PSB:-
It is not my aim to upset or disrespect anything anyone does for the con. Please do not take anything I have said here personally – I just want to help make ConFuzzled even better.
Pros
- Con layout.
The layout of events in the Hotel was wonderful, everything was close enough that it was easy to find, but also separated such that nothing seemed to get mixed up with anything else.
- Housekeeping.
Hotel Housekeeping for my room anyway, couldn't be faulted. My privacy was always there when I had the "Do not disturb" sign on the door, and when I passed them in the hall they still checked if I wanted anything. I just found them extremely accommodating and refreshingly nice people to pass in the halls.
- Hotel Front Desk and Concierge.
The staff were great, checking in and any general issues were always solved quickly for me. They were even generally nice and down to earth and seemed to enjoy the con spirit a lot.
- Nightclub
The nightclub area was amazing, no other words for it. The people who set that up and made it run did fantastic. The lights, laser and sound setup was so good! I think the Dead Dog Party was the best dance of the con - really well done to everyone involved in this area.
-The Con
The con on a whole was really well done, with such a huge amount of growth in such a small amount of years. The staff and crew did a good job of keeping things as organised as they did. A few things did run late, but this seemed to be much better communicated this year. Much respect for con ops and the Twitter people for that one.
- Hotel itself.
Hotel on a whole is nice, the layout is simple and the space we have is really nice. I love the extra amount of general social and hang out space that seemed to come with it.
- Fursuit Lounge
Super spacious, and cold, as a fursuiter that new fan was amazing, as well as the water cooler.
Cons
- Theming.
I enjoyed the theming of the con, it was done really well. However, it only seemed to be in one side of the hotel. It's my understanding that this was due to the hotel being shared with non-convention goers, but it may have been nicer if it was a little more spread out around the hotel. Adding to this, it was a shame to see some of the theme stuff still being built on the Saturday/Sunday of the con. It just seemed a shame it wasn't ready for the opening.
- Shirt Design.
I loved the artwork on the shirt, but I feel that orange wasn’t the best choice of colour. I found it difficult to read the word “not”.
- Nightclub
Only one issue – could there be a direct route to the dance floor? The chairs near the entrance got in my way at times, more so at night. This is problematic in fursuit because visibility in a dark room is so poor. The fan near the doors also attracted many fursuiters and did cause the occasion blockage. Maybe have actual route to the dance floor with some lights? That will make it much easier to get in and out.
- Dance Competition
This needed a more space for the event. It was overcrowded and not everyone who wanted to see it could get in. Could it be a main stage event next year?
I found it disappointing that you only presented trophies for first place. I think before you have done 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ones before? I may be mistaken with this.
I also found the group dance competition awkward as there was only one entry. Awarding first place out of a competition of one felt a little false to me. Could they have been used for an intermission or demo performance instead?
- CFz Staff
I witnessed a member of CFz staff spitting on the floor outside the front of the hotel. It was a shame to see this when the staff were doing so well. It made me feel quite angry, actually, as there were fursuiters present who could have stepped in the spit.
- Lounge Bar
I found the prices here very inconsistent as discounts were not always applied. The bar staff were abrupt and uninterested. I also found the service pretty bad, with long waits for food and drink.
- Event Gap
I'm guessing the reason for a gap around 1700 - 1900/2000 most days was for people to get dinner. I just found it caused a large rush of people at the bar and social areas at these times, along with a big crowd in the lobby at these times.
-Fursuit Photo-shoot
I was handling for a friend in suit who was queuing for the photo-shoot around noon on Monday. The queue didn’t move for some time so I went to find out if there was something wrong. A volunteer told me there was a problem with too much smoke in the room – I pointed out to the volunteer that it may have been nice for everyone waiting to be informed about the issue, after which the issue was made more public via Twitter. It would have been better if this had been communicated to the 20+ suiters in the queue at the time.
A fan was then set up to help cool people down, which was a nice help. It would also have been great if drinks could have been distributed to the fursuiters as well. I gave out a few drinks myself.
In total it took us around an hour to get the picture taken.
Making fursuiters wait up to an hour in line is obviously risky because of heat and dehydration. Would something like a time slot system work better here so that people are waiting less? It could also have benefitted from more crew/volunteers to manage the queue.
- Fursuit Lounge
The fursuit lounge was huge and really well set up, which was fantastic. Unfortunately there were some problems.
Sadly the volume of empty cups and rubbish that was regularly left around the room and on the floor ruined how nice it was for me. Such a nice area made to look somewhat messy at times. The bins were clustered around the drinks machine when they could have been spread around the room a little more. I did collect some of the litter in the lounge, but didn’t enjoy having to do that.
I also witnessed people with cameras and phones in there taking pictures from time to time. I told them that it’s against the rules, but it did fall on deaf ears sadly. I understand you can't always catch everyone, but I spotted it at least five times. I did look for staff or crew to inform about this, but it was not always easy as I was in suit myself.
The giant black fan...it was amazing for cooling down and it was very popular - maybe too popular as it was being hogged by some suiters for drying things, which isn't what it’s there for. I did try and explain this to a suiter drying his suit with the fan, but this fell on deaf ears. I also tried to ask a member of security on the nightclub door to help, but he seemed hesitant to help.
