Southern California GenCon? Definite maybe!

[Doc_Klueless]

Hey cool. I grew up in Pasadena. I lived on South Grand near the corner of Fair Oaks & Orange Grove. Whereabouts are you?

I live at Alexan Place at Lake and Walnut.

Have you been to Rick's Burrito on Walnut? Order a bean and cheese burrito and tell them to put french fries inside the burrito (not to be confused with the spuderito which is not the same and is generally inferior). It's not on the menu but people order it often enough that it might as well be. You won't regret it! Plus, it's a complete lunch for under $2. $3 with a drink.

Haven't been there. But that's not surprising. There is just so much to do here, it'll take me years to just scratch the surface. I will, however, keep an eye out for it and give it a try!

 

[Doc_Klueless]

Isn't it cool? Did you ever visit the Game Zone on Colorado? You're the one who asked for suggestions on game stores in Pasadena, right?

Yes, I did. It was much as you described. If you search, you can find some real treasures there.
What's even better is that the people there are sooooo nice. I usually have my almost-5 year old daughter in tow when I go shopping. She's very well behaved and will not touch anything without permission. For being so good, they gave her a booster pack of Sailor Moon CCG. She loves those cards. And their kindness has kept me purchasing things from them (d20 Sovereign Stone, and other stuff).

It's just a great place.

 

[psionotic]

Umm, how about Gen Con No Cal?

As in San Franciso/San Jose, not 0 calories. We Oregonians and Washingtonians want to go too, and a nice centralized location would be sweet for yours truly and his gaggle of gamer friends!

Although, if it ends up being in LA, I won't complain. There's actually a 2.5 hour direct flight from Eugene to LA which we could take to get down there.

 

[mattcolville]

I think GenConSoCal is a great idea.

I'd like to throw my vote in for Anaheim. I honestly think that they'd be better because that city is designed for tourists! There is a cheap/moderate/fancy hotel/motel on practically every corner. The city itself is very family oriented and also is tourist friendly.

Personally, I think L.A. is a bad choice because of it's lack of tourist/traveller friendliness. If you don't know where your going and exactly WHEN you should leave to beat rush hours your going to get stuck in traffic.

oh well, I don't care where it goes so long as it's in So Cal

DC

I think the spot they're looking at is, in fact, Anaheim/Orange County. I think San Diego and Long Beach are also front runners.

The problem with places like Vegas is, while it's very Con Friendly, the GenCon people think that most people who go to a Con, any Con, including GenCon, come from a 100-mile radius around the site. There aren't enough gamers within a 100 miles of Vegas to support a con.

 

[johnnype]

I'd like to second (or third) the San Francisco bay area as a possible site for Gen Con. Moscone center in downtown SF is perfect for the Con.

Either way the most important thing the organizers need to think about is the number of hotel rooms nearby. The primary reason why Milwaukee sucked so bad was the sheer distance some had to travel from their hotel rooms to the site. It was horrible. I'm sure the organizers are aware of this but it bears repeating.

 

[mythusmage]

The word I got is that they're looking into Nov. But, the impression I got was that they think Southern California is everything below Klamath Falls.

Travel between LA and SD: if you don't mind taking a few hours, Orange and San Diego Counties run commuter trains. Trouble is, the SD County trains don't run on Sunday, so you'd have to stay over till Monday. Both are cheaper, and more comfortable, than Greyhound, and allow transfers.

San Diego Hotels: Close to the convention center they get pricey. Your best bet would be the hotels and motels in Mission Valley. The Blue Line Trolley runs between Mission Valley and Downtown.

BTW, there's a new science fiction convention starting up this year. You can get details at ConJecture.

(Fellow San Diegans are welcome to email privately, but be sure to mention EnWorld in your message.)

 

[Mistwell]

I would love a SoCal GenCon! I'd think either San Diego or Long Beach would be the best locations.

For those asking for a San Francisco Con...the parking is just too horrid to handle a con. Even hotels charge $30 a day for parking (yes, even for their guests). That alone might price some people out of the Con.