Peter Capaldi Fan Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 This was my first major event since Spring 2020 and overall it was an enjoyable experience. Negatives - Saturday was insanely busy. I gave up after my last photo as it was too crowded. No looking at stalls or getting any autographs so money saved there. - Lack of signs and communication. This tends to be a common theme which should be relatively easy to resolve. - Christopher Lloyd and the DeLorean photo shoot on Saturday was shambolic. Mainly due to the location and sheer number of people. - In previous years the DP gifts were more original. This year all mine were enlargements of standard 8 x 10 photos which was a tad boring. I am probably not the only one buying fewer tickets as I would prefer refunds when guests cancel. I would rather not keep money tied up in ShowMasters as vouchers. Positives - All the guests I met were lovely. The photo shoots with Alex Kingston, Eric Roberts and Robert Englund were especially enjoyable. - The crew I had dealings with were helpful and friendly although a few did seem a little overwhelmed. Big shout out to the staff at photo area B who were very well organised. - For a wuss like me who doesn't like the heat the new air-conditioning system was a lot more efficient. - In any of the photo queues I was in people were very accommodating to those less able. Maybe I was lucky in that respect. - I got the majority of my autos on Sunday. No issues in the main signing area and got everything I wanted. - Day 3 and still testing negative for Covid. Fingers crossed I dodged that particular bullet. With the right guests I would be tempted to return but may be more likely to opt for Spring or Winter. It would be interesting to hear other people's thoughts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamingIdiots Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I got the gold pass which I'd never purchased before. Negatives: Gold only entrance was used as an exit by a lot of of non gold pass making it harder to get back in as a gold pass holder. Staff on the first day were not aware of certain benefits of gold and time was wasted going between staff to collect DP Talk tickets that come included. Gold only seating was used by non gold holders one couple were asked to move by staff but did not get up. Gold / Diamond seating signage vanished over the weekend from the main stage and a member of staff replaced them with cardboard signs. Clearly someone stole those signs as they did not agree with the seating arangements. Gold having to queue with non gold for certain talks this I know used to be seperate queue pre 2019. Possitives: Gold benefits. Guest variety and themes like BTTF, ET, Gremlins, Red Dwarf ect a great idea even if not all seated together and not all on the same day. Even though Saturday was crowded I didn't feel penned in I was able to get to three talks, two guests and two photo ops all before leaving soon after 2pm did not leave due to crowds. All but one member of staff were happy and not exhausted, it was hot even when the air con was doing its job. Plenty to see and a good ammount of items on the floors to see. Did not do the minions shoot as people wearing the same hat all weekend was not the best idea they could have had. But I did get a photo with the minions that were on the floor the staff were helpful and friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostavo Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 I felt there was no clear contact between photo shoot areas, and no clear-cut plans in place for clashes on the Saturday. In the morning David Harbour shoot, they allowed everyone who had a clash with Joseph Quinn for the Upside Down shoot go in directly after Diamond and Gold passes. However, seems this stance was not followed the rest of the day for other shoots. I had a clash for the Alex Kingston Photo Area D shoot and the Robert Englund Boiler Room shoot. They admittedly let me go in with the Diamond Pass people (but I'd like to think me using my booming Scottish voice to help get people as organised as possible helped them decide it was allowed). However, I also had another clash between the Hannah Murray and Christopher Lloyd DeLorean shoot. They couldn't/wouldn't allow a queue jump again, so after waiting for a little bit, with no movement, I ditched the Hannah Murray shoot for Christopher Lloyd. Albeit, It turned out I could have done both (due to the insanely long queue for the shoot). Would have been nice if there had been some form of communication so they could have told me that I'd be able to do both. But, I'll chalk this up to experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raylenth Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 1 hour ago, Roostavo said: I felt there was no clear contact between photo shoot areas, and no clear-cut plans in place for clashes on the Saturday. In the morning David Harbour shoot, they allowed everyone who had a clash with Joseph Quinn for the Upside Down shoot go in directly after Diamond and Gold passes. However, seems this stance was not followed the rest of the day for other shoots. I had a clash for the Alex Kingston Photo Area D shoot and the Robert Englund Boiler Room shoot. They admittedly let me go in with the Diamond Pass people (but I'd like to think me using my booming Scottish voice to help get people as organised as possible helped them decide it was allowed). However, I also had another clash between the Hannah Murray and Christopher Lloyd DeLorean shoot. They couldn't/wouldn't allow a queue jump again, so after waiting for a little bit, with no movement, I ditched the Hannah Murray shoot for Christopher Lloyd. Albeit, It turned out I could have done both (due to the insanely long queue for the shoot). Would have been nice if there had been some form of communication so they could have told me that I'd be able to do both. But, I'll chalk this up to experience. The problem is I think that queue jumping for clashes is never guaranteed, they say they will help where they can. If the first shoot is rammed though, they give priority to the people who have been called. The only thing you can really do if you have an impossible clash is to ask for a refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostavo Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 2 hours ago, Raylenth said: The problem is I think that queue jumping for clashes is never guaranteed, they say they will help where they can. If the first shoot is rammed though, they give priority to the people who have been called. The only thing you can really do if you have an impossible clash is to ask for a refund. Yeah true. Like I say, I chalk it up to experience - while they certainly didn't help matters, I realised in hindsight I could have done everything I'd set out to do. Hope that like me, Showmasters take this year's Saturday into account. Doesn't help that this was the first summer con since 2019, so anticipation was always going to be huge. More than the Winter 2021 and Spring 2022 ones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posey1234 Posted July 14, 2022 Share Posted July 14, 2022 If its busy I always go for the non busy 1 which always helps well sometimes lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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