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FAN EXPO CANADA™ - August 27-29, 2010 - TORONTO, CANADA

Started by Kevin Boyd,

847 posts in this topic

KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
I thought the convention was great. I got the premium pass and Stan Lee's VIP pass.

 

Here are my thoughts and experience.

 

On Friday, waited 1 hr in line from 2pm to 3pm before I managed to get in. I thought premium pass had privilege of by passing the wait... I guess not. When I got in, I was very disappointed with the ASM #638 variant as the copy was slight dented. I wanted to get the triple SS but it was pointless as it won't get a 9.8 or 9.6 for that matter. However, I managed to get the Galactus Action Figure! I got my ASM #638 signed by Olivier Coipel and at around 5:30 ish I got 3 copies of my other ASM signed by Stan and got Desert Wind to witness and sent to CGC. After that, went to Stan Lee's photo ops and since I had the VIP pass, was bumped to the front. People without it had to come back the next day. At 9 pm, went to Macool's bar for the Stan Lee VIP reception. I made some friends in there and we hang around till about midnight. And when we were leaving at the door, Stan Lee was just leaving as well so we managed to get a group shot with him again. That made my day!

 

On Saturday, I got in without any wait/line from the north building around 12 pm. Again, there was a separate line for the VIP pass for Stan Lee's Q&A @ 1 pm and he was awesome! After that, I waited in line for almost 2 hours for Summer Glau's autograph and at 6pm, went for the photo ops for Summer Glau. By then, the show was almost over.

 

On Sunday, again, I got in without any wait/line from the north building around 12:30 ish pm. Went around and picked up my Stan Lee VIP collectible and it was a X-Men #1 variant signed by Stan. Walked around and bought a ASM #194 just for the sake of buying a comic book. (Only bought 1 book the whole time there) At 2:30 pm, got my ASM #638 signed by Paolo Rivera and went to pick up my Summer Glau photo ops but was told it was delayed and it will be mailed to me. From then, there really isn't much left at the expo so I left around 4pm.

 

In conclusion, I thought the expo was great with such an amazing lineup of guests and artists. However, as mentioned before, the comic book section was kidda weak as there was very few quality comic retailers.

Byron?

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thirdgreenham

thirdgreenham

Posted
Posted
i agree, i dont see how they can fix the problems without having a larger venue. once your inside its great, gettin in..not so much. that has nothing to do with kevin so no blame can be put on him. any artists will probably tell you they were taken care of quite nicely so kevin did his job brilliantly. kevin, can you transfer to crowd control now? they need you there. as for size, what about the international centre? is that smaller?

 

Without doing any research, I'd say the International Centre by the airport is much bigger. Although I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times before. :grin:

 

It's just not a centralized location and I think that's what Fan Expo really wants. They want it to be convenient for the fans to get to (such as buses or subway). We'll see, perhaps in 3 years time, it will be at the International Centre. (shrug)

 

andy

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drewincanada

drewincanada

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Posted

 

Without doing any research, I'd say the International Centre by the airport is much bigger. Although I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times before. :grin:

 

It's just not a centralized location and I think that's what Fan Expo really wants. They want it to be convenient for the fans to get to (such as buses or subway). We'll see, perhaps in 3 years time, it will be at the International Centre. (shrug)

 

andy

 

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

North Building Exhibit hall (level 3): 193,000 sq ft

South Building Exhibit halls (lower level): 260,000 sq ft

 

International Centre

Total of 470,000 sq ft, but it's split between about 10 different halls

The biggest single hall is 100,000 sq ft.

 

Direct Energy Centre

Combination of the 4 main halls: 460,000 sq ft

 

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VintageComics

VintageComics

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Posted

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

North Building Exhibit hall (level 3): 193,000 sq ft

South Building Exhibit halls (lower level): 260,000 sq ft

 

I thought that the North hall looked smaller and it is...more than 20% smaller. Wow!

 

International Centre

Total of 470,000 sq ft, but it's split between about 10 different halls

The biggest single hall is 100,000 sq ft.

 

Haven't been here in years so I can comment on it except that public transit would probably be a pain in the butt for most people.

 

Direct Energy Centre

Combination of the 4 main halls: 460,000 sq ft

 

This is a great place for a convention floor but it is a little tougher to get to than the Metro Con Centre.

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Jason Truong

Jason Truong

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Posted

 

Without doing any research, I'd say the International Centre by the airport is much bigger. Although I could be wrong, I've been wrong many times before. :grin:

 

It's just not a centralized location and I think that's what Fan Expo really wants. They want it to be convenient for the fans to get to (such as buses or subway). We'll see, perhaps in 3 years time, it will be at the International Centre. (shrug)

 

andy

 

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

North Building Exhibit hall (level 3): 193,000 sq ft

South Building Exhibit halls (lower level): 260,000 sq ft

 

International Centre

Total of 470,000 sq ft, but it's split between about 10 different halls

The biggest single hall is 100,000 sq ft.

 

Direct Energy Centre

Combination of the 4 main halls: 460,000 sq ft

 

You would have to factor in rooms for panels and stuff along those lines. That would take away a lot for the International Centre, but add a lot more to the MTCC.

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Jason Truong

Jason Truong

Posted
Posted

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

North Building Exhibit hall (level 3): 193,000 sq ft

South Building Exhibit halls (lower level): 260,000 sq ft

 

I thought that the North hall looked smaller and it is...more than 20% smaller. Wow!

 

The 260000 sq ft, include Halls F & G, which were not used in previous Fan Expos. Fan Expo in the South Building has been about 210000 sq ft.

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drewincanada

drewincanada

Posted
Posted

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

North Building Exhibit hall (level 3): 193,000 sq ft

South Building Exhibit halls (lower level): 260,000 sq ft

 

I thought that the North hall looked smaller and it is...more than 20% smaller. Wow!

 

The 260000 sq ft, include Halls F & G, which were not used in previous Fan Expos. Fan Expo in the South Building has been about 210000 sq ft.

 

True enough. I was just showing max capacity. If Fan Expo wanted to expand, they could add an extra 50,000 sq ft without leaving MTCC.

 

I agree that the airport is a terrible location for access by public transportation, and events held in the International Centre appear to have less prestige than those held at MTCC. I think holding Fan Expo at the International Centre would cheapen it in the eyes of the public.

 

Direct Energy Centre is an excellent facility, but as we witnessed with Wizard World, it's not a popular or well-known spot, and doesn't draw the crowds like MTCC. There's also very little to do at Exhibition Place in the spring. Nowhere to eat, nowhere to go. Sure, it's a quick trip to get downtown, but another big advantage of MTCC is being right in the heart of the city.

 

Just recently the Canadian National Sportsmen Shows moved their Toronto shows from Direct Energy Centre to MTCC.

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Subliminal

Subliminal

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Posted
i can't believe some of what has been said. sounds like it is just an event that has out grown it's present location. were the crowds larger than expected?

 

i can't believe some of what has been said. sounds like it is just an event that has out grown it's present location. were the crowds larger than expected?

 

What I don't understand is how does a show 'outgrow' a convention centre? Where else can the show go?

 

 

 

They only use 1/2 the convention (either the North complex or the south) and could spread it out by using all of it. The last time I went to a car show there a long time ago they use to use the SkyDome too.

 

Whether the use the North or South building (or both) the should use the Skywalk from Union Station, including the covered walkways over the tracks for the main lineup so at least the crowds are protected from the direct sun and if there might be rainy conditions on any of the three days.

 

But they don't need to expand they just need more competition like WW to satiate the fans hunger in Toronto. This town could handle two big shows , either two Hobbystar shows or some friendly competition which is why I was happy that WW stepped up this year.

Its unfortunate that FanExpo stepped up with a great range of guests and neglected to fix the crowd control and ticketing issues again this year.

Since Kevin was able to step up to the plate and hit a home run when it came to things that were in his control, especially when it came to the Stan Lee experience, it would be nice if he could take that and the suggestions, constructive criticism and then engineer a coup upstairs at Hobbystar so that he can take the wheel and improve the experience all round next year.

 

We can only hope 2011 will unforgettable for all the right reasons :wishluck:

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BeachBum

BeachBum

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A friend of mine who loves to poke fun at my comic book collecting sent me this article regarding Fan Expo.

 

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/854623--sci-fi-fans-fume-over-mismanaged-fan-expo?bn=1

 

The Youtube video link in the above link cleary shows the chaos that was Saturday afternoon. I remember being inside the Con hall and seeing that Hobbystar chick smiling and taking pictures of the crowds outside several times throughout Friday and Saturday. I'm glad she was entertained.

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DrWatson

DrWatson

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Yeah, Joey, Andy and myself left for lunch and were part of that crowd for a while. Luckily, Andy had a dealer badge and we knew enough people on the "inside" (read Harley Yee and Jamie Graham) to get back inside in about thirty minutes.

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Tiziano

Tiziano

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Posted

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

 

August 31, 2010

 

 

Dear Fans,

 

On behalf of the staff of Fan Expo Canada™ I would like to apologize for the lengthy delays and inconvenience experienced by many at Fan Expo Canada™ this past weekend. We were, quite simply, inadequately prepared for the increased crowds in a venue that was neither familiar to us nor not capable of meeting our collective demands. We recognize and have heard from many of you that this was unacceptable and unfair to our loyal fans.

 

The staff at Fan Expo have been and will continue to read and act upon the concerns communicated by our fans about Fan Expo 2010. In preparation for Fan Expo Canada™ 2011, we have already confirmed a booking of the entire South Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This will be the largest area ever used for our show and its layout is far better suited to the size and nature of our event. We are also committed to the communication of key practices for ticket purchases, show access and other related logistics effectively and well in advance of the 2011 show. In addition, we intend to engage all of the event stakeholders as we work through the planning process including: staff, fans, venue, security, Fire & Emergency Services, Tourism Toronto and the City of Toronto in this process.

 

We appreciate the continued support of each fan, and are grateful to have fans who are willing to take the time and effort to help improve the "Fan Expo Experience". Again we sincerely apologize to the fans that were unable to enjoy the full experience of Fan Expo 2010. Please know that we welcome your feedback and suggestions for how we can improve the fan experience. Please forward your comments to us at info@hobbystar.com.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Aman Gupta and the Fan Expo Canada Team

President and CEO

Hobby Star Marketing, Inc.

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Bruno_s4

Bruno_s4

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Posted

Thank you Tiz/Aman.

 

I appreciate your acknowledgement regarding the mistakes.

 

I am very glad to hear that next year it will be back in the larger South Building.

 

I had no real issues getting in on Friday or Saturday but I did get there a little early and especially on Saturday (around 11:00AM), the VIP pass got is directly in.

Once inside it was VERY difficult to move around and I know my daughter (6) had her share of nervous moments due to the overcrowding. I know her hand probably hurt a bit as I was clutching it constantly trying to navigate her around the people and their costumes.

 

I really wasn't in buying mode (unless a good deal on an early ASM for my run popped up) so all in all we had fun but the Stan Lee package is what made my weekend unforgettable.

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orkorevenge-migration

orkorevenge-migration

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i have a question why was the one booth aloud to show pariahna in 3d uncut , i saw a few little kids walk by and look up at it, i watched one kid push her way to the frount and watch it and her dad came and grabed her and complained to the booth, i noticed on sunday it was gone but, why were there aloud to show it at all.

 

also thanks for posting the letter tiz, alot of people on facebook are just tearing it apart, even if you guys offered refunds every one would still be badmouthing hobbystar, untill some one comes that they want to see , then they will be back.

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campued1010

campued1010

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Posted
i have a question why was the one booth aloud to show pariahna in 3d uncut , i saw a few little kids walk by and look up at it, i watched one kid push her way to the frount and watch it and her dad came and grabed her and complained to the booth, i noticed on sunday it was gone but, why were there aloud to show it at all.

 

also thanks for posting the letter tiz, alot of people on facebook are just tearing it apart, even if you guys offered refunds every one would still be badmouthing hobbystar, untill some one comes that they want to see , then they will be back.

 

Sorry, couldn't disagree with you more. People speak with their wallets, they have lost business going forward, It's not to say these people won't be replaced, but more shows like this and attendance will suffer.

 

I do applaud them for acknowledging the problems and apologizing...always a good start (thumbs u

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joeypost

joeypost

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Posted
i have a question why was the one booth aloud to show pariahna in 3d uncut , i saw a few little kids walk by and look up at it, i watched one kid push her way to the frount and watch it and her dad came and grabed her and complained to the booth, i noticed on sunday it was gone but, why were there aloud to show it at all.

 

also thanks for posting the letter tiz, alot of people on facebook are just tearing it apart, even if you guys offered refunds every one would still be badmouthing hobbystar, untill some one comes that they want to see , then they will be back.

 

Sorry, couldn't disagree with you more. People speak with their wallets, they have lost business going forward, It's not to say these people won't be replaced, but more shows like this and attendance will suffer.

 

I do applaud them for acknowledging the problems and apologizing...always a good start (thumbs u

 

It might help addressing the needs of fans that did not receive 100% of THIS years experience. Unless the show is going to provide a discount to those who were unable to get back in or VIP ticket holders who were not given the VIP treatment these are most likely empty words to them. You know, the whole "what have you done for me lately" thing.

 

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