The Great Feedback Post of Anime Boston 2016

[Nemra]

Please post feedback (good & bad) here regarding Anime Boston 2016.

If there are issues at-con, the best time to address them is DURING con and not after. Please report any security issues to Security HQ (Room 109) immediately. Any other issues should be brought up to Con Ops(Room 108).

Rules:
1) This is not the place to post criticism regarding previous years, but only for Anime Boston 2016.

2) Do not disrespect each other or staff. If you disagree with something, feel free to discuss, but we will not tolerate blatant disrespect for your fellow attendee or staff.

3) This is also not the place to post feedback for panelists. There is an entire section for panelists to use for feedback, so use those. However, if you have feedback regarding the way panels are handled by AB staff, this is the place to post it.

Don't forget that there is also a Convention Feedback Panel on Sunday from 4-5pm in room 208.

please do not expect an immediate response from Staff even after the con is over. While the convention is over for everyone, for staff it is very much still being worked on and people wind down. However, be assured we are reading every comment and taking it in full consideration throughout the convention and after.

[unclejeb1861]

Regarding Guests, I would personally like to see a list of all the panels the guests are hosting / participating in on both their Profile on AB's site as well as their discussion thread on the forums. Yes, many of the panels on the schedule say 'Meet XYZ' or 'XYZ Autograph' and are highlighted purple as a 'guest panel', but there are some panels where a guest's name is not immediately mentioned in the panel and may get overlooked.

For example, on Saturday the 'It Gets Better - Anime Con Edition' Panel is hosted by Greg Ayres. Although it is marked purple as a 'guest panel', it does not say his name in the title and therefore individuals who may want to attend every panel he is at may end up missing this event.

Multiple panels are marked dark blue for 'Industry Panel' also feature guests but do not immediately feature a guest's name in the title. 'Studio Trigger First Look: Space Patrol Luluco' on Saturday does not immediately mention Hiromi Wakabayashi.

Yes, I know this is an EXTREMELY nitpicky comment, but I think it is something that would take relativity low effort to implement in the future. Personally, I do not want to have to go through every single panel description to make sure I am not missing any events featuring the guests that I really want to see and influenced my decision in purchasing registration for Anime Boston this year.

[Jyaki]

What's the deal with this new Sheraton policy?

As you know if you checked into the Sheraton Hotel they have these little piece of paper with some drawings on it and bunch of information about this new policy.

Now I don't have an issue in new policies however this one was not known to me until I was at the front desk after my road trip up.

The main thing I learned about this new policy is that if you have only 2 people to a room when you get the room you cannot get a double bed you have to select 3 or more people in order to get a double bed all the way back in October when you got the room and selected double bed and two people.

I don't have an issue of this but no where was it posted to my knowledge that there was going to be this new rule I have been going to this convention staying at the Sheraton Hotel for the past eight or nine years.....

I'm really upset that I had no idea that I can't get a double bed with only 2 people. I'm extremely distraught because of this change was posted nowhere at all and I did not know until I showed up at the front desk hearing this news.

I feel like this is unfair especially to people who normally put whatever usual number when they got the rooms in October for like 4 people, get a double bed as they always do and expect it to go as normal but when they get there they can't get one because they only put two people down.

I'm sorry this is written poorly I only have my cell phone but I wanted to mention this to see if anyone else is possibly having this issue I gotta say though the person at the front desk worked with me to help me solve this problem, inevitably cost us $120 more but we did get a double bed but it took a lot of fighting with the front desk and the manager to get it. I just never expected to have this issue because I've been coming to this long for such a long time now and never had an issue like this before.

[Kusuguru Usagi]

Hello, I have attended AB annually since 2003, and this is the first year that I am not attending. The reason being that the recent events in Europe have dictated that I for the first time, for some small sense of avoiding a possible tragedy, and also to keep my family from worrying while I'm there alone. I really miss being there right now, and I hope to return next year.

I can understand the frustrations of those who have stood in line for hours this AM. I am sure most understand the neccesity for additional security at ANY event that attracts well over 20,000 attendees in a 3-day weekend in view of the world situation at this time.

Since even without security concerns, there are long waits because most people plan to get in early in the day to take in all that they can. Perhaps it might have helped to add extra people checking bags, and also, if people were advised over the AB website/forums, that this year, due to security concerns, it was decided to err on the side of caution; therefore, no props would be allowed, no matter how apparently harmless. Having been forewarned of this policy, the anger/frustrations would have been self-controlled.

I know it is always busy at the opening hours, so perhaps the combination of the following two might help alleviate some part of that problem:

1.) Attendees could plan to arrive at 9 or 10AM instead of 7, since either way, there would be a wait, but not a 5-hour wait, as in the case today, they'd still be missing the first couple of panels/events.

2.) Have a combination of more registration desks broken down by sections of the alphabet AND additional security to check bags, etc. during the busiest parts of the day.

Hopefully, that would alleviate some of the problems that have occurred today.

I hope you will understand my suggestions as constructive criticisms from a long-time AB attendee; as I hope the powers that be can make a few changes in the registration process area for tomorrow & Sunday to help shorten the backlog.

[Kalyoth]

I wanted to take a moment & post kudos to the staff & volunteers keeping all of us attendees organized, informed & assisted with issues.

For those whom may be looking to post issues they had with security, I can be corrected here, but I believe they are told what will be happening via existing state/local laws & law enforcement agencies. Disagree with them & live in the state? You will want to speak with your local state legislators OR use a process rather unique to Massachusetts - submit a bill to the legislature of your own offering corrections. It's a real thing.

[Painted_Outlaw]

1.) Attendees could plan to arrive at 9 or 10AM instead of 7, since either way, there would be a wait, but not a 5-hour wait, as in the case today, they'd still be missing the first couple of panels/events.

That doesn't help the people whose panels are at 9am, though. ;;

One thing I'd like to praise today is... I dunno if it was the Boylston Entrance (It's after you pass the lion statues but before you get to the construction)? but, I used that one after making a detour outside and oh my god, it was so much smoother than the metal detectors. I never thought you guys were kidding, don't get me wrong, but the outstanding difference was something I had to experience for myself. Major props~

[Aurabolt]

As the thread Nemra locked mentioned, people are voicing their anger in the Anime Boston Social Facebook Group. Not gonna repeat or recap anything said since my experience and theirs are vastly different. I'm just bringing this up so the staff who are in that group remember to pass word further up the chain when they have time. That said, this truly was LineCon 2.0. I don't think that can really be denied--alot of folks have shared the pictures to prove it via social media.

...Looks like we might get our closest yet to hitting the cap this year. Despite the increased security, there was huge turnout.

I'm not sure how or even if this could be done but if someone could remind congoers at Closing Ceremonies of what AB is and about its relationship with the Hynes, it might help ease some of the tension. I feel like AB itself has had alot of blame unjustly thrown at it over the new security protocol both this year and at AB 2013 after the Marathon Bombing. I think reminding folks that AB is allowed to happen BECAUSE OF its partnership with the Hynes and NOT IN SPITE OF IT would go a long way. Even if the con was held at the Boston Convention Center, there would still be security measures. It's the nature of the beast, unfortunately.


...More meaningful feedback from me will come post-Con.

For those whom may be looking to post issues they had with security, I can be corrected here, but I believe they are told what will be happening via existing state/local laws & law enforcement agencies. Disagree with them & live in the state? You will want to speak with your local state legislators OR use a process rather unique to Massachusetts - submit a bill to the legislature of your own offering corrections. It's a real thing.

...This x1000.

They won't change policy if no one offers suggested changes in writing.

[PatternerMage]

I will continue to reaffirm how much I dislike the ever-increasing security measures, which I know are instituted by the Hynes and not Anime Boston. We have had bag checks for four editions. The first year they were fine, but it was also May and the weather was warm. Then the line of doom developed, forcing everyone to wait outside in frigid weather when most of us were not dressed for the resulting extended wait. That tradition has carried over to this year in such an extreme way that it makes the convention almost impossible to negotiate because going to a panel or event in the Sheraton meant leaving the Hynes and ending up in Line Doom once more. I was super late for my masquerade judging time on Friday because of the interminable line. I was fortunate enough to have Lyndsey save me, for which I am forever grateful!

Second, why were so many weapons being confiscated, and why so unequally? I spoke to someone who was not allowed to carry their light saber past security, and yet I saw lots of the same saber around the con. These were Ultrasaber type sabers or equivalent: high-quality props that are too valuable to hand over to security for them to do who-knows-what with. Lyndsey saved me yet again by allowing me to leave my prop weapon in the masquerade HQ overnight since I was worried it wouldn't get through security a second time and I needed it onstage.

The final thing I'd like to pick on are the metal detectors. That, to me, is a level too far in the direction of airport security and privacy invasion. Despite many years of loving Anime Boston, I cannot abide how impossible security is making it to enjoy the convention itself. Please, please negotiate with the Hynes to make security easier on all of us attendees.

Will anyone from the Hynes be at the feedback panel tomorrow to hear our feedback? I would really like them to hear from attendees about our experiences. Aurabolt, who posted above me, said that the convention had a good partnership with the Hynes, but as an attendee dealing with Hynes security it has felt increasingly adversarial

[Kitty2006]

As a Ab goer for the past four years I never really had any complaints. But yesterday had me fumed a little.
My friend dressed as Tails had a malfunction and we as qucikly as possible ran for the cosplay repair shop. When a staff memeber stepped out we were rudely told we couldnt grab something quick. All we wanted was a bunch of saftey pins and we were denined.
One girl comes to the door and was turned away as her gown was ready to undo and she was upset.

My suggestion is because malfunctions can happen at anytime would to be Cosplay repair shop open to a later time. Having be part of a late show and your cosplay is having issues can ruin the experience. Or even have a few people rotate to run the room so its opem yo at least midnight.

We would of just returned to our hotel room but granted walking out of the con and back to the hotel room a good 10 min walk then having to stand on the dreaded line again was not a popular option in our group.

So please for all copslay attendees please, we ask kindly that you look into changing the cosplay repair time. The shop is very reliable since not many cons do such a nice gestured. But closing at inconvient times is very disappointing. Thank you very much.

[hg revolution]

Something I'm worried about amongst security: racial profiling.

Yesterday morning in the Artists Alley line, a security guard grabbed personal medication out of the bag of a black man behind me in line. From what I can tell, this was against the rules, where security can't grab people's medication and must call police if there's any suspicions. Notably I had my personal medication in my backpack and experienced no problem. That seems like a clear racial profiling case. Also, I've heard general inconsistency on whether security was confiscating identical prop lightsabers and a black friend of mine had his confiscated, so I'm suspicious that those inconsistencies might have broken down along racial lines. This seems like a pretty major issue to address.

[BobbyWasabi]

Overall my experience this year, like last year was positive. Although, there were some annoyances that could've easily been avoided if brought to attention.

Firstly, and this was big for me personally, the gaming room. None of the games were patched or had any of the available character and stage DLC. Specifically, I'm talking about Smash Brothers, which is the biggest Gaming tournament you hold there bar none. There was an absolute scramble in order to try to put together and bring in convention goers WiiU's who had all the DLC and patches put on their after constant request. Why didn't the WiiU's have all of that put on there to begin with? It was all day-one out of box so on top of not having everything unlocked, it was the base game with exploits and unbalanced character flaws that have been discovered and could easily be used. People like to play with all the characters, all the stages, all the customizations, everything, no matter what game. To add on to Smash Brothers as a side note, next year can we please make it 1V1's instead of 8 Player Smash?? I know that it will take longer, but it wouldn't have to if more setups were brought in and people like me who play competitively will actually be able to play the game to competitive standard. At least 5 people offered to grab theirs from their hotel room to use Saturday and I'm sure more would too upon request.

Secondly, line control. It's a mess. You have people waiting in line for the Dealers room or Artist alley up to a half hour before they open, only for it to be all for nothing because once those doors open to the public, someone just walking by could squeeze in first. It became a free for all. Lines for panels and events too need better indication as to where they start and end. On the third floor the lineup to Anime Hell Saturday night was a long wait, that was split in order to not block the entrance to the game room. This is fine in theory, until you have people lining up on the first part of the line instead of waiting in the back. This could have been easily solved with better indications from either staff or a sign.

Thirdly, while we're on the subject of lines, there should be a room capacity for the dealer's room. You have people entering and exiting all the time so this wouldn't cause too much frustration and would further benefit those people who wait in line ahead of time. While no, you can't keep track of EXACTLY how many people there are, it's not hard to tell when it's TOO full. Port Con, while way smaller in comparison, has this system in place to prevent overcrowding for their dealers room.

I would also like to acknowledge the positives though! The staff were very helpful, special shoutout goes to the GameRoom staff who were a big help to me in finding a lost item.
Security was effecient in their job, though the process could be streamlined a bit faster, made sure everyone was safe!

I know some of the suggestions I made are nitpics, but they would help in the longrun to help make future conventions better for everyone!

[Arrow_That_Guy]

I feel as if we need a con that is so long we want to leave instead of having a short 3 day con when we leave and get sad, I also hate how I missed a lot of signings because the line tickets ended an hour early. I feel as if weapons check would be more kind and let more weapons in, next year in want to do a Guts but I feel ad if a sword will be pointless and taken away no matter the material of it

[xSakuraChu]

I've attended Anime Boston for three years now and this year was the absolute worst.

1. The closing off of the Sheraton entrance to the artist alley which forced us outside. Whether or not you're in cosplay, you forced us outside in thirty degree weather. This is March, not May.

2. This may be a rumor but I heard most of the staff were hotel employees that knew nothing about the con and were overall unhelpful.

3. The metal detector was passed between my legs. No. No. Absolutely fracking unacceptable.

4. We (the attendees in general) were treated with very little respect.

I've never been so upset. The convention was absolutely hectic. Anime Boston means a lot to me. I'll be going next year hoping that the issues we all report are acknowledged and that genuine efforts are made to resolve them. Otherwise, myself, and many, many others will not attend in the future. It is us that supports you. Treat us properly.

Onto the good

The attendees were awesome despite us all sharing frustration

Panels were sweet this year

The Hynes food options were appreciated

Coat check people were also very polite and cordial

[Lincolne]

This was my 8th Anime Boston. And it was by far the worst. The wait to get in the con was way to long. And if you had no bag you had to wait 4 times as long. I even tried going into the bag line instead because it was so much faster. But you will get yelled at for not having a bag and force you into the no bag line. Then the metal detectors were a big joke. I watch them go off tons of times. And the people were just waved right through. What was the point of having the metal detectors if you don't use them properly. I didn't have props but the look of it you could not have anything unless it was a giant oversized object.
On Sunday me and my friends were waiting at hall B entrance and when it got to be 10am the hynes staff asked the AB staff if it was ok to let people in. He was told no you are only allowed in at the main entrance. 10 minutes later the entrance was open.

[Lincolne]

Also had to skip tons of panels because we didn't want to leave the hynes to go to the Sheraton just to have to go back to the Hynes and wait over a hour to get back In.

[kmt5700]

I want to give a huge shout out and kudos to one of the security working the autograph rooms (i don't know if she was in overall charge, or what her name was, but I do know she had an adorable 2 1\2 old). She was very consistent in enforcing the con rules for every autograph we stood in line for..fair to everyone across the board.

The only snafu happened was for Todd's signing on Fri when she was taking a break and another staff member screwed up and basically shafted a whole bunch of us by directing us into an overflow room to wait when we were not overflow at all but had followed the rules by arriving at 5 to line up. (Basically he ended up with 2 lines - us and the attendees that came after us).

When she came back, she took the time to really get at the root of the problem...... Just didn't parrot the same info that just made all of us even madder....actually understood why we were upset and sincerely apologized! And made sure that this situation would not happen again!!

Although we ended up out of luck with the signing, because of her, I at least (and the girls I was chaperoning) didn't end up leaving in a rage.

The tall woman staff member who assisted her was also wonderful and competent and also took the time to listen.

Again - kudos and applause for both of them!!

~ Anime Mom

[Mamacass]

I just wanted to say that this year's Anime Boston was a good year for me and my family

[jughands]

I actually had a very enjoyable con this year, so kudos to the staff and volunteers who worked hard to make that happen! There were some amazingly positive volunteers working the lines and it was really nice to see them making the best of a potentially frustrating situation. You guys also did a great job locating restaurants/food sources around the Pru and Boston!

That being said, any frustration I had (it was only a little!!) was directed towards the bag check lines, and I'm sure most people are going to say the same thing. I think that security was highly understaffed and unprepared for the amount of people coming in; for example, at the Boylston entrance, there would be two or three guards checking bags but only one guard scanning people. This caused a huge backup and was probably responsible for the traffic jams. My group honestly didn't even bother with the Prudential entrance because we knew it would probably be a very long wait.

Perhaps Hynes staff and security could amp up their staffing or at least work to make sure bag checkers and scanners are equal in numbers for next year.

I think that there could also be clearer communication for where attendees can pick up their badges; I saw so many people who waited in the bag check line only to be told that they needed to go to the Sheraton to pick-up/buy their badges... so that they could come wait in the bag check line again!

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, and I think that the con can only get better from here!

[Bluebeard45]

Asking cosplayers to walk through a metal detector is like asking Axl Rose to take a drug test. What's the point of sending people who are covered in buckles and jewelry and buttons and chains through metal detectors? I was wearing suspenders with metal clips and a pocket watch on a chain attached so I'd set that sucker off every time. Now it didn't slow me down very much, they'd just scan me with the wand and I'd tell them what I had on me, and the security teams by the doors were all very polite, however it just seemed silly and pointless.

Also (I suspect due to Line Con 2: Son of Line Con) the first FOUR panels I went to were all either canceled or down for technical reasons. The biggest issue being that I got to the Hynes VERY early in Friday, before the long lines formed, but found the panel had been canceled. My second and third choice panels were back in the Sheraton. So I left the Hynes and went to those, but those were both canceled/not going on for technical reasons or something. Rooms were both still empty 10 minutes after they were supposed to start. The next panel I wanted to see was back in the Hynes, but by this time Son of Line Con had formed and I had to wait an hour in the rain before I could get back in the convention center that I was just in not too long ago and wasn't able to make the next panel I wanted to see. From 8:30-12 I had gotten nothing done despite running around trying to find an active panel. There needs to be some sort of way to streamline attendees who have been cleared by security to move back and forth from the Sheraton to the Hynes, especially considering the increase in number of panels being held in the Sheraton rooms.

Line problems seems to fix themselves "somewhat" on Saturday morning, but still it was one of my less enjoyable con experiences.

[kitty0513]

I was very sad this year due to the lines I missed out on so many panels. I do understand this year was crazy busy but I feel there were a lot of people not on the same page. I also know it's not the ab staffs fault but I didn't have a bag with me and waited twice as long as people with bags due to they only had one metal scanner for people with out bags and 4 of them for people with bags. But I know you guys work hard and will listen to what everyone says.

[Max465]

Pros(unfortunately I only have one big stand out pro):
+The Staff in General. Hynes Staff, AB Staff, Security Staff. Kudos in general. The atmosphere this year was FAR less chaotic and negative and far more supportive and positive. Even when the situation wasn't positive the staff was very good at handling everything.

Cons
-Linecon 2016. This can't keep happening. Since I've started going to AB annually(2012 was my first) the lines have been getting worse and worse. But even then they were never a mess like this year (Last years big problem was the staff atmosphere). No one wanted to leave in fear of having to re-enter the line. And worst of all...the situation shut off the Artist Alley route (I don't know if it ever became available again).

-The Schedule. WHY DID THE PRINTED SCHEDULE HAVE HENTAI WORTH WATCHING LISTEN ON SATURDAY WHEN IT WAS ACTUALLY ON FRIDAY!??? This personally wasn't as big of an issue for me, but I had to constantly hear my roommate bitch at me for messing up the times as its the ONE panel he looks forward too.

-The Dealers room. I don't know if this is going to be as big of a complaint from others, but it's a pretty big one from me. What was with all the empty space? Why Did crunchyroll have such a big slice? I know they're sponsers...but honestly they didn't need that space. It was practically empty and barely used. Klab as well was a stupidly big section when I felt they should have been in the Video Game room, and maybe just have a medium shop in the dealers room to sell their merch. There felt like there were several massive lines going into their booth and it was hard to move around that area because of it. And considering I felt like a lot of my favorite dealers (Videogamesnewyork comes to mind) were strangely absent this was a little annoying for me.

Also it's not anything new, but when I see two spaces in the dealers room on different sides being run by the same company it kind of feels like I'm being cheated out of more dealers. They might appreciate the increased space, but I'd rather have more variety in dealers. Which I personally felt was lacking this year.

[Nemra]

Asking cosplayers to walk through a metal detector is like asking Axl Rose to take a drug test. What's the point of sending people who are covered in buckles and jewelry and buttons and chains through metal detectors? I was wearing suspenders with metal clips and a pocket watch on a chain attached so I'd set that sucker off every time. Now it didn't slow me down very much, they'd just scan me with the wand and I'd tell them what I had on me, and the security teams by the doors were all very polite, however it just seemed silly and pointless.

Also (I suspect due to Line Con 2: Son of Line Con) the first FOUR panels I went to were all either canceled or down for technical reasons. The biggest issue being that I got to the Hynes VERY early in Friday, before the long lines formed, but found the panel had been canceled. My second and third choice panels were back in the Sheraton. So I left the Hynes and went to those, but those were both canceled/not going on for technical reasons or something. Rooms were both still empty 10 minutes after they were supposed to start. The next panel I wanted to see was back in the Hynes, but by this time Son of Line Con had formed and I had to wait an hour in the rain before I could get back in the convention center that I was just in not too long ago and wasn't able to make the next panel I wanted to see. From 8:30-12 I had gotten nothing done despite running around trying to find an active panel. There needs to be some sort of way to streamline attendees who have been cleared by security to move back and forth from the Sheraton to the Hynes, especially considering the increase in number of panels being held in the Sheraton rooms.

Line problems seems to fix themselves "somewhat" on Saturday morning, but still it was one of my less enjoyable con experiences.

Can you give us the names of the panel and the rooms? We'd like to look into what happened.

[Mirotic]

The Good:
-- This year, the panel spacing was a-maz-ing. Having 30 minutes between panels in the same room gave time to the panelist to set up, do sound checks and if they went over by five minutes, it really didn't matter. This was an awesome change and I hope it continues next year!

-- The Hynes security (NOT the ones in the police looking uniforms, the ones in the formal suits) were absolutely amazing this year. I had zero problems with them. They were polite and never yelled when I was around, they even tried interacting a little. Wayyyy better than past years.

-- As always, I need to give a shout out to everyone in the cosplay repair station. You guys work REALLY hard during the weekend (it was packed in there at times) and I feel like you guys don't get enough credit for being awesome, helpful staff members.

The Bad:
-- Increasing crowds in a non-expanding space = a lot of traffic. Not much we can do here though.

-- People stopping in said traffic to take pictures in the middle of the hallway/dealers room/artist alley. (Photographers: You don't need to stand across the hall in order to get a good shot.) Maybe photos should be banned in artist alley/dealers room on busy days (Friday/Saturday, Sunday is not as much of a problem as there is a lot less traffic). Or even set up a "photo area" in each corner?

-- People texting and walking, then bumping into people/holding up traffic. Just...not cool.

The Ugly:
-- Line con 2016. The lines on Friday and Saturday were absolutely the worst lines I've ever seen at any con. Entrances were being closed randomly, others were opening, others were turning into exit only...it was a mess. I especially feel bad for the cosplayers who got soaked on Friday in line, either at the Boylston or Pru entrances. Anime Boston needs way better planning to deal with the massive amount of people on Friday/Saturday (Sunday was great, AB can handle a lesser amount of people perfectly. Got in at 9 am in like... 5 minutes from the Pru entrance, no one was outside.)

-- The Hynes security (dressed in a more officer-like uniform, maybe Pru security?) were beyond rude. Saturday at 10-ish, the line to the Pru was long, and they kept screaming at people facing opposite the Pru to go to the Boylston street line. This guy kept screaming for 10+ minutes, only to finally walk over, look down the stairs and realize that was the Boylston street line. It had apparently wrapped all the way around. He stopped yelling at everyone and we got in via the Pru entrance.

-- Insane lines means not as many people are willing to leave the Hynes for lunch/dinner/photoshoots/shopping, which means more traffic within the Hynes itself. I know I personally refused to leave until I was done for the day. The crowds were insane, but I think they would've been less insane if attendees felt more comfortable leaving the Hynes.


tdlr: The lines need to be fixed and entrances shouldn't change status frequently unless there is an emergency/fire code hazard (which I understand the Sheraton couldn't handle the amount of people going up there. Maybe that should be the no bag line? So the traffic keeps moving constantly?). I understand this is AB's first year this close to the cap, but a serious plan needs to be made for lines and entrances before next year (which I'm sure will only bring even more people). It was by far the worst AB line-wise/entrance-wise. But it was the best AB scheduling-wise!

[Max465]

I'm actually wondering if at this point, if we're going to keep the metal detectors to actually get rid of a No Bag line entirely.

Now that the metal detectors are there; people are taking just as long, or longer without the bags due to only having one line. As now they have to take items out of their pockets, those with cosplay might have to remove a piece of the costume or having something looked at in line. It's no longer a case of "No Bag, No Wait"

[Bluebeard45]

Can you give us the names of the panel and the rooms? We'd like to look into what happened.

Sure, I'll find their names when I get back home. Saturday made a world of difference by sticking to the Hynes panels only.

Also, on a positive note the "Your Lie In April" industry programming was very well put together by the convention and guests. They were very fun to attend and I very much appreciate the staff and Japanese guests in particular adamant about keeping the discussion spoiler free =)

[Rick]

I'm going to be frank and say that the biggest problem I had with the con was the security itself. I know this isn't something AB can do anything about but honestly, I really feel like all the metal detector stuff made everything slow down hard and frankly, it really bothered me. A few of the security people were pleasant and I thank them for it, but most of them were just barking out orders and I felt like they were treating us with some kind of disdain. And they were bloody everywhere. This year I couldn't look in any direction without seeing like, three Securitas people. They're not even armed from what I noticed and ready to do anything more than stop and confiscate. I didn't feel secure at all, quite frankly. It made me mildly paranoid that I was going to do something wrong I didn't know was wrong and get asked to leave or thrown out of the con altogether. The metal detectors just felt invasive and slowed everything down. Confiscation was high (and what looks to be inconsistent and only reinforced at the point of check).

Also can someone tell me why all of a sudden con goers had to go through the Boylston St. entrance halfway through Saturday to the end of the con? I actually got pretty frustrated when only non-con goers were allowed through to go in but con goers were shoved outside to go in back through the detectors.

I understand there's been some ugly stuff going on in the world. I get it. We should all feel safe and secure. However, I feel like there's a point where it goes from "safe" to "big brother's watching you". Again, this is no fault of AB (and the other issues I had, they were SO willing to help and work with me and put up with a lot from me, this year was a very 'when it rains, it pours' year for me), but honestly...is it the Pru themselves that enforce this? I'd honestly like to throw in a complaint to whoever it's supposed to go to, even if they just use it for toilet paper or it's utterly pointless to do so, because I feel like us con goers were treated like trash.

(If I'm wrong about anything, totally let me know, I'm just more talking from my feelings and experiences than much cold, logical fact.)

[Nemra]

tdlr: The lines need to be fixed and entrances shouldn't change status frequently unless there is an emergency/fire code hazard (which I understand the Sheraton couldn't handle the amount of people going up there. Maybe that should be the no bag line? So the traffic keeps moving constantly?). I understand this is AB's first year this close to the cap, but a serious plan needs to be made for lines and entrances before next year (which I'm sure will only bring even more people). It was by far the worst AB line-wise/entrance-wise. But it was the best AB scheduling-wise!

I can comment a little on the change of status. Firstly, we completely understand the frustration. As you mentioned it was due to the Sheraton because it started to become a fire hazard with the amount of people that were lined up in the narrow hall there.

What we were able to do is replace that entrance on the fly by opening up an "emergency only" entry way (Dalton St). Dalton St is a much better entryway if only because it is much larger than the single door that is the Sheraton entryway. This entrance (Sheraton) has never been a problem in the past and so required some quick thinking in other ways to shift it and this was the best solution, though understandably frustrating for those already there.

In fact, we actually saw the results of opening Dalton around 10 min after it opened when people were able to be directed there during the peak times. We went so far as to send a staffer without a shirt to each of the lines to see the results and it came to Boylston being 15min wait, and Dalton a 10min wait. During peak. That's a huge improvement for such a short implementation especially compared to the pru entrance (which is a topic on its own really)

Without making any promises, we will most certainly be looking into seeing if we can keep that door open for our future events as a fourth entrance.

[waynoinsano]

One thing that's not such of a complaint but a "why?". The hynes staff at the dealer room and panels A and B on the third floor kept asking to see badges on entrance. We already were scaned, searched and verified to be in the Hynes, I could see for stuff in the Sheraton where anyone could just walk in . It just seemed pointless having to stop to flip my badge over, cause it kept facing in, in a building we were already veted before entrance.

[djm9992]

I'm a parent who came with two 14yo girls and no clue what I was getting myself into. Was having to go outside to get in a line so I could get back inside annoying? Yeah, but hopefully the lines can be managed differently next year. Do they need more metal detectors? Yeah, add that to the hopefully next year list. Does the Sheraton need more elevators or some better system because they can't handle a capacity crowd? I'm 52 and carried my luggage down 20 flights of stairs today, so yeah.

That being said, thank you for a wonderful experience for my daughter and her friend. All of the staff members and security people were kind and informative, they loved all of the panels we went to, they love the artwork and souvenirs they brought home, and they loved the sense of community. I assume there was over 30,000 people there. All races, religions, sexualities, young and old, and everyone was peaceful and friendly, held doors open, said excuse me, complimented people on their costumes, picked up things people dropped. It was a really good, accepting vibe. I am a-ok with my kid being into anime if this is the kind of folks she'll be hanging around. We will be back next year!

[Selestyl]

I haven't been to Anime Boston for about three years, but I had a fantastic time! The only snag I hit was dealing with security on Friday evening. I've already spoken to staff for the most part, but figured I should repeat myself here as well. I know I should consider myself lucky I even got in with my prop at all, but the security guy I was dealing with was so rude. We were in Friday, left to go eat, then came back through the main entrance. He told me my sword was "too sharp" (it's sanded balsa wood), and when he demanded to know where my sticker was and I told him it must have fallen off earlier in the day, he called over another guard to double check my prop and said "she says her sticker "fell off"" complete with finger quotes. I was embarrassed and afraid of what would happen if they wouldn't let my weapon in for chess this year and was stressed about it for two days.

...which leads into the amazing part of the con - the staff! Everyone was amazingly kind and helpful. Particular shout outs to everyone running/helping with chess and death match! Even when I was afraid of my prop being confiscated, you all helped me calm down, get excited, and have an amazing time! Everyone made the games so smooth for a first timer, and I can't wait to sign up again! I had a great time meeting people and hanging out, and I honestly would do it again in a heartbeat thanks to everyone!

[Oos]

I would like to say somethig very important about the long lines and the consequences thereof: it is a HEALTH hazard.

A few of my friends including myself had some bad health issues relating to hunger and dehydration that we could not address for fear of having to go through the awful lines again. A friend of mine almost PASSED OUT because she didn't want to leave the con because she'd have to get back in line. I was really faint and had a package of crackers on me and that was all. People were AFRAID to leave because they'd waste another ungodly amount of their con time waiting to get back in! People were going in super early and leaving in the evening dehydrated or with low blood sugar without leaving inbetween.

I will say they did a good job with letting people with a handicapped sticker through quickly, but the line waiting time for others is a problem and other cons do NOT do this. It could be a liability on them if something bad WERE to have happened out of fear of not being able to get back in without wasting so much time.

[unclejeb1861]

Personally, I experienced very few line issues. The longest line I hit was Saturday at 9AM which was only fifteen minutes (and was the result of only one metal detector being used for non-bag lines).

My only major nitpick this year was that the convention was not clear regarding the status of the Sheraton / Artist Alley entrance. I had various friends tell me the entrance was open, closed, and/or restricted for staff / VIPS in a three hour span. While AB did attempt to clarify the status of the entrance via social media, it was frequently done long after the change of status occurred.

In addition, I had one staff member tell me the Dalton St. entrance was open today only to find it closed when we walked over there. We just walked an extra block to the Boylston one and there was no wait so it was fine.

Overall, the status regarding both these entrances should be addressed. Maybe have specific hours scheduled for them to be open?

[Butterbane]

I have to say, I had an amazing time. Thus was my first year. I just have a few things....

One of the guards was extremely harsh with us on Friday afternoon at the back entrance. He actually managed to hit my friend in The head with his scanner. I don't know what can be done about that...

Another thing: bathrooms! On the first day me and my friends came in and rushed to the bathroom. Unable to find the gender neutral one quickly, we went to the men's. We were shouted at by some people.
And about the gender neutral bathrooms: I looked for a large part of Saturday and Friday, and could not find them. Finally found where they were on Sunday afternoon.
Could we possibly get one or two more? In a more visible and accessible place?
Thank you!

[Painted_Outlaw]

One thing that's not such of a complaint but a "why?". The hynes staff at the dealer room and panels A and B on the third floor kept asking to see badges on entrance. We already were scaned, searched and verified to be in the Hynes, I could see for stuff in the Sheraton where anyone could just walk in . It just seemed pointless having to stop to flip my badge over, cause it kept facing in, in a building we were already veted before entrance.

For what it's worth, that's something that happens every year.

People were AFRAID to leave because they'd waste another ungodly amount of their con time waiting to get back in! People were going in super early and leaving in the evening dehydrated or with low blood sugar without leaving inbetween.

Just for the record, there are places to obtain food inside the Hynes itself. Either in the hallways are places that sell food and beverages or there's the spot on the side of the main lobby (opposite from the main Dealer's room entrance) where you can sit down and eat.

I don't wish to sound like I'm belittling your point, but all the same, there were options.

[ZeroSystemQuatre]

Hello Anime Boston people! Been attending every year since Day 1. That said, and you can tell from my post count lol, I've never had much to complain about or really feel the need to share here but I experienced something terribly upsetting Saturday I really feel people should speak out about.

The program book with the convention rules states that Autograph session lines may not begin queuing up prior to ONE HOUR before the signing time.
So why was it that the line for Todd Haberkorn on Saturday at 6pm was 100% full and capped prior to 4:40pm?

I have been to several AB autograph signings before. Also of note, I am disabled with use of full walker and was well aware when I got my handicap sticker from Customer Service that it would not help me during Autograph sessions. That's fine, I wouldn't want it to. But what I would expect is that someone with a large apparatus expecting to line up for an autograph would be able to alert the security staff in the area that was their intention in case they needed to move some of the ropes or open a space in a separate area for me (both have been necessary before) PRIOR to the line beginning to form. Instead, the security agent I spoke to simply looked at my carriage in horror before proceeding to yell not just at me but at anyone nearby who may have cared (both frightening and embarrassing for me) THE LINE IS CAPPED. YOU CAN'T STAY HERE. THE LINE IS FULL. YOU HAVE TO GO.

Rattled and hurt, I did what I was told and left the area. After some consideration I informed the Sheraton Hallway Info Table about the incident but they seemed more pleased that I didn't expect them to do anything to compensate me than they did likely to report it to any higher authority. Hence this forum post.

Seriously, I respect the additional security the con has been forced to endure. I respect the staff, I do my right best to not complain or inconvenience the staff I inevitably have to work with considering my disability. But this was cruel even for able-bodied attendees, and 10x crueler for the ones who aren't if AB can't even enforce the policies it prints in the book concerning lines of this sort. And being dealt with disrespectfully on top of it is unacceptable. Every bag-checker and metal-detector waver and police-dog team were sweeter and more respectful than this particular staff. In light of other attendees complaints, I hope you understand what that says about AB's own in-house security. Please please either alter or enforce YOUR OWN autograph policy next year. Thank you.

[aubreyskingdom]

I think the staff and volunteers of both the Hynes and Anime Boston were very helpful, friendly, and upbeat. Two years ago I felt like the staff were miserable, this year I felt like they actually enjoyed what they were doing which was wonderful.

I love the ticketing system for the masquerade, I think it's a great way to prevent long lines way before the event.

Wasn't a huge fan of the live gaming being moved to the Hilton although I can understand the need to have the convention spread out more.

I personally didn't have any major issues with the lines/security getting into the convention, although it did prevent me from going to some panels in the Sheraton because I didn't want to go through them a second time within the same day (IE I did not leave the Hynes convention center at all from 8am to midnight or so on Friday, and Saturday. This could be problematic for people who want to leave to get food or whatever, but was not a huge inconvenience for me). My only suggestion for the line getting in: Friday morning there was 1 sub-line inside the Hynes (coming through from the Pru) which was not moving at all and no one was telling us it was because that line was shut down for whatever reason. I'm sure this was fixed after an hour or so. My other annoyance with the system - you have to fully open your bag and the security staff pulls items out from your bag and then gives you everything in pieces but when you try to put things back in your bag you're being told by 5 security staff that you need to keep moving - all totally understandable from their perspective because you're holding up the line, but maybe give them the sticks back so they can poke around your bag instead of taking things out? I totally understand the need for improved security measures and understand the frustration many felt but this was the first year using metal detectors, and I'm sure Anime Boston will continue to work with the Hynes to tweak and fine tune things for the years to come.

I LOVED the late checkout at the Sheraton this year, was this for everyone? I was shocked when the lady doing my hotel check in process said "And checkout time is 4pm" and I internally fist pumped. Would love this to happen every year, for sure. It was an enormous help.

At one point during the convention I was telling my fiance "I would pay more per ticket if they allowed less people." But now that I'm back home, I think overall Anime Boston went really well this year.

[Oos]

People were AFRAID to leave because they'd waste another ungodly amount of their con time waiting to get back in! People were going in super early and leaving in the evening dehydrated or with low blood sugar without leaving inbetween.

Just for the record, there are places to obtain food inside the Hynes itself. Either in the hallways are places that sell food and beverages or there's the spot on the side of the main lobby (opposite from the main Dealer's room entrance) where you can sit down and eat.

I don't wish to sound like I'm belittling your point, but all the same, there were options.[/quote]

if you want to pay unnecessary amounts of money for not-very-good food maybe better food options in-con would be a good thing to have.

[chibisprite]

-SNIPPED STUFF-
if you want to pay unnecessary amounts of money for not-very-good food maybe better food options in-con would be a good thing to have.

There was a thread I read before AB even started this year, and I actually did this: Bring in your own food & water bottle. I had my bucket as my bag and had no issues*** bringing in my own food that I had portioned out beforehand so I could eat inside without having to buy anything from the food vendors. So, there was that option too.



***Granted the security person that checked my bucket on Saturday gave me a very strange face when she started moving items around in my bucket and realized the contents were mostly food. ^.^*

[Painted_Outlaw]

if you want to pay unnecessary amounts of money for not-very-good food maybe better food options in-con would be a good thing to have.

v(^^)v I never claimed it to be good or bad food; just that it was there, haha.

[omgxspazz]

Can I just say how AMAZING it was to have Tokyo Attack do the gaming? Please make sure they become a regular - or that they can. I love their variety of machines. I remember last year I was really let down, having been to other conventions with Tokyo Attack doing the machines. This year was fantastic.

The same can be said for the staff running the autograph sessions. Everything was run fairly, and I wish I caught the names of those working the Eric Vale session, and Saturday's Monica Rial session, because I would like to give them recognition.

Also, regarding entrances; why were certain areas of the PRU blocked off? My boyfriend and I were trying to get to the Shertaton for autographs, but we were directed to go outside and enter the hotel from the outside rather than walk through the Pru by Dunkin. We were a little confused but if that's what security wants us to do, we'll do it. (Side note: what if we wanted Dunkin? How would I have gotten there?) It also seemed like anyone with a con badge was being targeted by Prudential Center security (I.E.: those in the hallways leading to the Hynes) and made to go outside. It made me feel a little uncomfortable, and I really was hoping to avoid going outside for long periods of time without a jacket. Essentially: we walked from the Pru, outside to the Sheraton, and around to the Boylston entrance. Had I known I'd be taking a lap around the block, I would have grabbed my jacket.

[asdfMallory]

I have only been to anime Boston two years, so I can't speak off of any serious con experience. I do know for a fact though, that staff and volunteers were in a much better mood than last year. The people working in the Sheraton and the Hynes convention staff were also helpful and welcoming. The guests were awesome and the panels I went to were amazing. However, the Boston police department was of very little help as a whole. There were a few that were nice and helpful but leaving the Sheraton only to be screamed at and herded around like cattle was belittling. Closing artist ally was disappointing, but I do understand that it was a fire hazard. also, I get that there are a lot of us, we were very close to the cap this year... but standing outside in freezing weather conditions is a health hazard. Not everyone dresses in super warm costumes and not everyone can keep their costume dry.

[asdfMallory]

While I have only been to anime Boston last year and this year I do feel the need to comment about this year.
First off I would like to note that the volunteers and staff were super helpful. I had a member of my group lose her ticket to the formal ball on Friday and every person we asked for help pointed us in the right direction. I also want to point out that while the Sheraton could have opened the stairs so people could walk up to their rooms instead of waiting 30+ minuets to get on an elevator going the wrong direction is annoying.

The metal detectors were practically useless. And bag check was faster than not having a bag. But I believe the worst thing this convention had was the police. I understand they have to be there. With the worlds current state I totally get their reasoning. However it was executed poorly. They were screaming at people, to move when they weren’t in the way. I had to wait for my mom who was right behind me and an officer got in my personal space and yelled “you need to move out of this space.” I understand they wanted to keep the lines moving, but I would be separated quickly and sucked into the sea of people. The police in charge of lines herding us like cattle, while con staff was being respectful. One poor volunteer was skipping and dancing out in the rain on Friday almost to entertain us and make the time move a little faster when we had to wait in line.
Overall, I enjoyed myself. But sadly, the police is the biggest problem and unfortunately I have no clue as to how you could fix it.

[ResistNormal]

Let's start with saying there is no such thing as a completely safe anime con. In order to make the con alot safer you would have to ban cosplay and props over a specific size. Sense cosplay has become a funtimental part of the con experience for so many it's out of the question. So all this is still pointless theater made to make some people feel safer when in fact these tightly backed lines where you have the maximum amount people fitted into a confined area is far less safe. This is more about security companies getting paid and police overtime than actual safety.

For a few years now we keep getting empty promises that this situation will improve yet it gettting worse. It is so frustrating that it gets escalated instead, resulting in lines that cause friction with the prudential.

The only way this will change is if AnimeBoston wants it to change and if the 30,000 con goers write law makers and the MCCA to end this pointless security theater.

It distasteful that people want to blame this year on the Brussels Attack which was in an airport with the same type of security. Many also blame this years secrurity to the two idiots who decided to bring assault rifles to the Pokemon world championship right here at the Hynes. The thing is they posted that they where going to do it on social media and were arrested on arrival and it had nothing to do with security staff or screenings and it was no big victory for them either.

It was sad that for the first time in since 2005 I didn't go all three days and skipped Sunday because I didn't want to go through the trouble.

[voynich]

Security really was an issue this year. I understand why they're there but they are not consistent and are creating more dangerous situations by being unrelenting and aggressive. We were there with a massive group of school kids and it seemed half the staff was informed, but the security wasn't. We divided them in smaller groups of 6 plus a chaperone so we could move through quick and wouldn't block anyone's way and still security continuously tried to separate the kids from us. First after registration where my kids were manhandled into the hallway away from me for standing still for a minute to get their badges in the sleeves, later in line at bag check where part of our group got redirected to the Boylston entrance and we had to scramble to make sure at least the chaperone groups didn't get separated and later once again after bag check where I got yelled at for standing near a pillar and waiting for my 6 kids to make it through the detectors. If security would prefer me to put a call out for an Amber Alert for 90 kids that we will undoubtedly get separated from due to this behavior instead of listening to me for a second and letting me usher the kids through the obstacles then that's on them. (Also security, don't tell me to move around the corner and wait for them there because ' the kids will find you'. They can't even find me down the hallway of their school, they're not gonna find me when there are 200 cosplayers between us.)

Kudos though to the security handling the crazy Pru intersection that let me out and in to check the line for a missing kid and con staff at Registration that let me back in to check the room for the same kid. For next year I'd really like it if at least 1 or 2 chaperones from our group could get some kind of badges that makes it a bit easier for them to get past security and lines in case of missing students we need to track down. Because when I run over to the Sheraton and back to the Hynes, and the kid is still on the loose, I'm not making good use of time by getting stuck in a line for 90 minutes.

Staff is panel rooms were very helpful and friendly, artist alley passage security were nice and quick while it lasted and overall we had a good time. Missing signage on 5th floor Sheraton was an issue because we never did find those stairs and the back stairs at level 3 Hynes will need signs next time if you don't want them used because the security on level 1 was getting quite salty over all the people coming down and having to send them back up.

[reaper527]

there was a lot of good, but some major fail.

i'll start with the good:

amv contest

i'm glad to see the continued use of the perforated voting sheets for the amv contest (and pencils being provided). it would be nice if at some point voting by smartphone became possible, but until that happens, this is definitely a good, workable solution. additionally, i'm aware there was a new contest coordinator this year. everything appears to have run perfect. there were no transitional hiccups, so great job on that. it felt just like last year (and i mean that as a good thing).

anime unscripted

as i posted in last year's feedback thread, anime unscripted 2015 was exceptionally disappointing. that was not the case for anime unscripted this year. this was arguably the best au i've seen, and i've been going since it used to be called "who's line is it anime". all 4 participants and the hosts were great this year.

panel schedule/assignments

i didn't end up seeing a single panel where i couldn't get in this year, and that was a first. i'm not sure what changed, but you did a great job at assigning panels to appropriate rooms. there's nothing more disappointing than being really excited to see a panel but not being able to see it because it was assigned to a small room that couldn't meet the demand.

event staff

i'm not sure what the official category is for these people since they aren't "blue shirt" or "orange shirt", but everyone involved in running the masq from the coordinators down is awesome. they're definitely all putting in a lot of hardwork to make everything successful, and i'm sure it must be very stressful but you'd never know it from being in the back. they're all very pleasant/supportive/organized/helpful. i've got nothing but good things to say about everyone i've talked to at any point in the masq.

hynes security

over the years i've definitely heard nothing but horror stories about hynes security. aside from the miserable security check points i'll touch on in the bad section of the post, i only had 1 interaction with a hynes security person. there was a huge rush of people entering the dealers room through one set of double doors, and then next to that was a set of double doors (one door open, one door closed) that nobody was going through. i walked through that door and then there was a hynes person standing inside the dealers room who stopped me and said that was an exit only door and motioned for me to leave and re-enter. i said "i'm already inside, can i just move along" and she said "ok, just don't do it again".

she wasn't rude at all, and used common sense (which is one of the major complains i had seen in previous years, where hynes security failed to use common sense). i don't know if that door really was an exit only door as she said (since there wasn't a sign stating this on either side of the door, or if there was it wasn't in a visible place), but regardless she was a stark contrast from the "angry zero tolerance and zero thinking" story i usually see. since i figure negative stories are a lot more likely to get posted than positive experiences that i'd mention this (especially since as i said, i'm aware this is a topic which routinely has had negative experiences being shared by people over the years).

badge pickup

thursday night badge pickup is the best thing ever. it's unfortunate that short term parking solutions are kind of non-existent, but regardless, i've done thursday night pickup the last few years and i've never had to wait. definitely appreciate the ability to walk in on thursday night and not have to deal with a a badge pickup line on friday morning.

moving onto the bad:

there is a major elephant in the room, and that was the security checkpoints.

i had heard stories about the infamous "linecon", and how it was a total mess, and then how in a year the problem was completely alleviated by ab staff analyzing the problem and fixing it. we all know that ab had some major growing pains last year with the number of people and the hall policing that took place really left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. i had hoped that for this year, the same "linecon -> awesome con" transition would be a case of history repeating itself and the problem being resolved.

unfortunately, that wasn't the case. instead, we had security theater making the crowd control problem orders of magnitude worse. i don't know how much of it was ab's fault vs how much of it is venue/politician problems, but at the end of the day it was maximum hassle for something that is purely for appearances. there was a tsa security audit a year or two where their protocols failed to detect 8 out of 10 prohibited items. if the tsa and their body scanners (will we see those for ab2017? /s) are missing 80% of the stuff they are supposed to be catching, does anyone actually think the security checkpoints this year did anything other than make people stand out in the rain?

now, lets assume the check points did work and do what they are supposed to do (a big and questionable assumption). a huge portion of the con takes place outside of the hynes where those checkpoints are irrelevant. i guess the safety of people who wanted to see the aniplex industry panel, kiznaiver world premiere, or any of the other panels taking place in the sheraton wasn't important.

the lines were manageable on friday when it was possible to avoid the security theater and go through the artist alley entrance. after friday though, this entrance was closed for most of the remainder of the con. it was a clear case of "we've got a workable solution. we must put an end to this!".

i (and i would imagine many others) felt like i missed a huge portion of the con by being effectively trapped in the hynes. there were panels in the sheraton where i saw it on guidebook, and wanted to go, but knew that if went to go see it, i'd be waiting for over an hour to get back into the hynes. i had heard multiple people say that they had skipped meals because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of getting back into hynes (hell, i personally did this with lunch on saturday).

aside from the security mess, there was only one other small annoyance (and it was a specific event rather than an ongoing all weekend thing). it was EXTREMELY difficult to find the line for the aniplex industry panel on friday morning. this was because the registration/badge pickup line had gotten very long and the two lines combined into one massive mess. i spent probably 10 minutes walking from point to point asking people what line they were in trying to find the end of the aniplex line. one of the people i asked was an orange shirt staff, and they didn't know where the line was. for many panels in crowded areas there is a person with a "line for <event> ends here" sign. i'm not sure why there wasn't one for this if it was going to be held in the same area registration/badge pickup was in.

constructive suggestions:

aside from the obvious suggestion of rolling back security to how it was for 2015, there needs to be separate lines for people without bags. when i say separate lines here, i mean lines that are actually separate, as opposed to 1 long line which eventually splits into 2 sub-lines.

also, remember when the convention is. routing people outside on memorial day weekend might be acceptable. routing people outside in march... not so much.

[Coco Strawbunny]

hey, you guys wanna hear a new joke? so over 30000 people attended anime boston 2016 this weekend, right? well MCCA decided this year that due to the "attempted mass shooting" at the hynes during the pokemon event last summer, they were going to add metal detectors to the main entrance. what they failed to realize is that with this ADDED security measure, they multiplied the waiting time to get into the con at all by 10. so, instead of waiting 15 to 30 minutes to get in (like last year), congoers were forced to wait outside in near freezing temperatures and rain for over 4 hours just to get into the prudential center to warm up and then wait in the indoor line to get into the hynes for another 30 minutes. same went for the Boylston entrance most of the time each day too! then, midday all 3 days, con security/staff literally BLOCKED ALL ACCESS to one of the halls the went towards the Sheraton and the garages andforced everyone tofind a different route that wouldn't go anywhere near the hynes entrance form the inside, even noncongoers and mall store employees were forced to reroute. the only ones they allowed through the blockade, were staff/ volunteers, Guests Of Honor, and attendees with a VIP Badge. add to that the artist alley entrance that was really only opened each year for vendors, GOH, staff, and panelists and you get MCCA'S "added safety measures" being a total waste of time, money, patience and health. if congoers get the flu because of MCCA's poor decisions, there are going to be THOUSANDS of lawsuits on the hyne's hands soon. ~end of rant for now.
another issue I had was that there was only one GN bathroom in the con and it was in the furthest area from any staff/security, the third floor near the overhang that over looks the prudential entrance. being trans, I was so uncomfortable, and felt so unsafe, going to the gn bathrooms because they were so far from anything, including any staff or security that I literally did NOT use the restroom at all while at the con, even if I needed to go badly, besides during the masquerade when I was able to use a private bathroom I knew wouldn't be unsafe for me.

[tetsujin]

The security madness has got to stop.

[Coco Strawbunny]

another complaint I had was last night shortly before I headed back to my hotel room I was asked by a guy for a selfie and as he took the pic I could feel someone "attempting" to "cope a feel" at my chest area from behind. I wasn't wearing my glasses in my cosplay so I can't really id his face or what he was wearing.

[tmliza]

Like everyone said, the security was SUPER bad this year. I can understand being safe but the fact that people were forced outside for long periods of time and the fact that I felt like it was overkill really killed the mood for me. Also, why in the world was the No-bag line so much slower than the bag line? Like who thought giving the non-bag check only one metal detector was a good idea? My friend had a bag and I didn't and she got through the bag line at least half an hour before I got into the con!

Also, Saturday was ridlcious in getting from the Sheraton to the mall itself. I wanted to walk through the mall to get food but the con staff running the area did not listen and pretty much told me to get in line for the convention that stretched outside DESPITE me not wanting to go into the con but I wanted to go through the mall. I ended up turning and storming back into the Sheraton because I was not in a cosplay I could walk around outside in cold weather.

Also, the inconsistencies in what staffers knew. I was having a photoshoot in a small corner and within half an hour, a con staff comes over saying that my photographer couldn't have a light stand. Fine, whatever. 20 minutes later, another con staffer comes over and tells us we can't have a photoshoot there. We were done at that point but it was incredibly annoying.

Also, AB needs to have designated gathering/photoshoot areas. And people need to be warned that you can get kicked out for having shoots in the Prudential Center. The area I moved my group to, in a corner out of the way, con staff came up and told us to leave because...well I don't know why since the area was out of the way.

It was just kind of infuriating overall and I really don't know if I want to attempt this con next year.

[tetsujin]

I could feel someone "attempting" to "cope a feel" at my chest area from behind.

I'm sorry to hear it. It's a lousy thing to do to a person.