Does anyone remember the name of the place that had a booth selling cowboy hats and other hats at Fan Expo Canada (I assume they were at other cons too)?

Hey everyone! I'm a college student in my final year of UX design, and my thesis topic is understanding the fundamental flaw that causes long lines and overcrowding in convention spaces, and finding a myriad of solutions to the issue.

This conversation is kinda open to all, since any insight is welcome. So, for people who have been to FanExpo over the years, and even for those who've only gone to their first, how has your experience been with crowds, waiting in line, and getting around the event?

A few places where we might find some pain points:

• What are the biggest frustrations you've experienced with crowds or lineups?
• Are there certain areas or activities that tend to get especially crowded?
• Have you ever missed out on something because the line was too long?
• What do you think conventions could do to make navigating the event easier?
• Are there any things you think conventions already do well when managing crowds?

I'm interested in hearing both the good and bad experiences! Whether you attend for guests, panels, artist alleys, cosplay, or just to hang out with friends, I'd love to hear your perspective.

Thanks!

According to reports, Informa, the parent company of Fan Expo, will buy Clarion Events, the parent company of many event-focused subsidiaries, including LeftField Media, which owns AnimeNYC, Anime Frontier, AwesomeCon and Rose City Comic Con.

(Via Nerdcaliber dot com)

Informa proposed raising £940 million in new equity to partly fund the acquisition of UK-based Clarion, which owns over 100 business-to-business live event brands.
Informa CEO Stephen Carter said it was time for the group to focus on B2B events, which now accounted for the vast majority of its earnings and growth.
(Via Reuters)

It looks like they’re buying them for the B2B events, and the fan events may just be collateral.

Hello everyone. I purchased some of the autograph packages that were set to be automatically refunded after Elijah cancelled, but the refund has not come through, nor does it show pending anywhere. Is there a direct line of contact that is set up to request info about this?

This isn’t anything new, but I honestly don’t understand why some retailers think it’s a good idea to charge way more at their event booths than their competitors — and sometimes even more than what they charge on their own website or brick and mortar store. With an average of 25% to 35% markup + tax is too much.

It makes absolutely no sense. People have already paid an expensive entrance fee just to attend. Then you get there and realize the merchandise is overpriced, the event itself isn’t as good as it used to be, and somehow we’re still expected to spend even more money?

At that point, what’s the incentive to buy anything there? I can just go home and order the same stuff online for less.

Honestly, between the entrance fee, overpriced merchandise, and the declining quality of these events, the whole experience is starting to feel like a waste of money.

Anyone else get to experience it?

I don't know if I was just unlucky and only ran into the staff and volunteers that didn't know anything but that's my whole experience this past weekend. At first I got a little lost and asked where the ultimate lounge was and the lady I asked didn't know, I ended up finding it shortly after, I just thought "oh she's probably only stationed in this one little area so it's fine she didn't know" but I went to the info booth for something later and I asked the guy there about something downstairs and he straight up just said "i don't know and they are tearing down the convention center after this so yeah I don't know" like how are you gonna be working the info booth and know not know anything aside from them tearing the place down after? When I say every single person I tried to ask anything didn't know I truly mean it, I understand that it's a chaotic weekend and there was a lot happening but how are you just gonna stand there and not know a damn thing? Do they even train the volunteers about how anything works, do they just give them a shirt and throw them out there like what's the deal? I feel like the past few years the staff and volunteers at least had some idea of what was happening but this year no one did. Did anyone else have trouble with the volunteers and staff this year or was I just super unlucky this time?

Hey! I am going to FanExpo NOLA this coming January with a coworker. she frequently goes to other conventions. she talks about "swag trading" and i was wondering if there are swag trading opportunities at FanExpo NOLA. What is sometimes traded? I would love to participate but do not know how to proceed/get everything ready. :)

my day 3 of fan expo

I know he has his health issues and cancelled because of them. I was hoping to get my poster signed by both of them, got Mel. Just wondering if anyone thinks he will do another signing, or if he will call it quits. I really wanted to have both if them, but I'm thinking he's too old for this shit.

I (54m) asked the question on here a couple of weeks ago about just walking up and shaking hands with the celebrities and saying hello, without spending a dime on an autograph that I'd probably stick in a drawer and never look at again, or a photo op that I'd probably lose in my phone in the next few months..

y'all were right that there was no way in hell that was gonna work for either Charlie Sheen or Keifer Sutherland, but I had some luck (good and bad) with a few of the other folks..

for context, I think I saw "Young Guns" and "Goonies" each one time apiece when I was a kid (maybe all the way through, I'm not sure) but neither of them resonate with me to this day.. so I did want to meet some of those stars (and I did go to both those panels), but moreso for their other works over the years..

Kerri Green - she was the first one on Saturday whose line died down for a moment, so I said "screw it, let's give it a shot".. I walked up to the Orange Shirt managing her line, who asked Kerri's "handler" if it was okay, and they all agreed..

I took no more than 10 seconds of her time, and I didn't go in for a handshake, and I kept my phone in my back pocket, and just told her how many times I had watched "Lucas" on repeat on HBO back in the 80's and she seemed absolutely flattered, which I thought was nice (and my god is she still breathtaking in person)..

Richard Tyson - I felt kinda bad seeing that for quite a while on Saturday he didn't have much of a line at all in front of him, so I was waved up by the gal who was his handler.. me and another guy stood there and asked him a couple of questions for probably five minutes..

he spoke very quietly and was almost hard to hear (and the dude I had walked up to the table with was driving much of the conversation) so after a few minutes of back and forth I thanked them for their time and walked away..

Casey Siemaszko - at one point on Saturday he had a steady line of only 2 - 3 people waiting, so I hopped in and was told by the Orange Shirt lady that I really needed to pay for something if I was going to meet him.. I shrugged my shoulders and stepped out of line, and was going to move along..

not long after I saw him walk across the way to speak to Richard Tyson for about 10 minutes (a fun little "Three O'Clock High" reunion) and as I saw him walking back to his table, he was zigging and zagging through the people and he walked right up to me..

I got to tell him that I remembered his small role in "Back To The Future" but I really remembered him from a 1991 TV movie "The Chase", about a Denver bank robber in 1988 who was captured and killed with the help of a news helicopter..

he smiled real big and took out his phone, told me "check this out" and showed me a behind-the-scenes picture of when they were filming that.. he then stuck out his hand and said "I'm Casey" which I thought was cool, so he was the one celebrity that I got a true sincere handshake from over the weekend..

Martha Plimpton - she was getting settled back in from doing her official photo op, so I walked up to where the line was going to start again.. her handler waved me up, and I told her that I hoped she was still getting residuals from "Family Ties" from the episode when she played a shoplifter who Mallory befriended.. she laughed out loud and joked about how long ago that was, and I could tell that she enjoyed that memory..

Robert Davi - sort of the same deal as Martha.. I saw him getting settled back in after his photo op, and so I walked up.. I was checking out the pictures laid out in front of him, and I chuckled and told him that I was glad to see him still getting recognized from "Die Hard" ("I'm special agent Johnson.. no, the other one").. when I recited that line to him, he smiled and held his fist out for a bump, which I thought was nice..

Joe Pantoliano - I tried getting in line for him a couple of times but the timing never seemed to work out (Orange Shirt dude would let me stand there and go up "next", unless someone who had paid walked up while I was waiting)..

it was similar to the stories I've read of General Admission folks getting cut by VIP's (so I totally "get it") but it got kinda frustrating when after standing there "next" for about 10 minutes they said they were shutting the line down because he was headed to his photo op..

I walked around to the aisleway that I knew he'd be headed towards, and he walked right up to me like Casey Siemaszko had done earlier..

I told him "they never could've made a Running Scared 2, since they killed off 'Snake' in the first one".. he looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about, and he just kept walking past me..

Jake Busey - I couldn't tell you a single thing this dude has been in, but I'm definitely familiar with his dad's work over the years ("DC Cab", "Lethal Weapon", "Under Siege", among a billion other things).. I was wrapping it up on Sunday, and he had no line in front of him whatsoever (and no Orange Shirt there directing the non-existent traffic)..

I stood in the front of his "line" for probably 2 - 3 minutes while he and his handler bullshitted with each other and completely ignored me (if I'd have paid for a selfie or autograph I would've done that loud "clearing my throat" thing)..

finally they waved me up and I asked him if his dad was "doing okay" (admittedly maybe not the best phrasing on my part).. he responded with "huh? what?"..

"your dad.. he's doing well, I hope?".. "uh, yeah.. sure"..

"oooooookay then"..

C Thomas Howell - late in the day Sunday he was sitting down there with his glasses on, nose buried in his phone, with nobody in his line..

I was looking forward to speaking to him about "The Outsiders", "Soul Man", etc.. instead, the young Orange Shirt gal told me I couldn't approach him if I hadn't paid for anything..

I didn't put up a fight, just gave her a look like "are ya kidding me?" (I know these folks are just "doing their jobs") and I walked away..

Brent Spiner - again late on Sunday as I was making my way towards the exit, he was speaking to another couple and he had nobody else standing in line..

I took my spot five feet away from the desk, and his handler waved me up and asked "how can I help you".. I gave my explanation that I just wanted to say hello for a second and her response was "I'll allow it"..

I'd like to think she was saying that in a "cute" way, so I got to tell him that I always enjoyed his goofy Bob Wheeler character on "Night Court" (and he barely cracked a smile, like someone who had probably been told that by a million other old guys that weekend), so that was kind of a "meh" ending to the weekend

Any YouTubers or content creators, please reach out to me, I would love to share my story about what happened here.

First off, I spent over 1k USD three months ago for my husband and I to go this weekend. We were only able to go one day because it was so horrible that I couldn’t do any other days. There were multiple cancellations of A-list actors that we paid for (on top of the VIP passes) that cancelled a day or two prior to the event. The vendors all sold junk for the most part. There were lots of cool meet and greets but the VIP pass meant absolutely nothing. You pay premium prices only to wait much longer than it takes to actually get in the regular line to meet someone. You can stand in line for three hours to meet someone in the normal line, or wait five hours for a VIP pass person to take you to go meet the same person. There were panels that were okay at best. All of the things we paid for and didn’t get to go to? No refunds.

Here’s the absolute biggest problem: 65,000 people were sold tickets to the convention center. 65 fucking thousand. It’s was so absolutely packed that every single place you went, it wasn’t just shoulder to shoulder, it was people trampling each other. I use a walker to get around and it was absolutely impossible to get anywhere. I have been to plenty of fan expos at this convention center and it has NEVER been even half this size. The people that show up are bringing these giant totes to buy up merch, get a ton of shit signed, and go flip that stuff on eBay. I don’t hate that specifically, but they were taking up the elevators and as a disabled person, I had to wait in line, just like every other wheelchair user or walker user, for over forty minutes just for the elevator. The crowd was incredibly rude because they HAD to be or they can’t get anywhere. I was always as kind as possible to anyone in the way of where I was trying to go, but everyone was extremely rude and took advantage when I would try to let other disabled people through. Besides being impossible to get anywhere, there was very few decent stalls that sold anything good or quality. There was a really cool shop that sold a no ton of different pokemon plushies and the Power Rangers did show up which was so cool, they were such kind people. But everything else was really cheap, kitschy, poorly made merch and people selling cheap amazon stuff for 400 percent over cost.

The cleanliness was worse than you can imagine. By the end of the day on Saturday, there was food and napkins all over the floor, partly because the people sucked and didn’t care, and partially because the trash cans couldn’t get emptied fast enough. They were so understaffed and the employees literally couldn’t keep up and couldn’t even GET TO those areas because there were three times the amount of people that should’ve been there.

The sheer amount of people is an absolute fire safety hazard. If the alarms went off and everyone panicked, it would’ve been impossible for anyone to get out safely. People would’ve trampled and killed each other and everyone would’ve been trapped.

Final complaint? Do not bring a newborn or a bunch of kids under 6 years old to these places. Kids were getting hurt, parents were bringing their entire families because little kids are free. They’re bringing little babies to super spreader events and your kid isn’t gonna remember this at all. Leave them at home with someone. Disabled people were trying to use ADA compliant areas and entire families were packing their little kids into these huge wagons full of merch and the rest of us that were in a lot of pain had to wait for these irresponsible assholes to use the elevators before us. Kids are lovely, but don’t bring them to these insane places unless they are old enough to know what’s going on.

Oh and as I said earlier? VIP means NOTHING. You get a few pieces of okay merch and that’s it. There’s a lounge you can hang out in to get a break from the absolute CHAOS that is every other part of the convention. Only thing that was sort of worth it at all. Don’t bother spending any money and frankly, don’t bother going. It was the worst event I ever experienced and I will never go back unless it changes. If we don’t make these experiences public, they won’t change and they won’t care. The overselling of tickets by at least 3X as many people should’ve been there is ludicrous. I wanted to meet so many people but I can’t stand in line for hours on hours due to my disability. We were promised one thing and got something SO SUB PAR that I couldn’t believe how much of a disaster and disappointment everything was. If you think I’m blowing it out of proportion, talk to others that went. And if a mod takes this down, they’re not doing their job of letting us tell the truth.

Thank you for listening and if anyone wants me to get on call, I’d be happy to go into more detail. DM me.

TLDR: Too many bodies, too many people taking advantage of disabled people and not enough ADA compliance, and not safe for children. VIP at any fan expo is NOT WORTH IT, it’s a scam and you get nothing out of it.

Looking for the vendor that sold these large acrylic/plexiglass anime/DC/Marvel wall arts

(This post is for multiple Fan expo locations but chose Chicago because it’s only one I went) I had been reading closely to all the latest posts about Fan Expo being safety hazard and it seems like it has been an issue in multiple locations all summer long. I only I surely hope they get its shit together but I seriously doubt as profit over safety. Such a shame to see the downfall because it was really fun show, I met so many new friends and they bring in good guests.

I was the fan he pointed out and yelled HOOOOOOOOOOOOORSE at right at the very end (which I yelled back) and I am desperately hoping someone got that on camera. I can't even be mad they cut off the question line right when it would have been my turn next, that's way better.

Curious how much photo ops were for nic cage?

Spoiler:

She needs a Xanax and a readjustment of what her role is… just let John and the rest speak naturally instead of “let’s grade brisket” or “speed dating” constructed game shows. Also, learn to communicate better why the panel started almost an hour late, the Xanax may help with how twitchy she was on camera. Jesus, she almost single handedly made me want to walk out. Cringe level 1000.

If you’re on the floor today or Sunday, Zeever Comics / The Nephilim is Artist Alley booth AP50 (walk Aisle 1900). Still here through Sunday 5 PM. Map is circled in the image. Free 3-page preview: https://www.zeevercomics.com

Anyways else doin the hunt in dallas? I somehow found spot #5 after #1. I thought i found the room #1 talked about. Apparently not. Found #4. Missing #2 #3 #6 🤣😅

Selling three passes to the hobbits panel, can buy any you need. DM me. Selling for $68 each. Can’t go any more so please buy any you need! They’re the silver edition or whatever.

*Update: SOLD!!\*

Selling Autographs for Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan

Hi everyone! My wife and I aren’t able to make it today and we have autographs for both Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.

We also can’t make it for Sunday’s autograph for Sean Astin.

Each of their autographs are being sold at $80. I have provided proof of the purchased tickets in the attached photo (without the QR code obviously).

If someone would like to purchase these, I could email/direct message/text a screenshot of the QR codes to them.

Please let me know if you’re interested.

Thank you and nerd on! 🤓

Anybody have pics or vids of the blokees booth?