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My MFF 2023 trip... maybe my last...
2 years ago
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And doth the Drygerskunk posteth: So I went to Midwest FurFest 2023, in Chicago.
Well, let me back that up a bit.
The month before, I was going nuts over the trip to MFF, as not only was I worried about the trip, but I had my roomie
tazel as well who wanted to take a train trip. So way earlier I booked Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited 49 (on the 29th). Tazel would fly to me (near Baltimore) and stay a few nights. So I had to at least unload/rearrange/clean up the house enough to have hir be comfortable while I worked from home.
Cue the maid outfit.
I was able to get it to a decent state in time for hir to arrive. We had dinner at a local Golden Corale, to which Tazel's luck of coincidences started coming into play: Remembering an unheard-of Billy Joel song, and the restaurant's radio was playing some of the hits of the record.
The next day, I get hit with two projects that were high priority... and I didn't know until the boss told me two hours into the workday. I get both of them done in time to attempt a drive up to The Miracle on 34th street... but Tazel's back was twinging hard. We eat at the Double-T Diner near Pikesville and take a back route to avoid traffic heading back home, picking up desert and medication along the way.
Then, Wednesday, we start the trip proper. We take a regional up to New York City and get a gloryious shot of Moynihan Hall. I should of taken the picture. The lounge had great food. We were pre-loaded into the Lake Shore Limited and... ****. We got a Viewliner I sleeper car roomette berth.
Let me tell you about the berths. They're roughly 3.5 feet by 7 feet of area, and fit two people by having a lowering upper bunk for sleeping. The difference between a Viewliner I and a Viewliner II is that the Viewliner I's have a toilet *in the berth, next to one of the seats*. This makes for a very awkward situation... and with how big Tazel is IRL, something which only has commedic value. We kept it closed all the time and used the bathrooms in the first coach in front of the diner (which was in front of us).
So we're loaded up, we're working on various things. Turns out tazel and 
echoen were flying out early the same day, so I swap my return trip for an earlier one (prepaying for Anthrocon). Dinner is, unfortunately, Flex Dining -- essentially microwaved meals. The beef burgundy shows this with the beef turning rubbery. The asian BBQ glazed salmon shines in this regard. Sadly, we had to set up our own beds and that got me too pooped to even dress for it.
And to be honest... trying it out, with the very firm beds... isn't quite my liking. It's barely comfortable but the blanket was warm. I had better sleep at the hotel.
The next morning, we were at Toledo. We reset the seats, rest a bit, and then head into the cafe for breakfast. Tazel I think goes continental and I hit the pancakes, and a fellow rail fur does the pancakes as well...
...and mid-eating the train slams to a halt. Some moron (who's later ID'ed in a press release from the police) decides at the last minute to run around a crossing guard and smack into the train. It was a fatal error. We're fine, the train took it with stride, but it definitely upsets us for a good while. We're delayed 4 hours but in contact with
maloo who wisks us away from Chicago Union Station. We treat him to a bit of a late lunch. I eat a bit lightly, still a bit upset... and we all crash into bed after getting our badges... which was a rather quick affair. We got in early enough to be maybe three lines deep, and walking through it was rather speedy. Good idea on the QA codes.
The next three days were a few panels, chatting with folk in the artist's alley, finding a quieter spot to work on artwork, and dealing with the SkyBridge. The *!)@#* SkyBridge. It needs work. Hell, one person took a CO2 meter on it and declared it hazardous. Next time, I'm going outside to get between the Hyatt and the convention center... and I swear they could just take over all of the convention center. I call this one a "mixed bag." Got some good works, met some good artists, checked on a few things... but MFF... it didn't leave a good impression on it's own.
The Monday of, I see Tazel and Echoen off, before a nap and then leaving myself. I head over to the airport to then grab Chicago's L around and to Chicago Union Station. I had too much baggage, so I elect to stay in station until call-up time. I was introverting hard a bit, although I did chat with others who came in.
There was a difference between an attendant phoning it in and one who really enjoys the job. In the Capitol Limited and the Superliner equipment (much better) I got Carlos. That made the trip back more enjoyable. Having Wendnesday off helped as well.
... which gets into some introspection. I'm not happy with MFF. As I said before:
* The con shares space with other events, when it can easily take over the entire convention center.
* There are no zoo spaces. None. The closest is the open gaming areas. No place for an artist to jam.
* The SkyBridge between the convention center and the Hyatt (main hotel) is a safety hazard and also is a sub-optimal routing. It feels like an add-on and needs to be rebuilt.
* There is no ready food options outside the convention center or hotels. The only "cheap" option is Starbucks or places several blocks away such as McDonalds or a food mall across a parking garage.
* There should be more hotels in general close to the convention center.
I think this is my last MFF. It's too big in an area that's a convention trap.
I need a vacation.
Well, let me back that up a bit.
The month before, I was going nuts over the trip to MFF, as not only was I worried about the trip, but I had my roomie
tazel as well who wanted to take a train trip. So way earlier I booked Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited 49 (on the 29th). Tazel would fly to me (near Baltimore) and stay a few nights. So I had to at least unload/rearrange/clean up the house enough to have hir be comfortable while I worked from home.Cue the maid outfit.
I was able to get it to a decent state in time for hir to arrive. We had dinner at a local Golden Corale, to which Tazel's luck of coincidences started coming into play: Remembering an unheard-of Billy Joel song, and the restaurant's radio was playing some of the hits of the record.
The next day, I get hit with two projects that were high priority... and I didn't know until the boss told me two hours into the workday. I get both of them done in time to attempt a drive up to The Miracle on 34th street... but Tazel's back was twinging hard. We eat at the Double-T Diner near Pikesville and take a back route to avoid traffic heading back home, picking up desert and medication along the way.
Then, Wednesday, we start the trip proper. We take a regional up to New York City and get a gloryious shot of Moynihan Hall. I should of taken the picture. The lounge had great food. We were pre-loaded into the Lake Shore Limited and... ****. We got a Viewliner I sleeper car roomette berth.
Let me tell you about the berths. They're roughly 3.5 feet by 7 feet of area, and fit two people by having a lowering upper bunk for sleeping. The difference between a Viewliner I and a Viewliner II is that the Viewliner I's have a toilet *in the berth, next to one of the seats*. This makes for a very awkward situation... and with how big Tazel is IRL, something which only has commedic value. We kept it closed all the time and used the bathrooms in the first coach in front of the diner (which was in front of us).
So we're loaded up, we're working on various things. Turns out
tazel and 
echoen were flying out early the same day, so I swap my return trip for an earlier one (prepaying for Anthrocon). Dinner is, unfortunately, Flex Dining -- essentially microwaved meals. The beef burgundy shows this with the beef turning rubbery. The asian BBQ glazed salmon shines in this regard. Sadly, we had to set up our own beds and that got me too pooped to even dress for it.And to be honest... trying it out, with the very firm beds... isn't quite my liking. It's barely comfortable but the blanket was warm. I had better sleep at the hotel.
The next morning, we were at Toledo. We reset the seats, rest a bit, and then head into the cafe for breakfast. Tazel I think goes continental and I hit the pancakes, and a fellow rail fur does the pancakes as well...
...and mid-eating the train slams to a halt. Some moron (who's later ID'ed in a press release from the police) decides at the last minute to run around a crossing guard and smack into the train. It was a fatal error. We're fine, the train took it with stride, but it definitely upsets us for a good while. We're delayed 4 hours but in contact with
maloo who wisks us away from Chicago Union Station. We treat him to a bit of a late lunch. I eat a bit lightly, still a bit upset... and we all crash into bed after getting our badges... which was a rather quick affair. We got in early enough to be maybe three lines deep, and walking through it was rather speedy. Good idea on the QA codes.The next three days were a few panels, chatting with folk in the artist's alley, finding a quieter spot to work on artwork, and dealing with the SkyBridge. The *!)@#* SkyBridge. It needs work. Hell, one person took a CO2 meter on it and declared it hazardous. Next time, I'm going outside to get between the Hyatt and the convention center... and I swear they could just take over all of the convention center. I call this one a "mixed bag." Got some good works, met some good artists, checked on a few things... but MFF... it didn't leave a good impression on it's own.
The Monday of, I see Tazel and Echoen off, before a nap and then leaving myself. I head over to the airport to then grab Chicago's L around and to Chicago Union Station. I had too much baggage, so I elect to stay in station until call-up time. I was introverting hard a bit, although I did chat with others who came in.
There was a difference between an attendant phoning it in and one who really enjoys the job. In the Capitol Limited and the Superliner equipment (much better) I got Carlos. That made the trip back more enjoyable. Having Wendnesday off helped as well.
... which gets into some introspection. I'm not happy with MFF. As I said before:
* The con shares space with other events, when it can easily take over the entire convention center.
* There are no zoo spaces. None. The closest is the open gaming areas. No place for an artist to jam.
* The SkyBridge between the convention center and the Hyatt (main hotel) is a safety hazard and also is a sub-optimal routing. It feels like an add-on and needs to be rebuilt.
* There is no ready food options outside the convention center or hotels. The only "cheap" option is Starbucks or places several blocks away such as McDonalds or a food mall across a parking garage.
* There should be more hotels in general close to the convention center.
I think this is my last MFF. It's too big in an area that's a convention trap.
I need a vacation.
I do agree with a few points about MFF, especially with Rosemont. Its a suburb thats not really well equipped for conventions, or anything of that caliber imo.
Personally I had a blast, spending half of each day in chicago and the other half at the con, but i did notice a few things that need to be fixed after day 3
MFF could use the larger floor space for everything in general. Even if having a zoo area needs to be curtained-off from something else (ie registration).
Trying to navigate the halls, especially the long trek to the "main" hotel was a chore and a half. Then there was finding the appropriate rooms for the panels when the maps weren't truly clear (not marking floors like B1, 1, 2, 3, etc).
About the only saving grace was the out-of-shuttle-network hotel oddly enough (just across from the casino); their breakfast and dinner menus were relatively decent.
Haven't written it off yet, but I can understand it being a mess.
The sky bridge needed textured mats put in it. the way it's made, there is going to be condensation so the only thing you can do is put in one of those holey mats that give traction.
there were several options around for food between the ice rink park and the mall a block or two away, so I don't entirely agree that there weren't options. I think it was akin to anthrocon's food setup, but cheaper options were further away. I thinkk they also intended to have more than one food truck but something fell through. they had listed "food trucks" in the back and had advertised more than one food truck, but only one showed up.
I managed pretty well with a hotel that wasn't on the block. According to the staff it was used for state/government people mostly but the amenities were decent. there was also the casino that was in walking distance, but no clue if that had a hotel attached. the point being I do think there were enough hotels around, just not enough associated with the event this year.
My bigger gripe would be the lack of a pharmacy and the distance to convenience stores, especially when I was looking for back pain medication.
Also lacking might be a central attraction, which most you need to go see by train.
I feel things were average, though there were options to improve on it. The good thing is most of my gripes can be solved with better planning and management, rather than a structural lack of something. I MIGHT go back next year, but it depends on who I know I know in the area.