MASTER POST FOR REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK

[alladinsane.livejournal.com]

Post Reviews and or Feedback on D*C here.

Comments

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE LINES FOR PANELS?

[greycoupon.livejournal.com]

That hour rule is great on paper but doesn't work in reality.

The line people, (who is that? tech ops? security?) at the Marriott were always nice and helpful. The Hyatt on the other hand... I witnessed a near stampede before one of the BSG panels. They kept telling everyone you could not line up any earlier then 45 MINUTES before a scheduled panel. Not the previously mentioned hour.

Then a good 10 minutes early they start yelling and pointing "the line forms here". Then "please don't run!"

Mad props to disability services for handling that line. It was my first time using it and they were very helpful. Even if it was more messy at the Hyatt.

[ornerybitch.livejournal.com]

I only went to one panel with a huge line and that was the Venture Brothers panel. The volunteers kept angrily telling the people who asked that the line wouldn't start until 1:30 so come back at that time, which just resulted in a mob of people hovering around the room until the okay to lineup was given. Since the room was connected to the Atrium of the Marriott, the Venture mob merged with the usual Atrium mob and formed an ultra mob of confused people.

This was my first year back to con since 2009 and the Venture panel lineup that year was handled well from what I experienced. I don't know if the issue with it this year was that area already had huge crowds milling about or poor organization from the staff in charge of the area. Probably a mix of both. I understand why the con wants to limit how early you can line up, and I agree with the idea, however with the Venture panel it led to unsafe levels of crowding.

A wonderful time!

[hadiwist.livejournal.com]

I have to say this was a great year - I had a better time than last year. We had a great selection of panels and speakers, great costumes, and great shopping! I loved the dragoncon app as well. I'd like to call out the Costuming panel, NSFWSHow, Gonzoroo II, and John Barrowman as highlights for me.

The only problems I had were the same problems anyone has with a large con - lines and crowds. You really cannot go to back to back panels because there are only 30 minutes to go from one site to another. However, I see this as a good problem to have because there is so much to see, and we have to make choices. The only suggestion I have is to continue developing the app - specifically, syncing is easy to break (but I understand this is still in beta), and it would be nice if you could specify line-up locations for each room.

LIke the previous commenter, I also had some problems with the line at the Hyatt. I don't know if there is any way to change it, other than providing lineup information in advance. I think the con did a great job of managing so many people in such small places. It is not an easy task to herd so many cats geeks.

Thanks EVERYONE for a great con!

[irishbuddha.livejournal.com]

The Hyatt line changes came from the Hyatt itself. The "line people" can do what they think is best but if the Hotel itself says changes it, it has to be changed - for better or worse.

[ornerybitch.livejournal.com]

I want to preface this by saying overall I had a fantastic time this year. I love DragonCon and coming home is always sad after being at a giant nerd party for 3 days. Most of the staff I dealt with were incredibly patient and friendly, the panels and events I made it to were fantastic, and overall I had a wonderful weekend. However, I did have two gripes and I'm sure the poor staff are tired of hearing about at least one if not both of them.

I know this is a huge complaint every year, but the crowds were insane. Friday was fine and Sunday was tolerable, but Saturday I pretty much skipped. We watched the parade, got lunch, attempted to walk around for a bit, but quickly ran into masses of people at a total standstill. My husband and I failed to find any uncrowded area and eventually hoofed it back to our hotel room and just skipped everything we planned on doing that day. I'm really thankful we did after hearing people talk of getting stuck in the habitrails for half an hour. I've been to DragonCon enough times to know crowds happen and you deal with them, but I can't recall them being that bad the last time I attended. Maybe it's because I missed the explosion of crowding in the three years I wasn't able to attend.

The other issue I encountered was with the shuttle bus. We stayed at the Twelve Hotel (holy crap that is an AWESOME place to stay, btw) and we managed to catch the bus back most of the time... But I don't think the drivers were given clear instructions. When we caught the bus Friday one driver was explaining the route to two other drivers and they were ALL complaining about the lack of information they had been given. I don't know if the convention can do anything about that or if it's a problem with the bus company.

The stop at the Marriott wasn't the one listed in the con book, they stopped at the MARTA sign at the intersection diagonally across from what was listed. The buses weren't labelled to reflect if they were for the express route or overflow route, but it's good they at least had signs in the window saying they were the DragonCon buses. While the bus would take us to the Twelve they never stopped at the Twelve for pickup. They often deviated from the route so they could just drop off people and head back to the Marriott. By Sunday I think the drivers just gave up on trying because we waited for about an hour for a bus and watched one of them zoom by the stop without slowing down. We managed to flag down the second bus and got back to our hotel around midnight.

The Twelve is not far from the convention but even in the best times I'm a slow walker because of flat feet and bad knees. This weekend I managed to sprain my ankle so the short walk to the convention became a slow hobble. When we could catch them the buses saved me a lot of pain. In the past we always managed to snag a room at the host hotels so I've never had to use the shuttle system before. I don't know if it's always like this or if this is actually a vast improvement on past years. It was just painfully apparent to me because I managed to cripple myself for half the weekend.

[tangerine-milk.livejournal.com]

First of all, someone above mentioned lines and I noticed a huge problem with lines, too. On Friday, my friends and I went to hang around and wait for the dealers hall downstairs in the Marriott to open. We were told by staff exactly where to stand and were told that we were first in line. However, a different staff member began forming a second line in the opposite direction. The two long lines began getting antsy, so I went up to ask staff what was going on. They were kinda like "oops sorry didn't mean to make two lines, just kinda merge the two when the time comes" and I was like "uhhhh... okay?" I was predicting a really awful stampede. Then the doors opened, and SURPRISE - I was right. Stampede from hell - two lines fighting to get into the dealers hall first. I think this was probably a failure of staff members to communicate, and then when I tried to get them to help solve the problem they had a very "oh well sorry" attitude. I think they thought that it wasn't going to be a problem, but in the end it certainly was.

Aside from that, though - making single file lines to check every badge in the sky bridges is ridiculous. It took half an hour to get from one hotel to another on Saturday. I understand the need for the badge check, but that made the crowds worse rather than better. In some cases the mass of people was literally just stagnant. It was worse than waiting for an elevator.

Enough of the complaints though. I had a great time. The lines for registration were a breeze. At one point in the dealer's hall, there was a medical emergency, and the way it was handled was truly impressive; I even commented to my friend on how quickly it all worked out. The good outweighed the bad, I think.

[swell.livejournal.com]

Yes, agreed on the badge checks at the sky bridges- how many sneak from one hotel to the other?- yet there was no badge check at the bridge from the mall. Anyone could have walked in.

[a-tender-kiss.livejournal.com]

I believe everything this year was handled beautifully, much better than last year. Yes there were horrible lines, but there is nothing Dragon*Con Staff can do about that at the time. Hopefully they can work on expanding for next year?

One tiny complaint I have is that some of the staff working in specific hotels don't seem to know what is going on in said hotel. It would be helpful if they did know what was going on, since we look to them for some sort of guidance.

Thank you for another great year, you've convince my boyfriend to join me in 2013!

[irishbuddha.livejournal.com]

In theory I agree that Staffers should know where all the event rooms are in the hotel.... HOWEVER I also agree that EVERYONE should also carry their Pocket Guide or use the app as well. The Staffers can't know everything. The Staffer may not know that Steven Moffat's Sherlock panel was running. However, if you gave them the room name (Marriott A601/602) they most definitely should have been able to direct you.

[edie22.livejournal.com]

the line thing is a huge issue. you ask a staff member, they say an hour before, but then you show up an hour before and the line is already capped at 12:05 for a 1pm panel. Consistency between all the tracks would be helpful. Also whoever is leading the line, it would nice if they knew what the line was for. I asked a staff member, "Is this the line for John Barrowman?" and he said, "Well, we have torchwood here ,and star trek and some other people later." I was like, thanks for explaining dragoncon to me, but I meant this specific line.

I will say that a lot less people got off an escalator and just stopped, staring around like they were lost children. Which is usually my biggest complaint.

[tiredpicker.livejournal.com]

There were problems with the line staff to be sure. I was at the Barrowman panel on Friday, and when I showed up the line was told that the event was full and maybe there would be an overflow room. Then we were told that there was no overflow and no one was getting in and to disperse. After another minute or two of talk between the staff, they then let in about 20-30 people. In the back of the panel, there were still quite a few seats available. I didn't even have to sit next to anyone.

[slayer-chick.livejournal.com]

For the most part I was very pleased. It was the first year I have had to use disability services and they were terrific!

I know there is nothing that can be done about the crowds and the lines will always be an issue, but I just beg that there be some consistency. This has been a problem every year I've gone. No two places have the same rules, so you never know what to expect.

We've always stayed in the Marriott, but this year we went to the Sheraton. I was pleasantly surprised how great it was there. No elevator issues and no grumpy employees.

My only big complaint was the Aquarium shuttle. We waited for almost an hour and it never showed up. This was the first year we decided to do it and had it not been for my 12 year old daughter I would have said screw it. Because everyone said it wasn't far we decided to walk. As a person who walks with a cane I can tell you it almost killed me. I was so exhausted and upset by the time we made it to the Aquarium I was in tears and could barely enjoy any of it.

[ydnic.livejournal.com]

Agreed with the compliments to the Sheraton. Our promo table was in that hotel, and I was very impressed with the employees (especially the ones handing out Dragon*Con schedules at the front door!)

[extremis.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, my comment has a lot of complaints in it, and though I did have a decent time for the most part, the issues below really put a damper on things.

I know it's not going to happen, but attendance caps please! Just because five hotels can hold x amount of people technically doesn't mean that that exact number (or more) should be allowed to attend, especially when the majority of them are still in the same three hotels mostly on the same floors.

There were several times during the weekend where I was trapped in the habitrails between Marriott and Hyatt or Marriott and Hilton where no one could move in either direction. This was not when badges were being checked, it was simply due to the sheer amount of people trying to make their way to where they were going. Had there been an actual fire, a medical emergency or god forbid, a crazy person with a real weapon, what would happen then? The amount of people moving about is beyond an annoyance issue and and moving into serious saftey issue territory. If the con grows again next year by 30%, what then?

DC*TV did a terrible job at live broadcasting or rebroadcasting panels. Most of the panels I tried to watch in my room Saturday and Sunday had no audio and then cut out after ten minutes, switching back to bumpers and videos. How is this not getting better over the years?

And of course, there's the line issues that have been pointed out above in that there are lines, unofficial lines, and mobs of people milling about waiting to get in line. I'm not sure how that can be fixed but it's not working as it is.

On a plus note, I rarely had to wait more than five minutes for an elevator in the Marriott and most everyone practiced good elevator etiquette that I noticed. Also, registration was amazingly fast so hooray for that being even more efficient than last year.

[arma-padawan.livejournal.com]

yes, DCTV was awful again. horrible audio feed. the video was glitching out in the mariott also. very disappointing.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

I have one gripe in particular. One person checking badges in the Marriott requested to see my badge as I was leaving the Marriott to enter the walkway to the food court in the afternoon. I thought she was reminding me to have my badge on hand for when I come back, but no, requesting to see as I was leaving the Marriott. The same woman, later in the evening, half the time didn't even check badges going into the Marriott. I know she didn't check mine coming back TWICE. In what world does this make ANY kind of sense?

I also think it would be awesome if day-passes (particularly Saturday) could be capped. All of the days except Saturday are busy but never A MESS. Other major cons (SDCC, NYCC, PAX) have a cap on Saturday passes. We don't. I don't particularly want a cap on pre-reg, but Saturday? PLEASE. When people are actually doing their job checking badges and there are STILL way too many people? DAY PASS CAP. PLEASE. Perhaps moving into more of a stream-lined "buy your Saturday pass online instead of at the con" situation. This will deter impulse-buyers.

[ydnic.livejournal.com]

AFAIK, the Saturday day-passes actually did sell out. There was a sign to that effect in the Sheraton near on-site registration, and some of the volunteers mentioned it to me. I don't know what the numbers were, though.

[aerialmelodies.livejournal.com]

This was my first time officially attending the con instead of enjoying the parade and costumes, and overall it was a fun experience. However, like others I felt like occasionally the line up for panels was a little nuts. I expected it to be a little pushy for popular panels, but I didn't expect staff to create that situation on their own at the Marriott. Staff wouldn't allow anyone to line up outside or inside; I'd heard from others that they were threatened with removal if they started a line outside for the Atrium Ballroom. Fair enough, but even those of us inside were told to move into the Atrium area, which crammed everyone into a giant cluster blocking traffic inthe Atrium before finally allowing a real line to form (including being pushed and shoved downstairs by the masses). I'm not sure what could have been done differently since I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed like the Sheraton and Westin had it worked out yet the Marriott wasn't quite sure what to do. Sounds like I was fortunate I never wound up in the Hyatt considering my Marriott experience...

I also agree with the above comments about the sheer number of people. Definitely knew to expect large crowds, but it was a bit unnerving to be stuck between hotels or funneled out one door from a giant panel. If an emergency had popped up, it'd have been difficult to keep under control or get to someone in need of help, I would think. The bridges got so bad in the hotels that I opted to take the street every time with much greater ease and less stopping. The issue there definitely seemed to be the checking of badges at both ends. Check it to enter the bridge or to leave it, but both times seems a bit redundant and causes a backup.

The Sheraton handled everything the best for me when it came to forming lines and didn't seem to mind people coming in earlier than an hour prior to start one up. The Sheraton was also awesome and daily offered up a printed list of the panels offered there. It would be great if all the hotels had this since I'm a visual person (they may have at front desks - I didn't check).

The app was a huge, huge help. I didn't even take my paper list and stuck to the app. The maps could have been a little more clear for us first timers, but I figured it out and when I couldn't, staff was more than happy to direct. Got to love technology!

It's probably there every year, but yay for water in the panels. After standing in the lovely September heat, it was nice to grab a chair and a nice cold glass to stay hydrated. Extra kudos to the Westin for providing water while standing in line.

Overall it was definitely a blast and once inside the panels, the staff did a wonderful job handling Q&A sessions and the panelists were all top notch. I had to miss the night activities due to not feeling my best, but aside from the line and crowd control issues, everything during the day was fantastic. Thanks again for making my first real con experience a good one! :)

ETA: I didn't think of this since I wasn't the one who picked up my badge, but thank you for making that a breeze. It took my boy all of 15 minutes to get both of our badges with no hassle. Likewise, thank you for accepting my note that allowed him to pick up my badge and save us two trips in line! :)

[notbillsgirl.livejournal.com]

Every hotel and D*C volunteer should take lessons from the Sheraton in line management. No matter how early you came to line up for a popular panel there was always someone to let you know exactly where you needed to be and they managed it without screaming or being mean to the people in line like at the marriott who were in charge of managing the lines at the atrium ballroom.

[sonata-ix.livejournal.com]

Everything felt more crowded to me this year, but somehow more organized as well. The little ropes in front of escalators sure helped keep people from blocking those. The extra badge checks slowed down entrance to the hotels, but the staff doing them were generally very polite and cheerful.

DCTV was weird this year, the bumpers and pre-recorded things were LOUD but the panels and other shows were very quiet. The volume on our tv in the Marriott was capped at a certain level, so we had to sit very close and quiet to hear, then cringe away and scramble to adjust in between panels.

Badge pickup was awesome except do we really need all those ropes now? And that huge room? Good problems to have compared to the past!

Something I'd never much thought of, Dealers Room and Exhibit Halls and Artist Alley all have the same things. True, Alley has more art, but you see artists set up in any of those locations. You have to browse all four places if you're looking for something specific, because who knows where it will be. If there are no rules on what goes where, why call them all separate things? Minor gripe, more idle musing than complaint. The variety of stuff overall was great.

More line guidance would be nice. Like, signs. I missed a panel because I naively didn't see a line anywhere near the panel room when I checked half an hour before, only to find out later the line was outside somewhere. I knew the lines went outside, I just didn't know they STARTED outside sometimes.

Loved the app but wow I couldn't get Internet/data to work on my phone most of the weekend, even outside. Did we overload something? Most of the time I had text messaging only!

[lhogyn.livejournal.com]

yeah, even at full bars and 3g, i was moving slower than a turtle on a dial-up 386 computer. I'm guessing we just took up all the cell tower bandwidth since i was actually able to get on at a "some what normal speed" around 3-4am when everyone had passed out for the night. My friend, however, had no problem on his LTE enabled Android. I guess that's the price we pay for all using a common data network =/

[lhogyn.livejournal.com]

I agree that the lines are my primary issue--often times i'd find myself waiting for an hour only to be denied entry. Perhaps a good remedy, for the larger panels, are to have flat screen TV's outside of the halls that have a live feed to the panels themselves. At least those still waiting in line could still listen and see the panels (especially for those that tap into Dragon*Con TV). I know the logistics of doing this, not to mention the price, might be high...but i think it would be worth the payoff in the end.

Another suggesting to to always list the capacity of the room on that specific room's panel itinerary; and maybe even have the queue count down so we'll always knows when the lines are at capacity...no need to wait if you know you won't get in. I've missed many panels in the past because of this when i could have been off doing something else.

On a more positive note...registration was a breeze. I picked up my pre-ordered badge on Thursday around 1:00pm and i was literally the 10th person in line....in and out in about 5min. It was the fastest i've gone through to get my badge my the past 17 yeah of attending. Kudos to that!!!

[irishbuddha.livejournal.com]

TV's outside the rooms showing what is going on inside? It sounds nice but..... Please Noooooo! Forget the cost involved to do that... just imagine the crowds gathering around them to watch and prevent people from moving at all.

As for the capacity of the rooms, that is something I'll pass on. Maybe not putting that on each panel's itinerary but somewhere in the guide so people know.

[svarney99.livejournal.com]

Had a real good, if somewhat subdued for con, time. Had the same line issues as everyone else. The worst was the asshat that was working the Centennial rooms on Sunday. He yelled for those waiting for The Hobbit news panel in Centennial I to cross he line for a larger panel in II-III. When everyone began crossing, he realized what a mess he caused and directed his anger at those of us waiting for The Hobbit.

Registration was great. I showed up at about 9:30am when the line wrapped 3/4 of the way around the building. I decided not to wait outside, left to do other things and came back about 2pm and waited no more than 5 minutes. In fact, we were bypassing the queue lines until the very last row before the stations. I did hear that even with the long line in the morning, it moved very quickly.

Lightspeed dating on Friday night was pretty poorly organized. The room was way too small for the number of attendees, much too loud (I don't like needing to shout to speak to someone), while notecards were handed out no pens were handed out. I left after the first round and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

The guest list is becoming less spectacular every year but I'm not sure how that can be helped. Part of the problem is that DragonCon has done such a great job with guests the last several years that we are now repeating those that are willing or able to come. Sure, there are plenty of dream guests that we can hope for, but filming schedules and, in some cases, no interest on the actor's part to attend will keep it limited. Those that were there were great as usual, even if Gillian Anderson is a bit spacey.

A few suggestions:

Attendance caps, particularly daily ones. Not sure, but I think I saw some of the football fans with the small, daily badges. They didn't need to be there. They just weren't staying at the host hotels and wanted in for the parties.

If using America's Mart is true, maybe use Centennial I as a queuing area for II-III? Yes, it does knock out one ballroom but we should gain a few with the move of some areas. I know it wouldn't hold a lot, but it might help some. maybe even use the smaller Regency as a queuing area for the larger Regency. Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing similar that can be done for the Atrium Ballroom.

I've said it before and there were some good reasons not to, but I think some way must be looked at to allow the Centennial and Atrium ballrooms to empty onto the street. One issue brought up when I suggested this previously was "what if it's raining?". Well, what if it's raining when people are waiting to get in? Nobody seems too concerned about that. Another objection was that there is stuff being moved back and forth in the halls there. Solution: stop moving stuff for the 10-15 minutes that people are exiting the ballroom.

Have well-defined lines for the ballrooms. Maybe even have where the lines will be clearly labeled on all maps (yes, not all will see the maps but hopefully enough to form a line).

[iheartmyblog.livejournal.com]

"Not sure, but I think I saw some of the football fans with the small, daily badges. They didn't need to be there. They just weren't staying at the host hotels and wanted in for the parties."

While I agree that the crowds on Saturday were insane and that a Saturday attendance cap (or a cap on Saturday Only badges) might be a good idea, I find the above statement a terrible thing to say. As a football fan, nerd, and 4-year Dragon*Con attendee, I find that comment obnoxious. Maybe the football fans didn't realize that Dragon*Con was happening, were intrigued, and wanted to actually to experience the Con? Hopefully they didn't run into any who wasn't welcoming--I would have been excited to see them, new converts to the cause! And if they just wanted to go to the parties then whatever, good for them, a lot of people attend Dragon*Con just for the parties and don't go to a single panel.

[ennyousai.livejournal.com]

I agree with the need for attendance caps. Yes, it's sad, BUT - and it's a big but - it is moving into safety territory, especially on Saturday. There were definitely times when it felt a little scary trying to get from place to place, and if there were a real emergency it would have been ugly.

[hollycomb.livejournal.com]

I had a great time this year, though I was frustrated by the crowds on Saturday. Getting from the elevators across the Marriott in the direction of the Hyatt and food court was the most frustrating for me - eventually I realized that just going outside and walking on the sidewalks (during the day) was much easier and less stressful.

We started hanging around outside the Atrium Ballroom an hour before the panel we wanted to see there was "allowed" to line up, just to see how things would progress. It wasn't too crazy when they let the people who'd been standing around (only about 50 of us) line up, though one lady working that position was needlessly jerky about it (and I remember her being this way in previous years...). Gillian's Sunday panel was my only 'big' one that I attended and the experience was relatively painless. We tried to watch an LOTR one on TV on Friday and it wasn't being shown, despite being on the DCTV schedule.

Speaking of DCTV - I've never liked the janitors or bumpers very much, but I loved the random featurettes with puppets that they showed this year (Milanos, Kelly McFarling), that was super cute.

So so so happy to hear that the Marriott is taking a deposit upon reservation this year. We've always wanted them to do that to cut down on the number of people who hoard a room at each hotel or end up canceling. Passkey experience actually wasn't bad for us last year, but I'm always nervous. Also happy to hear that the dealer's room is moving to Americas Mart. It was wayyy too cramped to enjoy (and people need to not pose for pictures in front of booths or in the middle of narrow passageways, please.)

I had a great time this year with no major problems. Never waited for an elevator for more than 5 minutes, badge pickup was easy for us and our friend who was attending for the first time. Saturday badge pick up was apparently still a four hour wait for a day pass, however.

Looking forward to our 10th year at Dragoncon in 2013...

[carsonok.livejournal.com]

When I saw the Marriot requirements for next year, I wept for joy. A long overdue requirement.

[siredgar.livejournal.com]

Never expected to hear myself say it as I voted against it previous years, but I concur it's time for an attendance cap of some kind, probably on the daily passes. Saturday was miserable crowd-wise. This was primarily a problem in the habitrails and dealer rooms. Moving the dealer's rooms to the Americas Mart (Apparel Mart?) next year will hopefully help with some of that, but I suspect it won't be enough.

[carsonok.livejournal.com]

My one complaint was Saturday. The Saturday only badges made this past Saturday a literal hell on earth. It got to a point that if you went to a 1pm Space Track panel say at the Hilton and then wanted to do a 2:30pm panel for YA Literature at the Marriot - forget it by the time you got there it was filled up. The Sky Bridges were a stand still due to crowds. You always expect a crowded con especially for Saturday but this broke all records. I finally gave up and simply attended panels at one hotel.

I have no answer for celebrity/main programming panels and lines. Some of those had lines that began in Outer Mongolia and some door guards were no help explaining where the line was. I simply decided I will never attend those anymore and if I have a question, I'll try my luck talking to the celebrity at the Walk of Fame. BTW not putting some celebrities in their own room and into the Walk of Fame instead was not the brightest idea.

One the plus side -

1-fast pre-reg
2-an excellent Monday programming schedule - it's no longer the "leftover day",
3-The new tracts - Puppetry and Video Gaming were fantastic
4-Good security
5-99% of volunteers I dealt with were professional and courteous
6-Kudos to the YA Lit track for its ingenious idea to raise money for the ALS charity
7-A Great Art Room and Comic Alley as always - discovered a lot of treasures there
8-Independent Film Festival never disappoints but NEEDS A BIGGER ROOM
9-The con in general will always have my business. The good always outweighs the bad

[ceredonia.livejournal.com]

First time goer here, and I had an absolute blast! Except for a couple things. :P

Yes, the lines were insanity, but I get it. Echoing the annoyance over the 1-hour wait time where people would just crowd around. That was super annoying and people were cutting in a bunch.

Also, the Archer panel was done terribly. Well, the lines at least. I got there 55 minutes till, and apparently it had last second been moved from Dunwoody room to an upper room. There were multiple lines moving around and no one was directing anyone, and a bunch of us got lost and therefore screwed for good seating, when we had originally been near the front. There just needs to be better communication, really.

Otherwise, things went pretty smoothly. We stayed at the Hilton and everything was great there, no complaints. Can't wait to come back again!

[dcon-toon.livejournal.com]

I do apologize for the Archer panel movement, it was indeed a last minute thing and certainly help accommodate nearly 5 times the number of people we would have had in the small room. I handed out cards for early entry to the first 140 people in line (i.e. the people who would have gotten in the small room and were at the front of the original line) so that they could get into the big room for better seats (no one was let in until those people were). I apologize if you weren't given a card or were stopped upstairs

[em-meredith.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, lines and attendance capping.

I would also like to say that there clearly needs to be some sort of crowd control during the day on the sky bridges. The backup of people trying to get IN to the Marriott was preventing people from leaving, which was in turn keeping people from getting in. Either have someone direct traffic or set up some sort of divider to promote traffic flow. The volume would have been manageable had it not been so poorly organized.

[jonathan davis (from livejournal.com)]

I had a wonderful con. My first year going more than one day and it was great. Friday and Sunday were great, relaxed crowds and people were amazing. Saturday was a nightmare and probably my last year to come on a Saturday unless it is for a unique celebrity.

Compliments -
While I disagree with the purpose of the Celebrity Authentics people they were amazing with the Vampire Diaries people. Lines were organized and moving quick, even for sold out Ian Somerhalder. My girlfriend had a wonderful experience meeting one of her heroes with that and also Sebastion Roche. Pretty cool seeing him sitting up on the counter during Somerhalder's signing.

Pre-req lines were fantastic. Registration has improved so so much. Had to grab a badge Sunday morning for my girlfriend's little brother and even with the line we were out in under 30 minutes. Loving all the improvements.

Stan Lee was amazing, can't believe I got to meet him.

All the volunteers were great this year, none of the rudeness I have encountered in years past.

I look forward to the Dealers Room being at the America's Mart if this is true. A much needed change.

Adam West was a jerk but Burt Ward was a fantastic person to meet. Extremely funny and very generous. Was able to get a second autograph from him for my mom for only 10 dollars. Really made my day how awesome he was.

Complaints -

This one has nothing to do with the con staff or anyone except Adam West. Stop inviting him back, he was extremely rude in the Walk of Fame and his rate is exorbitant. If you really hate your fans so much you don't even speak to them then don't come to conventions.

I agree with the capping of Saturday badges. It was horrendous, my mom, dad, and girlfriend were all having panic issues from the extreme amount of people.

If Stan Lee comes back he needs a different room. That tiny hallway he had to share with one of the photographers was crazy.

Is there any way we can make some sort of deal with the parking lots/decks to get some sort of rate for the con? The lot on Courtland Street next to the Marriot was ridiculously priced - 30 dollars a day. They also booted my car Friday because I had 2 of their parking slips in my window and tried to claim I was cheating them. Had to pay an extra $75 dollars even though I paid to park!

Oh and who ever with Dodge thought it was a good idea to take up a quarter of one of the few parking lots to have a test ride demo during a massive convention needs to be shot.


This isn't really a complaint but more a question. If the comic book people are going to just not show can there be an update in the daily dragon or the app? Looked at a few completely empty tables in the Artists Alley right in front of the door.

[cetkat.livejournal.com]

I think many lots tend to gouge people on purpose then take vehicles "hostage" for more money. Working something out with them would be futile.

However, business parking lots may be a different story. Working out a special rate with hotels or perhaps even non-hotels in exchange for some non-intrusive marketing (like a sign or a page in the programming schedule booklet) may not be a bad idea. I'm not very familiar with downtown Atlanta, but here in Jacksonville, there are many inside parking garages for banks and such that don't get much use on a holiday weekend. The fact that there's MARTA extends the possible area quite a bit if you're mainly just parking the car for the duration of the con.

[arseaboutface.livejournal.com]

The good:

Pre-reg pickup on Thursday night was easy, fast, and the people were super friendly. This was my first time doing the Parade, and the staff there were also friendly and helpful.

The MC of the Masquerade was great! I missed his name due to being in the shower, but he was charming and knowledgeable, and made the experience of watching that much better.

"Predator VS Ninja VS Waldo" is still making me laugh uncontrollably, so well done there, DCTV.

I really dig the "guided conversation" style of celebrity panel, where the moderator has questions they ask as a sort of interview, rather than rely on audience questions.

Crowd control seemed better. Friday and Sunday were downright pleasant.

The bad:

I witnessed so much douchebaggery this year, from attendees and staff. People were swearing at volunteers, cutting in lines, walking in front of photographers, cutting off the disabled, just generally being dicks. It was mind-boggling! Did somebody put nasty pills in the water or something? On that note, this is the first year I have experienced being cursed at by volunteers, and I'm not super pleased. I get that you're tired and overworked and volunteering to boot, but I paid good money to be here, and I don't appreciate being cursed at.

DCTV needs to lay off the con suite. Some hours every other clip was something about the (free!) food there being disgusting. I've never worked the con suite, but they're volunteering just like the rest of staff, and I'm really tired of the constant digging. Furthermore, DCTV needs fresh material. If I see "I'm on a Blimp" one more freaking time I'm going to go insane. The sound levels were better this year, but they still need work. I was disappointed not to see "Avengers: Assemble!" episodes this year. And finally, there are geeky bands who are not the Extraordinary Contraptions.

The "Fandom and Feminism" panel got stuck in a tiny room with no projector, which was ridiculous and, frankly, a little offensive. It was part of the Comics and Pop Culture academic conference, and the lack of AV equipment for the presenters, who were presenting peer-reviewed academic papers(!), was really detrimental. Furthermore, the room was full to bursting five to ten minutes before it even started, and I'm not sure how many people had to be turned away, but it was quite a lot. DC clearly underestimated the interest in feminism in the geek community (which, WHY?), and I hope that next year similar offerings are given proper space and equipment.

[arseaboutface.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the app is amazing! I especially loved the share with friends option, though I would prefer if panels that were shared from a friend's schedule were differentiated somehow on the schedule from the ones I myself selected.

[eloren.livejournal.com]

Ok, my con was much less fun than usual, but I do understand that my hubby getting horribly sick (before the con started) was NOT actually the fault of anyone responsible for Dragon*Con.

I too experienced the long Atrium lines, but I had no problem getting into the panels I wanted to see. Those Atrium lines are deadly long, but that room can swallow a LONG line.

The Dealer room was quite crowded, but if they do move next year, that would solve that issue nicely - more space for them, more big rooms for possible other uses!

My only real complaint was that the Cruxshadows concert was (as usual) scheduled for insane o'clock - last concert of the night. I wish the better bands could be scheduled earlier in the evening :-) The concert was also as usual the highlight of the Con for me! I've never been to a D*C without them!

[tiltingheartand]

I think the main reason the Crüxshadows concert is the last one of the night is that they tend to go for more than the hour the other concerts get, and if they're the last ones of the night they don't mess with acts that have to go on after them. (But having only been to two concerts this con, I might be wrong, to be fair.)

[mrcell.livejournal.com]

I attended the Closing Ceremonies. Pat Henry officially announced that the Dealers and Exhibitors would be moving to America's Mart next year. They'll be using two floors, one of which connects to the Westin by that habitrail over Andrew Young International Boulevard, so you'll be able to go from the Westin to the shopping without going outside. He also said that they are changing to a booth system instead of a table system, although Dealers that have already been selling at the con could stay at a table if they wished. The goal is to be all booths in 15 years. He further said that he hoped that the Exhibitors would be featuring people at their booths. I assume he meant for autographs and such.

He said that they probably will move the Walk of Fame to the Marriott next year. Also, since moving the Dealers and Exhibitors opens up more space, they plan to have some of the large rooms go "dark" for two hours between some of the panels. They would start filling the room for a panel once the the preceding panel ended and the room was emptied out and made ready. This would allow people to wait inside the panel room instead of having to stand outside in line. He didn't say exactly how long before the start of a panel the room would be opened.

Mr. Henry said that the Passkey change that is making hotel rooms non-transferable was done to keep people from putting them up for sale at higher prices on sites like Craig's list. He said that he'd be meeting with the management of each of the hotels soon and would again be complaining about Passkey when he talks to the management of the Hyatt and the Marriott. He also said that those two hotels had planned to start offering reservations through Passkey on the same date. He had them change it to two separate dates to avoid even more chaos.

He said that they didn't want to have to put a cap on the number of memberships sold. The way he said it made me think that they are considering it.

[craftypug.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Pat Henry realizes that hotel rooms are selling out long before being available via passkey. They need to start handling hotel reservations like SDCC. All rooms before available on the same day. Not per hotel as each hotel feels like it.

[xenaclone.livejournal.com]

One way that popular panel lines might be handled is if volunteers gave out numbered cloakroom tickets [ono] from 1/12 hours before, then had people line up in the number order on their ticket for that panel. Only exceptions = people with mobility or special needs who get the chairs.

[jenmcnitt.livejournal.com]

This was my first DragonCon and the majority of the event went very well for me. I went to San Diego ComicCon earlier this year and the lines at DragonCon were much more manageable (had to wait less time) at DragonCon other than for a few cases already mentioned.

Two things that I liked that ComicCon differently though was to mark on their maps where the start of a room line was for large rooms and how they wrapped. I also liked their 'end of the line' signs.

My real only complaint for DragonCon was for my very first panel on Friday ("The Good, the Bad, and the Undead') in the Hyatt Centennial I, I was one of the first people in line. When they had us fill the room though, instead of seating the folks who got there first in center aisle seating, they had us sit all the way to the left of the panel seating area where it was fairly hard for me to see the authors. I was very disappointed after making a point to getting there early and was concerned about this for my next panel since I was going to be in the same room. For the next panel though, whoever did the seating seated must have heard complaints and the center rows were seated first.