So this will be my writeup to the event. This will be cross posted to other sites also.

MCM London was my third MCM Convention, and my second MCM London one.

I have to admit upfront, this one was not as good as I expected, but more details on that shortly.

The Days

Friday was, as always the quieter day of the event since people were still working.

But Fridays are normally very good for buying stuff because it's quieter

I found out from Jilly (https://twitter.com/JillyDutchie) that there was another kig in the same hotel as me, so we arranged to meet up. This kig was Kityoko (https://twitter.com/kityoko_) and was really fun to work with during the event, I was her handler during Saturday when she brought out her furhead and proceeded to charm almost all the convention goers. Even the police got in on the fun and pretended to arrest her ^_^

I brought two characters with me -- Jennifer (the Kingmask doll), and Jenny (from Bucky O'Hare)

I ran both of them during all three days of the event, posting ready pics on the Friday -- which surprisingly someone at the event mentioned on the Saturday that they spotted my IG posting Jenny ahead of the convention. Perhaps I should spend more time working on my IG presence? But the site is horrible to work with...

Saturday was.... horrendous. I know in general that Saturday is the busiest of the three days of the event but this was insane.

You couldn't even walk in a straight line down the hallway, which had very little air conditioning, so if you were in a fursuit or costume like I was, it turned the costume (and mask) into a sauna.

The side halls were marginally more comfortable, but the around 20 deg C heat didn't make it much more comfortable.

Sunday was much easier going. which was expected as some people either checkout Sunday as they only got a Saturday ticket, or go to the Sunday early, then head home for the afternoon. Also, some vendors close up on the Sunday either entirely or close up early if they run out of stock.

Costuming Experiences

Generally, Jenny had the most positive reactions. Understandable since she's a very toony, friendly looking character. Kids love her look because she's a personification of a cartoon from TV. Adults love her because she's a reminder of their childhood and the nostalgia is strong.

I had a Sub-Zero cosplayer ask me if the character was from Bucky O'Hare and it feels SO GOOD when someone recognises your character :)

And for the first time, someone actually asked me about the costume construction. Specifically, how the shape of the head. I simply told them it was pretty much a motorbike helmet.

Later, at the same place, a couple were giggling over my costume. They're probably of the opinion that only weird people dress up.

Also later, when I wasn't in costume, a visiting American (who I found out was from Dallas Fort Werth) happened to ask me about the event, probably because I wasn't wearing anything Anime related, he probably thought I was a "normal" person (oh, how wrong he was... ) so I explained about cosplay, anime, and about the event and how the event was purely about dressing up, that there were vendors selling their wares there and how some actually rely on events like this to survive, get their name out there and make a living on commissioned work.

Jennifer on the other hand had a mixture of reactions. Some were impressed by the detail of the costume, others were unnerved by the face. BJD looks are very niche and not everyone "gets it". But I loved being the doll. It also picked up the attention of a few professional photographers, so here's hoping I find them at some point.

Kitokyo also found Jenny in an IG reel the same day: [www.instagram.com/p/CeHNeH9...](https://www.instagram.com/p/CeHNeH9Dv_E/)

Not found anything on Twitter yet. And I don't really want to trawl through YouTube videos :P

Negative Experiences

Oh boy, where to start....

A couple of days before the start of the event, MCM notified that the East Exit of the ExCeL, which is entranced used by the Aloft, Hilton DoubleTree, Premier Inn would be closed and only people with accessible needs would be able to use that entrance. This pissed a LOT of people off, since MCM then recommended using the DLR. That's right, take public transport to go to the other entrance, and pay for the trip, costing £1.80 at peek, £1.60 off-peak or £6.30 cash:

Even more annoying, a construction worker then told me the single station journey would be free (which is contradictory to the screenshot above).

Not everyone could change hotels. Helenako managed to though: [twitter.com/HelenakoC...](https://twitter.com/HelenakoC/status/1527300722014191623)

Walking down the dockside was also not an option as that was blocked. Walking along the other side where the lorries go was an option, but when I tried to do that in costume, I was yelled at by a DLR staff and had to go up the stairs, but was then refused entry and had to take the DLR.

When I finally got in and walked through and got to the other side, there were bag searchers and security there, so the entrance WAS open. I asked if I could leave and return through this entrance. Security guy said as long as I have my pass, yes. But guess what, when I tried to return (with Kitokyo), a different security guy said unless I had wristbands, they can't let me in. So a completely different story. then when we looped around and again tried to exit through the East Entrance we were refused and had to walk all the way around and back. Security were not consistent through the event. Some would let you in, some would not.

The consequence of this was that all the crowds were trying to get in through the one West Entrance. MarioMeta (https://twitter.com/MarioMeta_cos) and I were stuck trying to get back into the event after taking some pictures outside together because of this mess.

By the time Sunday came round, security seemed to understand and as soon as I walked up the stairs to the entrance to go to the DLR, security spotted my pass and directed me to the entrance.

Mind you, as a consequence of the DLR requirement I can now say I've travelled on the TFL network as a kig and as a furry...

Another negative experience, though not one I directly experienced is the lack of security at panels. Found at these tweets:

[twitter.com/Satori_In...](https://twitter.com/Satori_Infinite/status/1530771583006121984)
[twitter.com/taste_soc...](https://twitter.com/taste_society/status/1530840761075367936)

Generally it was an enjoyable event, severely tarnished by some stupid management decisions.