Bal here, and here’s my recap from Saturday at Kollision Con 2012! Generally speaking, it was way smaller than Anime Central (not unexpected) but it was really nice that way! I didn’t sit in any panels (nothing really yelled at me to attend) but the fans were there, the facility was nice (freaking gorgeous), and there were some eateries in walking distance. I could hear the concerts, so the sound system certainly worked.
The size of the con was perfect for the size of the facility. It will be interesting to see what happens as this con grows. The Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley was tiny, but it had a good mix and some decent product. The video game room was actually bigger, and had a good selection of games from Sega Saturn to even a WiiU, so some folks tried out ZombiU and other games. I jumped in with my friends to play some Super Smash Bros. N64 style!
If you’re dependent on CTA and that’s how you get to ACen, you’re kinda out of luck here. Driving is a must, and it’s wayyyy in the middle of nowhere. My GPS got a workout finding the place.
If you’re curious about rates, it’s pretty inexpensive! The rooms come with a microwave and mini-fridge. Being only there Saturday, I can’t say how the rooms are in general. Everything looks pretty though! There are discounts for anime clubs, so just a thought.
As far as starting, Kollision seems to be on the right track. The location was good, but I can see Kollision out-growing it. The con was also very relaxed compared to the insanity I’m used to seeing, so again, a nice change of pace. My friend brought up a good point, he would be a little let-down if he flew in for it, but having driven from Wisconsin, he had a good time (and it was his first con!) so this could be classified as a con to get started with, if you want to think about it that way.