/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

Get there as early as humanly possible. The lines are long and terrible. My first AX I was working the artist alley and made the mistake of taking all of my table gear with me to pick up my badge. Picture a short fat girl in a bodice with 50 lbs of display and chainmail strapped to her back waiting in line for hours. Not my best idea.

Luckily, artists got a separate line for badge collection in the following years and everything went much better.

>>8262133
>my first AX2015

You mean there was another one?

For the lines, you want to wear something light and use a little bit of sunscreen or bring shade. Get there early and expect a 2-hour wait. Last year was just completely fucked on day 0, which made day 1 really bad, too. Day 2 should be no issue.

This will be my first year too. I'm traveling all the way from the East Coast. Apparently they canceled my wait listing for the JW, so I was really bummed about that. What else should a first-timer expect, especially since this is my first time in California?

>>8262957
Native Californian here! Used to live in LA a few blocks away from where the con is held. It's going to be HOT. Just FYI. It's usually pretty cool inside the Staples Center, but if you plan to be outside be aware that you will melt. Traffic is also a nightmare and drivers do not give a single fuck. Depending on where you're staying, travel in groups. I was walking to the con one morning and some asshole literally grabbed my crotch while I was walking with my arms full of gear.

>>8262988
Thanks, I'll be going with a few other friends, so I'm not too concerned. Also, is it common for relatively nothing to be posted around this time involving guests, concerts, events, etc.? Since I don't have a Facebook, I'm not sure where else to look since there are no forums for the con (unless I'm missing it?).

Any hotels left close to the con?? I missed out...

>>8263007
Nope. AX usually has at least one 'big' guest and a handful of lesser ones around this time (Danny Choo, Vic Mananana).

ngl I'm a touch concerned and hope all this waiting won't end with another disappointing orchestra announcement.

I said I wouldn't start worrying about my undone cosplays until the AX threads started popping up

shit

Should I come at day 0 at 4am and just wait? I haven't been in a long time and hearing/seeing pictures of the day 0 line from last year scared the fuck outta me.

>>8263081
Security may ask you to leave if you arrive too early.

I prefer arriving later in the evening, around 6:00 or 7:00, so I'm not standing around in the sun for potentially hours.

Man, isn't it a bit early for an AX thread?

>I actually don't want to be reminded of how much sewing I still have to finish and how the summer heat will destroy my makeup and soul

>>8262133

How the hell do cons get away with hours long pre-registration lines when other cons like WonderCon are set up so that you literally walk right in, show your emailed confirmation, and get your badge in under 20 mintutes tops? Why can't they get their shit together too?

>>8263279
Doesn't AX have a scanner thing for badge pick up?

>>8263279
OP here. Like I mentioned it's my first ax trip, did the arrangements one night a few weeks back, and after the fact read about what happened, anyway been waiting ever since for reactions towards this years event and figure post a question on badge pickup expectations.
I was confused about this day 0, day 1 etc, where there is no info about it, I just went with the official start date on 7/2.

I did lurk cosplay.com site for a bit, mostly see room scalping biz (i mean room sharing) and gatherings. Got the sense most will be there at day 0.

>>8263014
There are some cheap ones near around those listed on ax if you read the yelp reviews nearly all seem 50/50 you get what you pay for...and maybe just walk it to their nearest shuttle pickup I believe is available to any badge holder.

Im staying less than a mile off its an easy walk, done this several times. The only areas im afraid to walk is south and east from the convention itself, gets ghetto really quick there.

The store that I work at is going to be at AX. Our first year there was last year and it was just absolutely packed, it's the biggest convention I've been to.
I'd recommend getting there as early as you can, bring food with you if you can because you'll be waiting an hour in line waiting to order food from there.
Also day 0 is usually when people just go to pick up their badges and what not.
Another thing to anyone going, go check out the Anime Revolution booth, it's pretty bad ass.

>>8263279
>>8263528
Ok, think nothing to worry about then, I got caught up reading about posts about ax's drama to the point it felt if theywere able to resolve the internal issues politics aside idk... I mean they pulled off their own forum this past february from the ax website. Not a good sign, probably to silence the people still complaining about the last event idk... but that just feels so shady for a nonprofit org to do.

bring sunscreen if you have to wait in line. nothing ruined that convention faster than a huge sunburn on day 1. try not to interact with any of the ax security staff because they will abuse what little authority they have. masquerade is not included with your badge and you have to buy it seperately as well as most big events that aren't panels. food trucks are excellent and you should pick up a sushi burrito if you get the chance. aa is huge and worth your exhibit hall time, cuz most dealers sell overpriced bootlegs and the local aa isn't ttoo bad. decent con to go to, terrible con to work for, just keep in mind its run like a business so they want to make money off the otaku fanbase

>>8263335
They had multiple, but apparently there were technical difficulties so it still took 3-5 hours during peak times on day 1.

>>8262988
>both thursday and friday are not the 4th so there will be normal traffic
fuck

usually it's just the one day that isn't the weekend/july 4th that sucks

>>8263081

If you show up Day 0 at 4am you run the risk of being stuck in line with crazy drunk stoners named crazy shit like Dayday and Andre. I've heard some fucking crazy stories, man. Don't do it.

I think they said they were going to try something new about pickup this year. If last year wasn't a wakeup call then nothing will. Last year you could pretty much chalk it up as "lines." Lines to get your badge. Lines to get into panels. Lines for autographs. AX has way too many people and not enough ways to split them or accommodate them.

>>8263528
day 0 is the day before the convention where people just pick up their badge
day 1 is the first day you can actually do stuff. I've done the day 1 get-there-early thing before. jumped on a greyhound from SF, got off in LA at 7am, got to LACC by 8

>>8264044
did they let random people in for free after it started? at least they used to do that.

>>8263586
it's not just the drama that's the problem. some of it is LACC problems (too small). some is understaffing (less benefits now that earlier years so less volunteers). things not being handled til late (autograph lines not having a system til day 4 I believe, water to help out attendees dying in the heat in various lines til day 3)

>>8263081
no omg that's so unnecessary. if you go at like 9pm on day 0 you'll have to wait less and also no sunburn

>>8264097
here's hoping that was the rock bottom AX could ever do for con that's been around this long

>>8262133
There Will Be Smells

Anyone have any cosplans yet?

>>8265798
Should I bring some febreeze?
Jokes aside, being cramped with a bunch of sweaty people who don't know what deodorant is does not sound fun

>>8264097
There's a lot of systems floating out there now for using phones and tablets to "ticket" small individual events. IE instead of doing lines for panels, you boop phones at the door, get a number, then show it to get in when the time comes instead of having to wait in line for hours. Not a perfect solution and doesn't solve reg and pickup line hell, but fuhck, anything is better than what we have now.

>>8265945
I'm gonna try and get Space Dandy together. His outfit doesn't seem too tough (cept the hair) and should be fun to run around as.

>>8264097
>AX has way too many people and not enough ways to split them or accommodate them

Isn't that a problem that every big con has? Comic con has resources up the ass and they still have issues with lines.

>>8263132
Pretty much an informal thread for the new people on the wall who are debating on planning to go to AX since there is no forum on the official site.

>>8262133
don't bother with A/X nothing to do

>sieg let's go it's JUST like comic-con but smaller and not such a hassle to drive to/park at/buy tickets to get into/less hipster

literally just people standing around talking to each other all in close knit groups

or other little close knit groups walking over to another group to stand around and talk and point at shit at their costumes

selfie together, say their goodbyes and go find another group


...............

i am just in awe watching this happen.....like there has to be more to this convention than this

nope....

some people selling some shit

but it's like otakus having a yard sale with new in box figures because their mom said they had to clear the crap out of the garage

"how many evangelion do you need?"

"uhhh, it's E-VAN-GELL-EEE-ONN..."

"......-_-....."

>>8266338
How the hell is this different from any other con?

>>8266351
There are better ones that aren't just blatant cash grabs....give us money, stand around talk or buy things from these people who we charged to allow to sell things at

>>8266411
How about like, examples? Who did it right instead of whining about who did it wrong

>>8266411
Except you're ignoring all the debuts, autograph sessions, concerts, big time fan panels (Last Comic Standing) and any other crazy shenanigans that when you get a bunch of nerds together. That stuff is free and while there is preferred seating you can pay for, you can still get in free of charge. I mean god damn they got Porno Graffiti to play one year

>>8266463
i said this in another thread but the more you read sieg's posts the more you realize they're a waste of time

Last year was my first AX.

It's usually better than that right? Day 0 was terrible.

>>8267391
last year was the first time I have ever seen badge pickup as bad as it was. then again it also jumped 20k people so everything was bad. first time that has happened. between 2008-2012 attendance more or less stagnated before jumping from 49k to 61k in 2013. 61k to 80k in 2014. it really showed AX/the LACC's shortcomings

They keep saying they'll announce guests as soon as they're confirmed, so the fact that they've only had one guest confirm with 75 days left til con is rather sad.

>>8267444
at least it's a good one, right?
I'm pretty stoked for him

>>8267391
Mikunopolis was the best AX

I feel bad for you, son.

Last year was my first AX.
I flew 3,000 miles to get there.
I will NEVER go back.

>>8267498
haha wow
you picked a horrible year to go
my apologies

>>8263007
AX used to have a forum attached to their website. Is that not a thing anymore?

>>8267444
I want Daisuke to sign my copy of Xrd

>>8267628
they deleted it for who knows why
there was good info in it
it wasn't the most active thing in the world (how many convention forums are?) but it was still a big loss
i'm sure it's upkeep cost was a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the event

>>8267502
I wouldn't have even gone if it wasn't for the KLK guests and concert. Guilty Gear hype doesn't really interest me, so I'll be flying somewhere else this year.

Last year was my first AX, but I enjoyed it. The only downside was I missed a bunch of the late night panels because shitty lines.

Day 0 was surprisingly fun, in the 5 hours of waiting I met some people, got free pizza from strangers, and played Pokemon with others. I can understand why people hated it though.

>>8267679
Wait, it's gone?!

That forum actually had useful updates posted there. Con forums are really active as the date gets closer and AX actually had activity.

Welp back to using Cosplay.com

>>8268075
They probably took it down to hide the 17 million complaints posted after AX2014.

>>8267747
Well, I'm glad you had fun anon

This year is going to be my first AX so I hope I have a great time and get to meet cool people

So what's everyone's cosplay plans for this year?

>>8268741
Tbh there weren't that many. The forum got low traffic. It was kind of like an info depository and not really a forum. I saw a lot more complaints on Facebook and that's a little better because th posts /comments get buried by Facebook's nature

Any guesses on how ghosting will go down this con?

Friends aren't willing to pay, so I'd like to get an idea of who I'm ditching at the door.

>>8269565
Ghosting is super easy with AX.

>>8269565
If they keep up with not including hologram security badges like at most lesser known cons on the they deserved to ghosted.

Those things are easy to spot for the lowly volunteer as legit, the absence of it calls for a second look.

So where did all the revenue for the badges went? lol

>>8269565
If they keep up with not including hologram security badges like at most lesser known cons then they deserved to ghosted.

Those things are easy to spot for the lowly volunteer as legit, the absence of it calls for a second look.

So where did all the revenue for the badges went? lol

How is getting a room for AX should i grab one soon or has my time already ran out? i live like 30-40mins away from the convention center but me and the gang want to enjoy the parties and nightlife.

Ryukishi07 (07th Expansion) (Higurashi, Umineko, etc) announced

Not sure what to think.

>>8269920
There's still some left close to the convention center (1 mile or less) if you use Expedia. AX's hotel booking website has none left.

>>8269920
I just booked at the Howard Johnson which is right by K Town and a bit over 2 miles from the convention center. I think they have plenty of rooms available.

>>8270366

Excited as fuck, hoping an autograph and panel will be easy to get into, pretty sure the casuals won't really know who he is.

>>8270366
>mfw
I'm so fucking excited.
I guess I should do Lambda this year after all.

>>8270478
Just checked..most hotels avail for ax are now the 2+ mile radius mark...this assuming not wanting to pay the exorbitant markups of walking distance ones. So glad I booked early.

>>8270649
>>8270478
Is it worth it then at this point or should we just take the drive and save the money? how easy is it to crash with randoms or at parties?

and we are a group of /fit/ guys with autismo so keep this in mind.

>>8270672
depends on how good your social skills are
if you're bro (and don't go over-bro to piss people off) then you'll probably be able to find people to crash with and party with. it's one thing to party with people, another to let them stay in your room, so good luck. since you said you're autismo I hope you're exaggerating.

>>8270695
In reality i know i can get myself a place to sleep somewhere its just the rest of my group im questionable about. If all options failed id just sleep in my car or go hobo mode, its just harder to do with a group of 5 large under dressed men.

>>8270738
yeah, 5 is a bit much to let sleep in 1 room. one or two maybe. hope your buddies like sleeping in cars.

>>8270744
you don't know shit until you sleep in one room with 10 people

>>8270748
I've slept on a parking lot
I've slept on a donut shop
I've drank 10 energy drinks(AX shared the same day as X-Games then so Energy drinks were everywhere) just to stay awake in the JW Marriott lobby for 2 days

But jesus Christ, 10 people? That's insane.

>>8270748
i meant letting 5 people you just met that night sleep in your room is a bit much. i didn't mean room stuffing in general.

>>8270753
Why not get a hotel room?

OP here. I used to come LA for Siggraph back in my college days 2001-2005 and never heard of stuff like this for a con.

I think there will be smells is going to happen, its bad enough walking past people like that who don't shower or use deoderant but this is where they will congregate. Will bring mask and febreeze.

>>8270672
>and we are a group of /fit/ guys with autismo so keep this in mind.

>>8270502
People seriously don't know who he is? Higurashi and especially Umineko are popular among the casuals. Unless of course you compare it with KLK or AOT.

>>8269920
Just announced on the Facebook page!

>>8269920
They'll be adding more soon!

>>8270649
>>8270833
AX hotel website has more rooms opened, I tried it could book rooms now and these are NOT wait-listed for them. Check it out...

>>8271911
Hope no new cheap deals, I just paid for a hotel.

>>8272708
I think anywhere 1 mile from the convention is 200-300+, further out sub $150/night

>>8271911
Good ill have to keep an eye out.
>>8271519
We are gonna be wearing the same amount of clothing as these guys so you would see the issue of getting strangers to let us sleep in the same room as them.

>>8273722
Sleeping in a room of lewd Asian guys is practically my dream, who wouldn't want that?

The con of all cons.

>>8274472
And now a word from our future chairman.

>>8270748
Wow, only 10? Step it up kouhai. Try 17 people and see how well that pans out for ya~ (Protip: Amazingly)

>>8274991
>Try 17 people and see how well that pans out for ya~

>>8268075
Is Coscom the only other place now?

>>8274521
This

They need to fucking advertise deodorants in that con.

>>8274521
>>8280365
fuck that, just ask Axe for sponsorship. slap Free! stickers on the cans. They'll be grabbed up faster than you can ask "does something smell in here?"

>>8271696
People watch the anime but (from my experience) hardly anyone knows about the VNs. Or, they know of them, they just haven't read them.
>tfw no filthy casuals will know the pain of the Magic Ending

On a related note, I'm praying that people will recognize my Higanbana cosplay. I'd love to wear Umineko to meet R07, but there's several people in the fandom that are out for my head, so I'd rather stay out of it for the time being. Fucking tumblr Umineko fans.

>>8280640
fuck em, do it anyway. this is your chance. you going to throw it away for some assholes? fuck those guys.

>>8267496
it really was, and i don't totally see them surpassing it.

>>8268948
Ringabel from Bravely Default (hopefully its done in time)
Warp from Kaiba
probably reuse my Aoba and Silica costumes too

>>8280640
I agree with >>8280674. Do it anyway. You may never get another chance to meet him! Tumblr will always be Tumblr and they probably got mad for a stupid reason. Plus, AX is huge and you may not even run into them.

Either way, good luck Anon!

>>8274472
Arizona State University Expo?

What is this from?

>>8262988
staples center isn't used