Now with that said I had heard some negative things about past Horrorhounds in Cincinnati, but what people sometimes complain about is typical con things and if you have been to a con before then you expect them. Plus the past cons had taken place in a hotel and this would be in a convention center so logically there would be more room than what a hotel could provide. I arrived on Saturday almost an hour before early entry and the line to get into the convention was literally wrapped around the building and down the street. This line was also going into 2 different directions on each side and there were no signs to indicate where the line started, ended or a line for early admission. With no direction I randomly asked someone where the line was for early admission and I was told I had to go inside and get a wrist band and come outside and stand in line to get in. So, I went into the convention center found the table for wrist bands, got my wrist band and I asked a HH worker where the line was for early entry since I had my wrist band and I was told you can just stay in the convention center. Okay that was easy and now on to find Norman Reedus I knew he would be the longest line of the day so I wanted to get into his line first thing. Problem was there were no signs showing where he was in the convention center. I had to walk all over the place trying to find him. I finally found a group of people that were looking for him too and finally we found the room he was in. They did have chairs for you to sit while you wanted for the cast to appear. In this room they had Norman, Sarah who plays Lori and Jon who played Shane. So, count that with me that is 3 Walking Dead cast members in that room. I went through Reedus's line which took about 45 minutes walked two steps over and got in Sarah's line and waited about an hour for her. When I left the room I saw another line forming so I asked a HH worker whose line this was for he said The Walking Dead....okay who from the Walking Dead....he said I don't know I think all 7 of them.....really because I just walked out of a room that had 3 of them. I should have known things were going to go downhill from there. The wonderful con experience I had had in the past was turning into nothing but a chaotic unorganized mess. Most of the time was spent running around trying to find where the cast was located, which most of the HH workers had no idea so it was better to just ask convention goers. It seemed only Reedus and Michael Rooker had someone organizing their lines to keep them moving. Beyond that people couldn't figure out whose line they were in, you couldn't tell if people were actually standing in a line for someone or just trying to take picture or just standing there taking up space. Once in awhile you would have a HH worker that helped organize the line and keep it in order which lasted about 5 minutes and then they were gone and I didn't ever see them again. By the end of the day I had gotten 5 autographs on my poster and I was completely over this con.
I have been to several HH cons in the past and really enjoyed them, but this was the most unorganized mess of a con I had ever been too. The convention center seemed nothing more than a hotel without the rooms attached to it. It was just banquet style rooms that could not accommodate the massive amount of people. Apparently this con sold out, but they failed to communicate that on their website or in any other way so those that had stayed in line for hours or drove from 6 hours away were told at the door that it was sold out. On Friday from which I hear was the worst day due to the fact that their server crashed which had people standing in line for up to 4 hours. This con could have greatly been approved if HH had better communicate with its staff so they at least knew where all the people were in the room. It needed signs directing people to various locations and better line and crowd control.
Overall it was a disappointing con, but I did get the signatures I wanted and picked up a few items in the vendor's table. Would I go back to a Horrorhound convention....yes I would. I just hope the next time they have improved.
