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The Dance (aka the "Rave") happens at night in rooms 230, 231, and 232 of the SJCC over the course of several nights. This is the one in the dark room with electronic music.

The Black & White Ball is the formal dance that takes place Sunday night in Parkside Hall. There are also formal dance lessons/demonstrations throughout the weekend leading up to the B&W Ball also in Parkside Hall. These both involve ballroom dancing.

Hope that clears up some of the confusion.

That certainly clears up my confusion, thanks!  I'm just a bit surprised since I thought in previous years it only happened one night, like the Ball.  Either that was changed recently, or I was mistaken.

The android application should be updated but that relies heavily on when the Google Play admins approve our latest changes.

Thanks,

Aha, so we're playing a waiting game with Google.  Thanks for clearing that up!

We do not call our dances "Raves" but if you are referring to a large dark damp room in which hundreds of sweaty people dance to house, trance, and other types of music that is indeed our Dance that is held every year. ;)

Ah, I see.  That was indeed what I was referring to.  I guess while staff doesn't call it a rave, there are attendees who do, since I have only heard it called a rave and not simply a dance.  Good to have that cleared up.  In that case, the dances that were mentioned before by kookiekween in rooms 230, 231, and 232 - are those all dances, or are those ballroom lessons in preparation for the Ball?  Curious because the time frames seem more suited to dances, but I thought that was only held once over the weekend.

When does the artists ally open on friday?
And will there be a rave this year?

The hours for Artist Alley are listed in the link below:
http://www.fanime.com/exhibits/#artist-alley

I think when you say "rave," you mean the Dances. These times were posted by kookiekween99 in a previous post. :)

That's what I said, but my girlfriend insists that there's a so called fanime rave. XD

The only "rave" at Fanime is the Dance. The only other thing I could think of that goes with the category of dance is the Black and White Ball, which is a formal event Sunday evening.

Okay, now I'm a little confused.  So there's the B&W Ball, and there are the dance lessons held before it for people who want to brush up on their skills.  (I'm guessing that's what the stuff in rooms 230-232 is at night.)  But now, there was definitely a rave, at least in previous years.  It was held in the CC's upper floor on I believe Friday.  There was always a long line to get in, and the dance room was dark and cramped.  I do know that in previous years there were problems with the event (mainly with people breaking con etiquette/rules), so did they decide to stop doing it?  If they did, can't say that surprises me entirely, but I thought they were simply enforcing stricter rules for that one.

I installed the app on my phone (Android), but all it shows is 3 dots blinking endlessly on a black background when I try to open it. :/ Not really surprised, but is there something I'm missing?

I just looked at the Google Play entry for the app on my Galaxy S3, and it hasn't been updated for 2014.  The latest update it received was on May 21, 2013.  So looks like unless the development team codes for Android soon, the app is going to be an iOS exclusive.

Do try to resist their con prices, mmkay... :P

http://psychodonuts.blogspot.com/2014/05/psycho-and-fanime.html

That looks amazing =D.  IIRC last year when they were in the new food court, unfortunately they only had a few sushi bentos and some of the chocolate takoyaki donut holes during the few times they were stocked...seemed like they were constantly sold out.  Granted I'm sure their in-store selection is much better, and I'm hoping to pick up a few treats from there over the weekend =).  Lol feels slightly wrong that I've been going to Fanime since 2007 and haven't had a sushi bento yet from them.

Hey does anyone know a good bagel and/or crepe place for saturday and sunday mornings???
anything near the Fairmont would help....thanks

If you don't mind spending a little extra, there are two crepe places fairly close by - Whispers Cafe and La Luna Sucree.  I would have included a screenshot from the Yelp search, but couldn't figure out how to insert it here.

I really hope the update the app (or use Guidebook) for this year. The app was fantastic to have last year.

Think the answer to this is "no", but could you use Guidebook for last year, or was it just the Fanime app?

If you've already designated your spot for badge pickup as Fanime, are they actually going to let you just change to CA on the fly like that, though? 

We use this designation as a metric on where to allocate our resources. We will not hold you to whatever location you chose when you registered.

So are badges going to be printed on-demand during reg?

Yes. We will have printers at nearly each check in station.

Wait, so they won't be fancy-badges? Or will they be fancy printers making fancy badges?

Judging from what I've read on the forums before, my guess is that it's going to be the same as last year where they will be printing off stickers with our names and member numbers, and applying it to the fancy plastic badge.  Honestly, if that's the case, I'm perfectly okay with it.  My main concern is with the lines anyway.

I get the feeling it's not going to be as bad since pick up is back at the convention center, though it will probably, still be a long wait...

Have to say I'm a firm believer that at least some of the chaos around registration last year was caused by having pickup at the Fairmont.  In the last three years, con events held there have never gone well.  There was registration in 2013, the swap meet in 2012 (45 minute wait and snaking through 2 rooms), and the B&W Ball in 2011 (hour wait, cramped inside, no bathroom access once in).  But since the swap meet and the ball were moved out of the hotel, they have gone MUCH smoother.  I'm hoping that will be the case with registration this year.  At least they let us do small group registration, which is nice since it means my roommate can load our stuff in the room while I get the badges, like we've done the last few years.

I would like to add my thanks for letting us do the smaller groups.  This way my roommate can get our things in the room while I grab our badges, as we've done in years past =).  One question, though.  Will we get an email if the grouping is successful, or only if there was a problem and it didn't work?

Huh...dunno if it's just me, but those rates don't seem nearly as bad as they were a few years ago.  I know back in 2009, my roommate and I got a rude surprise when the lot we were in charged for both night AND day, and the night details hadn't exactly been visible from the car when we went in.  From what I gathered after, seemed like a lot of lots were charging both day and night fees as well.  However, for most of those lots on the interactive map I'm only seeing flat rates for days, so maybe parking has become a bit fairer in the last few years.  Or maybe I'm just crazy and my roommate and I happened to pick a bad lot that year.

This was one of the things that annoyed me about the Fairmont when I stayed there.  But yes, there's a part of the hotel that's adjacent to the main building called the south tower as the previous poster commented.  If you're in there, you not only need your room key to operate the elevator when you get in, but you also need it to get in the building after around 8 pm I believe.  I just remember after a certain night hour the south tower doors lock, and the only way in is to use your room key in the slot right next to the doorway.  It can be tedious to do since you only have a short time frame to open the door.  It works best if you have others/roommates around to help catch the door.

Like others have said, I don't really have money allocated specifically for Fanime.  I've been working full-time for the first time these last few months (since January), and have kept disposable income spending to a minimum, so my financial situation is much better than it has been during previous years.  In past years the most I've spent is about $150 on various trinkets, collectibles, etc.  That was mainly because I was a student, though, and didn't have much money for things outside of the room and food.  This year, I don't have anything specific in mind to buy, but I should be able to get whatever catches my eye, instead of curbing my spending to just a few things I have to have.

[besides]

I read in a previous thread some time ago that there is a ramen vendor inside the con.  It sounded like they were talking about someone besides Asian Food Grocer (who sold instant ramen and other snacks 24/7 in the food court last year).  Does anyone know if there is a ramen vendor besides AFG inside the building?  If so, where are they?  How much on average did it cost?  Or was the person most likely talking about AFG's instant stuff?

Thanks in advance for your help!

also speaking of cheesesteak... a couple years ago i went to the cheesesteak shop (that's its full name) and they gave everyone in our group free soft drinks and i think a 10% discount because we had fanime badges! it was very nice!

That must have been back around 2011.  IIRC that year Fanime teamed up with several local restaurants to give attendees discounts by simply presenting your badge.  However, I don't think they continued with that.  At least, I don't remember those deals being advertised last year or 2012.

I'm going to be that guy that brings steak and tri-tip for my electric grill and cook it there in my room. but personally, I got last year the 7 treasures from 7 treasures, and made it last for a good chunk of it.

Haha, nice!  I've heard of people bringing electric rice cookers and oatmeal, but nothing quite on that level before.  Just curious though, what do you mean by "the 7 treasures from 7 treasures"?  I've never heard of that before.

Thanks!  I might make a trip over there or Hydration, then, since milk tea is awesome, and their fairly close to the CC =).  Do you happen to know when specifically Quicklys happy hour is?  Unfortunately their website doesn't say, and nether do the Yelp comments.

Happy Hour is after 5PM.
As for personal taste: I highly prefer Quickly's milk tea over Hydration's.

Awesome, thanks!  And actually, I just looked on Yelp again for kicks, and a new comment said that along with happy hour after 5 on weekdays, on weekends they have it all day.  If that's true, it's great for the convention =).  I'll have to make sure to have some cash on me, though, since apparently they don't take cards.  (Shame too, since I get 2% cash-back at restaurants with mine.  I know it's pennies, but still lol.)

I've heard there's a place called Quicklys a few blocks down from the center that does inexpensive bento and boba teas.  Does anyone have experience going there?  How was it?  I looked it up on Yelp, and the reviews looked mixed at best, but I want to double check before writing it off.

Quicklys across from SJSU is an asian fast food place.
If you want something well-prepared and healthy, I'd say go somewhere else.
If you want a quick but filling snack then this'll do.
I just go for the drinks.

They have happy hour in the evenings with buy one get one free milk teas so it gets pretty crowded later in the day.
As for service, it's what you would expect from any FroYo/TapEx-like extablishment.

Thanks!  I might make a trip over there or Hydration, then, since milk tea is awesome, and their fairly close to the CC =).  Do you happen to know when specifically Quicklys happy hour is?  Unfortunately their website doesn't say, and nether do the Yelp comments.

I've heard there's a place called Quicklys a few blocks down from the center that does inexpensive bento and boba teas.  Does anyone have experience going there?  How was it?  I looked it up on Yelp, and the reviews looked mixed at best, but I want to double check before writing it off.

In years past I've gone to the Subway a block or two away from the Fairmont to get something relatively healthy during the weekend.  If you're in the mood for a sweet treat, though, there's a bakery on the bottom of the the hotel that is supposed to be amazing =).  I'm keen on giving it a try this year.

I have to say the site is very beautifully done, and the mobile version runs seamlessly.  Granted that doesn't excuse how long it took to get the final product, but at least now it's up and looks great!