Attendee7000

It's a tough decision, and one that was going to have to be made eventually. I'm glad it wasn't me that had to decide one way or the other because there wasn't any answer that wouldn't result in a lot of complaints. I gave some thought about the vaccine requirement before replying, and came to the conclusion that it was probably the right call. I've had covid twice, and both times were about 3 months after getting a booster. So there will be thousands of members who can prove a vaccination, even if it was nearly two years ago. Not terribly useful in terms of transmission (although

The DC Metro will be closing the Green Line stations between Fort Totten and Greenbelt from July 22 to September 4, so this will include the dates of Otakon. While the Green Line station for the Convention Center will still be open this will obviously impact people expecting to ride the Metro in from the North.

The first 1,000 people to register can register for the full weekend for $70, after that registration will be $75. That's a huge price drop from last year's $95. Oh, and free badge mailing for everyone too.

Hopefully Otakon can get Masao Murayama back again soon. I know he's in his 80's now, so his days traveling overseas to cons will probably be winding up soon. Any manga creators. I know they're some of the hardest guests to get because they have the tightest schedules. Other cons have managed to get some in the past though.

Vaccine mandates as they currently exist would be of very questionable value by next summer. Someone "fully vaccinated" will likely be 20-22 months out since their last jab by that point. Either way hopefully Otakon (and moreso other conventions) have learned their lesson from this past year. Figure out the intended plan and announce it early. The wishy-washy "we'll announce plans later" and the changing plans and then backtracking only annoys members. Just tell members what the plan is and what might change it ahead of time as best as possible (hopefully before badges go on sale).

The good: Excellent panels as usual. Otakon consistently seems to get pretty good presenters and manages to select a wide range of interesting topics. My pleasant surprise panel for the year was the Japanese Tea panel. The Masquerade actually had some skits and things in the Masquerade again, not just the singing/dancing performances that have absolutely dominated the last 5+ years. The Saturday Morning Cartoons are always welcome (along with the old commercials and American promos that go with them). The ad-hoc "No bags/no props" entrance was very welcome. I rarely have ei

As others have said, I hope the board sticks around, I really prefer it. Discord is basically a slow moving (sometimes fast moving) chatroom and most of the social media platforms are terrible for finding anything older than a couple weeks, or for any non-staff instigated discussion. The 2022 board didn't open until a couple weeks ago. Hopefully Otakon gets the 2023 board up sooner than later. With the hotel block already open, we could use it *nudge nudge nudge*

Since con-goers are often looking for something different that your average hotel guest, your average online hotel review may not be helpful for conventions. So.... What did everyone think about their hotels this year (and how about last year too, although that's as far back as we should go since hotels changed staff/services a lot pre/post covid. 2022: Renaissance Hotel (becoming Westin) It's one of the co-HQ hotels. So it's very close to the con (across the park) and also seemingly where most of the guests stay (I ran into two on elevators). The staff at the

Thinking on this today; I realized that barring another major spike that could trigger a new lock down, it's almost a certainty that Otakon will take place this summer. With no state of emergency the convention is locked into its contractual obligations and would have to pay for the convention center regardless of whether or not they use it. Hopefully the trends continue positive, the fans show up, (and Otakon pinches a few extra pennies just to be safe).

According to the news the DC Mayor announced most venues can completely reopen without capacity restrictions on May 21, and large venues and sports arenas can reopen without capacity restrictions on June 11. The Mayor also announced that the District would start dismantling the overflow hospital in the convention center since it was never utilized. Indoor mask restrictions will remain in place for the time being. Excellent news for a chance for the convention to possibly move forward.