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im not a lil kid i wouldnt really be swinging it around and only pose with it lol, i dont think ill tie it down to the sheathe or else it would moot the cosplay

It doesn't matter if you swear up and down that you won't hit someone with it. They are not taking that chance, and Fanime does NOT want the lawsuit. 'Cause for everyone who swears they won't, there's always one who does it anyways. I did Rovers waaaay back in the day (before they were called that, and before Fanime came to San Jose) and the stories I could tell you about people and their damn wooden swords. ^^

Aww man!  :P I live in the Eastern Time. I guess people that live in my time wont hear until 3PM! xD Oh well! Just gives me more time to plan out lol

That's what you get for living in the wrong time zone? ^^ It's still only 9am here you guys got 3 hours still.

Patience. ^^

At the very least. As that's not too different from the wooden swords and bouken they sell in Dealer's, and as those you can't be swinging around you might have problems. Might have to have it tied into its sheath so it's unable to be taken out.

Hope this is okay here...but one small question. How many people is a group? Last year I was able to register all three of us as a group. I'm the one most knowledgeable of the site and the only one with a paypal account so it's best I do it for all of us. Can we still do that this year or do I have to register all 3 of us separately?

There is really no way to reduce the lines. If a thousand people want to wait in line for badges, a thousand people will wait in line for badges. The only thing the staff can really do is watch out for people trying to cut in line, and maintain safety.

It's highly unlikely that they would be willing to send badges out via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. I'm sure people would be willing to spend a little extra on their badges for this convenience, but having to maintain a record of tracking numbers for delivery confirmation purposes would be a burden.

In a nutshell, if you want you badge on Day 0, wait in line. Get there early for a shorter wait.

Sure, it's difficult to reduce the lines, and yes, the Fanime staff seems completely averse to mailing out badges.  However, after the number of complaints following last year's convention, it would be extremely disappointing if Fanime turned a blind eye to its fans and simply told us to "suck it up".  Fanime is growing in size each year, and at this rate we'll be having 10 hour waits.  Other larger conventions have significantly shorter wait times and hopefully Fanime can adopt some of their ideas.

I guess we'll see what happens this year.  Looks like it'll be pretty interesting with the construction and such.

Other than the Death March of 2012 (and whoever coined it that is a genius ^^), I've never waited longer than a couple hours on Thursday to get my badge. This will be my 9th time at Fanime, all but the first year I pre-reg'ed. Yes, the line has always been enormous, but it moved well, and I was never able to show up early but got through all the same. You want an even more terrifying line? Try Otakon's sometime. Actually last year was the first time I managed to get there well before 6pm. 2012 was just extraordinary circumstances, everything that could go wrong did. Both Fanime and the Convention Center don't want a repeat 'cause that's even more an embarrassment and terrible for business. Who's going to want to bring their convention to a center who's transformers keep exploding? I'm sure they'll do everything they can to make it just one of those weird things that happened one year.

Last year I ended up with the Fairmont, didn't register late and paid like $102-108 a night. That was a two bedded room as well. I do think the singles were $89 to $99 though. The rooms are pretty nice, with the downside being farther from con and parking is a pain in the ass. They only have valet parking and it costs an arm and a leg. You're better off parking somewhere else and just hauling everything.

If there is a gathering, may just come as Izaya and drag my friend who going to do Shizuo this year. I'm making him a street sign at any rate, and might be fun to cosplay from the same series together.

Honestly? I've waited in that long ass line every year about 6pm or so. Never taken more than an hour and a half, maaaybe 2. Sure the line is massive but you're with the crowd and we all seem to be pretty good at keeping ourselves entertained. It's never been terribly boring. I wouldn't bother with getting there hours before the line even opens just to be first. You'll wait more time than I will. Registration's very good at moving people through. Just bring a book, a video game, people to talk to and it'll be over before you know it. Always seems to for me and this'll be my...*counts on fingers* 8th year I think?

Something like that. ^^

If you get at least one Nordic, I might just come as Denmark.

A special version of Denmark, if I can throw it together in time.



....Be very afraid >:

This Norway is now curious. ^^

Bear in mind, I'm not going to have the uniform this time, just Fantasia and Mafia versions.

Yeah, I was actually looking for a Nordic nation for the Denmark above c:

Any pics of your Norway? ouo

Just of the uniform, might be one of Viking somewhere...can't remember. Fantasia and Mafia are new, but I could show you the amazing fanart it's based off of.

Uniform: http://darkdreamyr.deviantart.com/#/d3b5ybt
http://darkdreamyr.deviantart.com/#/d3b5xtp

Mafia fanart: http://darkdreamyr.deviantart.com/favourites/#/d3z7rxb

May not have a coat for Mafia, due to difficulty finding on the cheap and the possibility of dying of heat exhaustion. ^^ Either way I'm going to check your nighttime panel.

If you get at least one Nordic, I might just come as Denmark.

A special version of Denmark, if I can throw it together in time.



....Be very afraid >:

This Norway is now curious. ^^

Bear in mind, I'm not going to have the uniform this time, just Fantasia and Mafia versions.

Current (and backup) plans are to have schedules available online as well as a physical* one. =)

*We've learned our lesson... Promise!

Hey as long as it shows up before Day Zero, it'll be good. *grins*

Once again, Pizza My Heart is wonderful. I'm so annoyed they don't have it up here in the East Bay. Tried the pesto pizza for the first time and it was love at first bite. Yes, greenish pizza but oh so good. Plus it was only about 5 bucks for drink and pizza. Can't beat that.

I'm one of those who has also chosen the St. Claire this year. I managed to get a "double deluxe" room (two double beds sleeps 4) for three nights Fri-Sun total including tax but not deposit was just under $500. Since I plan to share with my fiance and another couple, I'm only really out about $250. We also plan on parking at the convention center the whole week-end which will be cheaper than paying for valet parking (required at several of the hotels so be sure to include that in your calculation!). Big tip: if you aren't going to be driving anywhere just find a parking spot in the convention parking garage and just leave the car there all weekend (locked and empty of course), when it comes time for your to leave just say you lost your parking ticket the lost ticket fee is much cheaper than paying for all 3-4 days together. Only downside is no in-out privileges once you park it plan on leaving it the whole convention.

Oh and rumor has it the St Claire is haunted...no really...

Well if it is they've avoided me every time I stayed there. Damn, and I'd like to see that too. ^^

There's good and bad with all the hotels. I've stayed at the Crown Plaza (which is going to change it's name soon I heard, but is directly in front of the Con Center), Marriott and St. Claire. They were all about the same price, $325ish for the whole thing. The Fairmont is a bit more expensive, and the Hilton sells out fast. The main issue with the Marriott is that by Monday the elevators start to break down so it does suck trying to get around. It's happened every single time without fail, I swear. ^^ The best way to avoid this is to load the car late Sunday night and then take the stairs unless you're on the 10th floor or something. Better than being stuck in the crowd for 20 mins and three elevators.

Crown Plaza only went to once because the damn toilets are louder than hell. Wish I was kidding, airplane taking off noises they make when you flush. Do that at 3am and you won't be half-asleep anymore. Neither will anyone in your room or the ones around you either. The a/c was also rather noisy. Their parking however was the closest to the building than any of the others.

St. Claire's issue is that it has no self-park, only valet and that's damn expensive. So you have to park in the Con Center and walk all the damn way across the building and then across the street. When you're carrying lots of cosplay that can get tiring.

I think there's been a couple other threads about comparing the hotels on here too, (been going so long may be confusing myself^^) so I'd check them all first and then decide what you want.

I can donate some of my hoard of masking tape. I also have a bag of PVC odds and ends if that would be useful.

Can I suggest that the people posing for pictures are NOT in the bright sunlight next time? In 2009, posing was up against the wall of the Con center, where it's far more shaded. It was more comfortable to pose there than to do it on the hot concrete out in the middle of the yard.

Where should we gather? I'm not likely to get there at 10am, not with having to come in from the other side of the Bay and all. So is there any place to meet up so when people show up they can go there?

Haven't seen any updates, so wondering if this is still gonna go on?

That sounds really cool. ^^

Could anyone give their opinions/experiences/details on the Crowne Plaza hotel by chance? :3

Unless they've fixed it, dunno, but beware REALLY loud toilets. Scare the shit outta ya at 3 in the morning when you're half-asleep.

I have a question!
Im currently working on a scythe for my Stein Cosplay from Soul Eater. The blade is Foam Board but i was wondering about the staff part of the Scythe I want it to be sturdy could I use a medel pipe from the hardware store and if not is there a different materieal thets really sturdy and not totally flimsy i could use?

You want PVC pipe for your scythe. It's light, just as sturdy as metal, and much more likely to get accepted by the rovers as it's just plastic. ^^ Plus you can cut it with a hacksaw to exactly the size you need, and you can drill into it if you need to. Look in the plumbing section of the hardware store.