Toronto Trek 18
Doubletree International Plaza Hotel
July 2-4, 2004
Toronto, Canada

Post Con Report

This year was an interesting year to say the least. We did the 3 day shindig in the new location at the DoubleTree hotel. Some folks didn’t come this year as they had problems with the hotel the last time TT was held there. I was #2 with a Buffalo fanclub back then and while I didn’t go, I did hear the post-con disaster reports.

The Hotel:
This year, I’d have to give the hotel a definite 90% score. Check in and out was a breeze, the staff at the hotel that I dealt with was polite and courteous, and we had excellent service at the Japanese restaurant. Elevators were all working, and seemed in good order, and the fountain in the lower level was an excellent location for glamour shots. Our hotel room was acceptable, the beds comfortable and pillows fluffy.

Now, to be completely fair, there were a few negatives. Wheelchair access was limited to a single chair lift, which caused some well deserved grumbling from those in need. Regarding our room, the layout (sink in with toilet & shower) was an inconvenience when trying to juggle morning prep, and the toilet usually needed 2 flushes to ‘function right’.

Registration:
As I was doing a panel this year, I was on the pre-reg list. Having got there early, it was a breeze getting through and everything was done right. Susan did regular registration and once the line started moving it looked to go fast. I can’t recall seeing or hearing any problems with how registration was run this year.

Art Show:
My communications prior to the con with Team Eh! Were smooth and pleasant. I got most of my answers fast, and getting our art over the border went smoothly. Once at the con, we were able to get setup with minimal difficulties and great patience shown to us newbies by the art room staff. We both had a blast this year, and next year expect to have 2-4 times the art up for viewing and sale. The silent auction was nice this year as I was able to get a few piece I had my eye on without fighting for space with other bidders. Post con pickup and check out were smooth though there was a little wait initially due to a shortage of volunteers this year. Overall, we had a blast!

Model contest:
There were some very nice models there. The daleks were my favorite, but the lego Stargate set was fantastic! I had many chances to chat with Dave B. as he seemed to always be there. Daves a great guy and a good friend to boot.

Dealers Room:
The layout was great this year. A few folks were missing from the mix, but over all it had a good blend. The isles were wider so there was less bumping into folks, and I don’t believe I ever encountered a major traffic snarl. We found several new toys which have been added to our collection. A new thing this year was the raffle. On each night a drawing was held for a prize. Tickets were obtained from dealers where you got 1 ticket for each $20 spent. While we didn’t win anything, it was still pretty neat. I had the chance to chat a few times with Stephen and have already booked our club table for TT19.

Programming:
I participated in 1 panel and attended 1 other this year. I assisted in the Fantasy sword seminar taught by Tim Hartman. Good points were it seemed everyone had fun with it. The down points were it wasn’t clear in the program that you had to register to participate, and the room could have been a bit larger. I’m pretty sure that we had the largest room available so it’s a minor complaint for me. I do want to say this much though. People who have read my previous rants on TT programming please note: This was almost perfect! I had excellent communications with the person in charge (Lance), every concern was addressed and simply put, had a blast! This year. This is the way to do it. My personal thanks to Lance and his team for helping get this set up and run as smoothly as it did.

Masquerade:
Too short this year as there were only 31 entries. I highly enjoyed the concert just prior by Ookla the Mok. Please, bring them back again next year! The masquerade looked like it went off pretty smoothly. I didn’t notice any obvious flubs on the sound or lighting, the MC was well received and much more polished than the last time I saw him several years ago. The entries were the standard mix of Ohh! and Ehh. But the overall mix was v.good. Costumes were very well done and I’ll have pics of them up shortly on my con report section.

The Dance:
The Wild Rose was in my opinion a good place to do it. There was plenty of room to mingle and the dance floor was packed the whole time I was there. My one complaint was the drinks were pricey and weak in the ‘kick’. I had a lot of fun hanging out and chatting with folks from the MB there.

Many people have criticized me for my past complaints and rants. Sometimes, my language was most likely not the best choice of words. I have to in all honesty say, I can’t find much to complain about this year. The problems I saw in the past have been corrected, and despite the headaches involved in a new venue, I saw a pretty smooth operation. My personal thanks and a hearty round of applause to the entire Toronto Trek team for putting on what for me, was the best TT yet. I am already impatient for next years con. Despite a poor economy, international security concerns, the new venue, folks boycotting over the hotel choice (hey, stay across the street. Its not a far walk), etc, they did pretty damn good this year.

Thank you.

Photo Gallery 1