NDK 2025: Missing the Con

Picture From: https://www.nandesukan.org/

So....normally today I would be getting ready for a busy con weekend, but not this year. I have been attending this con for at least 20 years at different locations, and this is the first year that I am choosing not to go. I love the con, it holds many memories for me, but not the current venue, the Gaylord Hotel. This location has managed to make each year that the con has been there a nightmare. Everything from the hotel not staying on top of the trash, overcharging rooms/lots of hidden or extra fees, water fountains not working, parking hell... the list goes on and on. Personally the hotel owes me money. Last year I was promised a refund by a staff member for being miss charged parking, but that refund never happened and calling in to get help lead to nothing. The hotel said that the con had agreed to charge con goers a flat day rate, but when I spoke to the head of the con he told me that it wasn't true and that the hotel was not honoring the contract they had. I'm sorry, but I totally believe the con over the hotel considering all of the public negative things that this hotel has racked up over the years. This is the same hotel where the HVAC system collapsed on pool goers. 

This video shows that the people injured in the accident were lucky that first responders were already in the building and how the hotel would not talk about what happened. The hotel likes to pretend that this didn't happen, but it leaves questions around what else could happen due to structural 'issues'.

This video is good because it shows the inside the pool area so that you can get an idea of how bad this situation really was. The pieces of the HVAC that fell were massive.

I know that many regular con goers are going to skip the con this year and have publicly said so on social media. I have decided not to return to NDK unless they change venues (I'll also never attend any other event held at the Gaylord). I can only hope that when their contract runs out with the hotel that they find a new venue. I'm not sure how long the contract is that the con has, but this location has created bad experiences for too many con goers. I can only hope that the con will listen to its attendees and find a new venue. At this point I can only say good by and I hope that they go somewhere else.

Below are some of my videos that I have posted over the years of that failures of the Gaylord Hotel during NDK.

#ndk #ndkdenver #ndk2025 #gaylord #animecon