Thank you for the security this year!

[siredgar]

I'd like to thank the Dragon*Con and hotel staff for the badge/card-key checking this year. I didn't see any problems like we had last year, and the staff checking the badges was for the most part polite but firm. I really appreciated it and fully enjoyed the vibe of the con this year

Comments

[werewulf]

Seconded! Security made a BIG difference in my con experience this year. That or everyone just chose to be a lot more polite.

As for registration, although I did get caught in the crash on Thursday afternoon. Still, psychologically, it REALLY made a difference to be in a line that kept moving and once you made it to the front it was your turn rather than seeing big lines under some names and no lines under others. The baffled system is a win and I assume will only get better with time and familiarity.

Thanks to all who implemented both systems.

[werewulf]

Damn you autocorrect!

The BARCODE not BAFFLED system...

[jellibean]

I mentioned it in my review post, but I'd like to thank them here, too, for thoroughly checking badges at the Sunday night dance in the Atrium. I had my badge mysteriously fall off there last year (we luckily recovered it), and this year, security caught a kid trying to sneak in with a stolen or borrowed badge (he had taped over the name label.)

[joyeuse13]

That's so funny...if he had just left it alone, no one would have noticed. It's not like security would know his name!

[jellibean]

I know! It didn't help that he used black tape, which made it stand out even more. I figured it had a name on it that was really, really gender-specific.

[deborak]

The badge checking made the evenings so much better! Completely worth whatever was spent on that.

[glasscannon]

Seconding this as well. The badge checkers were a wonder -- polite, thorough, and firm. I saw a couple of guys in their 20s get turned away at one of the hamster tubes because they had neither badges nor roomkeys, and the woman checking for badges wouldn't budge on not letting them in. And yet she managed to keep the hamster tube traffic flowing while reiterating to them that they wouldn't be getting in. I would have liked to see them checking badges/keys earlier in the day as well, but I thought they handled a difficult job admirably

[orcapotter]

I second the idea of doing something about crowding in the dealer rooms. Crowds have always been crazy, particularly at specific times, but even on Monday, which is normally dead in there, had some crazy crowds! Honestly, I'm getting more and more resistant to go in there, because regardless of claustrophobic or not, it just gets impossible to shop! I can imagine the shop lifting is bad, too. Particularly in the first isle of the basement dealers room, there are times when you literally cannot move through there and it's a chore to simply keep from being stepped on--much more so to even look at things

[kyndig]

+1 to this. Something needs to be done about the crowding and the lines.

Dealer Hours

[boomergoodheart]

Speaking as a dealer, I can assure you that the 1pm start time on Friday has always been that way, and the dealers need every minute of the morning to finish setting up.

We can start on Thursday, usually around 9am. For us (Southeastern Browncoats), it takes us the majority of the day, and usually Friday morning as well, to get things ready to go. I can't even imagine the logistics of the bigger dealers. In addition, some of them don't even get into town until Thursday afternoon/evening, and really need the extra time on Friday morning.

If you could see the mass chaos in the rooms on Friday morning, you'd understand. ;-)

[myras_girls]

Agreed! Thanks, D*C!