I'm very close to deciding to do it because Patty will be in Oman then, so it's non-disruptive to our lives, and it would also be really nice for me to go to a con _just_ as a fan again. It's been a while.
1) Doctor Who is, no surprise, my first fandom and - following a nigh-decade of stupidity when I thought I was too "adult" for fannishness - once again my favorite.
2) The convention is small enough that you have a chance to socialize with your friends as well as attending all the panels and such. Last year was the biggest G1 on record with 880 guests. I suspect they'll break a thousand in '09, but not by much.
3) The fans are, by and large, extremely nifty people. The nice-person-to-jerk ratio is quite high. And the fans, by and large, are free of the sillier sorts of squee. (That's not to say it doesn't exist, she says, thinking of the time she squee'd at a guest...)
4) The post-convention drinkup with assorted guests in the lobby bar on Sunday night is quite the thing to behold and not to be missed. Ask me about Terry Molloy's shoes, some time...
And if GDL's activity this past year is anything to go on, I don't think it's beyond the realm of doubt to hope he'll be added to the guest list. Heh. Man, oh man, I'd be happy if that happened. But that's just me. :)
Well, I'm waiting to make my final decision until the flurry of guest announcements it seems like they are going to make in September.
I definitely, definitely, think being in a more co-ed, more brainy, older fandom will be nice for me. Although I will now have to force myself to figure out Old Who, which I'm still afraid I will hate as much as I hated it when I was a teen and twenty-something (although I rocked at the pinball machine).
Any thoughts on this vs. Chicago Tardis (which doesn't seem to have as cool a guest list, but has the niftyness of being in Chicago)?
Old School Who can require a lot of effort, especially if a person's being exposed to it *after* the New School, I think. I laugh at it a lot, myself - but not maliciously so. Well, not *always*.
Chicago TARDIS is much smaller. I've only been to the one in 2007 and I was told that it was a bit smaller than average because Eric Roberts was a limited draw (and some attendees cancelled after hearing the erroneous report that ER wouldn't be appearing at all after his flight was delayed) so there were, hrm, about 350 people there.
The much bruited-about 'access' to the guests was, indeed, present - with the minimum of squee. Mind you, I was squee'ing on the *inside* a lot ("OMG! I just bought Nicholas Briggs a drink! EEEE!") and I suspect I wasn't the only one. ;)
I thought it was very much like Gallifrey One in ambiance and cheerful fannishness, just on a smaller scale - there's a few dozen attendees (near as I can tell) who attend both conventions, which further enhanced that sensation.
There was MUCH less programming at Chicago 07 than there was at Gally. My one time there, there would be The Big Thing in the ballroom and then one Something Else in another, much smaller, programming room - just two tracks. There were times when I was left at a bit of a loose end, not fancying either option, but I filled those in with gin. (Not that I'm doing *that* again. Ow.)
However, with Elisabeth Sladen announced as a guest this time, 'round, I think it's going to be much busier. But I *suspect* that "busy" for Chicago means "around 500 guests" - I'm not sure. I'll ask the mailing list if there's any pre-reg numbers to share, if you're curious...
Chicago costs more, compared to Gallifrey and what you're getting for that money (ie, two programming tracks rather than half a dozen) but that's not an issue for me. Well, I mean the *cost* is, but I don't price-out my convention experience by how many panels I get to the dollar, or anything...
Oh, and the hotel this year is WAY out there in the, erm, western part of the city, I think. It's a $50 r/t shuttle to get to the hotel, from both Midway and O'Hare. The con staff have organized a mailing list for folks who want to organize car and shuttle-pools (one particular company offers a discount for groups of a certain size all making the same trip) so you'll want to plug that cost into your calculations - and I fear it's nowhere near the nifty bits of the city which you just visited. I just thought I'd mention that.
Well that resolves that issue. Also, the timing of it sucks for me, but I wanted to have that sense of info. Because yeah, Chicago Tardis sounds like it would feel too small to me.
*nod* I must admit, I probably wouldn't be fighting quite so hard to get out there, this year, if it wasn't for a couple of the guests (who don't usually make Gally) and that I'm already off the hook for family obligations as my father will be going out of town, himself, for the holidays...
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Date: 2008-08-12 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 05:24 pm (UTC)1) Doctor Who is, no surprise, my first fandom and - following a nigh-decade of stupidity when I thought I was too "adult" for fannishness - once again my favorite.
2) The convention is small enough that you have a chance to socialize with your friends as well as attending all the panels and such. Last year was the biggest G1 on record with 880 guests. I suspect they'll break a thousand in '09, but not by much.
3) The fans are, by and large, extremely nifty people. The nice-person-to-jerk ratio is quite high. And the fans, by and large, are free of the sillier sorts of squee. (That's not to say it doesn't exist, she says, thinking of the time she squee'd at a guest...)
4) The post-convention drinkup with assorted guests in the lobby bar on Sunday night is quite the thing to behold and not to be missed. Ask me about Terry Molloy's shoes, some time...
And if GDL's activity this past year is anything to go on, I don't think it's beyond the realm of doubt to hope he'll be added to the guest list. Heh. Man, oh man, I'd be happy if that happened. But that's just me. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 05:27 pm (UTC)I definitely, definitely, think being in a more co-ed, more brainy, older fandom will be nice for me. Although I will now have to force myself to figure out Old Who, which I'm still afraid I will hate as much as I hated it when I was a teen and twenty-something (although I rocked at the pinball machine).
Any thoughts on this vs. Chicago Tardis (which doesn't seem to have as cool a guest list, but has the niftyness of being in Chicago)?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 05:50 pm (UTC)Chicago TARDIS is much smaller. I've only been to the one in 2007 and I was told that it was a bit smaller than average because Eric Roberts was a limited draw (and some attendees cancelled after hearing the erroneous report that ER wouldn't be appearing at all after his flight was delayed) so there were, hrm, about 350 people there.
The much bruited-about 'access' to the guests was, indeed, present - with the minimum of squee. Mind you, I was squee'ing on the *inside* a lot ("OMG! I just bought Nicholas Briggs a drink! EEEE!") and I suspect I wasn't the only one. ;)
I thought it was very much like Gallifrey One in ambiance and cheerful fannishness, just on a smaller scale - there's a few dozen attendees (near as I can tell) who attend both conventions, which further enhanced that sensation.
There was MUCH less programming at Chicago 07 than there was at Gally. My one time there, there would be The Big Thing in the ballroom and then one Something Else in another, much smaller, programming room - just two tracks. There were times when I was left at a bit of a loose end, not fancying either option, but I filled those in with gin. (Not that I'm doing *that* again. Ow.)
However, with Elisabeth Sladen announced as a guest this time, 'round, I think it's going to be much busier. But I *suspect* that "busy" for Chicago means "around 500 guests" - I'm not sure. I'll ask the mailing list if there's any pre-reg numbers to share, if you're curious...
Chicago costs more, compared to Gallifrey and what you're getting for that money (ie, two programming tracks rather than half a dozen) but that's not an issue for me. Well, I mean the *cost* is, but I don't price-out my convention experience by how many panels I get to the dollar, or anything...
Oh, and the hotel this year is WAY out there in the, erm, western part of the city, I think. It's a $50 r/t shuttle to get to the hotel, from both Midway and O'Hare. The con staff have organized a mailing list for folks who want to organize car and shuttle-pools (one particular company offers a discount for groups of a certain size all making the same trip) so you'll want to plug that cost into your calculations - and I fear it's nowhere near the nifty bits of the city which you just visited. I just thought I'd mention that.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-12 05:59 pm (UTC)