What's it like at a con?

[TwilightDreamer 69]

I can't honestly tell what I'll find out about but as far as cons in general, they're pretty much a blast as far as I know with the fan merchandise, the fanart, the fan-music, the panels, etc.

 

It's like a short 2-3 day party/get-together, I'm sure that brony conventions could be 20% cooler or even greater than most.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I dunno as far as brony cons, but PAX was fun as heck, and well worth the money spent, to see and meet game dev's and get some sweet merch. I don't think I'll make it to any brony con this year, as they fall on the same weekend as Lion claws and milsim west ops. 

[FNGRpony 658]

I went to wizard world for over 10 years.  (Chicago comic con)

 

it's a magical place. filled 

independent comics,

weapons,

boot legged material (use to be vhs i'm assuming it's all dvd these days),

over priced food you wouldn't give to your dog,

it's early and your stomach is ripping you up from the inside cause your likely running on 0 sleep,

your surroned by the dregs of humanity,

 

it's glorious.  I mean that with 0 sarcasm.

 

you justr don't know.

[Grimm Cheater 16]

As long as you have friends\family to share in the experience. Everything will turn out fine, and one more thing. Don't forget the most impotent thing, and that is to be awesome and have a blast doing so!!!

[RockinRarity 1,605]

2. The cost of the hotel (and parking at the hotel) has been split between us all (generally 8-10 people), and it still ends up costing more than the ticket to go to the con.

OP, I want to throw my two cents out there.

 

I do NOT recommend having 8-10 people in a hotel room with you. Yes it may cost less but if you can save a few extra dollars it is far better to have a room with 4-5 people like the room maximum says. Here is why:

 

1. Safety. It is a FIRE HAZARD to have that many people staying in a standard hotel room. That makes it ILLEGAL to stuff your room like that.

 

2. When everybody decides to stuff their hotel rooms with people, the elevators to go to and from your room are a living hell to wait for. Because the wait is so long, people go down to go up and go up to go down, which causes even MORE conjestion.

 

3. Seriously, there is no room to have 8 people in a 4 person room. You can fit 5, MAYBE 6 in that room, but there is literally no way to keep your space if everyone is sleeping on top of each other.

 

4. I want to tell you about the Youmacon hotel. Youmacon is held at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, which is the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere with over 1200 rooms and it is 73 stories high. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, the entire hotel was sold out. In 2012, the Marriott had suspicion that there would be WAY more people staying in their rooms than their gigantic hotel could hold, so they decided to only allow 4 people per room and give those 4 people wristbands, leaving the rest of the people who intended on staying in crowded rooms to fend for themselves.

 

Anyways, while their actions in 2012 were sudden and not good (the con and the hotel came to a resolution that they could both agree on for 2013) they had totally legitimate reasons for forcing the 4 to a room policy. It costs them MORE money for twice as many people staying at the hotel to shower and use the rest of their resources, their rooms are almost always messier - or trashed - than rooms that have fewer people in them. On top of it being a fire hazard and illegal - the fire marshal was giving Youmacon stern looks in 2011 when there were too many people even in the con space (Youmacon had to expand to Cobo Hall where the Detroit International Auto Show is held).

 

5. The people who tend to stuff their rooms full of people tend to be younger because they have less money, so you have a good chance of getting immature roommates.

 

As one could probably tell, I do take this subject very seriously. In my mind and for these reasons, having more than the maximum capacity in your room is a no-no.

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

 

 

I do NOT recommend having 8-10 people in a hotel room with you. Yes it may cost less but if you can save a few extra dollars it is far better to have a room with 4-5 people like the room maximum says.

 

Ah, yes, it might be useful to note that we always get two rooms.  I probably should have mentioned that above.  I absolutely agree with all of your points; saving that money is not worth being miserably cramped in your hotel room for two days.  Not to mention, you get more room keys that way which is always a good thing.  If you really don't want to split up the group, you can always ask the hotel staff if they have any adjoining rooms (again, that's what my friends and I do every year).

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Ah, yes, it might be useful to note that we always get two rooms. I probably should have mentioned that above. I absolutely agree with all of your points; saving that money is not worth being miserably cramped in your hotel room for two days. Not to mention, you get more room keys that way which is always a good thing. If you really don't want to split up the group, you can always ask the hotel staff if they have any adjoining rooms (again, that's what my friends and I do every year).

Good to know! And adjoining rooms sound fun. I have never been to a con with that many friends (I also don't think that the Renaissance Center has adjoining rooms but there are lots of Youmacon overflow hotels) but that sounds like fun. If the hotel let's you split a suite among a bunch of people then sleeping on the couch/floor wouldn't be so miserable.