Here are some addendums that I would like to note that I wanted to discuss but didn't quite fit the narrative flow of the main article:
1) At a point in the convention I saw two Department of Homeland Security trucks parked near the corner outside of the Westin. This indicates to that while some in the press had a chuckle or two after the chlorine attacks of MFF 2014, the government is probably taking this a bit more seriously.
2) One change which was kind of a bummer, but understandable, in the years I was gone was the movement of the Zoo from the upper floor of the Westin into the Convention Center on the floor below the dealer's den. The zoo needed to grow in size to deal with the amount of people the convention brought in.
Clearly this change was recent as I see that there is still a strange 'tradition' lingering about that doesn't help anything.
In the convention center halls there is a area where the center can sell food stuffs via a concession stand. Both the Zoo and the Dealers Den had one. What I noticed is that, like prior years, the concession stand was open in the Dealer's Den. Now, this made sense when it was the only "Hall" we had access to with one of these stands. But I saw that the one in the Zoo's Hall was closed when the Dealer's Den was open.
This wouldn't be so bad, except there were no tables to eat upon in the Dealer's Den as there were in the past. A lot of furries would end up sitting on the floor in front of the loading bays nearby. This is quite an over-site. Especially seeings as there are all the tables down in the Zoo's hall.
The change is simple. The concession stand should be moved down into the zoo and stay in the zoo. It should be closed off in the Dealer's den. I think this would be the best from a health and safety standpoint as while I was not too proud to eat sitting on the floor, I think the only ones that get a thematic plus from that are those that bought a dog bowl to eat from :).
I would think it'd logistically be better for the convention center as well. They don't have to move the concessions from the upper to the lower hall. It'd just stay in the lower hall. The cleaning staff certainly had to deal with more of a mess on the floor from the sloppy foods such as pulled pork sandwiches and ice cream going directly to the floor and not a table.
If you are going to still do both, you need tables on both floors for people eating.
Here are some addendums that I would like to note that I wanted to discuss but didn't quite fit the narrative flow of the main article:
1) At a point in the convention I saw two Department of Homeland Security trucks parked near the corner outside of the Westin. This indicates to that while some in the press had a chuckle or two after the chlorine attacks of MFF 2014, the government is probably taking this a bit more seriously.
2) One change which was kind of a bummer, but understandable, in the years I was gone was the movement of the Zoo from the upper floor of the Westin into the Convention Center on the floor below the dealer's den. The zoo needed to grow in size to deal with the amount of people the convention brought in.
Clearly this change was recent as I see that there is still a strange 'tradition' lingering about that doesn't help anything.
In the convention center halls there is a area where the center can sell food stuffs via a concession stand. Both the Zoo and the Dealers Den had one. What I noticed is that, like prior years, the concession stand was open in the Dealer's Den. Now, this made sense when it was the only "Hall" we had access to with one of these stands. But I saw that the one in the Zoo's Hall was closed when the Dealer's Den was open.
This wouldn't be so bad, except there were no tables to eat upon in the Dealer's Den as there were in the past. A lot of furries would end up sitting on the floor in front of the loading bays nearby. This is quite an over-site. Especially seeings as there are all the tables down in the Zoo's hall.
The change is simple. The concession stand should be moved down into the zoo and stay in the zoo. It should be closed off in the Dealer's den. I think this would be the best from a health and safety standpoint as while I was not too proud to eat sitting on the floor, I think the only ones that get a thematic plus from that are those that bought a dog bowl to eat from :).
I would think it'd logistically be better for the convention center as well. They don't have to move the concessions from the upper to the lower hall. It'd just stay in the lower hall. The cleaning staff certainly had to deal with more of a mess on the floor from the sloppy foods such as pulled pork sandwiches and ice cream going directly to the floor and not a table.
If you are going to still do both, you need tables on both floors for people eating.