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There was a lot of exciting news coming out of this year’s Star Wars Celebration <\/em>in Orlando. We got the first poster and trailer<\/a> for Star Wars: The Last Jedi<\/strong>. We got more information on what the Star Wars Land <\/em>in Disney’s Hollywood Studios would entail. And we got a load of news on new toys and video games and other Star Wars<\/strong> ephemera. But all that good news was slightly overshadowed by a whole lot of bad news, bad news that will sound familiar to anyone who has ever attended a convention put on by ReedPOP.<\/p>\n The event started out on the wrong foot on Thursday as the event organizers tried to the filter the crowds entering the building through one entrance. This resulted in an over 2 hour wait in a mile-long line<\/a> in the hot Florida sun for many attendees.<\/p>\n The same day also featured more complaints from customers who camped out overnight to get first shot at wristbands to see the Celebration’s panels live, only to be shut out when people cut in line\u00a0in front of them <\/a>to get the cherished wristbands, leaving the diehards to watch the presentation simulcast in other locations.<\/p>\n One of those locations was the convention floor, which featured a giant screen that simulcast the more important panels. This would have been useful for fans that couldn’t get a wristband–if it wasn’t for the fact that someone put a life-size model of a Tie-Fighter in front of the screen. People who wanted to catch the panels being shown had to huddle between the prop and the screen, making that area a traffic nightmare.<\/p>\n That wasn’t all. A person who worked the show at a fan booth for kids who spoke to FIlmBuffOnline under the request of anonymity said that ReedPop was noted as being late on many things – communication, sending tickets, merchandise, and more. If you wanted to visit the official store, you needed to have a ton of free time, it at times took hours just to get into the store, then an hour or more to go through the checkout process. People complained about lack of staffing<\/a> and being told the wrong information <\/a>by the staff they had.<\/p>\n There was problems with the autographing systems as well. Autograph collector Rick Polney was especially frustrated by the way Topps ran this area of the Celebration. “If you weren’t able to buy an autograph ticket online, then you could buy tickets there. The line was weirdly slow. Like HUNDREDS of people waiting to buy a ticket but the line never moves,” said Polney. “Not sure if the workers were slow or if the system was slow. Also there was never a consensus on how many items a person can have signed. I know it slows things done if one person has ten things to get signed but if you have ten tickets what are you supposed to do?”<\/p>\n That last complaint might not be ReedPop’s fault, but the others would fall under their responsibility. And, sadly, the problems are what you have come to expect from a ReedPop show.<\/p>\n ReedPop bills its self as the “quirky offshoot or Reed Exhibitions,” and has quickly become the biggest name in pop culture conventions. It has 19 events scheduled or completed this year around the world, with another ten shows with dates yet to be determined. They are responsible for the Book Expo trade show and its\u00a0fan fest offshoot Book Con. They also handle the New York Comic Con, Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Penny Arcade Expos around the world, and conventions in Austria, France, China, India and Australia.<\/p>\n The company seems to run its cons with one philosophy: get as much as we can by doing and spending the least we can. Here is a greatest hits of controversy ReedPop’s conventions have spawned over the years, mostly caused by their lack of foresight:<\/p>\n You can see some trends in this list, many of which mirror what happened this weekend in Orlando. You can also see a lot of similarities in my review of the 2015 NYCC here<\/a>. \u00a0ReedPop has shown that they consistently underestimate crowd size, which always ends in disaster. Their reliance on a volunteer workforce\u00a0leads to potential understaffing. And their poor communication with their staff and venue security leads to confusion with their patrons.<\/p>\n And I’m not hating on ReedPop. I really want them to succeed. NYCC is my\u00a0“hometown” con. But if you\u00a0don’t have an inkling that a Star Wars<\/strong> Celebration\u00a0on the 40th anniversary of the franchise won’t bring the big crowds, then you\u00a0really shouldn’t be in the business of\u00a0running conventions.<\/p>\n If that sounds harsh, or bitter grapes, I’m sorry. But every con could be someone’s first. A bad experience like the ones that\u00a0are ReedPop’s stock and trade\u00a0can lose first time attendees like Rick Polney. “I will definitely not be back,” shares Polney. “As an autograph guy and a comic guy there is just too much hassle and cost for someone like me.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/ReedPOP-SWC-Tie-fighter-blocking-a-screen-339x254.jpg\")
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