I wanna cosign this but also add some stuff as a disabled person. and make an important point, which is:
Anyone with eyes could see this was how things were going to happen before the con began.
I said to my friends before the con started that given last year's con was disorganised chaos, it was likely this year would be even more so. The evidence for this:
They didnât put a whole lot of effort into organising last year and got away with it â people came back anyway despite last yearâs lack of planning and major disorganisation. I know people had a great time but it was at times in spite of the (lack of) organisation
There was nothing on the website that indicated a plan or any enthusiasm for the detail of a con â they kept throwing more names at us but thatâs all they did
These people are not fans themselves â where was the acknowledgement of the sga 20 year anniversary, for instance? All they ever promised us is Look! Actors! Lots of them! We donât have any plan for them but theyâll be here! Pay extortionate money to get their name on a bit of paper cos thatâs all this con offers!
They booked stars from one of the queerest shows on TV (OFMD) and then they also, out of a very limited selection of fandoms, had a Harry Potter presence too. Nobody in 2024 doesnât realise thatâs a provocative move â good way to get attention, but also a prime indicator you donât care about the people whose money youâre trying to pocket (I didnât notice the HP element, would not have gone if I had).
They booked Jason Momoa to come to their little con. They didnât keep things manageable and within the scope of inexperienced con organisers, they went big and chose to rake in the loot over making it a good experience for people.
The rumour that seems to be well verified is that they laid off a bunch of staff after Friday. This makes sense in the context that they could then blame staff "mysteriously not turning up" for any problems, but as I said above, some of us saw these problems coming, and laying people off then looks like a PR move.
They are very ready with excuses but Friday was also disorganised chaos and Jason Momoa hadn't even showed up yet.
They absolutely relied on the goodwill of fans, staff and guests, and I have to say I was hugely impressed with how all of these folks came through - and the stoicism and good humour of everyone given what we went through, which was not unlike getting whumped. The organisers provided the hurt, we provided the comfort. It was a positive experience because of these people and in spite of the organisers, but they should not be allowed to get away with what amounted to exploitation and abuse.
I realise not everyone was good humoured but honestly that;s to be expected. If the organisers had been visible they could have mitigated that and taken control of things a bit â another sign they didnât care all that much.
The fans were by and large amazing, their spirits incredible, I simply cannot get over how good humoured people were given what was happening. The guests were troopers and I heard good things about them from behind the scenes too.
Disabled access at the con
I talked to a lot of disabled people this weekend and access was *really* bad. People were having a rough time.
There were a lot of disabled people there - unsurprisingly - here are just a few of the issues:
Poor responsiveness to access questions before the event and a lack of understanding/awareness of disability from the access team
having to prove a disability to get accomodations, no thought to general accessibility for common issues - like the widespread inability to stand for long periods, the prevalence of neurodiversity
a lot of cons let you ask for disability passes on the day because There Are So Many Disabled Fans - I hate to imagine what happened to people who turned up on the day without copies of their PIP letter or whatever, thinking they'd be accomodated
Little signage to help navigate the site from the get-go - can't blame that on the staffing during the event and it speaks to the casualness of the organisers
Likewise, the shittiest site map in existence which had none of the accessible spaces/entries or routes marked on it
One accessible toilet that was very hard to find (I didnât locate it til Sunday) and also not marked on the map - most of us who had some mobility just braved the portacabins, one loo was not enough when there was a huge presence of disabled people
the lack of us being well accommodated meant hostility from other con attendees and rumours some people were "abusing" the system but that's what you get when you have clunky/awkward access solutions and make the disabled folks unnecessarily stand out. The point of access is to make us feel part of things not separated off.
They did not brief guests not to hassle the signers while they were working, this led to some cringey moments of inappropriate jokes and questions from panels.
constantly blocked access routes - it was like navigating some especially shitty videogame
heavy doors everywhere that were impossible for some of us to open then later said doors were propped open with heavy objects that obstructed access even more - these were likely fire doors too, so eek
quiet spaces that kept changing use and weren't signed
no actual space made for wheelchair/scooter users to sit with friends and other guests (and when i cited this as an access need prior to the con I was blown off) - in the main hall we were siloed down one side, meaning a) pain because we're looking at stage at an angle and far from everyone else b) nobody notices we have our hands up (and you try keeping your hand up for a long time when you have fibro or other pain/weakness issues) c) separated from our support people or else they're forced to stand
No alternative catering meaning people with special dietary requirements and the need to eat/drink at variable times were pretty screwed and it was just hard to get a drink when you needed one with only one source and so many people.
By their own admission, they didnât plan for the possibility that rooms full of huge groups of people would get too hot in May, and hadnât talked adequate water supply, fans and aircon with the hotel. The heat had a disproportionate effect on disabled folks and it was at dangerous levels, I believe some people collapsed from it.
I'm forgetting stuff I know. Feel free to add onto this.
They donât care about us, we shouldnât care about them
All of this tells me the organisers do not know their client group nor do they care to. The statement they made blaming everyone including Jason Momoa and poor, lovable RDA is darvo-esque nonsense. It also features a photo from last yearâs con of happy attendees, which is downright duplicitous.
They think they can get away with this. They think we'll decide they did their best and fates conspired against them. I think they're laughing all the way to the bank at their open-hearted, gullible marks.
So please, hit them where it hurts. Ask for every refund you can. Apply for chargeback (they're saying don't, I'm imagining that's because credit card companies and banks are a lot harder to blow off than individuals. Go after every penny you deserve to get back from them and complain to every official about every one of their multiple violations of health and safety and trading standards.
After saying all that, it was still amazing to see my friends but truly awful to see people suffering, especially the ones who came from overseas for this. You all have a right to be very angry about this.
