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1

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Hilton parking price?

« on: May 20, 2019, 11:47:55 PM »

You can still access the cmr website and check the hotel info there.
It currently says Hilton's self-parking is $14 per night.

I looked up my receipt from last year's stay and it was $14 per night as well.

2

General Convention Discussion / Re: Balance between being a Attendee and Cosplayer?

« on: May 30, 2017, 11:40:16 PM »

For the past few years, I would cosplay on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday where I would be in cosplay when the sun is up and then change out to meet up with "regular" friends for dinner in the evening. Had to sacrifice a lot of events and at-con activities and only had time for the AA and Dealer's on Monday but I don't regret those gatherings and photoshoots.

This year, I decided to only cosplay on Saturday but I realized only cosplaying for one day during Fanime was no fun at all.
(That, and most of the events I wanted to attend were on Saturday so I missed those anyway)

I'm still trying to find a proper balance between cosplay, the con, and my friends who do and don't cosplay.
(And I often forget to account for the extra 1-2 hours of getting into and out of cosplay so that also messes up my schedule. Orz)

3

General Convention Discussion / Re: Kanae Ito Autograph Session (Saturday)

« on: May 30, 2017, 01:52:54 AM »

I don't think Fanime accounted for the fact that she was going to garner such a huge response and that she would be capped at 100 signings a day.
Also, Fanime, in previous years, let people line up inside the room an hour before the signings started. They most likely changed it to 15 minutes because the signings were back to back in the time frame with other signings. There were many signings but just 2 rooms for all of them.

The Saturday signing was a mess.
There was a mob and 2 separate lines to the side with 2 groups of staffers giving different instructions so I'm sure they were just as confused as the attendees were in that chaos.
They learned from that so on Sunday everyone was told to wait outside and not loiter but everyone just congregated at the tables.
Once again, 2 different groups of staffers gave differing instructions but in the end did manage to get everyone into 1 line and sort everyone in the single file line into either the Ito or Ishikawa rooms.

4

General Convention Discussion / Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?

« on: May 29, 2017, 10:26:05 PM »

For those saying that this was the worst Fanime ever, the common denominator I noticed so far is alcohol and social issues. Those are you and your friends' choices for ir/responsibility, not the convention.

It's been compliments all around.
No one has blamed the con for their own personal issues... at least not yet. Dun dun dun.

5

General Convention Discussion / Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?

« on: May 29, 2017, 09:57:01 PM »

The con itself from the pre-reg to badged entry-ways are outstanding.
No more loiterers around upstairs and not once did I bump into someone because it was too crowded because of smooooth flow.
Plus, being in cosplay, I have to keep my badge in my pocket but now I don't have to pull it out every time I enter a room with the worry of losing it.
Just once at the entrance and I'm good to go.
Only issue I bumped into on the organizational side would be the system for autographs.
This might have been the first time a really sought-after & prolific guest has attended Fanime in a while so I can't put all the blame on Fanime's line management staffers but there were mobs instead of lines.
I did end up getting an autograph but I had to get physical. Just a tiny bit.

As for the stuff outside of con:
I had a pretty similar experience as OP.
Possibly the worst Fanime for me.
Fanime has been SocialCon for me for the past few years but I think it's time I go back to sticking with convention-exclusive events.
Most of my friends kept getting wasted every single night and caused scenes worst than in a college frat movie.
My two roommates, bless them so much, were the only ones around me who knew how to have fun without drinking but they had to fly home early so I was all by myself for the rest of Sunday since I didn't want anymore shots for the third night in a row.
If it wasn't for my roommates, I would have wanted to leave Fanime Saturday night.

All in all, I'm unsure of whether to return next year unless I find more friends who aren't alcoholics or I just have to learn to love the booze, hah!

Fanime itself was a well-oiled machine this year, though. Just one small loose part.

6

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Review Your Hotel 2016!

« on: June 02, 2016, 02:51:37 AM »

Hilton San Jose
Friday - Monday

Pros:
Convenient
Great service
Bathroom has a vanity mirror that's awesome
Quiet

Cons:
I always have this problem at this Hilton. The bathroom faucet has either cold or burning hot water; there is no in-between. Can be slightly annoying.
Not only that, this year I got one with incredibly low pressure. By the end of the weekend, the faucet did nothing but dribble water when turned up all the way. Could've called and switched rooms but I waited for a while for this particular room to be open.
(The Hilton had better not blame and charge me for a faucet that was already malfunctioning)

7

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Hotel Parking

« on: May 06, 2016, 10:36:40 PM »

Your mileage may vary on being charged for one or two cars but I can confirm that you and your roommate should arrive by Friday evening.
I checked in at around noon and there were plenty of spaces in the back but my friend who arrived at around 4PM took one of the last few.

The Hilton does have a really small portion of the convention garage but getting one feels so good and it's so convenient throughout the weekend.
I also wouldn't take your car out even though the price covers in-and-out privileges; your spot may be taken almost immediately.

8

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Hotels....

« on: February 24, 2016, 03:30:02 PM »

Phew, my 3PM block cut it close for the room I wanted.

What took me 4 hours last year only took me 4 minutes this year. And 2 of those minutes were to look up my hhonors code.
Personally for me, this year's system was obviously better but from here on out, everyone will try to pre-reg as early as they can.

9

General Convention Discussion / Re: Your plans for FanimeCon 2016

« on: May 30, 2015, 03:16:13 AM »

Take more photos and video.
On the way down to San Jose, I decided to stop at Fry's and pick up a new camera. Turns out I was way too busy with the con to learn how to use the camera so it mostly remained a fashion accessory.
That and I was on Snapchat way too much.

10

General Convention Discussion / Re: 12 Years in 2 Weeks

« on: May 19, 2015, 01:56:18 PM »

Pardon the intrusion; I just wanted to stay a listener for these fantastic stories but what was the Hatsune Miku mishap?

11

General Convention Discussion / Re: Let's Get Excited, Happy, Ecstatic, Good Vibes

« on: May 04, 2015, 10:29:01 PM »

Oof, two more weekends, huh.
I'd better step it up if I plan to finish my cosplay.

And hopefully, we have lovely weather for the weekend.

12

Big Event Showcase / Re: Back-On!...?..... Re: Guests I Want for MusicFest 2015!

« on: April 28, 2015, 04:06:56 AM »

With the exception of 2013, Fanime always gets solid music guests.  That's their bread and butter right there.

Think you meant 2012.
2013 was when 7!! and Rookiez performed whereas 2012 had the comedian during MusicFest.

13

Big Event Showcase / Re: Music Fest Guest Announcement Date?

« on: April 27, 2015, 08:03:35 PM »

Just saw this on their Twitter.
Hype.

14

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Attendee housing to open Nov. 10

« on: November 26, 2014, 06:56:10 PM »

A lottery would require you to have a badge to verify who you are, and some kind of preference system. My university does it that way for parking, you sign-up and give your preferences and on the day of the lottery you get an e-mail saying if you got a parking pass or not. Its kind of a pipe dream that Fanime will establish a similar system, but here's hoping.

I would rather bet on my own persistence than on the luck of the draw.

I'm not sure how often or efficient the two parties get in touch but the delay of the "hotel booking" button on the Fanime website redirecting to the CMR site was bananas and complex enough.

Someone at Clockwork Alchemy claimed someone else had booked seven rooms at the DoubleTree, and regardless if they did or not one of the staff said they would "deal with it if it happened." So if your rooms started disappearing, maybe there is some kind of limit, and like everything else nobody talks about it.

I'm going to chalk it up to a server error since the CMR person I spoke with didn't know why it was happening either.
People posted on the facebook page about losing their one or to rooms too.
Hopefully they booked backup rooms like I did and did not wait around since CMR couldn't find a cancellation or even a trace of the disappeared rooms. Ooo spooky~

15

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Attendee housing to open Nov. 10

« on: November 25, 2014, 08:58:37 PM »

It wouldn't be any easier to book a room if the servers could handle everyone since there'd be a huge rush of bookings and rooms would run out in 10 minutes making it just as full of anxiety.
Releasing the rooms in waves would be a pretty neat idea; the lottery thing seems sketchy; they would have to verify everyone and once someone gets a bad pick, they're basically screwed.

Isn't there already a limit? I thought it was two per person, but someone on the ClockWork Alchemey Facebook page posted that they got three rooms.

I had up to four rooms booked at one time.
I booked three but those rooms started disappearing one by one (for reasons still unexplained) so I booked another three and got those confirmed.
Don't think there is a limit.

16

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Attendee housing to open Nov. 10

« on: November 13, 2014, 06:46:43 PM »

After 3 hours, I finally checked out and got both my rooms but when I logged into the Fanime registration site, my rooms disappeared.
I have the hotel summary and confirmation too but my reservations just aren't listed under my profile anymore.

Anyone else get anything like this?
I just hope I didn't get kicked after I got confirmed.

I DID and it left me with hashtags everywhere!!!!
I think what has happened is because of the internet cache that was left over, resulting to have people think they reserved it but didn't!

That's what I initially thought too but I completed the transaction with my card and received a set of confirmation numbers so I got through the system and it wasn't cache.

Anyway, I contacted housing and even though the disappearances are still unexplained, I got confirmations for the new rooms I booked but I lost those rooms I first booked.

I figure as long as you have the rooms on your Fanime registration profile, you are good even though you may not have received a confirmation email.
If the rooms on your profile have disappeared, then you're most likely out of luck.

17

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Merge rooms

« on: November 13, 2014, 06:41:19 PM »

Had this situation come up before; I asked when I was checking in and they typed some stuff and clicked some stuff and I was allowed to stay in the same room throughout my stay.

Like Admiral Donuts stated, the hotels can easily do so but I'm not sure about housing.

18

Hotel and Facilities / Re: Attendee housing to open Nov. 10

« on: November 10, 2014, 04:40:44 PM »

After 3 hours, I finally checked out and got both my rooms but when I logged into the Fanime registration site, my rooms disappeared.
I have the hotel summary and confirmation too but my reservations just aren't listed under my profile anymore.

Anyone else get anything like this?
I just hope I didn't get kicked after I got confirmed.

19

Dealers Room / Re: Dishonest Dealers from 2014

« on: June 03, 2014, 12:53:29 AM »

I remember that booth. I actually wanted to stop by and browse since I like collecting artwork and any other merchandise from my favorite series but as soon as I saw that price of $10, I couldn't move on fast enough.

Would not call them dishonest since every other dealer sold items at inflated prices.
ex. there was a Megahouse Binbougami figure I really wanted. Cost $91 and almost pulled the trigger and bought it but checked online and could get it for $50.
I bought a music box from that same booth for its suggested retail of $30 so I have no idea how dealers decide what price something should be.

Pertaining to the original topic of this thread: no dealer has ever lied or been dishonest to me. Lucky me.

20

Live Programming and Events / Re: Swap meet feedback

« on: May 31, 2014, 11:07:55 PM »

Was the swapmeet being held at the Fairmont bad?
From a shopper's point of view, I thought it went pretty well.

After the day of conventioning, the line disuaded me from attending this year too.

The dealer's room closed at 8 this year on Friday so it'd have to be really early if the swapmeet time changed.