For those who have been to terminis and other Hp cons

[SilverSands]

I want to know from attendees honestly what do you feel the symposium may have to offer that Terminus doesn't (if you have heard of it/attended it in previous years). I would also like to know why you feel Portus is a better choice. I don't want to read any bashing. I just want logistic points of opinion.

I have already taken into consideration external factors such as proximity, transportation, schedule, expenses, and the plans of any friends & acquaintances. For me they both equal out. air far one is cheaper, but then when it comes to roommates then it equals out again @_@. So I am having a hard time on what other factors to consider. Though it sounds like Portus will be a bit more refined. not to sound like a snob.

So, I would love to hear form anyone who is willing to share.

[pevatsev]

I don't mean to sound like a snob either, but I think that Terminus, not Portus will be slightly more refined. Both are nearly equal in my opinion but Chicago has a very very large fan-base (Dallas does as well, but not as large). Also, the Narrate Conferences tend to be a little more...dare i say, intelligent. Obviously there are still events for everyone at both conferences. Perhaps it would be prudent to wait until Prophecy is over and compare what the attendees think. Prophecy was run by HPEF (who will be organizing Portus) and Phoenix Rising was run by Narrate. However, the final descision is up to you and I think that they will both be fabulous! Sorry, this comment is nearly useless.
Good Luck

[lupintonks85]

Well, I have been to both HPFE (Lumos) and Narrate (Phoenix Rising) Conferences. I had more fun at Phoenix Rising but only due to my being involved in fandom more and the location (Drunk HP fans taking over Bourbon Street throwing beads at 'normal' people, I mean Duh!). But, I think that the few problems Lumos had will rectify themselves by Portus.

Reason I am choosing Portus over Terminus is time and place. The hotel for Portus sounds wonderful. They even have a 24 hour restraint plus 5 other restraints not counting room service. At both Lumos and Phoenix Rising I ended up eating at odd hours of the night because my day was full of Harry Potter and not eating. The hotel also sounds wonderful in general. Then there is Dallas versus Chicago. While Chicago is on my list of places I want to go, I want to go there for Chicago not a HP con. If I spend all of my time in the hotel (which I will) I won't feel bad for not seeing the city (as was the case in Las Vegas with Lumos). And while the price is a little more for Portus I think it will pay off in the end. Plus I don't like waiting till the end of summer, which is the time for Terminus, with school starting back and other things. I think you will have a blast at either one. If you want put a poll on you LJ of you have one and ask you friends where they are going. Going with a group of people you know (even if only from online) makes the trip that much more fun.

Hope this helps!:D

[SilverSands]

Thank you, I appreciate both of your comments. I know my dilemma on choice making will become a little more clear once I hear from my friend who is currently lost in depth of the 7th book.

For me Portus would be a bit more of an adventure. I haven't been to Dallas in ages. Where as I have flown into the Ohare for the past 7 years for an anime con. Hmm I wonder which is closer to Terminus...Ohare or Midway. I know they have in on their site.

As far as online HP friends, I Don't really have any. I am just now involving myself in the fanbase of HP. i am sort of a late bloomer in that department. Once again, thanks for your words...they do help me ^_^

[CrazySasha]

I'm going to both. It's my present to myself for being such an awesomely stable and well-adjusted adult (especially compared to my childhood friends). I attribute a lot of my not-being-a-burnout on Harry Potter, and I barely ever spend money to treat myself to something amazing. I feel like I grew up with the series and become an adult.

[SilverSands]

lucky. I wish I could go to both. Though i cant justify it. Though I wonder, do you plan at staying at the hotels they are held at? and if so are you having roommates? I also don't think I could get time off for both. working as a dental assistant in an office that doesn't call temps in just causes everyone else to work short handed doesn't permit me to take much time off.

[Hedwig]

lucky. I wish I could go to both. Though i cant justify it. Though I wonder, do you plan at staying at the hotels they are held at? and if so are you having roommates? I also don't think I could get time off for both. working as a dental assistant in an office that doesn't call temps in just causes everyone else to work short handed doesn't permit me to take much time off.

Always, always, always stay at the official hotel, if you can afford to. I know of several people at Prophecy who stayed elsewhere and they admitted it was a mistake. As for cost, it's (right now) about $10 more per day for Portus registration, but $14 a day less for hotel. Overall, the cost (depending on Air) is virtually the same unless you just plan to only come for the formal programming and not do any of the added special events (Most of Portus' are included). If you can't do both, I would choose Portus (not that I'm biased or anything :cool: ) but it would depend on when you can get away and what events each has that interests you. The price will be virtually the same.

[kneazlecat54]

Hi-

I've been to conferences hosted by both the Portus organizers and the Terminus organizers, and I truly think there's no wrong choice. They're both highly organized, very creative groups of people. The problems at Prophecy (such as they were) should be easily resolved by the time Portus comes around, so I wouldn't have any concerns on that score.

Narrate offers an extra day of programming. This is great for those of us who come for the programming but it does mean an extra day of expenses and a longer time away from school or work. Narrate has tried in the past to use nearby venues to host evening programs, which means you have a reason to get out of the hotel and see your host location a bit. But I don't know whether that will happen this time or not.

I was quite sad that I couldn't go to PR, and I had such a good time at Prophecy that I'm trying to figure out a way to attend both cons next year, so you can see how good I am at making up my mind. :-) I'd say choose the one that's easiest for you. Even if you don't know anyone who's going to the one you choose, participating on the message boards will connect you to tons of people and you'll have friends waiting for you when you get to the con. Whichever one you pick, enjoy it!

Laura

[Epona]

Always stay at the host hotel. You have less fun and also are less involved if you don't stay at the main hotel.

I had fun at Prophecy but the communication could have been better. It also was on 4 floors at that hotel which was a pain. But I met a ton of people and am looking forward to next year. I volunteered a lot so I was busy.

I have never been to a conference of any type which moved stuff from Saturday to Friday at the last minute to fill a spot. It was not announced just posted at a table at (what seems) the last minute. I was too busy to check the table often so I missed things I wish I hadn't.

I am going to both next year. I am volunteering at them both. I love Chicago and have been there once. I recommend if you are there an extra day to go to the aquarium. It is supposed to be the best one in the country. That is the one thing I didn't get to do when I was there.

[Arwen17]

I went to Prophecy and had a blast. I think HPEF might be better simply because they've had more experience in hosting conferences than Terminus people. HPEF always keeps tracks of the problems of last conferences and improves greatly for the next. I can't say really say anything about Phoenix rising people, but I've seen videos on the internet and they looked like they were having a lot of fun. But I'll be going to Portus because I've never been to Texas and its at a good time. I've been to chicago a lot since its right next door to my state and Terminus is really cutting it close with school starting. I know Portus will be awesome because of going to Prophecy :D

[Hedwig]

I don't want to read any bashing.

Then don't go on the Terminus forums. :D

Seriously, I think it all depends on preference. I have seem some rather unseemly comments about Prophecy there and it makes me a bit sad that for 95%+ of the time, 99%+ of the people there had a wonderful time and still talk about Prophecy unfavorably on their boards (perhaps because they're excited about the Chicago event rather than any real dislike of the Toronto one, one would hope). They also compare it to Phoenix Rising, but PR only had ~800 attendees and Prophecy had 1400. That is a HUGE difference in how things are handled, especially considering the majority of attendees were at Prophecy 24/7 and at PR they had Bourbon St to lower the on-site population.

I certainly won't come out and say go there and not to Dallas, but that should depend on the events and guests offered at each and the closeness of the event (i.e. I wouldn't expect someone from Chicago that could only go to one event would go to Dallas...ok, 'I' would, but I can certainly understand why they would chose that event...otherwise, no).

Sorry, if this came across as negative, but I have consistently felt, since 2003, that there should be enough room for a lot of these conferences and now it seems like there are people blasting this group of hard-working people who are my friends and it's annoying and unnecessary. While I hope the organizers there aren't promoting such behavior, they are also not removing those type of comments. Each event has its place. There is room enough for all.

So, chose whichever one you think you'd be interested in and go there. I would love to have you come to Portus, but I don't think you should make up your mind for awhile until you hear all Portus has to offer.

[laenij]

I am hoping to go to both, considering I'm coming all the way from Australia. But neither really stands out as an obvious choice over the other, which I think has been the general gist of what everyone here has been saying. The main reason I am defintely going to Portus and still only considering Terminus is because my two best online friends are going to Portus! Which will be awesome to finally met them. But anyway. The main consideration I'm taking into account is who's going to which con.

And about the hotels, I am defintely staying in the offical hotel for Portus, at least! I went to Sectus in July and the one bad thing I could really say about that was that it didn't have an offical hotel, though I think most people were staying at the Raddison, but yeah. It was hard to see everyone after the con's activities for the day had finished because we all had to go back to our own hotels to sleep! Well, most of the time, anyway.

[Seeringrose]

I could have sworn I commented on this thread already but...

Ohh and just a warning, this is going to be me rambling about everything I can imagine from the event.

I went to Prophecy and I had so much fun, I think few other events would top it. I knew no one, and yet I was able to talk to anyone about anything. Thats the thing with Harry Potter fans, so warm and friendly... probably because we are all the biggest dorks on the world. The Ball was amazing, and when you stepped inside it was like you were taken to a diffrent place, I loved how the first song was Can you dance like a Hippogriff. No where else but these conventions, would I find so many people dancing and singing along to that song.

I signed up for Quidditch, and played Seeker since my whole team didn't show. I played it Lovegood style (barefoot) just for the heck of it, and I caught it.

The commen room was so much, fun the best place to veg when you had nothing to do. There was a chalk board and some cork borads fro peole to post things on. Never but these would I see signs saying "Lost Wand return to room..." "Will the person in the Death Eater clock retun my scarf" it was unbelivable.

I could go on forever, but then no one would read it. I guess what I am saying is go to witchever one you can, for there is nothing like being surrounded by people as big as fans as you are. I think it should be on everyone's list of " Things to do before I die".

I am going to Portus, because it is held by the HPEF. And I know at thier conventions I am garaunteed memories, that I will never forget.

The ONLY downside I see to these conventions, are the post depression, witch really does hit hard.

[Goldenbear]

I have been to three cons...The Witching Hour...Lumos...and Prophecy...and each one was great...unique...fun...and with it's own flavor...

I presented at both Lumos and Prophecy and found Fandom at both to be AWESOME...

You cannot make a wrong decision...both will be top notch with great organizers...;)

[sunnychristian]

I am considering both conferences, though I'm only signed up for Portus, so far. I have just one comment:

Steve Vander Ark will be at Portus.

That's enough reason for me!

http://www.stevevanderarkfans.com

*Sunny*

[laurenmyrtle]

For me, these conferences are more about seeing all of the friends I've made through Harry Potter that live all over the place. I don't usually get to see most of them unless we're at a conference together. So it doesn't matter to me where it is or who's running it. If my friends are going and it doesn't conflict with other plans, (like how my family made me go on vacation instead of Prophecy) I'll try to be at as many of them as I can.

But I went to Phoenix Rising, which was absolutely the time of my life, and Enlightening which was pretty cool because it was a family conference and it was so different from the other ones. I missed Lumos and Prophecy so I haven't experienced this staff yet, but I'm sure they'll be great too.

[David]

For me, these conferences are more about seeing all of the friends I've made through Harry Potter that live all over the place. I don't usually get to see most of them unless we're at a conference together. So it doesn't matter to me where it is or who's running it. If my friends are going and it doesn't conflict with other plans, (like how my family made me go on vacation instead of Prophecy) I'll try to be at as many of them as I can.


What happens when you have friends going to different conferences and you can only afford one though? :p That's the problem I've been having, though I actually might be going to both in the end after all.

[Bloody Harry]

yeah, i am in the same situation as david. know people going ot both . . .

[Lizz]

I attended Lumos, Phoenix Rising, and Prophecy. I had equal amounts of fun at each and really would like to go to both Terminus and Portus next year, but am making Portus my priority for a number of reasons.

While I've been to a few presentations at each of these conferences, I only really go for wizard rock. I run the Wizrocklopedia. I'm a wrock fanatic. While Wrock Chicago will be fun, I really don't like the way that it's set up. Also, it's the only real concert type event the conference has going for it right now. There'll be performances during their podcast, but that's it.

Portus has the opening concert with the Mudbloods and Moaning Myrtles, as well as the Common Room shows. The CR shows in Canada were amazing. As a dedicated wrock fan I like what they're doing by showcasing "lesser known" bands in the Common Room. I've seen Wrock Chicago's headliners many, many times and will see them many times in the future. They tour. I feel obligated to go to Wrock Chicago for the Wizrocklopedia, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it if I'm not able to work it out.

Aside from that, always stay at the host hotel. The food always sucks so don't get your hopes up. And I've never been really impressed with any of the keynotes I've attended. I almost fell asleep in one, actually. So yeah, I won't be going to any more in the future.

[Hedwig]

And I've never been really impressed with any of the keynotes I've attended.

I found the first one at Lumos to be really good. I couldn't stay for the 2nd one (ate and then left) and had to run before the Saturday fandom one at Prophecy got going (ate and left again...busy, busy, busy...). I guess it depends on the topics and the speakers. But yeah, even though I have liked the lunches I wasn't overwhelmed by the food either. Not why most people go to them anyway.

[Lizz]

Not why most people go to them anyway.

True, but I know a lot of congoers are so busy taking everything in that they only stop to eat at the provided meals. It's difficult to stay energized when the food you paid for is so lackluster that the price isn't even motivation enough for you to eat it.

[Hedwig]

True, but I know a lot of congoers are so busy taking everything in that they only stop to eat at the provided meals.

Exactly....don't tell anyone :D but one of my main reasons for getting the luncheon tix is that I am assured that I will eat. Since I already paid and there isn't usually anything else going on at the time, it forces me to stop whatever I'm doing and go eat. Still, I did like the first luncheon talk at Lumos (the only one I've been able to sit thorugh of the 3 I've been to) and I probably would've liked the other two talks as well, but I just didn't have the time to sit there after I'd eaten. :) And, honestly, I liked the food well enough. I probably wouldn't go back to a restaurant that served the same food and charged me that price, but I might if they had a comedian entertain during dinner or something. All part of the package. Not that the fandom experts are comedians or anything. ;)

[rachael_snapecast]

I have been to 3 conventions: Lumos, Phoenix Rising, and Sectus. Because I moved to Europe, I can only attend one convention in the US in 2008. I chose Portus simply because I think it is a better convention city. It is cheaper and the hotel seems to be a good central location for everyone. Plus I am from Houston and my husband has friends in Dallas. :)

[shannon_snapecast]

I think you can't go wrong no matter which one you go to. I've only been to Lumos and Phoenix Rising, and while both were great fun (and while I happened to miss all the feasts at both of them and thus never had any of the food) Lumos was more fun for me because I was there for the whole conference and really got into some of the alternative/free programming. It's the stuff you do on top of the regular programming that really makes things fabulous.

So keep your eyes open for the alternative programming.

If there's a meetup of a certain ship you follow, go to that. If you like cosplaying, see if you can find a group to cosplay with. I believe Droxy has started a community on LJ just for Death Eater cosplayers. If you're a total wrock groupie, hang out in the "common room" area to see if you can catch a free live performance. If you're of age, find the DrunkEaters (and don't forget your Dark Mark). There are also a lot of crafting people in the fandom, some of whom sponsor a stitch-and-witch where people work together on their scarves, hats, etc. I think some even sponsor a craft exchange.