It wasn’t what I was hoping for…and that’s the diplomatic assessment.
First of all, it was my own fault. I should have bought tickets ahead of time, online. That said…give me a break! The line to BUY tickets was ridiculously long…they did not have enough ticket booths open, and they should have anticipated the on-the-day crowds (especially families) that were interested in coming down to FanExpo.
THEN…a line to simply ENTER the convention floor??? I’ve been to a convention or two in my time…and based on this past experience, I can comfortably say that — from this point on — things simply became preposterous. Too much was crammed into the convention floor area. Why were the autograph sections, the food court, the retailers, the exhibitions…WHY DAMMIT…were they all crammed together in the same damn square footage? It was complete and total chaos. Bad planning & bad management. Even the FOOD was selling for rip-off prices!
As for the guests? I’m sorry…I’ve never paid for an autograph at a convention in my life, and I’m certainly not paying $60 for a photo AND $60 for an autograph. That’s extortion.
A poor showing all around…and what did we find upon leaving the convention around 2pm? Even BIGGER lines, stretching all the way to the Front St. entrance…that’s stretching into nearly-kilometre measurements! Some families with little kids didn’t make it in, and it broke our hearts watching some of these fellow geeks-in-training being denied a fun experience.
Bottom line? A tiring, disappointing day. It’s highly unlikely I’ll be going back next year.
Still, it wasn’t a TOTAL loss…because I came home with a couple of t-shirts…AND a new friend…pictured below. ;-)
