Celebration V should return to Indianapolis!

Well I am not here to bash L.A. I had a great time at the convention but here are some cons and pros that I and some of other fans I met had said.

Cons:
1. Hotels distance from convention center. I was luckily at the Fig and walked but others had to rely on shuttles and some hotel shuttles were late or rarely ran enough.

2. Lack of communications with gencon and convention center security.
(I really didn't see any radios in use) And when I asked a gencon person about radio communication between the two I got a bewildered look.
This is a huge factor when trying to run a convention, Communication is vital.

3. The distance from the hall G and H to the Fan club lounge..if someone was physically disabled this was a long travel.
(I would say for the average person walking it was a five to ten minute walk) It was a little too spread out maybe.

4. Not as many dealers
(Initially there was a reported fee for unions to move exhibitors stuff into the convention center even if the exhibitors brought there own carts to move there own stuff in themselves.
Then Gen Con stepped in I heard and resolved some of that.)
I think this might have scared off alot of vendors that normally would of come and I think the location might have been a reason also.
So with these two reasons I think they were two huge factors.

This time the vendor hall and the autograph area were able to share the same space.
At CII this was also the case but at CIII the autograph hall was elsewhere from the dealer room.


5. Cost of living in CA.
Everything seemed a bit more expensive out in L.A. to me than what things cost in Indy. More fees and (or) higher taxes than I care to remember.

6. Not much to do in downtown L.A. you had to travel to Santa Monica,Hollywood,Long Beach, etc. to find places to go.
(Which I went to these places and were quite enjoyable)

7. Location
I think this was a factor in travel for alot of fans. Several of my friends and fans I know who went to CII and CIII stated the location was why they would be unable to go and also the cost to travel and stay in L.A.

8. Gen con
Yes they have done better but they still needs alot of work in areas.
This is what they do for a living and they do other cons shouldn't they have worked out most of the kinks by now. It took them two cons to get the store more efficient.

9. Celebration Store
They simply didn't pay attention to the fans.
I heard from many fans that the style and selection of the items was not up to snuff. I myself only bought a few things this time around.

And running out of stock on the first day (patch)

Alot of people couldn't get a program this time around.

And the prices were so high compared to the quality of what they were offering the store they had reduce everything except the figure pack to 50% off on the last day. Forced at reducing rather than eating the cost themselves on taking a majority of it back that wasn't selling due to quality,cost, and design of product.

10. The Opening Ceremonies fiasco...I won't even comment.


Pros

The Celebration Store was opened 24 hours and there was really not much of a wait.

It was a fun time for most of the convention.

The Luke McQuarrie figure was awesome.

The Gentle Giant, Sideshow, Acme, Koto, had all nice stuff for exclusives.
Although Gentle Giant's organization was lacking and getting some stuff was near impossible.

The promotional giveaways were nice as usual.



Well that is my little rant or two cents on it.

I have read that L.A. is the home of the next few Celebrations but someone in charge always has the right to change their mind on this.

I didn't hate L.A. but I would hope for a better solution for the fans will be forthcoming and that they are working out the bugs for CV.

 

This was our first Celebration so I can't compare BUT:

1. I was against LA at first because of the distance from the east coast BUT After hearing about the WEATHER in INDI I am so glad it was in LA. We also made a vacaion out of it cause there's so much to see in LA. (What's in Indi?)

2. I must say I thought the convention center was a little too big I never saw my friends (except a few times at the hotel)in all 4 days! We missed so much because we were(at least) a 20min. walk away in another bldg. I was exhausted just walking from one place to the other. But the convention center was beautiful!

3. LA was great for us costumers - although because it was so big, we missed some costume sights. It seems like all we did Friday and Sunday was register and prepare for the Pageants!

4. At least there were shuttles!

 

They should have Celebration V in Wisconsin.

That way you can get cheese to go with the whine!

 

Now lets be fair here...

EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINION!!!

I happen to agree that a more central location is best for everyone, that way everyone has the opportunity to attend. I was told that C4 had much less attendees compared to previous C3. I was also told that the reason was probably due to a "non" central local. Some people do not have the funds to fly and can only drive, so it is unfair to assume everyone can fly to either one coast or the other.

Next time a central local would be best for EVERYONE!!!

 

By everyone, I'm assuming you only mean Americans. Thinks of the Aussies, Kiwis, Japanese, Europeans, and everyone else in the world who came over here for this.

 

Personally, I'd wonder how one in Europe effected east coast attendees and if any headed that way for it instead.

 

Flying to LA SHOULD be cheaper than flying to London, I assume.

 

I love that even before we hit Sunday people were spreading the rumour that there were less people attending CIV than the 34K that hit CIII. Based off what people who are somewhat involved in the running of the con, and also pure observation of the whole of the centre on both Friday and Saturday, I'm willing to bet they did break the CIII record.

 

Yeah, but Imean also from the perspective of if people would spend the extra money to get a trip to london out of it, esp if they'd been to L.A. previously.
Flightwise, at least, London works out to $100 more for the flight. Pain on the hotels though.

 

LA was definitely more expensive but the convention center was much easier to move around in, however I was one of the very very few who attended C4 from my state and there were hundreds at C3 so location does play a huge part in the decision on attending.

I talked to 2 inside people who said there are 2 more Celebrations "penciled in" - doesn't mean it will happen but at least the plans on out there.

and both are in LA - beginning in 2009

 

lovelucas, true, but on the other hand, I only knew of a handful from my area that went to CIII, but because it was closer, a lot more went to CIV.

Any location will have higher turnout from the people near it.

 

Huh. I've never heard of a number less than 40000 from any source for CIII attendance. Regardless, we heard direct from a source in the know on Monday night that CIV attendance was about 33000. I have a hard time believing LFL was hoping for attendance less than or near to the attendance of CIII at CIV when they went with Los Angeles and its Convention Center. I have no doubts that if LFL really wanted a different location for CV they would be able to cover themselves legally. On the other hand, maybe they are satisfied with L.A. I guess we won't know until a CV is announced.

 

Direct quote from Gen Con's Media Policy document from just before CIV:

"We anticipate that Celebration IV will be even larger than Celebration III, which drew more than 34,000 fans in 2005."

Every official source and release I've seen states number in that range (30-35K).

 

Alrighty. That doesn't change the gist of my last post. Proof: If LFL was expecting around 30000 people, they sure had a lot of leftover stock in the store they were desperately trying to get rid of on Monday.

 

Well, some of the stuff they were selling on Sunday and Monday was listed as "sold out" on Thursday night when I went, so it's possible that they over-estimated the number of people that would go because of memories of what happened at CIII.

Plus, there wasn't really all that many decent items really.

 

Too funny!

....

I am hoping it will be in LA again. Why?

LA's convention center has ample restaurants, bathrooms, Starbuck outlets and the choices will get even better once all of the construction is done in the surrounding area.

It seemed more folks took their families along with them, as there was more touristy non-SW things to do. Lots of kids and even infants in costume this time.

LAX is a major hub for many domestic and international airlines. Lots of east coast folks could get a direct flight. This is not the case with Indy.

The weather.

The center had a movie set feel to it and a space theme. (Did you check out the pattern on the floors of the lobbies? Too cool.)

We had plenty of room. No traffic jams for pictures and the exhibition hall/art show/autograph area could all be hosted in one area.

Steve Sansweet said it best: This is where SW started (premiered) and this is where its future lies.

 

They were going pretty fast at half-price
I'd still like to know who the LFL genius was who changed the McQuarrie poster from 2000 (or whatever it was) to 200, "to make it really exclusive" and thus making sure only dealers and exhibitors could buy it

I don't have any big complaints about C4 in L.A. myself. We had a good time. However, its doubtful we would go to C5 if it is indeed there (unless they get Hamill out ). Most of our friends who made it to C4 share the same opinion...I don't know if that means anything or not in the grand scheme of planning these things, but perhaps it is a common sentiment.

 

Mohawk-Elvis has really captured the problems with LA and why attendance was down considerably from C3. As I've stated before, Indy is centrally located and much less expensive with lot

 

Where are people getting the idea there was a lot less people at this convention? Because we weren't all bottlenecked in one location for 12 hours ? And if there were fewer people, maybe it's because there's no new movie.

Whatever...just about ANY location is going to be too far and too expensive for somebody unable/unwilling to shell out for airfare, food, and hotel. But you know what? I found the LACC to be far better and roomier than Indianapolis (I went to Celebration II). Folks in Indy are certainly friendly enough and having the con there was a big deal to them but I also found service anywhere to be irritatingly slow. Hotels weren't any cheaper than L.A. if you wanted to stay close to the convention center. I remember the Marriott across the street was charging New York City prices per night. We stayed at a Motel 6 in Speedway and had to drive in every day. This time, I paid about $60 a night for a very nice hotel and got shuttle service to and from the convention at all hours. The concessions were a little pricey, but at least there were lots of places open and they didn't run out of food like the Indianapolis convention center did on the first day of Celebration II.

If you want to go to Celebration V, wherever it's located, start saving now, and quit kvetching.

--MissPadme

 

You've made some excellent points!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the flooring...awesome colours and patterns...sounds weird to notice that, I know, but they were very nice...

Looking forward to another Celebration in LA!

Martha

 

So the 2009 Celebration will be celebrating the debut of the TV series??

 

Special guests will be more guys you've never heard of, and Billy Dee!

 

That would work out to just before the new series is to debut. Even though there apparently is an option for LA, I will be very surprised to see C5 return there.

 

I'm going to say it for the last time:

When Gen Con and LFL came to Los Angeles for our bid, the people we took around made it clear that whoever got the bid for C4 gets C5 and C6 as well. LFL didn't want to have it in Indy again, and THEY chose to have it in LA. They could have just not had any more celebrations at all, but they decided to have 3 more and they chose Los Angeles.

Deal.

 

Then why are LFL people telling folks that they are looking at Baltimore and Orlando for CV and that they want to alternate coasts? It was also said that a return to Indy could work if during the remodel they expanded the central hallway to keep the bottleneck problem from happening again. If LA got the option for 2 more then I do not think which two was specified, because it appears right now that CV is seriously getting looked at for the east coast and then CVI should be back to the west coast. I don't care if it is back in LA, but the 'CV is in LA' people need to calm down. We will know in a year or so where CV is. Until then we can start saving for the $8 beer and $9 burger and fries again in case we are sent packing back to Cali. I am not saying that either side is right, but for being this far out, it is getting uncivil between the pro-LA crowd and anyone who speaks of another place. So everybody take a breath and wait......