Worldcon 2014 (Loncon3) - Summary
Thoughts and feelings on the whole Worldcon experience, at Loncon3
The badge design was double sided so (unless you were a program participant) your name was always visible. This was a very good idea. However the font size selected could easily have been somewhat bigger.
The newsletter was always easily found and news-stands usually also had all back issues.
The fannish village was a great idea & putting the parties there worked well (even though I had to catch my train by 10:30 each night)
The bar (in the village) was reasonably priced with real ale and cider at £3.95/pint, however the food was over priced
The library (also in the village), was a great idea, where you could get a book and sit down to read. Also one of the few places to charge electronic devices (which with my iPods battery life I needed)
It would have been nice if there had been a few more book stores, in the dealers area. There were however dozens of small presses / self publishers.
Nice to see young people at a Worldcon (apparently about 10% of attendees were under 16).
I actually spoke to people, both people I knew and total strangers. From "Hi how are you?" To over an hour conversations.
The LMB list curry was a highlight; S & M invited a bunch of fans back to their house, where JB made traditional curries. Good conversation ensued.
The wifi in the ExCel (and my hotel) was excellent. Related to this, the electronic program guide was excellent and kept up to date. Even my old iPod worked fine.
Mostly didn't go to any program that I initially picked from the program guide, (apart from opening & closing ceremonies, both Hugo Awards and the Masquerade). There was much more queuing than at any previous Worldcon and some items should have really been in bigger rooms.
All events were held under one roof (even the late night ones) though the size of the ExCel meant it took awhile to get from one panel to the next.
The badge design was double sided so (unless you were a program participant) your name was always visible. This was a very good idea. However the font size selected could easily have been somewhat bigger.
The newsletter was always easily found and news-stands usually also had all back issues.
The fannish village was a great idea & putting the parties there worked well (even though I had to catch my train by 10:30 each night)
The bar (in the village) was reasonably priced with real ale and cider at £3.95/pint, however the food was over priced
The library (also in the village), was a great idea, where you could get a book and sit down to read. Also one of the few places to charge electronic devices (which with my iPods battery life I needed)
It would have been nice if there had been a few more book stores, in the dealers area. There were however dozens of small presses / self publishers.
Nice to see young people at a Worldcon (apparently about 10% of attendees were under 16).
I actually spoke to people, both people I knew and total strangers. From "Hi how are you?" To over an hour conversations.
The LMB list curry was a highlight; S & M invited a bunch of fans back to their house, where JB made traditional curries. Good conversation ensued.
The wifi in the ExCel (and my hotel) was excellent. Related to this, the electronic program guide was excellent and kept up to date. Even my old iPod worked fine.
Mostly didn't go to any program that I initially picked from the program guide, (apart from opening & closing ceremonies, both Hugo Awards and the Masquerade). There was much more queuing than at any previous Worldcon and some items should have really been in bigger rooms.
All events were held under one roof (even the late night ones) though the size of the ExCel meant it took awhile to get from one panel to the next.