How Much Does Attending GenCon Cost?

[Thunderfoot]

Badges
Attendee 1 $65 (pre-registered)
Travel
Gas 30 (Had one of those hybrid cars - great way to go)
Parking 24 (48 split between two people)
Housing
Hotel 290 (580 - split two ways)
Tax 36 ( 72 - split two ways)
Sustenance
Breakfast $40 (missed two days)
Lunch $ 60 (missed one day)
Dinner $ 60 (ate light)
At The Convention
Events 62
Dealer's Hall 150 (I had a budget going in)

Total $ 817

 

[BOZ]

Badge is to get you in and about the con, you should not be able to get into the deader hall and events without one but I hear people do.

i didn't go into the dealer hall (or the deader hall), or any events. because i was too broke to buy a badge.

 

[Canaan]

While it's still fresh in all the attendee's minds I thought I'd ask how much I should plan on spending if I want to attend GenCon next year. And yes, I know this will vary depending on where you flew out from and what airline and such. I'm just trying to figure out how much I'd need to save up.

I'd be flying in from Maine and would want a hotel close to the convention center if that helps.

Thanks!

One pure, unblemished soul.


and a bag of chips.

 

[RangerWickett]

Boz, just do all your shopping on Saturday or Sunday. By then, the guards are too lazy to look for everyone's badges. Or you can just get a plastic badge case and flash it, and they might still let you in.

I don't condone this illegal activity, but I enjoy doing it to see if I can get away with it, even though I have a badge.

For me:

Badge, pre-ordered - $65.
Airfare, Atlanta to Indy and back - $220.
Taxi to downtown - $5 (20 split 4 ways with roommates).
Embassy Suites, 5 nights - $225 ($180 a night, split 4 ways).
Breakfast - free! (Embassy rocks!)
Lunch & Dinner, 5 days - $150 (about $10 for lunch at Steak & Shake or the mall food court, $20 for dinner at The RAM, or Buca di Beppo)
Exhibit hall - $30 (two sets of dice and one damaged copy of the Pleasure Prison of the Bthuvian Demon Whore)
Taxi back to airport - free! (Seonaid rocks!)

So in total, about $700, but I'm a cheapskate who doesn't actually buy game materials.

 

[kenobi65]

I didn't go this year, but did last year. Here's roughly how it worked out:

- Hotel $160 (room at the Westin, connected to the convention center, 4 nights, split 4 ways)
- Gas $60 (to and from Chicago...would be better if my PT Cruiser wasn't a gas hog)
- Parking $60 (in lot connected to Westin; overpaying for convenience)
- Badge $60
- Event Tickets $45 (I play RPGA stuff, filling most of the slots)
- Food and Drink $130 (includes 2 nice meals sometime during the weekend)
- Dealer Room $100 (I don't spend a lot of time there, but usually pick up a few things, including the requisite fangirl t-shirt for my lovely bride)

So, that comes out to $615, or thereabouts. I could definitely get a bit cheaper in some regards (carpool, stay in a cheaper hotel), but I do this once a year, so I'm willing to splurge a bit.

 

[Seonaid]

Taxi back to airport - free! (Seonaid rocks!)

Yes, yes I do . . .

Trip out: $15 for lunch for the guy driving me
Hotel: $95 for a meal for the people letting me stay at their hotel
Badge: $75
Events: $9
Dealer hall: $40
Other food: $95
Taxi: $30
Airfare home: $380

Total: $740

Heh. Not bad. I could have done it a lot cheaper, by not flying home, by buying food from a grocery store instead of restaurants, etc. But the moral of my story? Find really generous friends.

 

[RangerWickett]

Two years ago, I found round-trip airfare for $87, stayed in a room courtesy of friends (John Crichton, BrooklynKnight, et alia), bought a badge off Cthulhu's Librarian for $40, and still ended up spending about $120 for four days of food. Didn't buy a thing in the exhibit hall.

So about $250, coming from Atlanta.

Then again, the year after I spend $50 on airfare, because a friend of mine loaned me the money for a plane ticket, and then he told me not to worry about paying him back after I gave him the first installment to repay him. I got a free badge and room thanks to the ENnies. I still didn't buy anything in the exhibit hall, but food was still somewhere around $100. I bought a pair of disposable cameras, so that was about $12. Add in $5 for busfare to and from the airport, and I made the whole trip for about $170 bucks.

Be an ENnies volunteer, have generous friends. I managed to do both of those. Now if I could just get the 'eat cheap' thing down.

 

[The_Universe]

I know you can do it for less, but Queen Dopplepopolis and I almost always drop around $2000, including flight and housing. Still, it's well worth the money - budget all year and then go crazy in Indy! WHOOOOO!

 

[Jubilee]

My husband & I flew out from Portland, Oregon.

$600 - plane tickets
$850 - Hotel from Wednesday Night to Monday Morning (Mariott @ convention center)
$500-600 - Dealer hall spending
$150ish - Classes & events
$130 - Badges for two (I think they were $65 each?)
$50 - taxi to & from the airport
I don't really know how much we spent on food. Maybe $100? $150?

Yikes, now I wish I hadn't done this.

/ali

ps. When I got home, between the boarding, exam, shots, and dental care for my cat during the trip, I had to pay another $700 to get her back from the vet. =( Luckily, they won't be able to talk me into having her teeth cleaned again for several years..

 

[Varianor Abroad]

$750-$1000 is about the right cost. Comparable to going to DisneyWorld actually.