DLV 2013 Attendee Survey report, part 2 ...

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This posting is from: Diva Las Vegas
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This is the second of four reports. This contains the textual comments
received on the DLV 2013 Attendee Survey. Very little editing has been
done.

Thanks to all who provided this valuable feedback!

Further comments are welcome.
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1. Restroom comments:

Artisan caught me off guard this year,
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Still not totally comfortable in them.
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2. Activity and New Venue suggestions:

What about a talent night? They do it at Fantasia Fair, and it's very
successful.
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I'd like to try a mixture of inexpensive buffets and restaurants for
lunch with Ginger
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Stratosphere at night
Frank Marino's diva show
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Maybe another femme movement or dance activity? Pole dance was amazing
and so instructive.
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need a way to get from waiting list ro participating in activity
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I think going to the Fantastic Indoor Swapmeet on a Friday would be fun.
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go back to the Blue Ox, for newcomers get togeather they would love to
have our group back
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I wish there were more Vegas shows on the list.
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Don't go to studio kites, why would you tour a place that didn't have
any plus sizes and only had club wear - which is banned at every
function?
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nightclub
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The Audrey Tour should have been explained better. I'm not sure if the
locations for lunch with Ginger were noted.
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I hope to attend DLV 2014. Yeah!
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a gay/gay-friendly restaurant night or two.
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Lets have more fun!!
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More opportunities for dancing. Paris was fun. Would have liked to do an
excursion to Grand Canyon or Neon Museum or other attractions.
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new ideas for activities each year
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I think if you were to charge a small registration fee to cover mailing
and where able to send out a few of those "las Vegas" guide mags before
it would be helpful. I might form a committee to do just that.

Might I suggest a visit to a wig salon. (Serges was GREAT) and very
acommodating. Perhaps arrange a lesson in how to style and care for your
wig, and learn about different types and their durability.
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A bit more lag time between events to allow time to enjoy one event and
still make the next
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Make sure the Hosts are there on time and be all encluseve
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Blue Martini
Town Center shopping
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Please get Amy of Glamour Boutique involved in more DLV activities.
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Please keep in mind that socializing is important. So for venues like
the Artisan, we probably don't want the piano player as we want to hear
each other. Noise is only appropriate for venues like the Hofbrau where
it is part of the ambiance.
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Yes, Pawn Stars store.
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How about a Rockabilly party. 50-s outfits, hairdos shoes music. Elvis,
Link Wray, the like. Bettie Page looks, like that.
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Another year, another well done event.

Thanks understates how great the experience.

Keep adding new thing activiites. Love it!!!
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On the schedule of events or other such help aid, please include a thumb
nail photo of the person we are supposed to contact, sign-up or pay-up,
so we have a chance of recognizing/identifying them at functions or
activities.
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If you could introduce the new girls at the welcome mixer it could be
nice.
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Get Chris from Studio Lights to fly out to Vegas and put on a makeover
demonstration.
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Bring back the boat trip!
Bring back Soiled Doves!
Whatever happened to the poker tournament?
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I would like to see Dance At Paris become a daily event, like Katie
Coffee and Lunch with Ginger. Not everyone wants to do the expensive
nightly events and this could be a good place to meet. No cover and no
minimum and the band is great.
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Miss night of Soiled Doves. Enjoyed it very much some years back.
Chance dress sexy or festishly and played games with the ladies.
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You need to keep in touch with the Center. They have the Trans-Lations
group every Friday and Diva would certainly be invited.
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You ought to do another of the real Vegas-y shows like Splash, Follies
like you used to years ago.
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Yes, Serge Wigs. West Sahara. Do a car pool.
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What ever happened to the garden party? That used to be fun and
relaxing.
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McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant - for happy hour and maybe
dinner. Their prices were great and on Thursday night happy hour pricing
was effective until I think 10 pm!
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Golden Nugget Casino (Fremont Street) Grotto Italian Ristorante - This
trattoria-style restaurant serves authentic Italian cuisine with Old
World signature dishes of house-made pastas, antipasti, chicken, veal,
seafood, and pizzas for lunch and dinner. There is also an extensive
wine list. Wonderful location and service.
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Surrender night club at Encore
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Stratosphere at night
Frank Marino's diva show
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Seinfeld
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bowling at The Red Rock casino and resort complex
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Frank Marino's Divas Show, Dinner at a Freemont Street restaurant/bar
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Yes, DIVA's with Frank Marino, we sat with a regular couple from Phoenix
and we all had a blast. On Sunday the 21st we went to Gallaghers at NY,
NY. We were well treated, and we went to Zumanity there as well. While I
would not recommend the show, we did run into another crossdresser (from
Canada) who was not part of DLV, but when I informed her of it, may come
next year.
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Yes Lady C leathers / alternative clothing etc.
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Yes,the boat trips to the Hoover Dam.
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Yes, Pawn Stars store.
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Pasta Mia West Las Vegas. Great for, very large portions, great service
and atmosphere!
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Yes, Cafe Belagio, but in guy mode. Nice breakfast but not cheap.
Terribles buffet for breakfast again in guy mode. Not bad for the price.
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i like komol in the commercial center to be a dining option. caesar's
palace has a new buffet that is very good but it is $33 for dinner.
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Serendipity outside of Ceasars. Great food.
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Use the PF Chang on Paradise instead of the one in the casino.
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Yes. The Grotto in The Golden Nugget. The food was terrific, The staff
were marvelous and the restaurant was perfect for mid to upscale dining.
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107 Lounge at Stratosphere is someplace I always go during DLV week
after having been introduced to it on the DLV schedule a few years ago.
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Fantastic swap meet

Top of Stratosphere

Zip line Fremont street

Get together @ blue ox, we still go there while in town, great food
cheap drinks; Dee and Dani are still awesome.
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3. General comments:

We need a new venue for golf next year. The course is closing for
renovations for two years. It was not in good shape. Let's ditch the
Artisan. I found the cost for drinks Monday night criminal.
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Ruth's Chris Steakhouse was a wonderful dining experience conveniently
located in Harrah's. Definitely a keeper in my opinion.
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Get rid of the Artisan as a venue. Too expensive and there was no
attentive service. I did not eat there and only bought one drink when I
saw the prices going up and there was not suppose to be a happy hour. I
felt we were neglected and abused as a group.
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Thanks again for all your wonderful efforts Annie!
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Would like to see an option that provides those without vehicles to
connect with those that do. Like a Big Sister program for
transportation.

I cancelled one activity (pole dancing) because of the cost it would
have been to get there, pay for the event, and then get back because I
could not find a ride.

"Happy Hour" to me means reduced drink prices, yet when we arrived at
the scheduled time we found out the bar's "happy hour" was the hour
before our scheduled time.

Would also like to be informed of a meal plan for the week. Learned on
my own at the end of the trip that I could have eaten for much less than
what I spent by getting coupons or buying multiple buffet visits in one
package.

I spent over $2,500 on this trip and felt I had to watch my spending the
whole time which made it less enjoyable.
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The quiet evening at home was for us (couple) a disapointment. I did not
know what to expect.The host was not prepared to receive the guests and
my SO end up helping making the appetizers. I had tickets for a show for
9:30 PM and thought it was time enough to get there if the happy hour
was on 5 PM. That resulted in having 10 minutes to eat and leaving
quickly to be in time for the show.
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was a little hard to find DLV at artisan, had to ask at reception.
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First, I think your DLV ROCKED! But, I found navigating thru old emails
to find a link, then having to google DLV to locate other details to be
confusing!

What I would like to see is: A DLV page that has every possible thing
linked FROM THERE!

It would make it so much more easier to; organize my schedule, find the
different events, dates, times, requirements, locations, etc., etc.
Instead of jumping back and forth from your emails to the site as I had
to do to put it all together. I'm obviously not a techie!
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Preference for more mainstream venues as we really need to be out there
being seen so people can get more used to us and is an opportunity meet
more of us too and interact. Education is important.
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I will send you suggestions as soon as I have a chance to reflect.

Actually my above suggestion about mailing the "to do" magazine, I'd bet
the las Vegas bureau of tourism would do that for free. Maybe you could
just supply that info and suggest newcomers might want to get their
packet.

I would suggest a visit to the MOB Museum might be fun. My wife and I
did it on Monday 4-23. I was not "dressed" that day (it was like 90
degrees!)

As a New Yorker I am probably "picky" but I was not real delighted with
the food in Vegas anywhere. However the service and way we were treated
was second to none, and I will be back. There are some lower cost
options for food we might consider adding to the suggestions.

My wife and I went back to Bare Essentials. She got another makeover for
a night time look and spent more money. We were very happy with the
makeovers, though I really don't think their products are great for
bearded-challenged ladies.

Hey, how about we get the drag queens at Drink & Drag to show us some
tips where we can utilize some of the techniques they use, but not to
look like a drag queen, but to import into our own "make-up" techniques,
such as contouring, shading, highlighting, ect. A night at Diva's would
be great. I think everyone would go.
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re: Did you have any difficulty finding the group at any of our venues?
For the "Fremont Street Experience", it wasn't clear where we were to
meet (at least, not for a first-timer). I know now. In any case, I could
not find the group, but to be fair, I arrived 20 minutes late due to the
previous activity running a little long.
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When meeting the group before Absinthe, the directions for where to go
and who to meet were very vague. We met several others who were also
unsure of what to do or how to get our tickets. A little more clarity in
these kinds of situations would be appreciated.
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Many groups of the attendee's where very "clanish" as where many of the
DLV organizers and greeters. I saw many new B's lost and wanting to talk
to someone. and yes they where the ones that needed help with clothing,
make-up ETC. Having been a co founder of Transgender Harmony In the Phx
area, and "Putting on the Glitz", time is never wasted on helping others
to feel wanted and part of the group, having been born a true
Hermaphrodite, I know first hand how neglect can hurt the same as bad
words and looks.
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Had difficulty locating the group at PF Chang's, until a bar patron
directed me upstairs
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Thanks to the volunteers!
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The reason I put maybe if I would attend another DLV is because I
usually go to Las Vegas crossdressed every other year during the summer
months.
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Under TG Community Events Please add: The Keystone Conference which just
celebrated it's Fith Annual conference this past March 13 through 16. It
has growne LARGER then SCC. I have attended that event four times
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In the future please clarify that happy hour is a social hour and not a
reduced-price drink hour.
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A couple observations from a new-bee, take for what they are worth. The
leaders were very sensitive and considerate to those new. Especially
Annie and Ginger were total sweeties. Answered all of questions and
didn't talk down to you. The regular DLV girls were stand-off-ish
especially at first. They had their own little circles and stayed with
them. I didn't feel part of the group until Friday at Bahama and Paris
when they began warming up to me.

Also, and this is not a complaint but observation. Some of the younger
girls, their makeup was very artificial looking. It wasn't too much
makeup, it just didnt look right. It's hard to explain but very
un-natural looking.
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I say this each year and I'm sure your tired of hearing this, but this
is the best girl time on the planet. DLV ROCKS!
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It amazes me that so many girls will pay thousands to fly to Vegas, stay
in the hotel, and not even print out the schedule of events. I ended up
going to the business center at Harrah's upstairs and zeroxing several
copies which they snatched up.
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Absynthe show was confusing. My schedule said Tuesday but found out it
was reallw Wednesday
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I think one of your phone numbers was wrong.
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Suggestions. Tell us exactly what things like Charles Bar, Audrey Tour,
Alternatve Gathering are.

Have Coffee at a reasonable hour, like 9.
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Annie needs to dress up like she used to.
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Make the name tags more available. I didn't get mine until the last
nite.
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Face masks should be an absolute No No! They are tasteless and silly.
and draw unwanted attention to a group which does not need that kind of
scrutiny. If I had been the hostess I would have insisted the person go
home and put makeup on and act like an adult.
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someone needs to say something to the girl in the mask. This is not
Halloween! We're the Transgender community and we're trying to gain
acceptance and looking like a carnival side show act is not helping. I
know no one wants to confront but there was a lot of talk about this and
it's agreed that someone needs to say something.
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GREAT DLV this year!!!

My only comment is about a slight inconsistency in the survey (NO NEED
TO PUBLISH IT WITH THE END-OF-SURVEY COMMENTS). Transportation to Vegas
in someone else's vehicle is not an option to choose. I therefore
selected personal vehicle yet when it comes to getting around Vegas, I
caught rides with others.
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The Artisan is taking advantage of the group, terrible food and drinks.
Being in a dark hotel/bar is depressing to me. If we have multiple
events there again I will not attend after 10 years of DLV; sorry.
. . . . .

Another year and another fun and well-organized event, my thanks and
gratitude go out to all who made it possible.
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I'm not sure if I made this comment allready, please excuse if twice.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you need a more formal
welcome or orientation for the new gurls. The welcome sessions were good
but it was everyone all standing around just shooting the bull on
everything else but what they needed to know. There's a lot of confusion
on what to do, where to go, who to go to, things like this.
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The Hilton Vacation Place we stayed in after the conference had a great
map that had I had it before would have solved many logistical problems,
I will try to scan it and send it to you. Our hotel was a disaster, not
your fault. I will send you some info about that so others can avoid.
[moved from restroom comments]
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Our hotel (Excal) sucked. Do not recommend.
[moved from restroom comments]

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(This posting was entered by Diva Las Vegas, an external user of MyDLV.)