Was this the Best or Worse AX? I'm hearing mixed opinions. With all the crowds, lines, traffic, price increases and useless security checks, it felt like a big mess. Friends who went one day could barley see anything since half the day went toward DTLA traffic, parking and 2 hour badge pick up. But for those who were there all weekend, they loved it.
In my opinion, I liked seeing all the fans and how much the conference has grown since I first started going. 5000 attendees in the 90's to 100,000+ now. I was able to shoot with new cosplayer's and got some of my best AX shots ever even through the hordes of people. I only went for a day and had an Industry pass to skip the badge line. But there was so much going on that aside from the photo shoots, I only had time to beeline it to my friends booths to say hi before the Exhibit hall closed.
Will I go again next year? Probably yes. It's like playing in the Mud. You see it, you know it's dirty, but you jump right in anyway.