Attendee7000

I remember that. I think the Otakon 2013 shirt I have came from that. I think staff was passing out old Otakon shirts to people they were turning away, if I remember it correctly. **** Am I correct that the free shipping this year was default? For some reason I think last year's free shipping was an option to add-on.

For those who haven't seen it, pre-reg opens up on Monday. The pricing is the same as last year, the first 500 people can register for $70, and after that it's $75 (until the price cut-offs next year). Option for free badge mailing again too.

I'm glad I remembered to get pictures of some of them. These were from 2009 when Otakon was auctioning the remaining standees off. https://imageupload.io/en/l0RMlDU1GMYgMeb https://imageupload.io/hFbc2Y45Jmh5Xg4 https://imageupload.io/V6RzMx3EhbaGfZp https://imageupload.io/GAn1nTRABDnI77r https://imageupload.io/VYH2HWMCXsNWbL1

And sadly the Days Inn was demolished last summer

For the web board users; Both of you. The hotel list had a lot of rooms added. Nearly everything is back except for the Marriott Marquis.

*shrugs* Lesson learned I guess. Otakon insists on having the hotel block go live in the middle of a work day every year. Next year I'll just book outside the block before it goes up. Their rates aren't even that competitive anymore, I can get pretty much the same rate from other sources.

I have to assume some of the hotels haven't hit the room block yet. I wasn't able to check until the evening, and I know some hotels like the Marriott and Renaissance go quick, but half of the hotels in the list don't turn up. A lot of those smaller hotels shouldn't book up in the first couple hours.

Since other people had mentioned it, and I had meant to in mine, I also wanted to mention the Otakon Merch booth As others have said, the line was an issue. I'd understand it for the first hour or two as people are eager that they'd line up. But I'd say there was a line the majority of the con. And with how the line wrapped around the front of the booth, you couldn't even look at the merch without getting in line. You don't really want to wait 15 minutes just to see if there's something you want to buy. Luckily this seems like one of the most solvable issues. There's always more op

It's funny you mention that. I actually bought a Hampton pillow earlier this year after finding out how forgiving they were to my neck.

If you're able to pull it together for the con, I'm sure I'd be in attendance. For an anniversary year, it might be good to show the changes in some of the details in demographics and costs and such over three decades. I know many details are confidential, but it'd be amusing to see what certain types of costs were in 1994 vs 2024.

I won't bother doing feedback for Guest Q&A since that mostly has to do with the guest and the nature of their visit, rather than panel content. But for some of the panels I attended: Manly Battleships: Gameshow Impossiburu I went largely based on the group (Many Battleships) since they've done pretty good panels in the past. This one was no exception (although I suppose it was more of a interactive game than a panel) Animation Cels at Work: This turned out to be a really good panel. The presenter had good energy and knowledge on it so he could keep it mo

The annual tradition of applauding and complaining! Although I have more complaints than compliments listed, I want to start by saying how great this convention really is. I've been coming back for more than 20 years for a reason! I really appreciate the effort the volunteers are putting into it. The Good: Otakon did a really good job this year of managing crowds. I hardly ever encountered lines, especially since I didn't have a bag and could use the quick entrance. Only place I really encountered backups was the escalator in front of the gaming hall entrance. I re

How were everyone's hotels this year? It's always useful knowledge to pass on as everyone looks to reserving rooms for 2024. And there's always details of a hotel that relate uniquely to something like Otakon. Embassy Suites: It's about a block and a half away from the convention center. I hadn't stayed at an Embassy Suites in ages, and completely forgot their rooms are all suites (the bedroom is separate from the bathroom/kitchenette/living room). This turns out to be really good if you've got people in your room who go to sleep or wake up at completely different times,

For a silly and pointless wrap-up to the convention, how many steps did people do this weekend? Friday: 28,022 Saturday: 21,952 Sunday: 12,966

This weekend is supposed to be the hottest so far this year for Washington DC. Predicted temperatures for the convention are as follows: Thursday: 98 Friday: 98 Saturday: 97 Sunday: 84. We may hit the hottest temperatures for DC in the past 7 years (for the entire summers, not just Otakon). The values are so out of whack the heat index simply doesn't work (pegging the heat index around 117-118 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) This is a serious heat event. People WILL be removed from Otakon in an ambulance. Please be careful.