Thoroughly Enjoyed!

[Wall_E]

Hey all. Just sayin' but I'm sick of all these topics complaining about how poor their weekend was so I thought I'd join in, but from someone who was happy with it.... We bought our tickets about January time so have been excited since then. I saw someone complain that the tickets had a cutoff point to be ordered a long time before the event date, but for me, 2 weeks before isn't a long time, you have to realise that the tickets need posting out so you can't complain when you had all that time to order...

 

We drove down on Friday morning from Durham, got there around 2:30 and thought instead of heading over to the hotel, because it was on the way anyway, we'd head to the Stan Lee signing (Which they put on to make sure it gave everyone the chance to get something signed from the man himself WHEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO). We got into the room with Stan and he went out for a lunch break at 3PM. The staff had told us he only had 1 short break before this... He came back out and continued to sign. I would have preferred a personalised signature and maybe the chance to ask a couple questions, but I appreciate the fact that thousands would be seeing him and to get through so many would be a struggle while chatting.

 

So we headed over to the hotel to get checked in and drop off our stuff, then headed straight back to Earls Court because the queues had already started forming. The back of the queue was basically next to the entrance once it had gone right round the venue, but once 6PM hit, the staff let us in and the queue got down extremely fast, I think we got in about 10 past so not too bad. The range of stalls available were great. We headed past them and I got a few of the sigs I wanted (And that were there for the Preview Evening). This took us about half an hour, then we headed up and down the stalls. Just doing quick looks because we didn't want to run out of things to do on Saturday.

 

We were going to turn up around 8am on Saturday, but because of the queues we decided to go at 7 to make sure we got in when the doors opened. Luckily we were ahead of where we were on the Friday so we got in fast. As we got to the entrance we looked at where the back of the queue was and it had looped back on itself so it goes to show how popular it was. I know some people are only able to get there at certain times because of other commitments etc, but if you could, I don't see why you wouldn't make the effort to get there early when you know it was going to be busy... But saying that, we noticed a guy dressed as ghostrider in the queue quite far back when we got in, and then spotted him inside about half an hour later so again, the queue must have gone down fast.

 

Again we headed to the sigs to get the other guests. We got through them all in about an hour and had no issues. We headed out to the other building for the Power Rangers talk and thoroughly enjoyed. Very entertaining and no complaints at all. We also went to some of the artists, 1 of them we had seen late on Friday night (RobotZombieComics) and collected our pictures he drew for us over night. They were fantastic! My mate was the one who wanted to view the artists and I wasn't fussed, but I was very impressed with them, and bought a couple of things myself from there. We went back to the main hall again, without any problems getting in because we had our hands stamped. We must have gone back and forth about 5 times during the day and never got stopped once from entering either building.

 

Overall, I came out of it all with all the sigs I wanted, quite a bit of merch, and extremely happy with how it went. I saw the queues outside while travelling between the buildings and yes, if I turned up on the day hoping to get in and couldn't, I would be a little pissed, but I don't see why you wouldn't treat the event like any concert, you buy the tickets in advance and just countdown the days.

 

The only issues I really had were, we got quite tired with the heat and having to carry our heavy bags around all day so would have liked more areas to sit, but we found a little spot on the floor so not that big of a complaint. The air conditioning could have worked but that is the building staff that should have sorted that out. And the program raffle seemed to go spam up since I still know nothing about the prizes or numbers drawn, like all the staff I asked, but I'm sure we'll get an update on this soon.

 

Hopefully there will be others out there who really enjoyed their weekend too and well done to Showmasters from my little group!

[PenThePirate]

I'd like to jump in on this and say that I also had a pretty good experience this weekend.

 

I booked tickets for Friday and early bird Saturday. Friday I arrived at 4.15pm, went over to Brompton Hall and asked one of the Red Shirts if Stan would be signing again that afternoon before his photoshoot. They were extremely helpful in letting me know that he would, and where I should queue. By virtue of this, I ended up being sixth in the queue on the regular side. Throughout the wait to get in, the volunteers were up and down the queue, checking on people and making sure everyone was in the right place.

 

When the doors opened at 6 we were straight in, up to the signing area and allocated a VT. Mine ended up being number 12. Within 5 minutes of getting my VT I was in the signing booth, having paid and lined up for my autograph. Stan arrived at about 6.30, and I was out of the booth and on my way into EC2 by 6.45.

 

I managed to get in quite easily with my stamp, and even after finding out Pedro Pascal and Natalie Dormer had cancelled, I was able to get into the ticket lines and down to the desk in about 20 minutes, able to pick two other guests for Saturday as replacements and get reasonably low numbers (33 & 99)

 

Managed to get around on Friday and get my only shoot for the evening with Jamie Bamber (awesome guest! Stopped to chat to everyone, and was very gracious after the photo was taken)

 

Success!

 

Saturday had it's problems. There is no denying that. Yes it was stiflingly hot, and manically busy. My friend and I arrived at 8.50am at Earl's Court tube and were directed around to the right of EC1 to find the end of the queue for pre booked tickets. By the time we found the actual end of the queue, it had reached the gates opposite West Brompton tube and started coming back on itself. We joined the end, and prepared for a bit of a wait. (Not as much as for those without tickets who were queued around the front of EC1 and all the way around the building to EC2)

 

The queue, despite its length moved reasonably quickly once the event opened and we found ourselves inside by 10.05. I was slightly peeved that I had missed the early shoots for Michael Biehn and Summer Glau, but as they had later shoots, I wasn't worried too much. Not making the shoots gave me a chance to browse through the stalls again and show my friend (whose first con this was) what it was all about.

 

We queued early for Stan Lee's photos at 12, got into the queue in good time, helped by the Blue Shirt with the glasses mentioned in another thread who was awesome, and got through to meet The Man and out by 12.45 on ticket number 253, so that was great.

 

Same deal for Summer's shoot at 2pm which was again dealt with really well, despite both being at Photo Booth A and having tens of people for the YALC talks walking through the photo queue (barriers?)

 

We left for lunch, with no problem leaving the building and getting stamped, and again no problems on our return getting in, although I did feel for the hordes still queuing down as far as the entrance to EC1 to get into the show.

 

Managed to get a good look at some dealers, bought some cool stuff, had a great chat with the guys form Pencil Pirates, James from Purple Monkey and the guys selling Cake in a Jar.

 

I had three photo shoots late on - TJ Thyne, Michael Biehn and Dina Meyer - who all started quite close. Luckily Michael and TJ were in D and F respectively, being the two closest together time wise, and the volunteers managed to get everyone through very smoothly, even in the absence of a formal queue for TJ's shoot - he was also an awesome guest and should definitely be invited back.

 

My dash through the thinning crowd to Dina's shoot at E wasn't too bad and being told the shoot was running late was actually a god send as it gave me time to 'cool' down before going in. She was lovely and even though the shoot ran past 6pm, she was extremely chipper and still found time to greet everyone and say thank you after. The volunteers here were also pretty good trying to make sure everyone got through when they were supposed to.

 

The GoT screening was good, special guest notwithstanding, and the queuing outside, although slightly chaotic, wasnt overly terrible and the guy running the line did his level best to keep everyone onside.

 

I won't say the day was perfect, but I can't complain about my experience overall, even though I couldn't get a phone signal for about a half hour at one point.

 

I will be coming back, and have already pre-booked my early bird ticket for WLFCC Saturday and two photoshoots.

 

Lessons to be learned? Sure. Let's see what happens at WLFCC.

[Wall_E]

Glad more enjoyed than it seems. The problem I find is, people rush home to write something bad about an experience but no one takes the time to compliment or say how much they enjoyed it

[Chazzley]

I got tickets on the door on the Friday, got to the event around 4pm and was in by 6:10pm.

 

Due to getting pointed to the wrong queues for Stans auto by crew twice I missed his auto but instead of spending the whole evening annoyed about it I went and met some other guests with the time it freed up. I ended up having a real great time and left with 3 autographs from films I absolutely love!

[Dannycarroll2007]

More people should post about the good time they had rather than the cry babies who mostly didn't have tickets!

[Hapfairy]

I think it's unfair to say many of us are just trying to complain... I've said in posts about stuff I enjoyed, the YALC was a huge highlight and I was grateful to meet a couple of guests. But that doesn't solve all the huge safety issues with overcrowding or the smaller issues like the Game of Thrones talk not having a surprise guest as advertised. Personally I'd really just like some reassurance from SM that they know all of the problems and what steps they'll take to fix them. They did make an attempt but kind of upset everyone by implying it was "fiction" in the title.

 

But honestly I never complain about anything and I hate the fact that on this occasion I really feel I have to. Would love to just say that it was brilliant and I really enjoyed the book zone and the volunteers were helpful to me, but that would be ignoring a huge part of my experience.

[rosie727]

The crew are mostly volunteers and took some crap over things they had no control over. One of them looked like they could burst into tears at any moment I felt the need to give her a big hug. I felt these guys did a good job and needed encouragement so there were a few sm crew got hugs from me and even gave one a kiss.

They fitted me in so I could get my train and still get my final photo shoot.

All the guests I met were awesome , it was hot and crowded but it always is.

I met friends, great guests and had banter with the crew and attendees. I don't dwell on negatives.

[lois Lawson]

I can't complain either:

 

We had early birds for Saturday and arrived at 9:30am. Yes there was a huge queue but it moved very fast and we were in within an hour.

 

Went straight for the John Hurt photoshoot which went like clockwork, went to get Michael Biehns auto, no queue.

Back for David Wenhams photoshoot, clockwork again, then went to Carrie's. I really can't find a fault with any of my photoshoots as they all worked out fine.

 

Went for more autos from Gethin, Finn, David Wenham, Dave Prowse and Tyler Mane. Everyone of the guests i met were pleasent and charming.

 

I can't fault the crew, they worked well during the photoshoots, they kept the auto queues in order. The guy in the red shirt at the Dave Prowse queue loved my Prince Oberyn t-shirt

 

Yes, i know it was extremely busy but i came and got everything done i wanted and saw everyone who i wanted to see so thankyou SM

 

All my advise would be for furure con goers is pre-book your tickets, entry, photos, talks, everthing.

[MrsEllacott]

Great to see more people who had a great time! I started a positive comments thread somewhere on here in response to the negative ones! It is great to see the positive comments being made about anything from the con this weekend! I know I had a fab time!

[DaniD]

Already shared some of my positives in another thread:

 

"Me and my friend had a great time on all three days. We expected it to be very busy and warm so we planned our days with plenty of time in between things we wanted to do and had tickets for.

 

All the guest we met were nice and we had some great photos done. We met Adam Brown who was so so lovely and even wrote a little birthday message on a photo that I want to give to my sister as a birthday present 😊 As a big LOTR fans it was great finally meeting David Wenham and he also was lovely. The GoT cast members we met, Lena Headey, Finn Jones, Gethin Anthony, Jristian Nairn and Will Tudor were lovely and chatty and I even got a hug of Gethin in my photo shoot 😁

 

The volunteers and crew we spoke to were all very helpful and friendly and did their best to help out. We know that there were some issues, but that is to be expected at an event of that size and with last minute cancellations and additions. But we did not let it ruin our weekend and we will definitely come back again...and hopefully even in Cosplay 😊"

[GoldenGreen]

Great weekend. I went Friday and then took my two boys on Sunday.

 

Extra Signing with Stan on Friday worked very well, queued for about 45 minutes. I did almost go completely fanboy when I got into the signing area, and really wanted to keep shouting out "IT'S STAN LEE" !!!! Stan was busy but he looked up, smiled and acknowledge me and I jabbered away , can't even quite remember what I said. Met a whole load of peeps on Friday, fun photoshoot with Dina Meyer. Other photoshoots with Michael Madsen, Terry Farrell, Jason Mewes and Helen Slater. Had a good look round Earls Court 2 and scoped out where everything was for Sunday.

 

Sunday had early bird tickets, got there about 8.15 a.m. , big queue , but kind of what I was expecting, we were in the hall by 9.19 a.m. went to see a whole load of guests who were pretty much walked straight up, David Yost, Cerina Vincent, Sarah Louise Madison, Sarah Parish (bit of a queue). Over the day also met Jeff East, Belinda Mayne, Sharni Vinson and Wendy Glenn. Had photoshoots with Stan Lee, Carrie Fisher, Cerina Vincent and Sharni Vinson. Stan was a star , my little one who is 4 wanted to wear his Spiderman costume and so when he had his photo with Stan wasn't quite sure what to do, Stan threw a reassuring hand around his shoulder and told him what to do and where to look. Checked out the Brompton hall and had some fund playing retro games and some new ones as well.

 

Really good experience, can't wait now for the Winter show !

[toria]

I actually had a fantastic time (only ruined by my stinking cold)

 

Me and my partner didn't even realise there were issues until we sat down for dinner after the GoT screening and read the forum posts.

 

I have to say it was VERY VERY BUSY and hot, but I had expected that because of Stan Lee.

 

I got to meet David Hewlett (he was so lovely) and get a photo on the iron throne. I also got to look round the stalls and I enjoyed the GoT screening.

 

My only complaints/points are :

The Sherlock talk the speakers were not good and i couldn't hear a word.

The chairs in the talks are way too small (my partner is 6ft 6") and i think they need bigger chairs, he ended up in agony.

And no one told me where to check my raffle number so i missed out on that.

 

Other than that I got there at 8:30 in around 9:30, enjoyed myself and it was very memorial for me. Didn't leave till GoT screening finished so got to look round the stalls properly in the morning and then after 5pm!

The atmosphere was great, i had NO problems at all exiting and re-entering in the building

 

I am sad to see so many people didn't enjoy themselves though. I know how much I look forward to this event every year so my sympathy to go to you all.

[MathewW100]

I was only there on the Sunday and I had a really good day. My photoshoots worked really well even though there was a potential clash I found them really efficient. Most important from my point of view is that all the guests I met were great, everyone was really friendly.

 

Also want to say that Lisa Bowerman who was on the Big Finish stall was great - we had a good chat about various releases

[MrT]

I'll keep it short (ish)

 

My 7th lfcc and go to collector mania each year

 

Had an awesome time.

 

Was there on the Saturday and Sunday, usually just so one day

 

Got autographs from 2 legends stan lee and Carrie fisher

 

Autographs from 8 others all were really friendly

 

Photos with stan lee and glau

 

Was meant to have Carrie fisher on Sunday but she wasn't there in the morning and it clashed in the acternoon with the stan lee talk, so only suggestion is don't clash 2 headliners

 

Was there both days start till end

 

Enjoyed the stalls

 

Was there for GOT screening but that wasn't very good as covered in another thread

 

Overall my best con to date

 

I can appreciate everyone else's bad experience and it does sound bad, I was fortunate to have an awesome weekend, but do feel sorry for the others who had a bad time. The queuing was crazy, the air con should have worked better, need bigger spaces between the stalls and around the edges. Perhaps even to have opened the door at the back of the venue

 

Having a different entrance to exit would be a beneficial, and different ends to the building

 

I know show masters will learn from

This weekend.

 

Keep up the good work, but please learn from the stuff that went wrong

[Wall_E]

I think it's unfair to say many of us are just trying to complain... I've said in posts about stuff I enjoyed, the YALC was a huge highlight and I was grateful to meet a couple of guests. But that doesn't solve all the huge safety issues with overcrowding or the smaller issues like the Game of Thrones talk not having a surprise guest as advertised. Personally I'd really just like some reassurance from SM that they know all of the problems and what steps they'll take to fix them. They did make an attempt but kind of upset everyone by implying it was "fiction" in the title.

 

But honestly I never complain about anything and I hate the fact that on this occasion I really feel I have to. Would love to just say that it was brilliant and I really enjoyed the book zone and the volunteers were helpful to me, but that would be ignoring a huge part of my experience.

It's mainly the complaints about people not getting in early or the big queue outside that annoys me, when it's their own fault if they get there late and expect to get straight in. It's when you see people contradict themselves by saying they hated the long queue and they should be letting more in, but then say it's too crowded inside. I mean, did they expect showmasters to make the building larger somehow?

 

I just hope showmasters look here and see people who enjoyed it, and answer the raffle program questions.

[Wrong Name]

I have to say all in all, I had a great time!

 

Was it overcrowded? Yes. Was it Hot? Yes. But I still loved it! I was very happy with the Comic Gold Pass. OK some things didn't happen the way we expected it too, but what I really wanted it for was to be able to get to meet everyone that I wanted to and I did! I had 14 photos and 21 autos to get over 2 days and without the pass I don't think that would have been possible this year. The majority of my time was spent fairly relaxed walking between photo shoots and autographs, I had a couple of clashes and I will say that after the True Believers Awards show (which was so bad that it was great. Thanks to Tony Head or it would have been even more of a shambles!) I decided not to go back to anything at the Super Stage as the sound was just terrible and you could hardly hear anything. But this is a positive thread and I want to keep it that way!

 

All the guests I met were amazing! Stan was a machine when I saw him Saturday morning and when I thanked him he even gave me a smile and said thanks back! I loved John Hurt who was lovely and when I thanked him for the autograph he gave me a huge smile and said "An absolute pleasure" in a booming british bombardier kind of way! Summer was one of my favourites as she was just so nice and I've totally fallen for her! Carrie was insane in a good way, Ian was a real gent. I managed to get a great drawing from Andy Lanning of Rocket and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and the man was really great to meet and so friendly! I loved meeting all the guests and there were too many to write my full experiences with here, but my favourite pics ended being with Summer, Lena (doing 'Jazz Hands!') and back to back with Jason Mewes!

 

All in all it was great. I'm absolutely shattered now, but due to Stan and other big names being there to make it crazy busy, my weekend ended up being pretty much what I expected.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Wrong Name

[jaffajoy]

Well... Thus was my first convention and I just want to say... In spite of the heat, the huge crowding and small issues (which were to be expected) I had an absolutely amazing time. Had early bird tickets on the Saturday and knew it would be crazy busy so was outside just before 6. When the gates opened despite being told to go to the wrong queue we were quickly pointed back in the right direction. We were inside by 9.15. We went and got a vq for Stan straight away and with numbers 152 and 153 we stayed in Brompton Hall and checked the board every 5 minutes. Whilst waiting I ordered a sketch from Baskerville who was a genuinely nice guy and loved chatting (the sketch is now proudly hung on the wall). Bought a few comics and had some others signed too. All the comic guests were happy to sign and chat. The comics and Stan were my main reason for being here and this was perfect for me. At about 10.30 we were in the queue for Stan the man and by 11 we were back out having met the man himself. He was very busy but still took the time to smile and we had a giggle. We thanked him and in that wonderful voice he said "You're welcome". What a great guy! After that we headed over to EC2 and yes it was very busy but we managed to male a lap around and popped outside with no issue. The rest of the day we spent popping between halls and admiring the amazing cosplayers outside. Never once had an issue with being refused entry. Everyone was helpful and the volunteers were amazing. We bought some great items. Met some fantastic people and I got everything I wanted. I understand some people were dissapointed but with some planning and arriving well before opening I managed to have everything I went for by midday and could therefore enjoy the rest of the day relatively stress free.

 

Just want to say a massive thank you to all the crew, volunteers, guests and attendees for making this a truly wondeful day which I will remember for the rest of my life.

 

EXCELSIOR!!!!!

[martincan]

 

I think it's unfair to say many of us are just trying to complain... I've said in posts about stuff I enjoyed, the YALC was a huge highlight and I was grateful to meet a couple of guests. But that doesn't solve all the huge safety issues with overcrowding or the smaller issues like the Game of Thrones talk not having a surprise guest as advertised. Personally I'd really just like some reassurance from SM that they know all of the problems and what steps they'll take to fix them. They did make an attempt but kind of upset everyone by implying it was "fiction" in the title.

 

But honestly I never complain about anything and I hate the fact that on this occasion I really feel I have to. Would love to just say that it was brilliant and I really enjoyed the book zone and the volunteers were helpful to me, but that would be ignoring a huge part of my experience.

It's mainly the complaints about people not getting in early or the big queue outside that annoys me, when it's their own fault if they get there late and expect to get straight in. It's when you see people contradict themselves by saying they hated the long queue and they should be letting more in, but then say it's too crowded inside. I mean, did they expect showmasters to make the building larger somehow?

I just hope showmasters look here and see people who enjoyed it, and answer the raffle program questions.

 

I've also pointed out elsewhere my positive reactions to LFCC. I've also pointed out what was not so positive. I have noticed that some people with only positive things to say about the Con have been quick to say that the people who didn't get in basically had themselves to blame. Its not possible for some people to leave their homes at stupid o'clock in the morning and it is advertised that you can turn up without having tickets. I just think the people in the queue could have been kept more informed of the entry situation. I had a good day on Saturday but I saw the problems that other people had and I can see that the organisers need to be made aware. The fact is we are all fans and I for one just want everyone to have a good time. Its unfortunate but there will have to be negative comments so that things can change and improve. After all, you learn from your mistakes not by being told everything is wonderful...

[martincan]

And I have mentioned elsewhere how I thought the Showmasters crew members that I had any contact with did a great job but I wanted to say it again. I appreciate that they were in the middle of everything and would have been on the receiving end of people's criticisms but I personally thought they were brilliant and that's why I (and I suspect many others) waited to put my constructive criticism on the forum so the organisers could see it. That's also why I put my positive comments on here. (Which outnumber my negative ones by about 10 to 1 by the way but I respect other peoples opinions and their rights to express them) Now be nice people

[CosmicAvatar]

I know I was very hot and frazzled at times, especially on Saturday (and my word, my feet hurt like hell on Sunday after standing still for so long), but as usual, I got to meet some fantastic people, the crew were great (especially those who had to put up with my senile moments, ahem) and it's amazing how quickly the bad bits fade and only the good ones are left - I keep looking through my autos and photos and grinning like an idiot. Another crazy, fabulous weekend.

[Iceman71]

Always knew this event was going to be busy and was prepared for it. I had Early Bird entry for Saturday and Sunday

(even though I was getting home from work at 2am so not much sleep!!). A bottle of water and some fruit in my bag to keep me going through the day

and the schedule of my photo shoots clearly written down.

 

Over the course of two days I had 21 photo shoots and 14 autographs. I was very lucky on Sunday as I was the last person

to get Carrie Fisher's autograph before her photo shoot. I felt sorry for the people behind me but it was only 10 or so minutes before her photo shoot.

 

I did decide on Friday that there was no way I was going to get Stan Lee's autograph so I would not have to leave Earls Court 2.

 

When lining up for the photo shoots I did hear a few people complaining about things. I know that on Sunday people were

upset that Summer Glau photo shoots sold out very quickly at approx 10am but as always for the bigger name guests you need to book in advance.

 

My only real gripe was people sitting on the floor by the photo shoot areas, especially by C and D as at times they were blocking people from getting

in the queue. Maybe the use of ropes and posts to outline these areas should be used in future.

 

Over all for me personally I had a good time again especially on the Sunday. Saturday was very busy but was expected, yes perhaps the number of people

attending was under estimated but when you have a headliner like Stan Lee what do you expect?

 

Well done to all the SM crew members who worked very hard again even with people shouting at them. I for one appreciate what you do and the assistance you

give to people.

[Wall_E]

I think it just needs a bit of tampering really to get everything perfect. But thats why we have these forums, for people to say what they think, but hopefully not turn into a full scale bitchfest. I mean is it going to take them to make it an all prebought ticket affair to make people happy? Or would they moan that they couldn't get in on the day instead

[DavidB]

Pre paid only seems like the way forward. It's unfortunate for those that can't, but actually I think that's a slim minority these days - the Internet's a huge thing and loads will be pre-sold. Gigs sell out online all the time.

[talie]

I think it's unfair to say many of us are just trying to complain... I've said in posts about stuff I enjoyed, the YALC was a huge highlight and I was grateful to meet a couple of guests. But that doesn't solve all the huge safety issues with overcrowding or the smaller issues like the Game of Thrones talk not having a surprise guest as advertised. Personally I'd really just like some reassurance from SM that they know all of the problems and what steps they'll take to fix them. They did make an attempt but kind of upset everyone by implying it was "fiction" in the title.

 

But honestly I never complain about anything and I hate the fact that on this occasion I really feel I have to. Would love to just say that it was brilliant and I really enjoyed the book zone and the volunteers were helpful to me, but that would be ignoring a huge part of my experience.

Totally random but I still love your dress!! (I met you in the queue when I was pushing you through for a photo shoot) and its just awesome lol