MASTER POST FOR REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK (original) (raw)
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8th-Sep-2009 05:49 pm (UTC) I can't say this enough. I was so absolutely over the lack of crowd management. I cannot believe it took us 3 hours to pick up our pre-reg badges on Thursday night. I thought moving it to the Sheraton was supposed to make it BETTER not three times worse. I will never pre-reg again. Why bother??Also, I have major major gripes about the way the line was handled for Nimoy/Shatner. No one said we'd be seated over a hour and a half early. We had someone who left their camera on accident, and ran back to get it. We still had an hour and a half to go, so no biggie right? Except that they started moving the line without notice, and then would not let him catch up with us, even though we weren't even inside the ballroom yet. And finally, the photo ops lines/crowds. What utter bullshit. There were five lines going, people yelling and screaming directions. We were told to change lines no less than 3 times. This was all crammed into the same area where people were waiting to get into the lower level Marriott dealers room. All of those people were crammed into a tiny space, and no one had a clue what they were doing. It's time to institute an attendance cap. ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 08:15 pm (UTC) Don't know if it was just us or not, but the sound on D*C TV never seemed to work (we were in the Marriott). ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 08:20 pm (UTC) Our channel reception was crappy at times in the Marriott. There was a buzzing noise and it was hard to hear some panels (like the Farscape one earlier this morning). ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 08:36 pm (UTC) The Sheraton is a long long walk.Make the distance between the hotels closer! Reality be damned! ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:58 pm (UTC) 7th-Sep-2009 08:38 pm (UTC) If the names are going to be pulled out of the pre-reg line, PLEASE have someone there directing traffic. I was in line for almost 3 hours and half was in a line with other annoyed people. I was so miserable after having to fight our way to our letter name (Han for me) after 45 minutes of no direction. I think some of us were in the W line at some point. I appreciate calling out names. But random "all G and Hs" after about 4 other lines and no one controlling the chaos was ludicrous. Why? Because it held up the line where people WEREN'T taken out of. We just had to remerge, essentially cutting after another con-goer informed us of the only way. Which, sorry, was absolutely nightmarish. It was a clusterfuck, to be quite frank.My feet hurt so bad when I got to the room I had to order room service because my toes were just stiff. I bought it for my two roommates since we were going to go out to eat together. Not a cheap meal but I simply couldn't walk anymore. I don't mind the lines, I really don't, but it seems like the Hyatt location was better organized. The person directing traffic from the front door was completely slacking since we ended up in the yellow line at first and wanted red.Honestly, there was so much disorganization I couldn't fully enjoy myself because the line problem continued. I know Saturday my friend and I wanted to go eat at the Peachtree Center and had to go through the Marriott tunnel. Whatever the line was, it wrapped all the way back there. I don't mind sharing the space...except when people in line stop others walking to snap a shot. I get wanting photographs, but the room is already halved and traffic flow was already slow. I also didn't like the line Sunday morning where I had to walk through it twice just to get to the tunnels...especially since it was just within like 4 people at the Pulse Loft.Sorry that was a book.We won't get into my displeasure of the double booking of Charlaine Harris in a teeny ballroom so that a lot of fans of the books couldn't get in. And no one can claim ignorance since it was posted everywhere. It just felt so disorganized and no one was communicating with anyone else. Which I haven't noticed before. ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 08:57 pm (UTC) That giant line on Saturday was for the Patrick Stewart panel. My husband was extremely displeased by that line, because he couldn't get to where he wanted to go. Not to mention that had to have been a fire hazard!I wasn't too happy about that pre-reg line either. It took much longer than last year and it seemed to be more dis-organized! ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 09:36 pm (UTC) What veracity said about badge pickup. -nodding-The tape lines were a problem. normally I follow the Holy Tape Lines and They leadeth me where I need to go. Not this time. I saw sheraton staff laying tape--maybe that was the problem.And was it just around me, or was there a BUTTLOAD of line cutting this year?That said -- I had a BLAST. :) ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 10:29 pm (UTC) 7th-Sep-2009 09:41 pm (UTC) More signs for lines, particularly on pre-reg line, on big panels, and where lines turn corners and head outside. Line problems and limited room size seem to be the biggest negative experiences people have, and there is only so much that can be done about room size, but line problems should be solvable.I saw DC staff try to rectify the zero signage on the pre-reg line by telling people what it was, but then they would get the details wrong - "If you have paid already, stay here, if not, go inside" didn't tell the poor ticketmaster people waiting in the pre-reg line that they were in the wrong line. Yes, there is a sign up at the front of the line saying there are 4 different lines - but then no tape outside to mark which is which. Pre-reg wait on Thursday was up from 2 hours last year to 3 this year. New location was not an improvement. ReplyThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 02:30 pm (UTC) - ticketmaster...lines...etc We also waited in the pre reg line for around two hours before getting inside and being informed that the ticketmaster line wrapped into the bowels of the Sheraton. When I tried to let the people just inside the door know what was happening, so that they could help out the poor saps STILL waiting in the pre reg line, they acted like I had just spit on the Bible or something and talked to me like I was two. Yeah. Not doing the ticketmaster thing again. ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 09:52 pm (UTC) 1) Thursday pre-registration - no shuttles running between the 4 host hotels (at a minimum) for those who cannot walk the distance from Hyatt/Marriott to the Sheraton and back (I was staying @ Days on Spring, the walk to the Hyatt/Marriott was at least managable), but as a person who has trouble walking long distances or standing for long periods I had to take a taxi from the Hyatt to the Sheraton and back on Thursday.2) Signage for lines - panels & registration3) better way to handle disabiltiy registration - the registration forms need to have a place to indicate that you are in some way disabled or will be accompanying a disabled person so that labels can be printed separately for the disability services folks to speed up registration. It wouldn't eliminate all the need for "runners" to get labels for badges but it could speed the process up considerably. ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 10:30 pm (UTC) I noticed lines were a massive problem this year, especially in the Hyatt. Also, what the hell was up with the Masquerade? Everyone I talked to said it was at least 1/4 empty, and yet we were told no new entry. (Very rudely, I might add, by unhelpful volunteer staff.) I can only imagine it had something to do with the Marriott needing to feel like the Atrium ballroom needed to be filled? If it was a fire code issue, I'd think they'd let other people in eventually, and why even have more seats than maximum legal occupancy anyway?Also, something needs to be worked out between D*C, the city of Atlanta, , Chik-Fil-A, the host hotels and whoever else to help deal with the altercations between football fans and con-goers. Last year they were a little obnoxious. This year, though, I saw outright rudeness and some poor behavior from both sides, but some particularly bad acts by football fans, which tips the scales against them, in my opinion. I saw con-goers shoved and cursed at, some comments on this community said they threw things and used racial slurs, and I even saw a family of 5 in full Va Tech clothes arguing with the registration counter at the Westin Peachtree, demanding that they had asked for Dragon*Con rates. (I know for a fact that the rate codes have been posted on ESPN's forum and other sports sites this year and last year.) This is starting to really sour the whole experience for some con-goers, including a friend of mine who was afraid to walk around the hotel alone for fear that she might be accosted by footballers. Even the CNN article on Dragon*Con mentioned the footballers and quoted them as calling D*C attendees as "freaks" and calling the con a "freak show". (http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/09/05/dragon.con/index.html) It looks bad on the schools, the city, and makes everyone uncomfortable. I hate to be childish, but D*C was here first, and they should be a little more respectful and less like high school bullies.Lastly, some of the fan tracks and panels were extremely poorly managed this year. As an example, the Star Wars trivia panel was a complete bust. 3/4 of the room just got up and left when the moderator refused to accept the correct answer to a question and instead went off the answer given by his cheap paperback Star Wars trivia book. (The question was "Who was the first character to have a bad feeling in Star Wars Episode 3?" The answer is Obi-Wan Kenobi, who says it around 5 minutes into the film [and my friend and I checked when we got home this afternoon] but the moderator's book incorrectly gave the answer as Anakin Skywalker.) Some tracks really seem to have their stuff together and others have gotten very poor in quality over the last 3 years I've attended. The level of quality really varies a lot, and I think a lot of that could be helped by maybe bringing the D*C website into the web 2.0 era and letting the community communicate and be more visible with one another, offer ideas, suggestions, work together on things, etc. instead of making fan tracks run their own sites and spreading info about the con over 20-30 different Yahoo groups, domains, etc. Or maybe some of the fan tracks need to chop some bad staff, I dunno.Volunteer staff seemed very poorly trained this year, a lot of them were clueless, contradictory, or non-existent. All in all, I fear the con is getting too big for its audience and needs to try to update things. It seems like some stuff hasn't been changed since the times when the con only got a few thousand people. (The registration lines, for example.) Don't get me wrong, I had a great time and I can't wait for next year, but I figured I'd give the constructive feedback while the opportunity was here. :-P ReplyThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 01:31 am (UTC) Also, something needs to be worked out between D*C, the city of Atlanta, , Chik-Fil-A, the host hotels and whoever else to help deal with the altercations between football fans and con-goers. Last year they were a little obnoxious. This year, though, I saw outright rudeness and some poor behavior from both sides, but some particularly bad acts by football fans, which tips the scales against them, in my opinion. I saw con-goers shoved and cursed at, some comments on this community said they threw things and used racial slurs, and I even saw a family of 5 in full Va Tech clothes arguing with the registration counter at the Westin Peachtree, demanding that they had asked for Dragon*Con rates. (I know for a fact that the rate codes have been posted on ESPN's forum and other sports sites this year and last year.) This is starting to really sour the whole experience for some con-goers, including a friend of mine who was afraid to walk around the hotel alone for fear that she might be accosted by footballers. Even the CNN article on Dragon*Con mentioned the footballers and quoted them as calling D*C attendees as "freaks" and calling the con a "freak show". (http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/09/05/dragon.con/index.html)It looks bad on the schools, the city, and makes everyone uncomfortable. I hate to be childish, but D*C was here first, and they should be a little more respectful and less like high school bullies.Dude, this is exactly what I was trying to say, yet I've only gotten defensive comments about the footballers. ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 10:53 pm (UTC) 8th-Sep-2009 01:27 am (UTC) I like this post :) I had to stay home this year due to child care issues but it jsut seems like everything I have read this year has been negative. I am glad that at the very least you, and my friend who drove down from Charlotte for 6 hours - just hung out in the lobbys of the Hyatt and Mariott - had a wonderful time and plans to come back for the whole weekend next year, had a good time! ReplyParentThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 10:57 pm (UTC) I knew I wouldn't be able to find the aquarium shuttles when I needed them, and I couldn't, and no one -- not D*C volunteers or hotel staff -- could tell me where to find them/where they were picking up. Fortunately I had anticipated this so we left early enough to walk, but for people who didn't have that option, well, I'd love to hear if anyone else found the shuttles. This was the sixth Dragoncon for my husband and I and we have never seen a shuttle once ... fortunately we don't need them but I'd love to hear how these mysterious things work, if they actually do!That was my only complaint -- registration was actually easier than usual for us this year, except that the girl doing our letter was trying to do too much/be too important and therefore our line was backed up WAYYY longer than the other letters, while other, more competent staff members were visibly getting annoyed with her. ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:38 pm (UTC) I actually saw some of the shuttles this year! I was so excited--it was like seeing fairies or something. :) ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:12 pm (UTC) Chiming in with everyone who said lines were definitely a problem. I do recall seeing (hearing?) that line formation would not be allowed until two hours before events this year. That in and of itself? ridiculous. Folks are willing to line up five and six hours in advance to get close seats for panels with their fave celebrity, and HAVE been doing so for years. If the issue is with fire codes and crowding in hotels, fine. A suggestion? Snake lines outside of buildings, have volunteer staff hold a sign that says "line for X starts here", have the volunteer stand on the end of the line that's forming and direct folks lining up for the next panel there. No problem with fire code violations, more room for ambulation in hotels. That idea was shot down by the random security volunteer I spoke with during the clustereff that was the Sunday BSG line. On the security volunteers: they had a really tough job, and while some of them *really* came off as power-tripping, there were a couple of genuinely helpful folk who attempted to explain what was going on. Then again, the security staff didn't seem to communicate with one another - you ask one person they say lines form two hours before an event, you ask another person they say the line must form *an hour* beforehand. For the same event. And big "screw you" to the fellow con members who decided to use the line confusion as an excuse to *cut* the unofficial lines that were made (Sunday's Patrick Stewart line definitely comes to mind). If you see people trying to make order out of chaos don't throw more wrenches into the gears, goddamnit. On the BIG positive front, the moderator for the X-Track's "Beyond Spock" panel was *amazing* and I want to bear her children. She really needed to take Patrick Stewart away from Trek Track and sit down with him for an hour. The Trek Track head's insistence that ONLY Trek-related questions be asked of guests constantly irks. ReplyThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:44 pm (UTC) Well said about line cutters on Sunday for Patrick Stewart. The unofficial line was orderly and patient, only to be led around in some kind of confusing snake pattern causing those of us in the middle to lose our place to folks that didn't feel the need to wait their turn in line. The Con needs a set parameter for line formation and control. As the Con grows, this will only get worse and people will get madder. ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:14 pm (UTC) Registration line was the worst I have experienced. I'd like to suggest starting the name lines earlier. I got to shuffle through the main line and stare at the empty N line for 45 minutes before I was able to reach it and there were several other empty lines. Seems like a lot of people could have skipped ahead which would have shortened the main line and kept it moving. Second suggestion - Staff should NOT be allowed to wander in and out of panels at will. The same pair of staffers came in and out of Dean Haglund's improv show on Friday four or five times, entering right next to the stage, distracting everyone and taking over a good bit of the show. If a con-goer had pulled that, they would have been kicked out.Other than that, I had a great time. ReplyThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 01:21 am (UTC) I agree the names lines should start much sooner, they should be using half the ballroom for that. It would make the lines move much quicker. Also, maybe there could be a single line for those getting their badge along with picking up other people's badges? That way there is not one person standing in one place for 15 minutes trying to get 4 badges and then being told to go stand back in the line with that person's last name. It made everyone think they were line jumping when they weren't. ReplyParentThreadLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:37 pm (UTC) - Time Traveler's Ball Location Poorly Planned This could have been simply unforseeable but the Time Traveler's Ball/Steampunk Fashion Show (of which I was one of the Designers) ended up with 3 times the rooms capacity waiting in line AFTER the room was filled.As I said, this could simply be they had no idea it would attract THAT many Steampunks (to all of whom I am very pleased to have seen show) but if we do this again next year my recommendation is a MUCH larger venue. ReplyThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 12:50 am (UTC) - Re: Time Traveler's Ball Location Poorly Planned A friend and I showed up for both the Time Travelers Ball and the Mad Scientists Ball but went to neither b/c there's too much else going on to be waiting in lines. I don't wait in line for anything at D*C except my badge and Starbucks. For the Time Travelers Ball, we just stood next to the line for 45 min. looking at the costumes and taking pix. ReplyParentThreadExpandLink 7th-Sep-2009 11:55 pm (UTC) We enjoyed the Con yet again this year. The Skeptic Track and the Writer's Track were very entertaining and enlightening.Patrick Stewart was worth the wait in a very confusing and frustrating line.Sound quality in some panels is very poor. A lack of working microphones seems to be one issue the tracks faced.Has the Marriott thought about putting a few portable coffee stands out in the morning? Waiting in line at the one Starbucks for 45 minutes can cause serious issues as the need for caffeine can outweigh the need for attending a panel.The walkway between the Hilton and the Marriott was great! That has been needed for years. A lot safer and more convenient.Keep up the good work folks. Overall, it was a great Con. ReplyThreadLink 9th-Sep-2009 03:21 am (UTC) On the coffee, Starbucks isn't the only option. There's a Caribou in the food court and another Starbucks on Peachtree, diagonally across from the Hyatt (next to the Wachovia). The latter was dead empty Sunday morning when I walked up to get some extra cash. Either is a better option than trying to get Starbucks in the Marriott during their busiest time (although they work FAST). ReplyParentThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 12:21 am (UTC) Ok, easy fix to registration.On the card you mail to people, print a unique barcode (like you'd get on a sports ticket). Then all you have to do is have one line, and a bunch of barcode scanners. Hand out badge (no name on it, sorry) if the barcode has not been previously used. Still prevents counterfeiting, and prevents ridiculous "Are there any A or B people around!??!?!" followed by the inability of volunteers to actually understand alphabetically ordered books.There's no reason for registration on a pre-paid badge to ever take 3-4 hours, but it does EVERY year. ReplyThreadLink 8th-Sep-2009 03:44 am (UTC) Have you been plotting with my husband? This is eerily similar to an idea that he came up with, after waiting to p/u the badges for our kids. :-D ReplyParentThreadLink |
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