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[krakendwaggin]

Well Eurofurence 17 has been and gone and we start to amble back into our regular lives, wallets lightened, memory cards filled, PCD clouding our thoughts!

I LOVED this years Eurofurence, everything went so smoothly and nearly everything ran to time!

The delays of the dealers den opening and the pawpet show are almost traditional so I've come to expect them!.

I've hardly anything negative to say from this year, I had such a fun time and had alot of fun!

Also to the person who made this years smoking sign, thank you!, always raises a chuckle, plus the two signs (last years and this one) are on the sponsors USB stick, neat!

One thing I'll say, the super sponsors gift, last year it was a face towel, this year it's a delightfully cute wash bag...are you trying to tell us something?! haha!

Thank you ALL who make sure Eurofurence is awesome every year, all the late nights, tears and stress, just, thank you!

Bring on Eurofurence 18!

[Quincy the Raccoon]

I totally agree with Krakendwaggin! It was my first EF and it will certainly be not the last one! Only one thing: Maritim, please LOWER those insane high prices. And what's the point to even give tapwater a pricetag of €0,50? What's the use of that?!?!

That stuff aside: it was awesome. EF 18 -- I'm ready for it!

[Kisu]

Well Eurofurence 17 has been and gone and we start to amble back into our regular lives, wallets lightened, memory cards filled, PCD clouding our thoughts!

I LOVED this years Eurofurence, everything went so smoothly and nearly everything ran to time!

The delays of the dealers den opening and the pawpet show are almost traditional so I've come to expect them!.

I've hardly anything negative to say from this year, I had such a fun time and had alot of fun!

Also to the person who made this years smoking sign, thank you!, always raises a chuckle, plus the two signs (last years and this one) are on the sponsors USB stick, neat!

One thing I'll say, the super sponsors gift, last year it was a face towel, this year it's a delightfully cute wash bag...are you trying to tell us something?! haha!

Thank you ALL who make sure Eurofurence is awesome every year, all the late nights, tears and stress, just, thank you!

Bring on Eurofurence 18!

Hehe, maybe soap next year ;3

I double that, EF 17 was one of the most best days of my life once again and probably the first con that I realy cried after it was over.
Big thanks to you all.

- Kisu

[djem]

I have to say I also had a really great con !

For the first year I had a real staff job as being responsible for dance lighthing, and it really took me more time then I was thinking, but I had a lot of fun working on it If possible, I'll try to do it again next year !

I think this EF went way way better then last year, the general atmosphere of it was just perfect ! I never went to bed before 4am, even if Iw as awake at 9am ...

Otherwise I would like to point a cople stuff :

++++++

- The hotel staff was perfect this year, from bar to reception to room cleaning, it's so awesome to come back to your room after a long day and find it perfectly clean  
- The 2 room for the dealers den was a big plus compare to last year, way more space to circulate and less noisy. Also the security staff made a great job at avoiding having to much people at the same time inside.
- The pawpet show, was seriously the first time I watch it from the beginning to the end, and I had fun doying so.
- Cocktails at the bar might be a bit expensive, but the quality there was really awesome ...

~~~~~

- The front stairs were open on all floor at all the time, but that wasn't the case with the back one, some floor were open while other close. But it was always possible to get to the main floor.  


-------

- Fetish gear ? I saw a lot of people wearing some, also zeta suit and body paint ( with just the genital part hiding ) ...



Also, here are the pict I took during the con :

http://media.furcon.de/Eurofurence/ef17/djem/tn

And a small video I made of the dance's :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9dtM6Bak8E

[Henrieke]

Just a short message for now, but I just wanted to say I absolutely LOVED the con. It's nearly impossible to think of any complaints at all. It was definitely the best con I ever attended so far, thanks again to everone who made it possible

I'll post more detailed feedback later!

[karpour]

Best con ever!! The whole team has truly outdone itself once again. It's always really hard to imagine how to make the con any better, but they did it like every year

I'll need some time to write together all the positive feedback (and the very few things that could be improved), so I'll do that later

[Fox-Tail]

Well it was my first EF this year and I have to say... it was awesome. I never thought that the con is going to be that good.  EF 18...I'll be there for sure =)

[Thygrrr]

Fantastic con, and it was my 10th EF or so.

It ranks way up there with the best of them. It's hard to name an EF that wasn't made of 100% pure awesome, really... but EF17 was one of the very best.

[kiwikig]

I went to EF 17 with a friend and we attended some anime/cosplay conventions before, but this was both our first furryconvention. We absolutly loved it:

• the family environment, nobody seems untouchable, you can talk to everyone and hug them
• the well structured organization, the con ran absolutly smoothly and was well planned
• the location and setup of the hotel, nearby to the trainstation and a shopping center, all rooms are pretty much equally far away from the big con-area in the center
• the visitors, next to parents with their kids even old people visited and weren't even afraid to take a hug, it is nice to make them smile
• the community feeling and care for each other, the fursuit lounge with their repair station, big fans and drinks
  
• the love for the furry scene, it was amazing how much effort people put into their shows, panels, pictures and creations to do their share for the furry fandom and an awesome con

So even we didn't knew anybody, we didn't felt like outsiders. It seemed really easy to get into talk with people and make new friends.
But maybe it would be good for next EF if there would be a kind of wall standing around or maybe a simple online board for personal unofficial schedules.
Like when a group of decides to head out in fur to the city and are fine to invite maybe +3 more people to their group. I would have loved to go into the city, both in fur and to take photos of people.
So maybe a kind of unofficial board or schedule for the attendees would be great where you can put up your "event" and people can join.
(Maybe there is already something like that, sorry then ^^)

Also the security did a great job. I headed out as bearess in swimsuit and see-through blanket around my hips. Then I saw furries standing at the street and waving at cars in front of the hotel.
I didn't thought anything bad and also headed to the street to join the fun. I think Gyroplast came after a few minutes to me and whispered to me that people might think something wrong when I would stand at the street dressed like that. I quickly headed back to the hotel. I'm so sorry about that, was my fault, I didn't thought about how I looked and was taken away by the furry fun ^^ Hugs to Gyroplast!
When I was standing in suit at the entrance of the hotel, some drunken guys (not attendees of the con, just people randomly coming by) asked me about how I look like out of suit. 2 People of the security that were around then asked me if I'm okay or if those people bother me. So great job from the security, you felt cared for and safe and that is important when you are in suit. Many thanks!

My friend and me loved EF and I can't wait to see more of the furry world. It was such a positive impression, we are sooo looking forward to EF 18!

[Faolin]

Hey there,

I'd also like to say a few words about my very first EF.
Short version: AWESOME!!!1

Long version:
You guys and gals simply exceeded all my expectations and I was totally overwhelmed and stunned about the con. I had lots of fun and met so many awesome and funny, known and new people... a complete sensory overload.
I liked the hotel very very much and all rooms, events and programs seemed to be very well organised. People have been absolutely open-hearted, I guess I never experienced it before in such a way. Loved the fursuit lounge with all its services! And I've been really sad to leave, even if I also looked forward to sleeping more than 4-5 hours a night again.

However, there is one point that could be figured as a small minus.
The prices in the bar and coffee-thing in the lobby.

It's a high-class hotel, I'm seriously aware of that, and I have no problem at all to pay a little bit more than I'm used to, but I think 9,90 EUR for a cocktail and 3,80 EUR for a simple coffee are a little bit too much, especially when I think of the hotel being booked out completely. I don't really care about the restaurants and such because we had all possibilities to buy food, drinks and such in the local mall and go to other restaurants that have been really worth the money.
Buuut... later the evening or partying all night long, you couldn't do anything but to buy drinks at the bar. And I certainly would have ordered more drinks, if there hadn't been this really baaad feeling about my remaining money all the time.
I'm pretty sure I would have ordered some coffee too, but I surrendered the plan immediately when I saw the price list.

Plus, and that's something that's still annoying me:
For all the world to see, they filled up my second cocktail glass with crushed ice because the mixed drink would not be enough for both glasses. That's a NOGO if I have to pay 10 bucks for a drink. Definitely.

All in all, it's been a great and unforgettable time and I thank you a thousand times for making it possible.

[Nimrais]

This was one of the best cons I've ever attended. Everyone did such a great job and MANY things people complained about last year were done/got better.

- Art Show was great (pick up and cash out, almost no waiting time), actually loved the separation. The "new" bidsheets weren't such a big problem as everyone thought they would be.
- The Dealer's Den felt less crowded than last year, great improvement.
- The restaurants outside the hotel were much more friendly, faster and professional.
- Still love the location, so many options to eat out and buy something last minute!
- The overall mood was very awesome

There's only one thing that annoyed me quite a lot ... the music in the Piano Bar (when there was none of EF's DJs). Tina Turner was just about (well, very hard) to tolerate, but when they started to play SCHLAGER (I only say Wolfgang Petry ... ) I was close to throwing up. I mean, if there are reasons why they can't/don't want to play other/our music - I really would love to hear them.

[Pan Hesekiel Shiroi]

I have to admit that this year's EF was by far the most awesome EF I ever had.

The security did an awesome job, the medics were always around when you needed them, con ops and logistics worked so well and even the hotel staff seemed to have learned from last year's experience. There were so many things that helped making this EF a wonderful experience.
Dividing the art show was an awesome idea as well as having two dealers' dens again.
I really loved that convention and hope next year will be just as awesome.


However ... among all the endless good things, there was one thing that was really disappointing this time - the piano bar.

No discussion about the kinds of music they played there (though Nimrais really has a point there) but it was just way too loud IMHO.
Wasn't the original intention of no longer having the singing piano lady around to make it a little less loud and actually possible to talk to other people without shouting? Instead you replaced her with even louder DJs and repeating music mixes ...

The piano bar this year was rather disappointing ... it was too loud, you had to wait half an hour for your drinks (even if the counter at the bar wasn't full), the glasses weren't full at times (like ... one fourth of the drink was missing) and they even charged more than the price that was actually written on the card (which made me simply stop giving them tips or ordering myself at all).
Not to mention that the Pinacolada didn't taste like one and the White Russian ... well, leaving the strange taste aside, it didn't even look like one. :') (And yes, I did order those drinks there last year and they tasted goddamn awesome.)
While a lot of people were complaining about the prices for the cocktails, the quality last year was definitely worth it. However, this year it wasn't. At least not to me.

If the piano bar stays that way, I'll probably end up spending most of my free time in the evenings (as well as the money) somewhere else.


However, aside from that bar, it was a great con, great people and it felt rather relaxed.
Thanks a lot to all the other staff departments that did do such an awesome job. I really appreciated being able to attend EF and I hope next year will be just as great.

Just my two cents and a little ranting.

[Cheetah]

Hi Faolin!

First of all, I'm glad to hear that you had a great time! Thank you very much for your kind words. I won't go much into detail, but for you and everybody else here who had incidents with the hotel:

The most important thing if you are not happy with your drink or your meal is to complain IMMEDIATELY to your waiter, and have them fix your problem. It's their job, and for the price you are paying, you have the right to demand appropriate service. And if you do it in a polite friendly way, they will do everything to help you. The hotel staff works very hard to service more than 1000 people for almost exactly one full week. That means, they are running at about 200% of their normal capacity. Mishaps will happen, and please do not outright assume these are hostile attempts to rip you off. We are bringing this place to their limits, and sometimes this will show.

Whatever happened: It is pointless to take your complaint to us, Eurofurence, weeks or months after the con. I can understand how you felt, but what are we supposed to do about it? It was not us who poured you the drink, and even if we forwarded your complaint, nobody at the hotel will take a single complaint about ice cubes seriously several days after you've paid your bill and left.

What goes for individual complaints about the service also goes for the prices: The hotel, although they are our hosts, is a business separate from Eurofurence. They can fix the prices however THEY want, and they will do so by strictly economic criteria. If you find the cocktail prices too high, I can totally relate to you. Of course you want your drinks as affordable as possible, everyone wants that. But it's not our business - so we have no influence on the prices. The only thing I can recommend is voting with your feet, and either get drunk at roomparties and stick to the affordable drinks in the bar (the beer prices are pretty normal for a bar, for example), or maybe try the cocktail bar directly next door. I've heard they're really good.

It's really important to understand the difference between services provided on the behalf of Eurofurence, and those provided on behalf of the hotel. You can still voice your opinion about hotel services here, and compare experiences with others of course. It won't change a thing tho

[Kisu]

However ... among all the endless good things, there was one thing that was really disappointing this time - the piano bar.

No discussion about the kinds of music they played there (though Nimrais really has a point there) but it was just way too loud IMHO.
Wasn't the original intention of no longer having the singing piano lady around to make it a little less loud and actually possible to talk to other people without shouting? Instead you replaced her with even louder DJs and repeating music mixes ...

The piano bar this year was rather disappointing ... it was too loud, you had to wait half an hour for your drinks (even if the counter at the bar wasn't full), the glasses weren't full at times (like ... one fourth of the drink was missing) and they even charged more than the price that was actually written on the card (which made me simply stop giving them tips or ordering myself at all).
Not to mention that the Pinacolada didn't taste like one and the White Russian ... well, leaving the strange taste aside, it didn't even look like one. :') (And yes, I did order those drinks there last year and they tasted goddamn awesome.)
While a lot of people were complaining about the prices for the cocktails, the quality last year was definitely worth it. However, this year it wasn't. At least not to me.

If the piano bar stays that way, I'll probably end up spending most of my free time in the evenings (as well as the money) somewhere else.

Piano bar's drinks quality did vary alot but it doesnt help much typing it here, if it wasnt good why not just tell them right there at least we did once ?

And I partly agree with the music, it was way too loud as yelling next to other person could not talk properly.
Me and hHp and Bria would've liked some Jazz or perhaps Blues with the fine coctails. That'd fit the bar well.

I didn't complain much of the prices this year, there was happy hour with reduced price this time one evening and even normal prices there are 2euros below awerage Finnish bar prices

Some furs said there was few awesome bars almost next to the hotel but I did not have much time to check those. Maybe try em next year. (one bar was not happy for foreign peeps as if you did not speak german they served like 1 drink per 1,5hours or so)

[Cheetah]

There's only one thing that annoyed me quite a lot ... the music in the Piano Bar (when there was none of EF's DJs). Tina Turner was just about (well, very hard) to tolerate, but when they started to play SCHLAGER (I only say Wolfgang Petry ... ) I was close to throwing up. I mean, if there are reasons why they can't/don't want to play other/our music - I really would love to hear them.

I think we did not request any special kind of music on those days, so they played random stuff they had in store. I would suggest you take this criticism directly to BBF (in case he misses your post here), and maybe he'll be able to provide a few mix CDs for the bar to play at the times when nobody's DJing.