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ohh I wish I had seen this sooner, hopefully I'll be able to throw something together in time but I'm already last minute sewing another cosplay..

oof, might have to duck out early this year but I'll be there!

Looking forward to seeing folks there :)

[Pros:]

Pros:

Shopping: Artists alley was full of great stuff this year! In previous years it seemed like it was abandoned by Sunday afternoon, but even on Monday it was packed.

Hotel: We stayed at the Fairmont because the convention center hotels were booked, and it was actually far more enjoyable. Close enough to the con that walking wasn't an issue, but far enough away that we didn't have many issues with noise or crowded lobbies and elevators.

Cosplay: It seemed like there was a bit more variety in costuming this year, and the overall quality was up too.

Cons:

Registration: We preregistered and had to wait in the long line on Friday. We packed our bags Friday afternoon, drove there in midday traffic on 101 South, checked into the hotel and got food in less time than it took to get our badges. It took at least 3 hours to get them, and the line wasn't very well managed. We had to ask other con-goers what the huge line outside was for, and there was only one person in the entire staff who took it upon himself to tell us why the line was so long.

Shopping: I'm not sure this is something that Fanime can do anything about, but it seemed like a lot of vendors had not included sales tax in their prices, and they didn't have any signs up to let shoppers know. Some of them were just rounding up sales tax to 10%, too. Even a $20 grab-bag I bought had hiked up tax on it. I kind of feel like it was an "idiot tax" more than anything. Sales tax in this county is only 8.25% so bumping it up has soured my opinion of some dealers a bit.

There also weren't many sales on Monday like in previous years, or I must have missed them all.

It seemed like there wasn't much variety either. It's cool to see things other than anime figurines everywhere, but several wig shops, corset shops, furry raver shops and motorized cat ear shops seemed a bit excessive. Maybe in future years the con would benefit from a separate clothing, costume and accessory dealers room/section.

Cosplayers/photographers: There were tons of great costumes as I said before, but not many people have good photography etiquette. It was very hard to move around the convention center and some of the rooms because people would stop wherever they were for photos, even if it's in the middle of an aisle or directly in front of a doorway.

I don't think I've ever bought food at the convention itself.. usually I go to La Vic's, Hydration, and Bijan. There's plenty of other good stuff around, but those are my favorites for convention weekend. I got hooked on those little mousse cakes at Bijan a couple years ago.. it's a good thing I live nearby so I can get my fix.

I will be there, as long as it's not early in the morning! I'm planning a archbishop costume, but if that falls through, I'll wear my old high priestess costume and say I just couldn't earn that last level in time.

Sound. Definitely. I could hear most of the music (though just barely) and was familiar enough with most of the tunes.. but I wasn't leading. My partner could hardly pick up the beat on most songs, and the volume seemed to fluctuate quite a bit depending on which part of the room you were in. It's extremely difficult to dance when the only half of your pair that knows how can't hear the beat. Additionally, he mentioned most of the suggested dances didn't really work with the music being played. I can't comment on that, though, not being a dancer.

Coat check would have been lovely. I kept my purse with me at all times, with my jacket tied to it, which kept wanting to fall off my arm and get in the way. I hope that the people attending the event are honest, but I have had my purse stolen before so I'm a bit paranoid.

Dress code. If you say you're going to enforce it, do it. Several of my friends wanted to go but were discouraged by the dress code.. but there were so many things in there that did not make me think about a formal ball. Blue face paint? Bandanas? Naruto headbands? I know it's Fanime, but girls running around in prom dresses and ninja headbands doesn't invoke visions of elegance here.

Floor. I don't know how many times I stumbled on that crack, got my shoe caught in it, or whatever. It wasn't safe and it really bothered me. The floor wasn't really big enough to stake a claim somewhere else and avoid it, so we got stuck there a while. I'd have to say that was one of the biggest contributing factors to us leaving early.

Ooh.. I'm working on my high priestess costume right now. Fixing the collar and all. As long as the event is sometime in the afternoon/evening I should be able to make it.

Sounds like it could be pretty cool. I always keep the program books and badges (except for 2k which I lost..) from Fanime. I usually throw down a lot of money in the artist's alley, too. I hope you're planning to allow submissions from artists in the community.

Wow, everyone posted great pics. All of mine turned out lame 'cause the camera I was borrowing wasn't the greatest.. ^^; So I hope no one minds, but I've taken some of the photos of myself and my friends and put them on my cosplay.com page and credited everyone for them.