Post by Satin Stitch on Oct 13, 2014 19:56:41 GMT
I really enjoyed the range of activities that were on offer. Both dances were captivating, and truly special. It was nice to see how many kids were involved in things around the con, too. The competitions were really cool to see too.
The people attending were much politer than I'm used to at conventions, and I've been doing MCM, film festivals and BUCK as a trader recently. I've enjoyed myself a great deal this weekend and I am still smiling.
The parking was very well handled and I really appreciated not having to pay for parking to vend, as often it's another concern for long weekends. It was also awesome to have tabecloths provided by the venue.
The signs and decoration were lovely. It was cool to see the rooms decks out with inflatables and balloons.
The sound level?
From a vending POV: During the music/singing/announcements it was incredibly hard to speak to people who wanted to buy from me or talk to me and I was at the back of the main room. I cannot imagine how loud it was for people with speakers lined up near them.
When the events on the front stage were taking place, it completely blocked the front row of stalls and I really felt bad for the people working on them. Havingrows of people with their backs turned or sitting along the front must have been wearing.
From a personal POV: I will openly say that I am on the autistic scale, and the level of volume from the main stage in the hall was far, far too high. I went and hid in the side room quite often because I found I was shutting down and becoming physically tired. It is my job to attend conventions, and I am used to general noise, people and crowds, but this was deeply uncomfortable. People were frequently wincing and jumping from the noises.
Consider that MLP is a family interest, and many in our fandom will have similar life styles, and children with sensory differences. I was told this was a "sensory-safe" convention, as was my friend who had planned to bring a small austistic child. I would suggest that whoever told us this did not know about the level of sound, rather than lack of understanding.
I would also agree that Staff were very difficult to tell from attendees unless they were behind tables. The passes were okay until they got turned around, if they were being worn. I think that special lanyards, armbands or belts would have helped a great deal. I know staff want to cosplay too, so I'm not going to say "shirts", but being recognisable from a distance is important. Think about it from a shy person, or a child's perspective: We don't want to walk up to random adults and ask if they are staff.
The people attending were much politer than I'm used to at conventions, and I've been doing MCM, film festivals and BUCK as a trader recently. I've enjoyed myself a great deal this weekend and I am still smiling.
The parking was very well handled and I really appreciated not having to pay for parking to vend, as often it's another concern for long weekends. It was also awesome to have tabecloths provided by the venue.
The signs and decoration were lovely. It was cool to see the rooms decks out with inflatables and balloons.
The sound level?
From a vending POV: During the music/singing/announcements it was incredibly hard to speak to people who wanted to buy from me or talk to me and I was at the back of the main room. I cannot imagine how loud it was for people with speakers lined up near them.
When the events on the front stage were taking place, it completely blocked the front row of stalls and I really felt bad for the people working on them. Havingrows of people with their backs turned or sitting along the front must have been wearing.
From a personal POV: I will openly say that I am on the autistic scale, and the level of volume from the main stage in the hall was far, far too high. I went and hid in the side room quite often because I found I was shutting down and becoming physically tired. It is my job to attend conventions, and I am used to general noise, people and crowds, but this was deeply uncomfortable. People were frequently wincing and jumping from the noises.
Consider that MLP is a family interest, and many in our fandom will have similar life styles, and children with sensory differences. I was told this was a "sensory-safe" convention, as was my friend who had planned to bring a small austistic child. I would suggest that whoever told us this did not know about the level of sound, rather than lack of understanding.
I would also agree that Staff were very difficult to tell from attendees unless they were behind tables. The passes were okay until they got turned around, if they were being worn. I think that special lanyards, armbands or belts would have helped a great deal. I know staff want to cosplay too, so I'm not going to say "shirts", but being recognisable from a distance is important. Think about it from a shy person, or a child's perspective: We don't want to walk up to random adults and ask if they are staff.