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View Full Version : Griffin's BotCon Adventure (non-news bits).



griffin
22nd April 2008, 03:41 PM
This'll just have some of my mostly pre-con highlights, and won't include any actual news - I'll post that in the news sections when the time comes.

Well, I finally got here (Cincinnati). But for a number of reasons, it wasn't looking good.

I got to bed on sunday night later than I wanted, and then ended up not being able to sleep at all, mostly due to being nervous about the trip. So despite this year's international flight leaving from Brisbane, and not through Sydney (which requires a 5am flight from Brisbane to Sydney first), I had the opportunity to sleep the night before (I don't risk sleeping on the years when I have to fly to Sydney because I would have to rely on an alarm to wake me up before 3am). So it was a waste having the night to sleep this year, and being too nervous to actually get any sleep.

So I decided to get up a little before 5am, to get the last of the stuff printed up, emailed and packed, for a scheduled departure time of 8am.
As usual, I was late, and left home about 8.30. Caught a bus and train to the airport (cheapest option), and arrived at 10am. I should have been there at 9.30am, for the 1 & 1/2 hour check-in requirement on international travel, and as such, I looked to be the last person checking in. It wouldn't have been so bad if it were previous years, but this year I was checking in luggage to America, as opposed to just packing light enough to be able to be able to take my bag on the plane with me.

It wouldn't have mattered much, because once we were all on board and the plane pulled away from the terminal to do it's pre-flight checks, an announcement was made by the captain to inform us that a warning light for engine 1 wouldn't let them go until it was checked by ground staff.
For the next hour, we were sitting there as 4 or 5 maintenance staff started openning up parts of the engine looking for the fault. (I had a window seat looking out over the engine, so have a couple of photos on my phone to post here later)
Then the announcement was made that we would be towed back to the departure gate for us to be let off, because they needed at least 2 hours to replace some computer parts in the engine.
So now a scheduled 11am flight was going to be at least 2pm, and would mean missing my connecting flight in LA.
Before we were let off, another announcement was made, to let us know that we would each be given a $15 food voucher to use in the Airport food court, plus given a little tub of juice. (aww, that oughta be sufficient compensation...)
So while I was still sitting there in the plane waiting to be let back off, I was thinking of what I would spend the food voucher on, and decided to get out my keycard/credit cards in case I went over $15.
I couldn't find them!!! :eek:
I searched my pockets and backpack (which I had in the plane with me), but they were no where to be seen.
I started panicking. What if I had left them at home? I wouldn't have any of the money I had been saving up these last few weeks, and I probably wouldn't even be able to get into the hotel if they needed to physically verify and swipe the Credit Card I used in the booking.
Okay, so 2 hour delay - I started thinking that it would be enough time to get a taxi home and back again. It would be expensive, but spending about $140 to be able to spend 3 grand would be a necessary expense. Unfortunately, the airport people wouldn't let me leave the airport if I had luggage checked in and loaded on the plane (I could be a terrorist, planting a bomb and not returning). The one year I check in luggage, and it prevents me from being able to go home to get my cards.
I needed a new idea.
Okay, I rang up one of the people who rents the upstairs part of the house I live in (I rent the downstairs level), to see if they were at home and to beg them to go into my part of the house and look for my cards. I remembered where they were before I packed, and didn't do much after I packed before I left (I have everything out ready to pack, but pack my bags just before I go so that I have fresh in my mind that I have everything on my checklist). The problem was, I was having a total blank on what I did with my cards while I was packing everything away. I should have put them in my jeans pockets with my money and passport, but for some reason didn't do that, or even remember to do it.
So the other person was looking around, but couldn't find them. Where could they be. The only things I could think of were, they were in my checked in bag (shouldn't be, and I don't remember putting them in there), I lost them on the way to the airport (fell out of my pocket while pulling money out to pay for public transport), or, in my shorts pocket at home (I was wearing them the last time I remember seeing the cards, and could have put them in my pockets by accident).
There wasn't much I could do now. I couldn't ask the person looking for my cards to go through my dirtly cloths basket to check my pockets, and I wouldn't be able to check my checked-in bag for about another 13 hours in LA. All I could do is just wait it out, and just hope that they were accidently packed in my checked-in bag. I was so annoyed with myself, because this was ninth BotCon adventure and not double-checking the money side of things before I left home was like a newbie mistake.

So now I was in the food-court at the Brisbane International Terminal, and I use the words 'food-court' very loosely. The BIT is still a very small airport - it has only been servicing direct flights to America for less than four years (I was actually on the very first direct US flight for BC04, coincedentally), and the terminal only has about 14 departure gates. So as you can expect, the number of retail outlets in this particular airport is only about 7, with 4 of them being food outlets. So imagine the scene of about 350 people all wanting to use food vouchers at these four tiny food outlets. :eek:
It actually took an hour to get something from the Eagle Boys Express Pizza outlet. The turnover for that one day would probably equal a few months of trade for them. Unless QANTAS does this sort of thing often (mechanical failures seem to be getting quite common since they moved their fleet maintenance to Indonesia a couple of years ago).
So you have about 350 people each with a $15 meal voucher, plus dozens of passengers QANTAS have to pay for new connections, transfer fees or accomodation in LA (if their connection was a one-per-day type of route), all adding up and probably being written off as a tax deduction, so doesn't affect the QANTAS exec's opinion of using cheap foreign maintence crews that were so bad, they were featured on 60minutes with photos of the dodgy work being done.
While I was waiting for the pizza queue to disapate, I harassed Demonac for a while by phone. It helped relieve some of the stress of the missing cards. :)

Before we were called back to the plane, I phoned my travel agent, who was great in being able to check my connecting flight options, and booked me onto the next on, which was an hour and 10 minutes later. Hopefully enough time if they fixed the problem soon and there were no other delays. Otherwise, the travel agent told me that the next connection was 11 hours later, and I would be missing the first night of my hotel reservation.
Back on board by 2.30pm, we took off 20minutes later, almost 4 hours behind schedule!!!!
Everyone on my side of the plane was looking at the faulty engine as we took off, expecting it to fall off or explode. It had a bit of smoke come out of it, like an old car being started, but that fortunately was the only problem I noticed during the flight.
The pilot must have floored it though, as we managed to make up about 30minutes. The first thing I did when I picked up my checked-in bag was look for my credit cards, and yes, they were in there. Phew! I still don't even remember putting them in. They must have been caught up in something else.
The Customs lady who processed me was quite amused at my reason for visiting the US, and noticed on the computer that I had been doing this almost every year since 1999. Well, at least she didn't think I was a terrorist and no one ever heard from me again. :)
Once again, if I hadn't been taking any checked in luggage, I would actually have been able to make my connecting flight, because it had been delayed by 30 minutes.
Not to worry though. As it turned out, we got out of LA really quickly (it is a really bad airport, and most flights can take up to half an hour between pulling away from the gate to taking off), and we arrived at Cincinnati airport 30minutes early. So after all those delays and problems, I only ended up being about 45 minutes later checking into the hotel than when I expected to be here.
The first night is always a nothing night if checking in after dark, so all I did was get some food (pizza shop was the only thing interesting that was open), watch some TV, post here (signed up for an internet 'day pass' for only US$10 - compared to $2-3 an hour at the hotels last year), get cleaned up and go to bed (shortly). It's now about 2.30am here (which would be about 4.30pm East Aus time), and I need to get up early tomorrow morning to check out some hotel details - the second hotel that was offered, is indeed closer to the convention centre (now that I know for sure where it is), as Saintly had suggested to me. And it has an undercover walkway to the convention centre, to protect all the toys from the rain that is forecast for the convention weekend. THe Botcon website gave me the impression that the first hotel was part of the convention centre (said it was next to it), but is actually on the other side of a four way intersection. And it is more expensive than the second hotel, the better hotel. Only problem is that if I change hotels, I have to let Saintly know before he gets here later in the week, and it seems that I didn't have his phone number written down in my notebook as I had thought I did. So if anyone here knows his mobile number, please send me a PM. Thanks.
Back again in several hours. :)

Kyle
22nd April 2008, 03:51 PM
Glad you found your credit cards! :eek:

autobreadticon
22nd April 2008, 03:52 PM
haha you are very precise on the details with food

iceburn
22nd April 2008, 03:52 PM
PM sent on Saintly's mobile

Pulse
22nd April 2008, 03:55 PM
Oh what an entertaining start to your trip. :D

lcz128
22nd April 2008, 03:58 PM
Holy Moly! Wow- That is damn dramatic. Glad to hear that things are working out though :D Woo! Go you! Looking forward to hearing how you go with the week! :)

Paulbot
22nd April 2008, 04:04 PM
Yeah what a drama! But good to hear things worked out in the end. I remember custom queue in LA being a slo-o-o-o-w queue and would have been really worried if I was trying to make a connecting flight out of there!

roller
22nd April 2008, 07:23 PM
Griff bring me back one of those giant hungry jacks burgers please

Bartrim
23rd April 2008, 08:43 AM
Wow what a dramatic start to the journey. Glad you founf your cards and everything worked out.:)

But did you leave Maccualy Culkin home alone? That is the real question:p

sifun
23rd April 2008, 08:52 AM
holy crap. stressful.
Now you make me not want to travel. again.

haha glad you found your credit cards..
You should sleep more and keep them all in one spot! ;) haha happens to my dad all the time.

Burn
23rd April 2008, 09:02 AM
And this is just his first day! By the time this is over he'll have a printable novel that will have you on the edge of your seat in anticipation. :p

Bartrim
23rd April 2008, 09:42 AM
And this is just his first day! By the time this is over he'll have a printable novel that will have you on the edge of your seat in anticipation. :p

I'll wait for the movie to come out:p

griffin
23rd April 2008, 10:25 AM
I hate it when you type up a lengthy post and you lose it all because the computer suddenly decides to close the window you were working in. Stupid Microsoft. :(
This shorter retype will probably make most of you glad that I'm not rambling on again... :p

Spent today juggling between hotels, to get into the other one which has covered access to the convention center (in case it rains this weekend as forecast), and is about $17 per night cheaper.
I don't get a refund from the full amount the Hyatt charged at check-in for up to 3 days, so will have to temporarily pay out another $700 for accomodation, which I may not get back in time for the convention (and if I did, there aren't many in the dealer room who take credit cards).
Still can't get a hold of Saintly to let him know that I have switched hotels, so have to work out a way of catching him when he arrives 'some time on Thursday night'.
Had a bit of a recon of the convention center today, and it is huge. Saw three of the Botcon staff (Brian, Pete, Rik) on my way over there, and it looked like they had some of the convention toys with them (don't ask, I didn't try to look at them - I'd like to enjoy the unveilling to the masses and feel the crowd's excitement like BotCon of old - and I haven't been following who the extra BC toys are either).
Walked around the city CBD, because their busses don't go south of the river (the state border about half a Km away), which left only 2 stores of interest that were reachable by bus, which wasn't worth the time and expense of checking out (I'm not after much at retail at the moment, so not too fussed about missing the opportunity here). The next two days should be fun enough to make up for it.
Couldn't find the grocery store that the internet searches said should be nearby. So no big sampling of American foods like in recent years (I get so fascinated by all their unhealthy breakfast cereals, and wanted to post some back home this year (wouldn't be enough time to eat them here)).
I found an outlet that sold Gyros (didn't know what they were, but remembered it from an episode of Seinfelt), they ended up being like a cross between a soft taco and a kebab.
Also found a pathetically small music and DVD store nearby, but didn't find anything I really wanted (like certain cartoon DVDs that are heaps cheaper here than in Australia).
I also realised that I don't have the means to transfer photos from my camera to this computer, so will have to take as many as I can with my phone in addition to the better quality ones on my camera.
I'll leave you tonight with some photos so far from my phone, and will hopefully be back online in about 24 hours in the other hotel.
The first is from my seat in the plane watching the engine being pulled apart (no, not paranoid at all... ) and the second is the convention center from my room.

Burn
23rd April 2008, 10:40 AM
This shorter retype will probably make most of you glad that I'm not rambling on again... :p

Ramble to your heart's content! I was actually quite engrossed in your first update, despite the lack of paragraph usage! :p

So Cincinnati (that's where it is isn't it?) isn't that great of a city?

MV75
23rd April 2008, 11:01 AM
and I need to get up early tomorrow morning to check out some hotel details - the second hotel that was offered, is indeed closer to the convention centre (now that I know for sure where it is), as Saintly had suggested to me. And it has an undercover walkway to the convention centre, to protect all the toys from the rain that is forecast for the convention weekend. THe Botcon website gave me the impression that the first hotel was part of the convention centre (said it was next to it), but is actually on the other side of a four way intersection. And it is more expensive than the second hotel, the better hotel.

Should have used Google Earth to look it up. :)

Also get some food pictures. I like that sort of thing the best from your trips. :)
________
No2 vaporizer (http://vapirno2.net)

griffin
23rd April 2008, 12:07 PM
The aerial maps I did look up didn't help me work out for sure which building was the convention center, and didn't show the walkways that go over the roads, so I wouldn't have been able to see that part of it was uncovered between the Hyatt and the Convention Center. Saintly seemed to be sure that the Millenium was closer, but word has been floating around that the Millenium isn't too good with quality. But who cares if it gives up more spending money on toys and I'd be too busy outside of the room to care.
I'll try to get some more food photos, but it looks like I won't be able to get to a Burger King this year :(
None within accessable walking distance. Haven't seen any Mcdonalds in the CBD either, which is odd. I found a Wendys Burger though, which is my second favourite franchise behind BK/HJ.
Burn - yeah, I'm terrible with long paragraphs and sentences. Oh, and I find that most US City CBD's (downtown) are mostly for business and hotels, unlike our capital cities that have a lot of retail shops in the CBD. So most BotCons have required a fair bit of travel away from the hotel to do any retail toy shopping. If I had a second day for toy shopping, I would probaly get a taxi out to some of the more interesting stores that are south of the boarder into Kentucky (busses from Cincinnati stay inside Ohio).
Tomorrow is the first pre-con tour, including a stop at a huge comic shop and toy dealer store, both about 15kms north of here. :)

Pulse
23rd April 2008, 12:08 PM
It kinda feels like the calm before the storm. :D

& the fact that you "will have to temporarily pay out another $700 for accomodation" sounds like more & more funds are being eaten up on non-TF purchases. How does that saying go? (the saying that shall not be spoken :))

Soundwarp
23rd April 2008, 04:03 PM
Gah too much reading mate, i'll just come over and annoy the hell out of you when you get home!

dirge
23rd April 2008, 06:14 PM
I found an outlet that sold Gyros (didn't know what they were, but remembered it from an episode of Seinfelt), they ended up being like a cross between a soft taco and a kebab.


I remember having one of those in (I think) New York. It was like a cold kebab!

BTW if you cross the Ohio river, all the music stores will only stock bluegrass music :D

MV75
23rd April 2008, 08:49 PM
I remember having one of those in (I think) New York. It was like a cold kebab!

BTW if you cross the Ohio river, all the music stores will only stock bluegrass music :D

"If you don't buy my albummmmmmm.....
.....then the terrorists win".
________
ECOTEC (http://www.chevy-wiki.com/wiki/Ecotec)

SilverDragon
23rd April 2008, 09:13 PM
You take any TF toys along to the con?

griffin
24th April 2008, 08:31 AM
I took Beachcomber with me as my travelling partner this year. :)

Will post later about today's events, but wanted to post this photo before I go off to pick up the pre-reg toys.

Kyle
24th April 2008, 08:33 AM
Drool... :p

i_amtrunks
24th April 2008, 08:45 AM
We need a green with envy emoticon!

Hope you took a spare empty suitcase with you for all the goodies Griffin, or the postage costs are going to be killer!

SilverDragon
24th April 2008, 08:49 AM
*also drools*

Pulse
24th April 2008, 10:37 AM
& you found all those in stores? I thought there wouldn't have been any left (given all the scalpers that lurk around Botcon time) :D

griffin
24th April 2008, 11:57 AM
Actually, the toys were being released to Cincinnati stores only, and some toy dealers had already been going around to them and buying up all the animated toys. We went to a TRU and the entire endcap was stripped clean by a group of toy dealers just this morning. The only thing left was some Bulkheads (which I got). The ones we (the people on the pre-con tour) ended up getting, were sourced from a TRU that hadn't yet been stripped, because it was about 40minutes away. I'll be keeping an eye out for the dealer with all the Animated toys at 2-3 times retail.

MV75
25th April 2008, 10:08 AM
Make up a big "scalper =>>" sign and stand next to those dealers. :D

Also show us the GI Joe transformers. C'mon, it's the next thing they'll do, I'm surprised they havn't already.
________
Trichomes pictures (http://trichomes.org)

Pulse
25th April 2008, 05:30 PM
Griffin, I hope you picked all these up :)!

http://www.seibertron.com/news/view.php?id=12881

I thought this Megs was a fan-made photoshop effort:

http://pics.livejournal.com/shortpacked/pic/0012z1zd/s640x480

Guess I was wrong. :D

Burn
26th April 2008, 06:27 AM
bleh? Maybe i'm in the minority here but to me these seem to be the worst BotCon toys ever.

The concept sounded good, the execution was terrible. Hope the comic makes up for it.

MV75
26th April 2008, 09:31 AM
bleh? Maybe i'm in the minority here but to me these seem to be the worst BotCon toys ever.

The concept sounded good, the execution was terrible. Hope the comic makes up for it.

I called it last year:

http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=9616&postcount=24

;)
________
ROLL A JOINT (http://howtorollajoint.net/)

Saintly
26th April 2008, 01:33 PM
a nice chinese restaurant (/take away) just 200 metres away from the hotel we're staying which was reasonably priced.

griffin
27th April 2008, 12:00 AM
Just a bit of a catch up of non-news stuff.

Wednesday I woke up fairly early to get packed and checked out so that I could drop off my bags at the other hotel and be back at the first hotel for the first pre-con tour.
About 30 of us (about 12 were BC staff) were on the 'Fun Tour', and as soon as we got on the bus, we drove off on a short tour of the inner city area with one of the BotCon staff giving a bit of commentary (used to live here). ONe of the things we drove past was the site of where Kenner (produced Beast Wars) used to be located before Hasbro bought them out in the 90s and transfered everything over to their Rhode Island HQ about 5 years ago.
First stop was Lazer Kraze, a laser tag gaming place. THe BC staff were one team, the rest of us were the other. OUt of three games (about 10minutes each) the STaff one two, and the fans one one.
Next stop was lunch at Rib City, which was covered by the tour fee, so I ordered a big Rib Combo. Was very nice. Also had some beer tasting, but not as extensive as I expected, with just three beers being offered for us to consume (quite a few bottles were given out, so each of us ended up having at least a bottle or more).
THe Food tour was also not as interesting as I expected, as it was just a guided tour of a very large food supermarket, with the occasional sampling (about a dozen food items).
On the way to the Toy collectable and comic stores, we stopped by a couple of TRU and Walmarts, to find some ANimated toys. We found a TRU that had been cleaned out of an entire endcap, with only BUlkheads left. I bought one though, to at least come back with one Animated toy.
At the Toy collectable store I picked up a couple of SCFs, but later found bits missing or broken that I didn't notice at the time I bought them. I got a few comics as well.
On the way home, the BC staff were able to organise with a toy dealer at the convention to buy Animated toys from another TRU for those of us on the tour who wanted some. So when we got back to the hotel, we were able to buy the rest of the Animated toys (a total of nine for me for the day).
Later was the pre-reg pickup for the box set, and then I went back to the room and got to sleep as early as I could, as it was a really early start for the Thursday pre-con tour to the Airforce Museum.
But that will be in the next posting, which will be later - I have to head off now to the next lot of convention panels.

Pulse
27th April 2008, 01:16 AM
Hopefully you found some of the other TFs you were looking for at the Dealer Tables. You were looking for later Japanese G1, right?

griffin
27th April 2008, 07:58 AM
I was able to get quite a few toys this year, but could have been a lot more (this trip seems to have been plagued with problems). The refund from the first hotel didn't go through before the weekend, so the US$800 from there won't be accessable to spend at the convention. I also managed to transfer AU$500 to the wrong account of mine (meant to go to my credit card, but went to my loan account, so now I can't get it back to use). And, because we were allowed to get more convention toys this year, I ended up buying some extras for others, for about US$400, which I won't get until I get back. So through incompetence, bad timings and helping out others, I ended up not being able to spend about AU$1800 this year. But I'm not too upset. I was still able to spend about $600 this year, and will come back with at least 43 toys and a number of comics. And there wasn't much more there that I would have bought anyway (I wouldn't buy overpriced items no matter how much I had to spend), so I'm actually happy to be going home with money to my name, for only the second time out of nine BotCons... :)

Kyle
27th April 2008, 09:30 AM
Money that will no doubt be used for Transformers... It's only a matter of time... :D

Saintly
27th April 2008, 02:11 PM
save up for another year! :)

roller
27th April 2008, 06:59 PM
or spend it on a lady friend:)

griffin
27th April 2008, 09:43 PM
or spend it on a lady :)

Okay, what do you want? :p

iceburn
27th April 2008, 09:45 PM
lol!!!!

griffin
27th April 2008, 10:23 PM
Just quickly, Thursday details (still 3 days behind on my trip details - I didn't think I would be this darn busy).
I mentioned that I had to get up early on this day because of the early start to the Air Force tour, and when I turned on the TV for some audio company while getting ready, I ended up turning it onto the weekday repeat of Transformers Animated on Cartoon Network (Meldown controlling the Dinobots episode). When I got to the Hyatt lobby for the Tour, I noticed that there was a lot more people this time. So many that I think we almost filled the bus.
We only had one Fun Pub staff member accompany us this time, as the rest would have been required to set up the convention.
The Air Force Museum was further away than I thought, as it took and hour and 10 minutes to get there (was closer to Dayton than Cincinnati).
The museum was huge. It was three huge aircraft hangers, and a six story Imax theatre, and they plan to construct a fourth hanger some time soon.
Inside, it was broken up into sections:
History of US flight from the first flight in 1907 to before WW2.
World War 2.
Korean War.
Vietnam War to present day aircraft.
Missiles and Space craft.
Bob Hope commemoration.
Operation Berlin Lift.
Educational Centre.
Holocaust Display.
Imax theatre.
Presidential aircraft.
Research and experimental aircraft.

It took 7 hours for me to go through the entire place, just in time for the 4pm departure back to the hotel.
As soon as I got back, I pretty much went straight to the line for the Club Store purchases, to get the other convention toys and merchandise.
Brian (head of Fun Pub) did his usual welcome and run through of the convention stuff, to the people queuing up at the pre-registration pick-up area.
THere were about 25 people in front of me, and it took an hour and 50minutes to get to the front of the line.
When I got my stuff, I went straight over to the hotel I was no longer staying at, to see if Saintly had arrived (I was to meet up with him, but had been unable to get in contact with him at all to let him know that we were in the other hotel now).
At the Hyatt hotel, the trading messageboard was already up with notes, including one listing convention toys for sale. I rang up the number and grabbed several toys, a lot easier than I had expected (he said he only just put up the note, so I think I was just lucky). As soon as the purchase had been completed, I actually got a call from Saintly (finally) saying that he had just arrived at Dayton airport (about 75minutes away) and would be on the way soon.
Unfortunately for him, him and his kid (Tim, who was a bit sick while he was here) were not able to get in before pre-reg ended at 10pm, so they would have to go in first thing the next morning.
Because of how late I finished up buying stuff from the club store and the extra stuff from another fan, it was too late to buy anything to eat other than at pubs and the pizza place I already tried on my first night. So I had pizza, again... Yeah, it was painful to have to eat pizza again.... :p
Saintly and Tim arrived at 10.30p, and after a bit of unwinding and chatting, we ended up getting to sleep by 12.30.
Friday we got up by 6am, to get ready quickly enough to pickup Saintly's stuff as soon as pre-reg opened at 8am, and get his extra stuff from the club store straight after.
And then the panels began, which will be covered in the news section, as soon as I can get to it.
Off now for the last six hours of BotCOn for 2008.

turtle boy
27th April 2008, 10:32 PM
Yes.... I am inraged with loving hatred right now, for both you and Saintly... Thanks again.... Hope you have fun the rest of the time you guys are there. Take care...

Saintly
27th April 2008, 10:42 PM
lol!!! loving hatred? :)

It has been fun... anyway we better scoot along to the final day. We'll chat again in maybe 24hrs... after the convention, Saintly legend and myself will be catching a plane to Vegas to join the rest of the family.

*i'm praying that there's free wireless internet again in Vegas* otherwise I'll be offline for about 5days...

nevertheless use PM if you need to contact me

Pulse
28th April 2008, 01:07 PM
Can't wait to see snaps of your Dealer Room acquisitions! :)

griffin
1st May 2008, 01:34 PM
Just wanting to wrap up the rest of the non-botcon details before I go and work on the full length report (for my own records and for anyone else who is interested).

Friday was the Pre-registrant day, with events not open to the general public.
While Saintly was lined up for his club store items for about an hour (it is a very slow line), I popped downstairs to the panel room for the first event of the day - auditions for the script reading on the Saturday night. THe competition allowed for two fans to win the role of two characters (Transtech Shockwave, Flareup), and would read along side the the Voice Actor Guests who whould be playing their Animated charaters. THe judges at the audition were Benson Yee (from the Club) and Matt Youngberg (from Animated).
I sat in for about 10 minutes, listening to a few contestants, before heading back up to Saintly (Francis) and Legends Saintly (Timothy), just as they were almost finally at the front of the queue.
They got their stuff and we took their stuff back to the room (it's like 5 minutes away - our hotel was actually closer to the panel room than the Hyatt was), and then went back to the panel room for the start of the first official panel. The IDW comics panel started 15 minutes late, and the following two panels (Animated Production Team and Voice Actors) were also about 10 minutes late.
About 1pm we were back to the room, because there wasn't anything scheduled until the 2pm dealer room opening. Timothy was a bit unwell during the week, so he was very tired and slept most of Friday and Saturday. As such, we ended up leaving him in the hotel room to sleep while Saintly and I went to the Dealer room. When we got there, it had already been open abou 10 minutes, and people were still filing in.
This BotCOn for me seemed to be plagued with annoying inconveniences, not just with the delayed flight in Brisbane, or the misplaced credit cards, or the three-quarters of my spending money being tied up until after the convention was over (AU$900 refund from the first hotel, AU$500 transfered to the wrong account by accident, AU$400 in toys for others), but to top it off I managed to lose my toy shopping list twice!!!
So not only did I have limited spending money, I was stuck a few times not knowing for sure what I was missing and how much I was willing to pay (my shopping list has max-prices noted to know if I can get the items cheaper online).
One of the first things I did though was go to the IDW desk and buy up Trades I was missing (last year they sold out fast, and I missed out). THey were still at US Retail price, but that still saved me money.
Strangely enough, if it weren't for a bit of risky spending on the Saturday on two toys, all of my Botcon dealer room purchases would have been on the Friday. THere were probably 3 or 4 other items I would have bought if I had the money, but to be honest I would have been regretting buying anything extra that was over-priced just because I had the money. So circumstances that tied up my money ended up being a good, although frustrating, thing as it leaves me with money to live on until I get paid again in 2 weeks.
Saintly managed to get a few bargains as well, including a complete loose Energon Scorponok, for US$3, for Timothy.

When the dealer room closed at 5pm, we headed back to the room, and with 2 hours until the pre-reg evening events begin, Saintly and I went off to the nearby Walgreens (pharmacy and convenience store) for some food supplies, and something for Timothy to be able to eat. Poor kid wasn't able to have much fun, and missed a lot of the convention.

Taking a bit of time getting ready, we ended up back at the panel room an hour late, but the the Faction Feud trivia contest was still going, and was apparently late as well due to technical issues. We caught the last few (entertaining) rounds, and the final, which was once again won by the TF Wiki Website team.
Next up was Film Fest - where fans submitted short TFs films, and the audience would vote on a winner. THere were only four entries in this its first year, but were very funny. We also saw promos for the Club toys Nightbeat and Topspin (which was a little late, as the cut-off for that toy was in mid April).

We were then treated to an advance screening of an Animated episode, one that would air in America in about 2 weeks time - Garbage in, Garbage out. It is the episode that features Wreck-Gar, and was filled with heaps of Gen1 references, that delighted the audience.

Then at 10pm, Jerry Wade and Aaron Archer from Hasbro talked us through a screening of the 2007 Transformers Movie, kinda like a DVD commentary. THey talked about when they first talked about doing a movie (way back in 2003) and about certain character and name choices. Unfortunately I was having trouble staying awake in the dark panel room, so left after the Scorponok desert battle scene. Which was a pity, because this really was a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear about the Hasbro side of things relating to the Movie.
Ironically, when I got back to the hotel room, I was able to do computer stuff (photos and postings) for another couple of hours. I guess it was the darkness and sitting in the one spot for so long, that made it difficult to stay away in the panel room.

Saturday we woke up at 6ish, and went to the dealer room soon after it opened, to line up at the club store table to buy extra Convention toys (we were told the night before that their restricted sales had left them with quite a few left over - 300 of the 1100 made). Saintly and I bought about three of each of the 2-packs for those we knew who wanted them, and dropped them off in the room, before heading to the panel room for the day's events.
First up, the second Voice Actors panel was late to start, so the Animated production team filled in for about 20 minutes answering questions.
THe rest of the panels for the day were - Club Magazine panel, Hasbro product panel (2 hours), Collector Club panel, IDW's second panel.
I left the IDW panel after a few minutes, not expecting there to be anything too significant, and spent the remaining hour of the con's opening hours in the dealer room. Saintly and I were having a bit of fun looking for the cheapest priced Clear BT Mirage in the dealer room. We were fascinated at how there were so many of them in the dealer room this year, to the extent that most were heavily discounting them. THey usually sell on ebay for a minimum of US$200, but we ended up finding dealers discounting theirs progressively to $120 by the end of the saturday, and I had to buy one (to save $80 and shipping, why not?), despite the possiblility of not having enough money left to get home.
Saintly, Legends Saintly and I got ready for the Awards Dinner, and headed over at 7pm and faced a huge line. It wasn't necessary to queue up early for the dinner, because like last year, they had food set up on several tables around the room, and people just helped themselves to whatever they wanted, and sat where ever they wanted. Not a huge selection (pasta, roast beef, wraps, mini spring rolls and some strange tuna dish that came with corn chips). Also throughout the room were casino tables (blackjack, poker, craps, roulette) for fans to use their pre-reg pack token to earn more 'money' to then be able to bid on items at the end of the night (9.45). THe items up for grabs were mostly assorted convention toys, display banners, toys, and non-TF stuff.
I didn't have anything to bid with, but Saintly managed to have donated the winnings of one of the Takara people he was sitting with, and was able to bid on and win several items.
But before the bidding started, they had the presentation of awards for the art contest, Trivia contest, Film Fest and the fan-vote for favourite websites. Then we had the script reading, with the three Voice Actors and the two fans who won the additional two roles.
The Auction started at about 10.40, and I left at about 11.30 (was dead tired). I got back to the room and pretty much fell asleep as soon as I got back. Saintly told me later that the auction went on until about 12.20, because of the huge amount of stuff.

Sunday. Woke up at 7am. Today there was only about 5 hours of convention left, and the Saintlys had to prepare for departure before the convention ended at 3.30pm.
All three of us went down to the Animated Panel at 10am (Timothy came with us because we were supposed to see another advance screened episode). The Episode 'Black Friday' is supposed to be near the end of the season, which as expected, had elements that were yet to be explained and spoiled what happens in the episodes before it.
THat was a 2 hour panel, so at noon I went back up to the dealer room for more photos and writing up details on the Hasbro display cases, while talking to one of my best TFs friends in America (Benson Yee).
1pm was the other Hasbro panel, which dealt with the behind-the-scenes elements to the toys, explaining various decisions behind the toys themselves. I sat with one of my oldest TFs friends (Tim Finn) during the panel, as I only just met up with him on the way to it. He was only a walk-in this year, so I was thinking that he wasn't even at the convention this year. I was so relieved to see him there, and after the panel we chatted for about half an hour until he had other people wanting to talk to him.
I then went back up into the dealer room to take any remaining photos and fill out the rest of the feedback form, handing it in just before the drawing at 3pm.
THe two winners of free entry into next year were drawn, and after a few minutes taking in the last minutes of the convention, I decided to go up to the room before it officially closed, to hopefully catch the Saintlys before they left.
I arrived at the room literally as they were leaving. I went down to the front where their taxi was waiting, and saw them off.
My ninth BotCon, and I never seem to get used to how the Sunday afternoon windup feels. After such a huge weekend of events and highs, the shutting down of the dealer room and seeing off people, plus the night by myself and the journey home, I get a little overcome by sad emotions. This year though, I was a little surprised at how quickly the week went. I was on a plane home and it felt like a few hours ago I was on a plane there. I must have had so much crammed into the week I was there, I didn't have time to even stop and reflect on my time there.

So that Sunday evening, I went out to find something to eat, and with everything closed on a Sunday in Cincy, all I found was an Arbys. I bought a couple of items, and returned to the room to try to pack up everything into my bags and box.
Asleep by about 2am, I woke up at 7am and posted to the board most of the convention panels.
Aiming to get to the post office by 9am to post off the stuff I couldn't get into my check-in luggage, I was an hour late there, leaving me with only 90 minutes (to 11.30) to grab some food, return to the hotel room, shower, pack the remaining items, tape up the box, and get downstairs to the front of the other hotel for the shuttle bus to the airport. Managed to rush out of the airport with my 50+ kgs of luggage just as the shuttle bus was there waiting for me and one other person.
Got to the airport within 30 minutes, and after checking in, I proceeded to sample the Outback Restaurant in the terminal - something I had been wanting to do for 9 years, but never yet been anywhere that had one convenient (it's a franchise throughout America, with an Australian theme to the restuarant and names of the dishes, but the food itself isn't what I would call Australian).
Flew out at 1.30pm, which arrived in at LA at 3pm LA time. That left me with 8hours to fill in, and I had planned to get a taxi to a nearby restaurant that is said to have huge burgers, but without any spending money, I had to cancel that idea and just check in at the International terminal. Fortunately I could fill in about 3 of those hours online, posting photos to the board, but had to waste a $10 'day pass' to the internet to do it. The computer ran out of power just after I posted the last photo, and I wandered off to find out where my departure gate was (I was so early, it hadn't been allocated a gate at the time I checked in). I managed to read most of my comics I bought at the convention, had a nap, and then the plane started boarding.
I was actually really lucky to get a row of three seats to myself, which allowed me to be able to lie across them for most of the 12 hour trip.
It made it really easy to sleep for about half of the trip as well.
Got in at Brisbane at 6.20am, and at the customs hall, the channel 7 'Border Security' were filming.
Took the train to the station nearest me, and thought I could try to walk home with my luggage (backpack, big bag, big box), but after walking up one set of stairs at the trainstation, I quickly decided against that idea. I called up a cab instead for the 5 minute ride back home.
I was home about 9am-ish, and another Botcon adventure was over.
The next one should be about 15 months away, which will give heaps more time to save up for that one (if anyone else was interested in going to one).

Paulbot
1st May 2008, 03:50 PM
15 months away? So July. That's kind of annoying as it's peak holiday season so prices will be up...

Anyway very interesting report and it sounds like it was lots of fun, money concerns aside.

griffin
1st May 2008, 07:03 PM
15 months away? So July. That's kind of annoying as it's peak holiday season so prices will be up...

Anyway very interesting report and it sounds like it was lots of fun, money concerns aside.

The one next year should be timed to coincide with the TF2 movie (like last year), which is supposed to be late June. The July 4th weekend was suggested as a possible option for the convention next year, as it would probably be cheaper that weekend (no businesses would be holding conventions on that weekend). But if that ended up being true (a date and location hasn't yet been secured, apparently), it would be after the movie is released, so an advance screening would me out as a feature.

Kyle
2nd May 2008, 12:33 AM
Saintly and I were having a bit of fun looking for the cheapest priced Clear BT Mirage in the dealer room. We were fascinated at how there were so many of them in the dealer room this year, to the extent that most were heavily discounting them. THey usually sell on ebay for a minimum of US$200, but we ended up finding dealers discounting theirs progressively to $120 by the end of the saturday, and I had to buy one (to save $80 and shipping, why not?), despite the possiblility of not having enough money left to get home.

:eek:

Pulse
2nd May 2008, 12:55 AM
It's kinda strange how you can remember every single little detail like that :) (when I was in NZ for a week a couple of years ago, I couldn't recall every single little detail like that if I tried).

Border Security filming? I bet you would have been an excellent suspect to have the blow torch turned upon (with all the plasticcrack you were carrying through customs :D)

griffin
2nd May 2008, 07:59 AM
I take a lot of notes to make it easier to write up the reports when I get back.
This year was quite easy to get through customs - I answered a couple of questions to a customs official while waiting for my baggage to appear on the carousel, he stamped my customs card and all I had to do was walk through the non-screening line (which has no queue). I kinda look forward to having my bags scanned at one of the customs tables, to see their reaction to all the toys in the bag. My favourite was in about 2001, with Gen1 scorponok in robot mode filling up most of my backpack, and the strange looks on the faces of the customs people looking at the x-ray screen. I miss having my bags opened for mere curiosity, rather than looking for something illegal. :)

iceburn
2nd May 2008, 10:13 AM
Border Security filming?

I (or infact my girlfriend) saw that sign too when we came back from our overseas trip in late Feburary... then I said, oops...better not be us on camera :rolleyes:

Saintly
4th May 2008, 05:29 PM
nice report Griffin...

Saintly Legend is all better now, he managed to fully recover after leaving Las Vegas.

iceburn
5th May 2008, 08:07 AM
wow...Las Vegas too, which hotel did you guys stay in?
i stayed in Circus Circus other time and it was fun....which was more for kids with fun fairs and stuff. used to remember that i can't even step into the casino area which sucks

STL
5th May 2008, 01:16 PM
15 months away? So July. That's kind of annoying as it's peak holiday season so prices will be up...

Anyway very interesting report and it sounds like it was lots of fun, money concerns aside.

25th year next year and I can now announce that I'll be 1000% attending next year. :D

Isn't the US route being opened up to other Qantas competitors? That might bring them down. Doesn't matter either way to me, though. I will be going packed w/ a lot of spending money! :D

I'm giddy w/ excitement even though it's so far away!

Paulbot
5th May 2008, 01:39 PM
1000%, so you're going 10 times next year? :P

It's not just airfares though, prices for accomodation go up as well during the American summer, so it's going to be more expensive overall if it's held in July than if it's held in April.

Hmm, how many team members are on the Board Wars trivia game... Ozformers could represent! :)

STL
5th May 2008, 01:58 PM
1000%, so you're going 10 times next year? :P

It's not just airfares though, prices for accomodation go up as well during the American summer, so it's going to be more expensive overall if it's held in July than if it's held in April.

Hmm, how many team members are on the Board Wars trivia game... Ozformers could represent! :)

I'd love too but as most know I'm an absolute noob when it comes down to TF facts. I've read the comics watched shows but an attention to detail just ain't me.

Kyle
5th May 2008, 02:00 PM
I take a lot of notes to make it easier to write up the reports when I get back.
This year was quite easy to get through customs - I answered a couple of questions to a customs official while waiting for my baggage to appear on the carousel, he stamped my customs card and all I had to do was walk through the non-screening line (which has no queue). I kinda look forward to having my bags scanned at one of the customs tables, to see their reaction to all the toys in the bag. My favourite was in about 2001, with Gen1 scorponok in robot mode filling up most of my backpack, and the strange looks on the faces of the customs people looking at the x-ray screen. I miss having my bags opened for mere curiosity, rather than looking for something illegal. :)

How did you take notes? Just pens and papers?



The G1 Scorponok bit is so funny.

Saintly
5th May 2008, 03:01 PM
I'm up for the 25th anniversary of BotCon too... as long as I'm not doing something else at that time.

Whilst in LV, we stayed in Sahara... needless to say, it's a crappy hotel! And found out that the Venetian is a completely non-smoking hotel, even in the casino area.

We're flying with Air NZ if you don't mind the transit, which was pretty cheap (around $2k but was booked about 6mth in advance)

griffin
5th May 2008, 04:11 PM
25th year next year and I can now announce that I'll be 1000% attending next year. :D
Isn't the US route being opened up to other Qantas competitors? That might bring them down. Doesn't matter either way to me, though. I will be going packed w/ a lot of spending money! :D
I'm giddy w/ excitement even though it's so far away!

The more the merrier. And we can make our presence known to the Americans who probably think it is just an American convention... :rolleyes:

The airfares may come down a little with Virgin starting at the end of this year, but it will still come down to booking as early as possible to get the 'discount economy' fares (cheaper than normal economy, but non-refundable or transferable to other dates).

How come so keen about next year's? It is exciting though, when you know you are going. It's like being a kid on the night before Christmas. :D


It's not just airfares though, prices for accomodation go up as well during the American summer, so it's going to be more expensive overall if it's held in July than if it's held in April.
Hmm, how many team members are on the Board Wars trivia game... Ozformers could represent! :)

Accomodation is not usually an issue, because the Convention organisors will secure discount rates (although a limited number though, so book early - you don't pay anything until you check in). If they are aiming for the 4th July weekend, and you don't secure a BotCon rate room, it could be very expensive, or difficult to find a room (if it is held in a touristy location). Like I mentioned above, you don't have to pay anything in advance to secure a room, so it is always good to book a room as soon as the hotel is announced, and book for the maximum amount of nights available at that BotCon rate (its usually 5-7 nights around the Con dates) - you can always reduce the number of nights in your reservation later if you end up not planning to stay there for that entire time, but check that first when you make the reservation as an independant or minor chain hotel may have different policies to ones like the Hyatt or Hilton.

The Trivia contest requires 5 members, but depending on how many we have going, I can always beg some friends over there to join our team.


I'd love too but as most know I'm an absolute noob when it comes down to TF facts. I've read the comics watched shows but an attention to detail just ain't me.

To be honest, we wouldn't stand a chance against the TFs Wiki team. But winning doesn't seem to be the motivation behind most of the teams though. And we would be doing it for the fun of it as well, and get some recognition from them Americans in the process. :)


How did you take notes? Just pens and papers?

Pens, paper and camera. I was planning to get a small tape recorder this year, but didn't get around to it (and was cutting back on unnecessary expenses), to record the panels and go back over it for any details missed. The Convention organisor (Brian) doesn't allow anyone else to video-record the panels, so that he can have the only recording, and won't distribute copies.


nice report Griffin...
Saintly Legend is all better now, he managed to fully recover after leaving Las Vegas.

I thought he might with all the toys you bought him... :p
Good to hear it though. It was depressing seeing him look so drained and exhausted, while we were enjoying ourselves.

Kyle
5th May 2008, 04:38 PM
Really wish I can tag along next year. But the very first BotCon for me is looking to be at least 2010.

Paulbot
5th May 2008, 06:09 PM
Accomodation is not usually an issue, because the Convention organisors will secure discount rates (although a limited number though, so book early - you don't pay anything until you check in).

I will book a room in the convention hotel, but I was planning on going to the US for a few weeks, visiting a few other cities, as well as going to BotCon (although BotCon is the main reason for going).


The Trivia contest requires 5 members, but depending on how many we have going, I can always beg some friends over there to join our team.

I think we might get 5 members there, and STL, noob knowledge could be just as useful, for instance you've watched Beast Wars much more recently than I have.

STL
5th May 2008, 06:50 PM
How come so keen about next year's? It is exciting though, when you know you are going. It's like being a kid on the night before Christmas. :D


I dunno, I think it's partly I know Paulbot will be going too and it's good to go w/ a bud, it's the 25th anniversary, and on top of that I'll definitely have a good disposable income in my hands by that time since I'll be starting work in Feburary once I graduate.

It's gonna be like Christmas!

I think you and Paulbot will have to keep me on a leash. :)



The Trivia contest requires 5 members, but depending on how many we have going, I can always beg some friends over there to join our team.

To be honest, we wouldn't stand a chance against the TFs Wiki team. But winning doesn't seem to be the motivation behind most of the teams though. And we would be doing it for the fun of it as well, and get some recognition from them Americans in the process. :)


There's 3 of us then. Maybe more will be aboard by the time we get closer. We need Ozformer shirts though definitely. It'd be awesome.