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Anime Central 2023<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
Attendees line up at registration to get their badges.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Otakon 2022<\/h4>\n published 2 years ago<\/span>\n
The vendor hall booths were spaced extra far apart.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Anime Texas: The Birth of an Anime Convention<\/h4>\n published 2 years ago<\/span>\n
C2E2 is among the largest comic conventions in the US. Click to read the article<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Otakon 2022<\/h4>\n published 2 years ago<\/span>\n
The queue to enter the convention center from the Marriott Marquis backed up into the lobby.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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C2E2 - Chicago's Comic Con<\/h4>\n published 3 years ago<\/span>\n
C2E2 is held at the McCormick Center, a sprawling and massive civic convention center located alongside Lake Michigan. It’s an impressive facility with a large atrium leading to the main show floor in the South Hall. The show floor itself is equally as impressive. The open space covers 840,000 sq. ft. and is kind of like a big playground of nerdiness. The facility is easy enough to navigate. You just have to work up the energy to move around it. I walked an average of 6 miles each day going to and from the facility and walking around the floors. It’s surrounded by parking garages and hotels, all of which are connected by skywalks. That’s a good thing considering that this event was held in December. Chicago is called “The Windy City” and it certainly was windy outside (and it rained all day Friday). The skywalks let you avoid all of this uncomfortable weather.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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C2E2 - Chicago's Comic Con<\/h4>\n published 3 years ago<\/span>\n
Chicago is the third largest city in the US and it has one of the largest airports as well - O’Hare International. Getting there by airplane should be pretty easy no matter what part of the country you are from. All of the major airlines fly there and it’s United’s main hub. I booked my flights relatively late - just two weeks before - and was still able to find good prices. Contrast that with flights to Florida around Christmas which were over \$1,000 from my hometown.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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C2E2 - Chicago's Comic Con<\/h4>\n published 3 years ago<\/span>\n
C2E2 is a convention for fans of all kinds. Anime, comics, movies and television, cosplay, gaming, and so much more. The full title is a mouthful - Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. It’s operated by one of the largest companies of its type, ReedPop<\/a>, who also operates New York Comic Con, Emerald City Comic Con, Florida Supercon, PAX, MCM London, and many other large events. C2E2 gives Chicagoans and anyone else willing to travel an opportunity to immerse themselves in a celebratory atmosphere.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Book That Room!<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
\nThis month I will be traveling to Chicago for Anime Central<\/a> (no video though), Atlanta for MomoCon<\/a>, and finally Ohio for Colossalcon<\/a>.\n\nLooking further ahead I\'ll be at Anime Expo<\/a> and Otakon<\/a> in July. There\'s a possibility that I\'ll be attending San Diego Comic Con<\/a>, but it mostly depends on me getting a badge 😄.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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So you wanna go to Colossalcon...<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
\nMy Anime Central Cosplay Music Video is now playing on YouTube. Click the button to watch the video or read the article to learn more about this Chicago anime convention.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Anime Central 2023<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
Anime Central, or ACEN for short, is one of those conventions that you hear a lot about from your friends, but you never make a point of attending. It has a good-sized vendor hall, lots of events, two raves, and lots of cosplay. It’s located near Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois, right next door to the ginormous Chicago O’Hare airport. That makes it easy to attend for those out of state and the surrounding area is pretty nice. There are plenty of hotels and restaurants nearby and I didn’t see a single homeless person. By all rights this con should be on your list. So why haven’t you attended?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Anime Central 2023<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
Maybe it’s because it’s in the Midwest. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with the Midwest, but it just doesn’t have the draw of the coastal areas like Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Florida, etc. The biggest and most prestigious cons are in those cities. ACEN has all the things an anime convention needs to be successful: high population area (Chicago is the third largest city in America), easy travel access, close proximity to restaurants and hotels. But despite these advantages, I only just made my first visit. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Colossalcon East 2022 Water Park Anime Convention<\/h4>\n published 2 years ago<\/span>\n
The ease of attending Colossalcon East greatly depends on where you live. Many attendees simply drive there. New York and Philadelphia are two hours away by car and most of the people I know who attended came from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. If you have to fly in as I do, your journey becomes a lot more expensive and difficult.\n\nThe demand for airline travel is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels and the airlines simply aren\'t prepared to handle it. Add in inflation and you have a recipe for expensive airline tickets. Flights from where I live in Washington State were around \$800 and I even saw flights from Boston around that price! That\'s crazy given how close it is. Unless you live near a major airline hub like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, or Chicago, you\'ll likely pay a lot more than normal to get there.\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Otakon 2023<\/h4>\n published 1 year ago<\/span>\n
If staff are shouting, mistakes have already been made. Proper signage should be in place to inform attendees where they should go. Queues can be managed by stanchions, barriers, and other crowd management schemes. Anything that involves moving large numbers of people should be set up in an intuitive manner which makes it obvious where people should go. People can take visual cues at a glance and just keep moving. It really is like herding cattle. Just put up signs and barriers and let people follow the flow of traffic. The less words on the signage the better, especially for large crowds.\n\nSome cons are really great at this. C2E2<\/a>, a large comic convention held in Chicago, can swiftly move tens of thousands of people into its building and through security. There’s no need for signage since the layout naturally leads you in the right direction. A large indoor queueing area and multiple security stations easily handle the crowds.\n\nOtakon\'s badge pickup information was posted online well in advance, but how many people actually see it or take the time to read it? Not everyone who attends Otakon follows them on social media and not everyone has the forethought to research methods of entry on the Otakon website<\/a>. Most people just show up with the expectation that they can enter through the front doors.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n