sarcasticwriter

I'm having a heck of a time choosing! Steampunk Daring Do is out - too big to pack (what with the hat and all). That leaves Fluttershy, Rarity, Princess Luna and Sunset Shimmer. Rarity and Sunset Shimmer are the easiest to pack, transport, and wear. Princess Luna and Fluttershy are bigger costumes and prone to wrinkling, but that's not exactly a deal-breaker. I feel like I should maybe bring Sunset Shimmer for sure, as she's a pretty rare cosplay, but I don't know what other two options to bring.

Well, if nothing else, having to leave the Hyatt property to go to Max's might mean Max's will be less-crowded than the Hyatt restaurants at peak meal times. But then again, it might be busier. Hard to tell how big Max's is from the pictures. And again, I bow before superior menu-searching skills!

My goodness, Simon, I bow before your superior searching skills. I scoured the Hyatt website and went to Google looking for menus and turned up nothing (although it should be noted I have an anti-script add-on running in my browser, so sometimes certain links don't appear at all. I lost a computer to a piece of browser script malware and would rather look dumb in these situations than lose another!). But your links do reinforce my decision to switch to the Holiday Inn Express! Comparing the menus, I'd probably rather have lunch and dinner at Max's (http://www.maxsworld.com/17/maxs-restaurant-and-bar-of-burlingame) even if I was staying at the Hyatt. If going to Max's for lunch and dinner means the opportunity for a brief stop at my hotel room, all the better. As for the Hyatt's customer service - I should explain that I'm not a diva or anything, it's just that I personally *know* they can do better. I work for a high-end hotel chain myself, one that, unlike the Hyatt, actually places guest satisfaction as its absolute highest priority. We don't put guests on hold, we never transfer them more than once, and every employee is empowered to override any rate or policy if it means making a (reasonable) guest happy. I would NEVER refuse to adjust a measely $37 off *one* night for a guest who reasonably believed they were getting the wrong rate (and then was told it was the wrong rate by hotel representatives). I'd just adjust their darn rate and maybe give them an upgrade if they still sounded even slightly annoyed. I've done it hundreds of times. That's probably why my chain is ranked so much higher on the JD Powers list than the Hyatt! *smug* Max's (http://www.maxsworld.com/17/maxs-restaurant-and-bar-of-burlingame) is just a few hundred feet away from the Hyatt - only about a 3-4 minute walk. It's within sight of the hotel. Even if you are doing most of your eating at the Hyatt, just having some variety might be well worth an 8 minute roudtrip commute! Using Google street view, it doesn't look like there's much else in the neighborhood for food, though. Bit of a bummer, that!

I decided to cancel my reservation at the Hyatt and go with the Holiday Inn Express that's a three minute walk down the road. Their rate per night is $108, plus they serve a complimentary full hot-cooked breakfast, which apparently saves a ton of money over the Hyatt's high-priced restaurants. And the Holiday Inn Express has Max's, a deli/cafe restaurant attached to their property. The menu looks pretty reasonable for lunch and dinner. (I tried to find menus for the Hyatt's restaurants to estimate my food budget, but couldn't turn anything up. That's a terrible sign.) Between saving on the rate, saving $20+ a day on breakfast, and punishing the Hyatt for their bad guest service approach with reservations, it's a great value!

Just wanted to spare you ponies the aggravation I just went through with the Hyatt. You can't get the $112 rate for Friday or Saturday nights. It's sold out, per Amy Taylor, the hotel's Director of Revenue Management The TL:DR version is that I called six times, was transferred eight times, spent about 70 minutes total time on hold. I only went to that much effort because I was told early on by two different reservations agents that $112 was the rate, but something was wrong with their computer system which was preventing them from fixing it, and if I called the in-house reservations team on Monday, it would be resolved. It was never resolved. Please, save yourselves the frustration! The $112 rate is gone for Friday and Saturday! EDIT TO ADD: I shot the BABScon site an email about the rate, so they've already updated their website. Carry on!

33 here!

Everett isn't exactly the ends of the earth if you have a car. I guess. Depending on what time you drive.

Where abouts in West Seattle? I know I'm closer to the Sound than Lake Washington, up here in Ballard. Well, I actually live *in* the boundaries of the West Seattle Junction, but the main hang-out house my herd congregates in is two miles south. Although we just had some friends move into the South Park neighborhood, so we've been there a bit more. Ballard isn't unreasonable! I can have friends in Ballard! Although somebody said once - I think it was in The Stranger - that once the Viaduct comes down, "Getting from West Seattle to Ballard will require an overnight bag." It's funny because it's true.

Totally! I'm excited about meeting a whole herd of bronies from all over the place, I didn't mean to exclude any non-Seattleites. I do want to expand my West Seattle herd, however. I'm very out-numbered!

Thanks Walkingdragon!

Hi everypony! I'm Christina, but I noodle around the internet as SarcasticWriter (even though I'm not all that sarcastic anymore). I just reserved a badge yesterday but haven't gotten the confirmation, so I'm hopeful Everfree isn't sold out. It's going to be my first brony con! I'm hoping to meet some new Seattle-area folk, especially West Seattle bronies. I've got a great social circle of 20 and 30-something friends here in West Seattle, but I would love to get some new blood into our roleplayer/nerdy/gamer group. And bronies are awesome people! Looking forward to getting to know the Everfree brony community!