365 replies to this topic

[DavidB]

This will be easier for the organisers to read and address if it's all kept in one topic.

I know from talking to many attendees over the weekend that there's various things you've all loved and some you felt could be improved. So please feel free to put your views across, and I know that Mark and Jason will take them on board wherever possible.

To get the ball rolling, my own personal experiences:

Guests
Fantastic talks, and some friendly interaction from some that I saw at the parties.

Highlights for me were Jamie and Christopher, who seemed extremely comfortable and made the talks what they were. Not sure if Jamie was just nervous and not thinking before he talked, but it certainly made for some interesting moments! And Christopher was just a legend in every sense, and a fantastic entertainer.

But I have to say they all seemed friendly, enthusiastic and humbled by the experience. I thought it was great that they all said thank you to the staff and to the attendees, and while there will always be stand-out guests, I do feel they were all certainly worth having along to the event.

Venue
Personally I can probably sum it up as a very nice venue but perhaps too big.

I understand that the Park Inn would have issues coping with the number of attendees, but it'd be perfect if we had a happy medium between there and the Hilton I think. Everything was fairly spread out, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that got bored of walking a lot and getting lost. It did lose a certain sense of intimacy, but I realise that sometimes you have to sacrifice that so you don't get overcrowding and everyone being uncomfortable etc. It's a VERY tricky balance, and there's probably not a perfect venue!

Parties
I thought the music was decent enough, and had a good selection of popular music and party stuff too. I preferred the order of the music on Friday night, as the dancey/party songs came too early in the night on Saturday and people weren't drunk enough yet lol but I loved the games on the Saturday night.

I wasn't too convinced by the smoke machine, and the room was VERY big and dark. I would've liked to be able to find my friends etc in the room, but it really was near impossible which was a shame. Most of the time I'd just have to find them just outside the room on the off-chance they were there.

I did manage to speak to Christopher a bit at the Saturday night party, but I did feel some of the attendees were crowding him and being very rude and inconsiderate. I must say this was only a VERY small amount of attendees, but I just hope it didn't spoil it for everyone else.

Attendees
Having spoken to so many of you online, it's always a wonderful weekend to be able to catch up with new and old friends, and make new ones too. So I know that most of you are fantastic people who are there to have a great time, and that the majority won't cause problems. There will always be those who look out for number 1 and they're never going to listen, but I hope they don't ruin the event for anyone.

I do genuinely hope everyone had a really great weekend, and I'm looking forward to the next one already

[xxobsessedxx]

I think one of the bad points what stood out for me from the very start was the Dealers Room the stuff in their was fine, their just seemed to be a lack of it. Now this may be because the room was so much bigger than at Northampton making it seem very empty or because their were less things or both. But yeah it just seemed kinda empty.

Urmm also was it just me or was Tinsel Korey not with the other names on the program thing =/

I'll edit some stuff in tomorrow, which may actually make sense

[jess8619]

I'll try my best with feedback   :

Guests ~

Everyone was amazing. Jamie's talk on his own was definately my favourite and he was geuinely so nice. Kiowa seemed a bit overwhelmed to begin with but seemed to relax more during talks, especially with Tinsel and came out with some great one liners.

Venue ~

The venue was huge, when I first arrived I couldn't find registration for about 10 minutes so I think maybe a few more signs could've been helpful. It did feel a lot less claustrophobic and it was a really nice hotel.
I thought the talks (and party) hall was really nice and big, and great to run around in in the early hours.  


Parties ~

I only went to Friday and Saturday. Saturday's was probably the best as it seemed a lot more relaxed and the fair ground games were fun.


I didn't really have a problem with any of the attendees.

Aha, that was a bit of a rubbish feedback.

[LilylovesEdwardCullen]

I thought everything was great especially Jamie! Butt the only thing was the Gold pass drinks reception not being very well organized.

[fran cullen]

I loved most of the guests. Jamie is a complete charmer and it was a great oppurtunity for fans of Supernatural to meet Christopher (please get him for road house!)

PLEASE can we have the Park Inn back?! I miss it sooo much! The Hilton is WAAAY to big, I couldn't find anyone and I got lost so many times! I felt there wasn't as much atmosphere as the other cons as all the fans were spread out!

The parties were ok, some good music was played near the end of the night- little less GaGa- more rock! Haha, the smoke machine actually filled my lungs and made my eyes run!

I really was pleased with all the attendees this time, no screaming (thankgod)

It was a really good event, definatley need to get my ET4 ticket- just miss the atmosphere from the Park Inn at Et1/ 2

Also, the crew were really brilliant this time, so much more relaxed than other events!

Edited by fran cullen, 21 February 2010 - 11:27 PM.

[BeckiUK]

I think the weekend was amazing.

VENUE
Personally I loved the fact that the venue is big and spread out. The sheer volume of people and photo shoots and signings goin on at the same
time... I was so glad we weren't all crammed together.  And what exactly do people want? Their rooms to be right next door where you need to be?  All the noise while you sleep... it was litterally less than a minutes walk from the hall to the furthest photoshoot.  Bit silly to complain about that dont you think? Personal preference i suppose!


GOLD EXPERIENCE
Personally after paying for gold I have to say I didn't enjoy the drinks reception that much. I couldn't hear any of the guests and they deffo couldn't hear me hence chris thinking I wanted a milkman ?:s! It was very crammed and not enough room to experience the guest being there and also way too dark.        The one time me and my friends had a guest walk over to our side he got moved after like 2mins to the otherside where we all couldnt hear him so... i dont think that expience was fairly done.


GUEST LIST
The guest list was a fab mixture and just like everyone else i completely ended up adoring Jamie Campbell-Bower who was a joy to talk and listen to and very genuine. Chris was also a huge highlight of weekend and they both had amazing banter :)... would be delighted to see both again!

so perfect venue... Amazing guests = one happy attendee overall.  Thanks to everyone that made it possible :)

Edited by BeckiUK, 22 February 2010 - 10:54 AM.

[RileyDoll]

I really need to start posting on here! lol.

Good points;
The guests were fantastic. Great personalities,amazing presence and really tried hard to make it a good weekend for everyone. Not to mention their all very easy on the eyes haha.

Having more space worked out great! The dancefloor was crowded every night but I never felt overwhelmed and it was awesome to have space to actually sit around and leave stuff whilst dancing.

The crew are all fantastic and I loved trying to speak to as many of them as possible :) Got a smile on their faces most of the time and,just in case she sees this,I LOVE YOU PRINCESS HANNAH!

I ended up really loving the party themes in the end,although I did find the Civil War theme a challenge I managed to throw something together in the end.

Bad Points;

Repetitive music. Left the Newborn Vamp Party early,even though I thought it would've been my favourite,simply because the DJ was just playing songs that had been repeated on Friday and Saturday.

Not much to do between signings and such. There could be some small activities to go on earlier in the day maybe? Especially when a lot of us had like 9am starts for photoshoots or autograph sessions lol.

The food situation at the Hilton was pretty bad. It was disgustingly expensive I have to say. And after spending so much money on a ticket & accomodation it's not exactly the best situation to be in unless (like some I seemed to notice at the con) you're absolutely minted. And with the price of tickets having gone up for ET4 then it's more money to lose? lol. The Twilight Food Court was the only reasonable place to eat to be honest.

Finding out there wasn't an ET2 DVD =[

It was an absolutely UHMAZING weekend <3 It was my second con and i've already got my ticket to ET4 I can't wait! Thanks to everyone that made this weekend possible!!!

[InYourHonour]

I enjoy giving feedback, especially when its good.
The guests were all brilliant, each of them was very good, and Jamie was incredible - pure inspiration of a signing for the event - please have him back haha
I actually quite like then venue. As said above, with so many people there needs to be room for everything to go on at once - and this venue is brilliant for that. Admittedly there isnt much to do whilst you're waiting around, but if you make a friend or two, that takes up the time perfectly well.
Attendees - this was my first Twilight con, and the first con i went to by myself, and i was really impressed with the guests. There was some screaming at the opening ceremony, but after the reminder on saturday before the talks it never happened again, and i was very impressed. The number of attendees helped create a brilliant atmosphere.
Overall, of all the cons i've been to - this was my favourite

[kegan5]

Guests

Well I have to say I really enjoyed these guests, they weren't afraid to get in on the fun and were also very honest in the talks which is always appreciated :).


Venue

I think it was necessary to move to a bigger hotel, but like David said it's far too big and does become very impersonal...pros and cons I guess.

Having the twilight food room was fantastic too, choice of food wasn't great but to be able to eat without having to take a mortgage out was a blessing :)


Parties

Weeellll they played hoedown throwdown so clearly it was epic.

Attendees

Attendees? They're all lovely x

[InYourHonour]

Yes the Twilight foodcourt was fantastic too :)

[Lisa090982]

Typing on my iPhone so will have to give more indepth feedback tonight when I get home. I have many fantastic moments which I will share and post about but my only real downsides that I'd ask ME to rethink the gold pass drinks reception. The room needed to be bigger, better lit and bigger tables. Too many people were bunched together in a small room.....

And someone else has already said this but I think the party room was way too dark.... Nightmare to see in there.... Could have just put the lights on very dim....

Aside from that, I'm very happy :) awesome weekend, awesome guests, made some great new friends and caught up with old friends....

[JaneDoe]

If I were to put the 3 Twilight cons in order, sadly it would ...ET2, ET1, ET3!



Personally I felt the venue was too big! It was great that we weren't all crowded on top of each other but I was shattered walking the miles around the corridors. Because of this I didn't see much of the people I know. However, saying that and as much as I like the intimacy of the Park Inn, this event has out grown it so I am inclined to agree with David by thinking something in between would be better. My main issue with this venue was the cost of everything. £4.10 for a small latte and it wasn't that great! Pizza, chips and a coke was nearly £14. The Twilight eating room was great but with limited choice, I didn't want to keep going back there. My biggest issue was parking. I didn't stay in the Hilton so parking set me back £24. I was cross about this because I actually emailed the Hilton a few weeks ago asking how much it would be and they told me £7 a day. I told the reception staff this but because I wasn't a registered guest they said no. Really wish I had taken the email with me now...still next time.

The party was really dark and the use of the smoke machine was a bit...over the top but I thought the music was great. I heard that the guests or at least some of them came on Saturday night. I saw Christopher earlier but he was getting crowded a bit so stayed away. We left at midnight because I have a teenage daughter so it would have been nice if Charlie etc had popped in a bit earlier for their benefit. I liked how at ET2 they went from table to table, I think that would have been nice this time.

By far the best best guests in the talks were Jamie and Christopher, Jamies solo talk was the highlight of the weekend for me. Tinsel came a close 3rd. Charlie was great at the photoshoots and signings and poor Kiowa looked as though we were keeping him from a deceent nap but perhaps he was a little shy and over whelmed by it all! On the whole they were all lovely!

The main thing that spoiled things for me was....me! Note to self, leave the Jack Daniels alone!!!  

[EmmaWebb6]

This was my first twilight con and myself and daughter had a fantastic time. The guests were great, we were particularly impressed by Christopher as we didn' t really know of him other than being Marcus, he was so friendly and very entertaining at the talks. We were especially lucky as we were given a room upgrade as ours wasn't ready and ended up seeing the guests on our floor, in the lift and at breakfast time which was a huge added bonus   Everyone was very helpful, people were friendly and loved all the talks, so funny. Can't wait till ET4, very pleased Alex Meraz will be there as couldn't afford to get photo op or auto when he was at Lfcc. All in all as my youngest daughter said, it was a crackalackin weekend!

[Sue S]

I have been to all 3 conventions now and booked for ET4 back in January - I would like to say thanks to Jason, Mark and the team for yet another super dooper weekend - they are the highlight of my year and I have never been disappointed

This year was the first time I have gone for Silver and I would like to also say thank you to Malcolm and I think it was DJ (sorry if wrong) for taking really good pictures of me, I can even look at them - its great!!

I loved the hotel even though it was a bit big - but the staff were lovely and really helpful - yes the food was expensive and the food in the Twilight Food Hall a bit plain - we sneaked of to Weatherspoons in the NEC for food - it was really tasty - so I was happy

Could we have a cheaper tea/coffe option next time if possible, as being of the older generation sometimes we just need a good pot of tea in the lounge rather than have to sit in our room

The Photo shoot queues moved really fast and the autograph queue was somethimes slow but what the hec it is the perfect time to start talking to the people in the queue with you - so not really a downer

All the quests were really great although I did worry on a motherly level about poor Kiowa who did seem, as others have said, overwhelmed.

The only thing that had me worried all weekend is that sometimes I wish someone would jump in and save the quests when they are asked a question that they really do not want to answer - I hate to see them squirm - I want them to have a good time too

Other than that my only suggestion is can we have a vampire ball again, the costumes were fab

See you all in October

[twin of an angel]

Ok here we go.

Good points
The guests were awsome and always sweet and nice and happy to talk. They were all really good in the talks, but the jamie talk had to be the best (even if I was sat half a million rows back) they all made us laugh and I over chris' glaring at people - so funny.
The photo shoots were very well managed so everyone was able to get they wanted quickly. The staff worked well to make them run smoothly and I think the quick bag drop off works well as you know your stuff is in the same room as you are.
The dealers room felt a little empty but that's only because it was in such a big room. There was a wide selection of items there at very good prices, they were all appropriate for the event. All of the sales people were very nice and helpful all the way through the event.
I loved loved loved john's clothes collection. It was so cool to look at all the clothes from the two movies and even some eclipse ones. John himself was very easy to talk to and was happy to explain any of the pieces that he owns or has created as a very close match for the hillywood show. I really enjoyed watching the hillywood show during his talk and would love to have them for an event, the rest of john's talk was funny and enjoyable.
I liked the fact that in the venue they didn't have to take all the chairs away for the guest signings which saved time between them even if they did have to do so for the parties but that was a time for eating and getting ready. Honestly, I didn't kind the big venue or the walking around to get to places, it meant that there was more space to move around in.
The staff in general were helpful and all up for a laugh they made the event work. Everything ran smooth enough and that was due to the effort that all the staff put up in set up so thankyou for that.

Bad points
chris' autographs on the Sunday were rushed so I didn't get any personalization, not even a name written. I mean how long does it take to write 'rebecca' on a piece of paper. I understand that they had a lot of people to get through but everyone who had their auto on the Saturday got a personalization. I thank chris so much for apologizing to us during his talk as it wasn't his fault at all.
The smoke at the parties was BAD! It got in my lungs and was very uncomfortable, my eyes stung from it and honestly the taste made me feel sick. It meant that it was impossible to find anyone in the party room especially as it was dark.


Overall it was a very well run event and i loved it, there were a lot of very good poins compared to a small amount of things that could be improved on. Thanks SM for an amazing weekend yet again.

[Ballet]

ok.. I will have a go...

Good points:

My daughter and I had a real good time.

I really enjoyed the parties on friday and Saturday.. the carnival games were ace! and my daughter had fun being able to have something to do at the dance as well as the bouncy castle!!! that would be nice to have again..

I was happy about not being crowded.. but the venue as said above is a bit too big..

the guests were excellent.. I found each of them very down to earth. My daughter and I really enjoyed our guest encounter with Kiowa.. Thanks to Jason and Mark and all their crew for a job well done.. cant wait till october..

Bad points
The hotel was so cold.. the windows didnt shut well had to complain at the front desk..

The food choice was very limited.. especiallly if you were vegetarian..

I know and agree with others when they say that this event has outgrown the park inn but I miss the atmosphere of northampton and the convience of closeness of the shops/restaraunts etc etc..

Over all we had a great weekend...

[Juliette]

Guests were brilliant - loooooved Jamie and Christopher.  

I like the Hilton but it is VERY big (and a bit cold brrrrr!) - I assumed the layout would be similar to the Proms but I suppose because there were a lot more people this time I can see why ET3 was mainly allocated to the back of the hotel.  Being able to just nip up to your room for things was a problem because of the time it took to walk from one end of the hotel to the other.  

The gold reception was noisy so we couldn't hear what the guests were saying - had to lip read The tables perhaps could have been bigger so attendees weren't two rows deep.  The highlight was Jamie coming to our table, shaking my 8 year old son Jacob's hand and saying 'Hi I'm Jamie - would you like a Haribo' - lovely chap This was our first gold reception and we really enjoyed it.  Thanks to Rhi for the cake yum!

Enjoyed the parties the stalls were great fun on the Saturday night but it was too big and dark - couldn't find friends easily

Loved meeting Richelle Mead and getting my books signed.

John Henson was very funny and a lovely chap.

We had a brilliant time at ET3 and can't wait for ET4

The food court was very good idea.

Thanks to Showmasters and all the crew for making the weekend so well run and enjoyable

Edited by Juliette, 25 February 2010 - 12:30 PM.

[PhoenixMP3]

This is my first convention I participated in the Prom in September 2009 which was a different set up more intimate.

Good points
The guests were superb!!! I was looking forward to Jamie and Christopher. I had seen a couple of their short interviews and they sounded quite funny. I was really looking forward to both and they were fantastic! Jamie and Christopher bantering with Charlie was pure comedy, especially when Charlie didn’t get what they were saying and doing, poor man. Jamie on his own was a stand up comedy act. If he wasn’t an actor he could definitely be a stand up comedian. He is hilarious!!! I was taken aback by how beautiful and charming Tynsel is she is so tiny, but she can definitely hold her own with the boys . Kiowa is such a sweety quite shy I thought and probably overwhelmed by 900 people looking at him 

The photo shoots were well managed the staff were battling with crowds and temperatures that went from sub zero to plus 40C so hats off to them for keeping their cool.

The dealer’s room was good but it could have done with a smaller place or more dealers. Some of the stuff was overpriced and some felt old but that's only because it was in such a big room.

Having John’s there with his collection was fabulous and quite unsettling  to see how small some of the actresses are, tiny clothes. John was a pleasure to talk to very happy to share his passion. A really good addition to the convention!!! The Hillywood show was really funny it would be good to see them added to future conventions

Improvements

The hotel service was quite bad, overpriced food and drink and appalling service, not to mention some of us being ill because of the food. The Twilight food court was badly organised and the food was really poor and the M&S sandwich deal is actually cheaper and has a greater selection. The temperature in the place was crazy freezing or sweltering and the hotel staff didn’t do anything about it when asked to. The hotel is vast so better signage and arrows pointing would have been useful We looked around for registration desk for a while before finding it.

The parties were ok it’s great to see the effort some of the participants went to, to dress up some amazing costumes. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures because the smoking machine made it impossible. 

The event staff could do with a little more co-ordination. My friends and I experienced a couple of occasions when we would be told one thing by one staff member and total opposite by a different one being scolded in the process  I understand the pressure but if they all sang from the same sheet that might make it easier.
  
I was disappointed not to have the group shot with the guests like we did at the prom. I understand the logistics may have been difficult but not impossible. The groups could have been staggered. It would have also being nice to be able to purchase the funny poses they did I know Gold tickets got them included but the rest of us could have purchased them.

I was disappointed about the lack of informal access to the guests. I don’t have any comparison apart from the prom where they mingled with guests in the evening for a couple of hours sitting at tables chatting, this time we saw Charlie for 5 minutes being mobbed and Christopher for 10.

The pack was also a little disappointing Charlie’s photo was the same as the prom one. Tynsel’s picture didn’t look very good and Kiowa although from the movie just looked perverse, he’s only 19 I’d rather have one where he has clothes on I did go buy one cause I just felt too bad asking him to sign the one in the pack.

At prom we had t-shirt and a mug this time we got rubber bracelet, book mark (really good) and a booklet of not sure what yet. Maybe we could have different packs for different tickets? Just an idea.

[Jodierawr]

Not too keen on the hotel, I prefer the Park Inn.
The parties were okay, music was repetitive and there was no karaoke
The signings seemed slightly rushed.
Not being able to buy extra photoshoots after you've been in once is silly, when it hasn't been the case before, despite what I was told.
The closing ceremony could have been improved rather than 'This was ET3... BYE....'

I like the extra amounts of guest encounters.
Everything was run to schedule pretty much.
Seating was organised well.
The guests were all awesome.

[Twilightmum49]

Ballet, on Feb 22 2010, 12:58 PM, said:

The hotel was so cold.. the windows didnt shut well had to complain at the front desk..

The food choice was very limited.. especiallly if you were vegetarian..

I know and agree with others when they say that this event has outgrown the park inn but I miss the atmosphere of northampton and the convience of closeness of the shops/restaraunts etc etc..

Over all we had a great weekend...

I agree the hotel was very cold.......

I asked in the Twilight Court if there was a vegetarian option as I don't eat meat and was told no as if I was from a different planet.... not good..... and why do they think that everyone likes to eat burgers and hotdogs....I know there was a pasta dish in the evening but thought there could have been a much better choice considering it was the Hilton...

The Gold drinks party was much better at ET2 the tables at ET3 were too small and I couldn't hear anything properly because the room was so crowded..... Rhi's cake went down well though.

The autograph for Christoper was disappointing it would have been nice for him to have had the time to  personalise my book for me. I know not only Gold couldn't have it done but we do pay a lot of money for our tickets.

I agree with David's  comments and appreciate that we have outgrown The Park Inn, but it was more intimate and the Hilton lacks that as well as the heating omg it was like a fridge one minute and furnace the next.  

My poor feet have never walked so much at a Con

But as I've already said on another post I had a great time ..... but a few changes need to be made for ET4