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Post by Travisivart on Mar 31, 2009 0:51:14 GMT -5
Well let's see.... The main issue I had was partially uncontrollable and partly my fault. I wasn't expecting parking to be an issue, so when I arrived at 11am on Saturday it was just crazy trying to find a place. There were easily at least 20 pickup trucks trying to get spots, it was to the point where after 30 minutes of trying to find a spot I nearly parked in the subdivisions. However it was raining so hard I didn't think it would be a good idea to walk a quarter of a mile in the rain carrying a huge cross while in costume. >.> So parking was really the biggest issue for me. As for the more controllable things, in several of the panels where the guests had to use a mic for everyone to hear them; there were some bad issues with actually being able to hear them. I believe it had something to do with the acoustics of the rooms perhaps and the directions the speakers. If anything could be done about that in the future it would be wonderful. I'm not sure if anyone else had issues hearing Travis Willingham in his Q/A on Sunday but it was pretty hard to hear quite a bit of what he was saying for myself. Did anyone else have these issues, or was I just loosing my mind and hearing from the rave the night before and the lack of sleep for three days.  |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 0:51:49 GMT -5
Yeah the hotel people were kinda rude, but I kinda understand why. On sunday they were kicking us out of the hotel when we were trying to just say goodbyes to our friends. The con wasn't even over yet and they were doing this. Saying stuff like "If you aren't our guest for tonight then please go and stay over on the con side" :V What about my friends who went back to the hotel and were leaving without coming back to the con side? Apparently, some people were kinda leaving the rooms in a trashy state or something? The hotel woman who was hell bent on escorting us back to the con was saying some stuff like that. So I guess they were just fed up with the whole lot of us. --- I remembered something else, it was with the Masquerade and the Date Auction, we had some people in our skit that had bought somebody in the Date Auction, the times for the dinner and when we had to be there for the set up were really close, and apparently, even though people had talked to the masquerade staff about the auction and they said it was ok when it came down to it, they said if they were late because of it they couldn't be in the masquerade? I dunno, luckily our girls made it in time. The other person who had this issue, I dunno. It was a what the hell type moment, really. I'm sorry to hear some of the hotel staff were being rude. =/ They certainly had their hands full with the con, and as much as the con staff tried to explain what it would be like ahead of time to our liaison at the hotel, there's really no way of preparing them for the chaos. I know they were growing irritated at some of the more irresponsible behavior of a small few of the attendees and probably trying to prevent anymore shenanigans from taking place under their watch. The schedule was pretty tight for the Date Auction/Masquerade. We definitely hope to improve it for next year! Unfortunately it's very difficult to schedule, and we're all still new at it ^^;; We're already generating some ideas on how to schedule these two events better, but we'd love to hear your suggestions! |
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 1:13:50 GMT -5
Yeah the hotel people were kinda rude, but I kinda understand why. On sunday they were kicking us out of the hotel when we were trying to just say goodbyes to our friends. The con wasn't even over yet and they were doing this. Saying stuff like "If you aren't our guest for tonight then please go and stay over on the con side" :V What about my friends who went back to the hotel and were leaving without coming back to the con side? Apparently, some people were kinda leaving the rooms in a trashy state or something? The hotel woman who was hell bent on escorting us back to the con was saying some stuff like that. So I guess they were just fed up with the whole lot of us. --- I remembered something else, it was with the Masquerade and the Date Auction, we had some people in our skit that had bought somebody in the Date Auction, the times for the dinner and when we had to be there for the set up were really close, and apparently, even though people had talked to the masquerade staff about the auction and they said it was ok when it came down to it, they said if they were late because of it they couldn't be in the masquerade? I dunno, luckily our girls made it in time. The other person who had this issue, I dunno. It was a what the hell type moment, really. I'm sorry to hear some of the hotel staff were being rude. =/ They certainly had their hands full with the con, and as much as the con staff tried to explain what it would be like ahead of time to our liaison at the hotel, there's really no way of preparing them for the chaos. I know they were growing irritated at some of the more irresponsible behavior of a small few of the attendees and probably trying to prevent anymore shenanigans from taking place under their watch. The schedule was pretty tight for the Date Auction/Masquerade. We definitely hope to improve it for next year! Unfortunately it's very difficult to schedule, and we're all still new at it ^^;; We're already generating some ideas on how to schedule these two events better, but we'd love to hear your suggestions! You can also do a game show like thing for this!!! like a girl or guy comes on stage and people who would like to have a chance with them, answer group questions 1st(like would u rather this this or this.. and all people have to choose one) then when the number gets smaller... use seperate questions the girl/guy wishes to know about them.... like a fun dating game.... the auction should go like.... girls and guys go on stage all at one in the begining (so people can see which ones they really wish to save up and bid for)... then the bidding should proceed. Go guy, girl, guy, girl, guy.... Make sure you have facts about each person... including favs (anime, manga,food, and what they enjoy doing) make the guy/girl pose on different sides of the stage while the announcer is reading off their stats... then start the bidding for each person... whe a bidder wins... let them come on stage and claim their "prize". |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 1:20:47 GMT -5
1) there needed to be signs posted throughout the convention to direct to where things where located... many people could have used them 3) Even though the center and hotel where VERY nice... I just don't think it was big enough... 4) ALWAYS expect more than what you think their might be... limited parking SUCKED... try not to plan an event on a day something else is planned.. or tell the convention center NOT to plan anything durring it... I'm sure the gun show people where just as pissed about this issue. 5) I KNOW you tried for guests, but try to get more... beg, bribe w/ pokey... idk. 8)the registration was a mess for many reasons.. mainly for lack of signs/directions (plus u moved it to down stairs!  confusing) 9)MAke sure the masquerade goers understand that they have a lot of time on stage and NOT to rush. maybe make designated spots on stage for where to pose so the judges and audiance can see them and maybe take pictures. The guy announcing was messing up the whole time also.. idk why... 10) Choose a MUCH bigger room for the dealers room.... the room was laughable... 11) maybe get a room or people to just chill in... like chair, cushions, couches... like a lounge area where people can mingle and not clog up the hallways... this too should be a big room, and maybe have anime or music playing (low volume of the sound) and maybe encourage the guests to go there from time to time to mingle with the con goers. 12) maybe you should add photo taking areas or something... either a professional you can buy photos from... or like cute/funny/ silly littel set ups throughout the con.. something fun to do. 13) there needed to be more activities... there where barley any... the sword fighting. (which you had to pay for), panels, anime, game room, and dealers room.... not much AT ALL... that fact was depressing and made the con kind of boring. ~ maybe do a scavenger hunt durring the whole con ~ maybe have music playing at spots around the cons (people can gather and dance or whatever.. idk ~ Do some contests that involve more than amv, or cosplay (such as the scavenger hunt) 14) Everyone loves the anime date auction thing.. but I think it was WAY too early in the day... do it later.. more people will be there and bid (more moeny for the con)... plus the people that go early are normally the younger ones and I myself didnt get there everyday untill like 1pm... maybe make it later at night so people right after it can go on a date.. or like right before the dances so they can go and dance or something... make it lesws awkward for them if they had an oppritunity for them to do something afterwards... Let me finally respond to a few more of your suggestions... There were a few signs posted, we're DEFINITELY getting better signage for next year! We got as many rooms as we could within our budget. Hopefully we'll be able to work out the spacing out better for next year because the convention center will have a better idea of what to expect during our con and hopefully *crosses fingers* not book any other major events at the same time as ours. Unfortunately, we can't tell them what to do, we can only suggest. Your idea for a chill-out room is good, but the space and budget limitations would make that difficult. >_< There were chairs and tables to relax at in the Embassy Suites, though obviously you're thinking more along the lines of lounge chairs. We can always look into it, but no promises. Oh, when the guests aren't in panels or events, they're free to mingle all they want. We had more guests this year than last year and they were of a (overall) much higher caliber. Please also bear in mind that we have a budget and as much as we would have liked to have more guests, they cost a lot and we have a lot of other bills to pay. The movement of registration from upstairs to downstairs was at the request of the convention center when the line became long enough to be a hazard. The Masquerade was run by the Archon Masquerade crew and the participants were asked to follow specific guidelines. We'll definitely talk to them about whether or not people rushed themselves or were pushed to. People do speed up when there are time limitations and nerves are running high! The Date Auction is scheduled early in the day so that the resulting date lunch can be done before the masquerade. We'll look into how to schedule it differently, but it's a difficult task when taking into consideration the events that the dates and bidders might want to partake in. Thanks for all the suggestions of little things to do around the con that aren't panels/events. We're always interested in spicing things up a little! |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 1:24:09 GMT -5
the auction should go like.... girls and guys go on stage all at one in the begining (so people can see which ones they really wish to save up and bid for)... then the bidding should proceed. Go guy, girl, guy, girl, guy.... Make sure you have facts about each person... including favs (anime, manga,food, and what they enjoy doing) make the guy/girl pose on different sides of the stage while the announcer is reading off their stats... then start the bidding for each person... whe a bidder wins... let them come on stage and claim their "prize". I like your ideas! It's a little confusing doing guy-girl-guy-girl considering the number of crossplayers @_@ Nevertheless, we'll certainly look into doing that event better! |
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 1:35:38 GMT -5
Well it doesnt have to be lounge chairs.. just a chillout space for anybody.. and in the hotel it felt like the hotel staff was giving us looks, and really didnt want us to do that.. plus with a room... or space, there could be music or anime or whatever else there is to do when a group of people are just hanging out... i mean, it clears the hallways a bit, it lets people relax (some shoes= OUCH), and it allows con goers to be more social with the other goers. ^_^ Like, it doesnt have to be a room... just a large space designated for chilling... could be themed even... be kind of cute.. ya know? make it presentable and appealing.
YAY for signs... cus d**n did I get lost a lot. >_<
(Im assuming u are planning it at the same place... so here are suggestions for it)...[ Im also making assumptions on cost]
yeah, I figured the rooms cost quite a bit... like the room where the gun show was HUGE.. you could do the dealers and artists i there, the chill lounge in there, some music in there (an area deginated for the avid music/ dancing fans... for fun not like a rave or anything.. just cutesy music like the caramell dansen or whatever), have signings in there, and whatever else really... I mean that covers a lot of space you all used and you could cut down on that...
Also.. keep the 101-103 rooms... but add more chairs... some panels are very popular. ^_^
about the guests, I didnt see any of them wondering except steve... I wish for them to be more accessable to the guests. so having them in the chill out area for a bit of chit chat would be nice... (i know there are question panels.. but u dont really get to talk to them, ya know?)
I do agree the guests where better... I loved teh guests that came.. all VERY nice, and over all kick ass. lol
IDK.. maybe Im just selfish and just want to meet new and better guests. tehe
Ahh... well... the movement wasent the only concern...{{{{{ that quote of mine(in ur post) isnt everything I suggested.. it cut A LOT of my suggestions off in mid thought.. re read my post and you will uhderstand what I am saying}}}}}} the moving was just confusing.. I liked it better where it was when u moved. ^_^
yes, look into the masquerade, cus it wasent so good... use the suggestions i put... i think it will help.
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Riordan
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Post by Riordan on Mar 31, 2009 1:46:47 GMT -5
How about having a hospitality room?  Last anime stl there was one and it was great. I brought a jack ton of spagettio's and prolly saved some people who were going hungry. It was also a nice place to relax and and chat with people. This year, I couldn't find one though so... I dunno. Im bad at suggestions sorry. ; ; Im trying! |
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Post by biodomino on Mar 31, 2009 2:02:34 GMT -5
Again, it was broken down into three sections; Events, Fan Panels, and Guest Panels, and then arranged chronologically. The separation was to make it easier to identify which we were events (which people tend to care about the most) and which were panels for the special guests. But if this is too confusing for people, then I will definitely look into lumping it all together next year. I hear you, but to me that isn't a functional layout. People are trying to stay busy and find things to do. When one thing ends, you want to look at "what's next?" Maybe it's an event, but maybe it's a panel. You don't want to flip through a few pages and hunt around to find all the possibilities. I would suggest that you just list things chronologically by start time, and then head them like this: EVENT- Masquerade Start time, End time Description FAN PANEL- Sephiroth is my bishie Start time, End time Description And so forth. I think inserts are fine for schedule changes. You just have to give it a little visibility and make sure that people know it's there. Or you can just put in big bold letters in the program that the times may change, check the schedule. About how much is it to get the exhibition room, by the way? And how much were the rooms that you did get? |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 2:14:02 GMT -5
About how much is it to get the exhibition room, by the way? And how much were the rooms that you did get? I can't discuss the exact costs of the rooms, but they did give us a discount for using the Ballrooms instead of the Exhibit Hall. We were originally going to go with the Exhibit Hall, but we were biting our nails on how much that would kill our budget for the year. But the Con Center was willing to give a big discount on the ballrooms, so we went with those and were able to have more flexibility with paying for other things. |
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 2:24:55 GMT -5
How about having a hospitality room? Last anime stl there was one and it was great. I brought a jack ton of spagettio's and prolly saved some people who were going hungry. It was also a nice place to relax and and chat with people. This year, I couldn't find one though so... I dunno. Im bad at suggestions sorry. ; ; Im trying! food= nummy!!!! dooo eeeeet. this also sounds like a really good idea. ^_^ |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 2:26:14 GMT -5
I do agree the guests where better... I loved teh guests that came.. all VERY nice, and over all kick ass. lol IDK.. maybe Im just selfish and just want to meet new and better guests. tehe Ahh... well... the movement wasent the only concern...{{{{{ that quote of mine(in ur post) isnt everything I suggested.. it cut A LOT of my suggestions off in mid thought.. re read my post and you will uhderstand what I am saying}}}}}} the moving was just confusing.. I liked it better where it was when u moved. ^_^ I'm selfish about guests too >.>;; I will say this; some guests we approached about coming, and they were "Alright, I haven't been to St. Louis in forever!" and some guests said "Hey, invite me out to your convention (or at all)!" The fact that people asked to come to Anime St. Louis is a step in the direction of Awesome, because the guest circles are saying good things about us and encouraging others to visit us. I can say already that we've already talked to a few particularly awesome guests (who I can't name at this time) about coming next year, and they're just waiting for us announce next year's dates before saying yes. I know I deleted some when I quoted your text, I just really didn't want to clutter up the page with the whole quote, you have a lot of suggestions @_@ |
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 2:32:36 GMT -5
I do agree the guests where better... I loved teh guests that came.. all VERY nice, and over all kick ass. lol IDK.. maybe Im just selfish and just want to meet new and better guests. tehe Ahh... well... the movement wasent the only concern...{{{{{ that quote of mine(in ur post) isnt everything I suggested.. it cut A LOT of my suggestions off in mid thought.. re read my post and you will uhderstand what I am saying}}}}}} the moving was just confusing.. I liked it better where it was when u moved. ^_^ I'm selfish about guests too >.>;; I will say this; some guests we approached about coming, and they were "Alright, I haven't been to St. Louis in forever!" and some guests said "Hey, invite me out to your convention (or at all)!" The fact that people asked to come to Anime St. Louis is a step in the direction of Awesome, because the guest circles are saying good things about us and encouraging others to visit us. I can say already that we've already talked to a few particularly awesome guests (who I can't name at this time) about coming next year, and they're just waiting for us announce next year's dates before saying yes. I know I deleted some when I quoted your text, I just really didn't want to clutter up the page with the whole quote, you have a lot of suggestions @_@ ^////^ sorry.. I was just trying to take other peoples oppinions into concideration and find a good way to (forgot word... where one person gets what they want but so does the other person.. so all is happy) {I have strep so im on ALL kinds a cough and fever and what not meds... lol} COMPRAISE! yes! i couldnt spell it but I got it. lol  IDK, i just fine that if people complain, but dont do anything about it, it's really stupid.. by making suggestions you are helping others and yourself... making the con better benifits all con goers... plus, im oppinionated and when i see something is wrong, my brain just finds a way to fix it... >__< but YAY for guests! are any of the ones we had this yr comeing back??? I liked tehones we had... but I also like to see other guests, tehe... oh me and my selfishness. |
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Post by hyuugakoneko on Mar 31, 2009 2:43:24 GMT -5
^////^ sorry.. I was just trying to take other peoples oppinions into concideration and find a good way to (forgot word... where one person gets what they want but so does the other person.. so all is happy) {I have strep so im on ALL kinds a cough and fever and what not meds... lol} COMPRAISE! yes! i couldnt spell it but I got it. lol IDK, i just fine that if people complain, but dont do anything about it, it's really stupid.. by making suggestions you are helping others and yourself... making the con better benifits all con goers... plus, im oppinionated and when i see something is wrong, my brain just finds a way to fix it... >__< but YAY for guests! are any of the ones we had this yr comeing back??? I liked tehones we had... but I also like to see other guests, tehe... oh me and my selfishness. Thanks for all your suggestions thus far! We're reading every post and bringing them up the post-con staff meeting. We're going to have our work cut out for us figuring out which suggestions are reasonable/feasible to implement. Compromise is so difficult since we can't please everyone and there are some things that are out of our hands. I don't remember hearing anything about any of this year's guests returning. But we do like to keep things fresh, so we usually try to find new guests every year (except Steve Bennet, he's just far too awesome not to have). |
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 2:46:51 GMT -5
Well i atleast hope maybe 1 of my suggestions helped.
i know it isnt as easy as 1 2 3, but think.. the more u spend, the better everything will be... so therefore the more people will come back next yr and tell all their anime loving friends about it.... it may be a little too much at the moment, but it will be more lucrative in the end... so the more u spend now, the more you have to spend later...
or atleast in my head that theory works. *giggles*
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atticcat
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Post by atticcat on Mar 31, 2009 2:48:37 GMT -5
or maybe its the drugs talking... >_< I pushed send.. whoops.. lol oh and please always have steve back... hes so damned great.. his energy is so good for the con... w/o him, it wont be astl!! |
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confusing) 
Last anime stl there was one and it was great. I brought a jack ton of spagettio's and prolly saved some people who were going hungry. It was also a nice place to relax and and chat with people. This year, I couldn't find one though so...