Misuzu Live

I’ve been looking forward to this years Katsucon. Ever since last year when I learned it would be held at the Gaylord. It wasn’t a case of nice marketing either, the location lived up to the photos online. The premises was overflowing with great places for photography.

The Gaylord featured an 18-story glass Atrium with great views of the Potomac river and Washington. A large, colorful lit fountain with synchronized displays in the evenings. A miniature river which runs through the gardens of the ground floor. Marble and granite architecture with little wooden house style shops. Away from the con there was even a 2 story nightclub on-top of the building with an express elevator. All at a comfortable 70-something degrees. Near my 4th floor room there was an outdoor area with a small fountain and gardens which would of made for a nice, out of the way photo spot if it weren’t under 2 feet of snow.
Aside from all the charm and frill of the location, each hallway was more than ample for the several events going on. The building had more elevators than I could count, I had at least 21 different ways to get up to my room, not including stairs that I never found. I only remember waiting for an elevator once or twice. Even on Sunday, things were speedy. The main convention elevators did seem to get slow at times, namely when one event other than Katsucon let a ton of people out at once. So, then I just went off to some elevators off down another hall and no-waiting awaited me.

Of course, the National Harbor is a new development. Seems as if it was cookie cut out of a piece of open land a year ago. It was designed for up-scale without having to ‘make room to grow’ later. So, such a decent location comes at a price. Hotel rooms were expensive at $169 a night, but not Otakon expensive. However, the hotel made up for it with a non-negotiable resort fee of $15 a night which included daily water (two bottle limit, but housekeeping was kind enough to provide extra bottles one day and none the next) and free internet access. While I could see people taking a trip here, I wouldn’t call this a resort.
The expenses continue into the local food and amenities with a few notable exceptions. On-site, expect to pay $15+ for a good meal starting with $14 chicken strips and fries at the sports bar. Which was over-run by the maid cafe until Sunday. Although, the sparse cheaper options are available in the range of $8+ sandwiches of sub-par quality in the on-site ‘bakery’ by the sports bar.
Rosa Mexicano, looking like a poster child of yuppie development, left me with a lot to be desired. I got lost on the way to whatever I originally intended to eat and settled due to the cold. Despite the positive and courteous staff, interesting twists, and sky-high prices the food was marginal. I liked their style of black beans, despite it looking like a brownie. Other than that, it was sub-par stuff I would expect to pay much less for.

However, affordable food wasn’t out of reach. Local exceptions, within walking distance, included Elevation Burger. I got a filling meal via a great burger and fries for $6.55 with tax. I’d say it is comparable to Five Guys but from what I hear it is a more expensive take on In-N-Out Burger. I can’t complain since we don’t have In-N-Out on this coast.
Saturday hotel staff replaced tables in the lower fountain area with a make-shift food setup. Pizza slices for $3, hot dogs for $4, and more. Stay away from the $4 breakfast sandwiches: sausage, egg, cheese and fail. They were unable to keep up with demand when I stopped by on Sunday, which is why I ended up with the mysterious breakfast sandwich. Pizza was reportedly due to make a return in an unknown amount of time.
I heard of good things from many other locations nearby, but decided to venture a bit further. A mile away, into Oxon Hill, you can find much much more. We had a quality meal at Ihop, with low frills and low prices. Followed by Bojangles, a southern delight for my northern excursion. Make sure you all try this next year, their sweet tea is legendary. There was also a 7/11 a bit further down the road, still easily accessible despite all the snow.
At first glance it looks pretty expensive but with these exceptions I think you can still do Katsucon afford-ably. There was even a McDonald’s for those willing to drive. And sources tell me the Westin was in the Shatnering (Priceline.com) range of $90 a night.

The hotel parking made getting out of National Harbor easy with in and out privileges for guests. So venturing for food over the weekend wasn’t a problem. Until Sunday, when the amount of people leaving made for long waits to get out. It took us over least 30 minutes to get out of the parking deck between 3 and 4PM. Once I got out of the deck I was able to make a dash for a second automated gate, so I think this is due to stupid people not pre-paying. Other parking was available in the area too, with $11/day beside the Westin and more.

In my opinion, the benefits outweigh the cons this new location presents. While the convention was going on, admittedly, I was waiting for one of the more adolescent con goers to spoil the fun for everyone. I didn’t hear about anything such as the shattering of a glass lobby table from an Anime Mid Atlantic long past, but I did see that someone had tossed some plastic bottles into the river below the fountain Sunday. I hope this doesn’t cast the rest of us in a negative light.
Furthermore, the size of the location had room for two or more events to go on along with Katsucon. Rumor has it a marriage or couples therapy and a military event of some kind, at the least. For the most part, interactions between groups went better than expected. I posed for a few family photos myself. I think I’ve been at a Nekocon and Anime Mid Atlantic that shared convention space with a military event with no issues. It is a bit more comfortable to be surrounded with just con goers, but you’re always going to have a few not with the convention. Although, I did hear of a few things unbecoming of a military officer. Disappointing, but at least it wasn’t the otaku making people look bad for once. Room to grow is something Katsucon has sorely needed for many years running.

The new location also made for most of the attention and subject of conversation at Katsucon but the close second was the snow. It was a little disappointing that there wasn’t something going on at the con to over-shadow the snow and shiny new location, but that is a lot of shine. To recap, D.C. received 32 inches of snow over the past month. Here are the NOAA reported snowfall totals for the week prior:

Needless to say there was a lot of worry about travel and many people had to cancel or delay their plans. I left a bit earlier than I originally planned but had no issues minus a car tire. As you can see from the travel cam, the snow did not hinder my journey, but I’m sure the back-roads kept a lot of people back. A lot of snow probably made for some good cosplay photos for those willing to play in it. However, it was also a very windy and cold weekend, so don’t expect much.

Despite sticking to plan, Katsucon had issues of their own with the weather. Badges were delayed on a FedEx plane somewhere and didn’t show up until mid-day Friday. In their absence, temporary paper badges were issued and later exchanged. Other than that, a canceled concert, missing dealers and stock – probably sitting in a postal truck somewhere, and maybe a canceled panel or two. Good enough with the circumstances I’d say, but still disappointing for those interested.

So then, weather and location aside, how was Katsucon this year? When you take away the excitement of the new facility and snow, it was actually a little mediocre. The biggest complaint was the rave and formal. The ball was undecorated and the many people complained about the type of music being played. While the rave was overly lit and the DJs presented danceable music mixed into uncertainty. I used to think this was one of Katsucon’s highlights. Complaints about the lack of staff present in the hotel lobby and atrium could almost be dismissed considering the convention space was fairly separate. However, given how often con goers tend to display poor judgment, Katsucon needed a little more security.
On the other hand, it was nice to make it through a Katsucon without a rude exchange with a power tripping staff person who wanted to prohibit anyone from sitting or something like that. In the atrium I could often find sitting room, even a table to eat lunch at. Apparently Katsucon has had a large change in staff recently, coupled with the snow causing issues for everything from badges to the game room offerings, they’re due some credit for pulling off as much as they can.
Not that I can’t think of a con that doesn’t get a few complaints. I think the crowded nature of the last few venues has just made it a much more pleasant experience for the majority. I hope to hear that the convention was lacking in staff due to the weather in this regard. Finally, the game room and artist alley seemed a bit sparse, but I heard weather was still to blame.

Other events manage to uphold Katsucon’s reputation for most people. Some events are starting to become average, which makes it hard to rate. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen Guests Uncensored in a con book, but I guess they haven’t run out of material yet. Yet, cons such as Katsucon are common for generating new material anyways. Popular enough to often bring in at least something for everyone. Many, many guests but no big name Japanese guests, too bad. It was nice to see a many guests out and about enjoying the con. For example, Yunmao Ayakawa taking a photo with one of Hen-da-ne’s yaoi paddles, maybe she’ll post it to her blog. Funimation put on an entertaining workshop in the form of a DIY pantsu plane competition. Their clever fliers converted into paper airplanes, each stylized to match a Strike Witches character. Funimation even brought out two Strike Witches cosplayers and later posted a video online.

Mixed opinions about Katsucon this year, but definitely a plus since last year. It’s still a great convention, even with all the competition on the east coast. Atlanta to Baltimore now boasts 8 weekend anime conventions a year. They excel, thanks in part to their size, in having something for everyone. If you came for the cosplay it would be enough. If you came as a cosplayer, the venue would be enough. I look forward to what Katsucon 17 offers now that the dust has settled.

Katsucon 17 will be returning to the Gaylord, February 18th-20th, 2011.

Photo Gallery
Katsucon Homepage