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Magical Mystery Tour EAST 2010 - DAY 1 COMPLETE!

VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
edited March 2010 in PAX Archive

CURRENT NEWS (As of 03/25/2010)


Day 1 of the tour has been completed!

** IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER: **

* If you're bringing multiple people with you, be sure to purchase one seat per person coming with you.

* Please put your screenname in the buyer's notes so that I can get a hold of you before the MMT, and preferably your mobile phone number so that we can communicate during the tour if we get split up. If you don't have a screenname in the Penny Arcade forums, provide some other good way to contact you!

* Hurry! Only 25 seats are available on the bus, and it's first come first serve with no exceptions! They won't let us put more than 25 people on this bus, so once we hit 25 we're done. (As of now, 13 seats are still available!)

* The cost of the spot on the bus *does not* include admission to any tours, museums, etc... that we are going to! This is just for your reserved space on the bus for both days. ZeroDarkHour has graciously volunteered to research possible group rate or city pass options, but that will be discussed in the forum. If you don't want to get a city pass or group rates end up being infeasible, be sure to bring money with you for admission to the various locations! The cost of these locations is also being researched by Zero at the moment, and will be available on the board in the coming days.

* If you are only coming on the MMT for one day, you will still need to reserve the spot for two days. If you find someone who can sit in on the bus for the day you miss and you arrange to split the cost with them, that works fine by me as long as you give me their contact info: but for us to stand a chance of paying for the cost of the bus, we need to do it this way. Most people who can only go one day will likely only be able to go on Thursday, and if the majority of our bus seats are taken up by just Thursday we're going to end up with an empty bus on Wednesday and a whole lot of debt: so please, if you can only go one day, pay for both and/or make arrangements on your own for someone to split the cost with you so that they can take your seat on the day you won't be there.

Click here to reserve a spot on the Magical Mystery Tour!


http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=d48jp9ktokhcbf3k51j9mqlph8%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York


OUR SCHEDULE!


Wednesday, March 24

10:00am - Harvard Museum of Natural History
11:30am - Lunch - Bell-in-hand
12:30pm - MIT
1:30pm - New England Aquarium
3:00pm - Harpoon Brewery
5:00pm - Drop off bus, optional after hours touring begins!

Thursday, March 25

10:00am - Museum of Fine Arts
11:30am - Lunch - Faneuil Hall
1:00pm - Sam Adams Brewery
2:30pm - Museum of Science
5:00pm - Drop off bus, optional after hours touring begins before the Pre-PAX Dinner and Pub Crawl!

Some of the times are fixed due to the business' schedules. For example, Sam Adams' Brewery has 45 minute tours, but only until 3pm. Harpoon Brewery has free beer tasting, but only between 4 and 5pm, and so on.

Let me know what you guys think of this schedule! And please, please please SIGN UP! We still have 13 seats left!




THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR



** About the Magical Mystery Tour **

The Magical Mystery Tour was started in 2008 so that people who came into the Seattle area could see the sights and hang out with fellow gamers on the days leading up to PAX. We're continuing the growing tradition and extending it to PAX East with a tour of Boston!

** Where will we go? **

The locations in the Schedule below were determined by we, the people! Take a look at it below!

** When will it happen? **

The Magical Mystery Tour will take place March 24th and 25th, 2010 all during the day!

** How will we get there? **

We'll be commandeering a bus for the purpose! For 40$, you can secure your spot on our bus for both days, which will shuttle us to all our destinations between the hours of 10am and 5pm. If you're on the bus, please do not miss the 10am pickup! If you do, you'll have to find your own way to meet up with us along the way!

** How much will it cost? **

I am asking for 40$ per person, payable via PayPal at this link, for their spot on the bus for both days. If we can fill the bus, I'll be able to give the difference between the bus cost and how much we collected back to everyone (which if the bus is filled for both days, would be ~6$ or so, possibly 8$). If it ends up actually costing more than 40$, I'll eat the cost difference personally: which is a risk I choose to take for the sake of the tour. =)

** How do I sign up? **

SIGN UP HERE! NOW! Seating is limited!



OUR SCHEDULE!


Wednesday, March 24

10:00am - Harvard Museum of Natural History
11:30am - Lunch - Bell-in-hand
12:30pm - MIT
1:30pm - New England Aquarium
3:00pm - Harpoon Brewery
5:00pm - Drop off bus, optional after hours touring begins!

Thursday, March 25

10:00am - Museum of Fine Arts
11:30am - Lunch - Faneuil Hall
1:00pm - Sam Adams Brewery
2:30pm - Museum of Science
5:00pm - Drop off bus, optional after hours touring begins before the Pre-PAX Dinner and Pub Crawl!

3DS Friend Code: 1950-8938-9095
VThornheart on
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Posts

  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    There was mention of the Duck Tour being used for this in the PAX Bible thread.

    Or at least being a part of it.

    I have a map in my sig with nearby POIs including historical and architectural things.

    Goose! on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    The Duck Tour, I think, does too much of a glossing over for a proper MMT... we've been doing the MMT for a couple years now in Seattle and it's basically a two day long affair with longer visits to individual locations.

    Though if the people vote on it, we could potentially include a duck tour in it. But I'm imagining that we'll hit most of those sites a bit longer than just driving past them on the duck tour anyways so it might potentially be redundant.

    EDIT: Now that I think about it though, perhaps having both available as options would be wise. The Duck Tour, from what I gather, is something that can be done in an hour or two, which might be beneficial for people who can't come to town early enough for the "full-on" Magical Mystery Tour. But for those who have the time and want to hit the sites for a more extended period, the MMT can provide the same tour services we've been providing in Seattle. =)

    EDIT 2: Also Goose, it'll be good to finally meet you at PAX East! I need to get in on some Phalla sometime this winter again. I've been keeping myself from it due to the massive addiction I got to it, but if I can keep myself in check... =)

    VThornheart on
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  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    EDIT: Now that I think about it though, perhaps having both available as options would be wise. The Duck Tour, from what I gather, is something that can be done in an hour or two, which might be beneficial for people who can't come to town early enough for the "full-on" Magical Mystery Tour. But for those who have the time and want to hit the sites for a more extended period, the MMT can provide the same tour services we've been providing in Seattle. =)

    It would definitely be a more condensed version than what I gather the MMT in Seattle is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing given the unpredictable weather in Boston in March. Also, Duck tours are freaking hilarious and so so so much fun. I like the idea of it as an option for those people who can't make it for the full MMT, or maybe for those people who've been to Boston before and just want a quick-ish jaunt about town.

    Usagi on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Aye, I think it'd be a good alternative option if one of you guys wants to be/already is in charge of organizing that!

    Admittedly, I've been really looking forward to running the MMT East ever since PAX East was announced, so I really want to do the MMT no matter what. =) But having both a Duck Tour and an MMT will be ideal for everyone I think for the reasons we both stated. =)

    VThornheart on
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  • TannerTanner Registered User new member
    edited September 2009
    I would defiantly be interested in doing the mmt since this would be my first trip to boston.

    Tanner on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Yay! =) I'll be putting up information on the possible locations for us to vote on and a registration page soon!

    I'm going to be following MetaverseNomad's awesome ideas from MMT 2009 and make some external web pages/Google Docs to handle these things... when we tried to do it entirely from the forum in 2008 it got a bit complicated. =) I might make them webpages just because it'll give me an excuse to play around a bit with Ruby for something that's actually useful, but we'll see where it goes. Either way, that won't be for another couple of weeks... but I'll post the list of possible locations during the week this week so that people can stew over them and think about them, and possibly add more to them if they can think of any new ones. =)

    VThornheart on
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  • proXimityproXimity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    So even though I've not been on previous MMTs in Seattle, I may just be out there for this very special edition of the MMT :)

    proXimity on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Usagi wrote: »
    EDIT: Now that I think about it though, perhaps having both available as options would be wise. The Duck Tour, from what I gather, is something that can be done in an hour or two, which might be beneficial for people who can't come to town early enough for the "full-on" Magical Mystery Tour. But for those who have the time and want to hit the sites for a more extended period, the MMT can provide the same tour services we've been providing in Seattle. =)

    It would definitely be a more condensed version than what I gather the MMT in Seattle is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing given the unpredictable weather in Boston in March. Also, Duck tours are freaking hilarious and so so so much fun. I like the idea of it as an option for those people who can't make it for the full MMT, or maybe for those people who've been to Boston before and just want a quick-ish jaunt about town.

    Pretty much this. March is typically rainy and sometimes chilly and all in all a miserable month in Boston. Not to mention the Duck Tour only takes 80 minutes to do and can easily be done at any point because they run from 8am-6pm.. In either case, Usagi and I are going to be doing a Duck Tour with our fellas and the other people who want to do this can contact us and we'll either rent a duck if we get enough interest or we can just book half the duck.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Yay prox! =) It'll be good having you along! =)

    Also Vision, I'm not saying you shouldn't do it! Go for it, do the duck tour! There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to do both. I'm just saying that the MMT will be there for people who want a more extended trip and don't mind the possibility of inclement weather. The MMT has been intended since PAX East began, and I think there'll definitely be some people who want the quick duck tour and people who want the extended MMT tour, so there'll be plenty of availability for both options. Heck, there may be people who want to do both of them even! =)

    EDIT: You may want to start a separate thread on it though... maybe not now even, but whenever you're ready for it. That way people can sign on and know that it's happening, and that it's an alternative option to the MMT (or, if we time it right, the MMT could merge into it towards the end for those who want to also do the duck tour... maybe we could have some collaborative planning on that?). Either way, I don't see why we can't do both.

    VThornheart on
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  • WaterbornWaterborn Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Cool! Thanks for putting the work into this VThornheart. Can't wait to see what is on the tour. Let me know if you nee any support as I live just north of Boston.

    Waterborn on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Cool! Ooh, where do you live? I live in Southern NH myself, about an hour or so out of Boston... maybe we're neighbors and don't yet know it! =)

    As for the locations, I'm going to do it as we do every year: this week, I'll put up the locations I've found that would be good. I'll give it a week or two for people to suggest more potential locations, and then we'll vote on the ones we want to do. From there, I'll try to put together the best possible schedule, and then take up MetaverseNomad's idea from this past PAX and see about getting us a chartered bus so that we can take our time at locations but not have to worry about hoofing it everywhere. It should be fun! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • WaterbornWaterborn Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I live in Woburn, about 15 minutes North of town, within 128/93. Let me know if I can help.

    Waterborn on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Cool, I'll keep you posted! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • Lord JezoLord Jezo Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I'd just like to say that things like Duck Tours and the double decker bus tours in NYC are for hayseed tourists who eat at The Olive Garden and think they are getting fine Italian food. I suppose it's exciting to drive into a lake, but still, doing it on your own is so much better.

    Lord Jezo on
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  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Jezo, as someone who enjoys both fine Italian cuisine and Duck tours, I repectfully disagree.

    That being said, you don't have to come if you don't want to.

    Usagi on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Lord Jezo wrote: »
    I'd just like to say that things like Duck Tours and the double decker bus tours in NYC are for hayseed tourists who eat at The Olive Garden and think they are getting fine Italian food. I suppose it's exciting to drive into a lake, but still, doing it on your own is so much better.

    The BPD frown on people driving into the Charles.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Usagi wrote: »
    Jezo, as someone who enjoys both fine Italian cuisine and Duck tours, I repectfully disagree.

    That being said, you don't have to come if you don't want to.

    He isn't invited.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • Lord JezoLord Jezo Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Usagi wrote: »
    Jezo, as someone who enjoys both fine Italian cuisine and Duck tours, I repectfully disagree.

    That being said, you don't have to come if you don't want to.

    Really though, what is there to like about things like Duck Tours? You sit in a bus with a bunch of other people from out of town who are all excited that they are in the big city, zoom past all the sights, and never get to take any time with anything. It seems so tacky.

    ( I am not trying to pick a fight, really am curious )

    Lord Jezo on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Lord Jezo wrote: »
    Usagi wrote: »
    Jezo, as someone who enjoys both fine Italian cuisine and Duck tours, I repectfully disagree.

    That being said, you don't have to come if you don't want to.

    Really though, what is there to like about things like Duck Tours? You sit in a bus with a bunch of other people from out of town who are all excited that they are in the big city, zoom past all the sights, and never get to take any time with anything. It seems so tacky.

    ( I am not trying to pick a fight, really am curious )

    Because when you get over yourself you realize it's good goofy fun. It's an 80 minutes summary of Boston and is a good way to start or end a day in the city. Most of the tourists do in fact take the time to visit the sights after the tour having seen where they are heard a little about them making them interested in seeing more. It's pretty much a staple for anyone's first trip to the city.

    Considering I live in Boston and still manage to enjoy the Duck Tour for what it is I find it amusing when tourists think they're too cool for one. It's usually the people who take themselves far too seriously who don't have a good time.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    What VoC said, it's just and hour and change of ridiculously doofusy fun where you're laughing the entire time, with some history thrown in.

    Usagi on
  • PeasantDavePeasantDave Jersey ShoreRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I am very excited about all of this VT. I eagerly await the voting process!

    PeasantDave on
  • MetaverseNomadMetaverseNomad Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    wow guys, can you fight about the Duck tours in a separate thread?

    As for sites in Boston, I think there's going to be plenty of great sites, and if we do end up getting some kind of tour bus or something, we're going to cover a lot of ground! This is going to be awesome!

    MetaverseNomad on
  • LTAcostaLTAcosta Boston, MARegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I'll actually be able to join in this time. It's been hard for me in the past because we flew into seattle late wednesday. But that wont be the case this year seeing how I live in Boston as of September 7th (I moved to boston directly from my trip to seattle for pax) lol. Anyways, if you need any help organizing or anything, I'm right here at Northeastern.

    LTAcosta on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Woot! It's going to be great having you guys along!

    And indeed, could you guys please start another thread for the duck tour? It'll be easier for everyone if each has its own thread for organizational and easy reference purposes.

    VThornheart on
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  • ArcoArco Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    If the Duck Tour is only 80 minutes it seems like it would be easy to work it into the MMT. It might not be a bad idea to work it into the beginning, just to give people a little warmup of the spots they're probably going to visit later. Plus it sounds like it's a cool experience all on its own. If the MMT is a 2 day affair, 80 minutes is easy.

    If I'm in Boston and this is happening, I'll be there. I'm all about community events. I'm just at the mercy of Amtrak.

    Arco on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    True, but I don't want to run over anyone's existing plans: it sounds like a few people already want to run/manage the Duck Tour thing, and I don't want to usurp them from it unintentionally. If we can have them as separate but mutually agreeable entities, I'm all for that. We could even plan it such that it is easy for a person so inclined to do both if we plan it out well!

    We'll have a blast Arco! Let me know when you find out... I'll have a registration page up in a couple of weeks, so if you feel the odds are likely you can sign on up! =)

    EDIT: Also, the locations are now up! Check the OP for tentative locations and suggest more for the upcoming voting rounds here!

    VThornheart on
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  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited September 2009
    Actually, I told them to suggest the Duck Tour to be part of the MMT in another thread. I thought it would make a fun addition (before I remembered that it would be in March).

    Moe Fwacky on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Ohh... well, if you guys wouldn't mind, we'd love to have you in as part of the MMT! I just don't want to step on any toes, it had sounded like you guys were interested in running the duck tour yourselves.

    VThornheart on
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  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Hey, no problem if it's part of the MMT! I mean, if some people only wanted to do the Duck tour we could totally manage that, and if people want to skip the Duck and just do the rest of the MMT that would be cool too.

    Gives people more options, which is never a bad thing!

    Usagi on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Cool deal, I'll PM you and we'll figure out the gameplan!

    VThornheart on
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  • ukiyo eukiyo e Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Keep in mind that this is happening in March. The duck tours probably won't be running (see edit), and a chartered bus would be a lot better then possibly having to walk through snow banks. If you're going to include outdoor stops on the tour, make sure that people have adequate clothing. :)

    I think the Museum of Science, Museum of Fine Arts, and Aquarium are an absolute must see. The Bell in Hand is a 2 minute walk from Fanuel Hall, so those can be combined together as one stop (Fanuel Hall has a ton of food and shopping as well). Fenway Park may not be running tours at that time, but the area around Fenway is fun nonetheless. The TD Garden is an ugly beige building, not much to see there. Gillette Stadium is a good 45 minute drive from Boston, so I would say that it's not the best use of time.
    Also, I know that the historical stuff *seems* interesting, but it can become quite boring if you string it all together (this coming from someone with a history degree). I'd recommend that you intersperse those kinds of stops with other places that are more entertaining.

    Edit: From the Duck Tours site
    Operating Season and Hours
    March 23 - November 29, 2009. Also weekends in December.
    Tours from the Prudential Center and Museum of Science depart rain or shine, 7 days a week.
    (so they will be running during PAX East time)

    ukiyo e on
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  • ArcoArco Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    No dice for the traingoers. We roll into Boston at 9:00ish on the 25th. Once again, Amtrak screws us out of Pre-PAX events!

    On the plus side, I once again have incentive to plan Post-PAX events...

    Arco on
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  • SirCuddlezSirCuddlez Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I'm liking the list. I especially love the Museum of Science. I'm such a nerd and have spent hours in the Mathtopia exhibit (even though it's pretty small)

    Some added suggestions:
    Children's Museum (not sure if there's an age restriction haha but it's so much fun)
    Sam Adams Brewery.

    SirCuddlez on
  • ArcoArco Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Breweries in general are a good thing to add to the tour. I don't know if there are many out there, but it seems like there would be.

    Because New Englanders are all a bunch of drunk fucks.

    :mrgreen:

    Arco on
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    Satellite Theater for life!
  • KalgarooKalgaroo Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I believe the two most well-known breweries here are Sam Adams and Harpoon. I've heard that Harpoon is credited with being part of the American resurgence of micro-brewing. I think both of them run tours. I've never been to Sam Adams, but I work down the street from Harpoon.

    Kalgaroo on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Ah, I agree on both counts, I'll add 'em into the list! =) Maybe they could be evening events so the under 21 crowd that comes to the MMT won't get split up by it being in the middle of the day.

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  • SirCuddlezSirCuddlez Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Actually I know that at the Sam Adams tour is open for all ages, just at the end you get a root beer instead of a beer.

    If interested here is a link to their tour information http://www.samueladams.com/contact_tour.aspx

    SirCuddlez on
  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Train alliance is taking the late train? I'm grabbing the earlier one.

    Goose! on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Ah, cool! That's good to know! We won't be so limited with where we can put it then, awesome!

    VThornheart on
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  • YoshipantsYoshipants Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    You can be under 21 for the Harpoon tour, too; you just get an X on your hand or something and don't get to sample all the beers afterward. The Harpoon tour was really fun!

    Also, you can add the Harvard Natural History Museum up to your list of museums. I haven't actually been there yet, but it's on my list of things to do.

    Yoshipants on
This discussion has been closed.