First of all, my trip to Vegas was very short notice. In fact, I booked the bus ticket three hours before it left so I apologized for those who did not know I was going to be at AniMegaCon.
Usually for my con videos, I would be at a con for all three days talking to everyone. In this case, because I only had a day, I decided to take it easy. I plan on hanging out with friends thus the video focuses more on my friends than more of the interviews I would usually do with a wide range of cosplayer. (And basically, I needed a vacation con)
I was at AniMegaCon from Thursday night to early Saturday morning before I boarded my bus back to Los Angeles so my experience is basically just Day One - Friday.
AniMegaCon is a first year con hosted at the LVH (Las Vegas Hotel & Casino). I'll admit right now, this is my only "first year" con I've ever attended. I wasn't sure what to expect.
The convention had their own little section of the hotel - the convention center area. I believe they only used maybe 1/2 the space that the hotel had. When you first enter the con center, registration was to the right. I don't recall a time where there was a heavy line so it was very easy to get badges. To the front of you were panel rooms. To the left, lead to table top gaming room as well as video screening room. To the right after the registration was a hallway that lead down to artist alley/dealer on the right and main events stage on the left. They also have a large area where tables set-up to chill at. Check out some of their photos on their facebook page.
First of all despite little set-backs, I think the con did a pretty good job. Yes there was some schedule conflicts but at the same time, I like the fact I could walk down dealer hall and not get lost in the crowd. If you've been following me, you know I've been to San Diego Comic Con, Otakon, Anime Expo, pretty much the biggest cons in the country. There might not be a crowd but I still had a good time talking to folks.
I was disappointed the cosplay burlesque show was cancelled. For years cosplay burlesque could be found at East Coast cons such as AnimeNext, MTAC, and Anime Boston to name a few but I have rarely seen it out on West Coast cons. I thought cosplay burlesque would be a perfect fit for AniMegaCon since this is Las Vegas and all.
At times I did get bored but luckily there was the Las Vegas monorail which allowed you to travel to the Las Vegas Strip. One way tickets were $5 which is on the steep side but hey, I was in Vegas !
The folks I met were from all over the place - Seattle, Austin, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Utah, and of course California ^^ I feel there's definite room for improvements but I can see this growing.
Unfortunately I wasn't there for Saturday - generally the big day at any con. I missed a lot of friends who were showing up on that day like Chocolate Covered Cosplay but I had to return to Los Angeles for work. I also missed the masquerade but luckily, ACP was there and hosted it on their page.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this con for the future.
