Overall, I enjoyed Fanime 2011 and will be attending next year. All of the staff I spoke with was friendly, though they seemed a little overwhelmed, and I was satisfied with the events and panels that I attended or participated in.
With that said, I have three gripes about this year's con and I would love to see them fixed in 2012. The first is the lack of schedules. I do not own a smartphone and did not have internet access at my hotel, so I had to sit at the information table with a list of the panels and events that I wanted to attend and get the times from a staffer on Saturday- only to find out that I had missed two and a third was starting down the hall in five minutes. My second complaint concerns the timing of the Masquerade and Black and White Ball. Both were scheduled at the same time on Sunday night, along with other popular events such as Speed Dating and the Butler Cafe. I would have liked to attend both the Masquerade and the Ball, and next year I'd like it if they could be scheduled for different evenings. My third issue is with the ban on outside food at events held in the convention center. I understand that it is against hotel union rules to have outside food inside the convention center, but in the past we were able to bring food and hold picnics on the upstairs patio near the Mariott. This year, we were booted from the patio and relocated to an outdoors location with no tables or seating. Next year, if this is to be the case, I would love it if some tables or chairs could be provided.
With that said, I have three gripes about this year's con and I would love to see them fixed in 2012. The first is the lack of schedules. I do not own a smartphone and did not have internet access at my hotel, so I had to sit at the information table with a list of the panels and events that I wanted to attend and get the times from a staffer on Saturday- only to find out that I had missed two and a third was starting down the hall in five minutes. My second complaint concerns the timing of the Masquerade and Black and White Ball. Both were scheduled at the same time on Sunday night, along with other popular events such as Speed Dating and the Butler Cafe. I would have liked to attend both the Masquerade and the Ball, and next year I'd like it if they could be scheduled for different evenings. My third issue is with the ban on outside food at events held in the convention center. I understand that it is against hotel union rules to have outside food inside the convention center, but in the past we were able to bring food and hold picnics on the upstairs patio near the Mariott. This year, we were booted from the patio and relocated to an outdoors location with no tables or seating. Next year, if this is to be the case, I would love it if some tables or chairs could be provided.