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Has Collectormanina out grown the MK:Centre


zephyrbrett
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I know it gets insane, but I think that's part of its charm really.

 

I get to be the other side of it and deal with a crazy amount of customers, and while it's a lot of work for us crew I know it's often just as much effort - if not more - for the attendees.

 

However I'll always believe the good points far outweigh the negatives, and I'd hate to see it move away from Centre:MK.

 

Collectormania in Milton Keynes is a unique event, and something we should keep, no matter how stressful it may get. It would be a shame to see it just turn into the same type of event as every other one out there.

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It's not as comfortable as it looks. That would be one of the negatives - that place is like a greenhouse sometimes :YAHOO:

 

trust me i know.......spotlights made it almost unbarable standing on the stall. but at least i got to wear the sunnys hide the bags under me eyes lol

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Haha yeah, my sunglasses were basically to hide the fact I didn't go to bed til like 5:30am or something silly .. I'd have worn them even if it wasn't sunny :YAHOO:

5.45 sat 6.15 ish sunday........... tiered doesnt cover it lol 3 hours sleep lol not good

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the only thing i have to say is

 

Collectormanina MK is the best event in the world at this time for guests and people all over the world email us to ask if we will run an event like this in there country

 

so i think we do a good job running the event and the venue suits us with all the pros and cons

 

but all this has been said before

 

i do think people that want to see the event stop for competition reasons and that is why threads like this keeps coming up after each event

 

i just want to say for the odd 2 or 3 unhappy people there is another 10,000 people that say nothing as they are content with what they get from going to the show

 

we deal with over 2 million fans a year now so we must be getting it right most of the time

 

i hope you had a good time and see you at the next one

 

yours

 

jason :whistling:

As I said when I started this thread I love all the showmasters events and know you must all go to such a big effort to get the event for us. I did not start it to squash anything you do. But I do feel that the stall area was hard to get around when looking at things to buy, the area to buy tickets and auto tickets and the lack of space to chill now the front side is used for the photo shoots there is alot less room to relax and enjoy the event with ease. The buggy and wheel chair issue is a big deal for alot of people. I will keep going to all the showmasters shows until such time as I need another set of teeth. But aswell as all the positves this forum should be used for ideas too. It May be it is just a case of laying it out different or MK letting us have a few more aisles.

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It's the dealers I feel sorry for.

 

Long days, expensive stalls £250 per table), and WHO is going to want to stand around on a stall on a quiet Thursday on an unpaid day off from their full time job?

 

Not forgetting some of the collectormania crew are downright rude to people.

 

I have met people from as far as Avon and Wales at Collectormania even a person from Chicago and they love the idea of the shopping centre being used.

 

By the way I live in Milton Keynes.

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In order to stop the debate about kids.

 

There is a creche already - it is a permanent fixture in the Centre as it is where the shoppers leave their kids. SM does not need to provide one.

 

 

The creche is only for children aged 2-9 yrs.

 

I am sad to see the comments about pushchairs/children. I have a 4 yr old and a 7-month-old, and I have been bringing them since my eldest one was only a few months and she loves it! She loves meeting the guests because she sees them on my posters/DVDs etc and "knows" them, so it's a shame to see people would rather she wasn't there!

 

To the people who said the prams stop them seeing the stalls, I am barely able to get to the stalls to see things when I have my pushchair due to the crowd of people WITHOUT prams! So at best I can just glimpse at the things for sale! I am always considerate of other people, and don't barge people out of the way, so please don't tar us all with the same brush.

 

I like Collectormania being at the Center, it's only when big name guests are announced that it gets insanely busy, especially when they are only signing on one day.

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It's the dealers I feel sorry for.

 

Long days, expensive stalls £250 per table), and WHO is going to want to stand around on a stall on a quiet Thursday on an unpaid day off from their full time job?

 

Not forgetting some of the collectormania crew are downright rude to people.

 

I have met people from as far as Avon and Wales at Collectormania even a person from Chicago and they love the idea of the shopping centre being used.

 

By the way I live in Milton Keynes.

 

Thanks for your concern, but as a dealer at C13, I took more money on both the quiet Friday and Monday, than I did on mental Sunday!!

 

I've no idea what crew you mean, they've always been friendly and helpful to me.

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Regarding the comment about people taking a shower, when you're walking around a venue with several other like minded attendees in warm weather it can get very warm, so you're bound to get warm.

 

Well i'm a fursuiter/cosplayer and i wear heavy/hot costume..

Even when wearing those i am considered enough to others to shower and above all to use deodorant (not the fake flowery type that is even worse than sweat smell itself, but the kind that suppress smell completely).

 

In these "modern" times, with all the products available, there is NO excuse whatsoever for being smelly, even in summer...(except i you have a disease that makes you smell badly, i know it exists).. deodorant is a MUST.

 

I was sweating profusely the other day at CM, and a woman passing by complimented me on my smell, even! (the sweat is just water and it brought out the good smell of my hair products, instead of smelling badly)..

 

And you English invented Lush stores after all (things we Brussels people don't have - sigh)

 

Oh yeah, and people farting in queues are profoundly disgusting..

I had such a bad smell in one at MK that i thought i'd faint.... BTW, there is also medecine to suppress gasses (it's called active charcoal and doesn't need a prescription)...

But then again it's a question of politeness to "hold it"....

 

That's all i have to say about smells...:)

 

(Just as a side note: to be honest, he may have played in zillion of things, i never even heard the name John Barrowman before coming to the Con.

All the things he did were simply not aired in my country, so it's not being stupid not to know him, it's just maybe cultural differences.. how many of you have heard about Annie Cordy or Philippe Geluck? They are famous here... not everywhere... So i definitely was not interested in meeting him:) More space for the others, this way...:) never seen such a queue except for Patrick Stewart, and in this one, i was:) )

Edited by Cookie
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Yeah I think this will be my last too barring huge guest being booked (and thats my definition of huge not SMs) Even when I was there on sat/sun I was thinking, what the hell am i doing here.

 

I've been to a fair few Collectormanias from as far back as C3... but not anymore.

 

The Mall can get really hot, and is far too overcrowded. The last time I went I couldn't even get near the stalls, it was insane.

 

Unless there is someone I am desperate to meet I won't be returning to Milton Keynes, I far prefer the reasonable sanity of LFCC.

 

 

I see the point you are making but The FA cup final was played at Cardiff for several years and most people thought it was better than the old wembley.

 

CM definitely has to stay were it is. Anyone with any sense can get around the crowds and be safe etc. It's like the home of CM now in my opinion. It's the same as not playing the FA Cup Final at Wembley!

 

 

It is broke. it was broke to begin with.

 

I don't think SM will ever consider moving from the MK Centre - "if it aint broke don't fix it" and all.

 

Also im loving the debate about stinkers. I recon we should have bouncers on the doors stopping smelly people coming in.

Edited by gobo1979uk
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Yeah I think this will be my last too barring huge guest being booked (and thats my definition of huge not SMs) Even when I was there on sat/sun I was thinking, what the hell am i doing here.

 

I've been to a fair few Collectormanias from as far back as C3... but not anymore.

 

The Mall can get really hot, and is far too overcrowded. The last time I went I couldn't even get near the stalls, it was insane.

 

Unless there is someone I am desperate to meet I won't be returning to Milton Keynes, I far prefer the reasonable sanity of LFCC.

 

Sorry, but that's not true. Saturday was not really very crowded at all and Monday was easy. Sunday was only monstrous becuase two of the biggest guests were only there for one day. Would have been busy wherever it was held.

 

 

It is broke. it was broke to begin with.

 

I don't think SM will ever consider moving from the MK Centre - "if it aint broke don't fix it" and all.

 

What is 'broke' about it?

Edited by chris_mk
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I think all the problems have been discussed at length in this, and other threads. I wont go over them all again :-s

 

Yeah I think this will be my last too barring huge guest being booked (and thats my definition of huge not SMs) Even when I was there on sat/sun I was thinking, what the hell am i doing here.

 

I've been to a fair few Collectormanias from as far back as C3... but not anymore.

 

The Mall can get really hot, and is far too overcrowded. The last time I went I couldn't even get near the stalls, it was insane.

 

Unless there is someone I am desperate to meet I won't be returning to Milton Keynes, I far prefer the reasonable sanity of LFCC.

 

Sorry, but that's not true. Saturday was not really very crowded at all and Monday was easy. Sunday was only monstrous becuase two of the biggest guests were only there for one day. Would have been busy wherever it was held.

 

 

It is broke. it was broke to begin with.

 

I don't think SM will ever consider moving from the MK Centre - "if it aint broke don't fix it" and all.

 

What is 'broke' about it?

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I think MK shopping centre is a good place for Collectormania as, like most have said, it's good to have shops to look around and cafes to go into, during the times when you're just waiting around before you can queue for photos/autographs, etc. It was strange for me going back to Milton Keynes again. I hadn't been there for years. I have relatives who live in Bletchley and I used to live in Northampton, which isn't far from there, so I used to go to MK quite regularly. It was a strange memory lane trip for me going back there. I was at the event on the Sunday and it was certainly really manic. All the crowds and the pushing and shoving did give me a headache after a while, but I totally realise it was like this because of mainly John and Eve being there just on that day.

 

One thing that amazes me though, regarding the adorable JB, was why were there soooooo many people there to get his autograph when he's always been one of the most accessible stars to get an autograph from in the past! I mean, I can understand when it's an actor who rarely ever makes a public appearance/does a signing session and therefore it may be the only chance for fans to ever get their autograph. But with John, in just over the past year alone he's done countless cd and book signings all around the country, has been in panto (in Birmingham and Cardiff) when he was signing patiently for ages after every performance, for every fan that waited for him at the stage door. It's not like people have never had the chance to meet him before! Yet, they all go completely crazy in MK like it's the only time he's ever appeared in public!! Lol. Plus, there were actually other people I recognised queuing to get his autograph when they've already got it about 10 times before!! I bet that would have annoyed some fans who've never got his autograph before, and who were turned away from the queue in MK, to have others who've already got his autograph countless times to get it yet again, and not them! But that's the way it goes, I guess! Lol.

 

Anyway, I applaud John and Eve's (and all the CM staff) incredible patience amidst such madness! Lol. They're two truly adorable people, love them to bits! :)

 

I see the point you are making but The FA cup final was played at Cardiff for several years and most people thought it was better than the old wembley.

 

I agree there, but then I would as I live in Cardiff, lol! I do think MK shopping centre is a good location for Collectormania though, for much the same reason that I thought the FA Cup Final was great in Cardiff. Being that it was bang in the city centre with all the shops and amenities close at hand. Very convenient. A lot of the people that used to come to Cardiff for the Cup Final used to say how much they liked the fact that the stadium was bang in the city centre and before/after the match they didn't have to go far to go to any restaurant/pub/see the sights, etc. At Wembley there isn't a lot around right by the stadium, is there?

Edited by spaceygal
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Compared to Collectormania Manchester, which is held in the huge Gmex centre (or whatever it's called these days) I didn't really like the location. Half the guests were out of sight and hard to find, and we would have never known there was a cosplay area unless we spotted it when queueing for Barrowman at the start of the day. The shops were also packed into too small a space which made them hard to get around and involved shoving to get through crowds to get anywhere.

 

Plus we couldn't skate because it was in a shopping centre! D: Our cosplay was all about skating which sucks... and don't even get me started on the treck to actually find the toilets. Since it's a shopping centre we had to walk past all the... normal people. Small children asked why we were dressed so weirdly! (although they did say we looked cool so I forgave them XD)

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tbh its no secret that its in a shopping centre, and those are the types of things i'd expect from a shopping centre! At least theres signs and maps- I only know one lot of loos in the oracle at reading, and they are in Debenhams cafe!!

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I see the point you are making but The FA cup final was played at Cardiff for several years and most people thought it was better than the old wembley.

 

I agree there, but then I would as I live in Cardiff, lol! I do think MK shopping centre is a good location for Collectormania though, for much the same reason that I thought the FA Cup Final was great in Cardiff. Being that it was bang in the city centre with all the shops and amenities close at hand. Very convenient. A lot of the people that used to come to Cardiff for the Cup Final used to say how much they liked the fact that the stadium was bang in the city centre and before/after the match they didn't have to go far to go to any restaurant/pub/see the sights, etc. At Wembley there isn't a lot around right by the stadium, is there?

 

Having been to two play off finals and an FA Cup final in Cardiff I agree it's better than going to Wembley - which is far closer for me!

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