BroadwayCon 2016 - Experience reports!- Page 8

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:38am

That was another reason I didn't want to pay for VIP, along with all the weather hazards that go along with an event in New York in January and it being the first BroadwayCon. It just didn't seem worth it. You can't pay that and expect them to deliver that far beyond what they'd listed just because other events have done the same.

[JM226]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:48am

Kad said: "Per BroadwayCon's site, the VIP pass included:

Preferred MainStage seating
Special guest meet-and-greet
3 guaranteed special guest autographs
Exclusive commemorative poster
Expedited on-site check-in
VIP liaison to answer questions
VIP exclusive registration gift bag


Frankly, that doesn't sound like it would be worth $600. But were those "perks" delivered?"

 

hi kad. no expedited on-site check-in, no VIP liaison who i could find at least, and no preferred seating on Friday which had the biggest and best Mainstage presentations. just my two cents. i'll stop complaining i guess. didnt know you're not allowed to on here. 

[Kad]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:51am

There was certainly a check-in booth specifically for VIP pass holders, though. Perhaps that's what that "expedited check-in" was referring to.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 10:57am

JM226 said: " just my two cents. i'll stop complaining i guess. didnt know you're not allowed to on here. "

 

The point of this thread is to share experiences. When you completely dismiss other positive experiences (including a VIP who had an overall positive experience despite hiccups, but you didn't read this thread) and hypocritically call people shills for sharing their own experiences, that weakens your own opinions greatly. It goes both ways: Unless you respect other reports, yours can't be taken seriously. It's like someone paying for a premium seat at a show they ended up hating and then coming onto a review thread to accuse anyone who liked the show as a shill. Jesus.

[JM226]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 11:00am

i never used those words or called anyone a shill. but i will say that i have been reading and following everything because i notice that you pop into every thread about the conference to always defend it and push back on negative experiences as much as possible. that is hypocritcal. 

 

i also want to add something POSITIVE: the programming and content itself was good. not amazing but good. so kudos to them. but the experience itself including customer service was terrible for me. that is my personal opinion based on my own experience which is different for every single person. thanks. 

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 11:28am

I have absolutely no vested interest in BroadwayCon/Anthony Rapp/Michief Management at all, but I had a positive experience, so I yes, I will put a positive spin on it.

A little over 1.5k later (tickets, food, souvenirs, hotel, travel), and I still say it was all worth it to me. Maybe if I looked at it from a money perspective I would be sad - but I feel so much lighter and happier after having gone that I can't complain. 

 

Although, a VIP lounge (with our own bathroom please!) is something I could totally get behind.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 12:07pm

Great comment on ATC: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2320206

[talinatter]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 12:14pm

As a 14 year old, I loved every minute of it. There were some crowd issues but I thoroughly enjoyed all the panels and stars, and the performances and games. Maybe it is because I am younger, but I found it to be one of the greater experiences of my life, just to be surrounded by so many Broadway fans and stars. I LOVED if 

[talinatter]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 12:14pm

As a 14 year old, I loved every minute of it. There were some crowd issues but I thoroughly enjoyed all the panels and stars, and the performances and games. Maybe it is because I am younger, but I found it to be one of the greater experiences of my life, just to be surrounded by so many Broadway fans and stars. I LOVED if 

[Vectorbabe]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 12:37pm

I'm complaining. We were two one-day tix for Saturday. The amount of content was terrific that day. Unfortunately we couldn't make it due to the weather. The organizers were right to honor saturday tix for Sunday.

BUT, Saturday had content from 10 am till 10 PM. Sunday had content only till 3 PM. So the $190 we spent for Saturday's event was hardly worth the same for Sunday.

I understand con usually end early on Sunday to allow people to go home. But the Sunday one-day tix should have been priced lower. And we should have gotten a small refund for only going on Sunday.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 12:40pm

I definitely saw the check in line for Vips when I came on Friday.  And they did try to get everyone with a VIP badge to the front for at least the Rent Panel. I heard them tell people they would have to move if they had a general or day pass. Anyway,  I will stop talking now because I know you can't please everyone. 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 1:02pm

talinatter said: "As a 14 year old, I loved every minute of it. There were some crowd issues but I thoroughly enjoyed all the panels and stars, and the performances and games. Maybe it is because I am younger, but I found it to be one of the greater experiences of my life, just to be surrounded by so many Broadway fans and stars. I LOVED if "

 

That's because it was tailored to your age group. Glad you had a good experience.

 

[ssf362]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 2:20pm

A somewhat lengthy/selective recap of my experience: http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/nytg16/broadwaycon558005.htm

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 6:48pm

Just got home a few hours ago.  The complainers can complain all they want, but I thought the experience was fantastic. We dealt with some of the complaining first hand. My wife required disabled assistance since she can't stand in lines for long times (even the short waits she needed to sit down) due to a severe hip problem. The staff there was FANTASTIC in accomodating us and helping her out as needed. As part of this, she was able to sit in the front section of mainstage performances for the disabled seating. We had several volunteers, especially on Friday, ask to see our VIP passes. As soon as we told them why we were there, they apologized (every single one of them) and told us to enjoy ourselves. However, we had numerous people with the VIP badges snap at us, tell us to move, and were just very rude about the seating situations. Now, I understand they paid extra, but there were a LOT of seats there - more than enough for the disabled seating and VIP seating. Yes, we sometimes sat in the middle seats, but we also got there right when it opened and waited for 45 minutes for some events. The rude people tended to be ones who came in with five minutes to spare and expected to sit right in the front. As my wife said after one woman gave her a particularly nasty stink eye, "If you want to take my disease, I'd be happy to sit in the back of the auditorium."  That said, the staff there, again was fantastic.

As for the content, I was seriously blown away by it. Keeping in mind the storm kept some people away, understandably, those who WERE there gave their all. The panels were informative and entertaining, the performances were fantastic, the marketplace had lots of great merchandise for sale. I really enjoyed just about everything across the three days and definitely felt I got my money's worth.

Three recomendations for next year: first, for the lines for the mainstage stuff, ropes would be a good idea. The lines looked like a massive blob and I can understand why people would have been pissed. Second, have it in a hotel that actually has food available. The Hilton just has one restaurant that is ridiculously overpriced. I know we should be able to order in, but with the storm, especially on Saturday, that wasn't possible. I think all I ate on Saturday were a couple of granola bars and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich my wife had been smart enough to pack. FInally, I think they should record a lot of the stuff that goes on there and sell a CD of it - give the money to Broadwaycares and they would make a fortune. I got recordings of some of it (we were allowed to record everything - which was amazing), but next year I'll be recording just about everything I see. It would be nice not to have to pull my phone out so much, though.

Overall - it was a really great weekend. We are definitely planning on doing it again next year.

[pf0723]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:23pm

I'm sorry your wife has hip problems, Jasonf, but those people had every right to be upset that the two of you were taking their seats. The first 5 rows in the three middle sections were for VIP's who paid $600 for the privilege. Part of the privilege is to be able to show up 5 minutes before and have your seat waiting. Why does having hip problems mean that the two of you have to sit in the front?  

Updated On: 1/25/16 at 07:23 PM

[binau]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:28pm

What was management's policy towards attendees with disabilities? I assume they didn't have one (or this conflict wouldn't have been caused). The real people to blame...

[lambchop2]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:39pm

"However, we had numerous people with the VIP badges snap at us, tell us to move, and were just very rude about the seating situations. Now, I understand they paid extra, but there were a LOT of seats there - more than enough for the disabled seating and VIP seating. Yes, we sometimes sat in the middle seats, but we also got there right when it opened and waited for 45 minutes for some events. The rude people tended to be ones who came in with five minutes to spare and expected to sit right in the front."

 

They had the right to expect to sit in the VIP seating that they paid for. Why would hip problems mean you get to sit in seats which were not intended for you? People who spent money on the extremely expensive VIP passes paid for the privilege of having that section of seats reserved for them, instead of having to wait in line like people who did not pay for VIP passes, aka you and your wife.

I am disabled and I can understand not being able to stand in line, but that doesn't mean you have the right to be upset that people who paid $600 for perks which included those seats wanted to utilize those perks.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:44pm

The seats in the front were for VIP and disabled guests. Technically, she has problems with her hip but she also has a pretty severe vision problem also. Glasses don't work for her (she can't drive because of it) so sitting in the front (or at least close enough) is really the only way she can see. The hip problem caused her to not be able to wait in the line, the vision problem made her need to sit in the front. Had we been guaranteed seats in the sixth row, we would have been fine with that. 

The fact was, there WERE plenty of VIP seats available. The VIP section ranged across three sections - people didn't want to sit in those side seats (which, to be fair, is where we sat for two of the three days). 

If anything, they sold too many VIP tickets because they couldn't guarantee FRONT ROW CENTER seats for everyone. On top of that, we certainly didn't mind being asked, but one of two things could have changed: either people could have been nicer than they were (which should have happened) or they could have given us some kind of indicator that we should be in those seats (a sticker or something). Believe me, we are the last people to take advantage of a system, but there was no question my wife needed those seats to be able to see at all.

Besides, the policy was that those seats WERE for the disability seating as well. Again, like my wife said, if someone wants to take her eyes and hips, she would have happily sat in the rear of the auditorium. There needs to be a designated area for disabled people. It's pretty crappy to judge people who need the assistance. Like I said, we would have been fine in the sixth row, but that wasn't the conference's policy (and frankly, with the four or five people with wheel chairs, would have been a nightmare to deal with).

And before you ask, when we get tickets to shows, we only get near the front. It's part of why we don't go that often - it's hard to get those tickets. My wife's mom bought us tickets to Hamilton for the fifth row, but couldn't get near the front until next October. We would have sat in the back for less money, but what's the point if my wife can't see the show from there?

[delongpre]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:49pm

Note for above: VIPS DID get their own check in line and they DID have a separate entry line for the Main Stage events on Friday. There were always Con staff around to help and if you couldn't find one you only had to ask at the check-in desk.

A couple of glitches:

When the CON was announced and I saw the ticket scale, I knew I wanted to go all weekend and also knew I could not afford $600 each for my daughter and myself. I actually bought her pass first because I thought she could go by herself on Friday and Sunday, and I would join her only on Saturday. Then CON posted a note that all kids under 18 had to have an adult with them. So I HAD to buy the full weekend for myself to accompany my daughter.

Pretty close to the event they announced that solo kids could go but they had to have a letter signed and notarized saying they could be there by themselves. So I didn't really have to be there all three days. As it was, she went early on Friday and I joined her for the opening event later in the day.

What wasn't fair: the workshops that REQUIRED that you have experience to attend (vocal, dancing and acting workshops required that you have a mini-resume to take part). My daughter was heartbroken to not have the cred to get into workshops with Rapp and Jenn Colella. I guess they were trying to avoid having the workshops become gushing fan fests, but there are other ways to avoid that than to demand experience.

Then the autograph sessions. We didn't see the info until it was too late so we got no autograph sessions. When a pass holder is told they will have the opportunity for autographs, that's not the same as saying "you have to win a lottery to be able to get autographs at all." Also, some people got 5 sessions and others got nothing. The lottery should have been to pull one for EACH person who entered and then go on to pull a second one when everybody had at least one.

I feel that everyone who buys in with the same price ticket should have the same opportunity to enjoy ALL of the offered activities. Let them wait in long lines if that is their choice. If there are things that people need to qualify for MAYBE THOSE THINGS COULD COST AN ADDITIONAL $20-50.

As a person without an iPhone, I was unable to receive the updates to programming that were being sent to the BroadwayCon App all weekend. They did print out a schedule on Saturday that I saw by the elevators, but I never saw anything about Sunday programming. I was upset to learn about the WAITRESS panel AFTER it was over.

The food was limited. I had been told that there were options for food in the hotel and there were not. The line was unbearably long. Next time perhaps Broadway Con could bring in some food vendors for simple things like pizza and sandwiches or burgers.

And even with all of the above, the Con was definitely worth the money and time. There were a lot of things beyond their control, like the record breaking snowfall, but they rallied and took care of all of us with love and care.

 A HUGE thank you to all of the staff that pulled this together and kept hard at making it great all weekend long. Can't wait for next year.

 

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 7:59pm

pf0723 said: "I'm sorry your wife has hip problems, Jasonf, but those people had every right to be upset that the two of you were taking their seats. The first 5 rows in the three middle sections were for VIP's who paid $600 for the privilege. Part of the privilege is to be able to show up 5 minutes before and have your seat waiting. Why does having hip problems mean that the two of you have to sit in the front?  

 

 

"

 

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 8:02pm

I 100% agree about the food.  That was by far my biggest complaint about the experience. There was a reason "Send us pizza, Patti" was a thing on Saturday night.

I also would agree that the workshops should have cost more. I wasn't interested in those, but I knew early on that there would be problems with the way they set that up. This was a first for them, though, so I definitely think that's something they might look at in the future.

I have mixed feelings about the lottery. I think the way you suggested doing it would probably have worked, but it WAS a lottery system. Again, I didn't care about that (didn't even enter for autographs), but the fact that some people got one where others got five or six was a little ridiculous. 

Part of why I had so much fun was I got to do the things I cared about - panels and performances. Only thing I kind of regretted missing was the trivia game - but it was worth it for the phone party that happened in the mainstage. One other minor gripe - some of the rooms got REALLY warm with all those people in them - not really the cons fault so much as the hotel, but we left a couple of the panels because it was just too darn hot in those rooms.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 8:06pm

The VIP pass says "preferred mainstage seating".  It doesn't say anything about arriving five minutes before a show and expecting to sit right in the front and center. There WERE plenty of VIP seats - people just didn't want to use the ones on the side (which, for the record, were just as good as the middle - we sat there for the majority of the con).

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 8:17pm

A number of recaps have been published and are worth a read. I saw a recent article stating that nearly 6000 attended in total, and the New York Hilton Midtown is probably not big enough if a similar or larger number will attend next year. The whole space, line, food situation may thus be quite different.

 

ssf362 said: "A somewhat lengthy/selective recap of my experience: http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/nytg16/broadwaycon558005.htm"

 

Thanks for that. What I find most interesting is the detail from the How to Market a Show panel, where a huge majority don't buy full price show tickets. Does that mean mainly locals attended panels like that? Maybe the out-of-town tourists simply wanted to be entertained or were interested in the performing aspects but largely had no interest in getting into the back-end of business. Some people keep saying that the convention was geared to kids, but I don't see how it could be entirely true with panels like "1960’s feminism in theatre" or the popular producers panel. To be a more thorough and successful fan convention, this really must have one foot in the entertainment aspect and the other foot in education. And the people who went to these panels have been saying it had great content.

 

delongpre said: "What wasn't fair: the workshops that REQUIRED that you have experience to attend (vocal, dancing and acting workshops required that you have a mini-resume to take part). My daughter was heartbroken to not have the cred to get into workshops with Rapp and Jenn Colella. I guess they were trying to avoid having the workshops become gushing fan fests, but there are other ways to avoid that than to demand experience."

 

I don't know if a lottery system would be welcomed for the workshops, but that choice may not have been about excessive fandom. Having extreme differences in skill level in a single workshop class can produce some stress and waste time when not everyone is on the same page. But I think there should be beginner workshops. Maybe next year.

 

delongpre said: "Then the autograph sessions. We didn't see the info until it was too late so we got no autograph sessions. When a pass holder is told they will have the opportunity for autographs, that's not the same as saying "you have to win a lottery to be able to get autographs at all." Also, some people got 5 sessions and others got nothing. The lottery should have been to pull one for EACH person who entered and then go on to pull a second one when everybody had at least one."

 

I still find the whole system very odd. When it's stated as a part of the pass, there should be some kind of guarantee. Hopefully they'll polish this next year. A hybrid system with both lottery preference and line option may still work.

 

delongpre said: "As a person without an iPhone, I was unable to receive the updates to programming that were being sent to the BroadwayCon App all weekend. They did print out a schedule on Saturday that I saw by the elevators, but I never saw anything about Sunday programming. I was upset to learn about the WAITRESS panel AFTER it was over."

 

Well, any smartphone. I would recommend a cheap Android phone in general these days for those who don't want to drop a silly chunk of money on a brand name. Actually, what the BroadwayCon management should do is rent tablet kiosks and scatter them throughout the convention center, where people can look up updated information on their own and go on their merry way.

 

delongpre said: "The food was limited. I had been told that there were options for food in the hotel and there were not. The line was unbearably long. Next time perhaps Broadway Con could bring in some food vendors for simple things like pizza and sandwiches or burgers."

 

Bringing snacks or your own meals is quite common for conventions. Playbill and others with convention experience had been warning attendees with tips and such, but obviously some can only experience it firsthand. If the venue changes for next year, there may be more options, but there will always be lines.

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 8:41pm

Call me crazy, but doesn't the Hilton have the largest event space in NYC that is also an affordable hotel? I can't think of a larger space.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/25/16 at 8:44pm

ChildofEarth said: "Call me crazy, but doesn't the Hilton have the largest event space in NYC that is also an affordable hotel? I can't think of a larger space."

 

I have no idea, but the article I saw mentioned a different venue as a suggestion. Damned if I can find it again, though. Most likely it's a venue without an attached hotel, which I don't think is a great idea in the winter. The whole reason why Saturday wasn't as bad as it could have been was because this was planned as a three-day event, and a bulk of attendees had arrived ahead of the blizzard.