Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix Official Launch Event Review
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix Official Launch Event
Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, CA
September 8, 2013 12PM-6PM
After seeing all the Facebook posts and the 3000+ RSVPs to the event, I decided to go to the event early. I was worried that the freebies, particularly the poster and pin, would be gone if I went there on time.
I got there around 9 AM and parked at the Disney Toy Story Parking lot since my brother had a free parking pass with this Disneyland pass. It was convenient since it was right across the street from the Marriott.
There were six booths in the room: Posters booth, Mural Contest booth, Game booth, Contest booth, the Demo booth, and the Photobooth. The pin, limited to 2000 only, were handed out as you walked into the room.
I rushed to the game line since there were plenty of posters to pick up later. I got too impatient though as I saw people winning at the Mural Contest booth, so while my brother waited in line and saved my spot for the game, me and Ada (No.i XIV from Finalfantasymerchandise.com) went to the Posters booth and the Mural Contest booth.
The stingy lady at the posters booth wouldn't let me get more than one poster. They had PLENTY of posters. I've read on the Facebook event page that the people who stayed until the end of the event got extra posters. Argh, I knew that would happen, but I didn't want to stay there any more longer since I was there early in the morning and I was dead tired.
The Mural Contest booth was a great idea. The mural consisted of big wall-sized photos of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, KH RE: Chain of Memories, and KH 358/2 Days that were broken up into square stickers. We had to peel off one of the stickers and look for a golden Mickey on the back to win. From what I saw, the prizes were of a framed KH photo and a Heartless Shadow Plush, and possibly other prizes I don't know of. We also got to keep the "piece of history" sticker and they gave a card holder to keep it in. Before entering, they stamped your hand with the four KH icons so that you won't try again.
After that, I joined up with my brother again at the game booth and bought the game. I got worried for a bit. The game was thin. I was wondering where the artbook was. But then I saw someone else open it and the game disc is inside the artbook and the artbook becomes the case itself. The Dynamic PS3 Theme was on a post card inside the bag with the game. The plastic bag itself was just gorgeous! Nice matte black with four shiny chrome KH icons. I tried to keep it nice, but that didn't work out.
You got stamped on after you purchase the game. The stupid lady stamped the poster I just got. She did it so hard that she almost creased my poster! She did crease Ada's poster so that made her a bit sad. That stamp was basically useless since it was the same as the stamp they used for the Mural contest booth. Anyone could've ditch the poster and go back to the game line and buy another copy (since the games were limited to one per person). Also, there were people who didn't even pick up the posters yet, like my brother, so he didn't even get a stamp at all. Um, what was that stamp for again?
Anyways. After purchasing the game and getting stamped, you immediately go to the Contest booth next to the Game booth. This was a very Japanese lottery style contest with a spinning wheel. A colored ball that comes out would win you a prize, which would be your choice of a T-Shirt or figure (that I know of, there could've been other prizes). I got a white ball so I didn't win anything. I actually spun the wheel too fast and the ball went flying. Oops.
I didn't want to waste my brother's time playing the demo. I was going to play it at home soon anyway, so the last thing to do was the Photobooth. This had to be the longest line of all the booths and was most likely one of the main reasons why they continued to hold a line outside. I was in that line for more than two hours. It was the editing and printing that held up the line. But at least the staff was nice and they made sure to give you a nice picture by fixing your poses. To be honest, I didn't really want the photo. I just wanted the card that holds the photo that they give you. It was nice. :)
The last two pictures above are the only pictures I took at the event. I should've taken more, but I didn't feel like it at the time... and that my phone camera is a piece of crap. As I waited in the photobooth line, every once in a while, the Posters, Game, and Contest lines became empty. After all the prizes were gone, the Mural booth became empty too. Periodically, they'd let a new set of people into the room and the lines would be full again, but that wouldn't last and they would become empty again for a while. It really was just the Demo booth and Photobooth that was always packed with a line throughout the whole event, or at least until I left, which was at 4pm.
And where was the "much more" Square Enix? Most the stuff that they mentioned on the launch event announcement was there, but that was it. It was said that Radio Disney would provide entertainment, but they weren't there at all. This could've been due to the last minute location movement, which was announced two days before, I think, but any DJ would've sufficed. Some music in the room would've given a more lively feel to the event. Also, SE really could've banked much more on this event. With 3000+ people that RSVP'd to the event, I'm sure that KH merchandise would've been flying off the shelves if they sold any. I thought that they would at least showcase some of their merchandise, such as the figures, but that didn't happen either.
I do appreciate the location movement from Downtown Disney to the Anaheim Marriott, even if it was very last minute. Here in SoCal, we've had this massive heat wave that lasted for several weeks. Most of the time at the event, you're waiting in lines (it's like Comic Con all over again), so being in an air-conditioned room was much more comfortable than to stay outside in the heat. Providing cold water to all attendees during the wait line before getting into the room was also a plus. Even though I feel that SE could've done a bit more with the launch event material and activities, SE slightly made it up when they considered our comfortableness before and during the event.
All in all, I'm super happy that they had the KH 1.5 HD Remix launch event here in SoCal. I love the freebies that they gave out. I hope that they continue to have more KH events in SoCal in the future.
Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, CA
September 8, 2013 12PM-6PM
After seeing all the Facebook posts and the 3000+ RSVPs to the event, I decided to go to the event early. I was worried that the freebies, particularly the poster and pin, would be gone if I went there on time.
I got there around 9 AM and parked at the Disney Toy Story Parking lot since my brother had a free parking pass with this Disneyland pass. It was convenient since it was right across the street from the Marriott.
There were six booths in the room: Posters booth, Mural Contest booth, Game booth, Contest booth, the Demo booth, and the Photobooth. The pin, limited to 2000 only, were handed out as you walked into the room.
I rushed to the game line since there were plenty of posters to pick up later. I got too impatient though as I saw people winning at the Mural Contest booth, so while my brother waited in line and saved my spot for the game, me and Ada (No.i XIV from Finalfantasymerchandise.com) went to the Posters booth and the Mural Contest booth.
The stingy lady at the posters booth wouldn't let me get more than one poster. They had PLENTY of posters. I've read on the Facebook event page that the people who stayed until the end of the event got extra posters. Argh, I knew that would happen, but I didn't want to stay there any more longer since I was there early in the morning and I was dead tired.
The Mural Contest booth was a great idea. The mural consisted of big wall-sized photos of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, KH RE: Chain of Memories, and KH 358/2 Days that were broken up into square stickers. We had to peel off one of the stickers and look for a golden Mickey on the back to win. From what I saw, the prizes were of a framed KH photo and a Heartless Shadow Plush, and possibly other prizes I don't know of. We also got to keep the "piece of history" sticker and they gave a card holder to keep it in. Before entering, they stamped your hand with the four KH icons so that you won't try again.
After that, I joined up with my brother again at the game booth and bought the game. I got worried for a bit. The game was thin. I was wondering where the artbook was. But then I saw someone else open it and the game disc is inside the artbook and the artbook becomes the case itself. The Dynamic PS3 Theme was on a post card inside the bag with the game. The plastic bag itself was just gorgeous! Nice matte black with four shiny chrome KH icons. I tried to keep it nice, but that didn't work out.
You got stamped on after you purchase the game. The stupid lady stamped the poster I just got. She did it so hard that she almost creased my poster! She did crease Ada's poster so that made her a bit sad. That stamp was basically useless since it was the same as the stamp they used for the Mural contest booth. Anyone could've ditch the poster and go back to the game line and buy another copy (since the games were limited to one per person). Also, there were people who didn't even pick up the posters yet, like my brother, so he didn't even get a stamp at all. Um, what was that stamp for again?
Anyways. After purchasing the game and getting stamped, you immediately go to the Contest booth next to the Game booth. This was a very Japanese lottery style contest with a spinning wheel. A colored ball that comes out would win you a prize, which would be your choice of a T-Shirt or figure (that I know of, there could've been other prizes). I got a white ball so I didn't win anything. I actually spun the wheel too fast and the ball went flying. Oops.
I didn't want to waste my brother's time playing the demo. I was going to play it at home soon anyway, so the last thing to do was the Photobooth. This had to be the longest line of all the booths and was most likely one of the main reasons why they continued to hold a line outside. I was in that line for more than two hours. It was the editing and printing that held up the line. But at least the staff was nice and they made sure to give you a nice picture by fixing your poses. To be honest, I didn't really want the photo. I just wanted the card that holds the photo that they give you. It was nice. :)
The last two pictures above are the only pictures I took at the event. I should've taken more, but I didn't feel like it at the time... and that my phone camera is a piece of crap. As I waited in the photobooth line, every once in a while, the Posters, Game, and Contest lines became empty. After all the prizes were gone, the Mural booth became empty too. Periodically, they'd let a new set of people into the room and the lines would be full again, but that wouldn't last and they would become empty again for a while. It really was just the Demo booth and Photobooth that was always packed with a line throughout the whole event, or at least until I left, which was at 4pm.
And where was the "much more" Square Enix? Most the stuff that they mentioned on the launch event announcement was there, but that was it. It was said that Radio Disney would provide entertainment, but they weren't there at all. This could've been due to the last minute location movement, which was announced two days before, I think, but any DJ would've sufficed. Some music in the room would've given a more lively feel to the event. Also, SE really could've banked much more on this event. With 3000+ people that RSVP'd to the event, I'm sure that KH merchandise would've been flying off the shelves if they sold any. I thought that they would at least showcase some of their merchandise, such as the figures, but that didn't happen either.
I do appreciate the location movement from Downtown Disney to the Anaheim Marriott, even if it was very last minute. Here in SoCal, we've had this massive heat wave that lasted for several weeks. Most of the time at the event, you're waiting in lines (it's like Comic Con all over again), so being in an air-conditioned room was much more comfortable than to stay outside in the heat. Providing cold water to all attendees during the wait line before getting into the room was also a plus. Even though I feel that SE could've done a bit more with the launch event material and activities, SE slightly made it up when they considered our comfortableness before and during the event.
All in all, I'm super happy that they had the KH 1.5 HD Remix launch event here in SoCal. I love the freebies that they gave out. I hope that they continue to have more KH events in SoCal in the future.