Nan Desu Kan 2022: Getting Ready

Here we are, just under a week out from this year's NDK. Once again NDK will be at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center. Here's your guide to help you get ready for NDK this year.

Tickets

If you haven't picked up your tickets yet you can still do so. Full weekend tickets will cost you $65 this year and individual day tickets will cost $35-45 depending on the day. For more info on tickets, check out: https://ndkdenver.org/registration/ .

The Hotel

So last year there were several negatives about the con and most were about the new location. It is understandable that a new location will go through some growing pains, but the Gaylord really let down con goers last year. First there was parking. Parking at this hotel in general is a mess. Everything from them not having enough parking space to actually serve a con of any real size to them way over charging. Then there is the food or lack there of it. The con did try to bring in food trucks to help with the hotel's in ability to feed a large con. Then there were all of the complaints that people were voicing last year about the rooms and how the hotel charged for things. So let's look at the key things to be aware of to help improve your experience.

    -Bring your own water bottle. Last year the water fountains were broke and trying to find water was really hard because they did not have water stations in the public areas. A few of the panel rooms did have water dispensers, but they were hard to find. I would recommend keeping water bottles in your room or car.

    -There are "restaurants/food court", a coffee shop and a gift shop. These are your primary places to find food. Expect long lines so try to eat at off times. Last year the Asian option was only filling their bowls half full, so be careful if you eat there. Also most of the places close really early in relation to how late the con runs. Do not count on them for late night snacks or drinks. I would recommending stopping by and making sure you get familiar with their hours. It looks like they will also be having a NDK Cafeteria that has some food that has good prices. Snacks still seem high and I would recommend that you keep your own in your room or car.

https://www.facebook.com/nandesukan/photos/pcb.10160673804217189/10160673798162189/

It also looks like they are moving the food trucks closer to the action this year which is an improvement over last year when you had to walk a good distance to get to them. https://www.facebook.com/nandesukan/photos/pcb.10160673804217189/10160673798127189/

    -Get there early if you want parking and be ready to pay high prices for parking. Right now it is looking like parking will cost $30 a day. This is the highest parking rates for this con I have seen and with the least parking options. The options were better when they were downtown, but the Gaylord is in the middle of no where. There are other businesses and neighborhoods a ways out, but you may get towed if you park in those areas. The hotel will have a free shuttle running to the RTD lot at 61st and Pena Station, but it stops running at 10pm which is before the con shuts down. They say it will run every half hour.

The Con

https://ndkdenver.org/nan-desu-kan-news/2022-schedule-map-program-book/?fbclid=IwAR3xIb3tL-IcF3aTjYrjIP0BNrWRuIyjUQKVcY-vU8jIbm3enusDZbFZwvw

The MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to know about this year, is yes, masks are required for all guests. COVID numbers are still not good and many in the otaku community have health issues. I would actually like to thank NDK for doing this because it shows that they are at least looking at things which other cons are not.

Last year the con had several issues around figuring out how to handle ADA and panelists starting their panels when they wanted them to run vs. what was scheduled.

    -For ADA in the past the con had at least one chair by each panel door and they could bring more so that people could wait by the panel line they wanted to get into. Last year though they switched to having a ADA waiting area. This caused problems because many times the people seating the panel rooms did not come and get the people waiting and they never got into the panels even after waiting. This was also a problem with Heather Martin and her starting her panels early. People had been waiting in the ADA area for her panel, but they never got the chance to get in since both of the make and takes she hosted started more than half an hour early. This openly blocked people protected by ADA from getting into her panels. I know that I at least made a complaint about this for her Saturday panel and then found out from other guests that she did the same thing on Sunday at that panel. I was shocked that the con would invite her back again since this was a form of discrimination against people with ADA, but maybe this year the con will keep a better eye on her and the issues around ADA in general. This is one of the major reasons why I go to cons, to see if they are ADA friendly or not. We'll see if things are better this year, but on this front I do not have high hopes.

    -This place is large and you will do a lot of walking. Make sure you have good shoes.

We'll See you at the con!

https://ndkdenver.org/nan-desu-kan-news/2022-schedule-map-program-book/?fbclid=IwAR3xIb3tL-IcF3aTjYrjIP0BNrWRuIyjUQKVcY-vU8jIbm3enusDZbFZwvw

Picture 1 From: https://ndkdenver.org/