sickkgirl Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) My views on Saturday... Dealers in the tents outside was ridiculous. Their stuff was getting wet and the rain made it all smell. I didn't even see it signposted until the end. Having the cosplay stage covering so much of the concourse and making everyone walk around the outside of it, tripping over it and wheelchairs trying to get past? Silly. Also having it closed off for long periods of time meaning you had to walk aaallll the way around the stadium to get to the other side. Took way too long. The security around that part were mean too. The type of ~men~ that were hanging around the sports section were rude and pervy. Seriously have a separate event for sports guests. Also, smelly people. Being so crowded you got pushed up against them, and ew. Edited June 14, 2015 by sickkgirl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannycarroll2007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 My views on Saturday... Dealers in the tents outside was ridiculous. Their stuff was getting wet and the rain made it all smell. I didn't even see it signposted until the end. Having the cosplay stage covering so much of the concourse and making everyone walk around the outside of it, tripping over it and wheelchairs trying to get past? Silly. Also having it closed off for long periods of time meaning you had to walk aaallll the way around the stadium to get to the other side. Took way too long. The security around that part were mean too. The type of ~men~ that were hanging around the sports section were rude and pervy. Seriously have a separate event for sports guests. Also, smelly people. Being so crowded you got pushed up against them, and ew. If you took the sports guests away from CM there would be no CM in my opinion. People that are there for the sports guests spend serious money. I spent £350 in 2 hours, not including the photos that were already paid for. There were people there spend thousands on sports guest, I guess that's why every show there's more and more of them. I'm sure there are people there for sports guest that get the hump with lurkers trying to push into or snapping mobile phone pictures around curtains 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzcostu007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 The only problem with sports guests and media guests are that sports attendees seem to be more business focused and you lose that friendly vibe. A few were talkative, but quite a few in line would barely talk. However you get a much more friendly vibe from people attending for media guests. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerie Tanith Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 As I was leaving and walked past the sports guests, one of them (I'm not entirely sure who because I'm not into sports, but he was American-- probably not a helpful detail) called out to me that he loved my cosplay, winked, and have me a thumbs up. Wish I remembered who it was because he seemed friendly enough. I want to say it was Christopher Daniels...? After checking the main site he's the one who looks most familiar. I'm really not sure. But yeah. I actually didn't have too hard a time getting through the sports section of the stadium, it was no worse than any other given area while busy. In my own experience anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzcostu007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I must admit I had nothing bad happen. I think wrestling attendees are similair to media IMO. It's just when your in line for the boxing and football guests there isn't the community feel of being in line for a media guests. But I still like being able to meet both types of guests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobd_uk Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I must admit I had nothing bad happen. I think wrestling attendees are similair to media IMO. It's just when your in line for the boxing and football guests there isn't the community feel of being in line for a media guests. But I still like being able to meet both types of guests. Depends on the individual, as always. Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire and Billy Bonds were very chatty with me and I really enjoyed meeting them. I did meet one other player who was much less so though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzcostu007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Sorry meant some of the people in line to meet the guests, not the guests themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobd_uk Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Sorry meant some of the people in line to meet the guests, not the guests themselves. Fair enough! I chatted to some people, but there were so many staff carrying 1980 West Ham tops (I'm assuming for the pre-orders) that I felt more like I was in a laundry than at a con! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannycarroll2007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Wrestlers are not sports guests, they're definitely actors lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzcostu007 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Shots fired lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerie Tanith Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 ...Well dayum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony1975 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 As I was leaving and walked past the sports guests, one of them (I'm not entirely sure who because I'm not into sports, but he was American-- probably not a helpful detail) called out to me that he loved my cosplay, winked, and have me a thumbs up. Wish I remembered who it was because he seemed friendly enough. I want to say it was Christopher Daniels...? After checking the main site he's the one who looks most familiar. I'm really not sure. But yeah. I actually didn't have too hard a time getting through the sports section of the stadium, it was no worse than any other given area while busy. In my own experience anyway. Probably was Christopher Daniels. I don't think there were any Amercian sports guests apart from the wrestlers and they do tend to be friendly. Unless they are in character as their bad guy image on the TV! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorwho11 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Just got home after my not-so-busy weekend at Collectormania. All of the six guests I met were very friendly and appeared to be enjoying themselves, which is always a good sign. I've got to give a special mention to Chad Coleman who was fantastic all weekend. I got my photo take with him as soon as I arrived and then went on to get a VQT for the autographs I wanted off him. I was very pleased to find out he was allowing table photos so that was an added bonus after I got everything I wanted signed. I hope to see him back at another event soon, as he was great with his fans and seemed like he was very much enjoying what I believe to be his first UK con (correct me if I'm wrong.) However, echoing what previous posters have said there were also a lot of problems that occurred this weekend, which I believe need to be addressed before the next show in Milton Keynes. First of all, only using the concourse was a ridiculous idea as it led to overcrowding of the majority of the way around the stadium, particularly near the Sports guests which was a nightmare to get through every time I had to. Please bring back the hall next year as there has never been this much of a problem at previous events. Continuing on from this, the dealer's tent was also majorly overcrowded with little room to move, let alone look for things to buy, and also the smell in there was disgusting. The dealers being in the hall worked so much better and I'm pretty sure all of them would have preferred it, as it wasn't a particularly pleasant environment. Finally, my main gripe this year was how the show appeared to be much more 'Sportsmania' than 'Collectormania.' All of the guests I met were great, as I said previously, but the media line up was particularly lacklustre compared to previous years due to the underwhelming amount of guests. If this event is going to be primarily aimed at Sports fans, then it needs to be advertised in that way, as I expected an equal turn out of media guests compared to previous years and was of course disappointed. Overall, I did enjoy meeting the guests who appealed to me but not as much the convention itself. I hope improvements are made for the next time Collectormania goes to Milton Keynes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony1975 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I must admit I had nothing bad happen. I think wrestling attendees are similair to media IMO. It's just when your in line for the boxing and football guests there isn't the community feel of being in line for a media guests. But I still like being able to meet both types of guests. Depends on the individual, as always. Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire and Billy Bonds were very chatty with me and I really enjoyed meeting them. I did meet one other player who was much less so though! Yeah I enjoy meeting both types as well. I found it very rushed when meeting Gazza. He barely looked up to see who he was signing for. He was I think the busiest guest on Saturday so I guess they were ensuring as many people got to see him as possible. Glad I met him just wish I had gotten to speak to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jediknight49 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 23rd Collectormania and still issues with the concourse, over crowding, bottle necks ect? At least the bus service was ok this year by the sounds of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinfromGA Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 How did the venue manage to get double-booked so that Collectormania was squished into a much smaller area than is usual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktimelord Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I was gutted to see it was back on the concourse this year, I'm not one to use the word hate very often but man I hate that concourse with a vengeance. The bottle necking is just ridiculous and the weather is always terrible which adds to a genuinely miserable feeling when stuck around loads of other people. On the other hand the guests I met were all fantastic. Sports and media I had great experiences. Special mention to Arsenal legend Ian Wright, Blake Foster and Nakia Burrise from Power Rangers who were all super friendly and great to talk to, I managed to get a few moments with Stuart Pearce, Peter Beardsley over in the sports area too and both were great. Has there been any official word as to why the concourse was used? I was hoping we had seen the back of it forever. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckee74 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Really enjoyed myself. Only went on the Saturday, decided against going today. For all the folks mentioning lack of media guests, I must be weird as I thought it was great - but then I guess if you don't like Game of Thrones and Star Wars there wasn't a lot. Luckily I do... That said, meeting William Sadler was also a life goal done. Having him add to my Shawshank poster was just wonderful. Everyone was very friendly. I don't take pictures with the guests but I was amazed to see how many guests were open to such requests. Yeah, the venue is cramped but for free entry I can't complain. It always seemed to bottleneck when one (of the very impressive) cosplayers walked by - the lady dressed from the character from Jupiter Ascending in particular deserves a mention. To echo previous comments, Alexandra Dowling is just wonderful. I think I may have fallen in love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 My Saturday : The Good. Accompanying (taxi driver) for one of the best cosplayers there Great reaction to my t-shirt (even had requests for photo's) Busy and lively event The Bad. Bottlenecks on the concourse and around the traders stalls The rain Finding a movie poster on a traders stall, thinking that is undervalued, umming and arring about getting it, not getting it, getting home to find it online at x4 - x5 the price. All in all - Great day out 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 On why the concourse was used and the double booking of the venue: I was speaking to some staff and was told that the venue had double booked the day. Other booking was for Toyota. Toyota needed to have cars on display so couldn't use the concourse themselves. Plus major company like Toyota is always going to be the prefered booking from the venue's point of view. As far as I can tell, Showmaster had two choices. 1) Cancel and rebook for another date. 2) Make the best of a bad job and utilise the concourse. I may have this completely wrong but this is what I was told in a passing conversation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabelly83 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I went saturday for the day and kinda glad i was only there one day. wasnt the best at all, had great experiences with the 2 guests i met and they were amazing so they made the day for me, so taking out the guest meetings, the show overall was pretty poor compared to the last MK show i was at. The layout on the concourse wasnt great, which a big part at the end was taken up with the cosplay stage..which also with it being on the concourse there wasnt anywhere to do any talks or q+a's, the guest list was very much lacking in media guests as many have said and the marquee where most of the stalls was was awful, was cramped most of the time so alot of people couldnt stop to have a look at certain times. overall i had great meetings with the guests but im glad it was free, driving from hull its nots an event i would have paid a high price for to get in. its gonna depend on the guests that attend next time if i even bother making the trip or just save my cash for other shows where they actually seem to put more into. Glad some other ppl had a good day though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickkgirl Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 My views on Saturday... Dealers in the tents outside was ridiculous. Their stuff was getting wet and the rain made it all smell. I didn't even see it signposted until the end. Having the cosplay stage covering so much of the concourse and making everyone walk around the outside of it, tripping over it and wheelchairs trying to get past? Silly. Also having it closed off for long periods of time meaning you had to walk aaallll the way around the stadium to get to the other side. Took way too long. The security around that part were mean too. The type of ~men~ that were hanging around the sports section were rude and pervy. Seriously have a separate event for sports guests. Also, smelly people. Being so crowded you got pushed up against them, and ew. If you took the sports guests away from CM there would be no CM in my opinion. People that are there for the sports guests spend serious money. I spent £350 in 2 hours, not including the photos that were already paid for. There were people there spend thousands on sports guest, I guess that's why every show there's more and more of them. I'm sure there are people there for sports guest that get the hump with lurkers trying to push into or snapping mobile phone pictures around curtains I said create a separate sporting event, not take away all sports guests from SM forever. That way everyone there is in the same boat in what they want. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickkgirl Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Also, what is bottle necks?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabelly83 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 The exact same feeling from me, great guest meetings and photos but the show itself was disappointing, glad it was free as i wouldnt have paid to go in yesterday! Just got home after my not-so-busy weekend at Collectormania. All of the six guests I met were very friendly and appeared to be enjoying themselves, which is always a good sign. I've got to give a special mention to Chad Coleman who was fantastic all weekend. I got my photo take with him as soon as I arrived and then went on to get a VQT for the autographs I wanted off him. I was very pleased to find out he was allowing table photos so that was an added bonus after I got everything I wanted signed. I hope to see him back at another event soon, as he was great with his fans and seemed like he was very much enjoying what I believe to be his first UK con (correct me if I'm wrong.) However, echoing what previous posters have said there were also a lot of problems that occurred this weekend, which I believe need to be addressed before the next show in Milton Keynes. First of all, only using the concourse was a ridiculous idea as it led to overcrowding of the majority of the way around the stadium, particularly near the Sports guests which was a nightmare to get through every time I had to. Please bring back the hall next year as there has never been this much of a problem at previous events. Continuing on from this, the dealer's tent was also majorly overcrowded with little room to move, let alone look for things to buy, and also the smell in there was disgusting. The dealers being in the hall worked so much better and I'm pretty sure all of them would have preferred it, as it wasn't a particularly pleasant environment. Finally, my main gripe this year was how the show appeared to be much more 'Sportsmania' than 'Collectormania.' All of the guests I met were great, as I said previously, but the media line up was particularly lacklustre compared to previous years due to the underwhelming amount of guests. If this event is going to be primarily aimed at Sports fans, then it needs to be advertised in that way, as I expected an equal turn out of media guests compared to previous years and was of course disappointed. Overall, I did enjoy meeting the guests who appealed to me but not as much the convention itself. I hope improvements are made for the next time Collectormania goes to Milton Keynes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveamyadams Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Just thought i'd add that Milton Keynes F C got promoted this year into the championship so thats why the ground and all its facilities are in need of being upgraded including the new hall which in future will be used as an indoor training base, its why alot of the seating was blocked off, and some parts of the concourse closed down so builders have access to boxes , bars, new exits and gangways and no football in the middle like we normally see because of new heating and pitch being relaid. The old room they used to use for dealers is being renovated so thats why they got mostly stuck outside in a tent or in sections of the concourse.The football allways gets priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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