So we went to Salt Lake Comic Con 2013 this past weekend and it was pretty awesome! My official review is that it was fantastic for a first time event. There are lots of kinks to be worked out for next year but I think they will have plenty of feedback to get things better. The lines were long (An hour and 40 minutes to get in on Saturday! 2 hours to get a photo with Stan Lee!) but all in all it was well worth it. To give you some perspective about the line, if you live in Utah and know the area, the line to get in at 9:30 on Saturday morning went from the South doors of the Salt Palace (part way down 200 South off of West Temple) up 200 South, across West Temple to South Temple. Then the line went down South Temple all the way to 200 West then back towards 200 South all the way to the underpass almost to 200 South again. Rumor has it the line went basically the whole way around by late morning/early afternoon! Trying to get to the end of the line it seemed the line would never end!
The most stressful time was the line for Stan Lee when the rumor mill was churning with people saying they'd heard not everyone that had a ticket was going to get a photo since they had oversold. The idea of a 2 hour line and no photo was disheartening. I don't know if that actually happened as we were able to get our photo done.
Also, mostly due, I'm sure, to them underestimating how many geeks are in Utah (I can say that, I'm one of them!) they ended up overselling tickets and having to shut the doors on Saturday afternoon. The fire marshal showed up and they closed the doors. Many people (with tickets) were shut out of the convention. Many of them waited around and were able to get in later after some of the people left, but a whole lot of people never made it in. We almost left for lunch but at the last minute decided to just eat there. Good thing, if we'd left we wouldn't have gotten back in for our photo with Stan Lee! The crowds on Saturday were horrific. The closest thing I can compare it to is when you go to leave Disneyland right after the fireworks. It is a sea of people that push you along!
Another downside was the size of some of the panel rooms. Many panels happen at once, so even with the best planning you may have to sacrifice something you want to do for something else. Worst part is that the rooms filled up and people were turned away. That happened to me on Friday with a Hobbit panel about the new movie, The Desolation of Smaug. I was about 10 people away from getting in. :( And a making of the Haunted Mansion panel I barely got into before they closed it down, leaving dozens of disappointed people outside. The lines were crazy and unorganized and sometimes the VIP's didn't get in because there were not designated lines. In a lot of cases there were no staff members outside the doors to guide people.
Some panels/events that were online on Thursday disappeared by Saturday, including a Dr. Horrible Sing Along that I was really looking forward to. And there was no explanation anywhere.
That leads to probably my biggest issue with the Con. No one knew what was going on. I got conflicting information several times about different things. One person would say one thing and send me somewhere only to be told there that it was the first person that should have known etc. That made for some frustrating moments of running around. Another beef was that there weren't many Convention people outside to answer questions. And when you did find someone it was likely a volunteer who didn't know. For the most part the people I heard talking to volunteers were nice and understanding but I overheard a few snide or flat out rude people. More signs would have helped. It would have been nice to know on Friday before standing in a 1/2 hour line outside that you could walk right in if you were going to a panel, the big line was just to get onto the main floor. Grr! I almost missed a panel because of it, but some nice guys behind me told me where to go.
Which leads to one of the best things about the lines: Getting to talk to awesome people! For the most part everyone around me in every line was super nice! I was solo on Friday for the most part, but people would just strike up a conversation and no one cared if you started talking to them. I talked to a nice Disneyphile family in line for the Haunted Mansion panel. And met a new friend in line for Stan Lee. She and her kids were great and so much fun to talk to! We even got pictures taken together.
So all in all it was a fun, if exhausting weekend. I know what to do (and not to do!) for next year and will plan accordingly. I will take all days off work, I will get a VIP pass and I will wear the most comfortable shoes possible even if they DON'T go with my outfit. ;) Comfort will have to outweigh fashion next year.
If you didn't make it, be sure to go next year. It was a lot of fun! If you did go, what did you think? If you have a link for photos, post it in the comments.
May the Force Be With You. ;)
The most stressful time was the line for Stan Lee when the rumor mill was churning with people saying they'd heard not everyone that had a ticket was going to get a photo since they had oversold. The idea of a 2 hour line and no photo was disheartening. I don't know if that actually happened as we were able to get our photo done.
Also, mostly due, I'm sure, to them underestimating how many geeks are in Utah (I can say that, I'm one of them!) they ended up overselling tickets and having to shut the doors on Saturday afternoon. The fire marshal showed up and they closed the doors. Many people (with tickets) were shut out of the convention. Many of them waited around and were able to get in later after some of the people left, but a whole lot of people never made it in. We almost left for lunch but at the last minute decided to just eat there. Good thing, if we'd left we wouldn't have gotten back in for our photo with Stan Lee! The crowds on Saturday were horrific. The closest thing I can compare it to is when you go to leave Disneyland right after the fireworks. It is a sea of people that push you along!
Another downside was the size of some of the panel rooms. Many panels happen at once, so even with the best planning you may have to sacrifice something you want to do for something else. Worst part is that the rooms filled up and people were turned away. That happened to me on Friday with a Hobbit panel about the new movie, The Desolation of Smaug. I was about 10 people away from getting in. :( And a making of the Haunted Mansion panel I barely got into before they closed it down, leaving dozens of disappointed people outside. The lines were crazy and unorganized and sometimes the VIP's didn't get in because there were not designated lines. In a lot of cases there were no staff members outside the doors to guide people.
Some panels/events that were online on Thursday disappeared by Saturday, including a Dr. Horrible Sing Along that I was really looking forward to. And there was no explanation anywhere.
That leads to probably my biggest issue with the Con. No one knew what was going on. I got conflicting information several times about different things. One person would say one thing and send me somewhere only to be told there that it was the first person that should have known etc. That made for some frustrating moments of running around. Another beef was that there weren't many Convention people outside to answer questions. And when you did find someone it was likely a volunteer who didn't know. For the most part the people I heard talking to volunteers were nice and understanding but I overheard a few snide or flat out rude people. More signs would have helped. It would have been nice to know on Friday before standing in a 1/2 hour line outside that you could walk right in if you were going to a panel, the big line was just to get onto the main floor. Grr! I almost missed a panel because of it, but some nice guys behind me told me where to go.
Which leads to one of the best things about the lines: Getting to talk to awesome people! For the most part everyone around me in every line was super nice! I was solo on Friday for the most part, but people would just strike up a conversation and no one cared if you started talking to them. I talked to a nice Disneyphile family in line for the Haunted Mansion panel. And met a new friend in line for Stan Lee. She and her kids were great and so much fun to talk to! We even got pictures taken together.
So all in all it was a fun, if exhausting weekend. I know what to do (and not to do!) for next year and will plan accordingly. I will take all days off work, I will get a VIP pass and I will wear the most comfortable shoes possible even if they DON'T go with my outfit. ;) Comfort will have to outweigh fashion next year.
If you didn't make it, be sure to go next year. It was a lot of fun! If you did go, what did you think? If you have a link for photos, post it in the comments.
May the Force Be With You. ;)
Here are my photos from the Con. Due to bad lighting, crowds and the constant movement it's pretty hard to get fantastic shots. Mainly I was trying to just take a lot of photos of costumes from movies, shows, books, etc that I like. :) Sadly I missed a LOT of characters due to the crowds and lines. Next year I will go all 3 days and try to get lots of pictures the first 2 days when it's less crowded!
So the Comic Con was a lot of fun! I can't wait for next year!