I do completely agree about the flawed system and layout of the con!
Note: Overall I think the con was great and well worth the money, but had its flaws.
I will probably post my full experience in my own thread, but here I will post what I didn't like.
Thereisnospoon basically hit the nail on the head.
There was simply not enough room around vendors to accommodate the amount of people present. I found it too difficult to move up and down any aisle. The popular vendors were impossible to see unless you spent 20 minutes waiting and slowly inching up to get a view.
Vendors did come unprepared for the crowd. Many vendors had sold out all the best stuff before I could even make it to them.
Also, not sure who was the genius who placed a very large garbage can in the entrance of the bathroom that caused people to awkwardly funnel through a small space only to bump into each other.
The voucher system was completely flawed. I spent 3 hours waiting in line inching up slowly.
When I was finally near the door, with aching feet and a burning sun above me, the fire scare happened and everyone was forced off the ramp.
When the line reassembled I ended up on the back. Having to wait around another hour to finally get into the building.
Putting aside the overly expensive voucher prices ($30 for Tara Strong, John DeLancie, and Lauren Faust; $20 for everyone else). All these vouchers should have been available to purchase online prior to the event. Getting a voucher essentially meant killing your feet and wasting hours that could have been spent in the actual event.
The line for the autographs themselves were also messed up. It wasn't at all clear how the line was formed and it also blocked one of the two paths to the 'mane hall' along with several vendor aisles.
I found the mane hall management to be stupid at best. Forcing everyone up and out prior to each major panel, only to let them all back in. So basically those lucky seats you just got, will not be there anymore after the staff tells you to go line up again.
The speakers (electronics, not people) were also poorly placed. You had to choose between good audio or good video/panel angle.
If you sat up close or in the center, you'd find difficulty hearing anything. If you sat near the outer parts, you'd hear fine but would be very distanced from what's going on.
I do hope they learn from this. They may have changed to a larger venue but the con was still managed and laid out as if they had a relatively small crowd attending.