My ACen 2026 experience
Disclaimer: I went to ACen primarily for the Japanese guests, so I didn’t spend much time in the Artist Alley and didn’t participate at late night events/after party.
Idolm@ster concert: The line management and entry process were pretty organized considering the resources they had and the fact that the event was free. Don’t like how the organizers constantly changed the bag rules with very little prior notice, but I would love to see more events like this held in America in the future.
Japanese guest panels and autographs (Bandai Namco/Global Anime Challenge/Goodbye Lara etc.): The organizers kept the entry lines well managed, and I really liked that ACen designated separate signing areas for Japanese guests to prevent overcrowding. However, there was one staff member who was extremely rude during the IM@S autograph session and kept shouting at people and making threats.
All of the Japanese guest panels I attended were very engaging and fun for me personally.
Security: Saturday line around noon time was awful and I do wish they had more entrances available to improve the flow of visitors. The number of security staff ACen had was clearly not adequate to handle high volume crowd influx.
Hotel shuttle: It seemed like they only operated two shuttles all together, so I had to wait around 30 minutes for a shuttle on a few occasions.
Overall I would return to ACen again if they continue bringing high caliber Japanese guests. It’s still one of the best mid-sized conventions to attend in America for me.