Furries wait in hours-long lines to get into Anthrocon

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Thousands of people waited for hours in the heat and humidity to get into Pittsburgh's furry convention on Thursday, forcing organizers to close registration lines.

In a social media post at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Anthrocon said the "sheer number" of people in line at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center "exceeded all expectations of growth," resulting in stress on both attendees and staff.

Jarhett Doyle said he waited 5 1/2 hours to get in, and after that, "It was another 3 hours waiting in the turnstiles and everything like that. I didn't even make it through, I gave up. I walked out."

The problem, according the conventioneers, is the way it was set up this year. Even if you purchased your ticket early and online, you still had to wait in the massive line just to enter the convention center. Inside, the lines were divided. It was the getting through the front door that was the problem and set tempers flaring. And to compound to the problem, once you did get inside, it meant more waiting.

"Considering it was 90 degrees on top of, you know, this," said William Blahut, gesturing to his furry costume, "You get so sweaty and so fatigued that it's insane. And most people who've waited in line didn't even get registered, which is crazy."

Doyle said he even heard about one person who passed out.

Registration reopened at 9 a.m. on Friday morning at the convention center, but because of issues on Thursday, organizers shifted the set up and made more room for people to sit down and cool off while waiting in line.

"Yesterday, yes, we were very concerned about both heat and humidity and it was making things uncomfortable, so we've shifted things within the registration area a bit," said Anthrocon public relations director John Cole.

It's the convention's 19th year, and this is the first time it has seen an issue like this.

Officials said more than 15,000 furries are expected to come to town this week for Anthrocon. VisitPittsburgh said when it's all said and done, the furry convention could bring in $17 million in director visitor spending.

Anthrocon runs through Sunday.