Update November 1, 2009: What's going on Katsucon?

Less than four months away and still no online pre-reg, nothing I could find on panel submissions, nothing about the AMV contest (except to see that the staff from last year has resigned). From what I can see on the web page you have one band and one cosplayer for guests with no other events shown. $50 at the door registration and a hotel rate that rivals Otakon's nearby hotels.

So, what's going on Katsucon?

I was planning to pre-reg at Nekocon but, for now, I think I'll wait for AUSA and hope by then you have some more details for us.

Get it together Katsucon. You are one of my favorite cons!

Update, June 27, 2009: I visited the Gaylord today. It is a beautiful resort hotel, right on the river. The Katsucon room price for the Gaylord is $169 a night. Kind of high, but a fair price for this location. However, the Gaylord adds $15 a night "resort fee" and $19 a day for self-parking. Taxes at this location add another $27 a night for a total of $230 per night!  This is more than I pay for Otakon! Even so, it is an excellent price for such a nice hotel. 

I have booked a room at the Residence Inn for $149 a night. Taxes are $23.84 and parking is $10. Total $182.84 a night. This includes complementary breakfast and high speed internet. This hotel is directly across the street from the Gaylord. I booked online, no advance deposit, and an instant email confirmation.

If the price for the Gaylord is making you hesitate, I recommend booking at room at the Residence Inn.

Update, June 12, 2009: Colette H. Fozard has posted on the Katsucon forums that she has resigned from Katsucon and will no longer be their Chairwoman. This loss of such a talented and dedicated person is a bad blow to this con at a time when they really need someone good at the helm.

Katsucon 15 review:

First off let me say that this review will not make mention of the problems of an overcrowded hotel. This situation was well known or should have been well known to everyone attending and has already been corrected for next year as Katsucon moves to the Gaylord National!

Katsucon 15 was great! Lots of great fun, events, and shows.

Check in to the hotel on Thursday evening was smooth and easy. This was the best hotel experience I’ve ever enjoyed. Everything from check in to room service to maid service to valet and check out was perfect! Also, the hotel did a great job of keeping up with the clean up each evening.

Pre-reg on Thursday evening was a little slow but compared to the line going outside the hotel on Saturday, wow. What a mess! See my comments at the end of this review for more details.

Most of the events I attended started on time. The AMV contest was one of the best I’ve seen in some time. Many great AMVs! Not a bad one in the show. But why did they delay the contest on Friday with a showing of Aqua Teen Hunger Force?

The YMCK concert was fantastic! Great sounds, vocals, mix, and the background video was a wonderful addition. Great show!

Aural Vampire had a great stage presence, good music and fair vocals for a nice karaoke style concert. The gothic poses at the right moments really gave life to the show.

The Video Game room was well equipped and I really liked the retro games.

The panels I saw were well ran and well attended. And the video rooms always seemed full and had great quality anime and some good old samurai movies. Whoever had the idea of showing AMVs as fillers before and after the scheduled videos? Pure genius!

Sadly, I never got to the Maid Café. I tried a couple times but the line was just too long.

The artist alley had the usual fair but the art show was one of the best I’ve seen in awhile. Lots of really good and some really unusual work.

The Dealer’s room was packed with anime, shirts, swords, and everything an otaku could want. Again, one of the best I’ve seen in awhile.

The Charity Art Auction started late, causing people to choose between it and a last run through the Dealer’s room. Why can’t these things ever start on time?

In summary, this was a great con! The hard work and dedication of the staff and volunteers really showed.

But now, it’s time for Katsucon to grow up. Katsucon had only two anime video rooms and a handful of panels. This needs to change. A con of this size should offer a lot more. At least three if not four anime rooms. Maybe an AMV room? And definitely a few more good panels. Katsucon seems to use a registration system of “find your name on the list.” This is fine for a smaller convention, not so good for one with four thousand names on that list. Also, you need to treat your pre-reg customers a little better by having a pre-reg line.