Zions day one reflection
“Man… I Love NDK!”
NDK has always been my favorite convention, and today has re-enforced that fact. This convention treats people like people. I was yelled at to stay in line a few times, but that being my own fault for my curious eyes would go wandering to cosplayers and my friends. Each year when I return to NDK I’m reminded about just how much I miss it, Man… I love NDK! This convention has an atmosphere unlike anything else that no other con can match, not even mega-cons like AX. This convention has love, spirit, and a warm glow that comforts and embraces much like grandma’s house. 
NDK has grown bigger and bigger, but still retains that small con funky attitude and feel. This convention sticks to its roots and traditions and continues to deliver a solid weekend of fun for everyone.I can’t put words to the dedication of the staff and volunteers, I know how much work goes into organizing and running this monster every year, and the people are there to meet the challenge.
If you read Yudothat’s post below this post, it pretty much summarizes where and what we did on Friday, this post is strictly reflections.
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Hotel Rant
Lines were fairly good this year except for the check-in line. Since check-in this year was free for all brawl for check-in time people were lining up at 10:00am and the two poor people working the desk were just not enough. I think they could do this better, because another issue related to the hotel is their ability to lose notes on reservations leading to 20-30 minute per guest hold ups. We encountered this issue, and oh boy what fun this was to resolve. I shall start to say I reserved two rooms more than a half a year ago, and four weeks till the convention I called the hotel and checked that they had my notes on the reservations. They said they did have the note and that they could meet this request. The request being two rooms with connecting doors in center. We are a large group with about six people and lots of gear and stuff. Being able to talk within the group and not have to walk next door without going down the hall is very important. Many other guests were complaining about this issue as well. In the end I boxed with the manager into getting me a room connected to a dirty room, so check in one room now and one room at 3:00pm. There was a catch to this too. Since we had to split the check-ins my friend Crash was now on that bill, so two credit cards got charged instead of one. This is a rant about the hotel so I will move back on topic with NDK.
Parking
Parking was an instant battle, but lucky for us we were early. Had we arrived later and were forced to park off the lot somewhere across the way we could have gotten ticketed and or towed. Thanks to twitter my brother’s car parked in a certain lot was spared a “free” tow truck ride.
Badges and Bags
The badges this year are very good looking, and the art has the zodiac theme with each badge having a different sign and character that represented it. Each badge was unique; the art was fantastic, badges were made of high quality materials, and nice clips were included. We buy our badges even though we receive press badges every year because we love our NDK and we want to support it. I hope that means something to someone out there. The bags were average, but contained a very nice programing guide and some tag-board ads.
Weather on Friday
Warm and in the upper 70’s
The temperature outside was quite warm, people and cosplayers were everywhere, and we saw a wide variety of costumes and props. We also took some time to meet and greet with a few distant anime clubs located in Colorado. I have to say for fall the weather was good, until Saturday but I will get to that in another post.
Water water water!
One thing I love about this Convention is that not only is water easy to find and free, in some cases it is brought to you! At no other convention in the U.S.A. have I seen an EMS push water to the people. NDK is the only con I know of that does this. Water is very important at Colorado altitude, and the climate is very dry, being a local a know, NDK knows and does a great job at keeping people hydrated. This may sound silly to those who only go to NDK, but if you have ever been to Anime Expo or Sakura Con you will find water is hard to come by and in most cases must be purchased. Trust me, that stinks!
Opening Ceremony
This event is important to me and I attend it every year. This year’s presentation was both good and informative, if I was new to NDK this would be my first impression, and its quality would set the mood for the weekend. Overall good and entertaining.
Miki Nagasawa’s Panel
An Excellent addition to the convention though it was sort of last minute. She is a very talented and entertaining diva, her vocal skills are of the highest caliber. I was not informed but 15 minutes till the panel that I was not allowed to film her, this is not a big deal but I would have been nice to know because it tied up a camera for a few hours doing a whole lot of nothing. Anyway we shot pictures, and took some notes. Looking at the room it seemed a bit empty considering the talent sitting at the front, I think this is due to the late addition to the lineup. Regardless Miss Nagasawa had a great time and we are honored to be graced by her appearance. I think it is great that NDK has been bringing over more Japanese guests every year and I think that they should continue bringing quality guests from Japan.
Notes
This is a zero sleep post, so if you find any errors of any type you can report them to me or wait for another admin to fix them, Will fix any major errors after I get some sleep. I will do more reflecting in the morning, and yes I have more articles in the works and some guest work on the way.
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