Messages

I have been attending FanimeCon for 9 years now (starting in 2002 and only missing one year since) and it is a yearly event I have come to really love. I also expect a certain level of professionalism and organization from one of my favorite conventions, so here is my feedback:

PROS:

• Easy Hotel Check-in (we checked in Friday around Noon), even with a very full hotel cart of our stuff to be brought into our room for us. Thank you so much Hilton staff!
• Swift Masquerade processing/Judging. This was my first time performing in the Cosplay Spectacular so I was very pleased to have gotten my sticker and judged so quickly! Absolutely no problems there at all. :)
• Return of Pocket Schedules were immensely helpful! I am so glad that those were back. :D
• Swap Meet at the Fairmont was a good decision I feel. It was a nice dedicated space that wasn't overly crowded with non-swap meet goers and there were quite a few more vendors because of this as well I think.
• Anime Music Video Contest screenings (FMVs) were set up at multiple times in a two day span. This made me very happy because the FMV contest is one of my favorite events that I always make a point to see. Only drawback here that I noticed was that since the other room playing the AMVs was just next door we would sometimes have overlapped noise during more dramatic/quiet videos. Not sure if that can be fixed in future...

CONS:

• Registration was ridiculous this year. Plain and simple. I went with my family and friends to pick up our pre-reg badges on Thursday (day zero). We arrived at around 2:30pm, didn't get our badges until around 9:15pm or so! I understand that the power outage was unforeseen, but honestly manual processing could have started much earlier. Also I feel that with as large as FanimeCon is now, the booths that were empty should have been staffed with more workers to process badge pickup. 4 or 5 stations for people to get processed at just does not cut it for such a large scale attendance level. I did however appreciate the rovers allowing me to get back into line when having to use the restroom and locate my husband (I am pregnant so things become much more urgent for me), and also for supplying us bottles of water during the long wait.
• Signage for Cosplay Spectacular Participant entrance was very poor. It took us a good 5-10 minutes of walking around the building to find where we were supposed to go, and one of our ninjas couldn't find his way in (even when showing his sticker to staff) for about 20 minutes. There should be a few more signs directing Masquerade participants where to go next year, or at the least a specific staff member at the front ready to escort members where they need to go.
• Communication (pre-convention) was very poor and I would like to note this as this effected my convention experience this year. I was trying very hard to coordinate a comeback event of Anime Con of the Dead (our Highschool of the Dead themed Undead flashmob performance) with the rest of our team for months, but did not get a decisive response from anyone from FanimeCon staff until roughly a month before convention and by then it was too late to add it in to our tour schedule. We hope to be able to bring ACOTD back to FanimeCon in the future, but I was honestly disappointed with the lack of response this year.
  
  A side note on this topic, I hear that communication pre-con was rather poor on the side of Artist Alley as well. Though this is only second hand knowledge as I was wait listed this year.
• Congoers for the most part were very friendly and accommodating, though quite a few times people would stop in the middle of high traffic areas for impromptu picture sessions. I agree with some of the previous posters here that a few designated photo areas throughout the convention halls would be really great so this can be avoided.
• Smokers were a bit of a problem this year for me and much of the time I was afraid to step outside because of it. I am not sure if there are designated smoking areas, but people were lighting up really close to the convention doors and now that I have a baby to think about I am much more aware of this.
• Masquerade Staff messed up on our lighting request and part of our performance we planned so hard ended up in darkness. It was supposed to be tinted blue, not completely off, but I still think we did a great job regardless of who saw that part. We were entry number 4.

This is about all I can think of at the moment, and my apologies if it ran a bit long. I really love this convention and hope it will continue to grow, but I really hope that communication and staffing problems get ironed out. FanimeCon needs to be a big and strong convention so it can last for many years to come! :) Thanks for reading. --Ratgirl

I love that "Otherkin" idea as I don't think FanimeCon has ever gone that route before! Not only would it be great for pokemon and fantasy cosplayers, but it could also bring more cosplayers of creatures like Kappas, game mascots, and even more anthropomorphized versions of non-human characters (like the AWESOME Glados girls from Portal that came this year). It has potential for much inspiration with the fanbase in my opinion. :)

I LOVED the Masquerade this year, as well as our setup over at Artist Alley. Anime Con of the Dead went really well and was a lot of fun. The selection of board games were fantastic, though I know some were asking for a second twister mat? I do wish that the unlocked DDR machine was back this year (the one that had all the mixes as well as some fan made anime mixes) but the two DDR machines that were there worked really well. There was a nice setup for Swap meet this year and of course meeting new people is always a plus at FanimeCon. I was sad for the lack of schedule since I largely missed out on a couple major events, but hopefully next year will bounce back from that.

Thanks for the wonderful convention you guys! I will definitely be back next year. ;D

[Pedro Bear]

Anyone happen to take pictures of me late Sunday night when I unveiled my Pedro Bear costume? Pedro Bear is the carefree dancing second cousin of Pedo Bear who kicked Pedo Bear out of the family for bad behavior. I had a big mustache, mariachi hat, maracas and lots of fur.

I would love to see pics of me dancing with everyone! Thanks ahead of time. My email is [email protected] if anyone would like to respond to this query. ^_^

I would very much like to know this too! Anyone know who won this year??

I think not having everyone come out at the same time/point would be helpful. I liked the idea, but when so many people came out on the Hilton side I was stuck against the wall trying not to get in people photos or push anyone over.

As weirderraindrop mentioned, there were two different groups for the invasion. We had a total of roughly 30 or so dead per group. :)

One thing I would definitely like to change if this becomes a traveling show is having two prep rooms; one dedicated to makeup, and one dedicated to training/practice. The single room didn't work out as well, but it was a great start that is for sure.

Thanks so much to all of our RSVP members of Anime Con of the Dead who made it to the event! It was a fantastic turnout (71 people in the makeup line) for our first run.  ;D

To find the public gallery of ACOTD images and videos as they are uploaded (anyone is welcome to contribute their footage here as well), please check this link:
http://kricketcostumes.phanfare.com/acotd

Also, in my first VLOG I mention Anime Con of the Dead quite a bit here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LrMyp7_1Ko


I had a great time at FanimeCon 2011 and thanks again to everyone who helped make our event a reality!

Online RSVP deadline is tomorrow evening! Just thought I would remind the readers of this thread in case anyone was still interested and had not signed up yet. ^_~

I will be seeing all of the ACOTD members this Saturday!  ;D

[undead]

wait, this thing did'nt recieved any posts??? i was so sure it was one of those admin exclusive comments..

AWE CRAP I COULD"VE been the first qoute box >_<!

well Count me in.. I don't know what to be but it never hurts to show up for the event but I have to agree, I too have an artist alley to deal with so i might show up late >_<!

Yay, glad to hear you are on board and don't worry if you aren't a specific character. We actually have a good amount of character actors/spotters already and what we really need are more undead to train. :)

Kricket Costumes is putting together some really handy blood prep tutorials for everyone who wants more details on arms, legs, etc. We will have a lot of undead to prep in a small time window so the event crew will be only focused on the neck up. ;D

Makeup prep will begin promptly at 6pm and we will be doing nonstop Training of the Dead and practice as people are done being prepped. I am planning on ducking out of Artist Alley that day a bit early to get everything ready, so as long as you try to come as close to 6pm as possible that should be fine. The more time you have to train and practice the better. ^_~

Yay! Now you have a posting!

I'm still planning to bring the High School of the Dead gathering over to you guys after were done ^^

Woohoo! *high fives* XD

I really wish that I could actually make it myself to the gathering earlier that day, but I will be selling at my table in Artist Alley. It's a good kind of busy, but still I am really hoping most of the cosplayers from the gathering can make it to the event. I would love to see everyone's outfits and have lots of fun with everyone of course!

This looks interesting.
I might take some photos for the blog.

Hey there, I am glad to hear that you are interested! By the way, if you would like to be involved in our photo crew please let me know! Our crew members also have access to the free stuff, as well as invites to our planning meetings. ^_~

[Ratgirl Productions]

Ratgirl Productions and Kricket Costumes is putting together a new breed of interactive fan event! Professional cosplay makeup, training and group performance, games, raffle prizes, and more! Everything is FREE but RSVP is needed so make sure to sign up.

Online RSVP forms will be open at Ratgirl Productions and Kricket Costumes until Wednesday May 25th, 2011.

At-con sign ups will be available for last minute participants at the Ratgirl Productions table in the Artist Alley Friday evening and Saturday morning. This Highschool of the Dead-themed event is scheduled to begin at 6pm on Saturday May 28th.

All schedule details and event location info can be found at http://www.ratgirlproductions.com/events. Please if you have any questions that are not answered at the website, ask them here and I will get back to you with an answer as I am able!


--Patricia of Ratgirl Productions