Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by Greg2600 »

I think he HAS to take a step back! He ain't changing venues. Englund will be a mess but everyone knows what to expect. There was simply TOO much at this one.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by paphotoguy »

overthetop17 wrote: March 11th, 2018, 8:24 pm go back to how it all was when it started and make this a simple horror show with no major guests other than maybe Robert Englund type names of the horror world.....not good for people on here, but the horror peeps and his loyal followers will be there for sure. I expect Englund at the next show with some Elm street people scattered in...Kane Hodder of course and some random or obscure horror names from movies like "Funhouse" and "Nightbreed."
If he did this, I'd be freaking ecstatic! Don't get me wrong, I understand the thrill of meeting a mainstream "star" but you can meet those people at any generic comic con. I'd love to Monster Mania to scale back and become the best horror show in the country, just like it used to be.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Horror or not, can't have it where fire marshal is on the verge of a shut down, and people who drive hours can't even get in the door.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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If he did this, I'd be freaking ecstatic!
There ya have it...the horror people want horror names and they are happy with it being an all horror show even if no "Big" names are booked. I am not about trying to fill up cast posters with minor characters and all, but this seems very big in the horror world. If Dave decides to go back to booking names with just a few credits to their name and obscure horror actors and actresses his loyal followers will be more than happy and the rest of us will just pass.....
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Greg2600 wrote: March 11th, 2018, 10:31 pm Horror or not, can't have it where fire marshal is on the verge of a shut down, and people who drive hours can't even get in the door.
This is the point - when it's insanely oversold to a dangerous level and people who already paid can't get in, it doesn't matter if it's a pop culture con, horror con, Supernatural con, etc., it's still unacceptable. And the fact that Robert Englund, who gets one of the biggest turnouts of any regular guest on the con circuit, will be there next show, will be a test of what lessons Dave has learned from this.

And I have to lol at some of the more cultish of the MMania defenders on FB talking about how it wasn't the con's fault since they were "surprised" at how many fans showed up? That's laughable - the con obviously knew EXACTLY how many people were showing up! If you presell, say, 1500 admissions, and you sell 1500 more at the door that day, you have 3000 people at the show - it's not rocket science! And if the safe capacity of the Crowne Plaza is only, for example, 2000, then you KNOW you oversold by a thousand.

Dave's been running the same hotel for over a decade. He obviously knows the capacity, he knows the fire codes for the building, and he knows how many tickets he sold. The overselling of the venue was entirely the con's fault. To claim otherwise is being a Kool-Aid drinker.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Yes Robert Englund is considered a big name, but it's not something we have not seen before from him. I think the days of Dave suprising us with good guest lists in the eyes of casual horror fans is over. You will get your Tobin Bell, Robert Englund, Halloween Reunions, and stuff like that. I was really starting to like where Monster-Mania was going, bringing in guests that were better than Chiller IMO....but I don't expect much any longer sadly.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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"the fact that Robert Englund, who gets one of the biggest turnouts of any regular guest on the con circuit, will be there next show, will be a test of what lessons Dave has learned from this."
Englund will draw huge, but his line is always very controlled. They put him upstairs as most of you know and although the wait is long it is very orderly...If you don't have VIP for him, you definitely have at least a 3 hr wait for him.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Greg2600 wrote: March 11th, 2018, 10:31 pm Horror or not, can't have it where fire marshal is on the verge of a shut down, and people who drive hours can't even get in the door.
Goes to show you that even a convention isn't a guarantee. Wow just wow.

In hindsight I probably should have done Big Event saturday and MM sunday. But it would have meant dedicating more time and more money.

Another point, I'm sure Dave has a special deal with Crown Plaza. I wouldn't be shocked if they give him free space (or at least really cheap space) to have his cons. Cause an established con like that draws people to buy rooms, spend at the restaurant, drinks, etc. Whatever the case no way the fee he pays to use a convention center of some kind will be anything close to whatever arrangement he has with the Crown Plaza.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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overthetop17 wrote: March 11th, 2018, 11:21 pm
"the fact that Robert Englund, who gets one of the biggest turnouts of any regular guest on the con circuit, will be there next show, will be a test of what lessons Dave has learned from this."
Englund will draw huge, but his line is always very controlled. They put him upstairs as most of you know and although the wait is long it is very orderly...If you don't have VIP for him, you definitely have at least a 3 hr wait for him.
The entire upstairs area they used to put him in is now used exclusively for pro photo ops. So if they put him back up there, they have to relocate the pro photo ops somewhere else, which will logjam some other area.

If they have anything remotely close to this show's turnout, they have to completely revamp their setup.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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First off we wanted to say Thank You to those that attended the show this weekend. Obviously the turnout of people coming to buy tickets on Saturday was much larger than we’ve ever had before. We stopped selling tickets about 90 minutes before the Fire Marshall temporarily shut the doors for about an hour. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this caused anyone and we did our very best to get everyone inside as quickly as we could. I’d like to thank our staff for doing all they could during this time.
We will be assessing every aspect of the show as we do with every show including venue, guest lists, advance and day of show ticket sales, etc.
We’ve ready every comment made here, the positive, the negative, the angry and at times the insulting. We welcome and are taking into consideration all constructive criticism offered. We very sincerely appreciate all your support and will work hard to regain your trust in us for those who have been with us over all these many years.
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This is of course quite LOL since they are deleting and blocking FB comments in bulk.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by paphotoguy »

overthetop17 wrote: March 11th, 2018, 11:15 pm
If he did this, I'd be freaking ecstatic!
There ya have it...the horror people want horror names and they are happy with it being an all horror show even if no "Big" names are booked. I am not about trying to fill up cast posters with minor characters and all, but this seems very big in the horror world. If Dave decides to go back to booking names with just a few credits to their name and obscure horror actors and actresses his loyal followers will be more than happy and the rest of us will just pass.....
Yeah, pretty much this. There are dozens of pop culture shows in NJ/PA alone. I liked MM because it was different, not more of the same.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

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Greg2600 wrote: March 12th, 2018, 12:13 am
This is of course quite LOL since they are deleting and blocking FB comments in bulk.
The new spin is that Dave claims he read every complaint in the original 1000+ comment thread, but it was only deleted because it was "confusing" fans who were calling the hotel and thinking that Sunday was also sold out.

Of course, if that's true, fans must have also been "confused" about whether Randy Quaid was showing up, and what the floor layout was, because those threads were also deleted due to people posting complaints there after the original thread disappeared.

So now, many/most of the fans who were screwed out of money were banned from the FB, so the "official" thread is filled mostly with just the Kool-Aid drinkers who praise Dave for literally everything. There was one poster who said she was turned away five minutes after arriving, but put over Dave since she "still had a great time". WTF?!?

What is it about this show that makes some fans act like they're worshipping a cult leader? I never hear this kind of blind hero worship towards the guys who run HorrorHound, Days of the Dead, Mad Monster Party, Spooky Empire, etc.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by AJLe »

As suspected, even on the new thread, Dave is massively deleting most of the remotely critical posts, leaving only the "I had a great time - you're the man Dave!" posts to be seen. So much for the "I only deleted the other thread because it was confusing the fans" argument.

Apparently, if you have the audacity to ask for a refund for admissions or photo ops you couldn't use do to the con overselling the event, you're being "non constructive, abusive and threatening", and you are getting blocked/deleted.

I don't wish ill on any other fan, but IF the August show turns into a similar shit-show, and IF people get locked out, turned away, and miss hundreds of dollars worth of photo ops they already paid for, I really, really hope it's the "Branch Dave-idian" type cult followers on FB who are kissing Dave's ass with the "Shit happens - you still ran a great show Dave!" comments. It's easy to brown-nose the guy running the con when you're not the one getting screwed and it's only happening to others, but let it happen to them and see how they react on the FB in August.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by Greg2600 »

Well, we're not going to get any sort of clarity for a few months. I'm sure they will discuss on that podcast, but until we see who they end of booking for August, and what not. That being said, Englund and Chandler Riggs will already be huge lines. Dave for years was against pro ops, and frankly, he might have to scale them back again, as these seemed to cause as much havoc as anything else.
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Re: Monster Mania 39 Mess: "The Altamont of Horror Conventions"

Post by mikeyicon »

I got 2-5 MM shows left until I move on to the next thing. If they go back to what they were (doubtful), I'll go. If they become like comic cons or they have the same kind of big name list and stay at the hotel or become a big convention center show, than I got 0 MM shows left. Having Chandler Riggs and robert england NOW as these shows become more well-known, I don;'t ever go on Saturdays, but might think twice about even going on Friday.

Same with Chiller, this upcoming show is my 20th in a row. It's right down the street for me. I like the old-school feel, and would rather have 70's/80's has-beens but important to my childhood memories or niche actors as opposed to Walking Dead, Stranger Things, IT, or A listers. Should Chiller become like what MM became on Saturday, instead of hitting 25 shows and calling it, I'll be done with this as well. But wow, Vinnie Vincent,as a KISS fan, I'm excited and assume so are the thousands of other KISS fans. :)

To a lot of the people on here, no need to debate, MORE is MORE, I get it. For me, less is definitely more. This stuff was fun in the 90s' and 00's when it was niche. It's becoming a racket and too mainstream for me. To each his own, I'm just going to pursue other interests, I'm becoming content with the experiences I'd had. If I'm still doing this in 6 years, then I'm a blow-hard hypocrite. :)

Again, thanks to all for sharing your stories and photos to make me glad that although I enjoy them, so glad I didn't spend the time and money on this anymore. :)
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