UK PonyCon 2018: Merch Haul and Final Thoughts

This was a lot trickier to photograph than you'd think!

And so we reach the final part of my look back at this year's UK PonyCon. In a minute, I'll give some of my thoughts about it. First, of course, the merch haul photo! I was on a fairly tight budget this year, so it's not a huge one. If you've been reading along, you already know about the Team Custard picture by StewArt (BBQ) at bottom left and the cute little original canvas of Scootaloo by Jowy at bottom middle. The con book and asssociated Crystal Ball programme are pretty self-evident, too.

Other than that? Well, the 3D printed exclusive Britannia figure is at bottom right, sitting on the con tote bag. That has the same design as the con T-shirt at top left. Three badges: my VIP and general UKPC ones, plus a Scootaderp I picked up from somewhere. The A4 Fluttershy, Rainbow and Rarity prints are by Ponebooth. Halfway up on the right is one of the ultra-cute Fluttershy cards I bought from EileMonty. Oh, and there's a con badge in there too. :P One or two other things will be presents so aren't shown here.

It's EQUUS accredited now, too!

So that's that. Now, on to what I thought of UK PonyCon 2018. In a word? It was great. Of the seven cons I've been to, this was my favourite. The venue was pretty nice, spacious, light and very well located – and in most Octobers probably wouldn't have been as hot. The venue staff were excellent, there were places to sit down and rest, the acoustics for the concert were reasonable for a non-dedicated space and the cloakroom was handy. The one significant minus I'll get to in a bit.

UK PonyCon is a much larger event than it was in 2014 – when it certainly didn't have 1,000 attendees or 50 vendors! – but it seems to have succeeded in keeping its friendliness, multi-gen appeal and all-ages mix. Personally I wouldn't like it to get too much larger even if the committee had unlimited resources (cue hollow laughter from UKPC Towers), but balanced against that is the fact that it keeps on selling out. I suppose all they can do is to tweak things as seems appropriate; so far they've done a very good job.

Plushie Stacking was not an official event...

The Crystal Ball concert, 2018's (effective) innovation, was very nice and it looks like something similar may be back next year. There was an interesting question in the feedback form about this, asking how it should be ticketed. Personally I'd much prefer UKPC to remain all-inclusive, and would accept a modest bump in ticket prices for that. Things like the Escape Room this year (which did cost extra) were nice touches but peripheral; I'd consider the Crystal Ball much more integral to the main con schedule.

My least favourite option would be a voluntary supplement; those tend to make people feel under pressure to pay. If you have to charge extra, do so properly and ticket separately, as with the con meal. That said, BronyScot's Rock Nessie and the old Summer Sun Celebration at BUCK have/had no clash with the main con programme. The Crystal Ball did. Assuming putting it on Friday/Sunday evening isn't an option, that clash is still going to be there. Another reason for keeping things all-in.

The only shot I got of PrinceWhateverer, during his sound check

I was pleased with the number of events on the schedule this year, and the only major clashes for me were Crystal Ball/Pub Quiz and StormBlaze/EileMonty; luckily all of those ended up with good attendances. It was good to see a fair bit of G1 content, too. Apart from the heat, the event rooms were good: quite spacious, with decent acoustics and lighting too. The vendor hall was fine, with room to move between people shopping. Signage could maybe have been slightly better, but it wasn't too bad.

Right, now to the one real disappointment. The catering provision, though friendly and cheap, was not sufficient for the attendance. Nor was it reasonable to have only drinks on sale on Saturday evening, even if the pony-themed concoctions were fun. UWE in Bristol's café last year, also in a uni-run venue, was better in most respects, despite that con having a slightly lower attendance. Just because we're in a city centre venue doesn't mean we all want to walk through the rain to McDonald's to get an evening bite.

They could get a thousand people in here, right? Right?

I touched briefly on ticket prices earlier. This year UKPC kept Standard Adult Weekend entry at £35, the same as in 2017, by withdrawing Early Bird discounts. I felt that was a reasonable approach. It's always a delicate balancing act, as simple maths will tell you that above-inflation rises aren't sustainable indefinitely, but I would be okay with a small rise next year. Say the basic ticket is £39; that would be a rise of 11.4%, which should help to offset some costs. Supporter tickets at £49 would be reasonable, too.

Where should they hold the 2019 con? UKPC these days needs a big venue: I used to think Wolverhampton Grand Station could be an option, but it may be too small now. As for host city: four of the last five UKPCs have been in the East Midlands (Leicester x 2, Nottingham) or just above (Leeds). So looking at other options... Liverpool? Birmingham? Milton Keynes? Southampton? Swansea? Newcastle? Norwich? Wherever is announced, some people are bound to be disappointed. I do not envy the committee on this one!

Beachball shenanigans during "Awesome As I Wanna Be"

Finally, my highlight of the convention. Well, actually the answer is a rather sappy one: it was the magic of spending time with friends, most of whom I wouldn't know without MLP and some of whom I only ever get to see at conventions. Equally, the biggest downside was missing those friends who for various reasons were unable to make it. And you were missed. But if I have to choose one highlight other than that? "I am Octavia", of course. I will never, ever stop being thrilled and grateful to have had that chance.

There we go: Logan's rambly, waffly thoughts on what I truly believe has become one of the great fandom events of the year. No, it's not BUCK or BronyCon or AnyOtherCon. It's not supposed to be, and it's all the better for that. It's UK PonyCon. It stands or falls on its own merits, and judged on that score it most definitely stands. I had immense fun at this year's convention and it made me very, very happy to be in this fandom. That's something everyone involved in making it happen should be very proud of. Thank you.

The sun sets on UK PonyCon 2018