*gets up on soap box*
The last three days to me were amazing! I got to go to the first ever Salt Lake Comic-Con and couldn't have asked for a better time. I see so many people complaining about it and I'm going to defend every aspect of it right now.
1. "It was too crowded. Too many people there. They need to limit the ticket sales."
My Answer: Yes there were tons of people there, thousands of people there, but guess what...they all wanted to be there. You're not the only ones who wanted this to happen! For an event that figured there were only going to be 20, 000 people to end up with nearly 80,000 people, I think they handle it fairly well. Crowds? Yeah there are going to be crowds no matter what convention you go to! You can't expect a huge organization to plan an event with many celebrities so only you and your closest 100 friends can go?!? Don't like people, you better stay home then or learn to get along with others!
2. "They need to make this for adults only. There were too many kids."
My Answer: Welcome to Utah! We have kids here! If you want an adult only attraction, go to one of the bars. Despite what you think, we have bars here and you can go and play with people your own age there. I loved seeing all the kids (aka future nerds) being there. The joy in their eyes and the smile on their faces, told the fact this was a great event!
3. Then there was the other side... "This was not family friendly! I won't bring my kids here again".
My Answer: I was there with a couple of children (ages 8 &15), I thought it was very family friendly. The Lego table was a big hit! I personally didn't see any costumes that were inappropriate, everyone covered up as much as you'd see at the beach. Many people are already planning on going next year and bringing their children because they want to be a part of it.
4. "They need to get rid of the LDS (Mormon) sponsors. Thanks to the Mormons we couldn't have this on Sunday". "They need to do it outside a Mormon venue".
My Answer: If something goes wrong in the state of Utah, just blame the Mormons! *eye rolls* First off, yes there were some LDS company sponsors, but if you don't want them there, write to them, tell them you don't want their money there and you'll be covering the cost of their sponsorships. I'm sure you can afford that! As for the Sunday issues, that was not the Mormons who did this, it was the decision of Dan Farr. There were too many events happening downtown on Sunday and I thought it was wise not to add this to the confusion. And to the lady that complained about it being in a "Mormon" venue, I'm sorry but you can't blame the Mormons on this! The Salt Palace is County owned...go blame them, but only after doing research.
5. "They need a bigger venue. They need to have some activities outside"
My Answer: Tell me of a larger venue in Salt Lake (or even the state)? Energy Solutions Arena and the Maverick Center may have more seating, but not enough floor space. Outside, in Utah? I'm sorry this isn't San Diego where the weather is perfect all the time. Plus, did you see the downpour we had the last two days?!? Wouldn't that have been fun to experience!!
6. "San Diego Comic-Con this...San Diego Comic-Con that".
My Answer: You're right people, this isn't SDCC! San Diego has had years to perfect their event and still it's not perfectly run. Be patient, give it time and it will only get better each year.
7. "The smell was horrible"
My Answer: This must be your first convention I see.
8. "The concessions were expensive"
My Answer: I see you've never been outside to ANY event that sold concessions. The prices were high, but it was expected.
9. "I can't believe they were charging for autographs and pictures with the celebrities".
My Answer: This is typical of any convention. I've only been to one convention (Auto Assembly in the UK) where this doesn't happen.
10. "The lines were too long".
My Answer: Didn't you read the suggestions on the website. It said to plan on waiting to get in. I planned on about a two hour wait to get in the first day and actually it was only 90 minutes. This is usually the worst part of a convention is to get inside. You just have to plan ahead.
11. "The swag bags had nothing in them".My Answer: What did you expect...REALLY? I want to know. This first SLCC was sponsored by media groups. Most media groups don't have "stuff" to give out (unless you want a lot of advertising, which will be thrown away anyhow). Once SLCC gets retail sponsors you many have a gift item or two, but until then all I have to say is you pay for the convention and the experience of the convention, not the swag bag!
12. "They need to get more people from Hollywood and less about the comics".
My Answer: Hummm...hello? I believe it's called COMIC CON, not Hollywood's list of annoying people who don't care to be around geeks. Honestly I thought the guest list was amazing! Stan Lee, William Shatner and Adam West all in the same room? I'm surprised that place didn't exploded with the awesomeness!
Was this a perfect convention? Oh no! But what event is?
If you didn't have a good time, the only person to blame is yourself. Planning goes a long way with big events like this! I had an amazing time and I want to thank the crew, the volunteers and all my new friends for showing me how geek Utah can be!
BRING ON SALT LAKE COMIC-CON 2014!!!
The last three days to me were amazing! I got to go to the first ever Salt Lake Comic-Con and couldn't have asked for a better time. I see so many people complaining about it and I'm going to defend every aspect of it right now.
1. "It was too crowded. Too many people there. They need to limit the ticket sales."
My Answer: Yes there were tons of people there, thousands of people there, but guess what...they all wanted to be there. You're not the only ones who wanted this to happen! For an event that figured there were only going to be 20, 000 people to end up with nearly 80,000 people, I think they handle it fairly well. Crowds? Yeah there are going to be crowds no matter what convention you go to! You can't expect a huge organization to plan an event with many celebrities so only you and your closest 100 friends can go?!? Don't like people, you better stay home then or learn to get along with others!
2. "They need to make this for adults only. There were too many kids."
My Answer: Welcome to Utah! We have kids here! If you want an adult only attraction, go to one of the bars. Despite what you think, we have bars here and you can go and play with people your own age there. I loved seeing all the kids (aka future nerds) being there. The joy in their eyes and the smile on their faces, told the fact this was a great event!
3. Then there was the other side... "This was not family friendly! I won't bring my kids here again".
My Answer: I was there with a couple of children (ages 8 &15), I thought it was very family friendly. The Lego table was a big hit! I personally didn't see any costumes that were inappropriate, everyone covered up as much as you'd see at the beach. Many people are already planning on going next year and bringing their children because they want to be a part of it.
4. "They need to get rid of the LDS (Mormon) sponsors. Thanks to the Mormons we couldn't have this on Sunday". "They need to do it outside a Mormon venue".
My Answer: If something goes wrong in the state of Utah, just blame the Mormons! *eye rolls* First off, yes there were some LDS company sponsors, but if you don't want them there, write to them, tell them you don't want their money there and you'll be covering the cost of their sponsorships. I'm sure you can afford that! As for the Sunday issues, that was not the Mormons who did this, it was the decision of Dan Farr. There were too many events happening downtown on Sunday and I thought it was wise not to add this to the confusion. And to the lady that complained about it being in a "Mormon" venue, I'm sorry but you can't blame the Mormons on this! The Salt Palace is County owned...go blame them, but only after doing research.
5. "They need a bigger venue. They need to have some activities outside"
My Answer: Tell me of a larger venue in Salt Lake (or even the state)? Energy Solutions Arena and the Maverick Center may have more seating, but not enough floor space. Outside, in Utah? I'm sorry this isn't San Diego where the weather is perfect all the time. Plus, did you see the downpour we had the last two days?!? Wouldn't that have been fun to experience!!
6. "San Diego Comic-Con this...San Diego Comic-Con that".
My Answer: You're right people, this isn't SDCC! San Diego has had years to perfect their event and still it's not perfectly run. Be patient, give it time and it will only get better each year.
7. "The smell was horrible"
My Answer: This must be your first convention I see.
8. "The concessions were expensive"
My Answer: I see you've never been outside to ANY event that sold concessions. The prices were high, but it was expected.
9. "I can't believe they were charging for autographs and pictures with the celebrities".
My Answer: This is typical of any convention. I've only been to one convention (Auto Assembly in the UK) where this doesn't happen.
10. "The lines were too long".
My Answer: Didn't you read the suggestions on the website. It said to plan on waiting to get in. I planned on about a two hour wait to get in the first day and actually it was only 90 minutes. This is usually the worst part of a convention is to get inside. You just have to plan ahead.
11. "The swag bags had nothing in them".My Answer: What did you expect...REALLY? I want to know. This first SLCC was sponsored by media groups. Most media groups don't have "stuff" to give out (unless you want a lot of advertising, which will be thrown away anyhow). Once SLCC gets retail sponsors you many have a gift item or two, but until then all I have to say is you pay for the convention and the experience of the convention, not the swag bag!
12. "They need to get more people from Hollywood and less about the comics".
My Answer: Hummm...hello? I believe it's called COMIC CON, not Hollywood's list of annoying people who don't care to be around geeks. Honestly I thought the guest list was amazing! Stan Lee, William Shatner and Adam West all in the same room? I'm surprised that place didn't exploded with the awesomeness!
Was this a perfect convention? Oh no! But what event is?
If you didn't have a good time, the only person to blame is yourself. Planning goes a long way with big events like this! I had an amazing time and I want to thank the crew, the volunteers and all my new friends for showing me how geek Utah can be!
BRING ON SALT LAKE COMIC-CON 2014!!!
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| Nicole and Stan "The Man" Lee |
2 comments:
Not seen you on Facebook in a while. Hope you are ok.
I tried to get Keith into this convention, but it was an odd back and forth with the planners. First they said we could work something out, but the other guests would be "jealous" of more guests (and then they added like 20 other people). Then he said I should find a sponsor. Finally he said we could have a vendor table, but that's it. I'm not sure if we would've done well or not, although I really wanted to be involved in the first year.
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