Going in I was watching for two things:

* A 'tragedy of the commons' in public spaces with folks lined up to play video games, tap on their phones, or otherwise do easy-but-non-social activities.

* ...I forget what the second thing was. Eheh. :)

It was a success, though, folks were on the whole interacting with each other and staying busy if they wanted to. There were folks sitting in the corner with a laptop here and there, but fewer than I'm used to seeing.

The other groups with concurrent events in the hotel seemed to get along fine. Kudos to the staffers gently guiding us away from the wedding area while it was in full swing, that was thoughtful. :)

The noise level was a little high, and I say that as one of the folks contributing to it, but once you open up the video game console door that's gonna happen. Noise is a tough thing to control. I don't think it was ever at a level where conversation was difficult though.

The blower fan I brought was consistently in use. A few more would have been really nice, though, since suiters would often park in front of it for long periods. Intense blasts of air like that are AMAZING when one is warm (which for me is of course the point where I have finished putting the costume on in the first place) but it's pretty much a one-person thing...when we're not wrapped in faux fur gentle air currents are helpful, but you need more fans if you want to benefit the furred set.

Headless lounges are definitely great, but blower fans dotted around areas that suiters may be active in would be a great blessing. They aren't that loud...but they aren't free either. Ah well. :/

I hope it happens again! I really like the low-cost aspect and I think it was proven that people could come together and entertain themselves without a schedule. This hardly means that the traditional con is dead, but it's nice to know that there is a spectrum of organizations that can work.

Personal thoughts: I'd still LOVE for there to be a dance next time, space and budget permitting of course (for the licensing) but I'd like to push the fursuit lipsync harder next time. While I was allowing for it, people got in the kareoke mindset and didn't. Next time! :)