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Furcationland 2025 Report, "Day Zero" (Thur. April 10)
6 months ago
LONG!!!
I took vacation time Thurs. April 10 through Mon. April 14 for Furcationland, though I would only be staying through Sunday. I know I’d need Monday for a recovery day before returning to work. At the time I put in for the time off, I didn’t realize the hotel had a late check-in. Most hotels I’ve gone to have a 3pm check-in. This one, 4pm. I could have worked that morning. Not that it matters. I’ve been at my current job long enough that I can’t burn my vacation time fast enough.
New perk this year, Furcationland offered to mail-out Supersponsor and Ultrasponsor badges in advance. I took advantage of that as a Supersponsor once again. I received the highest number I’ve ever gotten for registering at a Maine furcon: 39. I had #14 last year and way back in 2018 at Maine’s furst furcon (PineFur Con), I had #6. I guess I need to jump on registration even quicker next year. (gigglechitter)
Right about the time The Rev headed off for work on Thursday morning, I turned on my beater travel flip phone. Yes, I’m a luddite and have not upgraded to a true smart device yet and will avoid that as long as I can though some of these newer folding screen smart devices are tempting. After boot-up, the phone chitters at me, my text message “ring tone”. A furry friend on staff wants me to call her asap. And who knows when she sent that message as this phone date/time stamps text messages when they are received, not when they are sent.
She’s in a bind. She had to let go of her room earlier in the week as she was having issues with her power wheelchair and wasn’t sure if it was going to be fixed in time for the con. But it did get fixed. However, due to high demand at the hotel, she can’t get the room back. She’s supposed to be on site Friday through Sunday and can’t get a room, not at the con hotel or any of the overflow ones. Could she crash in my room? *sigh* I get my own room for a good reason. I’m very introverted, believe it or not. It’s my escape when I’ve had too much peopling, like after a three-hour stint helping registration. But I also have a bad habit of not being able to say no. At least, I’ll have the room to myself until early Friday afternoon. I added my army cot and a camp mattress to the gear in the CRV.
On the way south, I pick-up a large pizza and other grocery supplies to tie me over most of the weekend. Even though I’ll be in the foodie city of Portland, Maine, where you can’t swing your arm around without knocking over a James Beard (foodie Oscar) winner or runner-up as it seems there is one in every other restaurant there and the con is downtown, I’ve come prepared to leave the hotel as little as possible. Why? Due to the weather forecast, which I had been watching all week leading up to departure day. That forecast: Rain/snow/rain oh and more rain starting Friday during the day. And every run of the forecast models got worse. To the point, where this weather squirrel gave-up posting the weather “furcast” after Saturday morning. In addition, the hotel restaurant is closed for renovations. I’d only learn upon arrival that the bar/lounge would sub as a restaurant for part of the weekend. But I didn’t go to it while open.
I arrive at the hotel at 3:45pm. They check me in. I proceeded into the underground parking garage. In the past, I have been able to snag the last or second to last spot on the first level. Nope. Go down to the second/last level and there are 8 non-handicap spots left. I’ve never seen it fill that fast. There’s also an overflow parking garage next door, but fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with that. Park, unload my stuff onto my cart, go to the elevator and go to the very top floor (11). And they don’t provide an oxygen tank despite the elevation above sea level (chuckle). Great view of the hahbah, but I’m not looking forward to this becoming “elevator con” for me. Usually, I’m no more than half-way up and don’t mind taking six flights of stairs. But eleven? I did it a couple times in both directions just to say I can do it. However, a couple times is plenty. Oh, and the famous Time and Temperature Building’s electronic sign is not just showing time and temp, but FCL 2025 instead of CALL JOE, similar to last year. Call Joe is a reference to a local injury lawyer law firm that sponsors the electronic sign most of the time.
The hotel con space is spread out on three levels. Lobby level is the large ballroom, which is split into the game room, Maine Events (they put that e there on purpose), and the headless lounge. There is a mail closet that has been converted to help desk/security for the con and a couple of tables in the hallway for accessibility and volunteers. The second floor contains the panel rooms, photo room, and registration. G3 (Ground 3) just below the lobby level contains the exhibition hall used as the dealers den, artist ally, charity space, and con store. In total roughly 30,000 square feet/2,782 square meters of con space. This year, they also took over a hotel room on the 10th floor to make the quiet space.
I peak in on Registration to see if they want me there prior to my 6pm volunteer shift. Answer: Yes, go grab dinner and get back here as soon as you can. So, back up to my room, eat a couple slices of pizza, wrap up the rest and shove in the fridge, go down to the lobby, check-in at the volunteer desk, and return to Registration by roughly 5:15pm. By this time, the line waiting for Registration to open goes down the short hallway from registration to the stairwell and half-way down the stairwell or roughly forty in line. By the time we opened at 6pm, that line wound around the front-half of the lobby and in front of the hotel check-in counter.
“Running Reg” (Running Red) has a well-oiled crew in registration with four check-in stations/printers, one of which is finicky to put it politely. The equipment is shared with Furpocolypse down in CT (held on/near Halloween every year). I serve as the “big box store greeter”/“gate keeper” directing the next in line to whichever computer is open, reminding them to have their photo ID ready and if in suit, they’ll need to de-head. Or if it’s a special issue, direct them over to RR. Despite that there are only four computers/printers we checked-in that entire line in just an hour with the last person in line reporting they had been in the line only 20 minutes. I was there until 8pm, but registration stayed open until midnight. I’d learn the following morning they checked-in roughly 600 attendees on Thursday.
After checking out with the volunteer desk, I plunk a few quarters in the Police Force pinball (or as it’s called among some of the furry crowd “Zootopia” as it is an animal police force themed game). All proceeds to the con charity, Short Folks for Hope. (https://shortfolks.org/) But wait a minute. The first year of FCL, there was one pinball, F-14 Tomcat (a very, very hard, unforgiving table). Year two, Police Force was added. This year, a third pinball was there with the other two, Bally’s Joker from 1969. Per the history taped to the front, it was one of about 100 prototypes, but it was never officially released ‘cause the model used for part of the back glass didn’t want his likeness used and was able to stop the table from being officially released. Interesting. I snapped a few photos. Alas, I’d learn soon after that neither my antiquated digital camara, nor my flipphone camera would get clear pictures of that table or anything else I’d try to shoot during the weekend. Oh well. Quick shower, and I’m in bed by 9:30pm as I’m not a late-night person, but that’s 30 minutes later than usual for me.
I took vacation time Thurs. April 10 through Mon. April 14 for Furcationland, though I would only be staying through Sunday. I know I’d need Monday for a recovery day before returning to work. At the time I put in for the time off, I didn’t realize the hotel had a late check-in. Most hotels I’ve gone to have a 3pm check-in. This one, 4pm. I could have worked that morning. Not that it matters. I’ve been at my current job long enough that I can’t burn my vacation time fast enough.
New perk this year, Furcationland offered to mail-out Supersponsor and Ultrasponsor badges in advance. I took advantage of that as a Supersponsor once again. I received the highest number I’ve ever gotten for registering at a Maine furcon: 39. I had #14 last year and way back in 2018 at Maine’s furst furcon (PineFur Con), I had #6. I guess I need to jump on registration even quicker next year. (gigglechitter)
Right about the time The Rev headed off for work on Thursday morning, I turned on my beater travel flip phone. Yes, I’m a luddite and have not upgraded to a true smart device yet and will avoid that as long as I can though some of these newer folding screen smart devices are tempting. After boot-up, the phone chitters at me, my text message “ring tone”. A furry friend on staff wants me to call her asap. And who knows when she sent that message as this phone date/time stamps text messages when they are received, not when they are sent.
She’s in a bind. She had to let go of her room earlier in the week as she was having issues with her power wheelchair and wasn’t sure if it was going to be fixed in time for the con. But it did get fixed. However, due to high demand at the hotel, she can’t get the room back. She’s supposed to be on site Friday through Sunday and can’t get a room, not at the con hotel or any of the overflow ones. Could she crash in my room? *sigh* I get my own room for a good reason. I’m very introverted, believe it or not. It’s my escape when I’ve had too much peopling, like after a three-hour stint helping registration. But I also have a bad habit of not being able to say no. At least, I’ll have the room to myself until early Friday afternoon. I added my army cot and a camp mattress to the gear in the CRV.
On the way south, I pick-up a large pizza and other grocery supplies to tie me over most of the weekend. Even though I’ll be in the foodie city of Portland, Maine, where you can’t swing your arm around without knocking over a James Beard (foodie Oscar) winner or runner-up as it seems there is one in every other restaurant there and the con is downtown, I’ve come prepared to leave the hotel as little as possible. Why? Due to the weather forecast, which I had been watching all week leading up to departure day. That forecast: Rain/snow/rain oh and more rain starting Friday during the day. And every run of the forecast models got worse. To the point, where this weather squirrel gave-up posting the weather “furcast” after Saturday morning. In addition, the hotel restaurant is closed for renovations. I’d only learn upon arrival that the bar/lounge would sub as a restaurant for part of the weekend. But I didn’t go to it while open.
I arrive at the hotel at 3:45pm. They check me in. I proceeded into the underground parking garage. In the past, I have been able to snag the last or second to last spot on the first level. Nope. Go down to the second/last level and there are 8 non-handicap spots left. I’ve never seen it fill that fast. There’s also an overflow parking garage next door, but fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with that. Park, unload my stuff onto my cart, go to the elevator and go to the very top floor (11). And they don’t provide an oxygen tank despite the elevation above sea level (chuckle). Great view of the hahbah, but I’m not looking forward to this becoming “elevator con” for me. Usually, I’m no more than half-way up and don’t mind taking six flights of stairs. But eleven? I did it a couple times in both directions just to say I can do it. However, a couple times is plenty. Oh, and the famous Time and Temperature Building’s electronic sign is not just showing time and temp, but FCL 2025 instead of CALL JOE, similar to last year. Call Joe is a reference to a local injury lawyer law firm that sponsors the electronic sign most of the time.
The hotel con space is spread out on three levels. Lobby level is the large ballroom, which is split into the game room, Maine Events (they put that e there on purpose), and the headless lounge. There is a mail closet that has been converted to help desk/security for the con and a couple of tables in the hallway for accessibility and volunteers. The second floor contains the panel rooms, photo room, and registration. G3 (Ground 3) just below the lobby level contains the exhibition hall used as the dealers den, artist ally, charity space, and con store. In total roughly 30,000 square feet/2,782 square meters of con space. This year, they also took over a hotel room on the 10th floor to make the quiet space.
I peak in on Registration to see if they want me there prior to my 6pm volunteer shift. Answer: Yes, go grab dinner and get back here as soon as you can. So, back up to my room, eat a couple slices of pizza, wrap up the rest and shove in the fridge, go down to the lobby, check-in at the volunteer desk, and return to Registration by roughly 5:15pm. By this time, the line waiting for Registration to open goes down the short hallway from registration to the stairwell and half-way down the stairwell or roughly forty in line. By the time we opened at 6pm, that line wound around the front-half of the lobby and in front of the hotel check-in counter.
“Running Reg” (Running Red) has a well-oiled crew in registration with four check-in stations/printers, one of which is finicky to put it politely. The equipment is shared with Furpocolypse down in CT (held on/near Halloween every year). I serve as the “big box store greeter”/“gate keeper” directing the next in line to whichever computer is open, reminding them to have their photo ID ready and if in suit, they’ll need to de-head. Or if it’s a special issue, direct them over to RR. Despite that there are only four computers/printers we checked-in that entire line in just an hour with the last person in line reporting they had been in the line only 20 minutes. I was there until 8pm, but registration stayed open until midnight. I’d learn the following morning they checked-in roughly 600 attendees on Thursday.
After checking out with the volunteer desk, I plunk a few quarters in the Police Force pinball (or as it’s called among some of the furry crowd “Zootopia” as it is an animal police force themed game). All proceeds to the con charity, Short Folks for Hope. (https://shortfolks.org/) But wait a minute. The first year of FCL, there was one pinball, F-14 Tomcat (a very, very hard, unforgiving table). Year two, Police Force was added. This year, a third pinball was there with the other two, Bally’s Joker from 1969. Per the history taped to the front, it was one of about 100 prototypes, but it was never officially released ‘cause the model used for part of the back glass didn’t want his likeness used and was able to stop the table from being officially released. Interesting. I snapped a few photos. Alas, I’d learn soon after that neither my antiquated digital camara, nor my flipphone camera would get clear pictures of that table or anything else I’d try to shoot during the weekend. Oh well. Quick shower, and I’m in bed by 9:30pm as I’m not a late-night person, but that’s 30 minutes later than usual for me.
