I was not able to get the full day off to attend the second day of the 2013 Denver Comic-Con, and truth to tell after yesterday's fiasco, I wasn't all that keen too.
However, the draw was too strong for me to resist, so as soon as I could break free from work I made it downtown to the DCC. It was not quite 6:00 in the evening when I was finally able to stroll up to the east entrance of the the Convention Center.
There were quite a few attendees about, and the first impression I got was that it looked like a fun evening was in the cards.
There were quite a few people gathered together in groups, enjoying the vibe that comes with really being able to let go and indulge whatever it is that torques your screw. A large number of those people were in full fanboy (or fangirl) regalia, which I thought was awesome beyond words.
Then I made my way up to the Dealers Room. The disappointment I felt when I saw the empty exhibition hall can only be compared to Elton John's bride Renaute Blauel's reaction on their wedding night in 1984, when his lack of interest in her lady parts finally hit home.
The Dealer's Room closed at 6:00. Unfortunately, I had not been able to access the www.DenverComicCon.com website this afternoon due to server issues, so I wasn't aware of that. Of course, if I had just read one of the many, many emails I had received from the DCC over the past year I'm sure I would have been aware of them.
But I didn't, so I didn't know the hours of operation this year were a little different from last year.
I'm an idiot like that.
I also didn't know of the programming and event schedule changes, of which there were quite a few. It seems that almost everything I wanted to participate in had been cancelled or rescheduled for a time that was not convenient for me. Boo that.
So I wandered around for a bit, taking pics of some of the better costumes. Though I appreciated the efforts of the Cosplayers, my heart wasn't really into it...I had so much wanted to be able to browse the dealers room.
Tomorrow is the last day of the convention, and sadly, I have to work. The hours of operation of the DCC are apparently in the hands of the city of Denver owned and operated Convention Center, and the latest the dealers room can stay open is 6:00. That is ridiculous, IMHO.
Also, the Denver Fire Department determined that there were too many people present (the Convention Center has an occupancy limit of 56,000 or so), and limited the number of people who were able to gain access to the Con.
I have no idea if there were more than 50,000 people at the Con today, but from the ease with which I was able to find a parking spot and from the number of people still present at 5:30, I would be amazed if there was a tenth of that number in attendance.
My suggestion to a Con Committee member today was to find a larger venue that allowed for longer hours, such as the National Stock Show Events Center. I got the eyeball roll for that.
Which is just not good business. I don't expect non-business people to understand the importance of customer service, but when you have people coming into Denver from 8 surrounding states to spend money and have a good time, they deserve to be treated to a good time worthy of their money.
Be here tomorrow for a few nice words about the Con, and a review of a movie that was so horrible it was great.
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