New and Confused Regarding GenCon

[tennyson]

Hi,

Our gaming group will be making the trek to GenCon this year (a first for all five of us), and one question that seems to stand out is:

Do you have to register (after you buy your badge) for events such as seminars, shows, etc.? I can understand the logic behind registering for game events, but do non-game events have limited numbers of seats?

Additionally, we were thinking about getting an air-hotel-flight package from an Orbitz-type site. Should we expect positive results, or do we not have a chance of getting a good location (hotel-wise)? We were going to get our badges and book the entire trip during the last week of February, if that helps.

There seems to be so much information on the GenCon boards that I admit it has overwhelmed me. Thanks, everyone, for your replies!

 

[DaveStebbins]

You can register for non-game events (seminars, etc.) when event registration begins in May, but my experience is that there have always been open seats for seminars. As long as the registration for the given event is free, I am not sure I'd bother. Then again, if no one registers, they may cancel the event, so it doesn't hurt, either.

As for hotels, I'm not sure you'll get a better price from a one-stop type website. Hotel registration using the GenCon discount started today and, while I was waiting for the server overload problems to work out, I found prices significantly higher if booking directly than booking through GenCon. Doubel doubles (there will be four of us in the suite I ended up booking) run from about $140 a night to $180 or more when booking within the blocks of rooms GenCon has reserved. Through individual hotel websites, the same rooms ranged from $230 to over $300 per night. Maybe the one-stop websites can do better than that, but I'm not sure they can do as well as using the reservation link you get with your badge confirmation e-mail. Note that the prices quoted don't include the 15% hotel tax in Indy.

As you would expect, if you don't want to be within easy summer walking distance of the Convention Center, better rates can be found.

 

[tennyson]

Dave, thanks for the info....and no, I wasn't aware of the 15% tax on hotels in Indy. I'm going to have to crunch some numbers and see how much per month I will have to put away in a cookie jar.

We've found some hotels that are 5-7 miles away from Indy, and while it's nowhere near as convenient as a downtown room, it did agree with our pocket books a little more. How is parking in Indy? Expensive, plentiful, dreadful?

 

[xrpsuzi]

If you are considering staying downtown (walking distance from the convention center), I would use the Gen Con passkey block for rooms, take the airport shuttle to downtown (and your hotel), and consider ditching the car.

I'm uncertain about the benefits of using the Gen Con block for hotels out of downtown. Staying out by the airport last I checked was around $60-80 a night using priceline.

We've found some hotels that are 5-7 miles away from Indy, and while it's nowhere near as convenient as a downtown room, it did agree with our pocket books a little more. How is parking in Indy? Expensive, plentiful, dreadful?

There are lots of parking garages that accomidate parking during the day (i.e. not-overnight parking), and if I'm remembering correctly, the mall parking runs around $6-10 if you leave your car there all day. If you are doing a lot of in and out, it will run higher. There is some parking in hotels, which is more expensive.

-Suzi

 

[tennyson]

I
There are lots of parking garages that accomidate parking during the day (i.e. not-overnight parking), and if I'm remembering correctly, the mall parking runs around $6-10 if you leave your car there all day. If you are doing a lot of in and out, it will run higher. There is some parking in hotels, which is more expensive.

-Suzi

$10 a day isn't bad. I think the smartest thing for us just to plan our itinerary ahead of time, especially since a far-away hotel doesn't allow for seat-of-your-pants plans. We plan on seeing some of the city (and perhaps some nightlife), so as long as the parking is reasonable, we shouldn't worry too much. Thanks!

 

[Inferno!]

I've never registered for a seminar, and most of them have seats to spare. Those that get crowded, they'll go looking for additional chairs. Oh and that 15% tax - well someone has to pay for the new home of the World Champion Colts.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

I live in Indy, and work downtown. My personal suggestion would also be to avoid using a car, as some of the parking garages are extremely expensive (and you usually don't know which ones until you get inside). The mall parking garages are a good bet, as they are about $10 a day or so, but they fill up fast during conventions. If your hotel is downtown, you won't need a car to get to the nightlife, either - you're better off walking. Meter parking is free on weekends and weeknights, but you have to be the Chosen of God to find any during the convention.

Just as a warning - Traffic is horrible during Thursday and Friday, because you have the normal work-day downtown traffic plus convention traffic. It's not much better on Saturday, because of added increase of people who come in for the weekend part of the convention. Make sure you get a detailed map of downtown - I seem to recall there being one on GenCon's website that showed nearby parking garages, locales of interest, and hotels. With the amount of one-ways and perpetual construction downtown, it's sometimes hard to get where you are going. 'Course, I'm originally a small-town girl, so it might be just me.

I would suggest registering for seminars, even if they are free - I have had a few canceled because of lack of registration. After all, it doesn't cost you anything, so it doesn't hurt to register for them!

 

[marimacc]

Um,,,,yeah, the Gen Con block is not the best idea right now, it's kinda full. There may be more rooms opening soon, but if you can get a deal with Oribtz for a downtown room, then more power to ya!

Register for seminars if you can, even if they are free; it lets Gen Con know how popular the event is, and occasionally free ones do run out of room, so ticket holders would get in first.

I know we've got a lot going on, with the Gen Con forums, but please feel free to ask questions there about anything as well, we're mostly a friendly sort.

 

[mcrow]

Well, I would say not to over book yourself on events for the day. You will find a lot of cool and new stuff there and it would be a real bummer to not have an opens slot in your schedule to try it out.

 

[waterdhavian]

Free events are still worth registering for. Not only will it secure a spot but it serves as a nice reminder to attend it. Last year Dead Gentlemen's The Gamers 2 was sold out and only those with tickets to the event were allowed to enter. They offered more showings, but those of us with out tickets had to come back at a later time.

If you see a seminar or similar event with an extremely high number for capacity its usually safe to not register. You'll get an idea once event registration starts on what would be HOT and what will be easy to get into without a ticket.