quick question...how do you guys handle the food issue? I've seen that Amtrak food is crazy expensive and people recommend bringing stuff to snack but what resources do we have access to? Microwaves? Can we bring icechests as long as they're small enough? How have you guys dealt with this in the past?
Normally, I stock up on junkfood or real food in zip lock bags in my carry on. I usually go for a couple of dining car meals before we hit Seattle. We don't get access to microwaves or stuff like that although there are some in the snack car but they only use it on the stuff you buy from them. There is an extended stop in Northern California where we stop for like 20 minutes and can get off and buy some food from the cafe in one of the stations which is... okay from my experience.
There was a pizza run last year where someone came on the train with like 10 pizzas and people had paid to get some although the results weren't all positive.
Not to open a can of worms but that's when Amtrak staff got a bit stricter with everyone on the obs car when that went down. The people that ate and sat down were ok but it created a lot of foot traffic during the dining car lunch rush.
Their was confusion on who paid, and who did not pay. Alot of us paid for the pizza, and when it got to the train it was clear their was not enough pizza for the amount of people. Many folks admitted they were not aware and chipped in some.
The idea was great, if we decide to do it again, maybe group 2-3 people up per box and see if the pizza guys will put a group name per box/box's. We are all a family on the train, and I personally don't mind sharing. But we should work on organizing the pizza run a bit more for this year.
Question: From looking at schedules, I see that the train comes in at 8:45pm. Is that accurate? And does anyone here have experience in trying to do both the train and Triwizard? They seem possibly incompatible, but I'm not sure.
Buttoneer, Brigadeer, and Keeper of the Book of Wil Wheaton.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Some people dash off in cabs to their hotels and then try to get to whatever PAX dinners/bar crawls they can get to. I don't think the Triwizard deal is possible. The train has come in early the last few times but it's usually an hour or so.
yeah, from what i've been reading in the Pre-PAX Dinner thread is that dinner is most likely at 6 and the pub crawl start at around 8. if the train comes in early i'm sure people can make it to the crawl
I am going to try and get a few volunteers to act as waiters for when the pizza arrives if not then we will just have people come up 1 table at a time which should keep the line under control. As for supply we got what the donations allowed us to order while keeping a good tip. Hopefully this year we will have more word of mouth so more people are shutupandtakemymoney.jpg which gives us more pizza and better toppings.
Just throwing this out there...Other than just pizza would anyone be interested in a sandwich exchange? Like someone bring bread, another sliced tomatoes, someone else condiments, another with bacon strips? I still would like to do pizza...this would be like another option since to bring everything for sandwiches may take up alot of space in your carry on...
TimeCruiserMikePast Organizer of the West Coast Train TripSan Fernando ValleyRegistered Userregular
Probably should have done this when i first made the OP but am lazy. I've brought back the PAXTrain roster to help organization. To get your name up on the spread sheet, please fill out this form.
The one time it arrived mega late (~11pm by the time we got in a cab) it was due to the whole waiting on Pacific freight trains to pass by in NorCal and Oregon. The last few times we haven't had those issues.
Hell, even when we had the "random drunk passes out and punches the paramedic who helps him and then gets arrested" incident a couple of years ago, we got to Seattle right on time.
Basically, we've been early/on-time like, 3 of the last 4 times I've been on the train.
Question: From looking at schedules, I see that the train comes in at 8:45pm. Is that accurate? And does anyone here have experience in trying to do both the train and Triwizard? They seem possibly incompatible, but I'm not sure.
My friends and I did the Triwizard and Train last year and it worked out fine. We changed into our Hogwarts uniforms on the train and booked it via cab to our hotel after the group pic. Dumped our stuff at the hotel and then cabbed it to our first bar. Our House boy was very understanding and had given us his contact info beforehand so we could meet up with them if the train got in late. If I wasn't looking to Enforce this year I'd train again, and still Triwizard it up. It's totally doable and honestly the crawl goes til the bars shutdown, so you have plenty of time if you know where to meet your group.
On the touchy-pizza note.. my friends and I ordered our own pizzas separately through the same company at the Portland stop. We ate them in the bottom of the main car away from the group and it was fine for us. If you're really worried about food that is always an option, just make sure you get your order in with the same delivery guy. Also, you might not be the most popular people when you walk through the cabin with pizzas and declare "sorry, these are privately owned".
PRIME 2012: 3-day Pass [X] Hotel [X] Plane Tickets [X] Buttons [X] VacationTime [X]
!Ravenclaw Deatheaters, represent!
Question: From looking at schedules, I see that the train comes in at 8:45pm. Is that accurate? And does anyone here have experience in trying to do both the train and Triwizard? They seem possibly incompatible, but I'm not sure.
My friends and I did the Triwizard and Train last year and it worked out fine. We changed into our Hogwarts uniforms on the train and booked it via cab to our hotel after the group pic. Dumped our stuff at the hotel and then cabbed it to our first bar. Our House boy was very understanding and had given us his contact info beforehand so we could meet up with them if the train got in late. If I wasn't looking to Enforce this year I'd train again, and still Triwizard it up. It's totally doable and honestly the crawl goes til the bars shutdown, so you have plenty of time if you know where to meet your group.
On the touchy-pizza note.. my friends and I ordered our own pizzas separately through the same company at the Portland stop. We ate them in the bottom of the main car away from the group and it was fine for us. If you're really worried about food that is always an option, just make sure you get your order in with the same delivery guy. Also, you might not be the most popular people when you walk through the cabin with pizzas and declare "sorry, these are privately owned".
So...I want to be clear...is there a specific pizza place in Oregon where people have had a history of having them delivered to the train station directly?
Oh lordy, this sounds fun! I was planning on flying, since this'll be my first PAX/convention/trip to Seattle/ so many other firsts! I didn't know where to start looking to be prepared, but this sounds like it's an awesome time! I think I might be riding the Paxtrain with my friend who is also going to his first Pax/trip to Seattle/ god knows what else. I'll be looking in here constantly to find out everything I need for this trip and to see if I can get on the train. If I do ride the train, I'll be riding from Union Station most likely. ^_^
Question: From looking at schedules, I see that the train comes in at 8:45pm. Is that accurate? And does anyone here have experience in trying to do both the train and Triwizard? They seem possibly incompatible, but I'm not sure.
My friends and I did the Triwizard and Train last year and it worked out fine. We changed into our Hogwarts uniforms on the train and booked it via cab to our hotel after the group pic. Dumped our stuff at the hotel and then cabbed it to our first bar. Our House boy was very understanding and had given us his contact info beforehand so we could meet up with them if the train got in late. If I wasn't looking to Enforce this year I'd train again, and still Triwizard it up. It's totally doable and honestly the crawl goes til the bars shutdown, so you have plenty of time if you know where to meet your group.
Thanks for the info about the Triwizard logistics. I'm still somewhat torn between the train and PAXDev, but at least now I know they're both options.
Also, there's something magical about the idea of changing into your Hogwarts robes on the train.
Buttoneer, Brigadeer, and Keeper of the Book of Wil Wheaton.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Travel options seem way more expensive than usual this year (though it might just be my fault for getting in so late) so I'm considering giving the train a shot going up at least, just some minor questions:
1) Is it worth it to try bringing a laptop along or are there not chargers / space enough to really use them?
2) Is the return trip worth it at all or am I better off trying to get a flight? Mainly asking since I'd need to take a extra hotel night if so, granted all the flights are super expensive at this point.
3) Does it take all that long for things to get started up? I'd be getting on in LA but that sounds like the case for most people here.
I kind of want to do this if only because it sounds like a fun experience and I might not have the free time to do it next year. It sounds like a chance to meet up with some people and get into some different aspects of PAX (I've pretty much never been a card or tabletop person). Anyways, depending on what I decide to do I might be able to bring a small console / monitor and maybe get some co-op stuff running on a laptop.
1) There may or may not be outlets at the coach seats. We had a year where there weren't outlets at our seats (for the most part) but there are usually 2 outlets at every seat. There are outlets in the Obs Deck, either way.
2) Return trip is up to you. People are sort of winding down and/or trying not to spread whatever disease they picked up on the trip back. I've stopped taking the trip back down so I could fly back home in a few hours and spend the extra day off for myself.
3) The party starts once they check our tickets at our seats. Then we migrate up to the obs deck. Some people may prefer to game with people in their seats if the noise is too much for them. Find whatever suits you.
1) There may or may not be outlets at the coach seats. We had a year where there weren't outlets at our seats (for the most part) but there are usually 2 outlets at every seat. There are outlets in the Obs Deck, either way.
2) Return trip is up to you. People are sort of winding down and/or trying not to spread whatever disease they picked up on the trip back. I've stopped taking the trip back down so I could fly back home in a few hours and spend the extra day off for myself.
3) The party starts once they check our tickets at our seats. Then we migrate up to the obs deck. Some people may prefer to game with people in their seats if the noise is too much for them. Find whatever suits you.
1)Personally laptops don't seems too worth it to me since they're a bit of a hassle to fit in your bags and they are a bit antisocial. The whole magic of the PAX Train is to get away from the tv screens and game with your fellow train-goers. Thus life long friendships can be formed, possibly kidding on this last part.
2) As Arikado stated, the train ride back is definitely not as action packed as the ride up due to the lack of energy and most people are just gamed out. But if you are looking to squeeze that last bit of PAX fun in, this might be for you.
3) The party don't start til I walk in! (Kesha has done horrible things to me.)
The discounts only apply if you're purchasing the tickets from the same stop. If a single stop wants to coordinate with 10+ people to get that discount, then it'd work, but otherwise..
PRIME 2012: 3-day Pass [X] Hotel [X] Plane Tickets [X] Buttons [X] VacationTime [X]
!Ravenclaw Deatheaters, represent!
I like the train ride back. It's more mellow than the ride there. People try out any games bought at PAX, talk about the cool things they saw, sometimes trade swag. Plus, most people bemoan the ending of PAX when they get home, and this is a nice way to wind down.
Does anyone own a projector and willing to bring on the train?
I've got around 2.5TB worth of anime, and 2TB worth of pretty much every movie released in the last 4 years. I'd be willing to bring my laptop. Last year the game cart was hardly used. We used it off and on for board games. But at night, it would be a cool thing to watch some anime/movies. I can bring some decent speakers so we can all hear.
If anyone is taking the train, and can bring one. PM me.
Sounds good, I should be booking my ticket later this week. The good thing about my laptop is that it has a pretty nice screen, and I can run some arcade games off it, the only downside is I only have 1 wireless Xbox controller and one wired, so if anyone brings an extra one I can hook that up for 4-player. I guess if no-one else is bringing a monitor of some fashion I can use my laptop for that as well (17", 1080p screen) I don't know of any adapters that might work for hooking a console up to that though.
Also if anyone knows any good 4-player games from Steam let me know, I have Jamestown, Magicka, and Nation Red that seem to work. If they work on Mac that's a plus too, but I'll probably be able to run a Windows partition for the Xbox controllers.
Gonna get my ticket as soon as I confirm the time off. I am so excited, everyone knows the train level is the best out of any vidya.
It's my first paxtrain ride, I usually live in Seattle but this summer I'm working in SoCal. (Out of curiosity, which train station is closest to someone in the Pasadena area?)
How crowded does this thing get, what is the usual attendance?
It's my first paxtrain ride, I usually live in Seattle but this summer I'm working in SoCal. (Out of curiosity, which train station is closest to someone in the Pasadena area?)
If you take the Gold Line that will get you right to Union Station where I think this should be boarding from. I don't know which Pasadena station you'd be going for but usually I get on around Madre Street (right off the 210 freeway). You do have to pay a couple of bucks to ride the train though, I think it's like $5-ish?
Uuugh you guys are making me want to forgo PaxDev for you.
If I do come, which is at this point fifty-fifty, I'll bring my copy of the D&D newredbox.
Buttoneer, Brigadeer, and Keeper of the Book of Wil Wheaton.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
Going to purchase tickets as soon as I can get the money. Only going to be traveling about the third of the route, but very excited.
First time going to PAX ( and obviously first time on the PAXTrain)
0
TimeCruiserMikePast Organizer of the West Coast Train TripSan Fernando ValleyRegistered Userregular
does someone volunteer to maybe DM a game on the train? would that happen here or once we're on board?
in the past some Dungeon Masters have opted to take sign ups for at least one of their campaigns here in the thread, with a set time(s) that gaming would be taking place. If one opts to organize a game after they're on the train that works too. I leave that entirely up to the DM, but if any one wants to organize a game here in the thread let me know and i'll add all relevant details about your game to the OP.
Just a heads up for everyone. I bought a awesome 1080P Projector! Got a steal of a deal, so I'll be bringing that. If someone could be so kind as to Volunteer to bring a White sheet, and something to stick it to the wall with that would be awesome. If I remember correctly the bottom floor gaming car is of a fabric. I'll be bringing over 3.5TB worth of Movies, Anime, and TV shows to include, but not limited to Game of Thrones, The walking dead, and much much more!
I've not had any feedback on bringing a Projector for some movies during the trip. Would anyone besides Me be interested? If not, I won't bother lugging a 4.5 pound projector + Speakers and HHD's.
I think the projector is a great idea. Last year, the arcade car ended up pretty empty, but we were overcrowding the obs deck so much that Amtrak was calling us out a bit; having another place for people to hang out would be great.
That said, I will be gaming most of the time, but will need time away from that from time to time. TIME.
Posts
Normally, I stock up on junkfood or real food in zip lock bags in my carry on. I usually go for a couple of dining car meals before we hit Seattle. We don't get access to microwaves or stuff like that although there are some in the snack car but they only use it on the stuff you buy from them. There is an extended stop in Northern California where we stop for like 20 minutes and can get off and buy some food from the cafe in one of the stations which is... okay from my experience.
There was a pizza run last year where someone came on the train with like 10 pizzas and people had paid to get some although the results weren't all positive.
Their was confusion on who paid, and who did not pay. Alot of us paid for the pizza, and when it got to the train it was clear their was not enough pizza for the amount of people. Many folks admitted they were not aware and chipped in some.
The idea was great, if we decide to do it again, maybe group 2-3 people up per box and see if the pizza guys will put a group name per box/box's. We are all a family on the train, and I personally don't mind sharing. But we should work on organizing the pizza run a bit more for this year.
just my 0.2c
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
[X] Train tix
[_] Finish Vivi costume
[X] Anxiously wait
{Fondly remembers the PAXTrain}
I'm trying to decide...PAX Dev, or the PAX Train. They'll probably be mutually exclusive.
{Fondly remembers the PAXTrain}
Hell, even when we had the "random drunk passes out and punches the paramedic who helps him and then gets arrested" incident a couple of years ago, we got to Seattle right on time.
Basically, we've been early/on-time like, 3 of the last 4 times I've been on the train.
My friends and I did the Triwizard and Train last year and it worked out fine. We changed into our Hogwarts uniforms on the train and booked it via cab to our hotel after the group pic. Dumped our stuff at the hotel and then cabbed it to our first bar. Our House boy was very understanding and had given us his contact info beforehand so we could meet up with them if the train got in late. If I wasn't looking to Enforce this year I'd train again, and still Triwizard it up. It's totally doable and honestly the crawl goes til the bars shutdown, so you have plenty of time if you know where to meet your group.
On the touchy-pizza note.. my friends and I ordered our own pizzas separately through the same company at the Portland stop. We ate them in the bottom of the main car away from the group and it was fine for us. If you're really worried about food that is always an option, just make sure you get your order in with the same delivery guy. Also, you might not be the most popular people when you walk through the cabin with pizzas and declare "sorry, these are privately owned".
!Ravenclaw Deatheaters, represent!
So...I want to be clear...is there a specific pizza place in Oregon where people have had a history of having them delivered to the train station directly?
[X] Train tix
[_] Finish Vivi costume
[X] Anxiously wait
Thanks for the info about the Triwizard logistics. I'm still somewhat torn between the train and PAXDev, but at least now I know they're both options.
Also, there's something magical about the idea of changing into your Hogwarts robes on the train.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
1) Is it worth it to try bringing a laptop along or are there not chargers / space enough to really use them?
2) Is the return trip worth it at all or am I better off trying to get a flight? Mainly asking since I'd need to take a extra hotel night if so, granted all the flights are super expensive at this point.
3) Does it take all that long for things to get started up? I'd be getting on in LA but that sounds like the case for most people here.
I kind of want to do this if only because it sounds like a fun experience and I might not have the free time to do it next year. It sounds like a chance to meet up with some people and get into some different aspects of PAX (I've pretty much never been a card or tabletop person). Anyways, depending on what I decide to do I might be able to bring a small console / monitor and maybe get some co-op stuff running on a laptop.
2) Return trip is up to you. People are sort of winding down and/or trying not to spread whatever disease they picked up on the trip back. I've stopped taking the trip back down so I could fly back home in a few hours and spend the extra day off for myself.
3) The party starts once they check our tickets at our seats. Then we migrate up to the obs deck. Some people may prefer to game with people in their seats if the noise is too much for them. Find whatever suits you.
1)Personally laptops don't seems too worth it to me since they're a bit of a hassle to fit in your bags and they are a bit antisocial. The whole magic of the PAX Train is to get away from the tv screens and game with your fellow train-goers. Thus life long friendships can be formed, possibly kidding on this last part.
2) As Arikado stated, the train ride back is definitely not as action packed as the ride up due to the lack of energy and most people are just gamed out. But if you are looking to squeeze that last bit of PAX fun in, this might be for you.
3) The party don't start til I walk in! (Kesha has done horrible things to me.)
XBL/PSN-Polaris314/Twitter/DJ P0LARI5
edit...20%! wow!
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am/Layout&cid=1248543278910
[X] Train tix
[_] Finish Vivi costume
[X] Anxiously wait
The discounts only apply if you're purchasing the tickets from the same stop. If a single stop wants to coordinate with 10+ people to get that discount, then it'd work, but otherwise..
!Ravenclaw Deatheaters, represent!
Also: Tickets acquired. Yay, train!
I've got around 2.5TB worth of anime, and 2TB worth of pretty much every movie released in the last 4 years. I'd be willing to bring my laptop. Last year the game cart was hardly used. We used it off and on for board games. But at night, it would be a cool thing to watch some anime/movies. I can bring some decent speakers so we can all hear.
If anyone is taking the train, and can bring one. PM me.
Also if anyone knows any good 4-player games from Steam let me know, I have Jamestown, Magicka, and Nation Red that seem to work. If they work on Mac that's a plus too, but I'll probably be able to run a Windows partition for the Xbox controllers.
It's my first paxtrain ride, I usually live in Seattle but this summer I'm working in SoCal. (Out of curiosity, which train station is closest to someone in the Pasadena area?)
How crowded does this thing get, what is the usual attendance?
If you take the Gold Line that will get you right to Union Station where I think this should be boarding from. I don't know which Pasadena station you'd be going for but usually I get on around Madre Street (right off the 210 freeway). You do have to pay a couple of bucks to ride the train though, I think it's like $5-ish?
Edit:
Here's the website for it, I usually take this line to go down to LA when I don't feel like driving.
http://www.metro.net/around/rail/gold-line/
If I do come, which is at this point fifty-fifty, I'll bring my copy of the D&D newredbox.
Triwizard Drinking Tournament - '09 !Hufflepuff unofficial conscript, '10 !Gryffindor
Nerd blog at culturalgeekgirl.com
First time going to PAX ( and obviously first time on the PAXTrain)
in the past some Dungeon Masters have opted to take sign ups for at least one of their campaigns here in the thread, with a set time(s) that gaming would be taking place. If one opts to organize a game after they're on the train that works too. I leave that entirely up to the DM, but if any one wants to organize a game here in the thread let me know and i'll add all relevant details about your game to the OP.
{Fondly remembers the PAXTrain}
That said, I will be gaming most of the time, but will need time away from that from time to time. TIME.