Date: 2012-09-04 06:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 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! :)
Edited Date: 2012-09-04 04:24 pm (UTC)

Date: 2012-09-04 10:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 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.

Date: 2012-09-10 01:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sonria.livejournal.com
Then I'm the exception. I encountered a very rude staffer at the Sheraton while trying to line up for the Warp 5 panel. She explicitly told me that since she ran the hotel (?!) I had to do whatever she wanted, and she was not going to start the line until she felt like it.

People were lining up in the Sheraton well before the one-hour limit for nearly all of the panels. I'm cool with a one-hour limit, but if you're going to have it, please enforce it uniformly. The time I attempted to line up for Warp 5 was the same time I lined up for an earlier panel upstairs at the Sheraton and was in the sixth row back once we got in.

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