Feedback Here

[kateyene]

I had a few concerns about SJ:4TW-

*People walking around with alcohol- When we first arrived on friday in the morning to get our badges, there were a couple of guys that had an open case of beer, drinking it. I know they were there for SJ cause they had a badge and were talking about cosplay. This needs to be stopped cause there are a lot of minors and such at a convention as this and this is very dangerous to allow.

*People cutting in line-I am not talking about Gold/Silver badges, there were quite a lot of people who just cut in line in front of people who were standing in line for more than an hour.

*Long lines-There were huge lines for some of the events/panels and even the registration. I didn't remember the lines being that long last year, so I hope moving to the convention center will be a lot of help in this matter.

*Weapons check-I think for this next SJ that you have the Registration and Safety Check, as soon as you enter the building cause I noticed a lot of people with weapons,etc. that didn't have the safety orange tape. Also there were a lot of people who were swinging the items around when walking that could hurt someone, please have security watch out for these types of people for next time.

*Panels/Events-Instead of having events back-to-back, try scheduling some preparation time for them, at least fifteen minutes or so, that way they can have things set up before letting people in.


There were some things I liked-

*Egoraptor- He is a must have for next SJ. He was so great and funny, I would love to see him return next time.

*Artist Alley- I loved all the artists that came this time. They were all incredibly nice and helpful and since we will have more room next SJ, could we see more artists available next time too?

*Game Room- The game room was okay, but I wished they had more controllers cause they had lots of systems, but not a lot of controllers for people who wished to play. I liked Para Para Paradise, and I hope it will be there next year too.

[RedeadDie]

I went to a few panels and the people I liked the most was the kind lady that ran the Ace Attorney, How to run a panel, and the Ouran Hall Club panels.

I think I may cry, thank you very much for your kind words. I was trying to be a kind lady despite rushing about to and fro. Again, thank you and I'm glad you came to the panels!

[kite]

This was my fourth year at SJ and it is my second favorite year, pretty much every kink from last year was worked out and this year SJ was wonderfully run. I only have two complaints, one is the lack of variety in the dealer's room, i know this year there were more dealers than last year but somehow it felt less than the sum of its parts. second, every panel i went to on satuday started late, so i hope something can be done so that panels start on time more. i have to stress that i liked how the majority of the best panels were on friday and saturday, since those are the most important days and would like it if things stayed that way, since my complaint from last year was that there were not enough fun panels on friday and saturday, this year was utterly perfect.

[SweetlyDemented]

San Japan was a blast! Had sooo much fun. Most things seemed to run smoothly, but I do have a few suggestions...

Please make Pre-regs your priority when getting people registered. At one point on Friday morning the Pre-Reg line was twice as long as the normal Reg line and moving exceedingly slow compared to the normal Reg. My friend even said, "It's like a big middle finger to everyone that signed up months in advance!" I think a faster-moving line should be in order for those of us who decided to register early.

Like other people have already mentioned, it'd be nice to bring more variety into the Dealers' Room. Oh and bring Egoraptor back! He was so nice and friendly... <3

Also, how about putting the Weapons Check near Registration? Might kill two birds with one stone to have people register and get their props checked right after before proceeding to enjoy the con.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else to suggest. Again, had an awesome time this year and will definitely be back for more next year!

[happygoldfish]

This is mostly me rambling, I know some of these things can't be helped, but I want to mention them just as a note anyway:

Please make Pre-regs your priority when getting people registered. At one point on Friday morning the Pre-Reg line was twice as long as the normal Reg line and moving exceedingly slow compared to the normal Reg. My friend even said, "It's like a big middle finger to everyone that signed up months in advance!" I think a faster-moving line should be in order for those of us who decided to register early.

This. I had the same experience. Got there early and saw no one in the normal reg. line, and the pre-reg line wrapped all kinds of crazy around the halls. Not a big complaint, but I just thought it should be mentioned in anticipation of next year.

The giant sign boards with the schedule of the day were awesome. Do this again. I used them multiple times throughout the weekend.

I applaud the people who ran the Art Show/Auction. They put up with all the crazy questions I had to ask, so yeah, you guys were awesome.

I have already voiced my opinions on the masquerade in it's own thread, but I will just say here that I did really enjoy it, and I do hope we can have a much larger room for next year.

Dealer's Room. I thought it was a big improvement to have the entrance in the front this year rather than on the side in the hall(although I know it sucked for some of the Artist's tables ).

Is there any way we could have a vendor selling food late into the night? It was impossible to get food after the cosplay show Saturday night (the Denny's had a 2 hour wait), and the Starbuck's cafe was sold out. The little snack bar on the 2nd floor had already closed, as did the pizza delivery places. My group gave up at one point and we went back to our room to order room service but it had shutdown too. I know this one is partly our fault for not having food stocked up in the room or something, but it would be nice for those like us who had gotten out late from some of the events.

The group of girls who danced at half-time during the cosplay show. They were adorable, and I did enjoy their dances, but it went on a wee bit long I though? I was in a VERY uncomfortable costume, with no where to sit, no water, and it seemed like it went on for ages. I really don't want to sound mean or anything, I did enjoy them, but I was dying (yes I know, it's my own fault for wearing the costume), but maybe dial back the performance time next year? Again, no offense intended.

The only other thing was with the con-goers. I had a ton of people totally run over me throughout the weekend. No apology, nothing. Like getting hit by a friggin' linebacker. They were horsing around and having fun, which is cool, but please, watch what you're doing.

All in all though, I had a blast, and San Japan is still my favorite con; and certainly the best run one. And really the only one that I feel really listens to it's attendees, so I thank you guys all so much! ^.^

[Jrex]

Honestly, there were only a few issues I had.
First was the lights at the cosplay show!! dude, at first it was just something to deal with, but then about 10 min later it got very irritating and eventually gave me a headache :/
Second was the two people in a group and the third to the back??? Ok really SJ?! I went to the con in a group of three and when we went to an event, they told us that if we had a 3rd party member that they had to be sent to the back of the line?!?! We were lucky enough where we wound up standing next to another group with an odd number so it would be "2 people side by side" most of the time, but I did wind up next to one guy who was sent to the end of the line b/c his group was an odd number. He was at the very front and got sent WAY back. This makes NO SENSE!
If you are the 3rd person and then get sent to the back, your going to be by yourself at the end. A line will form behind you, and then you will have to be sent to the back AGAIN! This OBVIOUSLY had to be a rule that some volunteers misunderstood b/c I honestly dont know how that could have possibly been a real rule.
Other then that, BIG improvement from last year.
Oh, and please add more to the gaming room AND A BIGGER ROOM FOR THE AWESOME GUEST IMPROV

[Patches]

I wanted to apologize for being rude to people who were waiting in line for the cosplay show. I was the loud mouth safety guy with the ductape roll yelling at people to stand 2by2 and not to sit down. I really hated having to be a arse to some people but a few people wouldn't listen at all.. i was also the guy during the autographs that was saying "single file means one in front of the other NOT one beside each other." the line was horrifyingly long. Second for everyone who didn't give me trouble about your weapons being checked i thank you. I'm sorry to those who weren't told where to go but every time i saw a weapon i checked if it was checked in and gave them directions.

[TheFlyingGuillotine]

As a few other people have already stated, the pre-reg lines on Friday morning were very long and moved much slower than at door registration, which to me makes no sense.

Also, during the evenings of the con, a group of friends and I noticed a lot of people wandering around the artist alley and con grounds without a pass. They were going past security many times, so I think that con security should keep a closer eye out for people going through the con without badges, not just for the Dealer's Room and panels.

And as a few people have mentioned, some panels were crowded, but since we're getting more room next year, I don't think that is going to be a major problem in the future.

I do think that lines could be improved upon, because for the main shows on Saturday, the lines were blocking a lot of Artist Alley tables and overall were taking up a lot of walking space.

Despite those things, the con ran smoothly as usual, and I don't have any real complaints.

[Orim Katsu]

As a volunteer that was helping with registration, I wish to say thanks for all the kind words and support. We do hope to make next year go faster and smoother, if that is even possible. It was wonderful to work for you all, a lot of you were VERY polite. Being my first anime convention, I was awestruck by it. And I do look forward to do this again, and again, again, and again, again, and again, and so on.

[randomizer9]

Oh yeah, I haven't heard anyone mention this, but the Guidebook app REALLY came in handy during the show, especially since paper schedules were pretty hard to come by.

I agree with the "panel schedules are too tight" sentiment; panels should be DONE 5 minutes before the hour is up. As someone who has done a few, I will say it is easy to lose track of time especially when you're answering questions near the end. The volunteer should pop their head in and yell "TIME!" at that point.

[kite]

i would just like to add that the fact that u included the schedule book with the bag was deftly done, keep up the good work

[amara]

I agree with the "panel schedules are too tight" sentiment; panels should be DONE 5 minutes before the hour is up. As someone who has done a few, I will say it is easy to lose track of time especially when you're answering questions near the end. The volunteer should pop their head in and yell "TIME!" at that point.

At the AMM panel on Friday we had a volunteer popping their head in about 15 minutes early asking us to finish up soon, so I think that was occurring with some panels. (We did finish up 10 minutes early because we had people walking though our room trying to set up for whatever the next panel was.)

If there could be a built in cushion between panels, that would be lovely. It's rather mystifying to have people trying to set up for the next one when we're trying to run a panel. Also, I understand the need to clear a room, but we ended early specifically with the reason to talk to our volunteers and people in the crowd.

However, Jay, I will state that you did your best with the schedule, and I appreciate having the hour to get our volunteers ready. It really helped this year. Thank you for being fantastic and letting us run the panel year.

Also, whoever was the poor volunteer stuck with us, you were fantastic, amazing and I'm sorry for the insanity we put you through, along with the info desk staff. You guys were awesome.

[BaronPablo]

As a staff member, this was an amazingly well-run convention and it was a pleasure working with y'all. From my perspective, I can really only complain about the sheer rudeness of the "Green Shirts" (Safety) throughout the convention and actually had younger people actually come and tell me crying about experiences such as being yelled at for leaning against a wall near the elevators, having their props broken by belligerent security members and being harassed for standing to talk to artists. Please, people, tone it down. It's one thing to be an awesome security force and it's another when someone comes up to me and compares y'all to the Gestapo. I defended the Green Shirts, but really, it's getting pretty hard to do so.

Otherwise, excellent con and I'm glad we're moving next year to a way larger location. It was definitely a pleasure working with all of you as Steampunk Coordinator and I hope to bring more awesome Steampunk events, guests and panels to San Japan!

[Azalia]

Oh yeah, I haven't heard anyone mention this, but the Guidebook app REALLY came in handy during the show, especially since paper schedules were pretty hard to come by.

I agree with this! I was able to make it to many panels because of this. I miss the Ouran event though (My wig was incredibly tangled, and I was exhausted. I wish ya'll had put it on Saturday.) *cries tears of sadness and angst* I love the Ouran event btw, it's been going on since the second SJ, and I've gone to all of them except this year. >.> I hope to attend the Ouran Event many years to come!

I wanted to apologize for being rude to people who were waiting in line for the cosplay show. I was the loud mouth safety guy with the ductape roll yelling at people to stand 2by2 and not to sit down. I really hated having to be a arse to some people but a few people wouldn't listen at all.. i was also the guy during the autographs that was saying "single file means one in front of the other NOT one beside each other." the line was horrifyingly long. Second for everyone who didn't give me trouble about your weapons being checked i thank you. I'm sorry to those who weren't told where to go but every time i saw a weapon i checked if it was checked in and gave them directions.

My poor feeet *whines* lol But seriously, I understand why we couldn't sit down. It is a safety hazard. Like I commented before, maybe next year, if we are going to be in line for over an hour, maybe the staff can provide us with a place to sit. Hopefully no one ruins it for everyone and we can't sit down. Boots are a big part of cosplay, but most boots aren't made for standing in a very long time xD Thanks for being safety though! There are numerous jerks that ya'll have to deal with, and I appreciate that ya'll keep us safe!

[KittyAnne7152]

I loved that Guidebook app. I loved it so much. I even did everything on my to do list. I felt like such a boss.
Anyways, this is just a place holder I suppose, until I edit with my actual feedback. Still recovering a bit, I got sick on Sunday.
Edit:
And here I go!

I actually didn't attend any panels except the ones I was hosting, helping to host, participating in, etc. but I could tell overcrowding in the panel rooms was a huge issue just from that. Glad that there will be more space next year. Proz, I would like to thank you for being a superhero at the Cosplay Dating Game. I know you definitely could not help the a/c being shut off at midnight in that room, and having that window open definitely made things more bearable.

Registration line was long, but at least when I was in it, it went fast. It was wrapped all the way around the hallway, and my friends and I were upset, thinking that we'd be there for hours, but we actually only were there about 20 minutes. We even got into the registration room before people who had gotten onto the end of the much shorter on- site registration line.

Safety people, I had both positive and negative interactions with. On the positive side, the safety guy who asked me to move the Doctor Who photoshoot (and not because we were blocking a fire exit, which was a first for me, but because we were apparently "blocking business" to that little shop in the lobby. I hadn't seen anyone go there all weekend, as it was a bit out of the way and hidden, but whatever, it's beside the point) was very polite to us, and the guys checking my Objection! sign were cool. They made sure the prop was marked in such a way that when I held it for photos, the tape would be hidden. They were also very impressed with my friend's con safe foam baseball bat that seriously looked like wood. However, I also witnessed safety being not so nice to a friend of mine who was sitting on one of the stools in the lobby, with her shoes dangling from her feet. She didn't even get a "ma'am, could you please keep you shoes on at all times?" warning, she just got straight up shouted at and threatened with having her badge taken away, and considering her shoes were right there and she obviously wasn't intending to be walking around without them on, I think that was a wee bit out of order.

All in all, a lot of the issues I had I knew would be automatically fixed next year by the larger venue. I had a great time, and I can't wait to come back again next year!

[Proz]

Fridaywas pretty troublesome...first of all my family and I had to wait nearly an Hour for our room which was reserved 6 months in advance...Not sure if it was because of the population of the con or if it was just the Hotel workers...And also the parking lot was COMPLETLY full for the Marriot Hotel...

Between us and people who are normally there, we nearly sold out the hotel.

[Proz]

like i said everything else was good, i hope there will be a bigger dealer room and artist alley.

It will be a reasonable increase. But don't expect a huge increase because we do have to keep an interest of dealers/artists as having too many of them hurts all of them when it comes to sales.

[skytherine]

The Guidebook app. was a huge plus. Over the years I would just carry the paper, not having a brief intro on the panel. The booklet has the info but flipping through the pages to see whats what can be a little tedious

I loved how the app. had info and the option for an alarm setting. Also the little pics with some of the descriptions was cool.

[ErazDod]

I also think the Guidebook app was a major plus for this year, I hope you guys use it next year. It really made getting around to all the panels I wanted to see a whole lot easier ^^

[Sai-co]

I know that as staff I don't want to complain about Safety, they are some of the people that help the most. But they can also be some of the people that hurt the most. I see so many complaints and have seen first hand Safety Volunteers being downright horrible people. It's hard to judge how a volunteer is going to handle the power of getting a security position. I'm not sure if people are just chosen for this position out of our volunteer pool or if they are interviewed first. If they aren't however, maybe that should start happening. Just a little extra time to do interviews may cut back on the people who are being rude just because they have a lime green shirt? If we already do this, then all I can say is that I apologize for anyone who was mistreated this con, and I hope things improve next year having a larger space.