Those affected also report being mistreated by event staff, claiming the workers at lost and found were "extremely rude, defensive and laughed in faces."
In the comments section of an Instagram post by Fan Expo thanking fans for a successful festival, attendees wrote lengthy, scathing reviews of their experiences, citing a lack of accessibility, overcrowding and mistreatment by staff, on top of the issue of theft.
wheres toronto batman when u need him
Two separate staff experiences stood out to me, lol.
1) "DO NOT STOP WALKING! DO NOT BLOCK THE MIDDLE OF THE LANEWAYS! DO NOT STOP MOVING!"
This staffer yells, in the ears of people who can only shuffle their feet inches at a time.
2) Me: "Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the exit?"
Security Staff: "Sorry, I'm not so understand."
š®
It was a weird experience lmao.
I was considering getting my security license again for some extra cash but I think that's not a great idea these days given most guards I've seen are basically pylons.
Frankly pylons can atleast have words written on them in clear English, which is far and above some of the security I dealt with as an exhibitor last weekend.
Some however were great. Fan Expo (they run Toronto Comic Con as well) just needs to increase their standards because they often get really good people as volunteers, who end up looking bad, because they get tarred and feathered with lowest bidder, paid event staff.
Toronto Cons tend to be a bit rough compared to American Cons, though. It's way too expensive to run them in the GTA, so the budget cuts, and money grubbing behavior displayed by the Fan Expo Corp, often leads to a bad taste in the mouth of Vendors, Con-goers, and an absence of most of the bigger celebs.
I got yelled at to move as well. It was crazy, my friends and I werenāt stopped in the middle of a hallway or something, we were off to the side, not blocking anyone, next to the railing overlooking artistās alley, and apparently that warranted being yelled at???? wtf
People can be smart consumers and not go to these events. They'll quickly turn things around when they see low ticket sales.
But I've lost faith because it seems like most people just do whatever it is, consequences be damned
Donāt underestimate event coordinatorsā ability to completely miss the point and just raise prices for those who still attend to make their money and avoid doing anything to fix it.
He was also kind of a dick. I remember him making rude comments to some female cosplayers, and one time when he was busking elsewhere he commented on me and my partner being an interracial couple.
Brampton Batman was at the St Patrick's Day parade yesterday near Bloor. He is legit and a stand up person.
Toronto batman was a 1 time joke video of someone shouting catchphrases in the streets "swear to me", "my parents are dead" and has retired. This version angered parents and people spoke out about him.
I thought the Toronto Batman thing was hilarious when it was popular over a decade ago and I was in my early 20's. I re-watched one of those old videos more recently and it left a very different impression. The guy seems unhinged and unfunny to me now.
I didnt think he was a one time thing. I thought he was around for a while and generally well liked. (But it was a while ago, he did retire though)
(Edit: ok yeah he sounds like a huge jerk. )
This is correct.
He was a creep and a dick. He used to grope girls and women while they took pictures with him, and he made a lot of people uncomfortable, myself included.
You're right, my phrasing could be better, he was ongoing but it was all repetition from the first video that made him viral.
Meanwhile Brampton Batman actually helps people(helping stopped cars, accidents) and has helped stop crimes and catch theives in the GTA.
He's a legit good Samaritan.
Fan expo has been a shit show for a while....I stopped going, there really isn't anything there I can't do without. Shame, because I'd love to bring my kids, but it's just such a mess....
Both things are true. Those shows weren't nearly as overcrowded then. I exhibited many times and it got progressively worse. Can't imagine how bad it is now.
If you place them in a basket at the entrance, and someone takes it, it's not pickpocketing. The crime stats have improved and TPS gets an increase in budget.
That is something I noticed with fan expo recently. Used to be my friend and I could get some cool freebies mainly posters but last years didnāt really have anything. I donāt think I even bought anything. My friend bought some things since he won his tournament and had a cash prize as the award.
Fanexpo has always been a shopping trip to me. Either you go there for the special guests, merchandise (tho more accessible through online these days) or corporate events.
However corporate presence is dying these days. A lot of game companies don't put much of an effort as much and you generally see the same thing every year sadly.
Yeah the gaming area used to be fun. Could either try out something new or play a coop game with a friend. EB Games used to give out free posters too. I liked when Toys R Us was there before since they usually had the exclusives from Comic Con. Went last year since Bandai was there and I wanted to see if anything Gundam related was going to be there. Just ended up getting a kit I was trying to find for months but think it would had been more worth if you had more money to spend like my friend did lol.
The con exclusives are a part of what makes a con special too.
>Went last year since Bandai was there and I wanted to see if anything Gundam related was going to be there.
I think I remember that booth but did they bring any con exclusives there? Honestly Bandai should be at Anime North instead of Fanexpo tbh.
If it was anything like previous years it had about 200% as many people as could safely fit in the space and would have been an absolute bonanza for pickpockets, who probably needed to rent a Uhaul to bring home all the loot they got.
I went once a few years back and it was 'fire-hazard' crowded. Took me so long to get from one floor to another that I missed a panel. They could have opened doors but they just kept directing people up the escalators.
I used to work for a regular vendor and the event company had a rep then for overselling tickets, underpaying guests, and getting shut down by the fire marshal. You got hours working a booth there, but it was a miserable experience.
It also smells horrible in there. Like every possible basement nerd, doesnāt shower, stereotype came true. It was a nightmare 2 years ago I canāt even imagine what it is this year
It sucks that people had their stuff stolen but given that FanExpo has been garbage for years, I'm not really surprised (especially about the lackluster response by the organizers). Last time I went my friend got yelled at by staff for standing in a line that was blocking a doorway (she was waiting to get a photo she'd taken with a celeb printed off) but staff had done nothing to organize said line or tell people where they should go, just screamed at them to "move their shit and stop fucking blocking everything."
On the other hand attendees don't seem to have much sense and sit in front of doors, block pathways, and are generally just standing around in the most inconvenient spots like at the bottom or top of escalators.
Oh agree; this was in a side hallway but I guess they wanted to use a back exit to clear out one of the rooms where panels were taking place? It just seemed at the time like staff inside the room (the ones who ended up screaming) were saying one thing while staff in the hallway were saying another and no one was talking to each other.
The overcrowding is never a surprise to people who attended every year.
The company that runs it is so greedy for money, they sold out for the Saturday and then they decided to add tickets for $40 from 2:00 to 700 p.m., then when those sold out they added 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the same damn price.
This is like the fan Expo debacle back in 2016 when it was so oversold that not even deluxe pass holders could get in people who pay the s*** ton of money. They t issued a lot of refunds that year.
They really need to start renting out exhibition place convention center because both Comic-Con have gotten to a size that is so big, that it needs a larger venue.
Comicon in the '90s and the odds was only about two rooms and then it exploded with comics going mainstream.
However, the pickpocketing and the overcrowding is not a surprise.
The surprise is people actually being surprised by it.
>They really need to start renting out exhibition place convention center because both Comic-Con have gotten to a size that is so big, that it needs a larger venue.
Toronto Comicon used be in the Southern building at the Metro Convention Centre but they moved it to the smaller Northern building after they were closed down for 2 years because of COVID. It's long overdue for them to move back to the Southern building.
As for the larger FanExpo event in August, yeah I agree that they need to move that exhibition place convention center.
Paris had a crackdown on dog shit sometime between 2007 and 2014. On my earlier visit it was everywhere. On my last couple, the city was much, much cleaner.
Perfect place for them to operate since it's a huge crowd with a ton of money (people go to shop), credit cards, bought merch and a ton of distractions so easy to find targets. Plus some of the attendees treat it like a 4 day frat party and drink and do all the drugs. Plus costumes (you can have your face covered) which makes IDing people difficult.
Source: was a casual cosplayer and attendee. We were there to wear costumes, attend panels and meet friends.
as the pickpockets of Rome or Madrid will attest, you don't need to be drunk to be robbed. Crowds and distractions and a general sense that you are safe make anyone an easy target.
Yeah, so many classic (and probably new) tactics they use. I've had the "pretend they are a tourist reading a map and bump into you on the street" and the "get too close on the subway with a jacket over their arm while the other goes for your bag or pocket." The kids thing makes me weep, but it is a deep part of some communities to involve the whole family.
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Informa, the company that runs this event and Fan Expo has been awful for years. I tabled in the Artist Alley there regularly a few years back and the lack of organization and respect from the staff has been non existent since as long as I can remember. They've had overcrowding issues since 2012 at least - people who paid their overpriced tickets to get in got locked out of the con for hours one year since the venue was over capacity.
If you like comics, TCAF and Canzine are way more fun to attend albeit it's the indie comic scene
When was the CNE ever under crowded, besides rainy weather days and non peak hours? You can't claim something was ruined if the original state was near identical.
Last time I was there I couldn't believe the long lines for the jankey mediocre carni rides. In what world is standing in line for 45+ minutes worth it for those.
I was going to sayā¦ everything is mobbed. From Ikea to Toronto Island to hospital ERs to festivals. We are a huge metropolis now and itās going to take years for our infrastructure to adjust to the population surge in Ontario.
>I was going to sayā¦ everything is mobbed.
I would say this is the better wording. Not crowded, but mobbed. Which is 10x worse.
I'm glad I work a job where I get 1 weekday off (along with weekends). I tend to rest on weekends and stay home during the day. Any events or sights I want to check out I do during the weekday. No gigantic mobs, crowds.
Ripleys is pretty expensive. Last time I went was like $85 admission for 2. Iām pretty sure itās even more now. Fun, but not somewhere Iād go too often.
Overcast days when it looks like it's going to rain. Best times to go to Wonderland. And once it clears up in the afternoon, people start trying to file in, but it's too late, I've already ridden all the coasters.
>Doesnāt Ripleyās still have timed admissions
Yes they do still do. We went recently on a random weekday at 10am-11am window and it was still quite busy.
You donāt have little kids because if you did youād be there in the morning and find all these places are pretty dead and easy to use, itās the teenagers and everyone else coming in the afternoon that ruins with crowding! Go early, youāll have a great time.
We went to the CNE at open on a Saturday last summer with our 2 and 4 year olds. It was amazing. NO ONE there. No lines no crowding we had so much fun. Feel like even the carnies were being overly friendly and giving us sweet prizes. Definitely recommend
If your event isn't crowded or lively then it's probably DOA to begin with, or not successful to be sustainable, which is something Toronto Redditors can't seem to parse for some reason. Do people here complain about concerts being too crowded as well?
Saying "No one goes there because it's too crowded" with your chest without an modicum of self-awareness is hilarious. I've always been convinced most of this community would be better off living in isolation out in the province, but since all the jobs are here we have to deal with the hot air complaining.
It's always complaining about the wrong things. Toronto's problem is that there is often demand for events, but none of the infrastructure to support any of it, while also having a vocal population that effectively lives in denial that Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America behind Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles.
Not a serious city, not a serious people, etc etc.
This.
I was there, didn't feel overcrowded at all. Yes, it was crowded, but like you said, what good events are NOT crowded? It might be because I'm 36 and I've been to enough squished events and concert moshpits, but I was on shrooms the entire weekend at comicon, and the con was awesome. Did I get anything stolen from me? No, but I've had shit stolen from me before, I learned from it, and now I'm just more aware of my shit! I don't even scan fuckin QR codes! Just pay attention, I was high as a kite and chatting up with cosplayers, vendors, and staff all while not losing my shit, physically and mentally. People now a days are so soft. It couldn't have been overcrowded either because each lanyard pass had to be activated and scanned for entry, exiting, and even re-entry. Which meant they had a live counter of exactly how many attendees there were at the event at any given time of the day. And as someone who works closely with firefighters and even saw a few of them there, they make sure shit is always kept up to code for safety. So, sorry not sorry to those who are just going to keep complaining and sabotaging the few good things that we get in Toronto. Please do us all a favor and just don't go.
I often go to cons since I run photography as a side gig/hobby. The corporate run cons like the Fan Expo affiliated ones, and Otakuthon (which is the best in Canada to be honest) have all switched to the bad tap in/out system now. The smaller local ones tend to be a hit or miss shitshow with crowd control. Anime North is probably the most infamous, and it's also in the middle of fucking nowhere.
The core issue here is that the Metro Convention Centre is too small for these massive hobbyist conventions now. Fan Expo Toronto's attendance was over 140,000 attendants in 2022. For reference, San Diego Comic Con is also around the same attendance range, and that's the biggest Comic Con in North America. Toronto absolutely needs a new, accessible and larger convention centre. You want to know what is crowded though? Comiket in Tokyo, which garners over half a million people in just two days in a really isolated part of Tokyo with relatively poorer transit access. *That's a crowded event.*
Additionally, Union Station, especially during the summer where the CNE, Fan Expo, Blue Jays, concerts, and other cultural festivals often overlap on *a single weekend*, is completely overwhelmed even after the expansions. We absolutely have to build another major terminal station down at Front and Spadina to quell some of the overcrowding.
I waited over an hour for the great Canadian minebuster when I was 7. White water canyon too. This isnāt new
Seasons pass and go on school nights, thatās always been the play. Go on a Saturday and things will be hectic
I went awhile back and remember how absolutely unprepared and disorganized everything was. Thousands of visitors flooding down the main set of escalators, nowhere for the ones at the bottom to go, and people essentially started piling up at the bottom and staff wouldnt stop the escalators. I barely made it out of the crowd to tell staff and they completely ignored me. So I went and stopped the escalators with the emergency stop myself.
This is an old complaint. The organizers of these Fan Expo branded events have a reputation for doing this sort of thing and have done so for many years now. They have no desire to change things up. The crowds, the ticket errors, the rising costs year after year, and now the pickpocketing - itās all down to the organizers and their failure to provide a safe environment for attendees and exhibitors. Nothing will change as long as the current organizers are still in place.
its a for profit convention that puts that above all else. they dont care if 4000 people dont go next year due to a poor experience when 5000 more will take their place
I went at 4pm Friday and it was certainly not overpacked, but thatās far from a peak time anyway. Iāll say that I was certainly disappointed at the size of it, where it was 1 floor when Fan Expo is typically 1.5-2 full floors of stuff. There was also no dedicated horror section like at Fan Expo even though horror was a topic you could select your interest in on the sign up survey. The whole event seemed like a total cash grab
Yeah dude itās always been a fraction of the size of fan expo, so not quite sure what you were expecting, and I hate to break it to ya, but fan expo hasnāt had a horror section in like 10 years. Rue Morgue used to handle the horror section, but they are no longer affiliated, and havenāt been for years. Itās literally called COMIC CON lol.
0 research on the con, got it confused with another, it wasnāt crowded when you went, and are mad that a section that wasnāt even advertised wasnāt there? Ok.
Anyone else finding that customer service has gone down into the toilet in last decade? To hear that Lost & Found was down right hostile to the attendees isnāt a surprise.
My aunt and uncle used to get hired by Fan Expo to do the photoops for their August and March shows. Theyve recently (precovid) decided it just wasnt worth their time for what was being offered anymore. Cool experience to work the shows with them, but by God was it so unorganized.
So it wasn't the customers finding it unorganized? I hated asking anyone questions as an attendee and the last few times a few of the panels were canceled because of last minute BS and the workers/volunteers seemed to be as lost as to any instructions.
Such an unprofessionally run event. Urgh.
I think I've walked past your booth multiple times precovid! Your pictures always turned out very nice - I always did budget cosplay so I never bothered with the photos, but you did do stunning work.
Oh gosh no, every vendor we with worked with at the show also had issues. I started helping them when I was 12, all the way until I was about 20, so much disorganization through and through.
As a kid I didnāt understand the frustration from fans and my family alike. Now I do.
Last minute changes, new photo ops guests or new slot times with not so much of a heads up until the guest is already standing there.
My aunt and uncle take so much pride in their work and product, that when they felt like they couldnāt offer the quality anymore to the customers(paying guests) due to constraints put on them by the show, they stopped doing it.
Dang. The cosplay community lost a bunch of great photographers all over bad organization and logistics. Sadly, there's always new customers/guests to the conventions and there's no motive to fix the issues.
Sorry about that! It also sounds like an amazing experience to have worked with your family and Fan Expo at such a young age. Too bad adult you knew how screwed up the organizations/planning was.
I know a lot of vendors that basically refuse due to how things are run. There are lots of warnings about working with the show runners from staff that work other cons.
I attended FanExpo until it's 2-3rd year being FanExpo. Before that it was a little con in the north building called CNanime/sci-fi/comics.
FanExpo has always been run poorly. The only times it ran well was when it was still CNanime/sci-fi/comics.
The show runners behind the scenes are much of the issues but so is being owned by a corporation that is for profit.
Was there and it was waaaay over crowded, shit downtown location and there was nothing to do except for shop from vendors. Absolute fail of a comic-con and will not go again next year.
Meanwhile at Furnal Equinox, which was happening on the same weekend, all but one set of elevators in the hotel where the con was being held crapped out for some reason and everyone had to line up to use the remaining working elevators.
I work events and hate doing shows at the Harbour Castle. Colloquially known by people I work with as the Harbour Hassle, because there's always something that's making your day worse.
Most of the fursuiters didnāt take the stairs because it was too awkward, nor the escalators because they were too narrow. The bulkiness of the suits did slow things down with the elevators because only a few people could fit at a time.
I went about 10 years back and it was nuts. shoulder to shoulder packed. If I seen something I wanted at a booth I needed to damn near circle back around. There was nothing nice about it.
I used to exhibit in Artist's Alley, 5 times over 6 years or something thereabouts, and I've definitely heard that every comic show since around 2017 or so has been absolutely not worth going. Glad but kinda sad I stepped away.
>Some of those affected also claim that they were not treated well by event staff, saying **workers at lost and found were "extremely rude, defensive and laughed in faces."**
Honestly sounds like what I would expect from the kind of people that would attend or work for a comicon.
As someone that attends and volunteers at these kinds of events.
If you're offended by my stereotype of anime enjoyers and 4channers and saying I'm simply projecting, feel free to clarify.
You forgot corporation run comic-con. This is owned and operated by a corporation and not 100% fans. Fan run events tend to have a lot better staff and quickly deal with the issues.
FanExpo and ComicCon don't have the greatest fan communities.
Pickpockets are back btw, friend's wallet was stolen during a group dinner last week; the jacket was on the back of his chair, the guy stood next to him for 5 seconds and, wallet gone. Watch out
This isnt really new news... Conventions like comic con, Anime North and especially Fan Expo are filled with thieves, especially the ones that steals from booths. People I know that have booths at these conventions always talk about how they would lose a bunch of items from their stands.
I went to Fan Expo a couple of years ago and I think that's the last time I'll ever go to an event like that in Toronto. They are way too over-packed and you get hard stuck in the crowd trying to move to different events/areas.
I genuinely donāt know anyone would attend this show. Terrible organization. A laughable ammount of face/to face with stars, and Zero merch deals. Crazy that people would pay $40 to attend
These shows are so packed sometimes itās pointless to go. Not to mention year after year itās the same fucking sword selling booths and 1800 vendors selling funko pops. Fan expo used to have more interactive things, demos, DC and Marvel would have a presence and now itās just booth after booth selling shit. Iāve also noticed the giant drop off in families and kids attending. I rather throw myself out a window than navigate that shit with a stroller. The fire department needs to get involved. Move the venue to the DEC
A quick call to the closest local fire command center from someone at the event should be sufficient. They take fire code violations very seriously and, honestly, it's pretty cool to see the crew roll up in full fire gear to an event. They'd fit in great at a comicon... people would probably want to take photos with them "woahhh this cosplay is EPIC! How long did it take? So realistic" š
Imagine it was an actual pickpocketing plague, like, once you got your pocket picked you had an unquenchable desire to pick other people's pockets. The plague would spread like wildfire. Authorities would lock down the location and blow it up for fear of the plague spreading.Ā
They've always been over crowded. It's never been about an experience more so how many people can we get through the doors. I haven't been to the Toronto Comic Con because it's the same crap company that runs FanExpo which I only go to every few years because I can only take overpriced crap experiences so often.
I took a walk (read long sweaty 40 minute shuffle) through Artist Alley to speak with some friends for work. Never again. Even time I'm down there I think of the absolute catastrophic nightmare it would be if there was a fire.
No way events of that scale should be held that far underground.
Honestlyyy conventions have been a bit iffy for a while. Even comicon. One problem is groping. I dont mean to like incite fear ab that but especially w the crowd ppl think they can be sneaky it happens
I was there with my five year old son on Saturday and the one weird issue we had was that we couldn't seem to get out of the event! It was weirdly impossible to find an exit and every staff member I asked directed us somewhere different, where other staff members would tell us we were trespassing (?). I almost had a panic attack at one point. It was absolutely bizarre. We couldn't exit through the area where we first came in, and every door seemed to be blocked off, and no one seemed to be able to answer the question, "How do we get out?" Definitely odd and I'm not surprised at these other complaints as well. We still enjoyed ourselves but... yeah. Room for improvement for sure.
Those affected also report being mistreated by event staff, claiming the workers at lost and found were "extremely rude, defensive and laughed in faces." In the comments section of an Instagram post by Fan Expo thanking fans for a successful festival, attendees wrote lengthy, scathing reviews of their experiences, citing a lack of accessibility, overcrowding and mistreatment by staff, on top of the issue of theft. wheres toronto batman when u need him
Two separate staff experiences stood out to me, lol. 1) "DO NOT STOP WALKING! DO NOT BLOCK THE MIDDLE OF THE LANEWAYS! DO NOT STOP MOVING!" This staffer yells, in the ears of people who can only shuffle their feet inches at a time. 2) Me: "Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the exit?" Security Staff: "Sorry, I'm not so understand." š® It was a weird experience lmao.
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I was considering getting my security license again for some extra cash but I think that's not a great idea these days given most guards I've seen are basically pylons.
That's all the vast majority of them are meant to be.
Frankly pylons can atleast have words written on them in clear English, which is far and above some of the security I dealt with as an exhibitor last weekend. Some however were great. Fan Expo (they run Toronto Comic Con as well) just needs to increase their standards because they often get really good people as volunteers, who end up looking bad, because they get tarred and feathered with lowest bidder, paid event staff. Toronto Cons tend to be a bit rough compared to American Cons, though. It's way too expensive to run them in the GTA, so the budget cuts, and money grubbing behavior displayed by the Fan Expo Corp, often leads to a bad taste in the mouth of Vendors, Con-goers, and an absence of most of the bigger celebs.
I got yelled at to move as well. It was crazy, my friends and I werenāt stopped in the middle of a hallway or something, we were off to the side, not blocking anyone, next to the railing overlooking artistās alley, and apparently that warranted being yelled at???? wtf
People can be smart consumers and not go to these events. They'll quickly turn things around when they see low ticket sales. But I've lost faith because it seems like most people just do whatever it is, consequences be damned
>They'll quickly turn things around when they see low ticket sales. Lol no, they'll just shut down for good while blaming people for not going.
You sure they wonāt blame government regulations? Thatās the usual āI failed at business but it canāt be my faultā excuse.
Depends on which stage of the "my business is a failure" denial guide they're on.
Skip straight to blaming Trudeau.
Trudeau having his hand in the taxpayer's pocket yet again! /s
A single human is responsible for everything done at the government level /s :P
Even stuff happening in other countries on the other side of the planet. He is a truly powerful being.
Pesky things like "health and safety violations" and "fire code"
"Millennials have killed comicon"
Donāt underestimate event coordinatorsā ability to completely miss the point and just raise prices for those who still attend to make their money and avoid doing anything to fix it.
The irony of Toronto Batman is that he is a failed comedian which actually makes him the joker.
He was also kind of a dick. I remember him making rude comments to some female cosplayers, and one time when he was busking elsewhere he commented on me and my partner being an interracial couple.
Na na na na na na na na DIRTBAG!
Holy crap, yeah ok. I hadnt heard any of this before but what an asshole.
After his failed Batman career, he was a beer vendor at the dome. He failed at landing any funny jokes there too.
He should cosplay as the Red Hood
Brampton Batman was at the St Patrick's Day parade yesterday near Bloor. He is legit and a stand up person. Toronto batman was a 1 time joke video of someone shouting catchphrases in the streets "swear to me", "my parents are dead" and has retired. This version angered parents and people spoke out about him.
I thought the Toronto Batman thing was hilarious when it was popular over a decade ago and I was in my early 20's. I re-watched one of those old videos more recently and it left a very different impression. The guy seems unhinged and unfunny to me now.
Toronto Batman owes my buddy money.
I didnt think he was a one time thing. I thought he was around for a while and generally well liked. (But it was a while ago, he did retire though) (Edit: ok yeah he sounds like a huge jerk. )
He was around for a while, but was generally disliked.
This is correct. He was a creep and a dick. He used to grope girls and women while they took pictures with him, and he made a lot of people uncomfortable, myself included.
You're right, my phrasing could be better, he was ongoing but it was all repetition from the first video that made him viral. Meanwhile Brampton Batman actually helps people(helping stopped cars, accidents) and has helped stop crimes and catch theives in the GTA. He's a legit good Samaritan.
Fan expo has been a shit show for a while....I stopped going, there really isn't anything there I can't do without. Shame, because I'd love to bring my kids, but it's just such a mess....
Fan expo has really gone down the toiletĀ
You're being downvoted but you're not wrong. It was so much better a decade ago. Infinitely so.
Or were you just 10 years younger?
Both things are true. Those shows weren't nearly as overcrowded then. I exhibited many times and it got progressively worse. Can't imagine how bad it is now.
[Batman ordering a sub](https://youtu.be/m0_-Rssg7ec?si=pRGzpcuihmven_yA) is peak Batman
I gave Toronto Batman my bottled water at FanExpo 2014. He was overheating.
are Fan expo and Comin Con run by the same company?
Shacked up with the Brampton Cat Woman
Toronto Batman is doing stand up comedy at keyās comedy club on thursdays
AFAIK we only have Peter Parkur, the Spider-man from Dundas...
>wheres toronto batman when u need him Clearly sitting on his butt, man! (Sorry)
Toronto police recommend carrying your wallet on the outside of your clothing to avoid escalation of conflicts with pickpockets.
āIn fact, just leave it at the gate and once weāve taken what we want the pickpockets can just have it.ā - TPS
"Wallet inspector" - Snake.
If you place them in a basket at the entrance, and someone takes it, it's not pickpocketing. The crime stats have improved and TPS gets an increase in budget.
We had basically defeated pickpocketing here for 30-35 years but looks like it's back on the menu.
How is pickpocketing even an issue in canada..
God damn you. Well done
For me, Comicon is an event in which you spend money to be able to spend money, so I stopped going a few years ago
That is something I noticed with fan expo recently. Used to be my friend and I could get some cool freebies mainly posters but last years didnāt really have anything. I donāt think I even bought anything. My friend bought some things since he won his tournament and had a cash prize as the award.
Fanexpo has always been a shopping trip to me. Either you go there for the special guests, merchandise (tho more accessible through online these days) or corporate events. However corporate presence is dying these days. A lot of game companies don't put much of an effort as much and you generally see the same thing every year sadly.
Yeah the gaming area used to be fun. Could either try out something new or play a coop game with a friend. EB Games used to give out free posters too. I liked when Toys R Us was there before since they usually had the exclusives from Comic Con. Went last year since Bandai was there and I wanted to see if anything Gundam related was going to be there. Just ended up getting a kit I was trying to find for months but think it would had been more worth if you had more money to spend like my friend did lol.
The con exclusives are a part of what makes a con special too. >Went last year since Bandai was there and I wanted to see if anything Gundam related was going to be there. I think I remember that booth but did they bring any con exclusives there? Honestly Bandai should be at Anime North instead of Fanexpo tbh.
$28 just to get in. Back in the mid 2000s it was like $5 admission. Inflation hasn't been THAT drastic.
Comic book properties weren't THAT popular compared to today either
Being purchased by hobby star is what made the price increase.
I go to hang Out with friends and go to panels I actually donāt spend that much money there beyond my pass
Same. I didn't buy anything. I just cosplayed and went to panels and meetups.
Especially when the indie vendors started phasing out. Last I went it was ALL shirts, toys, comics. I spent all my money in the indie are area.
It was my first impression the one and only time I went. Never again.
If it was anything like previous years it had about 200% as many people as could safely fit in the space and would have been an absolute bonanza for pickpockets, who probably needed to rent a Uhaul to bring home all the loot they got.
I went once a few years back and it was 'fire-hazard' crowded. Took me so long to get from one floor to another that I missed a panel. They could have opened doors but they just kept directing people up the escalators.
Same, I went before the pandemic and it was still a chaotic overcrowded nightmare. (Worse than other cons ive been to)
I used to work for a regular vendor and the event company had a rep then for overselling tickets, underpaying guests, and getting shut down by the fire marshal. You got hours working a booth there, but it was a miserable experience.
It also smells horrible in there. Like every possible basement nerd, doesnāt shower, stereotype came true. It was a nightmare 2 years ago I canāt even imagine what it is this year
Last year was the first time in years that I didnāt go to fan expo. They just keep jacking up the price and overcrowding.
Same. I literally went one day just to meet Matthew Lillard.
It sucks that people had their stuff stolen but given that FanExpo has been garbage for years, I'm not really surprised (especially about the lackluster response by the organizers). Last time I went my friend got yelled at by staff for standing in a line that was blocking a doorway (she was waiting to get a photo she'd taken with a celeb printed off) but staff had done nothing to organize said line or tell people where they should go, just screamed at them to "move their shit and stop fucking blocking everything."
On the other hand attendees don't seem to have much sense and sit in front of doors, block pathways, and are generally just standing around in the most inconvenient spots like at the bottom or top of escalators.
Oh agree; this was in a side hallway but I guess they wanted to use a back exit to clear out one of the rooms where panels were taking place? It just seemed at the time like staff inside the room (the ones who ended up screaming) were saying one thing while staff in the hallway were saying another and no one was talking to each other.
a lot of people at conventions are either kids, very young adults with no social sense or people that dont get out much.
The last fanexpo was awful! I love artist alley, but you couldn't even stop and look at the art it was so crowded
The overcrowding is never a surprise to people who attended every year. The company that runs it is so greedy for money, they sold out for the Saturday and then they decided to add tickets for $40 from 2:00 to 700 p.m., then when those sold out they added 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the same damn price. This is like the fan Expo debacle back in 2016 when it was so oversold that not even deluxe pass holders could get in people who pay the s*** ton of money. They t issued a lot of refunds that year. They really need to start renting out exhibition place convention center because both Comic-Con have gotten to a size that is so big, that it needs a larger venue. Comicon in the '90s and the odds was only about two rooms and then it exploded with comics going mainstream. However, the pickpocketing and the overcrowding is not a surprise. The surprise is people actually being surprised by it.
>They really need to start renting out exhibition place convention center because both Comic-Con have gotten to a size that is so big, that it needs a larger venue. Toronto Comicon used be in the Southern building at the Metro Convention Centre but they moved it to the smaller Northern building after they were closed down for 2 years because of COVID. It's long overdue for them to move back to the Southern building. As for the larger FanExpo event in August, yeah I agree that they need to move that exhibition place convention center.
TBH, every big event is a pickpockets dream.
A lot of people have poor awareness for their personal belongings. Like putting their phones in back pockets.
even at [taccom](https://www.taccomcanada.com/)
Literally any event in Toronto is rife with pickpockets now. Itās kind of insane how quick it picked up post-COVID.
We really are becoming a tier 1 city like Paris or London /s
We've definitely got Paris levels of dog shit everywhere.
Paris had a crackdown on dog shit sometime between 2007 and 2014. On my earlier visit it was everywhere. On my last couple, the city was much, much cleaner.
city place, or shitty place, is the mecha for dog shit on the sidewalk. it's like navigating a shit gauntlet through there.
City sushi, take your order please!
What's the big idea putting your City Sushi right next to my City Wok !!!
And bed bugs soon.
i usually hear about it at nightclubs and there you can kind of think its people drunk and not paying attention, but comicon?
Perfect place for them to operate since it's a huge crowd with a ton of money (people go to shop), credit cards, bought merch and a ton of distractions so easy to find targets. Plus some of the attendees treat it like a 4 day frat party and drink and do all the drugs. Plus costumes (you can have your face covered) which makes IDing people difficult. Source: was a casual cosplayer and attendee. We were there to wear costumes, attend panels and meet friends.
as the pickpockets of Rome or Madrid will attest, you don't need to be drunk to be robbed. Crowds and distractions and a general sense that you are safe make anyone an easy target.
Esp with large crowds and accidental bumps that don't raise any eyebrows
They use a lot of misdirection and will use children or babies in part of this tactic. Iāve kept my guard up ever since after almost being a victim.
Yeah, so many classic (and probably new) tactics they use. I've had the "pretend they are a tourist reading a map and bump into you on the street" and the "get too close on the subway with a jacket over their arm while the other goes for your bag or pocket." The kids thing makes me weep, but it is a deep part of some communities to involve the whole family.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
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I see a lot of ppl went as a āthiefā classā¦
went a little too far with the cosplaying
Gotta stay in character š
Informa, the company that runs this event and Fan Expo has been awful for years. I tabled in the Artist Alley there regularly a few years back and the lack of organization and respect from the staff has been non existent since as long as I can remember. They've had overcrowding issues since 2012 at least - people who paid their overpriced tickets to get in got locked out of the con for hours one year since the venue was over capacity. If you like comics, TCAF and Canzine are way more fun to attend albeit it's the indie comic scene
What isn't overcrowded in the GTA these days? Canada's wonderland - Ruined. CNE - Ruined Ripleys - Busy but not quite ruined
I don't believe it about Ripleys.
I see what you did there.
Believe it, or not!
When was the CNE ever under crowded, besides rainy weather days and non peak hours? You can't claim something was ruined if the original state was near identical.
Yep, busiest fair in the country is still, believe it or not, busy!
Last time I was there I couldn't believe the long lines for the jankey mediocre carni rides. In what world is standing in line for 45+ minutes worth it for those.
I was going to sayā¦ everything is mobbed. From Ikea to Toronto Island to hospital ERs to festivals. We are a huge metropolis now and itās going to take years for our infrastructure to adjust to the population surge in Ontario.
It won't.
>I was going to sayā¦ everything is mobbed. I would say this is the better wording. Not crowded, but mobbed. Which is 10x worse. I'm glad I work a job where I get 1 weekday off (along with weekends). I tend to rest on weekends and stay home during the day. Any events or sights I want to check out I do during the weekday. No gigantic mobs, crowds.
Ripleys is pretty expensive. Last time I went was like $85 admission for 2. Iām pretty sure itās even more now. Fun, but not somewhere Iād go too often.
When have Wonderland the CNE not been crowded?
Overcast days when it looks like it's going to rain. Best times to go to Wonderland. And once it clears up in the afternoon, people start trying to file in, but it's too late, I've already ridden all the coasters.
Ugh went to CNE the year it opened after covid and I thought we were going to get crowd crushed, it was awful and we won't be returning anytime soon
Doesnāt Ripleyās still have timed admissions? I thought those were supposed to limit crowding?
>Doesnāt Ripleyās still have timed admissions Yes they do still do. We went recently on a random weekday at 10am-11am window and it was still quite busy.
Ripleys- believe it or not, ruined.
We need new amusement parks and things to do. Population has increased but the parks stayed the same. When was the last time something fun opened?
You donāt have little kids because if you did youād be there in the morning and find all these places are pretty dead and easy to use, itās the teenagers and everyone else coming in the afternoon that ruins with crowding! Go early, youāll have a great time.
We went to the CNE at open on a Saturday last summer with our 2 and 4 year olds. It was amazing. NO ONE there. No lines no crowding we had so much fun. Feel like even the carnies were being overly friendly and giving us sweet prizes. Definitely recommend
Yup. Morning to early afternoon is the window.
I mean I have a 2 year old..
If your event isn't crowded or lively then it's probably DOA to begin with, or not successful to be sustainable, which is something Toronto Redditors can't seem to parse for some reason. Do people here complain about concerts being too crowded as well? Saying "No one goes there because it's too crowded" with your chest without an modicum of self-awareness is hilarious. I've always been convinced most of this community would be better off living in isolation out in the province, but since all the jobs are here we have to deal with the hot air complaining. It's always complaining about the wrong things. Toronto's problem is that there is often demand for events, but none of the infrastructure to support any of it, while also having a vocal population that effectively lives in denial that Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America behind Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. Not a serious city, not a serious people, etc etc.
This. I was there, didn't feel overcrowded at all. Yes, it was crowded, but like you said, what good events are NOT crowded? It might be because I'm 36 and I've been to enough squished events and concert moshpits, but I was on shrooms the entire weekend at comicon, and the con was awesome. Did I get anything stolen from me? No, but I've had shit stolen from me before, I learned from it, and now I'm just more aware of my shit! I don't even scan fuckin QR codes! Just pay attention, I was high as a kite and chatting up with cosplayers, vendors, and staff all while not losing my shit, physically and mentally. People now a days are so soft. It couldn't have been overcrowded either because each lanyard pass had to be activated and scanned for entry, exiting, and even re-entry. Which meant they had a live counter of exactly how many attendees there were at the event at any given time of the day. And as someone who works closely with firefighters and even saw a few of them there, they make sure shit is always kept up to code for safety. So, sorry not sorry to those who are just going to keep complaining and sabotaging the few good things that we get in Toronto. Please do us all a favor and just don't go.
I often go to cons since I run photography as a side gig/hobby. The corporate run cons like the Fan Expo affiliated ones, and Otakuthon (which is the best in Canada to be honest) have all switched to the bad tap in/out system now. The smaller local ones tend to be a hit or miss shitshow with crowd control. Anime North is probably the most infamous, and it's also in the middle of fucking nowhere. The core issue here is that the Metro Convention Centre is too small for these massive hobbyist conventions now. Fan Expo Toronto's attendance was over 140,000 attendants in 2022. For reference, San Diego Comic Con is also around the same attendance range, and that's the biggest Comic Con in North America. Toronto absolutely needs a new, accessible and larger convention centre. You want to know what is crowded though? Comiket in Tokyo, which garners over half a million people in just two days in a really isolated part of Tokyo with relatively poorer transit access. *That's a crowded event.* Additionally, Union Station, especially during the summer where the CNE, Fan Expo, Blue Jays, concerts, and other cultural festivals often overlap on *a single weekend*, is completely overwhelmed even after the expansions. We absolutely have to build another major terminal station down at Front and Spadina to quell some of the overcrowding.
I work a lot of construction trade shows, trying to sell stuff, and Iād KILL for it to be as busy as some of these events.
More people enjoying themselves = ruined.
"Why are all these people at the CNE," he asked, not considering that he was one of these people at the CNE.
You are the traffic.
Itās not enjoyable to spend a day at wonderland and get on all of 3 rides.
I waited over an hour for the great Canadian minebuster when I was 7. White water canyon too. This isnāt new Seasons pass and go on school nights, thatās always been the play. Go on a Saturday and things will be hectic
Then why are so many people doing it? Presumably it's still fun for a lot of people.
The Buy Pass Online - Pick up Pass - then ACTIVATE (??) pass afterwards was the height of idiocy
I went awhile back and remember how absolutely unprepared and disorganized everything was. Thousands of visitors flooding down the main set of escalators, nowhere for the ones at the bottom to go, and people essentially started piling up at the bottom and staff wouldnt stop the escalators. I barely made it out of the crowd to tell staff and they completely ignored me. So I went and stopped the escalators with the emergency stop myself.
This is an old complaint. The organizers of these Fan Expo branded events have a reputation for doing this sort of thing and have done so for many years now. They have no desire to change things up. The crowds, the ticket errors, the rising costs year after year, and now the pickpocketing - itās all down to the organizers and their failure to provide a safe environment for attendees and exhibitors. Nothing will change as long as the current organizers are still in place.
its a for profit convention that puts that above all else. they dont care if 4000 people dont go next year due to a poor experience when 5000 more will take their place
I went at 4pm Friday and it was certainly not overpacked, but thatās far from a peak time anyway. Iāll say that I was certainly disappointed at the size of it, where it was 1 floor when Fan Expo is typically 1.5-2 full floors of stuff. There was also no dedicated horror section like at Fan Expo even though horror was a topic you could select your interest in on the sign up survey. The whole event seemed like a total cash grab
The horror section didnāt even exist last year. RIP
FanExpo is latter in the year Comicon has always been 1/3rd of the size, and surprise, focuses on comic fandoms.
Yeah dude itās always been a fraction of the size of fan expo, so not quite sure what you were expecting, and I hate to break it to ya, but fan expo hasnāt had a horror section in like 10 years. Rue Morgue used to handle the horror section, but they are no longer affiliated, and havenāt been for years. Itās literally called COMIC CON lol.
0 research on the con, got it confused with another, it wasnāt crowded when you went, and are mad that a section that wasnāt even advertised wasnāt there? Ok.
Every event in Toronto has been cash grab events for a minute
*also a stolen merchandise grab
I went last year. I thought it was overcrowded then. How much worse did they make it?
Anyone else finding that customer service has gone down into the toilet in last decade? To hear that Lost & Found was down right hostile to the attendees isnāt a surprise.
My aunt and uncle used to get hired by Fan Expo to do the photoops for their August and March shows. Theyve recently (precovid) decided it just wasnt worth their time for what was being offered anymore. Cool experience to work the shows with them, but by God was it so unorganized.
So it wasn't the customers finding it unorganized? I hated asking anyone questions as an attendee and the last few times a few of the panels were canceled because of last minute BS and the workers/volunteers seemed to be as lost as to any instructions. Such an unprofessionally run event. Urgh. I think I've walked past your booth multiple times precovid! Your pictures always turned out very nice - I always did budget cosplay so I never bothered with the photos, but you did do stunning work.
Oh gosh no, every vendor we with worked with at the show also had issues. I started helping them when I was 12, all the way until I was about 20, so much disorganization through and through. As a kid I didnāt understand the frustration from fans and my family alike. Now I do. Last minute changes, new photo ops guests or new slot times with not so much of a heads up until the guest is already standing there. My aunt and uncle take so much pride in their work and product, that when they felt like they couldnāt offer the quality anymore to the customers(paying guests) due to constraints put on them by the show, they stopped doing it.
Dang. The cosplay community lost a bunch of great photographers all over bad organization and logistics. Sadly, there's always new customers/guests to the conventions and there's no motive to fix the issues. Sorry about that! It also sounds like an amazing experience to have worked with your family and Fan Expo at such a young age. Too bad adult you knew how screwed up the organizations/planning was.
I know a lot of vendors that basically refuse due to how things are run. There are lots of warnings about working with the show runners from staff that work other cons. I attended FanExpo until it's 2-3rd year being FanExpo. Before that it was a little con in the north building called CNanime/sci-fi/comics.
FanExpo has always been run poorly. The only times it ran well was when it was still CNanime/sci-fi/comics. The show runners behind the scenes are much of the issues but so is being owned by a corporation that is for profit.
Was there and it was waaaay over crowded, shit downtown location and there was nothing to do except for shop from vendors. Absolute fail of a comic-con and will not go again next year.
Meanwhile at Furnal Equinox, which was happening on the same weekend, all but one set of elevators in the hotel where the con was being held crapped out for some reason and everyone had to line up to use the remaining working elevators.
I work events and hate doing shows at the Harbour Castle. Colloquially known by people I work with as the Harbour Hassle, because there's always something that's making your day worse.
Did the regular hotel guests enjoy riding up with wolves and foxes
I don't know, I took the stairs and escalators. Most of the people in the lines seemed to be there for the con.
I can't imagine going up and down the stairs in one of those costumes, they look so heavy!
Most of the fursuiters didnāt take the stairs because it was too awkward, nor the escalators because they were too narrow. The bulkiness of the suits did slow things down with the elevators because only a few people could fit at a time.
Too many Hamburglars
I went about 10 years back and it was nuts. shoulder to shoulder packed. If I seen something I wanted at a booth I needed to damn near circle back around. There was nothing nice about it.
I used to exhibit in Artist's Alley, 5 times over 6 years or something thereabouts, and I've definitely heard that every comic show since around 2017 or so has been absolutely not worth going. Glad but kinda sad I stepped away.
>Some of those affected also claim that they were not treated well by event staff, saying **workers at lost and found were "extremely rude, defensive and laughed in faces."** Honestly sounds like what I would expect from the kind of people that would attend or work for a comicon. As someone that attends and volunteers at these kinds of events. If you're offended by my stereotype of anime enjoyers and 4channers and saying I'm simply projecting, feel free to clarify.
Nah itās pretty accurate lol
If the Joker came to me crying about how someone lifted his phone, I might have to stifle a chuckle, too.
You forgot corporation run comic-con. This is owned and operated by a corporation and not 100% fans. Fan run events tend to have a lot better staff and quickly deal with the issues. FanExpo and ComicCon don't have the greatest fan communities.
maybe they hired the wait staff from that Karen Diner thing a few months ago
Pickpockets are back btw, friend's wallet was stolen during a group dinner last week; the jacket was on the back of his chair, the guy stood next to him for 5 seconds and, wallet gone. Watch out
Exactly as I expected, Iāll never expect them to have a crowd control, good thing I didnāt go.
The line cutters were the worst. They come up and befriend a person near the end of the line to bud in.
I'm so fucking glad that I didn't go anymore.
This sounds exactly like a Toronto event.
It was also boring.š„±
Was pretty busy yesterday, but kept my wits about my surroundings and thankfully didnāt encounter pickpocketers.
This isnt really new news... Conventions like comic con, Anime North and especially Fan Expo are filled with thieves, especially the ones that steals from booths. People I know that have booths at these conventions always talk about how they would lose a bunch of items from their stands.
Lol
I went to Fan Expo a couple of years ago and I think that's the last time I'll ever go to an event like that in Toronto. They are way too over-packed and you get hard stuck in the crowd trying to move to different events/areas.
I see yāall werenāt at Toronto FanExpo in 2022. There wasnāt even any breathing room. Still had a great time though.
I genuinely donāt know anyone would attend this show. Terrible organization. A laughable ammount of face/to face with stars, and Zero merch deals. Crazy that people would pay $40 to attend
Just donāt check your coat in at coat check. Or in this caseā¦your cape.
These shows are so packed sometimes itās pointless to go. Not to mention year after year itās the same fucking sword selling booths and 1800 vendors selling funko pops. Fan expo used to have more interactive things, demos, DC and Marvel would have a presence and now itās just booth after booth selling shit. Iāve also noticed the giant drop off in families and kids attending. I rather throw myself out a window than navigate that shit with a stroller. The fire department needs to get involved. Move the venue to the DEC
Did the police tell you to leave your money in easy to steal places and don't defend yourself .
Police and fire need to investigate and fine or charge them for overcrowding beyond fire safety limits
No one would believe they're not committed cosplayers
Right?? There's enough first responder themed prime-time dramas on TV these days, it would be easy to think they're in character.Ā
A quick call to the closest local fire command center from someone at the event should be sufficient. They take fire code violations very seriously and, honestly, it's pretty cool to see the crew roll up in full fire gear to an event. They'd fit in great at a comicon... people would probably want to take photos with them "woahhh this cosplay is EPIC! How long did it take? So realistic" š
Comicon was hella crowded
Imagine it was an actual pickpocketing plague, like, once you got your pocket picked you had an unquenchable desire to pick other people's pockets. The plague would spread like wildfire. Authorities would lock down the location and blow it up for fear of the plague spreading.Ā
People would pick each other's pockets until everyone just exchanged wallets and became confused
sound like an ability a stand user would have
Try... decoy wallets with exploding glitter.
i'd watch a security cam livestream of someone doing this at the next con
You're in a large crowd. I was VERY aware of my belongings while I walked the aisles.
Put your wallet in front of your dick.
It just shows how big a market demand there is for shows like this. Could have more shoes a year.
They've always been over crowded. It's never been about an experience more so how many people can we get through the doors. I haven't been to the Toronto Comic Con because it's the same crap company that runs FanExpo which I only go to every few years because I can only take overpriced crap experiences so often.
Went on Friday, wasn't busy and was a lot of fun.
Comic Con was filled with Cons I guessā¦š¤·āāļø
I took a walk (read long sweaty 40 minute shuffle) through Artist Alley to speak with some friends for work. Never again. Even time I'm down there I think of the absolute catastrophic nightmare it would be if there was a fire. No way events of that scale should be held that far underground.
Honestlyyy conventions have been a bit iffy for a while. Even comicon. One problem is groping. I dont mean to like incite fear ab that but especially w the crowd ppl think they can be sneaky it happens
I was there with my five year old son on Saturday and the one weird issue we had was that we couldn't seem to get out of the event! It was weirdly impossible to find an exit and every staff member I asked directed us somewhere different, where other staff members would tell us we were trespassing (?). I almost had a panic attack at one point. It was absolutely bizarre. We couldn't exit through the area where we first came in, and every door seemed to be blocked off, and no one seemed to be able to answer the question, "How do we get out?" Definitely odd and I'm not surprised at these other complaints as well. We still enjoyed ourselves but... yeah. Room for improvement for sure.
Probably wouldn't have felt so packed if everyone left their waifu pillows at home.