Pre-PAX Valve Tour?

Lazorz

Hey guys,

I remember last year there was a thing where people who arrived early to Seattle conjoined for a tour of Valve's offices. I'm not sure if it's too late now to book with them, but I think it would be awesome to do something similar again this year, especially for those who haven't seen it yet!

First and foremost we should do a headcount. Please post below if you're interested; include the days you're available.

UPDATE: Thursday and Wednesday are currently capped. There will be a wait list available, but there's no guarantee for those who are signing up just now for those days. Sorry.

The days available last year were the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before PAX. Thursday might be full already by a private group, as that was something that happened last year too. However, I'll shoot Valve an email to see what's open. For now, post your opinions and free days and I'll compile a list. Thanks!

Update (6/5/14)

Current list of possible tourists and preference:

Any day/Unspecified (Total of 35):
Themagicmoogle
The Word of Bird +1
Sharkey1337 +1
Malgaras
Hollenheim +1
Elderborn
Nazoshadow (minus themselves, +3)
Khadour +2
adambarg
FuriusFlatware
PookyAlert
b3nt0u
FourT2
BadNews65 +3
saskuninja123 +1
DemonsMaster +1
gularsen
popsiphone
ApplezJuice
Zera +1
itzzzdae
Lobstar

Tuesday (Total of 8):
Lazorz +1
maywest
StarYoshi
shadowscout
RavenHusky +1
PancakeAssassin

Wednesday (Total of 44/45):
belligerent +2
Rowwie +5
Cennedi +1
embraceternity +1
Shadek +2
zwitterion +2
ebagazare
zeromyst (+1?)
sary +1
gularsen

---

giantry +1
b3nt0u +3
Gravekeeper +2
ShiroGohan +5
Intradox
pogoplay +3

Thursday (Total of 42/43):
Zombicus +1
ZappRowzdower
domina_fortuna +1
Shadek +2
SinoSamba
DustyStarr +1
CodextehFish +2
Aercadia
JesusInHD
level1gamer +2
Headhunter +1 (or 2)
SinoSamba
Senicks
SantODiablO83 +1 (or Sun/Mon?)

---

Captain Star
yingfo
namron9
Bob20021
rahnawyn
ChaoticFate +2
bubblegirl22
the_exiled +3
sacratoy
HAVOKNW +1
keeponrunning

Post-PAX? (Total of 8):
BouwsT +1
vespachica +2
KanaeShiki +2

LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANYONE OR MAKE ANY MISTAKES

StarYoshi

I'll be there early for PAX Dev - it would be awesome to get in on a tour this year.

Zombicus

None of the days worked for me last year, but I'd love to give this another shot with a +1. Lovely way to make the most of the trip.

Edit: Thursday would be cool.

Themagicmoogle

I'm in for sure, any of the days! I live in the Seattle area, so any day will work

Cennedi

I would love that if I know the days

belligerent

I am interested and wednesday/thursday would work for me. I will also be bringing two non forum dudes with me.

ZappRowzdower

I'm interested. Thursday works best, but may be able to do Wednesday.

yingfo

I'd actually be interested in doing this if the dates work out no sure when I would be flying into Seattle yet.

The Word of Bird

My bf and I are interested. Is there an entrance fee? Any rules that we should be aware of, like no cellphones or cameras?

Wulfenshtein

Cennedi wrote: »

I would love that if I know the days

They usually do tours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 3:30 PM PST.

The Word of Bird wrote: »

My bf and I are interested. Is there an entrance fee? Any rules that we should be aware of, like no cellphones or cameras?

It is free and they will stamp your parking ticket too so you don't have to pay for parking. You can take all the pictures you want in the office lobby where the secretaries are, but no pictures once you are inside.

Sharkey1337

My wife and I live in the area now so we're totally interested!

Shm3lio

I was apart of the OT for this last year. Here is the link so you can see what they did. It was alot of fun.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/177985/pre-post-pax-valve-tour-tickets-all-sold-out-transportation-update-in-op/p1

domina_fortuna

My husband and I are totally interested, but we'll only be able to do it on Thursday (we fly in on Wednesday night). I'll be checking this thread regularly to see what's up.

Shadek

Myself and the two other people I plan on going with are definitely interested in this! We will probably be flying in Wednesday morning/afternoon, so Thursday would work best...but Wednesday may work as well depending on when we get in.

Konrad9

Wulfenshtein wrote: »

Cennedi wrote: »

I would love that if I know the days

They usually do tours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 3:30 PM PST.

Do you just show up? I tried emailing the front desk and Gabe a few months ago (as their FAQ suggests) and I never heard anything back.

Shm3lio

Last year it was "hosted" by the OP of the thread. They spoke with and set up times with Valve for the tour. It cost ~$20 per person in which the OP ended up reimbursing all who actually showed up.

Wulfenshtein

Konrad9 wrote: »

Do you just show up? I tried emailing the front desk and Gabe a few months ago (as their FAQ suggests) and I never heard anything back.

I emailed frontdesk@valvesoftware.com a couple weeks before I flew out there to visit my brother two summers ago. Their secretary Mary emailed me back later the same day. We ended up having a scheduling conflict for the Thursday we were going to go, and Mary was awesome and rescheduled us for the following Wednesday.

SinoSamba

I would def be in for Th. Is this an all day thing or just an afternoon?

zerzhul

Valve tours are 100% free. The "cost" in last year's thread was just a way to reserve your spot in the organizer's list. It was always intended that the money would be refunded to all that showed up, with any no-shows getting donated to Child's Play. Valve got really upset about it, saying that the OP was trying to put a charge on a free tour, and asked that the OP refund everyone right away. I think it will be extremely difficult to organize a group tour again, under those circumstances, since Valve seemed unwilling to understand the situation that with a group this large, and all the demand, there has to be a way to reserve spots while making people want to not just no-show, taking a spot away from someone that might actually go.

Edit: I can understand Valve's position though, since they don't (and likely we don't either) know the organizer from Adam/Eve, and have no way to guarantee he/she isn't running a scam.

Edit2: Also, I remember there were a fair amount of people that didn't actually read the OP of the thread, and just saw "oh, valve tour, $20" and signed up, thinking that it actually cost money and that there was no refund system in place. All in all, this is a tough chore for an organizer.

Shm3lio

It was a way for the forumers to know how many were going due to Valve requesting a limited number of people per tour.

BouwsT

I'd be interested, but we're going to be there the week after. Any people interested in doing a Post-PAX tour? Lol

Malgaras

I would be interested depending on when it is.

The Word of Bird

Btw, I live in the Puget Sound. Barring work shifts, we should be able to go.

Hollenheim

I would definitely be going as well as my cousin. All of the days would work, we're taking extra time off before and after.

Lazorz

I've emailed the front desk about booking Tuesday, August 26th through Thursday, August 28th. I'll let you guys know when I get a response and what it says. Also, thank you @zerzhul‌ for the information on last year's issues. If we're able to put this together, I think we'll find a way to both respect Valve's wishes and make sure that everyone who gets a spot shows up.

As for post-PAX, I think we should wait and see what the status of pre-PAX will be. If I get a positive response on that, then I'll definitely help someone step up to take the lead on organizing those tours, as I'll be gone after Monday night.

FourT2

I went last year and was impressed. I would gladly go again this year.

DustyStarr

I am SO interested, as is my BF! However, we can only do Thursday before, unless people count the Tuesday after PAX. PLs let it be free...

IdiotPatrol

Went last year the Tuesday after Pax. The guy who organized it had a few tours before and a few after PAX. Hopefully Valve will let you guys do it again this year. Last year they got upset with the whole charging money issue, and during the day I went, they got a bit upset because way more people showed up than signed up. They capped each tour at 25 sign ups, and we had 35 or 40 show up. They gave out swag bags at the end and a number of people didn't get them because they only had the 25 prepared, so I felt bad for people who signed up and didn't get anything because other people saw the post and just showed up.

CodextehFish

My father, sister and myself would all love to go. I couldn't get time off of work last year to go on the tour and this year we all have the Thursday free for travel from Vancouver/Valve.

vespachica

Reading this thread makes me wonder if we locals should go another time and let the non-locals be able to go (if someone organizes and herds the cats, that is). I mean, ostensibly, we could go any time they are open to having a tour.

Aercadia

IF someone is putting this together this year, I would be interested. Cannot speak for the other 3 in my party. But I would only be able to do it on Thursday, before PAX.

The Word of Bird

It occurs to me that while Valve was mad that people were charged for money last time, they wouldn't be if it actually was for something, like transportation. We could have a place we meet up at, charter or however a small bus for each group, which would cost something, and each person would get a nametag. Each group would have a lead with a list of names. This way, people can't just "show up" out of nowhere, which Value hates, and we would be able to make sure people actually are serious about it. Incidentally, the bus could be used to take people to a nice place to eat too, or whatever fits within the budget.

Elderborn

I would definitely be up for this!

JesusInHD

If this is happening Thursday afternoon, I'm in!

jamsyarbots

I remember that last year valve was only able to accommodate 25 people at a time. Most people wanted to go on Thursday but the strict limitations on group sizes necessitated people being flexible in their scheduling. I ended up going on the Tuesday or Wednesday after PAX and had a great time. I guess my point is to try and be flexible and you'll have a great time at PAX in general.

maywest

This sounds like a great idea. I you be up for Tues before PAX, or Tues after PAX.

domina_fortuna

jamsyarbots wrote: »

I remember that last year valve was only able to accommodate 25 people at a time. Most people wanted to go on Thursday but the strict limitations on group sizes necessitated people being flexible in their scheduling. I ended up going on the Tuesday or Wednesday after PAX and had a great time. I guess my point is to try and be flexible and you'll have a great time at PAX in general.

That's awesome for all the folks that are local or from around Seattle and don't have to fly 3000 miles to get there. For us, we can only go on a Thursday because we're flying in Wednesday night.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for a Thursday group, because my husband is pretty excited about the prospect of getting to tour Valve.
Flexibility is key, and I've gotta remember that for all 6 days that we're there, I just don't wanna miss out.

Rowwie

I'm definitely interested in a Wednesday or Thursday tour. I'd be +5 though as my friends and I will all be coming in from out of country together.

level1gamer

I'd totally be interested. It would be me and two others. We could go on Thursday.

Headhunter

Ooh, I'd love to be part of this! I'm in town Thursday to Tuesday: if Thursday is definitely a go, I'll try to book a much earlier flight so I can make the tour: it would probably be 1-2 friends at most plus myself.

Nazoshadow

I have 3 friends who are interested in going - they live near Seattle and can go any day.

I can't include myself since I'm moving to Sillicon Valley in the summer. -_-