Remember that video? Well, according to the Anime News Network, Anime Expo is implementing significant changes to the way they handle lines. Here’s the details:
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the parent company of Anime Expo (AX), has announced that it has hired a third-party company to oversee registration starting in 2008. Experient’s services will include a dedicated pre-registration site with group and hotel reservation options, a scannable confirmation form for quicker on-site processing of pre-registered attendees, 60 manned and 40 self-registration stations, and on-site and on-call support from Experient’s personnel.
Mike’s Take: I have just one thing to say:
WHAT. TOOK. YOU. SO. LONG????
Seriously. They say first impressions are everything and when one’s first impression of AX is that impossibly long line as documented above–especially for people like me who were pre-registered–and it turns out to be all too typical, too, you do not come away with the greatest con experiences. I was heartily amused by the rejoinder comment in the article here, too:
Attendees have complained about waiting in registration lines for up to three hours or longer in recent years.
[Raises hand.] Yup. Oh yes.
Now just do the same thing for the main events and concerts and you’ll be golden. I wonder how long the lines will be now. If they’re less than an hour that’s already a massive improvement. This site has some Secret Plans (c) for AX 2008 so we’ll be on the scene like we were this year to see whether this is worth anything.
Too bad. I’m not going back there. The lines for everything else killed me.