wulbul

[wulbul]

I was never able to attend a DJ for various reasons over the years, and in general this was only my 2nd or 3rd convention, so I have no baseline of comparison or any let-down factor from being spoiled.

With that said, it was singularly, without comparison to anything else a very shit event.

I loved the (in total) 10 minutes I got to spend meeting the cast, as I never had before. But that was not worth the horror of the Saturday, nor the feeling of being massively ripped off for an event that had almost nothing to do *except* meet the cast.  

Sad times.

Wildly, they seem happy to plough ahead with the same organisers, who claim everything “went as planned” on the Sunday, for a 40th Anniverary celebration next year (on the 39th anniversary of broadcast), while they lay 99% of the blame on the venue, telling everyone that shifting to an ARENA next year will sort all the issues. 

All aboard the SS ClownShoe!

 

I couldn’t make it over from Australia and contacted the organisers to ask whether I could transfer my “bronze” ticket and Saturday night party ticket to someone for free but was told I could only resell it for face value on the site they suggested. Added the tickets to the site (well my wife did as I found it too depressing that I couldn’t attend) and ticked the open to offers box. I’m now feeling a bit guilty that I recouped most of my money. 
Everyone I was in contact with over the weekend tried to make the best of it but couldn’t help but compare it to the Dimension Jump days.  I think any convention is going to be disappointing after being so spoilt for so many years.

[wulbul]

Yeah… yeeeeah. 
The G&Ters were right. It was a horrific cash grab. 

The Saturday was hellish because of an unprecedented level of bad organisation, and while the Sunday “went exactly as planned” according to one organiser after the fact, it was still piss-poor as an experience. 

The After Party with Craig DJing was good craic, and he was great on the decks. The final panel was also good fun, and there was some very impressive cosplays out there – but mostly this was a dehumanising cattle market. 

Attendees herded through the stalls, roughly and according to caste. Guests hooked up to industrial milking machines in the signing sessions, and poor volunteers being used as scapegoats all day long while whoever was actually responsible for this *incredibly* expensive autograph signing hid in the shadows. 

Apparently this is what people like though? I’ve heard a lot of people saying already that they’re itching to come back next year based on how “good” the Sunday was? Bewildering. 

Also, they spent the entire event talking up next year’s convention as a 40th Anniversary celebration? Eh? Whit?

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