Info about Gathering Areas!

thepharaohinleather · May 01, 2016, 11:21:11 AM

Hi all~ I live in the area so I try to visit the area around Fanime before the con to see if there's construction or anything new that might affect events. I went yesterday and just noticed a few things I thought I should mention!

Several grassy areas in the plaza have been fenced off to allow seeding of new grass (apparently after a wild super bowl party) but has taken a month longer than expected. Staff at the valet of the fairmont agreed with me that it should be done before the con and the fences removed. However if not, this might affect some gathering areas! I know the Homestuck gathering usually takes place around the snake/poop statue which as of yesterday is completely fenced off. If the fences are still up by Fanime, make sure to keep some alternative gathering locations in mind! Only about half of the grassy areas are still fenced off however, so it should be easy to move. But as of right now the statue is off limits.

Also there seems to be a new sandy "beach" area built next to the fountains! It has several brightly colored chairs and tables and just seems like a nice area for beach or ocean photo shoots or gatherings, so keep that in mind!

Photos of these areas are on my tumblr with a similar post as this at theamazingmugi.tumblr.com (I'm on mobile as I post this but if I can add the photos when I get to my laptop I will). And I will also return in about a week to speak with fairmont staff in person (I hate phone calls) so if anything changes I can let you guys know!

thepharaohinleather · May 01, 2016, 04:53:28 PM

Here you can see the fence around the snake statue. It's green but it's there.

Chainlink fence around this part

Orange is the fence around that part of the grass. The other side is not fenced off and you can walk on it right now.

Beachy area! Complete with chairs and picnic tables

thepharaohinleather · May 07, 2016, 05:19:38 PM

Hi again! I went back today and it seems all fences are still in place. Still three weeks til con so plenty of time but there's still the possibility those areas can't be accessed during the con. Keep it in mind when planning off site gatherings!

thepharaohinleather · May 14, 2016, 09:40:50 PM

Update!! I went back today again and it seems none of the fences have been taken down. Still almost two weeks for them to take them down but it doesn't seem they have any intention to right now. Since the hotels are apparently having more trouble than last year getting the reservation numbers merged into their systems, I'm going back on Thursday and if anything else has changed I'll post it here!

robinhoods · May 15, 2016, 06:14:31 AM

This will be my first time attending Fanime so I appreciate this information a lot!

Thank you.

thepharaohinleather · May 15, 2016, 12:03:19 PM

Ah of course! I do hope you have a wonderful first fanime~ I saw your other post btw, if you are coming by car to the convention, be sure to bring some cash if you can for parking. Downtown San Jose has very high parking rates, and you can't really escape that. There's lots of parking but keep in mind some 30,000+ people attend fanime now, so that's a lot of cars even if not everyone is driving. I recommend the convention center parking structure, which charges $1 per 20 min with a maximum of $20 per day, or the South Hall parking lot (which fills up quickly) which has a maximum of $7 during the day, $5 at night. Other options include valets at the hotels but those are often full. There is another parking structure across the street from the fairmont (it's in the same location as the restaurant Scott's Seafood if you need directions) which charges generally the same amount. A few self-run parking lots are scattered around the convention center, but often charge $5 an hour. When in doubt, just circle around a bit! You'll have to walk a bit regardless of where you park, so don't get discouraged if you have to park a little bit away. Here's a link to a handy page about parking in downtown San Jose with some maps and pricing http://www.sanjose.org/maps-more/parking/

Make sure you bring a water bottle too! There are water fountains in the main concourse but what if you get thirsty and you're not near one? Plus buying water bottles at con will empty your wallet faster than the dealer's hall will. It's a lot more walking than you think, so stay hydrated! They sell food in the main concourse too but again it's very expensive. If you can bring a snack, definitely bring it!

There's a lot to see and do at this con, I really hope you have fun! If you didn't know, there is a Masquerade on Saturday evening, which is where people do live skits and there is also a cosplay contest. On Sunday, there is a ball which requires formal attire so if you would like to go, make sure to bring something that follows the guidelines posted here! http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,20483.0.html (I'm sure you've been looking around the forums, but just in case you didn't see it~) Many people recommend going to the opening ceremonies as well, which happen around 12 or 2pm Friday (in my seven years of going to fanime I haven't attended but almost everyone that has gone recommends it). There's a rave, gaming hall with tournaments, manga lounge, and lots more! Hopefully they put the maps up on the website soon so you can check out where everything is.

The main concourse of the convention center has lots of tables and chairs for you to sit at if you get tired, but no one will judge if you just lean up against a wall too. Trust me, cons are so exhausting, especially if you're cosplaying! This year, there are some big changes happening, like the safety initiative which will require you to show your badge before getting to the second floor where dealer's hall, artist alley, the gaming hall etc is. So you won't have to show your badge at each of those locations anymore, so it can be tucked away in your cosplay or clothes if you don't want it showing. This should make lines much shorter for all such places, but we'll have to see if it actually works. I'll be going back to the general area on Thursday so maybe I'll sneak a peek inside the convention center to try and see what they're up to as far as blocking off places.

Last year, inside the Dealer's Hall, they had a lovely takoyaki stand that was very popular, and hopefully they will bring that back this year. Fanime has had difficulty the past few years with making cheap food available (besides pocky) but they seem to be slowly getting the hang of it. Check that out if you have time and seem interested!

Make sure you wear comfortable shoes also, even in cosplay. The con is HUGE, at least in my opinion. Last year, they took up two of the main exhibition rooms for the dealer's hall alone, and the number of artists in the artist alley seems to grow every year. There's so much to look at and you'll be mingling with lots of other people and trying to get in and out and to see everything. If you can, dress lightly. It'll most likely be hot outside and warm inside with 30,000 bodies milling around.

Sorry I rambled so much! I just want you to have a great con experience so I thought I would give you some info/adivce from what I've experienced in the past seven years at this con. Just enjoy yourself mainly~ Check the forums even once the con starts too! They often update things as they change. There's also an info desk on the main concourse next to stage zero if you want to go talk to someone in person about a question or problem you might have.

Oh! If you're bringing a prop, make sure to get it peace bonded before walking around with it just so rovers don't call you out on it. If you don't know what that means, they will put a brightly colored zip tie around some part of your prop so that rovers (staff) know your weapon/prop cleared the requirements. The location for peace bonding changes constantly, so check the forums and official website about that location. It should also be on the maps once they make those available for our desperate eyes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or make a post on the forums! Lots of nice people here to help you out~ :3

stilzkin · May 16, 2016, 03:01:47 AM

thnx for all the useful info ! this is gonna be my first time on fanime also so i found it all very useful, also is there something like a map where the gathering spots are ? (like G1 G2 etc.) aside from cosplaying i'll also gonna make tons of pictures ! and i realy would like to attend some gatherings

thepharaohinleather · May 16, 2016, 06:56:29 AM

Oh yay! I hope you have a good time too! I don't recall if they have an actual map for the gathering spots but they do describe where they are and if you ask someone, chances are they know what you're talking about. But they're mostly all out in front of the convention center. If in doubt, there's a table on the main concourse that has the list of cosplay gatherings and there will be staff who you can ask where the locations are~

stilzkin · May 16, 2016, 10:57:33 AM

Right, i'm sure things will work out then! even though i'll meet up with some friends there, sometimes i just disapear to make some pictures or something haha

powerofunity · May 16, 2016, 07:27:47 PM

If I remember correctly, last year they had a large poster board with the gatherings schedule, which also included a really basic map of where each gathering spot is. I don't think the map is included in the convention booklet, but you can always mark the spots in your booklet yourself after referring to the gatherings board. And yeah, you can always ask staff to help you.

Btw, thanks, thepharaohinleather, for all the updates about the gathering spots! It's very sweet of you to make time to do this. :)

thepharaohinleather · May 16, 2016, 09:46:21 PM

Ah yes that's right they usually do~ I've also seen they have photographs of the locations on the facebook page located here. https://www.facebook.com/FanimeConCosplayGatherings/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf I left a note about the fences on there too so more people might see it. And as always, when in doubt, if you see people from the same thing as your cosplay, ask them! They might be heading there too or at least know where it is.

Oh of course! I live in the immediate area so this isn't a problem for me~ Especially for people from out of town/state come, they wouldn't know about things like the fences. I'm returning on Thursday for my fourth attempt at confirming my hotel situation at the fairmont so i will continue the updates if anything has changed or not! I'm happy to help everyone out even with something small like this. Cause I know it can make a big difference~ <3 <3 <3

Imperial · May 16, 2016, 11:57:59 PM

I use G10 snake statue as a landmark, the park as a whole is for the gathering, as landmarks are for the better in my opinon. bare with me, im trying to figure out from the gardeners who would have best knowledge in the matter.

Nina Star 9 · May 17, 2016, 09:25:56 AM

I know that I've already reblogged your post about this on tumblr, but still, thanks for all the info! :]

I was going to ask if there were any updates, but I guess I'll find out after Thursday. I'm a little worried about the Homestuck gathering if the fences are still up, and if they're still there by con I'll have to find a new meeting location for an event I'm hosting (we usually meet at the snake statue and then walk to a restaurant nearby as a group).

I also know the park is a popular photoshoot location, so hopefully people can get their shoots done!

thepharaohinleather · May 19, 2016, 07:43:24 PM

Alas, upon my return to the area today, none of the fences have been taken down nor look like they will be any time soon. I'm working on getting an overhead map with a layout of where the fences are so people can get an idea of it. Also the Fairmont, and possibly other hotels, have yet to integrate the con block of reservations into their system. I find this a bit worrying with the con only a week away. But hopefully all will be well soon!

thepharaohinleather · May 19, 2016, 08:13:31 PM

Here are some maps showing what areas have been fenced off as of Thursday May 19th! There are some small areas not shown in the pictures from last time that have now also been fenced off. Hope this helps some people organize their gatherings!

RED - Fenced off (Star shows snake statue location)
YELLOW - New sandy area as seen in above photos!
BLUE - Fountains
ORANGE - Construction next to the union center

omega_drug · May 19, 2016, 10:18:12 PM

Thanks for the info. I'm supposed to host a gathering at G10 on Friday of the con. Too bad about the fence. I had plans for that statue.

thepharaohinleather · May 26, 2016, 10:47:46 PM

ATTENTION! Got here today to check in at the hotel, and it seems like most of the fences have been taken down! The snake statue is accessible now, the only area still fenced off is the left side of the pathway heading from the snake statue to the fountains. Just letting everyone know if they still want to do shoots at the snake statue!!