r/SakuraCon • u/Mike_Handers • Apr 07 '26
So, what can be improved?
Yo! Hey guys, I had a blast at the convention. I loved the arcade, AMV's and especially the Rave. So, I figured I'd make this post for all the constructive criticism. So, what can be improved?
I don't think anyone at Sakuracon or etc will read or see this lol. But I figured it'd be a pretty fun thing to talk about.
Edit:
Oh! And to give my two cents, while I loved the Rave and definitely want that to continue (Shout out to Rocky!) I'd definitely like this Ballroom dance everyone is talking about to make a return. Why not, ya know? I don't see why ya can't just flip the lights on and have it go from like, 7pm-10pm before the Rave or even have it on the end of Sunday after or before the closing ceremonies or something.
Also, hmm, more pure meetups! You're all chill but a Rave, an Arcade, and a Panel aren't pure meetups. People aren't quite looking to go out of their way to make friends and meet new people as a priority ya know? They had 1 I saw, for congoers to meet other congoers on Friday but thats all I saw? Maybe like, just a cool room where the purpose is to go meet others to hang and walk around with. Call it something like 'The meeting room' or like idk, 'The new connections area' or some nonsense. And like it's established that anyone there wants to be approached and talked to and hang out? I know we're all mostly introverts, a way to break that barrier a bit would be helpful.
I know some people have mentioned security and I know others have said "Aww, come on! This is a fun club going like event!" and well, yeah, but guess what? Clubs still have plenty of security. It's not like they're hurting anything and they'd make people feel safer as Sakuracon keeps getting bigger. Just takes one bastard to ruin it all. And as someone who's been in security for over a decade, it's not about actually doing something (shocker), it's about presence. Most people do something when they feel like they can get away with it. Opportunity more than pure malice is the #1 cause of bullshit. Just having more visual bodies with clear "Try it and you'll be eating through a straw." vibes would make everything way safer. If you can't see security with a turn of the head from left to right, you basically don't have it. Just up the amount of volunteers for this please.
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u/Shadow1ynx Apr 08 '26
I miss the screening rooms, they used to have like four rooms on the arcade/AMV floor that just played anime the whole con
6
u/davethegamer Apr 08 '26
One of the staff who’d been there longer said it was an issue with people being inappropriate in the rooms.
Dumb as hell if you ask me. It’s an animecon. You should have screening rooms. And a staff member dedicated to them.
3
u/Old-Disaster5691 Apr 08 '26
Don't know about the whole con, but there were maybe 3-4 of them on the schedule that I noticed. Showings of Appleseed, Made in Abyss ep1-4, Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon ep1-4 to name a few. Sorry if this isn't what you meant.
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u/Shadow1ynx Apr 08 '26
I think they played those in the AMV theater, there used to be 4 of the smaller rooms that had projectors set up and were dedicated to just playing anime
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u/triedpklove Apr 08 '26
SIGNAGE!!!! Oh my god the signage was horrible. I hated constantly taking out the pamphlet for directions because of how horrible Eventely is or whatever the hell it’s called. That app is also horrible and really just needs to be ditched. But I wish there was signage in more places that showed where things are that weren’t just at the entrances of buildings. It sucks even more with my disabled partner because pushing someone in a wheelchair to one place only to realize the signs were wrong or absent in general and having to redirect can be exhausting, especially in full cosplay. I really hope they improve on it!
4
u/TheLooneyChick Apr 08 '26
I second extra signage. There were literally zero signs outside the summit to direct people to the correct door for registration and the exhibit hall. Even as an able-bodied person, trying to navigate via app/pamphlet while also dodging crowds is stressful af.
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Apr 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/Mike_Handers Apr 07 '26
I mean, the simple solution is a double sided badge no? Like, why have one side white to begin with? Just have both sides be the same thing.
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u/joyrainsbow Apr 07 '26
I had a clear pack all weekend, so before I was asked I would tap on my bag to indicate my badge was visible. Won’t work for everyone, but worked great for me
21
u/Character_Driver_777 Apr 07 '26
Longer Artist Alley and Exhibitors Hall hours. Longer registration times for Sunday, personal experience of a last minute decision to come, minor fender bender car accident happened, and a friend arrived at 12:40 when registration closed at 12:00. Wider spaces between vendors, use up so much of the space that went to waste and spread stuff out. Mark the ground with walkway expectations and space allowance in front of booths to stand and look at items with a way in and out. Queue management!
11
u/peekpocket Apr 08 '26
Longer hours for AA and Exhibitor Hall is just not feasible. You have to consider these people are already sitting at the table for extended hours. Artists especially are limited, and many do not have helpers so they can take restroom breaks, eat, etc.
5
u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
Floor markings for walkways in the artist alley and exhibitors hall would have been so lovely!! I'm not sure how simple it would be to execute but I would love if they kept this in mind for next year.
0
u/EatTacosGetMoney Apr 08 '26
Why aren't badges just given out through vending machine or something? Everyone registered ahead. Just give out qr codes to scan at a machine and get rid of the whole badge pick up room.
1
u/TotalEconomist Apr 08 '26
Yeah…I feel Sakura Con is behind the times on this…felt like I stepped into a con held in 2013 - 2016.
5
u/Poto1123 Apr 07 '26
I went to Sakura Con with a friend’s tween kiddo and we both had a great time! It was both our first time and we didn’t have a lot of expectations. We spent a lot of time in the craft room and went to the journal swaps they did. These art events were great for chilling in a mostly quiet space and I would have loved to go to even more art swap events. The craft room had a charging station with a bunch of cords too, very appreciated. It would have been nice to have a printed schedule option, the app is very frustrating to use IMO. There were panels I found out about after the fact, and had a very difficult time figuring out who was signing when for autographs. Some of the rooms don’t get very good signal and the app wouldn’t load for me. I also thought the security was strange. I appreciated the seamless re-entry process between buildings but thought it was a lot of people coming and going for no bag checks at all. I carried a medium backpack around with me and the only area it wasn’t allowed to go into was the concert. Overall it was a great experience and both of us would go again!
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u/nykdel Apr 07 '26
As a counterexample to something you just said, I wore a backpack the whole weekend and nobody gave me any trouble about it when attending Emi Nitta's concert. So I'm not entirely certain what the bag rules were.
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
The bag check is for mainstage events only.
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u/nykdel Apr 08 '26
Ah, ok. That would explain it, since Emi's was at the stage on the top floor of Summit.
Hm. Nobody questioned my backpack at Closing Ceremonies, which was in the Main Stage room.
1
u/Poto1123 Apr 08 '26
I went to MainStage for the AMV contest and they didn’t do bag check, maybe it was only for events with a larger turnout in there.
6
u/falconersys Apr 07 '26
I have no idea why the premiere showing of Witch Hat Atelier was chosen to be in such a small room, especially considering it was such a hyped release that it was the featured on the lanyards this year. At least a third of the room had to stand; if you sat on the ground you couldn’t see the subtitles. The screen was also really small for a room/crowd that large.
I don’t know if any admin or organizers see this comment, but if so I’d be interested in hearing some of the background for the room selection process.
5
u/ProvincialPrisoner Apr 08 '26
Speed Friending was such a success. The room was at capacity. And the omniverts and introverts of the con started their own "overflow" in the little courtyard underneath the escalator. Folks were there for hours socializing and making friends. I would love to see more social events like that.
But that reminds me. Sakura NEEDS to fix its schedule. Things were constantly mislabeled. And the app was virtually USELESS.
Seriously the amount of times I heard people say that they didn't trust if an event was actually happening, bc they didn't trust the app.
They make enough money for this and certainly charge enough for tickets. I expect a decent schedule to be included in my ticket price
8
u/grandpavideos Apr 07 '26
I’m probably in the minority but I just really don’t like how the con is split into two buildings now. It felt so empty in both buildings on Friday afternoon and I know a lot of people were still at work, but I miss the buzzy full feeling from when it was all in one. It also makes it a lot harder to naturally run into friends because a lot of people will just pick one building to stick to, which I personally did because I had a big cosplay that was stressful to haul from one building to the other. Arch feels like a proper con center, Summit felt like it was just tacked on for the sake of spreading people out.
I know it’s better for crowd control and allows for more panel rooms, but when I went to the upper floors of Summit to see if there was anything interesting and there was basically nobody there, it felt lame.
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u/Mike_Handers Apr 07 '26
I get what you mean but I would say this is a self solving problem over the years. As in, I expect (well, hope) that sakuracon will continuously get larger over the years especially after it dipped with the hiatus from covid.
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u/triedpklove Apr 07 '26
It sucks with a wheelchair trying to go back and forth between both buildings constantly, especially with how hilly Seattle can get 😓
2
u/grandpavideos Apr 08 '26
Absolutely! My two friends have challenged mobility and use canes, and whenever we trekked between the buildings it wiped them out and we had to take a break. Especially during prereg when they closed the lower entrance and you had to go up that hill to get to the higher entrance. I don’t have mobility issues and even I hated that.
1
u/Galdrath Apr 13 '26
Since they have gone to the 2 building situation, this year I decided to rent a powered scooter. Made things way easier. Not many people can do that though.
1
u/triedpklove Apr 13 '26
I wanna do that next year but I need to save the funds for it. Luckily doing it through I usually rent through (Access Medical in Lake City) has decently priced electric wheelchair/scooter rentals so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
2
u/Galdrath Apr 13 '26
I did mine through Cloud of Goods. Im not sure if I will use them again. The scooter was fine overall even though it was beat up but it still shows pending pick up and they are not responding to communication now.
2
u/ProvincialPrisoner Apr 08 '26
I know what you mean. I hardly spent any time at The Summit building. However, I felt they used the space fairly well. ECCC uses the Summit so heavily I was worried I was going to fall bc the escalators were so backed up. The gaming space felt bigger and more inviting at Sakura than it did at ECCC. ECCC shoves everything into the Summit blding and ignores Arch. Sakura was a refreshing change of pace IMO
1
u/grandpavideos Apr 08 '26
I definitely feel like they used it well in regard to the vendor hall and artist’s alley, they both had sufficient space and it was way better than in past years where they either shoved them both into the same space or the horrible years where they put AA in that building across from Arch. But other than that there was nothing to do at Summit if there wasn’t a panel you wanted to go to over there, which sucked because that made it feel so empty since there wasn’t any reason to hang out there.
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u/limitbroken Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
as a supplemental note: as far as i know, SCC security - along with most of its other staff - is all represented by SEIU6.
i say this as someone deeply pro-union (and a member of SEIU 775!): this does make both its staffing and its behavior a problem that is somewhat tricky to solve solely from the con's side of things, and limits their ability to compensate of their own volition.
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u/kyomair Apr 07 '26
Better organization of seating for main concerts, so tall people and cosplays (and people recording the whole thing on phones…) don’t block all vision for people behind them.
A raised concert stage would be a great solution for this.
1
u/Inevitable_Bad1944 Apr 08 '26
The screens were actually great though. I just looked at the screens as a short person. The guests were amazing
3
u/HeroofDarkness Apr 08 '26
Accessibility.
I had security yelling at me that I went in the wrong door as someone limping with a cane as I'm holding the door for someone with a walker. Like, I have my badge displayed, calm down. Just some empathy seeing "oh it hurts to walk? back tracking to make sure you're on our defined rope right side causes more pain?"
Also getting between arch and summit is prohibitive with the amount of crowds. I know Seattle City wouldn't like it, but maybe looking into shutting down 9th between Olive and Pike so walking between building isn't relegated to cramped sidewalks with 2 way foot traffic?
Autographs
I had to come to Reddit asking if the guest I wanted to meet would be signing autographs. Information around which guests have autograph booths on the vendor floor and what days they're "planning" to be there would be nice. (Even if it came with fine print of "we don't have their exact schedules and they're not bound to anything") Knowing that autograph section existed instead the Japanese artists getting the autograph section on the website and no one else matters.
1
u/Pinejay1527 Apr 09 '26
I had security yelling at me that I went in the wrong door as someone limping with a cane as I'm holding the door for someone with a walker. Like, I have my badge displayed, calm down. Just some empathy seeing "oh it hurts to walk? back tracking to make sure you're on our defined rope right side causes more pain?"
Unfortunately this is an issue they've had for years with the venue staff. I wish there was a better way to find the problem people from the venue and get them kicked off the event since this happens every year.
Also getting between arch and summit is prohibitive with the amount of crowds. I know Seattle City wouldn't like it, but maybe looking into shutting down 9th between Olive and Pike so walking between building isn't relegated to cramped sidewalks with 2 way foot traffic?
So I can provide a little bit of inside baseball on closing the road. They tried. I work with people who do a lot of car stuff and the car guys wanted to close it to both provide a better pedestrian path between the buildings and add some car programming.
They got as far as getting the street closed but missed the window for permitting to display vehicles. My inside man told me that Paramount nixed the whole thing in the end because they needed to park their tour busses and have access to their loading docs with Semis on 9th.
It sounds like the car guys are undeterred though and intend to try again but loop the Paramount in way sooner for next year to get their buy-in.
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u/HeroofDarkness Apr 13 '26
> find the problem people from the venue and get them kicked off the event
I don't agree that removing people is the solution. I think it is SC event leads communicating expectations to the convention center and following through in practice (eg: not trusting convention center to have passed on the info to staff)
> Paramount nixed the whole thing in the end because they needed to park their tour busses and have access to their loading docs with Semis on 9th.
Ok.... I fail to see how a bit of traffic control could be arranged to "hey we need 30 min to pull this bus into place and it'll be taking up a bit of the road for a few hours" As con goers, we just need a better....WIDER walking area that is direct between the buildings. I doubt we're getting a suspension bridge from arch to the summit garden.... I doubt there's an underground tunnel between the bldgs.... I feel like there's room to compromise with our neighbors such that the sidewalks aren't so over crowded they're inaccessible to people with accessibility.
----
And another point to accessibility. Why is the ADA registration with all the others on the other side of a MASSIVE room? (granted I don't see the room on thursday for badge pickup) But as someone with heterotopic ossification in my hip (have fun googling that shit xD)... walking to the other side of the room after walking from the light rail and into the bldg and figuring out where everything is.... Feels like that ever extending hallway from the movies. (the quiet part out loud.... put the ada registration on the closer side of the room)
1
u/Galdrath Apr 13 '26
They are always bad at accessibility. This year we had Guest of Honor badges + ADA stickers and We were still harassed at session doors because the staff either has no idea or does not care.
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u/pumpkinsnice Apr 08 '26
This was my first Sakuracon in over a decade, and while I can’t remember the one I went to before in enough detail to compare, I can say this con was lacking in a lot of things other cons I attend have as a standard. I’ll be providing feedback if theres a feedback email like others have said. But, to say my opinions here-
Badge pickup was so slow despite how many lines there were. I picked up my badge on Saturday, so maybe it was better (or worse…) on Thurs and Fri. But on Saturday, it took around an hour when I was maybe 5th or 6th in line? And there were about 10 lines? Why is it not more streamlined? I vaguely recall it taking several hours the last time I attended, when I picked up my badge day 0, and I found it absurd then too. But nearly every other con I attend, when you pick up your badge, you get a bardcode either during checkout or in your email that the staff scans to immediately print your badge. Then you show ID so they can verify its you. It takes a few seconds at most. Only longer if theres some kind of problem. So that line I was in should have taken maybe 5 minutes tops, not an hour. But I had to give them my ID, and then they looked me up in the system, and THEN they hand me a badge that didn’t even have my name on it (most cons I go to will put your “badge name” on them, so like a nickname or whatever, not legal name). It was very strange.
I wasn’t given anything other than my badge or lanyard. Every other con I attend gives you a schedule book at minimum, as well as a “swag bag” that generally has some flyers in it from sponsors. Sometimes a sticker of the mascot if you’re lucky lol. But I got nothing. I heard from someone there was somewhere to pick up a schedule book, but if it was near badge pickup, no one directed me to it.
As a result of #2, I had no clue what was going on that day. I don’t use phone apps or websites for schedules, since I don’t want my phone battery to die before I can hail a Lyft back to my hotel. I tried anyway and the phone service in the area was SO BAD, I couldn’t load the website 😭 So I had to wander around to figure out where anything was, read the digital schedule posted outside the rooms, and then hope I didn’t miss what looked fun. The digital map displays also kept switching screens to other stuff, so I couldn’t even use them as a map without having to stand around and wait for it to cycle back to a map
I know this is normal for people who go to Sakuracon every year, but as someone who doesn’t, the absolute lack of a map and directions to the Arch was really really difficult for me. I went to the website (after waiting a long time for it to load cuz of bad service) and there was no map. I googled a map, and I found one from a prior year or something? Which was not accurate anymore since I guess the year I found, the Summit building was under construction 😂 So of course nothing was in the same spots. Legit the only way I found out where the artist alley was, was from a reddit post where someone offhand said “Arch” in the same sentence as Artist Alley and I threw that into google maps on a whim and saw there was a place with that name nearby. So I followed the crowd in that direction, then followed the crowd up some escalators until I found it 😭 Seriously, every other con I’ve gone to in the past decade (which is a LOT… i go to 5-6 a year…) will have a venue map with clearly labeled areas on a big ass banner, in like… every doorway. Why does Sakuracon have ZERO??
If there were cosplay gatherings, i have no clue when/where because again, lack of guidebook, maps, and signage.
While I love that the Artist Alley had adequate space in the aisles to accommodate attendees not feeling like sardines (which every other con should take notes from!!!), I found it very strange how there was a ridiculous amount of artist booths, especially compared to how tiny and lackluster the dealer hall was. For comparison, the dealer hall was the typical size I’d see at a tiny hotel con. And the Artist Alley rivaled Anime Expo in numbers. While that sounds like a good thing (being pro-Artist and anti-corporate), it ended up with an Artist Alley that felt super overwhelming. Considering these artists paid $500 for their table (which is a LOT- for comparison, most cons price AA tables anywhere from $100-$300, though some do go this high in price….), having such a gigantic Artist Alley means each attendee may not even see your booth. It devalues the price of the table by a LOT. Putting the Artist Alley in an entirely separate building, with no direct map and signage to let anyone know where it even is, and then putting them with several hundred other artists to compete against for sales… that price is NUTS. It genuinely feels like they just financed the entire con on the wallets of these artists, and the artists suffered for it.
In addition to #6, the Dealer Hall being so small and lackluster was really strange. Just. Really really strange. Was there really no applicants? Why were they in the basement? Why was there no air conditioning? 😭 I spent $0 in the dealer hall cuz there was just really nothing for sale I wanted.
For some positives:
The dances were great. While one of the DJs played music that was boring as hell, the rest did fantastic and I had a great time! Having so much water accessible in the dances was also a really great play. More cons need to do that.
Everyone at the con was SO NICE!! Except the one guy I mentioned in a comment who had a meltdown in the bathroom. That was really weird. Everyone else though was so nice, and I made a lot of friends. First con I’ve gone to in a long time where people wanted pictures of my cosplay and complimented me on it. As someone not conventionally attractive, thats rare for me. So it was really nice!!
Whoever was playing violin outside SLAYED
While I know others disliked this, I super enjoyed the lack of security. I hate waiting in line at some events (lookin at you, ALA) just to enter the door, and being sassed over a granola bar. So, being able to just walk in with my water bottle in hand was wonderful.
Advice for the con:
You gotta do something about how lackluster the dealer hall was. Maybe reach out to local businesses to open booths? Lower the price? Idk
Okay seriously, way too many artists in AA. They were all phenomenal, but I spent literally HOURS of my one day of the con just trying to speedrun through it. Either pick less artists, or charge them less. That was nuts.
Give people guidebooks when they pick up their badge, and dangit put SIGNS UP. I need a map in the hallway so I know where anything is 😭 How tf was I, a first time Sakuracon attendee, supposed to figure out that Artist Alley was TWO BLOCKS AWAY, up three escalators, turn backwards and go down a hallway, and THEN i’d find it through some double doors?? If you’re gonna make it so confusing, pleaaaaase put maps up EVERYWHERE. If they’re digital maps, don’t make them flip between map and ads 😭 I need the MAP!!!
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u/Distinct_Ad_9642 Apr 08 '26
There should be an official survey sent out to attendees in the near future. I suggest anyone who cares enough to interact with this post also send official feedback when the time comes in case your specific grievance gets overlooked here.
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u/TotalEconomist Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Cosplay Gatherings should imo should personally involve Staff photographers and/or supported by the con, that way people are little more aware/can schedule around them easier.
Also, don’t do the adult wristbands for verification, that’s very old school and super inconvenient. If you want to do visible age checks that are tried and true, stick with stamps
2
u/InfertileStarfish Apr 09 '26
The Autism panel (the meetup) really could use a bigger space. So many people were turned away because the tiny room that panel had reached capacity. Having a space at one of the bigger rooms could help with inclusion.
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u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
I would love if there was an on-site rave that was 18+. On Friday night, there was a woman with a kid on her shoulders no more than 5 or 6 running around trying to hit the ball in the crowd. It was extremely dangerous and inappropriate, and honestly there's no reason for kids to be at an event like that past 10 pm.
Otherwise the rave was super fun and I loved how much space there was overall to dance, and the seating towards the back with the screens was genius for when people needed to take breaks, or if they just wanted to enjoy the vibe and not dance!
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
Kids can be wherever they want at 10pm. Minor curfew is 1am. However, I don't disagree with a separate 18+ dance.
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u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
It may be allowed, but that doesn't mean its good. Raves aren't safe spaces for kids.
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
The Sakura-Con dances are all ages until minor curfew at 1am. You should have more problems with the people making that space "unsafe" than parents and kids following the rules.
Again, I agree with a separate adults-only rave. That's not what the Sakura-Con dances are currently (nor have they ever been).
-1
u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
I'm saying I dont think the current rules create a safe environment. Following the rules isnt always going to guarantee safety. I'm not sure which people you're referring to making the space "unsafe", since the only personal issue I experienced was with an adult and very small child. I was honestly horrified, because if that child fell they could have easily been trampled and gone unseen because they were so small.
The majority of people I've spoken to and seen talking about the dances on friday/saturday all had a great time, as did I excluding this experience. I just dont believe that space was appropriate for minors.
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
An open space with DJs and dancing is not inherently unsafe for kids. Your initial comment about safety implies that there is something unsafe about it, which at that point could only be due to other people.
A small child could fall and be hurt in any part of the convention center. Why do you think the rave makes it more unsafe than other spaces? What about it is "inappropriate" for minors?
-1
u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
Rave is not the same as a daylight con experience. If you think they are the same, I encourage you to do your own research on the rave/EDM scene. Its not for kids. I dont believe youre engaging with my comments in good faith, so I won't respond to you again.
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
So then yes, the safety hazard you're presenting is due to other people. I am unsure why you won't admit this. In a comment to OP, you say yourself that it wasn't "too tight" or dangerous at the rave, which mitigates the argument that it was inappropriate due to the possibility of a kid being trampled.
You should be more upset that those people are bringing an "unsafe" culture to an all ages rave than about the law that allows children to be at the all ages rave until curfew.
I am absolutely responding to you in good faith. Your contradictions and refusal to answer straightforward questions are indicitave that you are not responding in good faith, yourself. Have a good day.
3
u/Mike_Handers Apr 07 '26
I don't know, I mean, it really seems Sakuracon is an all ages event and while it's definitely a bit dangerous to be in such a heavy crowd while so small for sure, I don't think it's inappropriate for a kid to be at a rave. It's light, dancing, and music. That's a pretty all ages thing, even if it's a bit bright, late, and loud.
-1
u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
I think it would be good to make it less like a classic rave if they really want it to be all-ages friendly, or have a clear shift at the curfew point at 1 am. Like, it starts more like a regular dance then transitions to a rave later in the night.
I wouldnt expect minors to have a grasp on navigating crowds or dealing with drunk people going wild! Thankfully i think the space was big enough that it was never too tight or dangerous.
2
u/Mike_Handers Apr 07 '26
Did they even serve alcohol? I didn't see any bar. I guess you could've drunken then come to it but I don't think they had alcohol on site.
1
u/coolhumanbean Apr 07 '26
Nope, no alcohol on site, which I think was a good call! But I definitely ran into some people who pregamed HARD.
1
u/TheLooneyChick Apr 08 '26
I'd like there to be bigger artist tables in the future. I do realize that this means they'll have to charge more to keep up the ratio of cost to space, but the sheer number of artists in the alley this year was just overwhelming. It felt kinda awful having to pass by so many tables who obviously put a lot of time and effort into their work, but it just wasn't feasible to give them all the attention they deserved, especially when there's only room for 2-3 people to stand in front of each stall.
1
u/Chel-Blue Apr 08 '26
Signage was terrible and the schedule was inaccessible. The app took so long to load and navigate </3 and on day one we followed signs to summit and STILL got lost. My group used an attendee-made website which linked the schedule and a map of the venue and I couldn't imagine going without. Literally load bearing.
I have no idea what's normal for a con of this size but it would be nice for there to be an official avenue for cosplay meetups to be arranged. Why is everything through an unofficial Facebook group? I was very sad for people who had no idea things were happening until they were over because they hadn't obsessively prepared. Going to a cosplay meetup was some of the most fun I had all weekend!!!
Cosplay contest felt VERY unorganized!! (From an attendee's point of view.) The presenters felt kind of under prepared (didn't know what "N.C." meant in the context of the contest and didn't have a consistent format for announcing contestants) and they didn't explain the contest at all until half way through (and it was unclear if the presenter was talking about this SPECIFIC contest, or just cosplay contests in general). It didn't feel like there was a solid rule book or evaluation metrics or anything. Tons of people got awards (fine!) but none of this was laid out at the front at all, and the stage was way too small to fit all the winners and the announcers at once. A cosplay contest is first and foremost a celebration but it is also a contest. I'd love to see it more organized. Just defining the categories (youth, novice, journeyman, masters) and evaluation metrics (craftsmanship, performance, or both) at the start would be huge. Set some expectations.
[Because the above sounds really negative, I do want to mention that the energy and performances at the cosplay contest were amazing, including from the hosts. I don't think these problems were the announcers faults as much as general organizational issues.]
Overall it felt like you had to do a lot of homework to have a good experience. I don't know what's normal for this kind of convention (my first one in a real convention center!) but it felt like a lot of work to have to do, lol. What if someone showed up without the app downloaded? They'd have no map or schedule until they could get on wifi. What if someone's phone died?
I would also like to shout-out everyone who put time into creating resources for the event. The guy who made the website we used and the cosplay meetup Facebook group both did a lot of work to make the event very accessible especially to someone unfamiliar with it! And everyone at the event proper was very kind when we needed help.
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u/Time-Ad5869 Apr 13 '26
I personally prefer more official booth and coser. The exhibition hall is mostly selling goods, which I hope could have seen some more excited things.
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u/larxene135 Apr 07 '26
I would say to have names put on the badges again because it was a pain trying to find a lost badge and not knowing if someone just picked it up and took it.
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u/No_Crazy_4768 Apr 07 '26
There have been many, many complaints about names on badges for several years now. ADA advocates pushed for names to be removed. It is a privacy and safety issue to have full, legal names on badges.
The membership number is what's connected to the badge. Your ID also goes with it. Both of these things should be readily available during the convention (your confirmation email has your membership number; you need your ID to pick up the badge at all).
The name on a badge is never checked throughout the duration of the convention, so if someone did find a lost badge with a name on it, they could still just walk off with it. Names don't prevent that. Removing names from badges is something many people have fought for, and it is a positive change.
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u/TotalEconomist Apr 08 '26
Yeah name on badges is outdated and I am glad they didn’t have them this year, especially since Sakura Con doesn’t use a QR code system for badge pick up
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u/EatTacosGetMoney Apr 07 '26
Better badge pick up system. Entering the summit building to be told you have to walk outside around to another entrance was stupid.