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Who's Going To Pax East 2011??? And Opinions On The BCEC/Hotel
Posts
Nice St. Patty's day, mines the 18th lol
Twitter: sweeneyben
XBL: Disco Ball
Yahoo group GCIACST
Sounds like a good enough reason to drink to me!
I know right? It's like a cult
Switch FC: SW-7588-7027-0113, Steam/PSN: Halfazedninja
Last year was my first PAX and I have been aching to return ever since. I hadn't believed those who said it was 'home' ... and then I walked through the doors Saturday morning.
PAX East Pics: 2010-2015 & Vids: 2012-2015
Yeah I had the same issue. I went to East 2010 with 5 friends and felt like I got robbed out of my experience a bit. I had planned on going to Prime solo but had to replace my truck. Definitely doing East 2011 solo.
Yeah, going with PAX virgins makes them wanna be close to eachother at all times, thus suffocating you of your time to take in the awesomeness. But going with 1 other experienced person with completely different schedules and things they wanted to do: means maximum capacity for AWESOME!
I had friends around and roomies that I would see randomly throughout the time and hung out with some nights but we never were clingers.
If you do come with pax virgin tell them to talk to other people and that you're breaking off for the day.
PAX East Pics: 2010-2015 & Vids: 2012-2015
tangent+1
If you're going to spread your search out away from the convention center itself I'd recommend keeping a subway map handy because often in Boston physical proximity isn't as important as 'public transit distance'.
do the subway red and silver lines have trains running in both directions?
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Yes, they run in both directions. Depending on where you are staying though, local buses can be more convenient to get you where you wanna go. Also, a 7-day pass is $15 but comes out on a ticket (not those plastic cards they mailed with the last PAX badge although those cards can hold 7-days in special circumstances) so unlimited travel on Red/Silver/other lines + buses.
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
From the way the terminal maps look, I could go from ashmont to south station, then switch to the silver line for 2 or so stops to the world trade station, and hop off a couple blocks from bcec.
on my way back, I'd just take the silverline the opposite way back to south station, unless the buses just go one way... then it'd be tricky... maybe just take a cab or something since it'd be like 12am when I'd go back to the hotel...
edit** hmm... in hindsight... it's a mile walk from the hotel to ashmont. no big deal in the morning, but aint no way am I walking a mile in the concrete jungle at 12am. I'll take the taxi. Im assuming 5miles is about 20-30bucks with tip?
thanks for your help so far!
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
I'll be going with some friends but will definitely be trying to experience more outside of the con, explore the city some.
The trains stop running at... 11:30ish? (it's easy enough to look up online, I'm just lazy) Also, cabs can be pretty pricey. It's worth thinking about when to save a few bucks you're tacking an extra $40/day on in cab rides.
It does run the opposite way. Also if the weather is nice it's a VERY easy walk from South Station.
Famous last words. That is NOT a nice area to walk through. Ashmont itself is okay but the space between it is literally the ghetto and relatively unsafe.
If you can find a hotel near JFK/UMass that would be close for distance in terms of cabbing and a few have shuttles to the Red Line too. If you don't mind ponying up the money for a cab to get to Ashmont and it's a good deal then go right on ahead. It's the space in between I'm concerned about.
PAX Prime '10-'13 Triwizard Drinking Tournament || Hufflepuff Head of House!
Twitter: @jujukoo
[E]
i swear neither one of us has gone 3 days without saying something about how we can't wait for paxeast next year.
it looks like we'll be booking at the Renaissance, its significantly cheaper than the Westin and a very short walk. [of course we'll be keeping an eye on the Travel Desk when that opens up]
looks like this year we might fly in that Wednesday and peruse Boston before the pre-pax events start up.
We both fell in love with the city and were kind of sad we didn't have time to explore like we wanted to last year. [although we did find an AWESOME sushi bar a short walk from the Hynes]
have to say i'm EXTREMELY excited, and am constantly checking, and rechecking, hotels and flights to make sure i'm keeping up with the best deals.
Not to mention costume planning. I'm probably going to join Team Blue again this year in the PubCrawl, so i need to figure out a different pokemon to go as.
[oh. and i promise i won't make everyone cry this year.
**
PAX EAST 2012: HOTEL [X] FLIGHT [] PASSES [X] TIME OFF []
what does the Revere area look like? specifically about a mile around the Revere Station on the Blue Line?
The aerial map on mapquest looks like residential/light commercial.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
The beach is on one side. What's left of the now shuttered Wonderland racing track is on the other side. There's a shopping plaza left of the Wonderland side of the station (short walk but you have get past a rotary and cross the street, and if you haven't heard of a rotary, there's a reason we call them suicide circles here in MA). The shopping plaza has a Stop & Shop, Dots, Hair Cuttery, Post Office, a Staples, and a 99 restaurant.
The beach side has the beach up a slight hill, with residential and some food spots to the left and right along the beach.
Lots of paved road in the area. The hotel closest to the train station is a walk (take you a good 10 or 15 minutes if you're fast, and remember, it's going to be cold) and I would not call that particular area too friendly to walk around in at night (the beach side you might be able to get away with (state police barracks is there) but the other side is a big parking lot and a lot of nothing.
There is a shuttle that runs from the hotel to the airport, but I do not know the details on the shuttle service. The hotel bar is called Margarita's.
There are many bus lines running in and out of Revere. They can take you from Wonderland to Maverick station and also to Wonderland station, but it would be faster to take the subway to those stops.
Beachmont station is just north of Wonderland. It's the closest to the beach, but there's an MGH clinic attached to it. As you move further north there's more homes and small businesses, parks, etc.
Elsewhere in Revere: The other major hotel I know of in Revere is on Rte. 60 in the Northgate Plaza. It's a 4 Seasons if I remember correctly. There's a Bisuteki in there as well, with an Uno's next door. There are multiple food options on both sides of the stretch of road that Northgate covers, but if you cross the street, remember that it's a major highway and it's not designed for pedestrian crossing (only 2 spots on the road where a person could cross with a guarantee stoppage of traffic).
Yahoo group GCIACST
yea, I think the Revere area will suffice. since I plan on driving to MA, I *might* be able to park near one of the subway terminals in the area if I really needed to.
I guess the big question on everyone's mind is:
Which buroughs, or areas would be considered safe enough to walk around at midnight-200a?
By yourself?
With two?
A group?
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Yahoo group GCIACST
What's the best way to find out the moment this happens? Spamming F5 on http://www.paxsite.com/paxeast/hotels.php ?
Or you can watch the site and/or PAX twitter. I'm guessing it would be soon-ish.
It does end around midnight, though. Remember, Boston isn't a 24 hour city. The financial district shuts down at 7pm. The livelier parts of town close at 2am. The T stops between midnight and 1am (depending on which stop you're at. Although I would suggest, if you're using the T, to be on it by 11:30 just to be on the safe side).
This is something you'd have to plan for.
Yahoo group GCIACST
Reading this thread, I thought I would share this deal I got for a room at the Westin attached to the convention center... $90/night on lastminutetravel.com.
It's a "blind booking" site, so they don't tell you the name of the hotel until after you book, but if you search for the Boston area, and limit the hotels to Quincy/Financial/Waterfront, it's the 4 star hotel described as
"The guest's satisfaction from the hotel is ensured through high-quality service, superb dining options, and providing its guests with every comfort needed for an enjoyable stay more info" listed at $90/night.
After ~ $15/night taxes, a 3-night stay (Thursday - Sunday) was $314
The only downside is there is a $25 fee if you cancel, so I hope the 3/11 date is firm! Also, I don't think they will guarantee double beds.
Now, I guess I need to just keep watching the "registration" page to buy a badge, and figure out how I plan to actually travel to Boston...
It's been confirmed.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=16571663&postcount=3
And the countdown on www.paxsite.com counts down to 3/11.
Nice.
Again, just an FYI
As always, it's best to do the research and make your own decision... and this is the first time I'm trying them as well... so I can't personally vouch for them.
Upon further research, I do see a lot of reports from people who seem to have had problems, but I've also spoken to others who've used them without ever having a problem. (which is why I looked there).
Anyway... I have no connection to them, just wanted to share what seems like a good deal.