As someone who has never been to Otakon, why has it gotten such

>really hot
>Baltimore
>overpriced
>crowded but overpriced is sorta taking care of that

The weather is disgustingly hot and humid. Step outside and you're immediately covered in sweat.

The area also isn't very nice. All night you can hear police sirens.

The overall quality of cosplay and lolita from the attendees is really low and disappointing.

The convention center is confusing as shit and it's impossible to meet up with people.

artist alley open for like 12 hours its fucking ridiculous

its also so busy that the food places nearby are always overcrowded and it takes an hour for them to feed you... so hungry.

Stay at a hotel close to the con center and don't make eye contact with the homeless and you should be fine
I haven't found much to do outside the con center except eat and watch some baseball

Last year on my way back to my hotel around 1am? a group of con goers got harassed by some club goers but that's normal anywhere i guess but Don't worry much about the people tho as they have a ton of police stationed around the area for lost congoers.

MD anon here.

I don't really like Otakon because it's in the middle of summer at the peak of hot weather, so cosplay options are limited (the con center isn't even air conditioned enough). Unless you're lucky enough to snag a reservation at the BCC Hilton, you'll be stuck outside at some point and be covered head to toe in sweat no matter how little clothing you have on. It's also fucking HUGE and incredibly easy to lose your friends if you happen to get separated. Lots of sweaty Hamsteaks as well. Be prepared for grey paint stains on your cosplays should you happen to bump into one.

Also they keep raising prices every year. $100 for a con pass is horse shit when the con isn't even all that great.

If you're going to attend a con in the area, MAGFest and Katsucon are about the only ones that are truly worth it. Anime USA is okay too for a small con, but they're hiking up their prices as well.

I don't know, I like Otakon and it's one of the few cons I've gone to with guests worth trying to see. It's also in the Inner Harbor so people who are like "Baltimore is so scary!!!" confuse me because that area is fine.

It sort of has a special place in my heart as it was my first con, but I agree that it is totally overpriced and super crowded, and I would be much less inclined to go if I didn't have friends who live in Baltimore to give me free crash space. But overall it's fun.

>>8879303
>$100 dollars for a pass
jfc, what? Our local ComicCon seems to hover around and 80. Why do they think that's worth it?

>>8879303
OP here, I live in arlington so I tend to hit those both up every year. And thats fucking stupid price for a pass, jeez.

The programming is shitty and repetitive. I've gone on and off since 2005 and there's very little new or innovative programming year to year.

The con itself is badly managed. Every year is fucking line con and they can't manage to get their shit together. Plenty of other cons manage similar numbers without 6 hour lines. Then they decided if you wanted to skip the line they'd charge you extra to mail, instead of getting themselves organized and fixing the goddamn problem.

Don't even get started on Ota Vegas and the all expenses vacation it is for con exec. Ota Prime prices are going up to support that, not because the con center is fucking them over.

>>8879244
>dont wear heavy winter cosplays. It's July. It is pretty hoy everywhere
>youre in the harbor. It's actually pretty nice. You hear sirenes in every large city.
>23,000 people attend. Are you suprised?
>do you have trouble going up and down stairs?

>>8879327
>$100 DOOR price
They want you to pre reg which is $80. That's high but at least the dealers, aa, programming and guests are worth it. Unlike say Katsucon with their $75 door price with nothing but a nice con center to show for it.

>>8882375
So you would recommend it? How are video game cosplays handled there? Theres not much in anime I currently want to do, except maybe a swapped Asuka.

>>8882382
What do you mean by handled? No one gives a shit what you cosplay from unless you get body paint on them

>>8882443
Fair, I just saw some horror about some poor guy in a megaman getup at otakon last year. I dont want hastle, i just want to drink and cosplay.

Been going since 2010 or so. It has definitely gone downhill. The center cannot support the growing size of the con, iirc it was at capacity last year. Baltimore kinda sucks, there are more bums than any other city I've visited (or maybe they all come out for ota, who knows). Programming is lame, staff can't control the insane number of weebs, halls clog up hard, hotels are very expensive, and it seems the con is scheduled at poor times. One yer there was some sportsball tournament at the same time so hotels raised prices even more.

That said it's still fun, go if you can find a decent deal on a room. Don't stay too far from the center, it gets grody out at night.

It's hot and humid. You have to walk outside unless you're in the Hilton. The con center is too crowded to move or to chill. There's nowhere to take pictures in the con center and barely anywhere to take them outside the con center.

It's Baltimore.