FWA Con Report - Post-con

Slightly belated, but better late than never:

Sunday: The last day of the con and I'm really not sure where the time went. Woke up, got breakfast, played in the board game room for a while, then participated in the Mario Kart Wii tournament, taking second. There's really little else I can recall from the day, aside from spending a little time with someone, but after dinner I found a couple people downstairs playing board games and joined in for about two hours. Things disbanded with remarkable speed after the con closed; there were only a couple dozen people downstairs after closing ceremonies and all the con rooms had been broken down less than an hour thereafter. I did, however, finally manage to get a cookie and some fudge from Starallon before I went up to bed.

Monday:Woke up, got food, checked out. 'nuff said. :p

A few overall impressions of the con

Good things

• Gaming. I kicked tail at any of the tournaments I was in, taking third or better in any 'official' games I played. Apparently I do better with an audience.
• Cheap art. I got several pieces for $5 or less, including a free lobster-style sketch from the Ringtail Cafe and two "invisible" badges for $2 each.
• Staff. Though there were plenty of hiccups along the way, the staff remained very friendly throughout the con and always tried to be as helpful as possible. Other large furry conventions (e.g. Anthrocon) could definitely learn a few things from the way they all treated the attendees.
  

Bad things

• Parking. The parking garage for the hotel was full on Thursday and, though a few people say they found spaces later in the weekend, it's obvious they don't have the capacity they need.
• Food. Specifically, the lack thereof. There aren't any major fast-food chains within walking distance except for a Subway in the mall, and the mall's hours are so limited that it's only an option for lunch. The only things within a mile's walk that were open at night were pubs. Pizza delivery was popular but, for whatever reason, all the places refused to deliver to the rooms and required we come down to the lobby.
• Size. Lots of things I could say about that. Right now, it feels like the hotel is too big for us, though I'm sure FWA will grow in to it. The con is, however, starting to suffer the same problem as AC: it's impossible to find anyone. Which brings me to my next point...
• People: I spent most of the weekend wandering around alone, without anyone to hang out with, and never was able to get a hold of anyone. It seemed like everyone else was able to make dinner plans but nobody wanted to invite me along or had any interest in the times I offered to order delivery. Though I did get to spend some time with a couple people - and I greatly appreciated and enjoyed it - most of it was a very frustrating and mildly depressing experience.
  
• Art. Perhaps it's simply that I have too many things on my web-gallery already, but I found very few artists at the convention that caught my eye. Also, when I did find something I wanted, the artist either wouldn't even listen long enough for me to tell them about the commission or had a bad attitude that turned me off to doing business with them. Whereas I had ten things from MFF, the only artist I commissioned for something that wasn't finished at the con is BushyCat. All I have to show for the con is three badges, one sketch, and the pending stuff from her. I've gotten more than that from conventions where I had a budget of $100.
• Price. Everything in downtown Atlanta is expensive. The hotel was $127 a night with the con discount, which makes it nearly as expensive as Anthrocon. They also tacked on a $50/night hold for "anticipated incidentals" which was not disclosed until after they'd already run the credit card. I could afford it, but a lot of others at the con could not, which led to numerous complaints. The food at the hotel was expensive, but things weren't that cheap even at the mall: I spent $8 on lunch for a small Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, some mediocre fries, and watered-down soda. I don't know if FWA can try and work out deals for food but it would be a great idea for next year.

Overall, I really didn't have that great an impression of the convention. My experience with Furry Weekend Atlanta this year has certainly cemented my preference for smaller conventions. Were it not for the free membership I won from the poker tournament, I probably wouldn't even be thinking about going next year. As it is, I won't make that decision until after Further Confusion and my financial situation after that con. Whether the experience I had is simply growing pains for the con, evidence that the convention has permanently become too large for its own good, or simply proof that I would rather avoid events with a four-figure attendance remains to be seen.