on the facebook page located here. https://www.facebook.com/FanimeConCosplayGatherings/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf I left a note about the fences on there too so more people might see it. And as always, when in doubt, if you see people from the same thing as your cosplay, ask them! They might be heading there too or at least know where it is.

Oh of course! I live in the immediate area so this isn't a problem for me~ Especially for people from out of town/state come, they wouldn't know about things like the fences. I'm returning on Thursday for my fourth attempt at confirming my hotel situation at the fairmont so i will continue the updates if anything has changed or not! I'm happy to help everyone out even with something small like this. Cause I know it can make a big difference~ <3 <3 <3

Hey everyone! So I've been anticipating the release of the maps for this year, but it constantly gives me the coming soon stuff. However if you click on the link for the dance http://www.fanime.com/maps/#dance it also shows the other maps available! Check it out as it seems a number of things have moved compared to last year!

Hi there! I saw you responded on my post about the info for the cosplay gatherings and responded to you there, but just in case you didn't see it, I'll repost my reply here!

I do hope you have a wonderful first fanime~ If you are coming by car to the convention, be sure to bring some cash if you can for parking. Downtown San Jose has very high parking rates, and you can't really escape that. There's lots of parking but keep in mind some 30,000+ people attend fanime now, so that's a lot of cars even if not everyone is driving. I recommend the convention center parking structure, which charges $1 per 20 min with a maximum of $20 per day, or the South Hall parking lot (which fills up quickly) which has a maximum of $7 during the day, $5 at night. Other options include valets at the hotels but those are often full. There is another parking structure across the street from the fairmont (it's in the same location as the restaurant Scott's Seafood if you need directions) which charges generally the same amount. A few self-run parking lots are scattered around the convention center, but often charge $5 an hour. When in doubt, just circle around a bit! You'll have to walk a bit regardless of where you park, so don't get discouraged if you have to park a little bit away. Here's a link to a handy page about parking in downtown San Jose with some maps and pricing http://www.sanjose.org/maps-more/parking/

Make sure you bring a water bottle too! There are water fountains in the main concourse but what if you get thirsty and you're not near one? Plus buying water bottles at con will empty your wallet faster than the dealer's hall will. It's a lot more walking than you think, so stay hydrated! They sell food in the main concourse too but again it's very expensive. If you can bring a snack, definitely bring it!

There's a lot to see and do at this con, I really hope you have fun! If you didn't know, there is a Masquerade on Saturday evening, which is where people do live skits and there is also a cosplay contest. On Sunday, there is a ball which requires formal attire so if you would like to go, make sure to bring something that follows the guidelines posted here! http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,20483.0.html (I'm sure you've been looking around the forums, but just in case you didn't see it~) Many people recommend going to the opening ceremonies as well, which happen around 12 or 2pm Friday (in my seven years of going to fanime I haven't attended but almost everyone that has gone recommends it). There's a rave, gaming hall with tournaments, manga lounge, and lots more! Hopefully they put the maps up on the website soon so you can check out where everything is.

The main concourse of the convention center has lots of tables and chairs for you to sit at if you get tired, but no one will judge if you just lean up against a wall too. Trust me, cons are so exhausting, especially if you're cosplaying! This year, there are some big changes happening, like the safety initiative which will require you to show your badge before getting to the second floor where dealer's hall, artist alley, the gaming hall etc is. So you won't have to show your badge at each of those locations anymore, so it can be tucked away in your cosplay or clothes if you don't want it showing. This should make lines much shorter for all such places, but we'll have to see if it actually works. I'll be going back to the general area on Thursday so maybe I'll sneak a peek inside the convention center to try and see what they're up to as far as blocking off places.

Last year, inside the Dealer's Hall, they had a lovely takoyaki stand that was very popular, and hopefully they will bring that back this year. Fanime has had difficulty the past few years with making cheap food available (besides pocky) but they seem to be slowly getting the hang of it. Check that out if you have time and seem interested!

Make sure you wear comfortable shoes also, even in cosplay. The con is HUGE, at least in my opinion. Last year, they took up two of the main exhibition rooms for the dealer's hall alone, and the number of artists in the artist alley seems to grow every year. There's so much to look at and you'll be mingling with lots of other people and trying to get in and out and to see everything. If you can, dress lightly. It'll most likely be hot outside and warm inside with 30,000 bodies milling around.

Sorry I rambled so much! I just want you to have a great con experience so I thought I would give you some info/adivce from what I've experienced in the past seven years at this con. Just enjoy yourself mainly~ Check the forums even once the con starts too! They often update things as they change. There's also an info desk on the main concourse next to stage zero if you want to go talk to someone in person about a question or problem you might have.

Oh! If you're bringing a prop, make sure to get it peace bonded before walking around with it just so rovers don't call you out on it. If you don't know what that means, they will put a brightly colored zip tie around some part of your prop so that rovers (staff) know your weapon/prop cleared the requirements. The location for peace bonding changes constantly, so check the forums and official website about that location. It should also be on the maps once they make those available for our desperate eyes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or make a post on the forums! Lots of nice people here to help you out~ :3

Oh yay! I hope you have a good time too! I don't recall if they have an actual map for the gathering spots but they do describe where they are and if you ask someone, chances are they know what you're talking about. But they're mostly all out in front of the convention center. If in doubt, there's a table on the main concourse that has the list of cosplay gatherings and there will be staff who you can ask where the locations are~

Ah of course! I do hope you have a wonderful first fanime~ I saw your other post btw, if you are coming by car to the convention, be sure to bring some cash if you can for parking. Downtown San Jose has very high parking rates, and you can't really escape that. There's lots of parking but keep in mind some 30,000+ people attend fanime now, so that's a lot of cars even if not everyone is driving. I recommend the convention center parking structure, which charges $1 per 20 min with a maximum of $20 per day, or the South Hall parking lot (which fills up quickly) which has a maximum of $7 during the day, $5 at night. Other options include valets at the hotels but those are often full. There is another parking structure across the street from the fairmont (it's in the same location as the restaurant Scott's Seafood if you need directions) which charges generally the same amount. A few self-run parking lots are scattered around the convention center, but often charge $5 an hour. When in doubt, just circle around a bit! You'll have to walk a bit regardless of where you park, so don't get discouraged if you have to park a little bit away. Here's a link to a handy page about parking in downtown San Jose with some maps and pricing http://www.sanjose.org/maps-more/parking/

Make sure you bring a water bottle too! There are water fountains in the main concourse but what if you get thirsty and you're not near one? Plus buying water bottles at con will empty your wallet faster than the dealer's hall will. It's a lot more walking than you think, so stay hydrated! They sell food in the main concourse too but again it's very expensive. If you can bring a snack, definitely bring it!

There's a lot to see and do at this con, I really hope you have fun! If you didn't know, there is a Masquerade on Saturday evening, which is where people do live skits and there is also a cosplay contest. On Sunday, there is a ball which requires formal attire so if you would like to go, make sure to bring something that follows the guidelines posted here! http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,20483.0.html (I'm sure you've been looking around the forums, but just in case you didn't see it~) Many people recommend going to the opening ceremonies as well, which happen around 12 or 2pm Friday (in my seven years of going to fanime I haven't attended but almost everyone that has gone recommends it). There's a rave, gaming hall with tournaments, manga lounge, and lots more! Hopefully they put the maps up on the website soon so you can check out where everything is.

The main concourse of the convention center has lots of tables and chairs for you to sit at if you get tired, but no one will judge if you just lean up against a wall too. Trust me, cons are so exhausting, especially if you're cosplaying! This year, there are some big changes happening, like the safety initiative which will require you to show your badge before getting to the second floor where dealer's hall, artist alley, the gaming hall etc is. So you won't have to show your badge at each of those locations anymore, so it can be tucked away in your cosplay or clothes if you don't want it showing. This should make lines much shorter for all such places, but we'll have to see if it actually works. I'll be going back to the general area on Thursday so maybe I'll sneak a peek inside the convention center to try and see what they're up to as far as blocking off places.

Last year, inside the Dealer's Hall, they had a lovely takoyaki stand that was very popular, and hopefully they will bring that back this year. Fanime has had difficulty the past few years with making cheap food available (besides pocky) but they seem to be slowly getting the hang of it. Check that out if you have time and seem interested!

Make sure you wear comfortable shoes also, even in cosplay. The con is HUGE, at least in my opinion. Last year, they took up two of the main exhibition rooms for the dealer's hall alone, and the number of artists in the artist alley seems to grow every year. There's so much to look at and you'll be mingling with lots of other people and trying to get in and out and to see everything. If you can, dress lightly. It'll most likely be hot outside and warm inside with 30,000 bodies milling around.

Sorry I rambled so much! I just want you to have a great con experience so I thought I would give you some info/adivce from what I've experienced in the past seven years at this con. Just enjoy yourself mainly~ Check the forums even once the con starts too! They often update things as they change. There's also an info desk on the main concourse next to stage zero if you want to go talk to someone in person about a question or problem you might have.

Oh! If you're bringing a prop, make sure to get it peace bonded before walking around with it just so rovers don't call you out on it. If you don't know what that means, they will put a brightly colored zip tie around some part of your prop so that rovers (staff) know your weapon/prop cleared the requirements. The location for peace bonding changes constantly, so check the forums and official website about that location. It should also be on the maps once they make those available for our desperate eyes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or make a post on the forums! Lots of nice people here to help you out~ :3

Update!! I went back today again and it seems none of the fences have been taken down. Still almost two weeks for them to take them down but it doesn't seem they have any intention to right now. Since the hotels are apparently having more trouble than last year getting the reservation numbers merged into their systems, I'm going back on Thursday and if anything else has changed I'll post it here!

Thank you for answering!~

With the new rule or regulation rather that people need a badge to get even to the second floor of the con, it raises some questions and concerns for me personally. There are a great deal of ways to get to the second floor, from the escalators and stars near the front entrance to the staircases near the connecting hotels to the connecting bridges to the connecting hotels themselves. Are all these areas going to be monitored/closed off? The two staircases in the front entrance of the convention center are often a gathering place for cosplayers, and because of the way they are situated, would those need to be completely closed off or just the parts where one could get up to the second floor? I just don't want cosplayers getting surprised when they see a common gathering area no longer available to be used, whether for just hanging out or actual photoshoots. Just trying to get an idea of what the new security is going to be like and how it will affect the flow of the convention~ Thank you!

Basically for guns/gun-like props, I believe as long as it cannot physically shoot anything (whether an actual bullet, pellet, nerf thing or whatever) and has the orange tip it should be fine. I think some people paint the tip orange so it can be seen from all sides, or some put a plug in. Just as long as rovers can tell you can't hurt anyone with it. I've never brought a gun prop so I'm not sure if they give orange tips at the peace bonding besides a zip tie or not, but they and the rovers give the final say about props. Perhaps seal the mouth of the gun somehow if you don't have the orange tip/can't take it apart? I don't think you'll have much trouble, especially if it's starting as a nerf gun.

Hi again! I went back today and it seems all fences are still in place. Still three weeks til con so plenty of time but there's still the possibility those areas can't be accessed during the con. Keep it in mind when planning off site gatherings!

Ah!!! So sorry I forgot some of the favorites! There's plenty of food to go to, and while mcdonald's might not have been the most nutritional place, it was fast and that's something good to have for cons. Many of the sit down places get very crowded during peak meal times, including jonny rockets, so just keep that in mind! It's easy to get a google map of the area downtown and check out what's there, no matter where you go though make sure you feed yourselves during the con!

Just in case anyone didn't know, the McDonald's frequented by congoers in the past only a few blocks from the convention center is now closed. That's one fast food option that isn't available anymore. However still standing are Psycho Donuts (breakfast and donuts obviously), Pizza My Heart, Yogurtland, JAck in the Box, Boba Bar, Iguana's Home of the Burritozilla, and Dosa and Curry in the general area of where McDonald's once was. Food is very important for congoers so if you rely on fast food during the convention, take note of the now lack of McDonald's!

I'll be attending as pumpkaboo! Can't wait to see everyone there!

Here you can see the fence around the snake statue. It's green but it's there.

Chainlink fence around this part

Orange is the fence around that part of the grass. The other side is not fenced off and you can walk on it right now.

Beachy area! Complete with chairs and picnic tables

Wonderful! I know you'll do a fine job. Would love to attend as DMG! See you there!

Hi all~ I live in the area so I try to visit the area around Fanime before the con to see if there's construction or anything new that might affect events. I went yesterday and just noticed a few things I thought I should mention!

Several grassy areas in the plaza have been fenced off to allow seeding of new grass (apparently after a wild super bowl party) but has taken a month longer than expected. Staff at the valet of the fairmont agreed with me that it should be done before the con and the fences removed. However if not, this might affect some gathering areas! I know the Homestuck gathering usually takes place around the snake/poop statue which as of yesterday is completely fenced off. If the fences are still up by Fanime, make sure to keep some alternative gathering locations in mind! Only about half of the grassy areas are still fenced off however, so it should be easy to move. But as of right now the statue is off limits.

Also there seems to be a new sandy "beach" area built next to the fountains! It has several brightly colored chairs and tables and just seems like a nice area for beach or ocean photo shoots or gatherings, so keep that in mind!

Photos of these areas are on my tumblr with a similar post as this at theamazingmugi.tumblr.com (I'm on mobile as I post this but if I can add the photos when I get to my laptop I will). And I will also return in about a week to speak with fairmont staff in person (I hate phone calls) so if anything changes I can let you guys know!

Would also love to have another Yugioh gathering this year. Hoping to attend as Dark Magician Girl if there comes to be one!

Update! I'll either be attending as Cinderella or as Gazelle from Zootopia depending on my schedule!