Atlanta 2026 and the furries Wed May 13 2026 Furry Weekend Atlanta and how it can do better in the future! Maybe get a furry tech team :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atlanta 2026 and the furries ============================ Published Today - 20 min read Furry Weekend Atlanta has been in my circuit of events to attend each year and for the first time, it seems to have shrank! They reported 17,301 people this year while last it was around 17,700. A combination of last year's breaking-at- the-seams experience and the politics of today affecting international travel meant that folks I saw last year weren't available this year. Unfortunate. But hey, there were improvements and places for more improvements! So let's get to the unsolicited feedback I give to cons. Before the convention --------------------- Did you know that their "MyFWA" account system doesn't make it very obvious that you've already registered or that a registration already exists with your exact name, birth date, and address on the same account? Yup, I jumped the gun on their marketing and registered twice thinking I forgot to earlier. Had to get a refund for one. Oops! But also, that should not have happened. A simple detect on duplicate birth day on the same account to say "Hold up, there might be a duplicate are you sure?" and other signals like listing your registrations upon sign in would prevent that. Next up, the virtual queue. FWA is at a scale where physical events do not have the physical space to queue 3000+ people. Last year, a virtual queue system was implemented through a third party and it was so ineffective on site that attendees weren't able to get into constrained spaces like Dealers Den when they wanted to and the "Moonlight Festival" was so terribly mismanaged that I missed out. /[cendyne: wet]----------------------------------------------------------------\ | I am not going to queue outside in the rain because you all can't plan where | | lines go and the fire marshal tells you no. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /[cendyne: handsome]-----------------------------------------------------------\ | The "Moonlight Festival" is an adult and body positive event that doesn't | | cross the line of sexual activity in a public space. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ They brought in another virtual queue provider this year and the only place I really saw it used was for the Moonlight Festival. Their provider, Waitwhile, had some sort of iframe integration with the MyFWA site and it took 90 minutes of active attention to try to get a spot reserved. The provider had downtime at the critical moment, giving 429 responses every 15 seconds. I should not have to spend more time virtually in line than I would on site. /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Furry Weekend Atlanta: Nowhere Inn Between | May 7-10, 2026 | | @furryweekend.com | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Hey Y'all! | | | | We're very sorry for the challenges today with the Moonlight tickets - Our | | ticket platform experienced challenges with the load. They have enabled slow | | mode, so tickets are being issued, just slower then anticipated. Once you | | get your confirmation, you're good to go! | | [L1] 4/15/2026 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ /------------------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Cendyne @cendyne.dev | |------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | How will they fair on site for dealers den or other virtual queued events? I | | can't spend 90 minutes again looking at my screen to get in a virtual line | | when I should be focused on my friends | | [L2] 4/15/2026 | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Compared to the hotels, it was even more stressful, and that's with the hotel event booking provider (typically Passkey — not to be confused with the WebAuthn one) losing room SKU inventory by the second. Anyway, I firmly believe that a single $5 VPS with a Rust process and SQLite can do better than whatever provider FWA chose this year. FWA needs to start investing in its own technology infrastructure beyond registration. Getting on-site --------------- The main entrance from the MARTA to the Peachtree Center was under construction the whole time. It sure would be nice if socials acknowledged that and provided just-in-time maps and guides on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning, and Friday morning for attendees that were coming in. I ended up getting ushered by one of the construction guys through an elevator that they were using for parts. He wanted two dollars for helping and I happened to have two dollars. The Schedule site ----------------- Oh boy, another year another schedule provider! With a different app and everything that I really don't want to download!!!! The site by Guidebook was unusable. [L3] When I view an event and then go back ( on mobile), I'm reset to the BEGINNING of the schedule. Imagine scrolling down 80-screens worth ten times just to see what's on Saturday. For attendees using older mobile devices, the schedule wouldn't even render off screen. It likely used an intersection observer to only fill out html content when it is near the viewport, which is fine for infinite feeds as long as you have a large 3+ viewport buffer in both directions. Instead, I saw a friend with a 2017 Samsung galaxy absolutely suffer in viewing the schedule. Scroll, blank screen, wait ten seconds, get content, scroll again, … repeat. [I1: A screenshot of a mobile application interface showing event details on a light beige background. The text under the DETAILS header lists the start time as May 10th, 2026 at 10:00 pm and the end time as May 11th, 2026 at 2:00 am, with the location specified as Marriott Marquis - Marquis Stage. Below this text is a black button labeled Add to my schedule with a plus icon, next to a white button with a download arrow. At the bottom, under the SHARE heading, are circular icons for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.] /[cendyne: pondering]----------------------------------------------------------\ | I wouldn't share furry events on LinkedIn, but that's just me. At least they | | had an iCal download button. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ My schedule site for FurSquared [L4] works fine on that aged phone. The way I let folks view events meant the page's scroll position is preserved. No suffering needed. Because of the schedule's terrible UX, I took screenshots and scheduled messages to myself for the events I wanted to attend. Unfortunately for some I had them scheduled at the wrong day… So I missed a few meetups that were very relevant to me. /[cendyne: shiny-pokemon-card-lugia]-------------------------------------------\ | I missed out on the Pokémon meetup because of how bad the schedule's UX was. | | I only noticed the iCal download button after the convention. Oh well. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Registration ------------ Good things! This time they had convention registration in another building with an appropriate amount of operating and queue space! The Courtland Grand Hotel (this hotel rooms are cursed) had its basement floor properly stationed, had the general and sponsor plus queues separate, and they had enough staff to check everyone in! [I2: FWA Member Registration. The image displays a map on the left showing the locations of the Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, and Courtland hotels near streets like Baker St and Courtland St NE. To the right, large text announces, 2026 Registration is at the Courtland Grand hotel, followed by a note that Accessibility Registration is available at Courtland Grand and Marriott Marquis. The bottom section lists the 2026 Hours of Operation: Thursday 12:00 PM (Noon) - 11:00 PM, Friday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM, and Sunday 10 :00 AM - 5:00 PM.] Cheers to the FWA team for sending this info ahead of the convention! Within the room were — I'm guessing — forty staff on duty with micro-queues (2-4 people) in front of each staff member, based on the tape that was on the floor. However, the tape separating the pool area where attendees self-assign to a queue was solid, which made it feel like attendees should go to the very end to the support desk and wind back up along the other side to a micro-queue instead of crossing the solid line. I'd recommend tape with alternating clear and colored tape or lots of signs saying "IF YOU SEE A SPOT JUST WALK TO IT". Their scanners now support drivers license scanning (specifically the AAMVA PDF- 417 [L5] on the back), which eases the cognitive burden of locating the birth date on each ID. Photo check however isn't hard to figure out. The problem? The line managers were too busy gabbing that they rarely opened the gates to re-supply the large pool of space inside where attendees self-select a micro queue. Registration staff were under-utilized while general attendees waited in line for no purpose. Swag ---- Furry Weekend Atlanta calls this "entitlements", which is a very database- centric-term while every other convention uses "Swag". One attendee even loudly proclaimed "I am now ENTITLED" on the way out and other attendees commented they didn't know what that meant. The signage for where to go for swag was, like last year, NOT COMMUNICATED WELL, especially on Wednesday night. I had to return and ask where to go and rattle off on "Yes yes I'm already registered I just forgot my swag." /[cendyne: point-ohh]----------------------------------------------------------\ | The purple vested way-finders were definitely helpful for just-in-time | | clarity. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ The entitlements room was stationed off and at 5% utilization. Lots of walking through plastic chains to get to the front for a t-shirt, a toiletry bag, and a small towel. /[cendyne: in-a-tote-bag]------------------------------------------------------\ | I think I lost the bag or someone took it from my room. It didn't make it | | back with me in my luggage. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Given that there were multiple physical walls between the "entitlements" and registration, I think lit signs would make it easier to identify the instructions I needed in the moment in a very unfamiliar space. Either way, it was better this year over last year. In 2025, FWA swag was located in a room around the corner not even listed on the convention map — on the "international level", a floor not accessible by the central elevator. I had to go through the con store line to get clear instructions on where it was, which is why I've highlighted my way-finder interaction as a positive. Dealers Den ----------- As a "Silver Sponsor," I am "entitled" to perks like shorter lines. This came through in two places: Dealers Den and Moonlight Festival. Unlike the Moonlight Festival, Dealers Den is an ongoing daily event and unlike last year they did not use the virtual queue system for Dealers Den. In 2025, their virtual queue deployment was so abysmal that I was unable to use my line-entitlements and attendees consistently were unable to get in line by their queue time because the elevators were so unreliable (in terms of timing). I was greatly disappointed in the experience and it made me question if I got my worth out of my registration purchase that year. Eventually they appeared to give up and people had to queue in the cramped space in the Hyatt. This year, the venue was different. Like Dragoncon, which boasts an attendance of 75,000 (over four times FWA), they had the AmericasMart building floor reserved. It was a sufficient space and rivaled Midwest FurFest's vendor space. That said, they tucked in Artist Alley in the literal corner with less space than last year. [I3: A map of the vendor hall at FWA] A few nitpicks, this map does not show where the queue space is for attendees and where sponsors entered, which was near table A1. There is no legend on this map to define the difference between the orange tables from the 70's green color. And for some reason they're serving half-a-megabyte PNGs of content that was clearly done in a vector program. /[cendyne: melting]------------------------------------------------------------\ | General attendees had to queue outside. If it were raining, some of them | | would be sheltered by the building's overhanging infrastructure. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Like swag, I had to ask a way-finder where to go as a sponsor and I was lead through the exit door. On one hand I'm glad they are using way-finders as an escape hatch for gaps on-site. Otherwise, I hope they realize they failed to properly communicate to their attendees critical information on how to use their entitlements. Again, a reoccurring theme with this convention. As a silver sponsor, I had no line and walked straight inside. However, the scanner was on the "exit" side and not the entrance side, making a two-door set-up even more confusing for folks coming in and leaving. Sharing a vendor's perspective here: the last minute change to use AmericasMart was annoying. By changing the vending location, this vendor with physical mobility needs had to switch hotels and lose the first-night deposit in order to be close by. It would have been nice if FWA's vendor team and hotel team proactively collaborated with their hotel partners to accommodate their vendors that need nearby access. However, I didn't catch if the original reservation was with a contracted hotel or not. Artist Alley ------------ Earlier I mentioned that Artist Alley had less space. I feel like I saw forty tables last year in the cramped basement room with an abysmal layout for full exploration. This time, there was twenty. For an artist that I had commissioned, we had difficulty meeting up because the tables were very contended for by the hour. Like the prior year, each artist got half a table, so the quantity of artists was cut in half. It also felt like an after thought to Dealers Den. Artist Alley is typically where folks go for on-site commissioned artworks that are created and delivered during the convention, while Dealers Den is more focused on merchandise sales. /[cendyne: shinji-cup]---------------------------------------------------------\ | I think that Artist Alley was underserved this year. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ Otherwise, the typical rotation of folks that come and go made it fresh the times I walked by. However for normal attendees, I fear that a 1-2 hour wait just to enter a room to see if your artist is taking more slots today is not an equivalent exchange. For general and daily attendees, I believe they ought to implement a virtual queue solution without commingling the sponsor cohort, since there were no lines in reality for them to wait in. Mature Dealers Den ------------------ I visited once. Got a printed artwork. I think the quantity of vendors, the space, the lighting, access to water, the line to enter, everything was perfect for me. The only problem others complained about is how it wasn't adjacent to the existing dealers den. [I4: A map of a vendor hall] There's a reason for this though. AmericasMart is apparently not a convention space. It is a retail space. (Or so I hear from a vendor that also staffs FurSquared.) That apparently means that other retailers in the same district or building can dictate what can and cannot be sold in that space like an Homeowners Association. It was not possible to also have mature dealers den within the AmericasMart space. As someone that is deeply involved in planning and operating a furry convention (of a smaller scale), I empathize with the organizers on the decision to keep them separate. Oh, and the map shouldn't be half a megabyte. Internet in a congested space is really bad and serving over a megabyte of content for maps is less than ideal. Serve SVGs. Elevators --------- BETTER. They were better! Even with nearly the same amount of people, they were better! /---------------------------[cendyne: party-popper]----------------------------\ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ But still, I have some things to say, which come down to FWA being able to convince the venues to work with them. The Marriott had people from some convention contracting crew actively rate limiting escalators, managing fairness of lines in front of elevators, and for the primary elevator bank they owned the buttons. They also had this in the Hilton. The difference was... The Marriot did not give authority to the contractors, so the elevators would stop, open WHILE FULL, and close again on every floor. While these people could enforce more fairness like "Don't go up to go down", they were unable to efficiently operate the elevators. In the Hilton, during their operating hours, the call buttons were disabled. Instead they'd actively check their allocated ranges while going down while accepting anyone going up. The only improvement I could recommend is pre-grouping people in front of doors depending on which bank of floors they'll go to. I thoroughly enjoyed one contractor's response of "I wasn't born yesterday. I was born in 1952." when a femboy protogen was obviously going up to go down and tried to force his way into the elevator at the Hilton. The only pleasant elevator experiences I had at the Marriott was when a security or bell hopper with actual keys to drive the elevator manually controlled going up and down without stopping unnecessarily on floors. I truly wish the Marriott could be convinced to either change the operating mode to sense the weight and therefore not accept calls when the call cannot be fulfilled, and to give these operators authority on driving which floors are visited. Last year, FWA boasted about convincing the Marriott to change the operating algorithm and that was not rendered when we were on site. Please convince the Marriott to let CSC drive the elevators. It worked in the Hilton! The Contractors --------------- 10/10. This yellow shirted Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) [L6] are professional, respectful, and in every interaction I've had with them, overall pleasant people. I saw their event coordinator a few times and she was dutifully involved throughout the event and very respectful and kind to the people she interacted with. My only feedback is towards the convention. When requesting a service like "Don't let people down these doors", please share context! Attendees will ask and they won't have answers. The Tenth Floor --------------- Every elevator bank stops at the 10th floor with a fair amount of space and even electrical outlets. In prior years, they'd move all of the round couches up to the 10th floor to maximize the lounging space. However, this means that for people that need accessibility in the form of occasional rest, there is no seating in the rest of the hotel. In addition to the extra seating, they added LOTS of tables and plenty of chairs ! More than the prior year. It worked very well. Lots of art collaboration, hanging, "kandi" bracelet making, even some beyblade. [I5: Video: Beyblades in action] That said, the couches were truly the most uncomfortable pieces of furniture one could lounge on. The Moonlight Festival ---------------------- Last year, I could not attend despite having a virtual queue slot because the line management was so terrible. They made the sky bridge impossible to use for a while, then re-routed people out into the rain. They did better this year. They had a properly sized queue area on the "International Level" — which isn't available through the central elevator bank. You had to either go down the escalators (broken), or the stairs on the Mezzanine level. The signs for where to go were covered up by people standing around. To even know you had to be on the Mezzanine level, you would have to ask people because their public communications people POSTED THE WRONG INSTRUCTIONS. The official video was recorded ON THE ATRIUM FLOOR TWO LEVELS ABOVE. It was never corrected. [I6: Video: Incorrect instructions on the atrium level pointing to the stairs] Instead a CSC person was posted at those doors saying "Sorry, you can't go. I don't know where you need to go." Apart from the virtual queue signup being a disaster, the amount of people bucketed to each time slot was almost appropriately portioned. The amount of people that could comfortably fit in that area was around 500-800 people. And, I was able to use my "entitlements" to get to the person scanning QR codes without having to wait in the line at my scheduled time. However, the QR code in my email didn't work. Folks had to click "Manage booking " to see the QR code the scanning person wanted to scan. Don't use Waitwhile again. It worked but gosh this was stupid. Unfortunately, while the ballroom had ventilation, the pipe-and-draped area outside where "demonstrations", bar tenders, and vendors were not ventilated. It was muggy and terribly crowded. Unlike two years ago where the water fountains were broken and put out scalding hot water (HOW???), none of the water dispensers were getting serviced, and the bartenders refused to give water but WOULD give a cup of ice after waiting in line for 15 minutes... They actually had two palettes of water bottles that anyone could grab. Two years ago, I had to drink water out of the restroom sink from an empty cup I found. /-----------------------------[cendyne: bad-time]------------------------------\ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ According to one of the event organizers, that was a concession the hotel gave as a result of ruining things so badly two years ago. One of the vendors selling obviously not mature (and not even furry) merchandise had an AI generated backdrop too. Not a great look for a furry convention. In terms of practical feedback, the short outside-ballroom vendor area needed another two feet of space for walking between. No one with accessibility needs could get through there. Arrows and signage saying entrance and exit would have helped with the cross traffic making the strip of area with it's congestion. Overall, due to overcrowding, I feel the Moonlight Festival was not accessible to those with mobility needs. The Marriott might not be the appropriate space to host this in the future. Food ---- So this isn't in FWA's control at all. But I think we're being price gouged tremendously by every location in the Peachtree center. Every option is more expensive than food at the airport — which has been criticized for price gouging since I've been born. It was acceptable three years ago. Less comfortable two years ago. Last and this year, it is absurd. Meetups ------- Several meetups were held and the ones I did attend had enough space! Years ago, they tried to put 600 people into a room that fit 80. Last year, they tried to put 700 people into a room that fit 200. This year they allowed 700 people into a room that fit 800. The VR Meetup ------------- The meeting up part was okay. Rather crowded which meant that many people avoided going, but there was a photo shoot. Except the photo shoot was poorly communicated. "The side with the windows" (no windows to be seen, they're covered in drapes) "Uh, the side away from the doors ", ah that works. "Look towards the camera!" Where is the camera? "Look away from the stage" Alright and where's the camera? "Look at the lift!" Hands and signs are in the way! "Put down your signs!" That's nice, now I can see where the camera is.. and... arms are up in the way. I'm not in the picture now because MULTIPLE PEOPLE couldn't respect their peers behind them. The pool toy room ----------------- This was rather cool! It was off in another hotel, but it was nice. Two floors above registration they had a bag check, a place for shoes, and lots of cool stuff to chill with. The dark room aesthetic with ongoing mixed music was nicer and more relaxing. Last year it was a bunch of bright lights and someone with a boom box in the corner, I think. Overall thoughts ---------------- Last year it really felt like things were breaking at the seams. That growth had pushed FWA beyond its ability to service a comfortable and lovely experience. I think we've returned to a more acceptable target at practically the same quantity of attendees. It helps that there is more hotel, more event space, and even shuttles (though I had not tried them). The way-finders were effective and need to stay. In terms of things purely within FWA's control, they can improve on their technology, their online and on-site communications, and give Artist Alley the space it deserves at this scale. Many of my friends refused to attend because of how bad it was last year. I think the negatives that pushed them away have mostly been mitigated. If it grows to 20,000 next year, I think they deserve it. But they'll break in some other way I expect. /[cendyne: snake-in-tea]-------------------------------------------------------\ | Also, I got to attend three tea parties, so that was pretty nice. | \------------------------------------------------------------------------------/ And for the first time, I got to be in some roommate art! [I7: Cendyne, Phase Noise, and Inconspicuous in the corporate Memphis style.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [L1]: https://bsky.app/profile/furryweekend.com/post/3mjkiyyg6bt2j [L2]: https://bsky.app/profile/cendyne.dev/post/3mjkliwwdyc2q [L3]: https://builder.guidebook.com/g/#/guides/furryweekend2026/schedule/ sessions?scheduleDayPosition=2026-05-10&scheduleIndexInDayPosition=0 [L4]: https://schedule.fursquared.com/schedule/f2-2026 [L5]: https://www.aamva.org/getmedia/99ac7057-0f4d-4461-b0a2-3a5532e1b35c/AAMVA -2020-DLID-Card-Design-Standard.pdf [L6]: https://csc-usa.com/home [I1]: https://c.cdyn.dev/t3OWBIjS [I2]: https://c.cdyn.dev/gLldDxKG [I3]: https://c.cdyn.dev/Fag7f5br [I4]: https://c.cdyn.dev/Z2W3mFE- [I5]: https://c.cdyn.dev/BtSRTchf [I6]: https://c.cdyn.dev/8jgkeFPP [I7]: https://c.cdyn.dev/jYi5f5Mb