Quoted from Gizmonic:

Don't change the hotel/airport shuttle at the last second. While waiting for the 10:00am shuttle to the airport on Sunday I was told by the hotel that there was no 10:00am shuttle and the next one would not be until 4:00pm. The website clearly says (and this has been the schedule for the last 2-3 years):
A bus is also available from the Westin North Shore hotel back to O'Hare airport at these times:
Sunday Oct 20th, 6:00am; 10:00am and 4:00pm
I could not find Mike to ask why this had been changed. So I ended paying $40 for a taxi. Of course the hotel could have been wrong, but I was there until 10:15am and there was no shuttle.
Any explanation for this Mike?

Quoted from TomGWI:

How many teams are usually in pinbrawl? Maybe if people want to play pinball Friday during the day they should be encouraged to sign up for pinbrawl. If not enough space is available, open up spots so it can include a greater number.
You certainly won't make everyone happy that is for sure.

Quoted from Scoomie:

I think I have attended expo probably 3 times. I hadn't been there in probably 3 years, so I was planning on attending this year, but when I saw the advance registration fee of $200 with banquet, I decided not to. That is way too much for what you get: Maybe 70 working games in the free play area and riding a school bus to tour a manufacture that never really changes.
However, I do enjoy the Westin, exihibit hall, seminars, and the banquet as a package.
If the registration fee was in the $ 150 range, I probably would have bit.
After reading the post-show reviews, I have no regrets.
Shelby

Quoted from TomGWI:

Hey Joe, I think we get the point with the 10 repetitive posts.

Quoted from dkpinball:

I think the audience may have changed and that’s part of the problem. I worked for a company that put on a big medical show every year and the formula was seminars during the day, vendor hall opened in the evening and late afternoon, and several receptions and banquets. Which made sense because half of the purpose of the show was for industry people to learn new things. Shopping was secondary.
Expo feels very much like an “industry show”. There are certain times where areas are closed because the “highlight” is under-way. Why would anyone be in the freeplay room when they’re expected to be at the banquet? Why would anyone be in the vendor hall when a seminar is going on? At an industry show, being a vendor is a privilege, people aren’t here for you, they’re here for the seminars and banquets. Vendors are benefitting from the show not the other way around.
If you compare that to a “fan” type show, like comicon, it’s very different. There are 100 different ways to get something out of the show, and everyone is showing up for different reasons. Someone may be 100% driven to see a panel for their favorite show, another person is there to get that exclusive toy that is only sold at comicon. Another person just wants to sift through old comic books and his kids want to walk around dressed up as characters. But not one thing shuts down because the other thing is going on. And for a lot of people, vendors are the show.
I think Expo is still organized like the industry show it may have once been instead of the fan driven show it is becoming. The game room and vendor hall should be, within reason, “Always alternatives”. Meaning, if there are 2 seminars I’m not interested in and I’m not in the tournament, I’d like to go play pinball or chat with vendors rather than sit in the hall waiting for 2 hours until the next interesting thing (for me) happens.
I considered being a vendor this year, but those vendor hours actually looked grueling. As a vendor I’d rather be there 9 AM to 9PM with occasional breaks during “quiet times” because most people are in seminars or banquets rather than having everyone’s full attention from 6 PM to 6 AM.
The bottom line is, most “fan” shows are an a la carte experience where no one event pre-empts another. People are able to pick and choose what they like with the time that they have there. At any point during the day there are many things to choose from.
As it is now, it’s like being invited to a friend’s party where there will be food, drinks, and music and showing up to find out that it’s a wedding. Weddings are great and have food, drinks, and music but they are a much different experience than a party at someone’s house.
Lastly, there are some recurring themes over the years.
1) I paid for something and because of bad communication or organization, I got screwed somehow.
2) I showed up to do {insert thing} only to find out it was closed for the next few hours during the day so I left unhappy.
3) “Repair your rift with {insert person}.” There has to be a point where you look around and realize that you’ve had a feud with so many people that the problem may be you.
It seems like when those items get brought up it turns into an argument rather than some constructive way to improve the show.