Rainbowchazer Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 My husband and I arrived back a couple of hours ago from London. The two things that really caught us out this year were: a) that the only way to the venue by train seemed to be to go to West Brompton and change there. Wasn't there a direct link from Earl's Court before? b) the lack of seating in the venue. The only place which seemed to have seats was the cosplay stage and most rows were blocked by exhausted punters slumped in the nearest available seats at the end of each row. When I eventually collapsed in an untidy heap up by the gaming area, because I can't get up off the floor easily, it took the combined efforts of my husband and a friendly security guard to get me back on my feet. When my legs give out, they give out. By that time I had been on my feet for over 3 hours and although I only had about 10 minutes on the ground before the guard came along and asked me to move, that was all I needed to get my second wind. I would suggest that a designated rest area with seats should be provided. I know there was a large area to sit on the floor and eat (but did you see the state of it by the end of the day?) but seated rest areas did seem to be at a premium, even near food outlets. Apart from that: the amount of talent at the far end of the signing area was amazing. Alfie Allen, ZQ and John Barrowman all in a line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raylenth Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 3 minutes ago, Rainbowchazer said: My husband and I arrived back a couple of hours ago from London. The two things that really caught us out this year were: a) that the only way to the venue by train seemed to be to go to West Brompton and change there. Wasn't there a direct link from Earl's Court before? b) the lack of seating in the venue. The only place which seemed to have seats was the cosplay stage and most rows were blocked by exhausted punters slumped in the nearest available seats at the end of each row. When I eventually collapsed in an untidy heap up by the gaming area, because I can't get up off the floor easily, it took the combined efforts of my husband and a friendly security guard to get me back on my feet. When my legs give out, they give out. By that time I had been on my feet for over 3 hours and although I only had about 10 minutes on the ground before the guard came along and asked me to move, that was all I needed to get my second wind. I would suggest that a designated rest area with seats should be provided. I know there was a large area to sit on the floor and eat (but did you see the state of it by the end of the day?) but seated rest areas did seem to be at a premium, even near food outlets. Apart from that: the amount of talent at the far end of the signing area was amazing. Alfie Allen, ZQ and John Barrowman all in a line. A) How did you plan your route? The branch line from Earls Court was working but there were delays on the District this morning so that might have affected a lot of the ones coming from certain routes and there's also overground trains from north and south that stop there, or walking/buses from other underground stations. The reason I'm asking about route planning is that the tfl website gives me totally different routes/options every time I try and work out a route and I figured out it defaults to the 'fastest' option. If you change it to 'least changes' or filter the results to take out the type of transport you don't want to use, the results are better b ) it's always an issue but I honestly don't know if there's any H&S issues with that. I know in the past that at a talk I went to at an event years ago they got well behind as they were told they needed to cable tie all the seats in the auditorium together otherwise they couldn't open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natedammit Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I saw approximately 2,746 people sitting on the floor at one point so they could never put enough chairs around to make even a small dent in that. If you put 100 chairs out, pretty soon you'll have 100 occupied chairs plus 2,646 jealous people. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pir8Jenny Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I think, actually, my complaint (we're registering complaints, right?) was the 2,746 people sitting on the floor in the general vicinity of the Main Stage, Photo A and Photo B. It was difficult enough getting to one of those three destinations given the crowds aiming for the other two -- the people on the floor made it extra challenging. What I'm getting at here is that while I understand having enough chairs for a designated seating area is a bit impossible, I would very much like it if people not be permitted to take up the floor in a designated walking area. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenArrow2046 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) I say the standing builds character only saying that because I don't sit down all day as if I did I wouldn’t want to get back up Edited July 27, 2019 by GreenArrow2046 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllaBlair Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Chairs would help or at least a few in a designated seating area for people with extra assistance. I struggled today, i asked a crew member at Lana's queue for a seat and she said oh these are for the crew. That was a bit disheartening too considering I was almost close to collapsing right in front of her. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. 9 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravogd Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 1 minute ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. Yup. We had a woman decide to just jump in front of us halfway up the extra help queue at the same photoshoot (well assuming hours was PM?) because "she had a clash so she could get in at the same time." I somehow managed to become quite clumsy and caught her heels a couple of times with Lynz' wheelchair. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pir8Jenny Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 7 minutes ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. Sorry to quote this rather than just click on a reaction, but this forum doesn't have a "What the Actual F*ck" option. 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 3 minutes ago, Ravogd said: Yup. We had a woman decide to just jump in front of us halfway up the extra help queue at the same photoshoot (well assuming hours was PM?) because "she had a clash so she could get in at the same time." I somehow managed to become quite clumsy and caught her heels a couple of times with Lynz' wheelchair. Mine was morning. And one day the clumsy will rule the world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllaBlair Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 6 minutes ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. That is horrendous. People are so completely oblivious sometimes. I didn't use my extra help wristband all times today only if there was a huge queue. I did see us getting a few glares when getting pushed to the front despite my quite obvious disability. People can be horribly ignorant. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerie Tanith Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 10 minutes ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. ..yikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raylenth Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 23 minutes ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. 18 minutes ago, Ravogd said: Yup. We had a woman decide to just jump in front of us halfway up the extra help queue at the same photoshoot (well assuming hours was PM?) because "she had a clash so she could get in at the same time." I somehow managed to become quite clumsy and caught her heels a couple of times with Lynz' wheelchair. Yes you lucky paralysed/in pain/have massive health issues people, I bet you are choosing to be 'sick' just to get all that better treatment aren't you? I'm sorry to say it really doesn't actually surprise me that someone said that. People like that will never learn, you'd think if something happened to them or a family member it would give them some much needed perspective but it wouldn't, they would then just demand what they are deriding in others as a right they should have because 'of course they should go first, they can't walk you know' 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephone1 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 1 hour ago, Pir8Jenny said: I think, actually, my complaint (we're registering complaints, right?) was the 2,746 people sitting on the floor in the general vicinity of the Main Stage, Photo A and Photo B. It was difficult enough getting to one of those three destinations given the crowds aiming for the other two -- the people on the floor made it extra challenging. What I'm getting at here is that while I understand having enough chairs for a designated seating area is a bit impossible, I would very much like it if people not be permitted to take up the floor in a designated walking area. Yes this! I really wish someone had cleared them all out. It was literally the worst, most ill thought out place for people to sit. People were being quite something today. On at least 6 occasions I was the only one to stop to let people in wheelchairs through. Towards the end of the day I started literally blocking people with my arms to stop them all but climbing over people in wheelchairs they were so desperate to get through. No celeb is worth you treating yourself and the other person with so little respect. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllaBlair Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 3 minutes ago, Persephone1 said: Yes this! I really wish someone had cleared them all out. It was literally the worst, most ill thought out place for people to sit. People were being quite something today. On at least 6 occasions I was the only one to stop to let people in wheelchairs through. Towards the end of the day I started literally blocking people with my arms to stop them all but climbing over people in wheelchairs they were so desperate to get through. No celeb is worth you treating yourself and the other person with so little respect. I don't have a wheelchair but I do use a crutch to get around. Thank you for helping people who do use wheelchairs! I've used them occasionally in the past and it can be really daunting when there are lots of people around who couldn't give a damn about you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Friendly Dalek Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 5 minutes ago, Persephone1 said: Yes this! I really wish someone had cleared them all out. It was literally the worst, most ill thought out place for people to sit. People were being quite something today. On at least 6 occasions I was the only one to stop to let people in wheelchairs through. Towards the end of the day I started literally blocking people with my arms to stop them all but climbing over people in wheelchairs they were so desperate to get through. No celeb is worth you treating yourself and the other person with so little respect. I'm glad at least one person had the respect and decency to help out those who needed it. I'm shocked by some of the comments I've read this evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephone1 Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I was genuinely taken aback. People could see people in wheelchairs trying to get through & they were practically climbing over them. Just stop for 30 seconds and let them through. My god! I was getting quite bolshy late on as people had lost all their manners. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllaBlair Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I have to say most people moved quickly out of the way for me when I was trying to get through and they saw my crutch. I really appreciated it so thanks everyone. I was usually trying to get to the pit boss to show them my pass and no one argued with me pushing through the queues (like stated above I did get a few glares though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finkyjd Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) My only real grumble with this year was the management in place at the photo-shoots : Staff weren't able to project their voices - so i literally had a Blue Shirt stood 2 metres away from me 'projecting' by cupping their hands to their mouth and i couldn't hear them. There's a lot of background noise when you have dozens of excited fans bubbling away eager for their photo - and it needs to be a prerequisite that you can be heard You do need two people to run each shoot - but they both need to be there out front, what i saw at both was one continuously running inside the booth, meaning the other was left to fend off the individual questions (I've a clash, I don't know where Photo D is etc) meaning I, and those around me, had no instruction as to where we were at - and which batches had been called. Managing the space around the queuing area would have helped a lot when the latecomers with passes or disabilities turned up after queuing had started, getting customers who are , understandably keen to get in, to keep a respectful distance from the queue are would have made managing it a lot easier. Ensuring that the queue didn't stand in front of the big sign saying which Photo Area it was would also have helped other customers navigating their way around the site Photos still happened in the appointed slot , but it did feel more chaotic that previous years have. Edited July 28, 2019 by Finkyjd correction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbowchazer Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 17 hours ago, Queen_Sindel said: The standing caused one of the worst comments I ever heard since I started going to conventions. A woman behind me in the queue for Robert Carlyle's photoshoot started complaining why attendees in wheelchairs were getting priority cause they were already sitting all day. I am aware I should have at the very least asked her if she had lost her mind, but for the first time in quite a while I had been at a loss for words. Maybe should have channeled my inner bear and just clawed her eyes out. My hips, knees and feet are definitely telling me the standing and moving at slow pace was a problem for me yesterday. It was worth it but I really must get fitter so I can enjoy these events fully without thinking my feet will give out from under me at any time. That comment was unforgivable though. I have never been to an event where wheelchair users didn't get priority. If I'd overheard it, I would have been wishing fervently for my cane so I could have brutalised her ankles. But then again, the last time I used a cane was over 10 years ago and I'd rather not go back to having to use it again, if I can help it. Hence why my first stop tomorrow after work will be the campus gym, so I can swim out some of these kinks. Hope everyone is having a fabulous day today. One of these days we'll do it properly - 3 day pass, DPs and hotels. I've been working on it ever since arriving home yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIDS Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 On the Tube issue. Yes, there were delays to trains. Station staff were directing people to go to West Brompton and change or I think I heard that a bus was running. When I arrived at Earls Court, a lot of people were waiting and then quickly moved off to go to West Brompton. A tube arrived just as they disappeared ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diabolik Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 I had a great time this year on Saturday - my only grumble? They say “if you need help ask a red shirt”, so I asked the ultimate red shirt yesterday -Jason, who didn’t have a clue as he ran off leaving me stranded... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsubliminal Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 I have to say I was bit nervy having to bring my 1 year old as i didnt want him getting bashed about in his pushchair. I have to say though that everyone was really polite and parted for us to get through. Our only issue of the day was that lift issue. We could only find 1 which went between the 2 floors and at times we were waiting over 20 minutes to use it. Didnt mind that so much but the queue was then past the toilets which obviously caused people who needed the loo to literally climb over the pushchair not to mention people in wheelchairs. I know there were other lifts but they didnt go to the stalls floor. Probably cant really be helped but with the number of less abled folks they must have found it very tiring and lost so much time to meet guests, photos etc. All in all though great event this year and my toddler had a great time with all the cosplayers!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigail94 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 I have a small thing. Basically at Emilie de ravins auto table I told the staff there I just wanted to have a look and see what photos she had. Emilie wasnt there yet and have never been told I couldn't just look to see before. Went to have a look explaining why and get shouted at for it saying no you cant do that even though was to just see what pictures she had. Dont know if this is a new policy to not let someone just see the pics to make sure there is one they'll like anymore even when the guest isn't there yet?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indestructible Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 One quick one from me is I went tech this year by having tickets on the Eventbrite app and also had the Showmasters app, but for photo shoots I was asked what batch number I had, but this isn’t on either app so then had to search through emails to find it. Can these be on the eventbrite app in the future or be able to add to my schedule on the Showmasters app? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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