Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Joined: 2/10/2009
Posts: 109
Location: Central PA
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Well I may be going to Gen Con this year with Darth_Jim. I live in Central PA though, and we are driving. Then there is the hotel cost. What do you guys think an overall good estimate price would be? Would it be over $600? Just a guess....
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/3/2008
Posts: 584
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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LOL, this always comes up every year. Should have somebody sticky the thread from last year. :P
Really depends on a lot of things I guess. To give you an idea, I'll just tell you what I spent last year.
GenCon badge: $70
Event tickets: $120 (obviously depends on how many events you play in. This pretty much kept be completely busy with SWMs for the whole weekend)
Hotel cost (stayed right across the street, but split with 3 other guys): roughly $300
Food for the weekend: $100 (estimate...hard to say for sure...also depends on how much spend going out to Hooters in the evening, lol)
Parking: $80 (will cost about $20 per day to park near the con center...can be split amongst whoever's riding with you though I guess)
There's some other things as well, like how much it costs for your gas to drive there and back and such.
So, your estimate of $600 is probably not too far off. Honestly, you can save a lot of money by staying at a hotel a bit further from the convention center (since you typically pay about $20 per day for parking either way), but the convenience of being directly across the street, especially if you have multiple roommates is really nice. Then you're not waiting around for your roommate to get done with whatever event they are doing, or vice versa.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Joined: 5/23/2009
Posts: 177
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As for parking, we deliberately set out to grab a hotel within walking distance. Not only do you save money, but the hassle and logistics of doing anything goes way down. Plus the amount of time you save not having to drive and look for a lot is pretty substantial over the week.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Joined: 4/4/2008
Posts: 1,441
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I did it for $450 last year, played in virtually every SWMs tournament I could fit in, and had a great time each evening at Hooters. If money is a concern, it is much much cheaper to stay at a hotel about 7-10 miles south of Indy (about $80 per night) and split it. Finding a parking spot is not hard, and there are a number of lots and two parking garages all within 3 blocks of the convention center. The Con is in the south of downtown, so driving in from the southern areas is really really easy to do. We've done it that way for years - usually splitting the room 4-6 ways.
As for the real cost of parking, whole day parking runs between $5-12 a day on thursday and friday, and $5-20 on Sat and Sunday (if you are driving back on Sunday, you can usually park in the garage for 6 hours for like $12 or so. It's not $20 a day unless you only park in the most expensive lots every time, and they aren't any closer to the con anyway.
You can eat cheap fastfood for lunch, or bring your own, both save a ton of money, and still afford to go out for a nice dinner (I spent about $6 a day for lunch (breakfast was complimentary at the hotel), and then $30-50 for dinner each night). I also spent $65 on the badge, and another $120 on games. We split gas 3 ways, so each of us paid about $40 coming from Chicago.
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Rank: Flash Speeder
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/28/2008
Posts: 41
Location: Western Wisconsin
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Food, hotel, and the dealers room are your variable costs. Some tips on how to cut (take with a grain of salt, as I was last there in '07).
Hotel - the more you can split the cost, the better. Find some people with floor space and bring sleeping bags. If they've got 4 in a room and then you two, $180 a night for a room might divide out to $30 a night. $20 (max) parking and you're looking at $50 a night. Otherwise, stay outside the city and commute - it's not as convenient but much better if you don't want lots of roommates. And, if you are sleeping on the floor, you might get do better than a straight 1/x rate for the less comfortable accomodations (in the above example - the four sleeping in the beds may pay $35, and the two who get the floor pay $20). If you share, you must not be squeamish about sharing a room (and possibly a bed) with people you don't know. The other downside is hotels won't give out six keys, so you'll need to share.
Food - while not healthy, the dollar menu at McD's is your friend. Hopefully your hotel has complimentary breakfast - if not, $3-4 for breakfast and dinner with the clown should be doable. For lunch, bring dried snacks/sandwich/etc. in a small soft-sided cooler (the kind that hold just a couple of cans) to eat at the gaming table. Bring a water bottle and fill it from the fountains (and some flavoring packets to spice it up). If you must have a cola, get refills at the clown or other fast food establishment before leaving. If that's not enough soda, sneak a few plastic bottles in with your gaming stuff (buy plastic bottles, as the center didn't sell cans so it'd be obvious you snuck it in if you've got a can). Otherwise, there were vending machines in the walkway to the mall that sold bottles (Coke?) for half what they went for inside the convention center. If you must have alcohol, either bring something to mix with your cola, or buy on the way in and party in your room. But, it is nice to go our for dinner one night, and maybe to the Ram or Hooters another to unwind, so budget accordingly. $20 a day average should cover one nice dinner and a couple drinks out.
Dealers room - set a budget and stick to it. I've seen people come home with hundreds (and possibly thousands) of dollars worth of stuff from the dealers' hall. Take the time to shop around. Also, don't be afraid to try and haggle a little bit on Sunday ("you know, if you'd knock a couple bucks off, you won't have to box it up and take it home..."). The big guys probably won't, but the smaller guys just might cut you a deal. Also, check out the auction store if you're looking for anything that's out of print or has been in print for awhile.
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