Thank You For Attending Anime & Gaming Con - Photos, Stories & Reactions

[anon360]

I did not attend this convention but a friend left a negative review regarding the lack of accessibility and loopholes they had to jump through in order to attend. Even though this review was a fair criticism and worded politely, they were permanently banned from the forum, and their IP address has also been blocked so they can't book tickets to attend any future conventions (which they were planning on doing to accompany family members who enjoyed it). This response is completely disproportionate, nothing they have said or done deserves the punishment of having their IP blocked. I think the initial fact they weren't able to experience the entire convention due to poor accessibility is very unjust, and being banned for sharing their experience only makes it more unjust and is completely disgraceful and cowardly.

Many apologies!

If your friends User Name was Hopet, they were caught up in a batch of spam IPs, and their account was banned in error. I have tried to reactivate their account, but there seems to be a problem. I will get the tech team to have a look at restoring their account for them. With the team all way in London atm, this may take a few days.

Sorry.

Thank you for replying, I'm glad this didn't turn out to be maliciou and sorry for the harsh language lol

[codek]

Re:London surely it's a no brainer to improve the food offerings?

[Rich-Allen1976]

Re:London surely it's a no brainer to improve the food offerings?

That's not on AL, it's the venue.

[Itsxbubbles_]

London experience for my first timw with my friends and kid: it was crap. The lack of organisation was actually astounding. You could literally roam in and out with no checks whatsoever, there was no security checks for bags which i thought was very dangerous. Half the staff members didnt know what was going on themselves and whenever you asked one youd get a different answer regarding directions. The raffle took 2 and a half hours?! And even then it wasnt finished but me and my frienss left anyway because the prizes were just some small ass stickers and useless trinkets with the off a4 poster here and there. The food and drinks selection was poor aswell, very limited variety. And ofc everything was massively inflated and overpriced. Really disappointed tbh because i love anime and just felt as tho very little care was taken into planning of the event

[codek]

... i love anime and just felt as tho very little care was taken into planning of the event

Definitely it's disorganised. but they do pull it off every 6 months, and people do return, and it *must* make a LOT of money, so something is working, whether thats by luck or judgement. Note: it's always like this in the London one, not specifically this event.

[Rich-Allen1976]

We came to the Sheffield event (both days) last year, it pains me to say this but I've been to better cons at a LOT better venues, including ones in Leisure Centres in places like Chesterfield and Barnsley.

The food and drinks were stupidly expensive, all the good stuff was downstairs with almost no disabled access apart from the lifts.

Only reason I'm coming again this year is because it's the last con of the year and it's the only one I can get to without spending a fortune on Train or Taxi fares.

[InahaFrost]

I go to London and Brighton but the Raffle Events are kind of sad. For £1 a ticket and thousands of raffle tickets out there, having a 60+ minute event where the prizes are keychains and bits of card is just a timewaster and there's no one to receive them. Can see the raffle girl dying inside as she runs through numbers and no one is there. Have a few real prizes, throw a bunch of trinkets into goody bags and just settle for first 10 raffles called or something. Too much time wasted at the raffle, no real reward.

[LikkleMel]

I did not attend this convention but a friend left a negative review regarding the lack of accessibility and loopholes they had to jump through in order to attend. Even though this review was a fair criticism and worded politely, they were permanently banned from the forum, and their IP address has also been blocked so they can't book tickets to attend any future conventions (which they were planning on doing to accompany family members who enjoyed it). This response is completely disproportionate, nothing they have said or done deserves the punishment of having their IP blocked. I think the initial fact they weren't able to experience the entire convention due to poor accessibility is very unjust, and being banned for sharing their experience only makes it more unjust and is completely disgraceful and cowardly.

Many apologies!

If your friends User Name was Hopet, they were caught up in a batch of spam IPs, and their account was banned in error. I have tried to reactivate their account, but there seems to be a problem. I will get the tech team to have a look at restoring their account for them. With the team all way in London atm, this may take a few days.

Sorry.

Thank you for replying, I'm glad this didn't turn out to be maliciou and sorry for the harsh language lol

Yes, I am aware of this. We do apologize for the mistake and it has taken a while to sort this, however most admins were working long hours at our biggest event, so this will be sorted for them now.

[LikkleMel]

Re:London surely it's a no brainer to improve the food offerings?

The venue offers food at the event. We unfortunately can't bring in other food vendors due to the hotel's contract with their catering company. We have tried for years and they themselves have tried, but it is just one of those things. You are more than welcome to enjoy other restaurants around Hammersmith and come back to the venue.

[LikkleMel]

London experience for my first timw with my friends and kid: it was crap. The lack of organisation was actually astounding. You could literally roam in and out with no checks whatsoever, there was no security checks for bags which i thought was very dangerous. Half the staff members didnt know what was going on themselves and whenever you asked one youd get a different answer regarding directions. The raffle took 2 and a half hours?! And even then it wasnt finished but me and my frienss left anyway because the prizes were just some small ass stickers and useless trinkets with the off a4 poster here and there. The food and drinks selection was poor aswell, very limited variety. And ofc everything was massively inflated and overpriced. Really disappointed tbh because i love anime and just felt as tho very little care was taken into planning of the event

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. I'm genuinely sorry to hear that your experience at London Anime Con didn’t meet expectations—especially since it was your first time attending with friends and family. We always aim to create a welcoming and exciting space for anime fans, and it’s disappointing to hear that we fell short for you.

Just to clarify a few points:

Food & Drink: Unfortunately, we don’t have control over the catering options, as the Novotel holds an exclusive contract. This means we’re unable to bring in external food vendors, though we understand the frustration around pricing and variety.

Security: There was security present at all entry points throughout the event, including bag checks. We take safety seriously, and we’re reviewing procedures to ensure visibility and consistency are improved.

Raffle: The raffle prizes were generously donated by vendors and included a mix of items. We did experience technical difficulties that caused delays, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience. That said, we appreciate your patience and understand that the wait may have impacted your enjoyment.

We’re grateful for passionate attendees like you, and while this wasn’t the experience you hoped for, your feedback helps us improve. We care deeply about the anime community and want to make sure future events reflect that.

[InahaFrost]

London experience for my first timw with my friends and kid: it was crap. The lack of organisation was actually astounding. You could literally roam in and out with no checks whatsoever, there was no security checks for bags which i thought was very dangerous. Half the staff members didnt know what was going on themselves and whenever you asked one youd get a different answer regarding directions. The raffle took 2 and a half hours?! And even then it wasnt finished but me and my frienss left anyway because the prizes were just some small ass stickers and useless trinkets with the off a4 poster here and there. The food and drinks selection was poor aswell, very limited variety. And ofc everything was massively inflated and overpriced. Really disappointed tbh because i love anime and just felt as tho very little care was taken into planning of the event

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. I'm genuinely sorry to hear that your experience at London Anime Con didn’t meet expectations—especially since it was your first time attending with friends and family. We always aim to create a welcoming and exciting space for anime fans, and it’s disappointing to hear that we fell short for you.

Just to clarify a few points:

Food & Drink: Unfortunately, we don’t have control over the catering options, as the Novotel holds an exclusive contract. This means we’re unable to bring in external food vendors, though we understand the frustration around pricing and variety.

Security: There was security present at all entry points throughout the event, including bag checks. We take safety seriously, and we’re reviewing procedures to ensure visibility and consistency are improved.

Raffle: The raffle prizes were generously donated by vendors and included a mix of items. We did experience technical difficulties that caused delays, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience. That said, we appreciate your patience and understand that the wait may have impacted your enjoyment.

We’re grateful for passionate attendees like you, and while this wasn’t the experience you hoped for, your feedback helps us improve. We care deeply about the anime community and want to make sure future events reflect that.

How did you quote me on something I didn't write. I'm not that harshn
That was bubbles' quote. I don't disagree, but who is crying about bag checks, it's an anime con.
The raffle donations are good to know but when you're not giving raffle tickets away for free, just seems like a scam if you're not putting any effort into the raffle. Consolidate your donations and rewards. Make it a quicker event. There were no technical issues! Just no one with coming up with tickets, because it ran on for ages and prizes were worthless

[Rich-Allen1976]

@LikkleMel Did you get the fairly long PM I sent last week about the Sheffield AL do in November?

[Swalehkhan]

Long time LAGC attendee and first time poster here

I always find LAGC very fun but this year had some issues for sure. I think the one way system was really frustrating and very difficult for anyone with movement issues.

Secondly, I think complaints about the food are unwarranted when you could easily leave the venue and get decent food outside.

My main criticism is in the after party. When I come to an anime con after party I want to dance to anime music. I think it sucks that for the whole night there were less than 5 played and all of them were remixed and mashed up by the DJ. It's a shame because in previous years the after party has been by far my favourite part.

Also, what happened with the old mini cons anime league used to run? I used to love those

[Swalehkhan]

Oh, i did want to mention that good job on the far more thorough 18+ checks. Genuinely massive massive improvements from previous years!