Comments, Compliments, and Concerns for NDK 2011

[GimmeAnime]

Another problem I saw was the dealers room not opening on the correct time. I saw signs around the hall leading to the dealers room that had times when it would open on the weekend. I think it said 10am and 11am. On both Saturday and Sunday they didn't open till noon. I don't know what happened to caused the delay or if it was just moved to that time. I don't think its a good idea to open it around the noon time because you also people coming for the 2nd day of the con in line and it was just too small for that many people in line. I would say open the dealers room without a line and on time.

As one of the dealers, I can assure you that the room opened at 9:30am on Saturday & 10am on Sunday. I have the receipts to prove it 

[Maret]

There was also a photoshoot on Sunday in front of the Starbucks that just about blocked off all the traffic in that area and I'm surprised someone didn't ask them to move.

I'll take responsibility for that. I was one of the two who got that photoshoot together and we didn't really plan very well. I apologize for it being in everyone's way and next year if we have that shoot again I'll be sure to plan way better for other con-goers.

[rising full moon]

i must say of all the cons i have attended NDK is my favorite. this just didn't feel as good as usual.
 +'s
the guest list
thursday night badge pick up
AA groupe seemed much more diverse
there were some really good panels
moving the vgr

-'s
so crowed to the point of not being able to move from place to place very easily
the lines
some of the staff was very rude yelling at people even when they were trying to follow what they were told
it felt like there was a major in lack any organization compared to other years

my suggestions
lower the cap!!!
maybe give the staff/volunteers guide lines or suggestions on how to deal with different things.
i also think it would be good to have opps not only take complaints on staff but also ask people to tell you who is doing an amazing job as staff/volunteers
i also think putting tape down to show where the line is suposed to be is a good idea

i would also like to add the two staff working the british tea and chris cason turns the tables lines were great it was the end of con and they were great. they were nice, patent helpful and kept the people waiting in high sprits simply by being that way! i think you should deffently have them again next year and maybe they can help teach others to be as nice, patent and helpful to the con goers

[rising full moon]

Though I don't know of any current changes that may have happened after this convention I do know that every year we ask and every year they turn us down. Here's hoping they'll change their mind at some point

if they won't at the hotel. i wonder if would it be possible to run some them online since so many people have web inabled items. i don't know if it's possible but figgured i would suggest it.

[colonelmasako]

You say 'regardless of cost', but who do you think that the cost of the machines and such to do that would be passed on to?

Of course it would be passed on to us. But as far as long term goals are concerned, this is the direction we need to go if NDK chooses to grow like they will as soon as a suitable venue is available.

As for schedules and stuff, this is a crazy idea but one that could work: There is a lot of white space in the atrium on the walls just below the rooms. If you could put a projector up some where that would project schedules alternating between panels, main events and photo shoot schedules, that would be a nice option. Maybe have the projection right above the arch that leads to main events. That is of course if NDK has an extra projector to spare.

[M.Mouse]

if they won't at the hotel. i wonder if would it be possible to run some them online since so many people have web inabled items. i don't know if it's possible but figgured i would suggest it.

The only problem with that is it costs $12.95 to use the wifi for 24 hours at the hotel and no body wants to pay for that so the only place that they can watch it on is the limited computers in the limited space

[ArmachiA]

This was my first NDK since 2002 and I have to say what a difference 9 years makes! I had fun and have some minor complaints:

Pros:
~ The Hot Seat with Leah Clark and Todd Haberkorn (And Chris!) was the funnest, BEST panel I have ever been to at any con ever. It was fun just hanging out and talking without worrying about virgin ears. More of those please!

~ Generally, all the panels I went to were really great and I went to a lot of panels. The panels were above my expectations, I didn't even find as many to go to at Anime Expo than I did here at NDK. Battle Karaoke was a blast because I was on the winning team

~ The con goers at NDK were really, really nice. I met a lot of great people who were friendly, but not in that weird creepy way, and a pleasure to talk to. I had been out of the anime loop for awhile and con goers were so helpful and answering any and all questions I had about anime and other things without making me feel like a noob. Special shout out to mystery girl in one of the Autograph lines who had a list of everything the voice actors at NDK had done ever so I didn't miss anything

~ Speaking of Voice Actors, what a great list of guests. I'm usually not one to fangirl over voice actors but they all won me over by being so sweet and charming and SO NICE to the con goers. I saw Michael hanging out in the hallway just talking to con goers and being super sweet, which was great to see. There were also so many, which was great.

Cons:

~ Holy hell was it crowded. I know AX has more space, but it was way more closed in than AX. I wasn't expecting that but eventually got used to it.

~ The lines were so long, like unbelievably long. I waited for Vic's autograph for 2 hours, A group Autograph for an hour and a half (And didn't get in ), the Costume Contest for a hour and a half, and the Hot Seat for 2 hours. This was pretty typical for any panel/event/autograph session and, while I was expecting it for the autograph's I wasn't for the panels/events. At AX panels lines were short and you could walk right in, so it took some time getting used to. A LOT of my con time was spent in a line though, probably 75% of it, which was sad, I really wanted to spend more time taking pictures of the cosplayers.

~ The Staff was rude. I heard them barking at people who didn't really deserve it and yelling at people who stopped for 5 seconds to say hello to someone, or just say they liked a costume. Like, constantly. I kind of wanted to yell back we aren't sharks and don't need to keep on moving all the time. Most of the time they weren't even blocking anything or upstrucking traffic. As for me, While we were waiting for the Cosplay Contest, when we sat up to go into the room I realized I had to pee, like really bad. So I thought I could get in, get my seat and then go to the bathroom. I asked a staff member who told me if I left I would lose my spot in the room and not be able to get back in. So I spent 2 hours in a chair with a full bladder about to pee in the seat. It was pretty extreme.

This isn't to say all the staff was rude, I really wish I would have kept a list of all the nice staff members and gave the list to ops at the end, because there were more rude ones than nicer ones it would have helped narrow it down. The Vic Autograph staffers were so, so sweet and trying so hard to keep people from passing out up there . There were also some panel/event line coordinators who didn't yell at the con goers and were so polite, but I didn't get their names .

~ I have one suggestion. I have Severe Panic Disorder which is brought about my three things (Usually): Lots of people, a tight space, and heat. Not one of three things, all those three things usually have to happen and boy did they ever for the Autograph sessions. The tiny, cramped hallways full of people so when you looked ahead of you, you saw no exit, only more hallway and people. The heat coming off of those bodies in a windowless area making the air thin and warm. My disorder is 95% controllable with Medication (Before anyone says "Why come to a con then!?") but those lines were deadly. Just the autograph session lines, mind you, but if you ever want to feel like a trapped animal, that is where to do it. If you could find a better spot for autographs... that would be lovely.

Speaking of, because of this, I have to sometimes leave a line and walk around for a awhile, so I don't agree with no saving spacing or else I would be completely screwed. At AX it was One person can save for One other person which worked out pretty well for me, since I could get out of line without getting into trouble. This is also true if I see the line is in cramped corners, I let my friends go and I go walk around, it's just more convenient than having EMTs follow me around.

~ Oh One more suggestion! Bring Japanese music acts to NDK! They don't have to be big acts, but NDK is definitely becoming big enough to warrant such acts.

But yeah, we had a lot of fun. This was my boyfriends first NDK and he already wants us to prereg for next year.

[kaerulynn]

I have two concerns/suggestions, but I'm not sure whether the people in control of them are NDK or the hotel.

The first one was the stairs to the tower. I was never really sure whether they were supposed to be locked or unlocked - I got different answers from different staff. It seems to me that it would really ease the congestion of the elevators if we're allowed to use the stairs. I myself used them as often as possible.

The second is parking. I noticed that for the Mariott lot they let anyone in, regardless of whether they were staying at the hotel or not. This made sense in previous years when there wasn't another higher-priced lot across the street. This year, however, I was there earlier than in most years but still had to park in the lot across the street. It makes a lot more sense for people who paid for the hotel to be able to stay in that hotel's lot and not have to pay a higher fee for the lot across the street. I'm almost certain that the Mariott's lot would fill up. The people who are staying at other hotels can park at their hotel (for free for most of them) and the walk isn't bad. The people who didn't pay for a hotel can pay the extra fee. It's far less expensive than a hotel.

As for the con in general, I had a great time. Most of the staff I encountered was friendly, although some of the lines didn't make sense. I agree with the tape idea. Also, the move of the video game room was a great idea. ^^

[neko_volt]

I had a fine time at NDK this year, although would have to agree with the comments about lines, there was a lot of confusion!  Once I asked three different people what a line was for and got three different responses, so either they were messing with me or two of the people I asked were in the wrong line. ^^;  I also had a hard time finding water, there were no Aquarius-like water-bearers for the AMV or cosplay lines this year, and also the upstairs mezzanine area was sooo very hot, maybe some extra fans could have been set up to cool things off.

Also, as much as I appreciate the effort NDK makes to include Japanese guests for the Conventions, I feel like they get a bit of the short end of the stick.  Because the questions and comments in their panels have to be translated, they really only get half the time to express themselves that other panelists get. I know these panels aren't the most popular, but considering the language barrier, maybe a little more time could be slotted for the Japanese guest panels.

As much as I appreciate the additional paid parking  that was offered across the street, there is a lot of foot traffic across the roads to get to that lot.  Some drivers obviously realized this and took that stretch of road slowly, even going so far as braking for catgirls or big-sword crossing;  however some drivers were going very fast, and especially on the intersection closer to the Hyatt, they would take that corner very quickly, so even looking both ways before crossing wasn't enough.  I didn't hear of any accidents, of course, but maybe there could be like those neon "Children at Play" signs posted around that stretch of road to attempt to slow drivers down during the event.

[nemisis47]

I'm throwing this one in again because I'm hoping there might be a change of heart or a possible change in hotel staff: 

Any chance that you could see if the hotel might let NDK use one of the hotel channels to broadcast some of the big events in the Main Events Room, like the cosplay, opening & closing ceremonies, AMV contest (though that might have some legal problems) and guest panels? I think this might cut down on some of the lines and some of the crowding if people could watch from the comfort of their hotel rooms.

I actually agree with that statement, for us NDK goers it'd be dubbed the NDK channel so to speak. That can alleviate the lines in my opinion and come on who wouldn't like to be on the TV where all can see the cosplay contest in the comfort of your room

The smartphone idea that was brought up is a terrific idea for NDK to do. That kind of idea can be brought up onto another thread in detail perhaps. I do see other cons do have phone apps for that kind of deal, heck maybe add a widget from that to add a countdown to the con too.

Anyways, as for me I enjoyed the con as usual with meeting new friends and enjoying everyone's company in the process, I do commend staff for making this year great as usual.

The VGR gets props for me with moving to the private dining room, it was spacious as well as awesome. I love to see NDK make that the new home for the VGR. Plus big props for the guy who brought Steel Batallion for the Xbox, quite a interesting game to play with all them buttons making a really immersive experience.

Only things that needs work is the crowdiness, lines and some panels didn't start on time such as the NDK late show starting at 11 than at 10. Great panel other than that.

And of course rather than making a poster for the shoot schedule, why not make a separate sheet for the shoots like you do with the schedule in general and the video viewing schedule. Makes it real handy than traveling on a quest at the con hallway to find the mythical all knowing shoot schedule. (RPG humor lol)

As for the apparent rude staffers, (though I didn't experience it myself) maybe before NDK's, train volunteers and staff to be more courteous and nicer to attendees than treat them like at Paris Island in Marine Basic training from what I been hearing through this thread and the many ones I heard. Sure I can understand yelling to get the attendees to understand whats going on, but pure rudeness should be a no no. We pay alot of money for NDK every year to have fun, not being yelled at by staff.

[Alitain]

Huh, interesting.  Personally speaking I keep seeing people complain about rude staff but not once did I encounter a rude staff member, or see a staff member being rude.  Now I'm just an attendee, but I'm kinda curious as to this.  My guess is that people were stopping in the middle of traffic and chatting and what not, or otherwise causing problems.  Thus staff responds.  Though not saying all people complaining about staff were doing something wrong, just seems curious because I was wandering around the hotel for most of the weekend(aside from being in lines and panels).

Eh, lines were long. Sucks but it's been that way for a couple years so to expect anything different at this point is kinda silly, so I don't even consider it a complaint.  I mean I went to one autograph session Saturday, got there about an hour before which really isn't unexpected.  I mean I use to get in the autograph line half hour/hour beforehand back when they were done behind registration and there was always some kinda line.  Though I will kinda say it would be nice for a better area for the autographs but I can't think of one and doubt there really is one.  I think, and staff correct me if I'm wrong, but moving the autographs from behind registrations was done because of the congestion it caused.  All those people lining up as well as dealing with registration people, and traffic, probably was a nightmare for staff.

I think my only complaint would have to be with air flow.  And really, I doubt it's something that can be controlled.  But this is from my experience spending half of Saturday jumping between Blanca Peak and Pike's Peak for panels.  It got unpleasant there at times.  Is there any way to get some better airflow going on?  If possible...fans?  I mean I know they can take up space which given the crowd, could be bad but maybe if there could be fans at some corners like that corner by the staff doors between Blanca Peak, DDR Room, and Pike's Peak, it might help cool the area down when so many people gather for lines.  Again, I know that most likely this is just a part of the crowd and something that can't be worked on but maybe something can.  I mean I just remember how grateful I was every panel I went to in Blanca Peak because every time I went into the room the temp dropped significantly and it was SO nice.

Actually, I do have another complaint.  The people stopping in the middle of hallways and traffic areas to chat or whatever.  Honestly, again, I think this is where a lot of people get the wrath of staff upon them.  And they deserve it.  If you're going to stop in the middle of a trafficked area, guess what you're going to get told to move.  Don't do it, it's annoying to everyone else that's nice and polite and wanting to just move through the con.

I don't care about the crowd.  I mean I do, there're a lot of people and it'd be nice to just swing down 15 min before a panel and know you can get in fine enough, but NDK is growing so that's cool.  But I admit to telling several people to move it when polite requests go unheard.  Obviously this isn't a complaint at staff, they rock at their job, this is a complaint on the other congoers who feel the need to block traffic.  If those people can just move to the walls, or closer to booths(like in AA), it would go a long way to helping EVERYONE out.

Oh, I do have a suggestion for staff.  Honestly, I didn't notice staff much at all in the Dealer's Room.  Now mind you I have been told by staff to keep moving when all I was doing was pausing to turn and move to a dealer table.  That mistake of the staff member aside(and that was a few years ago), I liked having staff wandering the DR breaking up annoying people stopping in the middle of traffic and all.  And I was in the DR several times during the con, and didn't really notice them.  Now mind you this may be because you guys are stretched too thin, though I'm pretty sure there was staff in the back right corner, but maybe if you had one or two staff members patrolling through the DR again or at least more often, that'd help quell some of the traffic problems.

Well another fun year, thanks to the staff and volunteers I don't envy you but very much appreciate the work you guys do.

[Alitain]

I'll say this about the parking.  We got there about noon on Friday and the signs for "Lot is Full" were up.  But we pulled in and found parking.  So my suggestion to people for next year is to just drive in and drive around before going across the street, save ya some money.

Honestly the funny thing is this year we parked closer than ever before, being almost right outside the front entrance which was awesome, and kinda...ironic.  Or if not that, funny at the least.

[Masurao Tsukino]

Another problem I saw was the dealers room not opening on the correct time. I saw signs around the hall leading to the dealers room that had times when it would open on the weekend. I think it said 10am and 11am. On both Saturday and Sunday they didn't open till noon. I don't know what happened to caused the delay or if it was just moved to that time. I don't think its a good idea to open it around the noon time because you also people coming for the 2nd day of the con in line and it was just too small for that many people in line. I would say open the dealers room without a line and on time.

The only thing I can comment on is the dealers time because the dealers room opened up on time all three days (which was 9:30 Saturday and 10 Sunday).  Give or take about 5-10 minutes to let dealers confirm whether they were ready to open or not.

[toadstoolssecretluvchild]

*Lines are always gonna be long at conventions as long as something is popular, it just makes sense.

*I would like to see some better panels come about. For the last three years I've been to none, they use to be fun. How about some industry panels?! Other cons have company reps come in and talk about things from their perspective and show previews and answer horrible rants like Why did they cancel Monster :p  If y'all could swing that, it would really beef things up a bit.

*Hate to say it again, but y'all need more space. *broken record* :/

Overall B+ experience

[JackWarn]

I had a good time but I found that some panels were scheduled remarkably short for their format. One in particular the Voice Acting panel at Pikes Peak for 2:00PM Saturday was only an hour and I would say that less than ten percent of the people who wanted to try got to do so. Also there were a few problems with the schedule. Panels being marked as 18+ that were not and panels being marked for two hours that were only one (The Hot Seat).
Also there was a long delay while waiting for the closing ceremonies so maybe have the winners of either this years or last years AMV contest on a flash drive for such occurences so that you dont't leave the entire crowd hanging for half an hour or more.

[YazooAirspace]

This is more of a complaint about the congoers than the con itself, but...

Guys, please stop comparing NDK to AX.  NDK is several times smaller than AX, goes for fewer days, and is held in a hotel versus a convention center.  Things that work at AX won't necessarily work at NDK, and I'm personally getting a bit annoyed that some people feel that a solution to any operating kinks NDK has is to copy an existing con's system.

[Jinnie]

I'm going to try and broadly address as many of the common concerns as possible. My apologies if I missed yours.

1. Hotel is too crowded
This is exactly why we're now a capped convention. We've attempted various solutions, such as moving autographs off the main floor, directing traffic in AA, creating two lines for Dealers (props or no props), making it a rule not to line up for autographs more than two hours in advance, etc. But we recognize those ideas aren't always popular, or may inconvenience others even as they help the con overall. We welcome your thoughts and ideas as well, but unfortunately, there's not much more we can do.

As far as checking for badges, we've never escorted as many people offsite as we did this year for refusing to support the con. We're trying to balance badge checks with not interrupting the fun of paying attendees, but this was only the first year of enforcing a previously flexible rule and we still have some learning to do. We'd rather not be more strict than we need to be.

2. Staff was rude
We're sorry to hear that some staff and/or volunteers did not meet our expectations. However, there's not much we can do about this when told about it after the con. Also, if people were blocking walkways, or were in a noisy area, sometimes staff members had to be a bit louder or more succinct than they would be in normal circumstances to make sure they were heard. Should you happen to remember specific instances, and most importantly, names (we all wore a staff badge), please don't hesitate to let us know.

Conversely, we're also always delighted to learn about staff members that went above and beyond. At-con, you can report those special folks at Ops. We'll make sure they're recognized properly for a job well done.

NDK did not have staff stationed in the Hilton (or any other overflow hotel).

3. Badges
I'm a bit confused about the complaint that staff had better badges than attendees. I'm not sure how to "fix that". Does that refer to the design? Judgment is quite subjective. Or, did you pre-register? If you did, one of the perks is getting a gorgeous, full-color badge. Was that what the complaint referred to?

4. Lines outside
That makes us nervous for a number of reasons, including the weather and the liability of sending thousands of people outside in a very busy parking lot. But, as I said above, we always appreciate ideas. Keep 'em coming.

Other Concerns
- if an area is out of water, just let us know and we'll ask the hotel to fill it.
- the schedule for the art auction is up to the discretion of the art show staff. It was posted on the door in public view.
- as we mentioned in the initial attendance cap announcement thread, the con will not be splitting hotels. The Hilton, for example, has just 10% of convention space and the rooms available wouldn't seek our needs.
- we'd love to stream Cosplay on the TVs. According to the hotel, technologically, it's not possible at this time.
- We're aware that DPD occasionally shows up to this event, just like they would to any other massively crowded event. Statistically speaking, things can happen there. But I'm not sure why that would make congoers nervous... knowing they're there makes me, personally, feel even more safe.

As far as the long delay on closing ceremonies, you may have seen photos on Facebook that explain why. Roughly half of NDK's guest list (and myself) were stuck waiting in an elevator while very lovely firemen, the hotel and our excellent leadership team coordinated our rescue. As this was an unplanned event we knew would be solved quickly, the decision was made to wait until everyone could get up on stage.

[Lunara]

Omigosh! I didn't hear about you guys getting stuck in the elevator! I bet that was an adventure. XD Glad you guys are alright.

[Rozen Middy]

For streaming: What about free sites online? I know there's a few charity gaming organizations that stream their LP's. Would it maybe be possible for NDK to invest in something like that? It wouldn't be perfect, since people would still need to access the internet somehow to see it, but it could potentially help.
Staff: Okay, I didn't think NDK would station anyone in a different hotel than the con. That guy was just a rude person then. Thanks.
Comparing NDK to AX: I don't know about all of them, but at least one or two of the suggestions here also apply at smaller convention. Animazement on the east coast streams (or at least used to) their cosplay contest. Just because it happens there doesn't mean that it doesn't happen elsewhere as well. Apologies if that sounds rude, but obviously it works somewhere, so it's possible that it could work here as well.

One more thing I've noticed. Every year, panels seem to run late. I know sometimes it's because of unforseeable events, like what sounds like hit the closing ceremony. But other times, I get the feeling that it's because other panels run late. If this is true, would it be possible to more or less force the panelists to wrap up their panels? I know staff members will come in and say time is up, but that's about the extent of it. It would help with running late, if that's what holds these things up.

[Mahou Shoujo Michi]

I'm sure that I'll have more to add later on.. but off the top of my head.

ELEVATORS.  I appreciate that the staff and volunteers monitor the elevators on the main floor, really I do.  But guess what? People STILL cram in on every other floor.  :/ "We can fit one more!"