Magical Mystery Tour 2013: prePAX adventuring [SCHEDULE POSTED]

punzie

2013 Magical Mystery Tour of Seattle!
Twitter: @PAX_MMT

Who: You! And me. And other PAX peeps. AKA your future friends.
What: Visit interesting places in and around Seattle.
Where: Schedule posted below.
When: The two days before PAX: Wed 8/28 and Thurs 8/29. Traditionally runs from 9am to 5pm but you don't have to do the whole thing. (Follow the twitter feed for live updates of where we are.)
Why: See something of Seattle other than the convention center and your hotel. And do it with cool people!
How: Seattle's public transit.

Schedule
Wednesday:
08:30a Pike Place Market
09:00a travel time (#29)
09:30a Underground Tour
11:30a lunch (Pioneer Square)
12:30p travel time (#16, #11)
02:00p Japanese Garden
03:30p travel time (#11, #18)
04:30p Full Tilt (Ballard location) and/or Old Ballard Liquor Co

Thursday:
09:00a Pike Place Market
10:00a travel time (walk)
10:30a Duck Tour
12:00p lunch (Westlake Center)
01:00p travel time (monorail)
01:30p choose your own adventure in Seattle Center

Voting
Is done. Your opinion has been noted.

Old info is here.

Potential stops:
Here is the current list of places we may visit. Read them over, visit the websites, form an opinion, discuss their merits in this thread. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SUGGEST NEW DESTINATIONS!
(Items in bold are places we went last year.)

-Add-a-Ball

What: Vintage arcade
Price: free to enter, pay to eat/play
Hours: 4pm - 2am
Website: http://add-a-ball.com/
Additional Notes: 21+

-Alki Beach

What: A long beach strip that runs from Alki Point to Duwamish Head on Elliott Bay. There are picnic tables, a bathhouse housing an art studio, and a restroom at the south (Alki Point) end of the beach, and there you'll find the monument to the arrival of the first white settlers on November 13, 1851.
Price: Free!
Hours: 4am - 11:30pm
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=445

-Archie McPhee's

What: A toy shop for the weird and unusual.
Price: Free to enter
Hours: 10am - 8pm
Website: http://www.archiemcpheeseattle.com/

-Ballard Locks

What: Locks between Puget Sound and the freshwater canals. Do you like boats? Or watching fish climb ladders?
Price: Free!
Hours: anytime
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/TOUR/locks.htm

-Boehms Candies

What: 45 minute tour of a working chocolate factory. Comes with sampling opportunities.
Price: $4
Hours: 10:30am, 1:00pm, and 2:00pm
Website: http://www.boehmscandies.com/catalog/tours.php
Additional Notes: Tours by reservation only. People with disabilities may have trouble (stairs, gravel walkways, etc), but they will do factory-only tours for those with mobility concerns.

-Boeing factory tour

What: A tour of an airplane factory. See how planes are built.
Price: $18 ($20 at the door)
Hours: 8:30am - 5:30pm, tours on the hour (last one at 3pm)
Additional Notes: 25 miles north of Seattle. No one under 4ft tall. Handicapped people require advance notice.
Website: http://www.futureofflight.org/

-Bullitt Center

What: 1 hour tour of the greenest commercial building in the world.
Price: Free!
Hours: 4pm
Website: http://bullittcenter.org/
Additional Notes: sold out until October. This is basically a reminder to myself for next year.

-Chocolate Indulgence Tour

What: 2 hour guided walking tour of several local chocolatiers with tastings.
Price: $50
Hours: 11am
Website: http://www.savorseattletours.com/tours/chocolate/
Additional Notes: Pricey and walking-intense. Possible max of 16 people per tour.

-Duck Tour

What: Tour Seattle by land and water on a WWII amphibious landing craft! You haven't seen Seattle until you've seen it from a Duck! (90 minute tour)
Price: $28 or $25 with a group discount (10 or more people)
Hours: 9:20am - 6pm from Seattle Center, 9:30am - 6pm from Westlake Center
Additional Notes: Boats are NOT wheelchair accessible: must be able to walk up 8 steps (with handrails on both sides) onto boat.
Now Strip Search approved.
Website: http://www.ridetheducksofseattle.com/

-EMP/Sci-Fi Museum

What: Museum for music, pop culture, and science fiction. Current exhibits include Icons of Science Fiction, The Lure of Horror Film, and Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic.
Price: $20 ($15 online)
Hours: 10am - 7pm
Additional Notes: The Iron Throne will not be there in August, but I believe the rest of the Fantasy exhibit will be.
Website: http://www.empmuseum.org

-Fremont

What: The center of the universe. Visit the Fremont Troll, Statue of Lenin, the Rocket, universal signpost or just do some shopping.
Price: Free!
Hours: anytime
Website: http://www.fremontseattle.com/

-Full Tilt Ice Cream

What: An ice cream parlor with pinball machines.
Price: Free to enter, pay to eat/play.
Hours: 2pm - 12am
Website: http://fulltilticecream.com

-Gas Works Park

What: public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union.
Price: Free!
Hours: 6am - 10pm
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=293

-Greenlake

What: Park with tennis court, basketball court, bike/jogging paths, and a view of the lake.
Price: Free!
Hours: anytime
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=307

-Ice Cream Cruise

What: 45 minute narrated tour of Lake Union.
Price: ~$30
Hours: call to schedule
Website: http://www.seattleferryservice.com/
Additional Notes: Boat only holds 42 people. We will almost definitely have too many people on Thursday, which is the normal scheduled cruise times. If we go on Wednesday, we need a special chartered tour, hence the price. Ice cream, coffee, and soft drinks are $2-$4 each.

-Japanese Garden

What: 3 1/2 acre formal garden designed and constructed under the supervision of world-renowned Japanese garden designer Juki Iida. Tours available.
Price: $6.00
Hours: 10am - 7pm
Website: http://www.theseattlejapanesegarden.com/
Additional Notes: Group tours available with advance notice and guide reservation fee.

-Lakeview Cemetery

What: The resting place of Bruce and Brandon Lee.
Price: Free!
Hours: anytime (?)
Website: http://www.lakeviewcemeteryassociation.com/

-Monorail

What: The nation's first full-scale commercial monorail system, it runs between downtown Seattle and Seattle Center.
Price: $2.25
Hours: 7:30am - 11pm
Website: http://www.seattlemonorail.com/

-Mount Rainier

What: Visit the scenic outdoors. Would take a whole day, but the views and nature are amazing.
Price: $15 per vehicle or $200 flat rate for the group if we rent a bus
Hours: Anytime. Museums and visitor centers have varying hours.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm
Additional Notes: 1.75 hour drive from downtown Seattle. Not accessible with public transit.

-Museum of Flight

What: One of the largest air and space museums in the world.
Price: $18 (or $15 in a group of 10 or more).
Hours: 10am -5 pm
Website: http://www.museumofflight.org/

-Museum of History and Industry

What: Largest private heritage organization in the State of Washington. MOHAI collects, preserves, and presents the rich history of the Pacific Northwest.
Price: $14
Hours: 10am - 5pm
Website: http://www.seattlehistory.org/
Additional Notes: they currently have an exhibit about the Seattle's houseboats.

-Old Ballard Liquor Co

What: Tastings at a distillery owned by a forumer.
Price: free!
Hours: closes at 3 on Thursday
Website: https://www.facebook.com/OldBallardLiquorCo

-Olympic Sculpture Park

What: Outdoor sculpture Park on the Waterfront.
Price: Free!
Hours: sunrise - sunset
Website: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/osp/

-Pacific Science Center

What: Science! Current exhibits include NASA's destination: station (about the international space station) and Nikon's small world (about microscopic photography).
Price: $18. IMAX and planetarium cost more.
Hours: 10am - 6pm
Website: http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/.

-Pier 57 Ferris Wheel

What: Big Ferris wheel on the edge of Puget Sound.
Price: $13 plus tax
Hours: 10am-11pm
Website: http://seattlegreatwheel.com/

-Pike Place Market

What: A Market. Wander around, do some shopping, watch the fish throwers, marvel at the gum wall.
Price: Free to visit.
Hours: 6am - 1:30am
Website: http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/frameset.asp?flash=true

-Pioneer Square/Historical District

What: Seattle's original downtown.
Price: Free to wander.
Hours: anytime, but not suggested after dark
Website: http://www.seattle.gov/tour/pioneer.htm

-Public Library

What: A library. With some cool architecture.
Price: Free!
Hours: 10am - 8pm
Website: http://www.spl.org/

-Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field)

What: 90 minute tour of this football and soccer stadium.
Price: $7
Hours: 12:30pm & 2:30pm
Website: http://www.centurylinkfield.com/tour-centurylink-field/
Additional Notes: Arrive ~30 minutes early. Groups need advance warning. No tours August 29 (game day).

-Safeco Field

What: 1 hour tour of Mariners home stadium.
Price: $10
Hours: 10:30, 12:30, 2:30
Website: http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/sea/ballpark/safeco_field_tours.jsp
Additional Notes: Group tours/rates (20+ people) available with advance notice.

-Seattle Aquarium

What: An aquarium. Otters, octopi, fish, anemone, etc.
Price: $21.95
Hours: 9:30am - 5pm
Website: http://www.seattleaquarium.org/
Additional Notes: Group rates (20+ people) available if purchased in advance.

-Seattle Art Museum (downtown location)

What: Culture! Look at the art!
Price: $17
Hours: Wed 10am - 5pm, Thu 10am - 9pm
Website: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/
Additional Notes: Group rate (10+ people) with advance purchase.

-Seattle Asian Art Museum

What: Culture! Look at the art, Asian-style!
Price: $7
Hours: Wed 10am - 5pm, Thu 10am - 9pm
Website: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/
Additional Notes: Group rate (10+ people) with advance purchase.

-Seattle Center

What: In addition to the big things already on this list (EMP, Pacific Science Center, Monorail, Space Needle), there are a number of smaller museums, gardens, and shops. (Like the Chihuly Garden and Glass.)
Price: Free to wander, some spots (like the museums) have their own admission prices.
Hours: Outside is always open. Shops and museums will have their own individual hours.
Website: http://www.seattlecenter.com/

-Seattle Harbor Tour (Argosy Cruises)

What: 1 hour narrated tour of the harbor.
Price: $23.50
Hours: 11am - 6:30pm, departing every 75min
Website: http://www.argosycruises.com/publiccruises/harbor.cfm

-Shorty's Pinball Bar

What: Full service bar with pinball and arcade machines.
Price: Free to enter, pay to eat/drink/play.
Hours: 12pm - 2am
Website: http://www.shortydog.com/
Additional Notes: 21+

-Smith Tower

What: Once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, you can now visit the observation deck for 360 degree views. And you get to ride an old-fashioned manually operated elevator.
Price: $7.50
Hours: 10am - dusk
Website: http://www.smithtower.com/Observation.html

-Space Needle

What: Icon of Seattle. Go up and look down on all the little people-ants.
Price: $21
Hours: 8am – 12am
Website: http://www.spaceneedle.com/
Additional Notes: Group rates (15+ people) available.

-Theo Chocolate

What: Tour a chocolate factory and get samples.
Price: $7
Hours: 10:30, 11:00, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, 3:30, 4:00
Website: http://www.theochocolate.com/
Additional Notes: Max group size for private tour is 25. No one can wear any perfume or cologne, must wear closed-toe shoes. Not recommended for children under 7.

-Underground Tour

What: 90 minute tour of Seattle's old city streets, now under the current ones.
Price: $17
Hours: 10am - 7pm
Website: http://www.undergroundtour.com/

-University of Washington

What: A college. Tour the campus, or take in one of the museums and exhibits. Arts UW, Burke Museum, Henry Art Gallery, The Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Botanic Gardens, UW Libraries Exhibits, Gallager Law Library, UW Fish Collection
Price: Free to wander, but some exhibits may have a fee.
Hours: Varies depending on what you want to see.
Website: http://www.washington.edu/discover/visit
Additional Notes: Our own MetaverseNomad has offered to be our personal tour guide.

-Walking Tours

What: walking tours of various Seattle areas.
Price: free! (pay what you want)
Hours: Pike Market 9:30am, Seattle101 11am, Seattle Center 2pm
Website: http://seattlefreewalkingtours.org/

-Wing Luke Asian Art Museum

What: Nation’s only museum devoted to the Asian Pacific American experience
Price: $12.95
Hours: 10am - 5pm
Website: http://www.wingluke.org/home.htm
Additional Notes: Includes all-day pass to gallery exhibitions & guided tour of the 1910 Historic Hotel and Yick Fung Company.

-Woodland Park Zoo

What: A zoo. Makes faces at the animals.
Price: $18.75
Hours: 9:30am - 6pm
Website: http://www.zoo.org/

ramen215

Getting in on Thursday, not sure what time but I hope to attend some of the events that day From the "things to do before PAX" thread may I suggest we get a MMT Valve Tour set up? Hopefully we can book one for us on that Thursday (at an hour when I'm in :P)

punzie

I just wanted to get the basic thread posted. I'll double-check the info for each spot listed and add some new ones when I have a little more time.

ramen215

punzie wrote: »

I just wanted to get the basic thread posted. I'll double-check the info for each spot listed and add some new ones when I have a little more time.

Lol yeah sorry to jump straight in not even 5 minutes after the thread went up, pre-PAX excitement is through the roof after getting badges and hotels secured, take your time as we still have quite a lot of it

punzie

I love excitement no need for apologies

Rhiley

Any thoughts on Chihuly Garden and Glass as a possible stop? It's a glass museum that looks pretty cool from the website.

Solelron

Time for fun again! I might repeat the pink box run but will set up stronger ground rules for it. Note seahawks have a pre season at home thursday night

sanovah

Yeah if it's possible I'd at least second voting on valve. No clue how they actually do their tours.

Serenity

sanovah wrote: »

Yeah if it's possible I'd at least second voting on valve. No clue how they actually do their tours.

As I recall from last year, they shut down their tours around PAX time but that may be due to the DOTA 2 tourney they were hosting.
I'm in if it's possible though!
Huge Valve fan!

Punzie: Something else to add to the list - Living computer museum
livingcomputermuseum.org/default.aspx

Edit: Posting this for a fellow forumer.

vespachica

Valve is in Bellevue. I don't know if that'd be do-able for the MMT.

The Chihuly Glass Museum is AWESOME. I went with some friends, expecting it to be kind of lame but I really loved it. It is very well done and very interesting/pretty/cool/etc.

LexiconGrrl

vespachica wrote: »

The Chihuly Glass Museum is AWESOME. I went with some friends, expecting it to be kind of lame but I really loved it. It is very well done and very interesting/pretty/cool/etc.

Isn't it in Tacoma?

vespachica

Sorry. I mean the Chihuly Garden thing? http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/ Not the glass museum. Both Chihuly.

It's at the Seattle Center so one could knock that, the Space Needle, and EMP/SciFi off at one stop.

Alazull

sanovah wrote: »

Yeah if it's possible I'd at least second voting on valve. No clue how they actually do their tours.

You guys would have to ask them how many people they'd allow at once, in our group we had 15 people. They had also done multiple tours that day, but I don't know if it was a special exception or not. You get shown around their offices, including a stop in their cafeteria (where you are allowed to just grab whatever you want from their collection of snacks and drinks) and you might be introduced to one of their more important staff members. I think we were there for a little over an hour. You can shoot them an e-mail or something, that's how we found out about it for our tour.

Definitely something I'd recommend for anyone who is a fan of Valve and the things they do.

KodiSir

There are a couple game studios in Seattle but most are just around it. Seattle Center is at least half the attractions at once. The Market is a short walk down from the convention center. Short walk up is all Capitol Hill has to offer. The Unicorn is a sweet bar, the downstairs is called the Narwhal and is loaded with vintage arcade cabinets. Check out Fremont and Ballard. It's a 30 minute bus ride in traffic but not bad if it's early/late enough. Check out the locks, the troll, Lenin, food, drink. Your list covers most the essentials.

Seattle has more breweries than people these days. Some of which are truly spectacular if anyone's interested in that sort of thing. If you go to the Market do NOT pass up the Crumpet Shop. You'll thank me later. I should also mention there are city passes that get you into most things at once at a bit of a discount.

JimmyWild

Woot! I'm in again this year. I'm getting in on Tues. Don't really care what we do, just want to hang out and do stuff! Probably on Wed, but we'll see.

jjjewels

Thank you in advance for organizing! We are coming in from Toronto and are hoping to see lots of cool stuff and make lots of friends. Will do this one day and the beer tour the other. WAAHOOOO!

ccbostick

OOOH! MMT Planning time. How about this: http://eco-officegals.com/the-worlds-greenest-office-building-to-open-in-downtown-seattle/

bloatedhippo

I am at PAX Dev ahhh I don't want to miss this though.

RandomAtom

For what it's worth, a Thursday tour of Valve sounds like a lot of fun, and I'd certainly be interested.

BadNews65

I 2nd the tour of Valve idea.

bloatedhippo

Valve offers tours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30pm, for free lasting about 45 minutes.

ArchdukeFerdinand

I agree that Valve would be cool if feasible. Other things from the list that look really fun:

EMP Museum
Seattle Art Museum
Chocolate Indulgence Tour
Japanese Garden
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

It all looks really fun though! This is my first PAX so it's pretty overwhelming to see how many things there are to do.

KodiSir

Keep in mind our music festival, Bumbershoot is happening the same weekend. That takes place at Seattle center so getting anywhere near the Space Needle or EMP will be impossible without a pass to that too. If you're in town early enough try to sneak over while everyone's still working.

sanovah

KodiSir wrote: »

Keep in mind our music festival, Bumbershoot is happening the same weekend. That takes place at Seattle center so getting anywhere near the Space Needle or EMP will be impossible without a pass to that too. If you're in town early enough try to sneak over while everyone's still working.

Why would it be impossible to get near those places without a pass to that concert?

Decius

Yay MMTing

punzie

KodiSir wrote: »

Keep in mind our music festival, Bumbershoot is happening the same weekend. That takes place at Seattle center so getting anywhere near the Space Needle or EMP will be impossible without a pass to that too. If you're in town early enough try to sneak over while everyone's still working.

This tour happens Wednesday and Thursday. We have never had a problem getting into Seattle center on those days.

Serenity

Did anyone hear me on the living computer museum?
Putting that forward as a suggested activity.
livingcomputermuseum.org/

adias.angel

bloatedhippo wrote: »

Valve offers tours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30pm, for free lasting about 45 minutes.

Perfect! I know my husband and I would love join if this is happening.

ramen215

adias.angel wrote: »

bloatedhippo wrote: »

Valve offers tours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30pm, for free lasting about 45 minutes.

Perfect! I know my husband and I would love join if this is happening.

I'll set up a thread momentarily, and we can just merge it with MMT if it becomes one of the 'offical MMT events'

punzie

Serenity wrote: »

Did anyone hear me on the living computer museum?
Putting that forward as a suggested activity.
livingcomputermuseum.org/

I am reading all the comments. I just don't have time to reply/act on all of them right now. I'll look into though. I promise

Serenity

oh no worries Punzie, I know you're busy! ;-)
I meant nobody was discussing/contributing their opinion.

Remington

So hey guys, it looks like I'm going to be attending PAX all alone this year (this will be my second PAX ever) so I'm probably going to weasel my way into this and awkwardly try to make friends.

ramen215

Remington wrote: »

So hey guys, it looks like I'm going to be attending PAX all alone this year (this will be my second PAX ever) so I'm probably going to weasel my way into this and awkwardly try to make friends.

I'll be at PAX alone this year (also my second PAX ever) again (last year was my first), we can be "Alone At Their Second PAX Ever Buddies"!

Remington

Score! I wonder if there's enough of us that we can have an Alone At Their Second PAX Ever Gang.

bloatedhippo

This is my first PAX and I will also be alone.

Serenity

bloatedhippo wrote: »

This is my first PAX and I will also be alone.

Really?
Could have sworn I recognize your name from last year...
Well welcome to PAX!

HeyJoe

Dorky's Arcade in Tacoma should be on that list for sure!

https://m.facebook.com/dorkys253?id=100001425225168&_rdr

MagnusCarter

I shall attend my first Prime MMT this year. Having never been to Seattle I'll be happy to go to anything the thread thinks is a good idea

jamsyarbots

This'll also be my first pax but thankfully I'll have my girlfriend with me. Even so, it'd be cool to group up with some loners if only to share in a communal "first time" experience.

BadNews65

ramen215 wrote: »

Remington wrote: »

So hey guys, it looks like I'm going to be attending PAX all alone this year (this will be my second PAX ever) so I'm probably going to weasel my way into this and awkwardly try to make friends.

I'll be at PAX alone this year (also my second PAX ever) again (last year was my first), we can be "Alone At Their Second PAX Ever Buddies"!

Second PAX ever here too and possibly alone or with a +1. I'd join that group. Also I will be glad to attend the MMT.

Rua

This will also be my first PAX. This sounds like it could be a lot of fun to get the ball rolling!