Anime Boston

I feel there was a bit of lax on communication between registration staff and the Hynes Security on thursday. I got to the sheraton and checked in around 2:30-3 then figured i would go down and get in line. But it seemed as if there was no line yet. the Hynes security said it wasn't open to start registration till 4. I felt like the line should be forming around 3 and was basically shooed away. i came back at 4, and that was when they fianlly said that you have to go around to the front of the building through the outside.
I realize that i should have figure this out myself, but i felt sort of annoyed at the time that the security guard didn't just say that in the first place.

So i got tothe end of the line around 4:10, and the line was like outside around the building, and basically into the front of the Sheraton.
I got my badge at 5:15
I honeslty feel thats pretty awesome, the fact that i got in the end of the line just before doors opened and it took only just over and hour. and there were seriously almost no pauses, it was just a moving line. If fact i think the people in the middle of the line outside probably waited longer than me because they most likely had been out there since 3 anyhow.
Aweosme job with Registration & badge pick up this year. Like phenomenal ^.^

*note* Suggestion for next year
Color coded Badges maybe? could help with 18+ panels and the like.

[quote=Eilonnwy]I explained to the Hynes that once the doors opened people could enter from the mall to register. I suspect there was a shift change and maybe the information did not get relayed correctly. As soon as I was informed of the problem I talked to the guards and the issue was resolved for the rest of the weekend. I'm sorry for the inconvenience you experienced. [/quote]

I found the same thing - in order to avoid the Red Sox crowds, I took the E Green Line train and got off at the Pru stop, which is on the other side of the Hynes and requires walking through the mall to get to the Hynes. It was just past 5:00 at this point, so registration had been open for over an hour, but it was actually a couple of AB staffers/volunteers at the door who directed me to go through the Sheraton, outside, and all the way around the convention center, through the construction, and back in the Boylston St. entrance. All things considered, it was a minor annoyance - I just figured it was a last-minute policy on the part of the Hynes staff that was preventing people from entering from the mall side. No big deal, tho.

As I have said repeatedly, I went to Hynes Security personally to make sure they were aware of the situation. I would do my best to make sure that this little snag doesn't happen again.

I got in around 6PM on Thursday and waited in in line for like 45 mins and then, when I got up to the booth, the dude was really nice and everything went well...until he handed me a badge...and it definitely wasn't my name. He said I must be one of the people whose data was corrupted and told me to go to the customer service line.

Stood there for around an hour and 30 mins before I got my badge. Yeah my Mom was not very happy but it was much better than last year.

Great job on making the lines short. I was probably only in line for 5-10mins. The only thing that was that couldve been improved would be to hand out the bags when you get you badge. I know some people were a bit confused on which line to be in and thus missed getting the bag. The booth I gave my express pass to had a big sign saying "At con registration" which makes you think it isn't prereg. Overall though, great job.

It took me about 2 hrs to get through, the woman who was entering my registration data didn't seem to know what she was doing half the time, so it took about 10 minutes to actually get registered

Still, as someone who survived that refugee line from last year, I'm gonna give a shout out to the registration staff, excellent job guys!

Last year I had a press pass, so I walked straight past the infamous registration line. I got so many glares it was insane.

This year it was just as good, basically, since I had been standing out in from of the door and was probably the eighth one or so to get my badge since I walked slower going into the building.

I'd have to say that the lanyards this year were much more appealing visually less of an eyesore than the thick, ropey, bright, tealish monstrosities from last year (no offense to whoever picked those things out). I have to admit much injury resulted from the stretchy band, however. I was often tempted to tug the badge away from me while it was on my neck and let go, causing it to whip back briskly and smack me in the face. I didn't learn my lesson until it popped out my contact and bruised my nose. I'm sure it looked quite odd as I felt around the ground with one brown eye and one blue, cussing under my breath..>.>;;

on thursday the line to actually get my badge was about an hour or maybe a little more. then my friend had issues with getting his badge so we had to go in the customer service line for 45 minutes to an hour. and there were only like 5 people ahead of us. that wasnt fun esp since we werent sure if my friend was going to get his badge.

[quote=Eilonnwy]According to my information the line was no more than an hour for pre-registered attendees and 2 hours for at-con attendees at their peak. I would like to know how long it took you to get through the line and what you thought of the new system.

We tried out the express pass this year and for those who used it, please let me know what you think.


[/quote]
I loved the express pass. It made everything so much easier! I definitely hope you guys do it next year. My friends and I arrived around 3ish on Friday, so for us it was just a matter of finding the room to check in and for Saturday because we already had our passes they directed us to the door in the Sheraton/Mall area to wait. No line over there, it was just a matter of waiting for the door to open. My other friend was waiting in the reg line and he didn't have a fast pass so it took him about an hour to get out. (Nothing was open until 10 and we were there at 8 so we just sat and waited for him)

Considering the large volume of people I think it went really well as far as getting people in and out of the room! Like I said, fast passes were amazingly helpful.

I got there at around 10am on Friday, and I'd missed the pre-reg this year (oops!). The at-con reg line was only like, 45min to an hour wait, and I was ecstatic! I'd heard horror stories from last year, but this year completely eased my mind.

Only thing is, I never once got my badge checked by security! I almost felt as though I didn't really need the darn thing. But that's a different matter entirely.

I liked how the lanyard was thin, but at the same time, the way that it was contructed, the stupid metal piece kept popping out. I was so incredibly paranoid the entire weekend that I would lose my badge.

Other than that, totally awesome job Reg Team!

your all going to hate me... ready?
2 minutes
OKay so I forgot my ID at home so i went to the service desk and the girl was all like. "hey i just had your sister." and then she asked me for my badge name and wa-la all set! I feel so bad for those in linecon (at least it wasn't like last years!)

Last year it took my friend and I 9.5 hours.
This year it took me fifteen or twenty minutes on Thursday, and for her, about five minutes early Saturday morning.

Muchhhh better than last year, and we were able to enjoy more activities because of it. Keep up the good work.

Agreed the lines were smaller and quicker than last years.
Last year in Pre-Reg we waited for like 5 hours, this year in Pre-Reg was like 15 minutes. Good job AB. Oh but i also use the express pass whatever, that was helpful too. But they should've organized a line for that .

I guess Pre-reg was pretty much empty later on in the days.

The pre-registered line was so much easier than last year!
I went in at 2:30 Friday afternoon with my group of friends and it honestly took less than 10 minutes for all 6 of us to get our badges and get out.
The Easy-Pass system was so much easier than it was last year- I remember waiting in line for at least 2 hours just to get my pass, and it was not fun because I was in a bad mood from standing around the whole time...

My only issue was how big the names were written on the badges- I think thats already been mentioned, but it just kinda made me nervous knowing that people could clearly see my name...

Thanks for a easy pick-up this year!

Registration was a breeze but I had a question about the badge itself, I'm not sure it was covered.

Why does a person's real name even have to appear on the badge at all? The larger cons I attend (like Anime North) just have a space for you to write in whatever name you please. At pick-up, you show an ID and if you'd like to attend over-18 things, you get a sticker to put on your badge and then you don't have to card at the door. Any specific reason why Anime Boston has real names on the badges?

We have your real names on the badges so that in case anything happens to you and we need to contact someone to let them know, we're able to look you up in our database. Without your name, we wouldn't be able to determine who you are.

The size of your real name on the badge is something that will be changed in 2010. We are aiming to have it be the same size as the badge number.

I really liked how it was all handled. It took me and my friends maybe a few minutes to pick up our badges at pre registration. We were in shock for several minutes afterward XD

Well this year was my first convention, but from what I had heard from friends, I was expecting a long wait. Imagine when I got there and there was no line at all...it was a very pleasant surprise ^^

Pre-registered. Got there around 9:30ish and waited in line approximately 5 minutes.
It was amazing.
A friend I was with had forgotten to pre-reg and waited in line for about an hour or so. (No comparison to last year.)

This was definitely the fastest line I've been in at AB.

The one con I found about these badges was that my legal name was printed so largely.
Am Transgendered so using the correct bathroom with my still legal name showing in such huge lettering was a very awkward experience.
Not so much for me, but for others.
Ended up covering my name in stickers.
;]

I pre-registered online and got there a bit before it opened. I think we only had to stand in line for maybe 20 minutes at the most before going in, and I'd definately do it again so I can enjoy next year to the fullest too!

It was incredible (in this case meaning COMPLETE CREDIBLE FOR AWESOMENESS).

Last year I waited ten and a half hours, this year I waited ten and a half seconds... talk about a change for the better! XD

You know, on a different note, a quick question, for those of us who did panels this past AB, and were supposed to get refunds (they said it'd take a few months), how does that work again? Who do I talk to about that? (if neccesary)

Use the contact form and contact panels.

http://www.animeboston.com/about/contact/

Ok, thanks.

i arrived at the hynes at 7:00 am on firday stood in line for about 2 hours [1 hour outside and 1 hour inside] b/c i didn't preregrister
but i thought the lines went really fast[considering what i heard about the lines in 08]
when i got my badge some of my freinds who have pre-regristred haven't even gotten to the hynes yet so i was pretty happy
the badges looked very ... ehh i liked them b/c i kept mine under my corset it was soft so it didn't cause muuch discomfort but i didn't like the designs