I want to review starfury ultimates and I want to review it in an unbiased way as I always try to. But I do find it harder then most events to review in this way.
It’s no secret that starfury are my fav uk events . I have been going to them since 2004 and it’s rare I miss any of them. They have helped me build up my self confidence and meet the most important people in my life . My con family . So I am protective of the event. Not because I am friends with the staff or the organiser as we all know that Sean can rub people the wrong way and I don’t always agree with what he says . But because I have gained so much in my life due to this company .
As starfury has a similar structure all weekend photos, talks, autos so I will try to not repeat myself so I’ll break down into event sections and guests shows .
Registration and photo sales .
Usually there are some queues but this weekend esp Friday and Saturday these lines were immense. Hours and hours of queues. The attendees queuing from 6am !!! The team worked flat out and did an amazing job of getting through them all so quickly .
If you have never been to a starfury event before on the Friday there is an opening ceremony . This is where the attending guests come on stage one by one and say hello and this as this is the first time you get to see them it can be a very exciting time. A hint of what to expect.
Considering that many had only just flown into the uk they were very energetic and could see them being eager to start.
Once that ended and the room was all ready brimming with excitement the event split into two. The gold tickets off to the meet and greet and the regular folks like me that went to party.
I do love a party . The Friday party has become the weakest party over time as many are either in the meet and greet or want to get their sleep ready for the photos shoots in the morning . But it’s still a fun time and I don’t let that dance floor be left empty too long .
Alas my back was hurting a lot so I couldn’t be as active as I usually am but threw down some shapes and did the usual con dances .
The parties at starfury are one of my fav parts of the weekend. Not only as I love dancing but it’s also where can meet new people and share the community which is a big part of what starfury is about.
Saturday photo sessions.
I have been volunteering as a steward for many years at starfury and photo sessions is my usual area to help out.
Being a steward at starfury is a great experience, you get to interact with more attendees and make new friends. Get to view the photo sessions being taken and. Experience the atmosphere that brings.
There were 4 photo studios this time one for each show
Jessica jones
Agents of shield
Dc verse
Supergirl
I didn’t get any photos with the dc verse guys so I can’t comment on how that was run or how the guests were.
The photo sessions were busy and -as they often do -overran . But the guests were fun and loved it . Doing poses and cuddles.
I was working on supergirl photo sessions on the Saturday morning and the guests were wonderful. There was no pose they wouldn’t do and they were even there to comfort the attendees who were a bit over whelmed by the experience. Usually the single shots are the big seller but wow that Sanvers duo shoot was so busy .
Sunday I was with the shield guests and although you can see the supergirl cast are close they have nothing on these guys . So much energy and interaction between them. There was a few delays due to various clashes and the changes to the many combos offered but all photos were taken and the guests were happy to stay and make sure no one missed out.
I only dipped into the Jessica jones photo sessions when I had to get my pics with them.
Kristen wasn’t as warm as I had hoped . She didn’t appear to like to be close or be touched which is fine but as I had to rush in to get the photo and then run back to my stewarding area I never got to see her interact to know this so I tried to put my arm around her and it was a bit awkward.
Carrie was nice tho, still quite reserved but pleasant.
Thought the one thing that happened at the photo sessions that I have never seen happen before,was on the Sunday a cover was put up to block the view of the supergirl cast photos being taken . This was because “fans” were taking sneaky photos and videos of the guests . It’s sad to see this selfish entitlement becoming more and more frequent .. more in that later .
There have been posts popping up with some complaints regarding the photo sessions mostly to do with clashes and not as many updates between rooms. It is sadly an effect of large number of attendees and guests things do clash and it gets chaotic.
Having a photo room at the other end of the hotel didn’t work as it was too far to run between them but sometimes you just have to work with the building your given and do all you can to minimise the issues.
The auto sessions
Again these were broken down into show specific groups with half the the attendees planned to see 2 groups per day and the day tickets to try to fit in as much as possible .
The one complaint that has been brought up in the Facebook groups is that guests were not allowed to personalise the autos. This information was more like Chinese whispers at the start as I only found out when I got to a guest table and was told they couldn’t do them. It has been explained since that it was the decision of the event and the actors so they could maximise the amount of time and get as many attendees through as possible .
I am not overly fussed about personalisation tho I do like my quotes on my pops but overall it’s more of an if it happens it happens response from me, but I do understand why people were upset as it can make an auto seem more personal . The main complaint was that it wasn’t mentioned prior to the sessions and it wasn’t told to the attendees in the lines either .
The Jessica jones session - they were the quickest room by far as there was only the two of them. I had a brief chat with Kristen about wanting a don’t trust the B in apt 23 pop and she loved the idea and thinks we should get that tweeted out to get made. She was a lot more engaging then she had been at the photo sessions and was nice to talk to.
Carrie was also quiet brief but we had a nice little mention of the movie memento and I got her to write “dodge this “ on my trinity pop.
The DC verse session
As Willa was an extra guest she was not free to any ticket holder so her queue was less then the others . We had a quick chat about her last episodes and she personalised an auto for my friend.
Maggie - nice warm and always smiling people love her version of poison ivy and we all agree the recasting made no sense
Violet - she lived up to her name well. She was a very quick singer. I tried to engage in a chat but she moved on to the next item before I managed to move away fully . But she liked that I liked her most recent flash episode
Paul - this man is amazing every year he comes back and gives and he gives . He takes time with every attendee giving them his full attention . We spoke about his new show - he plays a grumpy cop who has a psychic daughter. Sounds very interesting and like he said he knows how to play that right.
Agents of shield
Elisabeth - she is really sweet . She always just seems so amazed by it all and so sweet . Plus she remembered me from last year. Move over fitz new guy in town. Gave her the honour of being the first to sign my new poster
Brett - always a pleasure and a delight to talk to. It is a shame he’s not on the show anymore
BJ - he has so much energy and just so happy to be around people . It’s infectious . Spoke about how great his character was and that although was sad he died was a good way to go and a real shock . Plus was great to see his return in season 4
Max - such a down to earth guy talked about how his character had been developed and how this season he has been so well used
Mallory - she was friendly but brief and ever so beautiful. She is happy that her character was well received
I love my poster that I started this weekend one of my fav pieces.
Supergirl
Briana - she is just crazy and just gives her all to the fans
Jeremy - was quiet , did try to discuss his recent Wynn episode and that its good to see more of his back story and how it’s good that at least Wynn gets more screen time then James Olsen
Floriana - she was rushed but still took the time to ask me if was enjoying the event and that she was having a fun time
Chyler was very busy - taking time with all the attendees . She really goes that extra mile
The panels .
Due to my stewarding and then the auto sessions I missed a lot of them . But I was lucky enough to catch a few
The B team ( max and Briana )
I only caught the last half of this talk but they had a good chemistry together.
Supergirl panel
This was the one I was worried about due to all the pre con antics in the facebooks groups . With the savers fans being very vocal about their relationship and I was concerned that it would take over the talk. Luckily it didn’t . Chyler did do the most of the talking as she has so many deep answers and you can see that she is very passionate about the show and her character. They are a really close cast and they seemed to be comfortable together .
Jessica jones
This was my must see panel. I have been a fan of both actresses for a long time . They were a lot more open then I expected and was a good talk .
I wish I had been able to see more of the panels but the drawback to an event with this many guests is that to get all done there are clashes.
The closing ceremony is a very emotional part of the weekend . Everyone is exhausted and sad ready for the end . Sean may not be everyone’s cup of tea but his speech at the end of every event resonates to all. That this is a community . That no one cares about your gender , race , sexuality etc we are all just fans. This is how the world should be.
This is why the online dramas from entitled fans gets everyone so worked up. The community is not meant to be selfish . We are supposed to help and support each other . Thankfully other then the recording of talks and on photo rooms I didn’t witness any other concerns from that crowd . But even now we have people online boasting how they filmed the talk and how they don’t care it was against the rules .
Overall the event was good , great value for tickets , autos and photoshoots. Fun guests but it couldn’t top the awesomeness of last year . Ultimates 2 was one of the best cons for many years. Plus I not a fan of the larger Cons . There is just too much to do and less time to relax and enjoy the time with friends .
There were many guests this weekend and the starfury team worked extra hard to make sure no one missed out on anything . It’s not an easy job to work with those numbers but they did well.
Communication got better over the weekend , the new app and the update sheets helped a lot . Just took time to get used to it and get Over some tech issues .
All in all a good 8/10 for the event and has set a high benchmark for superhero related events for this year.
No matter if your a fan of this company or not you can’t argue at the level of guests that they had. Plus where else would you get guests dancing with attendees at the parties ?
Roll on ultimates 4 2019
It’s no secret that starfury are my fav uk events . I have been going to them since 2004 and it’s rare I miss any of them. They have helped me build up my self confidence and meet the most important people in my life . My con family . So I am protective of the event. Not because I am friends with the staff or the organiser as we all know that Sean can rub people the wrong way and I don’t always agree with what he says . But because I have gained so much in my life due to this company .
As starfury has a similar structure all weekend photos, talks, autos so I will try to not repeat myself so I’ll break down into event sections and guests shows .
Registration and photo sales .
Usually there are some queues but this weekend esp Friday and Saturday these lines were immense. Hours and hours of queues. The attendees queuing from 6am !!! The team worked flat out and did an amazing job of getting through them all so quickly .
If you have never been to a starfury event before on the Friday there is an opening ceremony . This is where the attending guests come on stage one by one and say hello and this as this is the first time you get to see them it can be a very exciting time. A hint of what to expect.
Considering that many had only just flown into the uk they were very energetic and could see them being eager to start.
Once that ended and the room was all ready brimming with excitement the event split into two. The gold tickets off to the meet and greet and the regular folks like me that went to party.
I do love a party . The Friday party has become the weakest party over time as many are either in the meet and greet or want to get their sleep ready for the photos shoots in the morning . But it’s still a fun time and I don’t let that dance floor be left empty too long .
Alas my back was hurting a lot so I couldn’t be as active as I usually am but threw down some shapes and did the usual con dances .
The parties at starfury are one of my fav parts of the weekend. Not only as I love dancing but it’s also where can meet new people and share the community which is a big part of what starfury is about.
Saturday photo sessions.
I have been volunteering as a steward for many years at starfury and photo sessions is my usual area to help out.
Being a steward at starfury is a great experience, you get to interact with more attendees and make new friends. Get to view the photo sessions being taken and. Experience the atmosphere that brings.
There were 4 photo studios this time one for each show
Jessica jones
Agents of shield
Dc verse
Supergirl
I didn’t get any photos with the dc verse guys so I can’t comment on how that was run or how the guests were.
The photo sessions were busy and -as they often do -overran . But the guests were fun and loved it . Doing poses and cuddles.
I was working on supergirl photo sessions on the Saturday morning and the guests were wonderful. There was no pose they wouldn’t do and they were even there to comfort the attendees who were a bit over whelmed by the experience. Usually the single shots are the big seller but wow that Sanvers duo shoot was so busy .
Sunday I was with the shield guests and although you can see the supergirl cast are close they have nothing on these guys . So much energy and interaction between them. There was a few delays due to various clashes and the changes to the many combos offered but all photos were taken and the guests were happy to stay and make sure no one missed out.
I only dipped into the Jessica jones photo sessions when I had to get my pics with them.
Kristen wasn’t as warm as I had hoped . She didn’t appear to like to be close or be touched which is fine but as I had to rush in to get the photo and then run back to my stewarding area I never got to see her interact to know this so I tried to put my arm around her and it was a bit awkward.
Carrie was nice tho, still quite reserved but pleasant.
Thought the one thing that happened at the photo sessions that I have never seen happen before,was on the Sunday a cover was put up to block the view of the supergirl cast photos being taken . This was because “fans” were taking sneaky photos and videos of the guests . It’s sad to see this selfish entitlement becoming more and more frequent .. more in that later .
There have been posts popping up with some complaints regarding the photo sessions mostly to do with clashes and not as many updates between rooms. It is sadly an effect of large number of attendees and guests things do clash and it gets chaotic.
Having a photo room at the other end of the hotel didn’t work as it was too far to run between them but sometimes you just have to work with the building your given and do all you can to minimise the issues.
The auto sessions
Again these were broken down into show specific groups with half the the attendees planned to see 2 groups per day and the day tickets to try to fit in as much as possible .
The one complaint that has been brought up in the Facebook groups is that guests were not allowed to personalise the autos. This information was more like Chinese whispers at the start as I only found out when I got to a guest table and was told they couldn’t do them. It has been explained since that it was the decision of the event and the actors so they could maximise the amount of time and get as many attendees through as possible .
I am not overly fussed about personalisation tho I do like my quotes on my pops but overall it’s more of an if it happens it happens response from me, but I do understand why people were upset as it can make an auto seem more personal . The main complaint was that it wasn’t mentioned prior to the sessions and it wasn’t told to the attendees in the lines either .
The Jessica jones session - they were the quickest room by far as there was only the two of them. I had a brief chat with Kristen about wanting a don’t trust the B in apt 23 pop and she loved the idea and thinks we should get that tweeted out to get made. She was a lot more engaging then she had been at the photo sessions and was nice to talk to.
Carrie was also quiet brief but we had a nice little mention of the movie memento and I got her to write “dodge this “ on my trinity pop.
The DC verse session
As Willa was an extra guest she was not free to any ticket holder so her queue was less then the others . We had a quick chat about her last episodes and she personalised an auto for my friend.
Maggie - nice warm and always smiling people love her version of poison ivy and we all agree the recasting made no sense
Violet - she lived up to her name well. She was a very quick singer. I tried to engage in a chat but she moved on to the next item before I managed to move away fully . But she liked that I liked her most recent flash episode
Paul - this man is amazing every year he comes back and gives and he gives . He takes time with every attendee giving them his full attention . We spoke about his new show - he plays a grumpy cop who has a psychic daughter. Sounds very interesting and like he said he knows how to play that right.
Agents of shield
Elisabeth - she is really sweet . She always just seems so amazed by it all and so sweet . Plus she remembered me from last year. Move over fitz new guy in town. Gave her the honour of being the first to sign my new poster
Brett - always a pleasure and a delight to talk to. It is a shame he’s not on the show anymore
BJ - he has so much energy and just so happy to be around people . It’s infectious . Spoke about how great his character was and that although was sad he died was a good way to go and a real shock . Plus was great to see his return in season 4
Max - such a down to earth guy talked about how his character had been developed and how this season he has been so well used
Mallory - she was friendly but brief and ever so beautiful. She is happy that her character was well received
I love my poster that I started this weekend one of my fav pieces.
Supergirl
Briana - she is just crazy and just gives her all to the fans
Jeremy - was quiet , did try to discuss his recent Wynn episode and that its good to see more of his back story and how it’s good that at least Wynn gets more screen time then James Olsen
Floriana - she was rushed but still took the time to ask me if was enjoying the event and that she was having a fun time
Chyler was very busy - taking time with all the attendees . She really goes that extra mile
The panels .
Due to my stewarding and then the auto sessions I missed a lot of them . But I was lucky enough to catch a few
The B team ( max and Briana )
I only caught the last half of this talk but they had a good chemistry together.
Supergirl panel
This was the one I was worried about due to all the pre con antics in the facebooks groups . With the savers fans being very vocal about their relationship and I was concerned that it would take over the talk. Luckily it didn’t . Chyler did do the most of the talking as she has so many deep answers and you can see that she is very passionate about the show and her character. They are a really close cast and they seemed to be comfortable together .
Jessica jones
This was my must see panel. I have been a fan of both actresses for a long time . They were a lot more open then I expected and was a good talk .
I wish I had been able to see more of the panels but the drawback to an event with this many guests is that to get all done there are clashes.
The closing ceremony is a very emotional part of the weekend . Everyone is exhausted and sad ready for the end . Sean may not be everyone’s cup of tea but his speech at the end of every event resonates to all. That this is a community . That no one cares about your gender , race , sexuality etc we are all just fans. This is how the world should be.
This is why the online dramas from entitled fans gets everyone so worked up. The community is not meant to be selfish . We are supposed to help and support each other . Thankfully other then the recording of talks and on photo rooms I didn’t witness any other concerns from that crowd . But even now we have people online boasting how they filmed the talk and how they don’t care it was against the rules .
Overall the event was good , great value for tickets , autos and photoshoots. Fun guests but it couldn’t top the awesomeness of last year . Ultimates 2 was one of the best cons for many years. Plus I not a fan of the larger Cons . There is just too much to do and less time to relax and enjoy the time with friends .
There were many guests this weekend and the starfury team worked extra hard to make sure no one missed out on anything . It’s not an easy job to work with those numbers but they did well.
Communication got better over the weekend , the new app and the update sheets helped a lot . Just took time to get used to it and get Over some tech issues .
All in all a good 8/10 for the event and has set a high benchmark for superhero related events for this year.
No matter if your a fan of this company or not you can’t argue at the level of guests that they had. Plus where else would you get guests dancing with attendees at the parties ?
Roll on ultimates 4 2019