I've safely arrived home yesterday, returning from the first Eurofurence I've attended, and the first con during which I've been wearing a fursuit. The short summary: It was a blast!
I had almost no waiting time at the registration, and all formalities were hassle-free and quick with no surprises, because everything was either explained on site, or already mentioned on the homepage / during the emails. Staff has been friendly and helpful at all times and I've had no issues with any of them.
My personal highlight: The fursuit programs and lounge.
The "Fursuit" program (and lounge) were incredible, and simply awesome! The walk at the Zoo, the flashmob at the mall and the suit walk were wonderfully organized. There was enough information to answer any "how" and "where" questions, there's always been water supplies and security/helpers to guide the path and minimize problems. The lounge itself... well; it's the first time I've seen one - and it's amazing what you guys offer as a service in there! Having cooling pipes and racks to put the suit parts on, drinks and some salty snacks, dozens and dozens of fans, antibacterial spray (I brought and used lot of my own because I didn't expect any of that) and even a repair kit available just blew me away. Literally.
Even though all that certainly maxed out on its capacity (so many suits!) it made the experience a blast for me, and allowed me to wear my suit much more often, because it was just incredibly easy and convenient to store it in the lounge and have it dry in no time. Not to mention the Fursuit Photoshooting - it was so much fun, and the team there was actually interested in making good photos, and not just work down the batch of those who signed up. I was glad for all the help and advice I got on where to stand, which poses to try to make it look good. Thank you for all of that to everyone involved!
The only part where I really wish it'd have been solved differently was the waiting time for the big events. I know how complex stage setup can be for those, and it seems nobody really expects the doors to open on time - regardless of whether it's for the opening ceremonies, the story hour, the fursuit game show or the pawpet show; but the lack of communication can be really frustrating, and waiting for almost 2 hours is no fun at all, which made me leave the queue and skip the event. If the anticipated delays are small and predictable (at the time when it's supposed to launch), please be more communicative. Giving the first announcement 45 minutes after the planned opening time is too late to help people accomodate, and if the preparation time is really unpredictable, maybe it'd be worth finding a different method for the seating, like putting up "pull a number" ticket rolls, and calling out some ranges (1-50, 51-99, whatever) just like during aircraft boarding.
But once again, please accept this as constructive feedback. The convention was a blast, but when you're together with many awesome people and your time is limited to the duration of the con, spending it "doing nothing" (aka: waiting for... information... or the doors to open) is frustrating.
I really look forward to the next convention - and I'm sure it'll be just as wonderful. And maybe there'll be a spot somewhere where I can lend a paw and contribute my part, too.
~Luchs