New Home, Who’s This?
As mentioned above, Anime Festival of Orlando has undergone quite a large update which was certainly a welcome change from last year. One of the biggest issues with last year's showcase was unfortunately the venue itself. While the Wyndham Hotel on Internation Drive is a local staple and honestly a huge community hub as it has been the home of several local events such as Mystic Con (MyCon), Anime Day Orlando, and VillianCon, the building, unfortunately, was in rough shape. Despite renovations to the venue hall and the hotel overall, con-goers were often hot, the vendor hall was pretty small, the artist alley was cramped and the rooms themselves weren’t the best.
While the Rozen Plaza isn’t the biggest hotel around, it’s certainly larger than the Wyndham International and Anime Festival of Orlando staff made pretty great use of the new space. The convention was divided into 2 sections with the main events, vendor hall, artist alley, and registration being hosted downstairs and panels, AFO’s Tabletop and Live Action Role Playing Game (TTLARPG) The Warriors of Orlandia, Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe, and other convention staples being hosted upstairs. AFO isn’t the largest convention, but it’s grown, especially after COVID. As the con has grown, the space at the WHyndam went from extra cozy to cramped in a hurry, but at the Rozen everything felt in its place, comfortable and yet very accessible. You could walk the entire con space in about 15 minutes give or take which was fantastic as the last venue space sort of split the event into two. The new event space really allowed AFO to shine in a way that even surprised us.
The General Attendee Experience
As mentioned above, Anime Festival of Orlando was very accommodating this year. Despite the convention
being split between floors, there were ample spacious elevators that could transport you between levels.
Additionally, the staircase was also spacious with plenty of space for slow walkers, folks using mobility aids,
or people who just needed a little bit more space while traveling upstairs. There was also quite a bit of floor
space and tape on the floor to indicate the floor of traffic so that you don’t run into people.
As for Inclusivity and Diversity, AFO certainly had everyone represented. Every kind of person was represented
and their voices were included in every aspect from the panels, to the performances, all the way down to the
volunteers and staff. It’s always a joy to see so many kinds of people being included and involved in running a
convention.
The staff experience was exceptional throughout the weekend. Staff were prepared with knowledge about events
and always seemed to have an idea of what you were looking for or how to help. This also included hotel staff
as they too were kind and very receptive to the general chaos of the anime convention. As far as navigation goes,
AFO 2024 probably had one of the simplest layouts for a convention of its size. It had a clear upstairs and downstairs
layout, with clearly labeled rooms for additional activities and a nice open space upstairs for meetups. It was
very easy to find exactly what you were looking for and realistically, you didn’t even need a map other than to
just navigate to the general area you wanted to be in. Staff were very helpful if you did get lost, but realistically
the chances of you doing so were slim, which is a good thing for a legacy convention in a new location.
As for what you could do once you found your way around the convention, the options were endless. If you
wanted to get into some light-hearted fun you could enjoy the game room which had the standard array of videogames
ranging from fun rhythm games to 2D fighting games. There were plenty of fun live shows and panels in the
main events area, and If you wanted to get into panels there were 6 rooms worth at any given time to choose
from. If you wanted a TTRPG experience there was room for that, as well as the Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe for a
uniquely cute experience.
Of course, there was plenty of shopping to be done in the vendor hall and open artist alley downstairs along with
the main events, however, one of the most interesting and original concepts at Anime Festival of Orlando is the
Warriors of Orlandia Tabletop and Live Action Role Playing Game that features a full card game unique to the convention
as well as an interactive Role Playing room where you can interact with game NPCs (Non Playable Characters), engage in
mini-games and crafting activities, and engage in the 3-day long storyline by earning points for your faction.
The Warriors of Orlandia experience alone is really something that deserves its own breakdown and review, but what can be
said without question, if you’re experiencing AFO and not taking time to try out Warriors of Orlandia, you’re missing
out on a one-of-a-kind experience.
The main event space was downstairs along with the artist alley, vendor hall, and 18-plus vendor space. Putting these
activities together is pretty genius as it’s also next to the food hall making a convenient super stop for you to shop, get
entertainment and eat. The Artist Alley was open to the general public which is great for the artist to gain some additional
exposure when available to non-congoers.
The vendor hall was split into two, a general vendor room where you could walk around and find a great variety of activities
including a pop-up escape room by Escape Room Express and great vendor booths such as Crooked Crescent. Additionally, the first part of the vendor hall had the guest track where you could chat, meet, and interact with guests.
The second part of the vendor hall is the 18-plus side which was hidden discreetly behind a deep blue curtain. It
required an ID to get to the other side as standard. On the other side of the curtain, the vendors ranged from hentai
artists, NSFW art, and decor pieces to smoking accessories. However, it also contained overflow vendors who didn’t
make it into the larger vendor hall for a few different reasons including waitlist or late sign-up (according to the vendors themselves).
Honestly, the 18-plus side of the vendor hall was a bit lackluster. Saturday was the best day to walk through as
they had cosplayers there to chat and take pics with and the vendors themselves weren’t bad either.
However, with the presentation, while there’s no doubt that the 18-plus side was probably well-curated, it was
underwhelming compared to the rest of the convention with all of the substantial improvements made.
Regarding the overall price of the convention, it was rather affordable for what was being offered starting at
$70 for early bird passes and $80 for a standard weekend pass. Tickets at the door or last minute were $90 so
it’s advantageous for you to grab your tickets ahead of time.
Convention Logistics
When it comes to the convention layout and schedule, AFO nailed it this year. They excelled in curating interesting and entertaining panels and activities all across the event. It was specified earlier, but honestly, the layout was phenomenal. If you wanted an actual breakdown of what to do, we didn’t realize it during the event, but the host Evently, who hosts AFO’s ticket sales also had the entire schedule available digitally as well. It’s nice to have different ways to navigate the con so the various options are a nice touch. It would've been fantastic for the digital schedule to be more widely advertised so that other folks were aware of the option.
Regarding safety, AFO provided standard safety with both hotel and convention staff being on standby. In general, there was plenty of access to accessibility such as elevators and wide staircases in the venue. There was also plenty of space for individuals with mobility aids.
As far as event management and communication are concerned, the event did a superb job of effectively communicating event happenings and updates to attendees. AFO staff created easy-to-follow signs and guides to assist guests and the staff was friendly and cheerful as they informed you or assisted. There was some anticipation that the venue might be fairly crowded as the venue, while an upgrade from the last event space is still a rather small hotel for the crowd that AFO normally brings out. However, aside from the initial hotel entrance, the event had a flow to it, and even when things became crowded, the staff did a great job of guiding folks to their respective places pretty seamlessly despite the general noisiness of the convention.
Getting into AFO wasn’t really too much of a hassle either, as applying for passes, purchasing tickets, and getting involved could be done conveniently through the Anime of Festival of Orlando website. Applications for things like panels and signing up to be a part of idol fest were all a breeze and straightforward in process.
Venue & Accommodations
Onto the venue itself, the Rozen Plaza and the Rozen Inn were pleasant hotels. The convention took place inside
the Rozen Plaza but had room blocks in the Inn as well. The staff of the hotel was kind and very helpful and
they took great care in accommodating as many needs of guests as they could. The rooms were decently affordable
with rooms starting at $145. If you wanted a different rooming option outside of the host hotel there were several
others in the general area and probably even a few Air BnBs around being that the convention is close to Internation Drive.
Parking was plentiful and had a wide range of prices. You could park at the hotel, which would be at the highest cost,
where parking per day was between $20 and $25 for those who were not hotel guests. There were also a few parking garages
in walking distance where the price was between $5 to $10 and there was free parking at Icon Park, but it can be quite a walk
for some. If you’re looking to attend next year, be mindful of the parking situation and plan, especially if you’re not an Orlando resident.
Food was accessible and affordable with there even food deals available under $10 for a decent bit of food. The variety wasn’t
too crazy but if you wanted something filling a cheap, it was available. Outside of the hotel, you could go further down I-Drive however
that might be more work than just grabbing food from the little restaurant.
Con Ratings and Final Overview
Anime Festival of Orlando’s 2024 showcase was the best showcase the convention has had yet with so many
amazing things happening, it honestly was difficult to document it all. We wanted to take out time a cover the highlights
of our convention experience! Our highlights include the engaging panels from Juno Cosplays and Casin Cosplays who
presented "Sailor Moon is for Everybody," and "Gundam: Easier than You Think". The Sweet Tooth Maid Cafe, the
Tekken 8 Tournament, Warriors or Orlandia, karaoke, and the panel "Growing as a Small Content Creator" presented by
Nathy Cosplays and More Cosplays Please. Additionally, AFO TV broadcasted throughout the event for those staying at the host hotel.
As far as places of opportunity are concerned, we mentioned a few throughout the review such as proper advertisement
of the digital schedule through Evently, but we’d also be interested in seeing a quiet room, med station, and cosplay repair station
implemented as we did not see them at the event.
The event was an exciting and fun experience, representing a significant upgrade from previous years and marking its best showcase to date.
It made excellent use of the new space, with the staff matching the elevated atmosphere. Despite its growth in size, the event still maintained
its cozy, home convention vibe. It not only accommodated all the basic needs of attendees but went above and beyond, leaving everyone eager
to see where the convention will go from here, us here at BN’K on Tour included.
Our final thoughts; should you go to Anime Festival of Orlando? Absolutely! Especially if you’re a Floridian. This convention is a
perfect size for beginner convention goers and just enough crazy for the veterans. We rate this convention an 8.5/10 this year and heck yeah to you making your arrangements for next year.
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