183 replies to this topic

[sagart]

zeezack, on Jun 8 2009, 10:20 AM, said:

I'm sorry, I attended the convention on sunday. Although its good to be able to get autographs and it does make a change to a boring weekend I do have some problems with the whole setup... not just the collectormania but also the london comic con etc...

Not only did me and my friend get to the stadium to queue for Nimoy at 7. Waiting 3 hours in cold...it took us until 2p.m. to see the guy. I had ticket number 2 and had to wait not only for his lunch break to finish but for him to disappear and cash in on more photographs.

- Is there a time table of HOW long photoshoots last, when actors go to lunch, how long their lunch is. Could you guys also try to realisitcally estimate how long photoshoots will go for, learn when to stop taking photos so actors can return to their booths etc...is it really fair to keep other paid customers waiting an hour in a que.

It took you till 2pm to see Leonard? And you had ticket number 2!?! Did he only start signing at 2pm? Or was that when you turned up to his signing booth?

[Psychosis]

sagart, I fell for it too at first, but in this case zeezack has been caught up telling lies in the other thread and confusing his story when proven wrong, so take it with a pinch of salt.

[scruffy]

There were always going to be teething problems at a temp venue which is a shame but I am not sure some people need to linger on about  that , just be thankful CM MK will have a future.
The focus should now be on the new venue, new hotel and there is no doubt it will all be better by then.

Doesnt matter how many road signs you put up , there will always be someone coming from a different direction that didnt see them , best idea is directions from multimap printed out then look for a BIG footy stadium  

Oh and Zeezack isnt it strange you joined yesterday and your first post was the exact same as the one above

Edited by scruffy, 08 June 2009 - 09:50 AM.

[sagart]

Psychosis, on Jun 8 2009, 10:36 AM, said:

sagart, I fell for it too at first, but in this case zeezack has been caught up telling lies in the other thread and confusing his story when proven wrong, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Thanks for that.   Man, these people really p#ss me off.

[hammersgirl7573]

I went along on Sunday with my husband, we got there at about midday but I didn't find it cold at all, i'm to be honest quite perplexed about the comments saying it was freezing!?!  

Anyhow, we should have got there much earlier as it was too crowded for my liking to have a good browse around, especially the dealer room, the sheer volume in there made it impossible to stop and stand and look around.  

Being in a football stadium my husband was really disappointed at the lack of sports stars especially the football players.  In comparison to the event at the Ricoh stadium last November this was a very poor turn out.

However, he was thrilled to meet Sir Geoff again and had a nice ten minute chat with him, unfortunately Martin Peter's wife had a fall that morning so he opted understandably to stay at home with her.  Gordon banks unforunately spelt his name wrong on a photo and he particulary wanted to meet Sir Henry Cooper, and as we were ready to leave once obtaining his autograph we then had to wait an hour and a half to Mr Cooper to return, but with very few other football/sports guests to meet we and many others were very bored just hanging around waiting for him to return.

If i'm honest we don't go to these events for the Sci-fi guests and most of them we hadn't even heard of, but judging by the amount of people dressed up it seems a lot of people had a great time.

[Psychosis]

hammersgirl7573, on Jun 8 2009, 11:29 AM, said:

I went along on Sunday with my husband, we got there at about midday but I didn't find it cold at all, i'm to be honest quite perplexed about the comments saying it was freezing!?!  

That's because the sun came out at Sunday dinnertime. Which was quite annoying when I was going HOME at Sunday dinnertime, having suffered through all of Friday, all of Saturday, and Sunday morning especially, being a drowned rat/icicle.

Edited by Psychosis, 08 June 2009 - 10:42 AM.

[Lizzy]

Zeezack is a troll, end of. And I think the other organisers are pathetic and there is a reason I never attend their events. Ffs, you act like you're a 12 year old girl playing games to win the hot boy of the class- you're grown men running a "respectable" business- learn to act that way!!

showmasters, on Jun 8 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

this was always a temporary venue and we know it would not be finished till next year , but buy then we will be in a new massive Olympic hall located right next to photo ops "A" ,for the people in line in the photo ops over the weekend may have see as they looked down the stairs  you could have seen the black marble wall going down stars,  at the bottom is were the main doors for this new hall is, and its a  massive 3000 meter Olympic hall,

I saw it and wondered where it led and if I would be told off for sneaking a look I have sniffles from the weather, but looking forward to seeing the new hall, which will be amazing! Is that why there's only 1 event this year as it won't be ready in time?

showmasters, on Jun 8 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

2 Road signage and directions

this did not get resolved before the event as we did hit some issues , we needed to get Permission to put up big banners and road signs pointing the way to the venue , we now know we needed to put in for Permission months before so there will be AA signs directing people to the show next time.

as to the signage at the vent its self we did need much more and much bigger it is only when you are there and working the event did we find out how big the place was and that the signage needed to be much more and bigger so this will be covered and fixed for the next event.

I saw the same sole sign as Nicky and got very confused. Asked for directions twice! Partly my fault as I hadn't updated TomTom

showmasters, on Jun 8 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

3 buses

these did work well on the day but they were very full all weekend, we needed more of them and more signage at the pick up points and times were they are and also times at the drop of points as well.

we will also run them for a bit longer as well , these did cost us quit a bit but we want to make it easy for you all so its well worth it so this service will be increased.

Can I add that at the Holiday Inn, a fair few people were asking for directions to the stops, and reception were stumped so I had to help... Perhaps it may be good to give the main hotels directions so they can assist in future?

I had a great time Jason, and the weather was just a good convo starter with the guests!

Edited by Lizzy, 08 June 2009 - 10:51 AM.

[domino]

I went to Ikea for lunch and it was fantastic value for money! Yeah the walk is a little further than ASDA but looking at the queue in there and the prices, Ikea was the better option.
Me and my mum both got a hotdog, portion of chips and refillable drinks for £1.80 each!!!
2 Doughnuts and a hot drink was only 90p.
It was a bargain and didnt taste half bad.

[doghouse]

Virtual Queuing for photo shoots?
The queues for the photo shoots (Nimoy in particular) was a shambles. One of the CM staff kept on shouting at people with the "wrong colour ticket" to go away, and didn't give much other information. There wasn't even a 'ribbon' to ensure that the snaking queue didn't clog up the place! Surely a stadium must have knowledge and equipment for setting up queues efficiently?

Why don't photo shoot tickets double up a a virtual queue ticket too? It'll encourage people to order on line if it gets them a lower number!!!

[Psychosis]

doghouse, on Jun 8 2009, 11:55 AM, said:

Virtual Queuing for photo shoots?
The queues for the photo shoots (Nimoy in particular) was a shambles. One of the CM staff kept on shouting at people with the "wrong colour ticket" to go away, and didn't give much other information. There wasn't even a 'ribbon' to ensure that the snaking queue didn't clog up the place! Surely a stadium must have knowledge and equipment for setting up queues efficiently?

Why don't photo shoot tickets double up a a virtual queue ticket too? It'll encourage people to order on line if it gets them a lower number!!!

They did. The colour codes WERE the equivalent of a VT. People who ordered on line typically got a blue ticket which meant that they could go first.

[Lizzy]

Huh? There were lots of signs up everywhere saying what order ticket colours were meant to be in. The queue was positioned in a zig zag. The guy kept shouting it out as there were people just waiting to pounce on the queue when they were called, and it was getting hectic. I don't see how it was a shambles

[mooby81]

There were signs up on the wall outside the photo area saying which order the tickets would be called in. I think it was Blue, Yellow, Red, Green...or something like that. The Crew managing the queue were calling people up by colour of ticket eg "If you have a blue ticket...please join the queue". It just meant there wasn't hundreds of people in the queue at the one time. The reason it was busy around that area and quite clogged up was people with all coloured tickets were in the area waiting to joining the queue. Well that was my experience for Saturday's Nathan photo shoot

[DavidB]

Yeah, it's always been a problem telling people "please come back in 15 minutes" or whatever wherever we've held an event - whether it's for photo shoots, or virtual queue ticketing etc.

A lot of people want to wait near the area because they believe they're going to miss out if they don't. So this then clogs up the area and becomes a bit problematic.

It was always worst in the centre when people wouldn't move away from the ends of the queues because they were 'allowed to stand wherever they wanted' etc. You can only do so much, and ask so politely ..

[Bohan_]

I had fun at the show as always but have to say that the stadium is totally hideous, it is totally grey and black which just creates a rather depressing atmosphere.  But then I guess that does ensure that it fits in with the general look of the whole Milton Keynes area   Looking forward to the next one and to see improvements made.

[Vickie M]

hammersgirl7573, on Jun 8 2009, 11:29 AM, said:

he particulary wanted to meet Sir Henry Cooper, and as we were ready to leave once obtaining his autograph we then had to wait an hour and a half to Mr Cooper to return, but with very few other football/sports guests to meet we and many others were very bored just hanging around waiting for him to return.

Hello :)
The people who were there with Sir Henry Cooper and taking care of him seemed concerned about him as it was extremely cold for him. For people wandering round it may not have felt so cold, but sitting there still and at 75 years old I'm sure he felt it much more than most others.
He was gone for around an hour and fifteen minutes for lunch and to warm up and in all honesty, he needed that time to warm up, I myself was even concerned about him.
I think it's just unfortunate timing that you were ready to leave when Sir Henry had a much needed break.
:)

[WILLOW99]

Just want to say thanks for a fantastic day yesterday.
Me and my sister absolutely loved it and thought it was well work the 5 hr round trip that we did. I've been wanting to meet Nathan Fillion for a long time so thanks again.

[Clara]

Dear Jason,

Thank you very much for your honest and detailed explanatory post, I appreciate that.

From a person who wasn't going to come at first after a guest cancelled, I have to say I REALLY ENJOYED my day despite the teething troubles.
I was under no illusion that moving to a venue like this would throw up some problems and it seems there were some and I'm sorry for all those that had a negative experience, but I have to say I wasn't one of them; here is my (hopefully fair & honest) impression:

The signage around MK is rubbish but I think it always has been - I found the venue by myself with no problem after working out where it was on a postcode finder site and using and old-fashioned road map and coming from someone who gets lost going to my post office, I think this will remain a crowning achievement of the weekend, lol. (However, one of my friends did get lost for an hour in MK trying to find it)
I parked with no problem (though that was @ 8am on the Saturday)
I found Ben Browder's queue with no problem; I knew where Leonard Nimoy's queue was because one of your team came to tell my queue twice in case anyone was standing in the wrong place (which they were, so thanks to that staff member, hopefully they got good tickets).
Yes, it was cold & raining, but I don't think even SM can change the weather, lol. (Thanks to the Friday peeps that posted about that on the forum; I changed what I was going to wear and was fine with my scarf & gloves, lol)
We were let in at 9am as promised, walking along the concourse to the Virtual Ticket 'dispenser' was difficult for my friend who has back trouble but we still got reasonable auto tickets for Ben, which was super because I was getting something signed for a charity and was really hoping I would be lucky.

I then left my friend sitting on one those handy wee plastic tip up seats situated on the top of the main seating so she could rest and scampered along to the Leonard queue, never thinking that I would be lucky and that the VTQ would be closed... no! It wasn't! I got a ticket! WoooHooo!!

Some of my experiences based on your comments:
I always take my own food as I'm a veggie but got a nice cuppa tea from one of the kiosks from a polite young man (now THAT makes me sound old, lol) and didn't have to wait too long at all.
The SM staff, at least everyone that I came across, was knowledgeable, helpful yet friendly - THANK YOU SM staff, all of you.
The Cosplay peeps were FANTASTIC, and thanks to the peeps that brought the Stargate costumes.
Personally I didn't have an issue with Mr Nimoy's security; I see some others did, shame about that; I hope that Leonard felt safe enough in the UK to maybe come again.

Yes, the dealer's room was crowded but no worse than the shopping centre and at least it was warm, lol.
Shame about the talks but it really was far too cold to expect the guests to stand out in the open, darn the British weather - it was even raining *IN*side, lol.
The fun fair was cancelled due to the weather? Sorry to be selfish folks, but that didn't personally bother me in the slightest.
Photo pick-up - yes, we were was kept waiting for a while, but we tried to make light of it and I had no idea you guys had to run to Boots to get this done, what a pain for you - but maybe something in-house can be arranged for next year when you have better facilities? Boots should come to you! (BTW, none of us liked being 'ogled' when  at by the next 'customers' in the photo queue, if you are looking for comments for next year & if you don't mind me saying)

Lastly, the guests; everyone I met was lovely, even Mr Nimoy who seemed tired (I mean to say, the gentlemen is a very senior citizen who deserves personal care and attention, IMHO) who didn't speak (again through tiredness I think) but gave me a lovely smile when he signed my poster (despite me babbling like an idiot as usual). I spent much more money than I ever have done (okay, some was for other people and charities, but also for me - YES) and I did have a super time.

From what you say, Jason, the event attendance was a success and I'm chuffed for you all and reading about what you say for next year's event "a massive 3000 meter Olympic hall + food outlets + hotel accommodation" at what will be a top class venue - WOW, BRING IT ON AND GOOD LUCK!

Heck, I didn't mean to waffle on like that lol, basically, it was FAB and I'll Be Back  
*breathes*

Clara x

[Count Fooku]

showmasters, on Jun 8 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

as from Nov there is going to be a MC D's , KFC and pizza hut  right out side dour 4

Fabulous, that's breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted out right there!

[shaz xx]

Attended C15 and on the whole had a good time.

Got a little lost looking for venue but arrived safe and sound only to walk in right by Nathan Fillion who had just got back to signing and as no-one was there he asked to put 20 people through. Joy of joy grabbed my sister and friend and there we were having a pic signed, no waiting that has to be a first for us  

The feel of the venue was ok but just didnt have the buzz that it did at the centre maybe because it was so spread out.
One of the comments from a guest who was signing was its like being in a shooting gallery!! the set up for the busy guest was good but the not so busy sat there down at the bottom of a tunnel all they saw were people walking pass all day.

Food we took our own.

Photo tickets - actually really dissapointed with what happened as i ordered my Nathan tickets 2 weeks before event, contacted yourselves by email only to find that all emails had been answered but not mine !!and if you did not received tickets to bring proof.
There was no problem getting the tickets but of course it was the pink paper tickets which meant that we were the last to go through for the photo I just wonder what colour i would have had if it was posted  

What a professional (Leonard Nimoy) he signed over 1000 autographs in 1 day. i thought that it was going to be so rushed through but when i got there he shook my hand, made eye contact and made a nice comment about the canvas painting that i did which he signed for me, said it was nice to met me with more eye contact. It was a pleaure meeting him.
That was the high of meeting a guest the low was Philip Glenister so quick no eye contact, i put my hand out to say thanks for the auto and that was when he looked up.

The cos-play peeps were great especially spiderman which later on sunday we actually saw what he looked like without his costume  

Also maybe for the next event we could have more of a varity of dealers, i think there may have been to many photographs stalls, would of loved more comic stalls please.

I know there is a few bad points but you all did a great job it must have been hard to organise it in a new venue but we really need to get the buzz back and for it to feel a little more relaxed. Iwas with my mates had a right giggle at times and we did enjoy but really looking forward to it being in the new place next year  

[zebredy]

Count Fooku, on Jun 8 2009, 01:05 PM, said:

showmasters, on Jun 8 2009, 07:54 AM, said:

as from Nov there is going to be a MC D's , KFC and pizza hut right out side dour 4

Fabulous, that's breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted out right there!

Still cheaper to bring your own food, plus you also know whats in it, though they seem like better options then whats there at the moment, and I used to recall that at the MK shopping centre Pizza Hut was always really busy when an event was on, so sure there will be a lot of people really happy about this, especially a few of my friends who we met up with at the event.....

Then again I am trying to loose weight, for my own health more then anything, (maybe thats why I think pack lunches are better just MO)I have nearly lost a stone, may not seem much but its a lots for me. Plus my hubby who is diabetic and really OW is doing even better then me, and I'm really proud of him Glad we have such supportive friends, he was over the moon when he got under 18St for the first time in over 5 years and Im really really proud of him (like I said)

I jus object to going to these events that are held in stadiums and what not (like the show I saw at the O2) how can these companies justify there prices (thats right cause there always seems to be someone out there willing to pay those sorts of prices) Over £6 for hotdog and chips, what a rip off..






  
LLAP