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Traveling to PAX Discussion Thread

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Posts

  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited October 2010
    The train isn't about the scenery, it's about the people you ride with.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Moe Fwacky wrote: »
    The train isn't about the scenery, it's about the people you ride with.

    Truth. Also, there's plenty of scenery between Chicago and Albany!

    antherem on
  • LimondLimond Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Right now Southwest has a really cheap deal for tickets between BWI (Baltimore, MD) and BOS (Boston, MA).

    The "Want to get away" deals are 39 bucks for a ticket to BOS from BWI. The trip from BOS to BWI is also 39 dollars. If people are looking for more risky but cheap travel I suggest ordering now. (Yesterday the prices were 52 dollars)

    It was 198.80 after taxes for 4 tickets (2 there, 2 back).

    Want to get away deals are not refundable!

    www.southwest.com

    note I don't work for them, im just trying to save people some money.

    Limond on
    One clip, one kill.

    I am a monster truck that walks like a man.
  • WingedillidanWingedillidan Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    If you don't gots time as a constraint... East Train Alliance?
    http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=129769

    Wingedillidan on
    (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
  • flatlineflatline Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Me and my buddy took Jetblue last year (I refuse to fly Southwest if I don't have to), and we're considering that again for the convenience (it's the fastest and cheapest), but we want to do BYOC, and the train seems like a fun time if there are other PAXers going.

    Speaking of traveling and BYOC, has anyone here actually shipped their computer/monitor last year - and if so, what was the approximate cost, were there any accidents, etc? I've never traveled for a LAN party quite like this.

    edit: Sonic line is now more amenable to our wallets

    flatline on
    East 2014 Status: Badge [ Friend got it ] Hotel [Crappy] BYOC [YES] Transport [ ] Name on Forum Badge [ ] Challenge Coin [ ]
  • WormdundeeWormdundee Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    If you read the PAX train trip thread Moe has already changed it from the Acela back to the 176 (I believe). So no worries for you there.

    Wormdundee on
  • <Omicron-8643><Omicron-8643> Just outside DC. Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Limond wrote: »
    Right now Southwest has a really cheap deal for tickets between BWI (Baltimore, MD) and BOS (Boston, MA).

    The "Want to get away" deals are 39 bucks for a ticket to BOS from BWI. The trip from BOS to BWI is also 39 dollars. If people are looking for more risky but cheap travel I suggest ordering now. (Yesterday the prices were 52 dollars)

    It was 198.80 after taxes for 4 tickets (2 there, 2 back).

    Want to get away deals are not refundable!

    www.southwest.com

    note I don't work for them, im just trying to save people some money.

    Thanks for the heads up! I would have missed this if you hadn't brought it to my attention!

    I believe that, while you can't get a refund on these deals, it looks like you can apply your ticket balance towards another flight if you have to cancel so you're not entirely SOL. (Assuming, of course, you plan on flying in the next year.)

    <Omicron-8643> on
  • MTSonic11MTSonic11 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010

    Thanks for the heads up! I would have missed this if you hadn't brought it to my attention!

    I believe that, while you can't get a refund on these deals, it looks like you can apply your ticket balance towards another flight if you have to cancel so you're not entirely SOL. (Assuming, of course, you plan on flying in the next year.)

    This is correct. If you need to change your flight on Southwest, you just pay the difference between the two or you can apply the entire amount to a different flight.

    In fact, PAX was the only time I changed my flight last March. Close to the date, I wanted to get there a day early so we could go to one of the community events. I would have missed this flying in on Friday morning as planned, so I changed my flight to Thursday and had to only pay around $50 for the different, no fee was incurred for changing the flight like a lot of other airlines.

    I also want to throw in, I don't understand the Southwest hate. I fly them at least once per month and have never had a problem with them. They may be no frills, but they also have one of the safest track records, which to me, is more important than anything else.

    I'm not doing PAX on a budget by any means, but for people who are, Southwest could save a ton of money in baggage fees and changed flight fees alone. And no, I don't have any association with them either besides being a frequent flier.

    MTSonic11 on
  • ottoman673ottoman673 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Flying into Boston early-ish Thursday out of Grand Rapids... connecting in Cleveland then taking Continental Flight 2870 into Boston. Arriving around 1PM Thursday to get acclimated with hotel/go to a community event maybe.

    Kind of expensive, but I don't like the idea of driving nearly 1000 miles each way. I ended up paying about $250/round trip. Not bad, considering the train was actually far more expensive for me if i had taken it to Chicago then from Chicago to Boston, and I'm saving time as well.

    ottoman673 on
    PAX East 2012 Checklist: [x] 3 Day Pass [x] Time off Work [x] Flight [x] Hotel
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    MTSonic11 wrote: »

    Thanks for the heads up! I would have missed this if you hadn't brought it to my attention!

    I believe that, while you can't get a refund on these deals, it looks like you can apply your ticket balance towards another flight if you have to cancel so you're not entirely SOL. (Assuming, of course, you plan on flying in the next year.)

    This is correct. If you need to change your flight on Southwest, you just pay the difference between the two or you can apply the entire amount to a different flight.

    In fact, PAX was the only time I changed my flight last March. Close to the date, I wanted to get there a day early so we could go to one of the community events. I would have missed this flying in on Friday morning as planned, so I changed my flight to Thursday and had to only pay around $50 for the different, no fee was incurred for changing the flight like a lot of other airlines.

    I also want to throw in, I don't understand the Southwest hate. I fly them at least once per month and have never had a problem with them. They may be no frills, but they also have one of the safest track records, which to me, is more important than anything else.

    I'm not doing PAX on a budget by any means, but for people who are, Southwest could save a ton of money in baggage fees and changed flight fees alone. And no, I don't have any association with them either besides being a frequent flier.

    Yeah, if Jetblue isn't available or affordable, I always fly SW, though a lot of people hate the "no assigned seating" and how your checking number determines how good of a seat you get.

    schuss on
  • BigSassyBigSassy Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    My thanks to the guy with the fruit fucker flag. Please bring it this year.

    Done. Not that he'd forget, but I'll make sure the owner of the flag brings it with him for this year too. Somebody has to free beach balls trapped in the rafters, right?

    BigSassy on
  • king awesomeking awesome Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    As an ETA vetran(What? Its only run one year, I can claim that.) I heartily recomend it. The only proble I had was I was the first one on my line and got so absorbed in the book I was reading I didn't notice the arrival of other ETAers until two stops later. My thanks to the guy with the fruit fucker flag. Please bring it this year.

    Absolutely. My girlfriend is remaking the flag to be a little nicer and maybe a little bigger. So all around more ridiculous :D

    king awesome on
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  • ValkerionValkerion Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    Just drove from Savannah GA to Boston MASS. the other week for my brothers wedding. In all it was about 18 hours with stopping in Harrisburg PA for 2 days. GA to PA was 12 hours exactly, this is with getting caught in DC traffic (which I would avoid like the effing plague) which took about an hour and a half to go 18 miles :x Then PA to MASS was about... 6-7 hours taking toll roads and the MASS pike to getting past Boston to Essex (30mins from Boston)

    It wasnt a bad drive, any of us who live in the south know how easy it is to drive around here compared to the north east states :lol: The hardest part about going up to around DC/End of Virgina is keeping your attention to driving lol. Everything else is traffic ect.

    Dont think I will be driving to PAX East, its sounding like the trains will be fun and fairly less expensive than taking a plane but the 18 hour train ride isnt that appealing unless it is as fun as the PAX Prime videos haha.

    So random question, how do these plane tickets work, never bought them myself before. Is the cost of a ticket including the flight back or is that another cost all together? And whats a good airline/site to get plane tickets from.

    Valkerion on
  • macrogeekmacrogeek Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    If you're going to drive, consider that depending on what state you're starting in, weather may be an issue. Last year's PAX East was nearly 2 weeks later than this years. Our group had people flying and driving and meeting up in Boston, the drivers hit icy highways in Ohio and had to slow way down for several hours...lots of cars in the ditch and such.

    Plane tickets can be sold either way, depends on what airline you book. Look at the site, usually the trip default is round trip, and they have you pick the outbound and return flights, which may vary on cost depending on the time of day and such. Then you pay for it all at once. There is usually a tick box if you only want a one-way ticket, and those usually cost more.

    Realize that there will be taxes and hidden fees on most plane tickets above the search engine price. Most airlines only let you take carry on or carry-on plus one checked bag these days, so you may need to pay $20-30 if you need an extra checked bag. Most people can pack for PAX in a small suitcase and backpack and go carry on as long as they're not bringing a computer to the BYOC.

    macrogeek on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    We've done the ride from Boston to Savannah and back and it was a pretty easy going ride (except for the part on the way back when it brought us to the not running ferry). I've flown to Savannah and one way was about $200something. I used cheapoair that time but you can use Kayak to search a bunch of place at once.

    Also, consider flying into Providence and taking the bus up from there. Sometimes that has saved me a ton of cash.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Valkerion wrote: »
    So random question, how do these plane tickets work, never bought them myself before. Is the cost of a ticket including the flight back or is that another cost all together? And whats a good airline/site to get plane tickets from.

    The default search is going to be round trip, so will include both the flight out and the flight back. I like Kayak for finding flights, but there's plenty of choices.

    I don't think there's any direct flights from Savannah to Boston so you should also watch out for connection times. If you put in for a flight from Savannah to Boston it will show you something like Savannah to Atlanta (or some other hub airport), with some amount of connection time, and then on to Boston. Especially in the wintertime when the Northeast is often snarled by weather-related shenanigans, for a novice flyer I would say to make sure the connection time is at least one hour to make sure you can make it to your next plane. They'll move the checked bags to the next plane for you so you don't need to go pick them up in between, you do have to take your carry-ons with you though.

    antherem on
  • macrogeekmacrogeek Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    For Plane ticket searches try: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
    This is the software that runs the backend for most of the major travel sites. It works pretty well.

    Try searching your local airport's site for a list of airlines or direct destinations. You may find some tiny airlines that go to boston but aren't listed in the major search engines.

    I know around here, we have really cheap Allegiant service to Florida, but it's not on any search engine, so you'd only find that deal by checking their site.

    macrogeek on
  • Mrtheplague92Mrtheplague92 24 year old Pax'er from PA Bethlehem PARegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Me and 7 friends are taking 2 cars up again this year :D. We are driving up from Pennsylvania. The drive is really easy, and parking/gas isnt bad when split between a large enough group. Our big advantage in driving is we can lock all our stuff in the car the day we loose the hotel. I know a lot of hotels will watch your stuff for you for free, but i've been to a few that seemed pretty shady. I don't wanna risk my loot getting stolen :P.

    Mrtheplague92 on
  • shadowhaxorshadowhaxor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Just trying to see any of my fellow State of Delaware people are heading up to PAXEAST 2011 and if so, how are you getting there?

    shadowhaxor on
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  • blackthorne2231blackthorne2231 Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    Im from delaware. Last year I took the train from the wilmington station to boston. It was actually quite enjoyable, there were other PAX attendee on the train. It was a nice and cheap way to go.

    blackthorne2231 on
  • OnmitsuOnmitsu I'm just a birdie Ca-caw, ca-caw!Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I'm a grad student in Delaware, though I'm from NJ. I'm debating on if I'm going to drive home and take the bus out of nyc like usual or if I'll try to train it.

    Onmitsu on
    Man, even Dora the Explorer thinks you're slow.
  • MelesMelesMelesMeles Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I've just opened up a Google Map collaboration for people to note where they're coming from. There was one for Prime, and it was very helpful for coordinating things. I saw that nobody had posted one for East, so I went ahead and set it up. Thread is here

    Hopefully people will find it useful again :)

    MelesMeles on
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