The convention wasn't as well attended this year as previous years. It was a shame, but unsurprising. Hopefully next year's convention on the east coast will attract more people.
As I mentioned before, it is not an inexpensive convention to attend. I think cutting costs where appropriate might help make it more affordable. For example, who really needs yet another logo-printed canvas convention bag and badge holder? While they were both very nice, they could easily be replaced with less costly alternatives. There was a printed, bound good-sized booklet not the program) included with the convention bag that I frankly left behind. While it probably went along with the "Enchanted Adventures" theme, it was an additional cost. Another possibility: make the convention doll an option.
There were quite a few different workshops that I would imagine required paying a lot of room use fees. Instead of renting several smaller rooms, why not rent one larger room and set up different tables with different activities? Give each attendee a chance to choose 2-3 different tables to visit over the course of maybe 4 hours, and I bet the cost would be less. It just seems that with the current economic climate, the days of well-attended, relatively extravagant conventions are over. I know a lot of the folks who ran extra-fee workshops had kits and materials left over afterwards due to low attendance.
I hope the organizers of the MDC better take the economy into account while planning next year's con and take steps to make it affordable for more doll collecting folks.
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