Confuzzled 2011
May. 11th, 2011 12:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slycatI had a fantastic time at my third Confuzzled this weekend. Again, the staff really outdid themselves and the convention as a whole came together very nicely. While I don't normally care for theming, the theme was very well applied to the convention and kinda made me recall how Eurofurence used to do something extra special for the theme (like the murder mystery at EF12 or the zombies at EF14). Next year's theme is Hollywood which is rather broad but should work well :)
I had brought my Dad's 1080p camcorder with me with the intention of filming another video like I did last year, but in the end I found it rather cumbersome and I didn't want to damage it as it wasn't mine so I ended up not filming anything. I did take a few photos but on the whole, I didn't really bother with that either. Wasn't a big issue, it allowed me to enjoy the con without having to capture it.
Fursuiting
Sunday marked my first time fursuiting since RBW 2009 (for the fursuit parade). I had taken my fursuit to Confuzzled 2010 but never wore it and I didn't even bother taking it to Eurofurence last year. My main reason for not doing so was because the vision/ventilation in the suit were so poor, I just disliked wearing the suit. Now I know ventilation and vision are a common complaint with fursuits and should normally be agiven, however with the way my suit was designed, the material used for the "mesh" of the eyes was so fine that it allowed sweat to condense on it resulting in everything becoming a blurry mess.
However, the fantastic![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sandroo had been able to replace the material in the eyes with a more standard wire mesh he uses for his suits. The difference in vision was huge as I was able to see well, even without my contact lenses (which I regrettably forgot) and in poor lighting conditions. Sandroo also made some other adjustments to make it generally more comfortable to wear which was much appreciated. It was just a shame that due to the humidity and the lack of air conditioning at the hotel, I didn't feel up for fursuiting until late on the Sunday. Those who did see me in suit seemed happy to see me finally suiting again and it's certainly something I want to do more of.
The bodysuit of the fursuit is the next thing that needs work. I'll probably see about getting it replaced so it fits me better and is easier to move about in. Would be nice to better cover up the gap at the back of the neck too but I think that's appeared due to me being larger than I was when I was measured for the suit. Would be nice to get a new bodysuit in time for MFF considering I severely doubt I could get a new fursuit by then.
Convention Highlights
Other highlights of the convention was the alternative puppet show, the "Cavalcade of Cack" which was refreshingly silly. Regrettably, I wasn't able to stay for the whole duration of the main puppet show as I found myself falling asleep in the dark hot room and it was hard to make out the dialogue as there didn't seem to be any rear speakers and the air-conditioning drowned everything out. Other than that, I missed out on most of the con programming, though I would have liked to have seen both the fursuit game events. I'll have to wait for the BBF video I guess!
Hotel Criticisms
The only real negative I would have to say about the con was the hotel itself. I stayed in the "superior" room this year as I did last year which gives you what I normally get at an American convention which is a twin double. The room was actually very nice as it was last year though I didn't use the jacuzzi this time round. However others weren't so lucky with their rooms as the hotel is very much a hodge podge of various bits that seem to have been added on and so there's not a lot of consistency with their rooms. Some were very tiny indeed. If you plan to go, I could not recommend paying the £5 a night more to have one of the nicer rooms.
My main criticism with the hotel would have to be the food. I knowcolifox put a lot of work into trying to get this right, but the hotel still was very poor on this. The buffet breakfast was good as it was last year, though the bacon had a lot to be desired (I think it was boiled rather than fried) and the scrambled eggs seemed as watery as they were last year, but for a complimentary breakfast, I couldn't really complain. However the food I paid for just didn't feel good value for money. The all you can eat BBQ was £13 but the burgers were tiny (you could fit 2 in the quarter pounder size buns they had). The ribs were good and the sausages were OK, as was the selection of desserts. However in retrospect, it still seemed rather expensive for £13. It certainly felt like they were skimping on quality. It'd be nice if they could have proper tasty burgers like they do at Eurofurence.
I also paid £9 for the pizza buffet, which considering they have a pizza restaurant on site, you'd expect to be rather good. However again, it was disappointing. There was a fairly basic selection of pizzas which you'd expect from a buffet but the pizzas seemed to be lacking in toppings and flavour and were rather greasy. I was only able to manage 4-5 slices which didn't really seem worth the £9 I paid, however that would partially be my fault due to going to the restaurant so soon after the buffet breakfast! The omelette and chips I had was rather good and well priced for what it was, however again their burger left a lot to be desired. Just like at the barbecue, they used the tiny burgers and put these in a quarter pounder bun. To their credit, they were able to put cheese on it despite that not being in the menu but it was still a poor burger.
One thing that's totally unforgivable is that the bar in the restaurant seemed to be charging nightclub prices. I ordered a Coke and got a 200ml glass bottle for £1.75 which is such an appalling rip-off. I really should have made a complaint and refused to pay for that. For that money, I'd expect at least a pint. Next year, unless things change drastically, I'll only be using the restaurant for breakfast and have all my other meals elsewhere. I was kinda upset I again missed out on a trip to a curry house as I'm sure I would have much appreciated that.
The other problem with the hotel wasn't really something under their control due to the weather. The weather was beautiful and sunny for the majority of the convention other than a few showers but the humidity was really high too. As there didn't really seem to be any kind of ventilation in the hotel or air conditioning, the whole place just felt hot and sticky for the majority of the time. I tried to cool down with frequent showers and changing clothes but it didn't really do much. Apparently at some point, the heating was on too which just seems insane! Also, it seemed that due to the nightclub being neglected, there were issues with the roof leaking onto the dance floor when it was raining.
It was good to actually use the pool this year as I didn't even venture into the gym area last year. However as the gym was open to the public, it was a bit crap having to share the facilities with non-convention goers.
Conclusion
Anyway, issues with the hotel aside, I had an utterly superb time. I met with a lot of friends of old and new and am really looking forward to going again next year. Doesn't look like the hotel will be changing for next year, but I imagine if the growth remains what it is, they'll have no choice but to move to a new hotel in 2013. Still, I wouldn't want to think that my comments here would put anyone off going next year. It was great fursuiting again after all this time and I look forward to doing it again sometime.
Many thanks to everyone who helped made it happen as well as a special thanks toarakinuk for being a great roomie :)
I had brought my Dad's 1080p camcorder with me with the intention of filming another video like I did last year, but in the end I found it rather cumbersome and I didn't want to damage it as it wasn't mine so I ended up not filming anything. I did take a few photos but on the whole, I didn't really bother with that either. Wasn't a big issue, it allowed me to enjoy the con without having to capture it.
Fursuiting
Sunday marked my first time fursuiting since RBW 2009 (for the fursuit parade). I had taken my fursuit to Confuzzled 2010 but never wore it and I didn't even bother taking it to Eurofurence last year. My main reason for not doing so was because the vision/ventilation in the suit were so poor, I just disliked wearing the suit. Now I know ventilation and vision are a common complaint with fursuits and should normally be agiven, however with the way my suit was designed, the material used for the "mesh" of the eyes was so fine that it allowed sweat to condense on it resulting in everything becoming a blurry mess.
However, the fantastic
sandroo had been able to replace the material in the eyes with a more standard wire mesh he uses for his suits. The difference in vision was huge as I was able to see well, even without my contact lenses (which I regrettably forgot) and in poor lighting conditions. Sandroo also made some other adjustments to make it generally more comfortable to wear which was much appreciated. It was just a shame that due to the humidity and the lack of air conditioning at the hotel, I didn't feel up for fursuiting until late on the Sunday. Those who did see me in suit seemed happy to see me finally suiting again and it's certainly something I want to do more of.The bodysuit of the fursuit is the next thing that needs work. I'll probably see about getting it replaced so it fits me better and is easier to move about in. Would be nice to better cover up the gap at the back of the neck too but I think that's appeared due to me being larger than I was when I was measured for the suit. Would be nice to get a new bodysuit in time for MFF considering I severely doubt I could get a new fursuit by then.
Convention Highlights
Other highlights of the convention was the alternative puppet show, the "Cavalcade of Cack" which was refreshingly silly. Regrettably, I wasn't able to stay for the whole duration of the main puppet show as I found myself falling asleep in the dark hot room and it was hard to make out the dialogue as there didn't seem to be any rear speakers and the air-conditioning drowned everything out. Other than that, I missed out on most of the con programming, though I would have liked to have seen both the fursuit game events. I'll have to wait for the BBF video I guess!
Hotel Criticisms
The only real negative I would have to say about the con was the hotel itself. I stayed in the "superior" room this year as I did last year which gives you what I normally get at an American convention which is a twin double. The room was actually very nice as it was last year though I didn't use the jacuzzi this time round. However others weren't so lucky with their rooms as the hotel is very much a hodge podge of various bits that seem to have been added on and so there's not a lot of consistency with their rooms. Some were very tiny indeed. If you plan to go, I could not recommend paying the £5 a night more to have one of the nicer rooms.
My main criticism with the hotel would have to be the food. I know
colifox put a lot of work into trying to get this right, but the hotel still was very poor on this. The buffet breakfast was good as it was last year, though the bacon had a lot to be desired (I think it was boiled rather than fried) and the scrambled eggs seemed as watery as they were last year, but for a complimentary breakfast, I couldn't really complain. However the food I paid for just didn't feel good value for money. The all you can eat BBQ was £13 but the burgers were tiny (you could fit 2 in the quarter pounder size buns they had). The ribs were good and the sausages were OK, as was the selection of desserts. However in retrospect, it still seemed rather expensive for £13. It certainly felt like they were skimping on quality. It'd be nice if they could have proper tasty burgers like they do at Eurofurence.I also paid £9 for the pizza buffet, which considering they have a pizza restaurant on site, you'd expect to be rather good. However again, it was disappointing. There was a fairly basic selection of pizzas which you'd expect from a buffet but the pizzas seemed to be lacking in toppings and flavour and were rather greasy. I was only able to manage 4-5 slices which didn't really seem worth the £9 I paid, however that would partially be my fault due to going to the restaurant so soon after the buffet breakfast! The omelette and chips I had was rather good and well priced for what it was, however again their burger left a lot to be desired. Just like at the barbecue, they used the tiny burgers and put these in a quarter pounder bun. To their credit, they were able to put cheese on it despite that not being in the menu but it was still a poor burger.
One thing that's totally unforgivable is that the bar in the restaurant seemed to be charging nightclub prices. I ordered a Coke and got a 200ml glass bottle for £1.75 which is such an appalling rip-off. I really should have made a complaint and refused to pay for that. For that money, I'd expect at least a pint. Next year, unless things change drastically, I'll only be using the restaurant for breakfast and have all my other meals elsewhere. I was kinda upset I again missed out on a trip to a curry house as I'm sure I would have much appreciated that.
The other problem with the hotel wasn't really something under their control due to the weather. The weather was beautiful and sunny for the majority of the convention other than a few showers but the humidity was really high too. As there didn't really seem to be any kind of ventilation in the hotel or air conditioning, the whole place just felt hot and sticky for the majority of the time. I tried to cool down with frequent showers and changing clothes but it didn't really do much. Apparently at some point, the heating was on too which just seems insane! Also, it seemed that due to the nightclub being neglected, there were issues with the roof leaking onto the dance floor when it was raining.
It was good to actually use the pool this year as I didn't even venture into the gym area last year. However as the gym was open to the public, it was a bit crap having to share the facilities with non-convention goers.
Conclusion
Anyway, issues with the hotel aside, I had an utterly superb time. I met with a lot of friends of old and new and am really looking forward to going again next year. Doesn't look like the hotel will be changing for next year, but I imagine if the growth remains what it is, they'll have no choice but to move to a new hotel in 2013. Still, I wouldn't want to think that my comments here would put anyone off going next year. It was great fursuiting again after all this time and I look forward to doing it again sometime.
Many thanks to everyone who helped made it happen as well as a special thanks to
arakinuk for being a great roomie :)
