For the past couple of weeks since I visited Chicago for what is now the world's largest furry con (15.5K+ attendees), I've had some of my thoughts swirling about an event I had been skipping for over a decade, one that I finally got the approved time off for this year (although that's not likely to happen next year).

Usually, I have a blast at these cons despite their size. And while I had a great time overall, I think this is the first time my thoughts were a bit mixed up about how well it went.

So after a bit of break, I may as well try to put words down on my experiences.

A quick summary

I ran into a few things I took issue with, between the way the lottery worked (including some glitches that didn't show up until check-in), poor wayfinding and queue management, a lack of any attempts to protect attendees from airborne illnesses (funny, cons used to care about this), and a confusing, step-heavy layout.

But I was still able to have a fun time, and it looks like some of my gripes got fixes as the weekend progressed.

The room lottery and mysterious names

If you asked me back when MFF first announced that they were going this route, I would've said I'm not a fan; my opinion hasn't changed even after two more furry cons implemented their own games of chance.

My plan was to try to get a room Wed-Mon so I could spend time on Thursday exploring a city I'd never really been to (outside of a carpool to Schaumburg in 2007). But since the website said the hotels further away from the action had shuttles in place, I checked them off as options to increase my odds of getting in.

I guess the Wed night block was too small, because I got placed in the Comfort Suites with a Thursday arrival.

Once I had my reservation, I didn't think too much about it until check-in, but when I went to the front desk to pick up my key, I was surprised to find a second name on my reservation. Is this something that normally happens?

Wayfinding

When I arrived Thursday around noon, I went to the hotel to leisurely explore the con space in both the hotel and convention centre (or at least, the con space I had access to). If I'm being honest as first timer, that was probably a good idea.

1. The hotel's meeting room layout was hard to figure out.
2. The maps were confusing, with odd names for the 3 levels of the hotel.
3. Some of the wayfinding signage the con had already put up was outright wrong -- while I was in the skybridge, I found a sign pointing to registration, and it instead took me to the main parking garage.

I had to turn around, find a sign pointing to the dealers' den, and only after going down the escalator did I find the entrance to registration.

Queueing at registration pickup

Somewhat surprisingly at the time, the lineup was incredibly short when I arrived at registration. As I waited in line, it got longer and longer, eventually blocking the convention centre's entrance and looping back on itself. And still more furries came down the escalator to mingle in the lobby outside Hall A.

Eventually, at about 2:30, con staff announced they were going to start letting us into the hall to line up, and their was a mad dash as people who had just showed up and pushed their way through the mingling crowd to get closer to the door were able rush past those of us who had already formed an orderly line.

By the time we eventually got in, I was separated from those who were waiting ahead and behind me, and had 3x more attendees ahead of me than when I first joined the line.

While the system was much more orderly past this point, I'm surprised con staff did not either (a) enforce the line we had organically formed when letting people in, or (b) let them into the registration hall earlier (before it got crowded). Either way we would've had to wait until they were ready to start collecting our badges.

Masking and vaccines, or a lack thereof

While I fortunately managed to avoid catching covid or any other con crud on this trip, others weren't so lucky. Quite frankly, I'm surprised so many cons got rid of vaccine and masking requirements this year, especially this one that's (a) already super-busy, (b) running during the time of the year with the most contagious illnesses, © in a convention centre with absolutely atrocious ventilation, and (d) didn't seem to suffer from enforcing restrictions last year.

I could keep going, but this decision just feels like it was designed to pander to a very loud (and selfish) minority. Busy cons should really do better to protect their attendees.

Smaller gripes

* Honestly, in addition to its poor ventilation, the skybridge is too narrow and seems to have many unexplained elevation changes. I see why so many fursuiters make jokes at its expense now.
* When it gets really crowded, it's hard to clear the top of the Hyatt's escalators; too many furries seemed to stop and chat along the narrow walkway leading away from them, or were heading the other way. Perhaps during busy times, the con could force people to keep moving until they're off to the side, or enforce one-way traffic?
* The drop-off loop at the convention centre spent most of the weekend smelling like burning tobacco, and after spending a bit of time outside, my fursuit started to pick up that smell. After that I had to resort to waiting for my shuttle indoors
* * Similar to my gripe with Anthrocon's shuttles, it would've been better if each route had a designated pick-up/drop-off location instead of the free-for-all we got. I missed the shuttle twice because I couldn't see it past other vehicles stopping in the middle of the road.
* What is it with Chicago and half-width escalators? Looking at the L station, the convention centre, and the escalators leading to the Hyatt's lower (sorry, international) level
* You know, for a place that's called "The Windy City", I was expecting a lot more wind.

Things I actually liked

* Regardless of whatever con issues I may have had, it was nice meeting up with an reconnecting with friends. Even making some new acquaintances!
* After registration, queue management was handled a lot better
* Some of the confusing signs (not all of them) got some fixes as the weekend went on
* The schedule included the name of the building each room was in, so at least I didn't get confused about that
* I liked playing pinball in the arcade
* I didn't have to worry about breakfast, since that was included with my room
* Weather was warmer than I expected; I went the entire weekend without a coat
* Best headless lounge was the one in the convention centre. Less crowded and bigger
* Obviously it was pricey, but having multiple places in the con space to order food (in addition to nearby restaurants) is always a plus.