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Anime Boston 2008 Purgatory

March 21st, 2008

Today we waited in line four hours to register for Anime Boston! Four hours! And we were pre-registered. It’s been 35 years since I attended my first fan convention, and I’ve never waited even half that long to get a badge. I won’t get into the details of exactly how registration is being handled, but it’s completely bogus. We left the Hynes Convention Center after 8 pm, and it appeared that people were still waiting in the registration line!

Filed under: All Posts, Animé, Life with Pratts

8 Comments

  • 1. jeanie beanie  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 6:57 am

    Well, that’s life in the big city! Molly said she’d wait FORTY hours if only she could get in (well, that’s a kid exaggerating). Meanwhile, we woke up to six inches of snow, and it’s still falling! “I’m Dreaming … of a WHITE EASTER!”

    Maybe you could … pick up small token for .. honorable cousin and niece Molly-can?

  • 2. Marianne  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 9:13 am

    Katie says there are postings in the animeboston.com forums saying that some people who were not pre-registered waited 10 hours. Why is beyond me. Life is too short. If I hadn’t paid in advance, I would have left to enjoy some other attraction in the city. But then, I doubt Katie and Sarah would have allowed that.

  • 3. Anonymous  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm

    Molly has informed me that I should have called her “Molly-san.” Molly-cun” is affectionate term for a boy.

  • 4. DOuG pRATt  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    … and guess what? Your name is anonymous again. If your cookie file gets deleted, you’ll have to enter your name every time.

    “Small token” has been obtained. Will mail it on Monday. I *think* it’s a good find, but Molly will be the judge of that.

  • 5. Thomas  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    I waited in line for 6 hours non- pre- reg on Sat. starting at 1pm…. I heard others waited 10+ hours. I stood in 3 different lines. And when I finally got to the end, the day was gone and the dealer’s room was closed.

    Then they told me I couldn’t register for Sunday and would have to wait in line Sunday… I talked to the head of registration and they gave me a “note” that says I can cut line on Sunday to register…

    Totally asinine.

  • 6. DOuG pRATt  |  March 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm

    That’s what happened to us — by the time we were through with registering on Friday, the dealer’s room was about to close.

    On the Anime Boston forums, this message was posted this morning. From your experience, Thomas, it seems nothing that was done to make Saturday better than Friday did any good:

    To all of our attendees:

    Everyone here at Anime Boston is deeply apologetic about the high wait times for Registration. After analysis of last years registration process, we attempted to optimize it but it backfired.

    We under estimated the time it would take for our attendees to input data into the self serve terminals. In turn, this increased the wait times for anyone processing through that queue.

    We kept registration open beyond its standard closing hours to process anyone who was left in the queue on Friday. We also allowed attendees to register for a Saturday-only badge, but still attend the convention on Friday.

    To fix the immediate issues, the Registration staff, as well as a few valiant volunteers, reconfigured the Registration room until approximately three o’clock in the morning.

    In response, we have:

    1) Added 6 new registration terminals, increasing the efficiency of the room by nearly 66 percent.

    2) Each terminal is now staffed and all self-service terminals have been removed.

    3) Reconfigured the queue for registration.

    4) Tripled the number of terminals dedicated to at-con registration.

    5) During the day on Friday, streamlined and reprogrammed the registration system to increase its internal efficiency.

    Again we are deeply apologetic for the waits and those that we had to turn away and we’re extremely grateful for your patience with us as we attempt make Anime Boston the best convention in New England.

    Tuan N. Pham
    2008/2007 Director of Public Relations
    2006 Publications Manager
    2005 Newsletter Editor

  • 7. jeanie beanie  |  March 24th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    You know what this fiasco reminds me of? The few times I’ve been to Atlantic City, with my ex-husband. When you go to a show or certain “high roller” areas of a casino, there are several different lines.When we went to see Joan Rivers (right before her husband killed himself, incidentally), they were holding us back and letting all the “high rollers” through first. And Bill had paid for the top seats! These guys didn’t have to show anything, not a ticket nor a button nor ANYTHING. The guys at the door just knew them by name or face recognition!

    I hope that Tuan N. Pham is truly emPHAMetically sorry for what he has done! A most dishonorable mistake, not soon to be forgotten by honorable American anime fans!

  • 8. DOuG pRATt  |  March 24th, 2008 at 8:13 pm

    Well, it wasn’t like that, except in the sense there was a long wait. Nobody cut in line or got special privileges at the expense of others. It was just a lousy job of logistics.

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