Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 - Sept 24th-26th

[candyrocket786]

Anthony Mackie confirmed.

So that's a good chunk of the main cast from the Winter Soldier.

[Meteor Man]

Okay...I went to my first comic con...and based on my experience, my last comic con. It was so crowded I took two half steps forward and then two half steps sideways for four and a half hours trying to get around in there. My personal bubble comfort level shrunk from several feet to the surface of my skin...in fact it really got under my skin. It was just too crowded. We stood in line to get Shawn Astin's auto, as my son is a huge fan from his Samwise Gamgee in LOTR. But, we finally bailed because of the wait time. I guess I don't have enough patience to be a fan. Actually, it was my son's call and he was pretty worn out by the time we finally made our last push through the huddled masses yearning to break free. The wretched refuse of that teaming shore. Anyway. I hope to get to the SDCC someday, but if it's as crowded as this one was, I may just head on to Disneyland and wait in some of the lines with the thousands of people at the magic kingdom, as there's a whole lot more room to take more than a half step at a time.

[candyrocket786]

Originally Posted by Meteor Man

Okay...I went to my first comic con...and based on my experience, my last comic con. It was so crowded I took two half steps forward and then two half steps sideways for four and a half hours trying to get around in there. My personal bubble comfort level shrunk from several feet to the surface of my skin...in fact it really got under my skin. It was just too crowded. We stood in line to get Shawn Astin's auto, as my son is a huge fan from his Samwise Gamgee in LOTR. But, we finally bailed because of the wait time. I guess I don't have enough patience to be a fan. Actually, it was my son's call and he was pretty worn out by the time we finally made our last push through the huddled masses yearning to break free. The wretched refuse of that teaming shore. Anyway. I hope to get to the SDCC someday, but if it's as crowded as this one was, I may just head on to Disneyland and wait in some of the lines with the thousands of people at the magic kingdom, as there's a whole lot more room to take more than a half step at a time.

There were numerous issues with this con. It was like they were trying their best to become San Diego or New York within 3 years.

- Too much emphasis on setting various attendance records and zero concern for crowd control. Photo-ops were absolutely the worst. Rather than rope off the lines, they used masking tape on the floor and expected fans to stay within their lane. Friday could've been a disaster for many. Same issue with autographs. On Day 3, they decided to force everyone (VIP, Gold, GA) through one entrance during the opening of the con. Stupid idea, since all entrances had ticket scanners.

- Scheduling (Panels, Autographs, Photo-Ops, etc). The schedule was never set in stone and changes were made right up until the day of the show.

For instance, if you had a Chris Evans or Sebastian Stan photo-op, you were split up in to various groups/time slots and notified the day before the op via email (assuming you received one) or you had to watch Facebook/Twitter like a hawk.

In terms of Panels, celebrities were late. I heard Somerhalder was 30 mins late. Evans was a half hour late to his Saturday panel, which then affected his scheduled photo-op right after. All the Saturday MCU ops were scheduled one after another and started to over lap. Also, at one point most of the MCU ops were sold out and then more slots became available (not sure who's decision that was) which caused a ton of overflow.

The Chris Evans Panel lottery was complete bullsh-t. So VIP ticket holders (like myself) were suppose to have express panel lines/preferred seating. Not for Chris Evans. Rather than give priority seating to VIP and Gold first, the promoters decided schedule a lottery for attendees and once again, you weren't notified until the day before the panel.

You didn't know the autograph schedule until you were onsite and of course, it was subject to change. For instance, Evans wasn't scheduled for autographs on Friday, but they decided to schedule a session at the last minute. I only knew about it because I started seeing folks line up.

- To much focus on the MCU and A-list celebrities.
I get it, they are the draw of the con, but you also have artists and other vendors there trying to make money. It seemed like most of the other celebs(except for Barrowman and Day), were overshadowed by the MCU, Somerhalder and Sean Astin. I was only able to visit the vendor's area on my way out, during day 3 of the con with 10 mins till closing time.

This will probably be my one and only SLCC for me.


Highlights
- John Barrowman - He is a one man show and a thrill to watch.

- Getting my Shield/Hot Toys signed by the MCU, however, I didnt care for how Celebrity Authentics handled the Evans signing by not having a witness on-hand for his session. Complete crap for a $150.

[pacino]

Saturday was a nightmare getting into SLCC. The line went completely around the entire convention center. I walked out of my hotel and was like WTF is this lol. Friday I didn't have any issues getting in fast but as stated above Saturday was a cluster F**K

The tape on the floor for photo ops was a joke lol

They really need to learn from these mistakes and make improvements for upcoming cons. I guess this is part of growing pains.

Here's a few pics

[candyrocket786]

Originally Posted by Meteor Man

Okay...I went to my first comic con...and based on my experience, my last comic con. It was so crowded I took two half steps forward and then two half steps sideways for four and a half hours trying to get around in there. My personal bubble comfort level shrunk from several feet to the surface of my skin...in fact it really got under my skin. It was just too crowded. We stood in line to get Shawn Astin's auto, as my son is a huge fan from his Samwise Gamgee in LOTR. But, we finally bailed because of the wait time. I guess I don't have enough patience to be a fan. Actually, it was my son's call and he was pretty worn out by the time we finally made our last push through the huddled masses yearning to break free. The wretched refuse of that teaming shore. Anyway. I hope to get to the SDCC someday, but if it's as crowded as this one was, I may just head on to Disneyland and wait in some of the lines with the thousands of people at the magic kingdom, as there's a whole lot more room to take more than a half step at a time.

SDCC will be more crowded than SLCC.

I think I spent more at two days of SLCC then I did at all of Disney.

[carlito1978]

sounds like a messy con. but if you couldn't handle the lines at slcc then sdcc is not for you.

[Simplyrob]

man, i went last year, sounds like the same issues. actually, i was there the first day without any issues, but when i left just before close, that line around the building was still there. that was crazy. i stopped by briefly in the morning and i remember it being a mess just to get inside. i completely passed on my free tshirt because the line was ridiculous. matter of fact, i tried to walk around one day and check out the auto/photo area but it was a complete zoo.

sorry the con was so rough. fyi, in advance, the plane ticket to slc from phx was like 300. next summer, even though its hot, you should check out phoenix con. its been banging last few years and they finally split the celeb/photo area upstairs like eccc. thats the way to do it. sooooooo much space.

[pacino]

Originally Posted by Simplyrob

man, i went last year, sounds like the same issues. actually, i was there the first day without any issues, but when i left just before close, that line around the building was still there. that was crazy. i stopped by briefly in the morning and i remember it being a mess just to get inside. i completely passed on my free tshirt because the line was ridiculous. matter of fact, i tried to walk around one day and check out the auto/photo area but it was a complete zoo.

sorry the con was so rough. fyi, in advance, the plane ticket to slc from phx was like 300. next summer, even though its hot, you should check out phoenix con. its been banging last few years and they finally split the celeb/photo area upstairs like eccc. thats the way to do it. sooooooo much space.

Been to Phoenix con twice.. Good con!

[haljordan99]

I went to SLC last year and actually had a ticket to go again this year but gave it away. Last year was a mess! SLC is definitely my least favorite of the three cons I've been to. Plus their comic artist guest list this year was almost non-existent. Like others said, they are definitely way too focused on A-List celebrities and trying to match San Diego.