![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
Apr. 13th, 2010 at 1:32 PM
The Show: Anime Boston
Where: Hines convention center, Boston, MA
When: April 2-4
Which Fandoms: mixed
Demographic: Slightly older--early twenties on up, it seemed. Possibly noteworthy: I also talked to a lot of congoers who said they only go to ABoston and Connecticon.
How Many Days Did You Attend: All three. Sunday was Easter Sunday, though, which meant it was super-slow.
Why Did You Attend: the Alley
How Many Years Have You Done This: First one
Review of Con-Staff interactions: Mixed but generally positive. We were told upon sign-in that the Alley wouldn't be secured from the public on Sunday morning. When I expressed confusion, the person staffing the Alley table told me that most cons don't provide a secure Alley at all--but in my experience, most cons do provide a secure Alley. Then when Sunday rolled around (and we'd staggered out of bed super-early in order to defend our stuff), we found that security wasn't letting people in until 10 anyway.
Staff was also on the ball when it came to table campers. This is the first time I've seen someone just randomly setting up shop at an empty table, but con staff hopped on 'em quickly enough. Also, their check-in procedure was the fastest and smoothest one I've ever had.
Review of Pricing: Parking was awful in the official convention center lot--$40 a day. Another lot, closer to the attached hotel's entryway, was $30 a day/$18 on Sunday. It ended up being a shorter walk than the $40/day one--a big bonus when when trucking a 40lb wheelie of merch/parts.
Review of Location: The convention center was on the ball with cleanliness: every few hours someone would come by to dump the trash can in the middle of our little island, and it seemed there was always someone on hand in the bathrooms. There were no overflowing garbage cans like there are at so many other shows. The attached mall had a pretty diverse and tasty food court, too, if you could make it through the seething masses ofplague-riddled humanity to get to them. Also, I am a bad person no one yelled at me for rejecting shoes after my sandals revolted and chewed holes in my feet.
Review of Artist Alley: This show was brutal (in an awesome way). I was playing catch-up two hours after opening on Friday, and I'd brought a ton of stock. I sold more there than I did at Otakon.
Review of Dealer Room: It seemed very open.
Other Thoughts: We got rooms at the Fairfield Marriot in Revere, about ten miles away, for about $80/night. Staff there were also pretty awesome, their business lounge let you print things for free, and breakfast, while not fantastic, was still good. And they gave me band-aids for my poor, sad feet.
Traffic into Boston was mild to nonexistent in the early mornings, and I can handle a $3 bridge toll + $30/day parking better than a $100, $200+/night hotel that's only a little closer and would also charge $30/day or so for parking.
About the reviewer: Not dead yet.
Where: Hines convention center, Boston, MA
When: April 2-4
Which Fandoms: mixed
Demographic: Slightly older--early twenties on up, it seemed. Possibly noteworthy: I also talked to a lot of congoers who said they only go to ABoston and Connecticon.
How Many Days Did You Attend: All three. Sunday was Easter Sunday, though, which meant it was super-slow.
Why Did You Attend: the Alley
How Many Years Have You Done This: First one
Review of Con-Staff interactions: Mixed but generally positive. We were told upon sign-in that the Alley wouldn't be secured from the public on Sunday morning. When I expressed confusion, the person staffing the Alley table told me that most cons don't provide a secure Alley at all--but in my experience, most cons do provide a secure Alley. Then when Sunday rolled around (and we'd staggered out of bed super-early in order to defend our stuff), we found that security wasn't letting people in until 10 anyway.
Staff was also on the ball when it came to table campers. This is the first time I've seen someone just randomly setting up shop at an empty table, but con staff hopped on 'em quickly enough. Also, their check-in procedure was the fastest and smoothest one I've ever had.
Review of Pricing: Parking was awful in the official convention center lot--$40 a day. Another lot, closer to the attached hotel's entryway, was $30 a day/$18 on Sunday. It ended up being a shorter walk than the $40/day one--a big bonus when when trucking a 40lb wheelie of merch/parts.
Review of Location: The convention center was on the ball with cleanliness: every few hours someone would come by to dump the trash can in the middle of our little island, and it seemed there was always someone on hand in the bathrooms. There were no overflowing garbage cans like there are at so many other shows. The attached mall had a pretty diverse and tasty food court, too, if you could make it through the seething masses of
Review of Artist Alley: This show was brutal (in an awesome way). I was playing catch-up two hours after opening on Friday, and I'd brought a ton of stock. I sold more there than I did at Otakon.
Review of Dealer Room: It seemed very open.
Other Thoughts: We got rooms at the Fairfield Marriot in Revere, about ten miles away, for about $80/night. Staff there were also pretty awesome, their business lounge let you print things for free, and breakfast, while not fantastic, was still good. And they gave me band-aids for my poor, sad feet.
Traffic into Boston was mild to nonexistent in the early mornings, and I can handle a $3 bridge toll + $30/day parking better than a $100, $200+/night hotel that's only a little closer and would also charge $30/day or so for parking.
About the reviewer: Not dead yet.