The Convention dealers floor was just as HUGE as last year, but it took even longer to walk to the other end of the hall. There were just too many people. Everyone knows what a good deal Comic-Con San Diego is and they ALL showed up. There was so much to see! Each year I get more and more blown away by everything. I didn't even get to some booths at all! San Diego was having a heat wave during Con, so I think that made people a little extra cranky.
I enjoyed most of the variety of items that were represented this year. Anime manga, Books, horror & scifi. There were the usual, caps, shirts, game demos, CCG gaming card tables, key chains, buttons, pins, pens etc. What I really did not like was the total lack of girl stuff. In 2005 companies brought Winx, Star Sisters, W.I.T.CH. and a few others. Hasbro even had a special My Little Pony to buy. This year I did not see any of that stuff. Maybe I missed it? But that doesn't explain why Hasbro brought a Littlest Pet Shop toy that I could have gotten at Target. Big Whoop! I am used to being slighted in a male dominated genre, but this time it was ridiculous.
98% of all Attendees are good folk. They walk around without stealing. They take only a few freebies not a fist full. They get to a panel on time or early and walk in. If they need to, they find a line and get in it! They don't bitch and moan and try to cut in the front! I have never known so many people to whine and lie about something that seems so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Ballroom 20 and Hall H are giant rooms, but they don't hold 10,000 people. I will NEVER understand why some attendees cannot plan ahead? There are a million people trying to park. A billion people in Registration. A zillion people in the Exhibit hall. Infinity is the number you should expect at a panel!! NO planning involved, just open your eyes.
I think Communication was a problem this year. For example: I saw the very good Blade TV panel. The cast and the writers were all on stage. There was no mention of a free giveaway in the Programming guide. Spike just decided to be nice and hand t-shirts out as a bonus. This would seem like a great thing, but I am sure if they had mentioned it to CCI they might have pointed out the "size of the room versus the amount of items" problem. Having your panel in a 1,000 seat room and only bringing 600 shirts just does not cut it. A nice idea suddenly turns ugly and makes fans cranky. I noticed MANY companies would bring exclusive freebies for panels only, but not nearly enough. Wouldn't a simple phone call have fixed the panel size problem? Any attendee could have clued them in on the shear volume of swag they should bring with them on the dealers floor each day. Running out of items on Friday, with 2 more days left really sucks. Too little communication also creates bottlenecks at doors & aisles. Without advance warning (red shirts) Elite did not have enough security. CCI Staff is not prepared and the Company of choice sends too few workers to hand out the item, if any workers at all.
Stargate had two Panels this year and they were both wonderful. Unfortunately the first panel was in a 1,000 seat room and was packed. They gave out 1,000 Gate pewter key chain! (They know how to count). Stargate fans are rabid and they clogged the small aisles of the hallway. The long line had to be moved because its length was impacting other rooms. Moving created more cranky people, who were worried that they would not see the panel and not get their key chain. The second Stargate panel was in the huge Ballroom 20 and had some of the actors from SG1 on first and then the Atlantis crew on next. Both groups were entertaining and I am very glad I got to see them in between working.
Exhibitors had ticketed giveaways for their Premiums & Giveaways. I did not get anything. I missed out on all the drawings because I was working and not there at the time. This years super luck fell on me from friends. They got me the illusive and exclusive Jack O'Neil Stargate figure! Thank you SciFi Channel booth! I don't care what the thing is going for on eBay it is mine, ALL MINE bwahaha! I will post a separate list of what I bought & was given as presents in a different area. Due to the greedy people, the SciFi booth & many others had handlers again. The staff members handed one Promo item to each person. There were always several of them working at a time. At SciFi they did not give out the same item. I failed to get all the Stargate and Battlestar Galactica items. Many pins, 2 shirts & Doc Who dvd. But atleast I got Jack & a SGA shirt.
Here are only a few of the many 2006 Swag pictures that I took:
(photos removed after 6 months)