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PAX PRIME 2012 Information and FAQ (READ THIS FIRST, THEN ASK ALL QUESTIONS HERE)
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I'm gonna regret this, buuut last year the Hyatt was basically giving suites away, offering you and friends in a seperate room the chance to combine together and upgrade for no price increase (to free up regular rooms). So you might try giving them a call and see what you can swing (YMMV, that was last year and such.) I feel fine saying this because I don't have enough friends staying in hotels to benefit me
So I'm turning 17 this July and I was thinking about going to PAX with a couple buddies this year. Is the age to play M-rated games at PAX really 18? I would of thought it would be 17 since that's the ESRB's recommended minimum age for playing M rated games. On the ESRB website, it says, "Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older." If it is 18, should I just wait and go next year?
Its fine if you look remotely over 15. I played all the M games I ever could want and I was 16, although being 6'6'' and having some serious chops on meh face probably helped though.
Please do NOT BE SURPRISED if an exhibitor decides to ID you to play their M rated game.
That being said, there is TONNES to do at PAX that have nothing to do with playing / demoing M rated games.
PA community after parties you'll find out about on these forums. Industry afterparties you'll need to wait to hear from whichever company is sponsoring it.
Yes, exhibitors may ID you, but tbh there are so many amazing things to do at PAX which are not age restricted (vast majority of demos, freeplay area, concerts, panels, DJ Vapok's /dance party, etc) that you will not be left out at all. Lots of people come to PAX as under-18s, or as families with TinyPeople(TM).
Long story short: Come. To. PAX.
Make sure you keep an eye out for the Tri-Wizard Drinking Tournament. It's a lot of fun, and there is a non-zero possibility that I will end up in a wizard dance-duel outside a karaoke bar. In fact, I'd place the odds at 10:1 in favour.
Any ETA on when it goes live?
Amazon wish list | Please check out my wife's blog and jewelry store.
Nope. Nobody knows until it's here. Keep an eye on the forums.
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[ ] PAX Coin Ordered/Reserved
[ ] PAX Coin Ordered/Reserved
Just wondering, for those who had to travel in from out of state, how much did the entire trip end up costing you? I know this can vary greatly from person to person, but I'm just trying to get a general idea of how much this is all going to cost. I'm aware the hotels have a PAX rate (provided I can get a reservation in time), but generally how much does it come out to for the (I'm assuming) 5 nights you need to stay, at the main hotels? How much are you setting aside for the trip this year? What are the areas in which you're planning to be more thrifty?
Thanks in advance for any answers/advice you can provide. This is a great FAQ, and it seems like such a chill community.
XBL: ii Mike G ii - PSN: Greddy21 - Steam: notmikegonzalez - Slytherin - Death Eater
Hi! Welcome and enjoy your first PAX!!
Cheaper ways to get to Seattle might be the cross-country road trip or train trip, so you can carpool with people (keep your eyes peeled for the threads)
Save money by buying food outside the convention center, and either get a hotel with inclusive breakfast or nom outside the hotel.
Save your money to buy stuff until the last day, when there will be discounts (except for the t-shirt, if you want to buy it, which you need to get on the first day)
Check out the room-share thread, rooms are usually between 100-170 a night, but you can split this between people.
Bear in mind that there is a "voluntary" donation of $1500 to SmallLady per person for setting up this FAQ. Failure to comply results in stabbed kneecaps.
That last one might have been a joke. Maybe.
Just for a rough idea, I am traveling from Vancouver,BC by train with 2 friends. With passes, train tickets and hotels its gonna be about $360 without food or any spending money. But really, there is so much swag I didn't find I bought much except the mandatory PAX Prime tshirt. Also, try to find places to eat outside of the convention center, you can easily spend $20 a day just buying snacks there.
WELCOME TO PAAAAXXX!!
29th-5th should definitely be covered by the hotel booking system. Some people start getting get in on monday/tuesday, and many don't leave until the following tues/weds.
I've never been one for the bar crawl but this makes me pause and reconsider...
Word of sagely advice: Only bring a shirt or two with you. You will be walking out of there with a paxjillion free new shirts.
PAX 2013 STATUS - Badges: PURCHASED Hotel: RESERVED Vacation: Awaiting approval Plane Tickets: Waiting on vacation approval.
That is, if you do expo. I, for example, never do expo, and usually don't get free shirts. Should at least bring enough for each day
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Coming from STL, our plane tickets were about $250/person (round trip) but prices seem to have trended up heavily this year (My current estimate based on pricing trends is about $300). The hyatt was like $180/night. I think our final bill for Friday Night-Sunday night was $780ish but that included parking for a friend's car (which more or less evened out with the fact that we stayed elsewhere, at said friend's house, Thursday night). We could have easily put a 3rd person in the room either on the floor or on the big chair in the corner if we had desired (not really a chase lounger, but bigger than a standard chair).
Food is definitely a per person thing. My wife and I love to eat, so we spent a lot on dinners (~$100 for the 2 of us give or take a bit) but that included our meals (usually with an appetizer) and our drinks. And that usually was our drinking for the night. Lunch was leftovers and/or chips and cold cut sandwhiches in the hotel with some soda. I forget what breakfast was. Point is, Food scales to budget. If you tried to you might be able to escape for $10-15/day, on sandwhiches and such or you can spend tons more. (This is our main vacation after all best to spluge, we budget for it through the year.)
Keeping in mind that except the plane ticket (which is per person) the numbers I quoted are for a couple to go to PAX, Hotel can be split and I quoted food numbers that were our total bill (because that's what I remember.) Do the math yourself, but if the plane rates hold from the midwest I get pretty much balancing numbers between driving flying from the midwest unless you can 4 or more people (I arrive at a lowball estimate of $220 in gas assuing 38mpg, and $3.80 gas price going about 2100 miles and taking about 30-36 hours of driving, meaning a hotel room stay and food adding about anohter $100, then lather, rinse, repeat on the way back.) 3 Might be able to bring down the price enough, but it'd be close. Other (non-financial) factors may of course go into this calculation for yourself I figured I'd save some people the scratch work.
Word of sagely advice: pack shirts equal to number of nights you go out + number of days you go out. Our noses will all thank you. And t-shirts don't take much room.
Corallary to this rule: Bring a bigger bag than you need to get down there (we made that mistake and crushed one of HaloFest megablock sets.) This year we bought new luggage so we'd have 2 bags in the 25-29" range to bring.
Sooooooooo........ I haven't seen your cheque yet
You've seen something else of mine which is far more valuable...
I would disagree on the dollar value you've placed on what I've seen...
Maybe closer to $5.00
Additionally, not too many places just give away shirts anymore. They make you work* for it by standing in line and playing their demo. I think I got 1 shirt last year? So if your wardrobe is based around booths, you'll need at least a couple hours of labor put in to it.
For the record, the number of shirts given out has been on the decline due to rising cotton prices over the past few years. #truefacts
Unfortunately, this is not good advice if you wear any size larger than L. I ended up with more than a few swag shirts I couldn't wear.
Or if you are the size of a kid. None of the shirts I got fit. Mens small =/= Womens small.
.
Attendee: ♥ Prime '12, '13 ..♥ East '12
Opposite problem for my wife, I've got a few shirts in my drawer that don't really fit either of us (too big for her, to small for me.) They make good sleeping shirts, but not really for wearing at the con.
XBL: ii Mike G ii - PSN: Greddy21 - Steam: notmikegonzalez - Slytherin - Death Eater
Ill let you know if I have an extra spot once I book. Not sure if we have 3 or 4 yet.
Yes, yes, yes and YES.
Pokecrawl = Triwizard Drinking Tournament
PrePAX Dinner = PrePAX Dinner
MMT = MMT
Badger = Mushroom
Also, I strongly recommend the Tabletop Freeplay area around 7-8PM as a great place to meet people