Nan Desu Kan

They say it's a lottery, but let's be honest the same artist get in every year, they change out maybe 2-3 people. Staff is a little odd, but over all super nice and easy to talk to. The layout could be a little better, I feel like they could have added another row of artist, but that won't matter because next year they are doing at the Gaylord. It's a good place to people watch if you're not busy and people buy prints there which is good.

2015 saw huge changes to the AA for NDK and I think they're definitely for the better. With the new venue, the AA more than doubled in size, which means it's a lot easier to get in now, even with tables awarded to contest winners/guests. It's still a random lottery/semi jury, and the product rules are still the most annoying and convoluted I've ever seen at any con, but if you make sure to talk things out with the AA head (checking fandoms/product types) then you'll have a much better time trying to get in. The area head seems a little short/snippy with people, but she did check in on everybody at the con periodically which I can appreciate, and the rest of NDK staff have always been great.

For me, the layout was great, because regitration, main events, and most of the panel rooms were right in front of us, so AA was easily noticed. I was also facing outward towards the lines, which was even better lol. There are some tables in the back which were facing a wall though, and I don't think even facing the Angelic Pretty pop up shop helped them too much. I'd definitely hate to be stuck in those spots, and thus is the reason I can't quite give the layout 5 stars.

The venue and location of the con is much better now. Albeit we had construction which made it a little difficult to get TO the con, and Taste of Colorado happening that was making everything suuuper crowded, but I don't think it affected attendance all too much. There seemed to be a few hundred more people than there's been in the past since the attendance cap was removed, so I think NDK finally has a chance to really grow.

This con is local for me and I shared hotel with friends, so it was incredibly affordable to attend.

Overall I think NDK is shaping up to be much better, with a bigger Alley and new people getting flushed in, both artists and attendees.