[Marc P.]

Originally posted by M. Krass
I don't know. For me, the atmosphere was too expansive and not, well, controlled enough. I felt entirely overwhelmed by the building, but not in a positive way. I think that Florida's made-to-order venue was nicer because it catered to the event. The tents were built around the fields, and they can be made larger. Einstein was built as the centerpiece. The pits were built adjacent to the division fields. It was all tailored to our needs and that made the experience special and exciting. It meant that FIRST was important enough to warrant that effort, rather than shoe-horning it into someplace it doesn't belong.

Keep in mind this is a rapidly expanding organization... I think of the space as "room to grow" if you will. When I was small, my parents always bought me shoes one size larger than fit, so we wouldn't have to buy shoes all the time due to growing feet. It may seem huge and overwhelming, but give it time to fan out, maybe allow another 100 teams or so in, then see where the space goes. To me, Disney felt far too small and cramped, and really limited the potential of the competition.

Dirty with tools and robot parts and buttons and giveaways, sure... but, it felt like there was a layer of dust and grime everywhere. The volunteers even said that when they'd gotten into the Astrodome the previous day, the dust was atrocious. The immense shift from being so important as to get the attention of our own village to wiping the dust off an aging building was a bit shocking to me. The Astrodome, in my mind, is a dinosaur and not significant in any terribly important sense. It's something like a Ford Model-T (another first), perhaps. It'd be cool to look at, and maybe even own, but you definitely don't want to have to use it. There are better alternatives.

Personally, I thought it was nice to have a real floor. As I recall last year, the "port-a-floor" wasn't the cleanest thing in the world either. They would have had the astroturf out, had they not feared tools and robots destroying it. When was the last time a real machine shop had a floor any cleaner than what was in the Astrodome?

I don't associate Walt Disney World with being kid-ish at all, so you're comparison is somewhat lost upon me. I associate Walt Disney World with being a polished, well run show. Again, in Walt Disney World, I felt like I was part of the show. In Houston, I felt like I was trying to fill the shoes of a baseball or football stadium. If FIRST grows large enough to fill those huge venues without self-destructing first, the event may be much, much better. Until then, I think FIRST ought to stick with a venue that's the right size.

Also, Disney is a re-run every year. They have the experience of countless FIRST championships under their belt, and know what to expect and provide. Also, as I stated before, if FIRST keeps a venue that's the "right size," people will never feel the ability to expand the competition to include more teams.

Ditto. It was getting to see everyone I like so much that really made the event worth the trek to Texas, last-minute no less. I just wonder that, instead of the people being the highlight that salvaged the event*, they should have been the final touch that made it perfect.

The people make everything special at every event. It takes incredible people to put on an incredible event. Thanks to all for making FIRST what it is.