BotCon 2012: Additional Hotel Block Added

El Duque wrote:Having trouble getting your booked for BotCon 2012? You're in luck, an additional block has been added. BotCon sent out the update below:

Due to the high volume of attendees, we have added an additional block in the hotel for those attending BotCon 2012 in Dallas Texas. Please make your reservations now at BotCon.com. Follow the hotel link. If you did not get the $129 rate for each night, you need to update your reservation as that rate is still good from the Friday before to the Monday after BotCon!

SEE YOU THERE!

Sweet!! Airline tickets booked! Anyone gotta layover in ATLANTA on thurs. and wants to get some lunch hit me up!! Wooo HOOO!

Damn did the new blocks already get booked?

Counterpunch wrote:

LiKwid wrote:The exclusives are great and all but , getting a chance to hang out with the seibertron crew again is one of the highlites of the whole weekend IMO..

You, me, knuckle down at the bar. This is happening. This is real.

Hopefully Ryan doesn't throw me into a planter this time around...

Oh yes..it will be just prime..Hopefully there will be plenty of surly waitresses as well...Just hope i dont come down with the friggin hanta virus again, being sick and trying to get hammered enjoy a Con sucks...

Why can they never have this thing here in Iowa? We have the Wells Fargo Arena here in Des Moines that's plenty large enough to host it.... I hate being poor and not being able to travel and attend it.

Blackmoon wrote:Why can they never have this thing here in Iowa?

Is that rhetorical? If not, the answer is because it's Iowa...other than the Iowa Caucus, not exactly a national hot spot. Can you imagine the vitriol if they actually chose Iowa?

I'm about thirty minutes away from this hotel. I might have to make a trip out there, that is, if I can get off work.

El Duque wrote:Having trouble getting your booked for BotCon 2012? You're in luck, an additional block has been added. BotCon sent out the update below:

Due to the high volume of attendees, we have added an additional block in the hotel for those attending BotCon 2012 in Dallas Texas. Please make your reservations now at BotCon.com. Follow the hotel link. If you did not get the $129 rate for each night, you need to update your reservation as that rate is still good from the Friday before to the Monday after BotCon!

SEE YOU THERE!

Well the website still says nothing available so i did a serach on expedia for close hotels and it truns out there is quite a few within a mile of the Hyatt regency and some for a little cheaper( i reccomend avoiding the hotel lawrence though, its horrible)

http://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search?action=newSearch&inpRfrrId=-56567#A=HOT.SR.Sort.Distance&B=&D=&E=&F=&hideSortType=4&L=4&M=0&N=0&U=25&ts=1323299181493

So what goes on at Botcon? Is it just a showcase for new stuff by Hasbro and Takara, or can I go there and buy G1 off vendors?

Can I just show up at the door and expect to get in, or do I need to buy a ticket early?

Lazerface wrote:So what goes on at Botcon? Is it just a showcase for new stuff by Hasbro and Takara, or can I go there and buy G1 off vendors?

Can I just show up at the door and expect to get in, or do I need to buy a ticket early?

Oh man..I remember the questions I had before my first botcon First off it is way more than just a showcase.While alot of stuff does get shown off and teased, especially during the hasbro panels, it is pure Transformer nirvana.

The dealer floor is unreal. You can find almost anything from G1 to the glorious junk piles with peices and parts to any figure imaginable. A thread was started during the 2010 botcon in orlando to accomodate Questions just like yours. Enjoy!

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/an-unofficial-comprehensive-guide-to-botcon-t65910.php

LiKwid wrote:While alot of stuff does get shown off and teased, especially during the hasbro panels, it is pure Transformer nirvana.

Correction, it is TF Nirvana and TF Mecca combined!

However, in my limited experience, the dealer room tends to be overpriced...by a lot! Pretty much your only advantage is you get to see what you're buying prior to purchase, otherwise in most cases you'd save a ton just purchasing online. The one exception is current product such as imports and 3rd Party...you can usually find some decent deals there and avoid shipping fees, provided you have enough space to get it home.

Kibble wrote:However, in my limited experience, the dealer room tends to be overpriced...by a lot! Pretty much your only advantage is you get to see what you're buying prior to purchase, otherwise in most cases you'd save a ton just purchasing online. The one exception is current product such as imports and 3rd Party...you can usually find some decent deals there and avoid shipping fees, provided you have enough space to get it home.

Good point..i remember the first time I hit the dealer floor I was hunting for a Shoadow commander set for my price..I managed to talk a guy down from $180 to $110..You can strike deals with some guys as long as you dont try and undercut them completely but some people are out of their minds. I remember a guy was selling a classics Ultra Magnus, loose, no stacks and no windvane for $100..I laughed..


The con does provide a shipping service as well so you can buy stuff there and have it shipped to your home( not sure how well it works but I know its offered)

LiKwid wrote:

Lazerface wrote:So what goes on at Botcon? Is it just a showcase for new stuff by Hasbro and Takara, or can I go there and buy G1 off vendors?

Can I just show up at the door and expect to get in, or do I need to buy a ticket early?

Oh man..I remember the questions I had before my first botcon First off it is way more than just a showcase.While alot of stuff does get shown off and teased, especially during the hasbro panels, it is pure Transformer nirvana.

The dealer floor is unreal. You can find almost anything from G1 to the glorious junk piles with peices and parts to any figure imaginable. A thread was started during the 2010 botcon in orlando to accomodate Questions just like yours. Enjoy!

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/an-unofficial-comprehensive-guide-to-botcon-t65910.php

Thanks!

Kibble wrote:However, in my limited experience, the dealer room tends to be overpriced...by a lot! Pretty much your only advantage is you get to see what you're buying prior to purchase, otherwise in most cases you'd save a ton just purchasing online. The one exception is current product such as imports and 3rd Party...you can usually find some decent deals there and avoid shipping fees, provided you have enough space to get it home.

Yeup. I don't go there to buy any TF's really. All I want is the con set, con exclusives, and the con freebie. I usually have a list of stuff to get, but nothing in the impossible to find area. I prefer to buy online still because of the better deals. My instant gratification will be the con toys. Don't get me wrong though, I will probably have at least one piece that I'm searching for and if it's there for a reasonable price, I'll pull the trigger.

Lazerface wrote:

LiKwid wrote:

Lazerface wrote:So what goes on at Botcon? Is it just a showcase for new stuff by Hasbro and Takara, or can I go there and buy G1 off vendors?

Can I just show up at the door and expect to get in, or do I need to buy a ticket early?

Oh man..I remember the questions I had before my first botcon First off it is way more than just a showcase.While alot of stuff does get shown off and teased, especially during the hasbro panels, it is pure Transformer nirvana.

The dealer floor is unreal. You can find almost anything from G1 to the glorious junk piles with peices and parts to any figure imaginable. A thread was started during the 2010 botcon in orlando to accomodate Questions just like yours. Enjoy!

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/an-unofficial-comprehensive-guide-to-botcon-t65910.php

Thanks!

I say this whenever anyone asks, but I go for:

1)Botcon friends. These are the people that make the con worth going to each year. Bonds with them are completely different then the bond I have with my local friends. And not only that, but I tend to be just completely loose around these guys. I don't drink, but when I'm around fellow collectors, it's whatever goes until whatever hours.

2)Botcon panels and news. This is what you'll be doing most of the day during Botcon. (besides meandering around the dealer room) Voice panels are always fun. Hasbro panels are informative. There's also TF club info for this year and next. IDW panel for comic news. And really lots of other panels and activities. At night, there is usually some kind of social function or gathering.

3)The custom class. That is if you can get into it. I was able to get in two year's ago and was really an eye opener for me. I realized how much fun and exhausting it was. Not only that, but you come out of the con with an extra figure that is super exclusive. And if anyone is in there for the first time this year, you DO NOT have to follow the laid out figure presented. You will have access to paints of all kind and tools. They have no problems with you completely making your own character.

4)The con toys. Nuff said.

5)Just enjoy yourself and the atmosphere. We are all geeks of the same beast. Toy collectors, gamers, sci fi geeks, movies, etc. It's really easy to get lost in the fun there

Well crap, during school and too far away from Green Bay to take a shot at going...ah well. I'll make my first botcon some other time I suppose.

So I'm pretty sure I'll be going to this for the first time. I just have to decide if I should do general admission or buy one of the packages. When do they normally announce what the exclusive toys will be? Can someone point me to pictures of the previous exclusives? Thanks.

Edit* I guess there are lots of exclusives that can be bought, but I was just curious what they have given away with the ticket packages in the past.

TFCC just sent out the following update regarding the 2012 BotCon hotel reservations:

To all BotCon attendees who are holding current reservations: There was a glitch in the hotel's reservation system as it was supposed to be taking one night's deposit when your made your reservation.

Per our contract with the hotel, they need to take this deposit by charging everyone's credit card for the first night's room and tax.

In order not to impact anyone's Christmas shopping, I have asked them to hold off making the charge until January 3, 2012.

In addition, this deposit will be refundable until April 9, 2012. If you cancel after April 9, 2012 your deposit will NOT be refunded.

If you are holding any rooms "in case someone needs them" we ask you to either turn the reservation over to another party, or to release them by January 2, 2012, as we still have other attendees who need to make room reservations. Again, all rooms being held will have a one night's deposit charged on January 3, 2012.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Thanks for your support,

Brian

This is pretty F-ing not-OK.

My wife and I have done a lot of traveling to various hotels for work over the years and putting deposits down for our stays is not a common practice.

Also, there was no mention of this in the reservation form.

Unacceptable. The Hyatt F-ed up? Too bad. BotCon F-ed up? Too bad.

Counterpunch wrote:This is pretty F-ing not-OK.

My wife and I have done a lot of traveling to various hotels for work over the years and putting deposits down for our stays is not a common practice.

Also, there was no mention of this in the reservation form.

Unacceptable. The Hyatt F-ed up? Too bad. BotCon F-ed up? Too bad.

Agreed..This is an awkward moment to say the least..Just thought I would mention there are A BUNCH of hotels within less than a mile of the Hyatt..Just sayin..oh and they are a tad cheaper too...

I am furious at Brian Savage and Botcon! I never make any hotel reservations that charge me more than a dollar to see if I have credit on my credit card ( and even that is released after 24 hours usually). I don't have the money to give them now, or more to the point, I don't want to give them almost 200 dollars of my money or have it floating around in limbo for the next 5 months. I am going to Mardi Gras in February and I need all the money I can get till then. Plus they?Brain Savage and Botcon gave us less than 2 weeks notice that they planned to charge us, and it's at the beginning of the month no less. Most of us pay rent and 200 bucks is a big chunk of that!

I'm also pretty sure that what they have done is illegal and actionable in a court of law. There was no mention of the need to pay a day in advance upfront, and giving us all less than 2 weeks to come up with the money is also unacceptable. If I end up losing my reservation because of this I will hold Botcon and Brian Savage personally and financially responsible for this!


I suggest we all send letters/emails/voice mails to Brian Savage, Botcon, The hotel, and Hasbro and let them know that this is totally unacceptable. What do other people think/feel? Is there a forum speciailly for this one topic at the moment? I couldn't find it.

Since funpub is in charge of the joe & TF clubs/conventions.

I can only assume that the Botcon convention got the shaft/short straw this year with the worse convention dates in 2012. most likely due to the G.I Joe 2 movie & funpub/joe fans wanting a convention in 2012 as close to the opening theathre date of G.I Joe 2's movie as possible.

Honestly the April 2012 is the worst most horrible conventions dates for botcon. due to some TF fans like myself loving to see newer proto types at these botcon conventions.

needless to say hasbro's 2012 NYC toy fair is always in the 3rd week of february. toyfair usually shows off newer TF proto types & package mock up. 2 months in april is too short of a time for hasbro to have that many newer TF proto types that they didn't show already at toyfair.

at best SDCC & NYCC will show more proto types & package mock ups than botcon 2012. similar in vein & mirrored to last year 2011.

Counterpunch wrote:This is pretty F-ing not-OK.

My wife and I have done a lot of traveling to various hotels for work over the years and putting deposits down for our stays is not a common practice.

Also, there was no mention of this in the reservation form.

Unacceptable. The Hyatt F-ed up? Too bad. BotCon F-ed up? Too bad.

Yeah, I agree. I had to shuffle around some financial planning because of this, even if it's only $150. They shouldn't hold us responsible for their oversight. Is there anything we can do to let them know our satisfaction?

Also, last year was my first BotCon, and I enjoyed a lot of it. This year if I end up going I will go only for the exclusives and maybe a couple of panels. The dealer room? Not so much, unless they have some really cool exclusive figures.

For anyone whose first time it would be, definitely go with the Primus package. You only have 1 chance to go to your first BotCon, and that's the right way to do it.

I dunno, I can see why they'd do it considering so many people book a reservation with only half a notion of actually keeping it. There are a lot of people willing to book and actually keep that reservation being left in the dark. The only thing shady I see is saying you can't cancel and be refunded after 4/9. Most that would cancel at that point would be due to unforeseen circumstances, not because they're still deciding.

Kibble wrote:I dunno, I can see why they'd do it considering so many people book a reservation with only half a notion of actually keeping it. There are a lot of people willing to book and actually keep that reservation being left in the dark. The only thing shady I see is saying you can't cancel and be refunded after 4/9. Most that would cancel at that point would be due to unforeseen circumstances, not because they're still deciding.

Do you do a lot of traveling with frequent hotel stays?

Because this doesn't happen. We did not have to put a deposit down when we stayed at a shitty ole' Best Western at $60 a night. We did not have to put down a deposit when we stayed at the Grand Bohemian at $400 a night for our wedding.

If they had been upfront on it, I would have been like, "Well, this is dildos, much like everything BotCon does these days but whatever." But they fu cked up. They can suck it up.

It's not my job as as third party to their contract to fulfill their obligations.

F' that.