This year’s Anime Expo was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and not at either usual location in Long Beach or Anaheim in Southern California. When the new venue was announced last year at AX, many fans expressed some apprehension of the new locale. One such concern was the hotels were too far away from the convention center. Another was the safety of the area.
Since this year’s attendance was estimated at 43,000, about 1,300 more attendees than last year, the location must not have scared away as many fans away as initially thought. We were unable to attend this past Anime Expo, so we weren’t able to catch what the new digs were like in person.
For those who did a get a chance to go, here’s your chance to air your opinion on what you think of the new Anime Expo location. Was it better or worse than Anaheim or Long Beach? How was the shuttle service? What did you think of the actual building? How easy was it to go from your hotel to the convention center? How safe did you feel? Overall, How did you like the new venue at Anime Expo this year?
Please share your thoughts on Anime Expo 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in the comment section below!
July 15th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Wow, it really sounds like the new venue is mega-awesome!!! Now I really can’t wait for AX 2009. I’m going to start feeding my piggy bank right now….
July 14th, 2008 at 5:51 am
same with Baoky chen i also love anime expo so bad i cant attain these one its far from my location, but it would be happy if you guys can show me videos of the expo.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:04 am
cool and i like the anime expo very much , its have quite a lot eye candy
July 11th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I actually preferred it at the LACC instead of Long Beach convention center, if only because it was blissfully air-conditioned — this meant less standing in line in the sweltering sun, and therefore fewer short-tempered (and sweaty) attendees.
the shuttle service was great — very efficient and comfy. It would be nice if they offered shuttles to nearby Little Tokyo for fans, so they could get a *real* bite to eat instead of the convention center food, but that would just be a nice extra.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I liked the new location. The convention center is huge, so it didn’t seem overly crowded, even in the dealer room. The walk from the hotel wasn’t too bad, and since we were eating like pigs, we did walk most of the time to get some exercise. It was also convenient having everything in one place, instead of scattered at different hotels.
I agree with others that the food choices were over-priced and that there weren’t many reasonably priced options. Finding somewhere to eat on the 4th was a pain - all of the restaurants at the Wilshire were closed for dinner, as were many other places. After walking around and taking the shuttle a few times, we did locate more places that were more in line with our budget, but the food at the convention center itself was way over-priced and really kind of gross.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
What I liked is that almost everything could be reached within the convention center and you didn’t have to walk a lot under the sun. The place was big enough to not feel squished and I didn’t have to wait a lot for anything. Although I didn’t stay enough I certainly liked it a lot more than the convention in Anaheim, where I had to walk far away from the convention center just to see some karaoke.
For people with credit the registration inside there was almost no line, that was another great point.
I didn’t buy any food, but it was clear there was a need for more stalls, because there were long lines almost all the time (thus why i didn’t bother). I did notice a lot of bars and restaurants outside the convention center, so people could also check those out for next year.
Personally the fact that the LACC is so close home (I live near downtown) was the deciding factor to go when I already had other plans. I hope it’s just as enjoyable in the next three years.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 am
having Ax at LACC was awesome, the shuttle service worked great and they ran 24hours as well. I agree with Yumeka, food was super expensive and the vendors liked to close early so after a certain time it was impossible to find any food. I’d recommend to anyone to bring their own food and store it in the hotel, we ended up going to the market to buy stuff to make sandwiches and just ate at the hotel the entire time. The concerts were also very awesome, unlike last year that each concert started at least a few hours late each concert started right on time. Plus the Nokia theater was pretty awesome, and the nokia theater staff was also very nice unlike long beach staff. registration was a giant improvement since they made a bar code system to check in. My brother staffs for registration every year and he says that they have had the bar code system set up every year but they never actually used it until this year. My oly complaint is the same complaint as last year, the dances aret errible, the DJ who (the only reason he is teh DJ is beause he is the main sound guy for all of AX) is a terrible DJ. He’ll only play either hip hop, rap or heavy metal electroica. everyone i spoke to agreed that it felt too much like a “high school dance.” That it would have been much better if the music were a mix of music between j-pop, k-pop, 70’s, hip hip, 80’s, modern and more. Then everyone would have a chance to dance and have some fun. But with only playing his taste in music it made lots of people frustrated during the dance.
other than that A this eyar was amazing, at the closing ceremonies they said they will be back at LACC next year but according to the staff meeting at th4 end that i snuck into they will be at LACC for the next 4 years. I only hope by then that more restaurants open up.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:19 am
After the catastrophes of AX 2007 I figured I’d give AX one more chance to redeem themselves in 2008. And I’m glad I did because overall I was very pleased with AX ‘08. The new badge system was very effective and greatly cut down wait times, and the shuttle system worked pretty well too. They also made the AX Backstage channel play 24/7 throughout the con on channel 18 in the LA area where you could watch recordings of some of the events and guest interviews, anime trailers, info about Little Tokyo, and other AX-related stuff. All the events I went to started more or less on time and the AX staff seemed a lot more informed and organized this year. I didn’t go to any of the main events, like the concerts and guest panels, but from what I’ve heard they were okay and attendees were given more than one chance to get a guest autograph. AX ‘08 was also a lot better because of the LACC; there was plenty of space compared to Long Beach so the Exhibit Hall, Artist Alley, and overall convention area never seemed too crowded and there was very little waiting outside in the hot sun. My one complaint is the lack of good, inexpensive food and drinks nearby or inside the LACC (a mediocre cheeseburger by itself cost $7.35! 0_0) And of course there were still lines and crowds at popular events but that’s to be expected at any convention. In conclusion, I think AX did a good job improving themselves after last year’s disaster so I’m hoping their improvements will continue. AX 2009 will again be held at the LACC so let’s hope it’s another good one!
July 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I liked the venue itself– it was nice having everything pretty well in one building and there seemed to be enough space for everyone (or as close as we’ll ever get). The walk from the dealers room to the panel area was kind of a pain (and one I had to do time after time after time…).
The biggest downside is the location of the LACC, which is somewhat lacking when it comes to hotels and restaurants.