I may have missed it, but any scuttlebut on where BOTCON will be next year? Given recent history I am guessing maybe west coast again, but it could go east coast.

 

East coast would be nice

 

This was probably the most "meh" Botcon I've been too - and I've been to 6. IMHO, the biggest factor affecting this year's show was Frank. He was a blessing and a curse. Yes, it was awesome to have him but on the other hand FP blew the entire wad on him and couldn't provide much additional or alternative content for people that didn't have $1000+ to throw away. The regular guests were good, but they could've been better AKA why didn't we have anyone from Prime or RID-15?

Other nitpicks:

• Security was a bit lax in the dealer room
• The proprietors of Pheasant Run should be hung by their short and curlies for blocking WiFi.
• G1 toys seem to be on the outbound. Yeah, there were some tables with them, but a lot of the dealers had dollar signs in their eyes again this year and the prices make my head spin.
• Yeah, the art contest was pretty much non-existent this year. Some good work but not a whole lot of it.
• Crappy boxed set - I got, IMHO, a better (and somewhat cheaper) "Botcon Set" by buying the Waspinator army, Kre-o set, and the diaclones than the actual attendee set.
• Derrick was "sick" Saturday and missed his autograph session. Fortunately, he came back Sunday to his table and I got his sig on a "Wyatt Toys" print I'd made.
  

It wasn't ALL bad though. Ono's "Birth of Transformers" panel was awesome, as was Derrick's. Frank showed he is the "Evil God" of Transformers, a voice icon head and shoulders above all the rest, and I came back with a pretty good haul to boot. I hope that whoever stayed til the end gave FP some serious feedback they could work on to improve next year. I'd love to look at this year as simply an anomaly and can return to a better Botcon next year!

 

Was the hotel's hygiene state to blame?

 

Overall, this wasn't the most exciting Botcon we've been to. This was the first time we brought our kids along and they had a great time. As always, it was great seeing old friends and meeting some new ones. My wife and I have been going since 09 and this was probably the most laid back one. We registered and went through the club line in just under an hour (which had never happened before). I was able to find some things on my list and still have to keep looking for a Deathsaurus.
My biggest gripe was the hotel. It was very dated and the building we were in had an almost moldy smell and we had a very small room. We didn't mind the walking too much and the pool was nice.
Dealers room didn't seem to have a lot of vendors and the prices were almost identical at each one. That being said, my kids and I were able to find some good deals, especially on Sunday  
Overall, I'd give it a 7 but since I met Frank Welker it gets a point bump up to an 8 (because it was that awesome). Hopefully they don't go back to Cali just yet since the next movie is slated for 2017. That would most definitely mean West Coast Back to Back again...

 

I would be shocked if it wasn't on the east coast next year. The east coast is WAYYYYY overdue for a Botcon.

If there is for sure a movie in 2017, you can pretty much bank on Botcon being on the west coast that year.

 

^A return to Providence would be nice.

  Maybe the wife and I can get a hotel room next to Peter Cullen again.

 

Yeah, after St. Charles, I don't buy the "Botcon is too big for Providence now" excuse anymore.

Botcon is the perfect size for Providence right now.

 

Ok---I've been to many Botcons (11) and many Joecons(15) and I would have to agree that it seemed like the attendance was maybe the lowest I've seen at a BotCon except when viewing the Hasbro panel(full room) and the awards dinner (full room---that's how you kinda gauge how many people were registered). There did seem to be a pretty decent general admission crowd (nothing will beat 2009 Pasadena) and the venue was old (some one said tube TV's) but wasn't as bad as the pre-hype statements. But remember--it was hands down the cheapest con rate I've ever experienced for a con hotel and my kids loved the pools (so if you ask them it ruled--nothing beats the pools/wow factor than Swan/Dolphin). O'Hare was vilified as being so far away from the venue but it was actually very easy to get to---but of course--downtown was far away. BotCon itself was very laid back from previous years so I liked that---I didn't notice any problems with direction/events. The box set--I thought-- was one of the better ones in years (my favorites being 2006,2008, and 2011). The souvenirs were OK--having a Prime head would have been really cool. All in all, I truly enjoyed myself. I thought it was run pretty well and the panels and guests were great! Was it my favorite BotCon? No. I don't think having registration go up late was a crippler--JoeCon went up less than 2 weeks before it started and all the same people were there (if you want to see a pretty small dealer room--go to a JoeCon---however---FunPub has been doing a great job with Joe convention sets and add-ons!). Long story short--anybody could nit pick about things they didn't like--but in the end---I still had a great time and so did my family!

 

For me this year, for my 15th official BotCon (and 1 that doesn't count - 2003)...

The good
- Frank Welker (the grail is now achieved, leaving me with very few living Gen1 VAs left to cross off)
- Kojin Ono and all those great archival images on the slide show.
- Blurr and Arcee
- Japanese Transformers art panel was also great for all the concept designs that were shown, that were so sensitive that photos were not allowed.
- Hall of Fame Megatron video.
- Hasbro people as usual... always very pleasant, and keen to listen to feedback and answer as much as they are allowed to. That can't be hard to do for three straight days of hardcore fans bombarding them with comments, questions and complaints.
- Custom Class (one of my favorite elements of the Convention)
- More fan-run panels this year, including the online fandom panel that I really enjoyed for being someone who was also around in the mid 90s as well.
- Buying a couple of loose ends in the Dealer Room, and witnessing half of the Hartmans' collection (I missed 2006 for the first half).
- Chicago, sort of. Close enough to be a city that I've been wanting to explore since 2003 which I didn't get much time to do much exploring.
- Golden ticket dinner reception.
- Script reading, with what I hope is deemed canon in the return of Animated Blurr.
- Hasbro let us take photos of their panel this year! Possibly a first.
- 5 minute walking distance to two major stores and heaps of restaurants and ATMs.
- Chicago style pizza... I would have waited an eternity for this.  
- Visiting the Transformers Exhibit in Indianapolis on the way to BotCon was worth it, and helped get into the mood of the Convention a few days later.
- And a shout out to the ever talented Jim Sorenson... the fan/press/guest/writer/etc attendee who is everywhere you look at BotCon, and despite not being publicized as an official guest, he was actually the one who participated in the most panels this year (three - Club Magazine, Animated, Script Reading). Okay, Josh Perez was on three as well, but Jim was just everywhere, hosting panels and taking photos.

The bad
- The remote location of the Resort to trains or public transport, and the trains were hourly for most of the day.
- Minimal headline and secondary guests this year. That in itself wasn't completely bad, but after being spoilt with heaps of guests in recent years, it's hard not to notice the difference it makes.
- The hotel charged our room FIVE times between the two of us staying in the room. It was like a game of tennis, as they would credit one, and then charge the other because they thought it was no longer paid for. This lasted the entire 7 days we were there, as it was still unresolved on checkout, but three days later when I was back home it finally was.
- Taxis were really bad. Of the three companies we tried, they were either not available or we had a 30 minute wait.
- Hotel mini-bus was not available for pickups at the Trainstation for a couple days because it was assigned to the convention before BotCon that had a lot of elderly people who needed ferrying to their rooms from the Mega Center.
- Being brushed off at the Club panel when asking a serious question about (fraudulent?) hiding of the International postage amounts to prevent customers from knowing if they have been excessively overcharged so that they can chase up a refund (despite being assured that they check all orders and voluntarily refund excessive over-charges... which has actually never happened).
- Hasbro exhibit was rather light this year, with no info tags this year, so approximate release dates are unknown, as are wave numbers and pricing. Fortunately we were able to take photos of their presentation so that we got the exact names and spelling correct.
- Lateness of registration and remoteness (and too many burnt bridges with past regular attendees who will never go back now) made it very obviously empty this year. They didn't fill out the Panel room for Welker as they had hoped, nor did they sell out of almost anything. This also affected the number of people in costumes and entries to the Art competition and Filmfest (which had no entries).
- Pre-Con tours seemed to be more for the FunPub staff (who wouldn't have paid - which I don't have a problem with) than for the Toy/SciFi fans who did have to pay. With Legoland and Fermilab nearby, why wasn't at least one of those included instead of two "tourist" tours that were obviously chosen for the non-attendees (staff). One "tourist" tour is good, but both... no. And over a third of the Wednesday people were FunPub staff (again, not something I have a problem with as the staff need to be rewarded for their help), but that tour was obviously chosen for their benefit instead of the attendees who had to pay for it.... and paid double what it would cost if we had done it ourselves. Have a poll in future, to see what attendees would prefer, as the profit margin is great for FunPub on the tours, so more people signing up is better for them.
- The BotCon toys this year were my least favorite since 2009's Elite Guard. A mix and match of series, and most being homages to toys that were never Transformers toys or molds. Either they need more people in-house to give feedback, or the people they do consult with are too afraid to say no to anything because of how FunPub treats customers who have have complaints about legitimate issues. There are a lot of us out here who have been involved in running fan communities for 15-20 years, who are best to know what the spectrum of fans would love or hate, especially if it is for toys that are 3-4 times the price of retail equivalents. Not people who are on the edges of the mainstream fandom who don't interact much with the pulse of the fandom. FunPub only needs to ask, and for as long as can be trusted, we'd do and say what is deemed in the best interest of the fans (which ultimately benefits FunPub if it means profitable toys and conventions).
- Retail toys were non-existent, and not just near the Convention Center. I visited about 25 stores while in America, and came home with just 5 gimmick toys from them. For the stores near the Convention, I would hope that FunPub notify the nearby retailers of their impending toy conventions each year, so that they can stock up on action figures that week. It adds to our Convention experience if you manage to get something outside of the Dealer Room (before the scalpers and dealers get to them), and is obviously a bonus to the Retailers as well.

And the ugly
- the smell in the rooms, that was made worse after it rained and all the wood of the cabins seemed to act as a sponge for the moisture that didn't dissipate for days without having all doors open.

Unless they have a really cheap location, or have it in a state with no sales tax as an incentive to attend and have more money to spend... Pasadena seems to be their most profitable location, especially after bad years (like 2012 and this year).

A movie year might seem likely after the last three movies had it in California, but what real benefit has it been having it there for TF2, 3 & 4 - we didn't get an advance screening of the movie, and at the most we have only seen a sneak peak of a scene or two that wasn't of anything climactic in the movie to boast about.
The one year that we did have an advance screening was the BotCon that wasn't in California (2007)... so having it in Pasadena isn't necessary for anything specially tied to the Movie release.

My feeling is Pasadena next year to get money back in the warchest, and maybe spend that money on a riskier east coast location for 2017.

 

Matrix, 2007 Rhode Island was an amazing location for BotCon!
Loved that there were 4 official hotels in the area, very clean part of the city, and the convention centre was attached to a mall with an amazing food court.

 

A return to Rhode Island would be a great idea from fun pub. I'm sure the lure of another hasbro tour would likely lure in even the most jaded former regular.

 

Eh, maybe its a bit cliche and I don't know Derrick's habits, but I assumed it had something to do with a late night love affair with too many adult beverages.  

 

As I read this tread. I find more comments that I disagree with them what I would agree with.

As far as the hotel went, before I got there I was worried that it was going to be a repeat of 2013. I had a room on the 4th floor of the tower, which all but 1 room was booked under the Botcon rate. I had no problems at all with my room. Other then we could of use another light.

As far as the dealers room. I thought it was larger then what we had last year and at a few other Botcon in the pass. More room in the walkways. New dealers that were their 1st Botcon ever or have not been to a show since the last time in Chicago

As far as box set and souvenirs toys went. The only 3 that I keep were stepper, skids and hoist. The rest were junk in my opinion. That oilmaster was one of the worst toys FP have ever put out and was not worth what they paid to make it. I heard horror stories of the paint applications and the back panel breaking at hinge points.

As far as the numbers of people it was down from previous years. Friday felt and looked like the dealers room on any other Botcon Sunday. Saturday did have a good turn out for general admission, but most were fans that did not want to spend the money for that pile of junk they called a box set.

Sales at the booth were good. Not our best year, but far from my worst year at a Botcon. I truly think that most of the fans are sick and tried of the BS that come with attending Botcon. Why drop 1000.00 or 2000.00 before even walking into the dealers room.

Here my biggest issue of this year's Botcon show. The ban of all 3rd party items. Even tho I do not carry them in the store as regular items. I do getting them from time to time when I buy someone collection. What hurt all of the dealers were those fans that want those toys. Here what I mean. Let's say a dozer of those fans each bring 4000.00 to spend in the dealers room. They spend 2000.00 on 3rd party items and the other 2000.00 on Hasbro license items that 24,000.00 for the rest of us to get. Which was not there this year. I do not see the ban being removed anything soon from what I heard Hasbro wants to do.

I will still be a dealer at Botcon next year. If I can do what I want with my inventory that I have next year maybe my last year as a dealer.

 

I would also have to say I disagree with most comments. The room was great, we stayed in the golf wing and it was plenty big enough for our needs. Yes more lights would have been nice. The dealers room was the biggest I have seen in a long time. The crowd was also fairly big and steady for the most part. Now while certain panels were going on the dealer room got kinda sparse but it gave us a break as well. Th fact that most of the panels and events were being filled up gives props to fun pub as to their venue. Having the voice actors one of which we know has never made an appearance to a convention was a great treat. Our sales in the dealers room were the second best ever since 2000. So if dealers are complaining about sales, it's obviously them but then again I don't mine taking all the sales
Overall, the best Botcon I have ever been to. I hope others had similar experiences.