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Revengel

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Posts posted by Revengel

  1. Timing (as Dan stated) and staffing both have an effect. I'm glad they have more entrances this year than before and I'm curious to see how this works out. There will certainly be hiccoughs; we have to remember to be as patient as we can with these new changes.

    BTW, can you imagine 40k attendees in Baltimore?

    While I certainly am a touch concerned about confusion (on behalf of both staff and patron alike) I'm so looking forward to this I can hardly stand it!

  2.  

    20 hours ago, The Real BIM Shady said:

    A PDF version is available for download on https://www.otakon.com/schedule/  under the schedule search bar.  

    take note that the PDF can get out of date very quickly.  The live online and guidebook schedule will have the most current information if items in the schedule change. 

    This is good news for those few (like someone I'm coming with) who prefer paper to digital. Personally I love Guidebook because it can be updated.

  3. I have to say I'm very much looking forward to this.

    Each summer, Otakon is my de facto birthday celebration. That's true now even though I am in my 50s.

    With this setup, we're going to have several screens to set up the different rooms and panels! I'll have one main channel on the big TV living room, another on a desktop computer in the same room, third upstairs in my wife's sanctuary, another will be on my phone. I think that covers almost everything.

    Oh, and I'll be wearing one of my old badges to boot.

    Otakon, I definitely want to thank you very much for this.

     

    By the way, what is going on with the pigeon Channel?

     

     

  4. On 9/7/2019 at 12:09 PM, OtakuCop said:

    As someone who helped out with the formal ball, this isn't really accurate.  It was a formal event, which means a person couldn't show up in shorts & a t-shirt.  Clothing such as tux's & ball gowns were highly encouraged but as long as you come in nice attire you'd be let in (ex: slacks and a button up shirt would be fine).  

    Thank you. It's something I may consider this coming Otakon (assuming it returns.) I have gaggle of suits (about a dozen or so) but have yet to plunk down the yen for a bespoke tux.\

    My next challenge would be to teach Dr. Mrs. how to dance. I'll start by getting her to watch "Welcome to the Ballroom" and work up from there.

     

    ~_^

  5. I took the Clara Barton parkway, which dumps out onto the Whitehurst freeway (don't go through Georgetown) and the freeway puts you on K street. However the Clara Barton does flip during rush hour to outbound only during rush hour.

    If you're coming down on a Thursday, wait until after rush hour if you can't take off work.

    Hopefully that helps for next year.

  6. Soooo much for this. I’m sure I forgot things.

     

    The Good:

    ·         Lines. I say this year in and year out – the line management has come soooo far in the decades I’ve been coming to Otakon. There is space for lines when they pop up. Gigantic lines (like the dealers room) actually move very well. Pre-Reg pickup continues to be BEYOND blissful on Thursday, and the 18+ line was amazing as well that day! Bag check line gets its own bullet point.

    ·         Bag Check Line was Gold. I remember the issues with the bag check line the first time in D.C. (and most major conventions have moved in that direction) and I feel they are largely resolved. It didn’t take much longer to go into the WEWCC with this year’s check line than it did the last several years in Baltimore. I’ll address the food/drink issue in another bullet.

    ·         Space Management. This may be my favorite thing of all. The AMV, Video 2 & 3, Otachan, a couple workshop spaces and Makers Space were all in an area we could access without having to dash up and down stairs. While I recognize this is a strong reflection of what I personally was interested in, it appeared there was a concerted effort to keep the video rooms together as well as keeping things nearby (workshops, Otachan/Makers Space for those w/ kids) so a family wouldn’t be flung out toward the far reaches of the universe. I also noticed most of the panels were concentrated in a given area. I think this was an outstanding move – even if Otachan/Makers Space get moved later.

    ·         SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS. If space management isn’t my favorite thing, then this is. PLEASE BRING IT BACK. It was a great hoot for those who remember(d) some of those shows, a blast seeing the commercials and a bonus being able to bring the who family. It was a tough choice for me but I stayed in the dubbed room. I’ll have to try the subbed room next year!

    ·         Classic Anime: I enjoyed watching Dororo in its original form and compared it to the current show. I’ve not finished the new season but I did view enough to judge how the new edition is quite faithful to the original with a few updates. Likewise viewing Mach-a-go-go-go (Speed Racer) subtitled . . . for my first time. Also for the first time, I watched Bubblegum Crisis dubbed. I appreciated the AnimiEgo dub made its debut at Otakon in 1994 – but I’ll keep watching that subbed. Special shout-out to the person running that room who gave tidbits of information before the shows began, as well as showing old opening/closings most of us have rarely or never seen.

    ·         GUIDEBOOK. Keep doing this. You’re doing it right in my opinion. The added ability to bookmark folks in the dealer’s room in advance was SOOOOO helpful. While I didn’t take advantage of it, being able to purchase Maid Café and preferred seating tickets for the concerts kept things up to date. The alerts worked fine for me between my watch and my phone, and we were always able to see what was on our schedules at a glance. While some lamented the paper schedule not being out this year, 1) a person could download and print a PDF from the link on the website (my wife was one who wanted this) and – more importantly 2) it’s obsolete before the convention even opens. Guidebook can update in real time. Paper cant – unless you take a pen and an eraser.

    ·         Renaissance Hotel is my Only Hotel: This is my new “Days Inn” not because of price, or even proximity. What I loved about the Days Inn in times of yore was how the staff was. I had a great experience yet again with the staff of this hotel and will shoot for it next year when hotels open up.

     

     

    The Meh:

    ·         Outside Food and Water Policy. It was a convention center policy first and foremost. I was not a fan personally, but I understood. I do wish the enforcement was uniform, but what can you do?

    ·         Protest outside the Convention Center. Again, not Otakon’s fault. While it was not my favorite thing to see/hear . . . when is a good time to protest? The goal of any protest is to draw attention to a situation. They succeeded. I wish them well in their struggle.

    ·         Food Pricing Inside the Convention center. Still not Otakon’s fault. Was actually about the same/cheaper to go back to the hotel and get better food there.

    ·         Friday Night Fan Parodies: I have to start by saying some parodies are way better than none. However the Friday night group mostly missed me. I enjoyed a couple of things but most of it left me – cold. But the Saturday night fan parodies (what I could see of them) were much better. I got to get my “It’s Gendo!” on before BGC.

     

    The Sad:

    ·         No fuse beads workshop. We were looking for the fuse bead workshop and were disappointed when we saw it wasn’t there. Hopefully it will be back next year.

     

    All in all, I want to thank Otakon – and all the great folks there in and out of costume – for making my 50th birthday such a blast! I’m all in for next year (my 24th consecutive – almost half my life) and hope to see you all there!

  7. Man, I thought I left Peer Pressure back in High School! Ah well...

    * * *

    -Personal Stats-

    Name (First name or Alias):: Revengel or The Revengel

    Age:: 39

    Male or Female:: Male

    Do you need sleep at a con? At least a couple hours per night...

    Drink or smoke:: About a glass of wine per year.

    Tell us about yourself:: Otakon IV was my first con...and I've been hooked ever since. I have a comic book background and I *still* remember how a friend got me hooked on Anime by giving me some Ranma 1/2 Fansubs. That was 1996. Now if you want to get specific one could say I've been into anime since I was a kid thanks to Speed Racer, Kimba the White Lion, Marine Boy, Gigantor, Astroboy & Tobor the 8th Man. Rushing home from school for Captain 20 was my favorite past time.

    Ok, feel free to make the Hoposai remarks.

    ^_~

    -Convention Stats-

    Do you go to panels? Only upon occasion.

    Do you attend the dances/raves? When I can - Dr. Mrs. The Revengel doesn't dance. (sob)

    Do you spend any time gaming? Hamfat yes. Considering I named my bike Charlotte from Samurai Showdown..!

    Do you participate or go to the masquerade? I tend to go, but I haven't done too many costumes. In all the years that I've gone to cons I've done Priss's dead boyfriend (1/2), Shi-Shi-O (2nd), Priss in a hardsuit (complete w/ bike, 3rd) and Larva (4) but only competed with the Priss hardsuit.

    Do you cosplay? See above.

    Are you staffing or volunteering at the con? No, but I prob'ly should some time.

    What do you spend most of your time doing while attending the convention? Look at all the outfits, watch at least one vid per year, take LOTS of pic-tars, shop and have a general great time.

  8. Since i live in the area, my friends and i drive to otakon and save around $250 since no hotel, but im getting married 3 weeks later so i have to conserve on money. I tried to convince my fiancee to have a pre-honeymoon at otakon but she thinks anime is weird. :)
  9. Intersting topic. I have a related question:

    What changes do you think will be made in the dealer's room due to the economy? Will they change prices? Will some of them change what they bring? Will the room be larger or smaller?

    Just some thoughts...

  10. I voted for the lower hotel prices myself, but could've easily chosen both. I have no problem with next years con dates being announced at Closing Ceremonies, it's better than waiting in anticipation for the announcement. However this rush to reserve a room just after the con? :P Ridiculous.

    I've never even contemplated reserving a room this early in previous years. Even last year a room in my group wasn't reserved until November & we were still able to get a room in the Inner Harbor. I don't think I can say the same for this year, thus why I have a room reserved already.

    As far as prices are concerned, the only hotel I've seen to have lowered it's con rates from last year is the Days Inn. All the other hotels have either raised their con rate or charge $20 apiece for the 3rd & 4th person where they didn't up until now. I'm paying $34 more next year & couldn't even get in at my preferred hotel. They quoted me $209 a night as the con rate, when it was $151 this year! :shock:

    Playing the reserve a room game has become more challenging this year in my opinion...

  11. Briefly:

    What I meant by 'Later' refers to what has been said by one of the admins in another thread.

    When Otakon negotiates room rates there are several things - specifically consessions - that are negatiated. One of the major trade offs is if the hotel gives a lower rate, then the annoucement of the con rate being available can be made by the hotel itself as soon as they wish to. That means (among other things) that before Otakon has annouced what hotels have been signed for Otakon on the website.

    On the flip side if Otakon puts in the contract that the hotel cannot announce - or even accept - reservations on those dates at the con rate until Otakon announces it, the trade off is a higher con rate.

    Sorry about my not being clear..!

    :(

  12. The problem we run into is with individual hotel contracts for room blocks. For the most part once it's signed, unless we have a specific clause in there saying 'wait till day X', the hotel is free to publicize the rooms and the rates. For example, the Holiday Inn giving everyone who stayed there at the Otakon rate this year little notes telling them the dates they could book for 2009.

    Needless to say we chose not to go that route as there were other concessions we wanted to work out with the hotels instead like lower room rates. Unfortunately, this means that unless we announce the hotels and dates, the hotels will do it for themselves/us. Leading to members being confused and complaining that hotel A is doing something different than hotel B, not to mention rumors about dates flying and many other odd complications.

    That being said, if a delay in the announcement is more important to you guys, we can see what we can do for next year. Of course there will necessarily be a trade off for it.

  13. Well...let's see what happens but so far here's what I have potentially...

    • Unearth Shi-Shi-O (I did that back in 2K?)

      Do Larva from Vampire Princess Miyu - OVA (did that a couple years ago)

      Build a Monev suit and do that.

    Ok...the last one is a big reach...but I'm thinking about it. Who knows?

  14. This is something that can be done; corporations regularly have ticket blocks for sporting events. Speaking as a Washington Mystics season ticket holder I can vouch for this.

    A better place to consider may be some place like the ESPN Zone or Hard Rock Cafe but there would have to be a sign up sheet (or something to that effect). There is a Mystic event at Dave & Busters later this month where season ticket holders get a certain amount off admission. I'm sure something like that could be worked out...but only if we (the fun Otaku) are willing to go and eat at these places.

    Just a thought...

  15. Last year there were several folks who missed out on hotel rooms because they were watching the website which went from "here are some hotels - check back soon" to "ALL SOLD OUT" without any updates inbetween. If there was an update it happened over a day or so.

    No, as this year demonstrates, that's roughly what always happens. The only difference is now we don't have to wait for official word to come down from the hotel (it cuts into overbooking) and then Matt & Co. take the time to update the hotel page when they sell-out in under an hour.

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