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[PRIME] First Time to PAX Prime? Have You First Timer Wisdom To Share? Inquire within...
Is this your first time at PAX? READ THE MAIN FAQ STICKY FIRST, a lot of valuable information is there!
After that, this is a good place for first timer specific advice that isn't really FAQ material. If you have some first timer advice for others, feel free to post it!
--
Seattle in August/Sept can be HOT! It can also be RAINY! It can also be MILD and COMFY. It can also be COOL. You may need a variety of clothing options, especially since the convention takes place spread across multiple buildings, so you /will/ be going outside at some point in order to get from one place to the next.
How you travel to and from the convention is up to you, but if you do not have a car with you, you have the option of using public transportation and Taxis. After hours is something you must think about if you go to PAX. It's not just the concerts which last up to around 2 am, many other events such as free board game rooms may take up your time as well. And then there are the other events, be them official or not, that will be organized around the city. Look up the public transportation times for Seattle and plan accordingly!
Get yourself some form of mobile data access!!! Many events and meetings will be discussed on the forums, but good deal of new, secret and last minute stuff will be added as well and will only be available to you if you have a readily available connection to the internet. I cannot stress this point enough - there is much more to PAX than just the official schedule! This is how you will get to know about the Twitter Meetups, the special events held by companies, last minute city concerts, special contests, you name it. The forum was receiving surprise last minute threads on such matters and Twitter was in heavy use.
If you're not a resident of the US, getting a data plan may or may not be a complicated thing, however there was a free Wi-Fi connection available at the WSCC. It sucks, but you may get lucky.... Plan accordingly.
There are many pre-pax events organized by the community, so you may want to arrive a couple of days early. You likely won't have time to be toursity during PAX proper, so that is important to consider as well when planning your PAX trip.
Making Friends -
A great way to stay in touch with the new friends you will make is to get some cheap business cards. Stick your email address, gamertag, forum name, whatever on them. Hand them out to all the awesome people you will most certainly meet.
Carrying Your Stuff -
If you are carring a lot of stuff, come Friday night, your one shoulder will be KILLING you. Trust me, you want to evenly distribute the weight. Go for something that you know will be comfortable over the course of a long day. I personally prefer a backpack, not a messenger bag. Many people prefer messenger bags, but it's generally my opinion that this is because they haven't tried a really comfy backpack
. LABEL YOUR IMPORTANT STUFF. either get a label maker, or some sharpies - I highly recommend putting your phone number on them. You never know when you may accidentally leave something behind.
Recharging your devices: Plan ahead. Recharge everything overnight, and perhaps find a compact charging solution to carry with you. Be considerate of outlet use and try not to use more than one at a time (bringing a small power strip can make you a lot of friends).
Reposting The @CatBoy List from the FAQ. One should not underestimate its importance
The next section is taken from @sary from last year, with some modifications
And Remember....
AND most importantly...
After that, this is a good place for first timer specific advice that isn't really FAQ material. If you have some first timer advice for others, feel free to post it!
--
Seattle in August/Sept can be HOT! It can also be RAINY! It can also be MILD and COMFY. It can also be COOL. You may need a variety of clothing options, especially since the convention takes place spread across multiple buildings, so you /will/ be going outside at some point in order to get from one place to the next.
How you travel to and from the convention is up to you, but if you do not have a car with you, you have the option of using public transportation and Taxis. After hours is something you must think about if you go to PAX. It's not just the concerts which last up to around 2 am, many other events such as free board game rooms may take up your time as well. And then there are the other events, be them official or not, that will be organized around the city. Look up the public transportation times for Seattle and plan accordingly!
Get yourself some form of mobile data access!!! Many events and meetings will be discussed on the forums, but good deal of new, secret and last minute stuff will be added as well and will only be available to you if you have a readily available connection to the internet. I cannot stress this point enough - there is much more to PAX than just the official schedule! This is how you will get to know about the Twitter Meetups, the special events held by companies, last minute city concerts, special contests, you name it. The forum was receiving surprise last minute threads on such matters and Twitter was in heavy use.
If you're not a resident of the US, getting a data plan may or may not be a complicated thing, however there was a free Wi-Fi connection available at the WSCC. It sucks, but you may get lucky.... Plan accordingly.
There are many pre-pax events organized by the community, so you may want to arrive a couple of days early. You likely won't have time to be toursity during PAX proper, so that is important to consider as well when planning your PAX trip.
Making Friends -
A great way to stay in touch with the new friends you will make is to get some cheap business cards. Stick your email address, gamertag, forum name, whatever on them. Hand them out to all the awesome people you will most certainly meet.
Carrying Your Stuff -
If you are carring a lot of stuff, come Friday night, your one shoulder will be KILLING you. Trust me, you want to evenly distribute the weight. Go for something that you know will be comfortable over the course of a long day. I personally prefer a backpack, not a messenger bag. Many people prefer messenger bags, but it's generally my opinion that this is because they haven't tried a really comfy backpack
. LABEL YOUR IMPORTANT STUFF. either get a label maker, or some sharpies - I highly recommend putting your phone number on them. You never know when you may accidentally leave something behind.Recharging your devices: Plan ahead. Recharge everything overnight, and perhaps find a compact charging solution to carry with you. Be considerate of outlet use and try not to use more than one at a time (bringing a small power strip can make you a lot of friends).
Reposting The @CatBoy List from the FAQ. One should not underestimate its importance
What should I bring with me to PAX?
CatBoy wrote:I better get this in just so everyone is kinda prepared and in the know of what to bring to PAX or any con that may come their way. (I'm sorry for the huge post, but a lot of people don't know what to bring.)
The Top Twenty Items Forgotten by Convention Attendees Checklist
1. Personal Towel (We know the hotel provides them, but if you're sharing a room with several people, this guarantees you your very own towel. Also, if you plan on using a lot of makeup for a costume or dying your hair *and* use hotel towels, you will be charged a hefty fee for damaging hotel property. Please bring your own towels if you plan to do this.) You may also dip the ends in liquid vitamins and suck on the corners when needed.
* A pretty cool tip involving this is bringing a small clothespin with your name on it to attach to your towel so people can differentiate between yours and theirs. In fact, bring a couple, so you can share with people.
2. Shampoo and Conditioner (Again, the hotel provides these, but the bottles are quite small. Bringing your own ensures you will have some, especially if you use a lot of shampoo or have long hair.)
3. Toothbrush and Toothpaste (You'd be amazed at what going three days without brushing tastes like. Gross.)
4. Deodorant (If you don't bring and use this, don't be surprised when people start edging away from you in packed rooms and theaters. Don't forget the strange looks and cringed noses you'll begin to see.)
5. Razor and Shaving Cream/Gel
6. Comb and/or Hairbrush (some people do use both. You'd be surprised.)
7. One shirt for each day of the convention, plus an extra. (3 days = 4 shirts)
8. Pants (Same number as shirts.)
9. Underwear (3 sets, plus an extra.)
10. Socks (One pair per day plus an extra pair.)
11. Swimsuit (You never know.)
12. Jacket or warm sweater
13. Shoes (If you plan on spending a lot of time dancing or on your feet, make sure you have comfortable shoes with you. Your feet will hurt if you don't have comfy shoes to at least change into.)
14. Any prescribed medication (Make sure to tell your traveling companions/roommates about any medical needs you may have.)
15. Tylenol/Aspirin/etc
16. Photo ID / Driver's License / Checkbook / Car keys
17. A phone card (Not only is this cheaper than having calls charged to your hotel room, but having several people using one phone can lead to billing confusion with long distance calls. Bring a phone card so you can let your parents/significant other know you made it to the con safely.)
18. An extra pillow and blanket if several people are staying in your room.
19. Some non-perishable food from a supermarket (Like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, pretzels and bottled water or juice. While there are a lot of restaurants close by, this is an easy way to save money. In addition, you'll be able to have your midnight snack without leaving your room.)
20. Your best public manners. (You'd be surprised how many people forget to bring these along.)
The exhibition hall is full of awesome. There are upcoming games, and hardware showcased as well as things for sale from games, to guides, to t-shirts, to dice. Prices are comparable with standard retail pricing, or a little cheaper, even. Also, there's tons of free shirts and other swag being handed out by various companies *cough*nVidia*cough*
the spoiler is for the REALLY well preparedA List For The Well Prepared
* Small tube of super glue
* 3 straight pins
* 3 safety pins: 1 small and 2 medium
* Hair pins: 3 medium and 3 heavy
* Small sewing kit (small enough to fit into the palm of your hand)
* Safety matches (1 pack)
* Disposable plastic razor
* Small emery board
* Tylenol/Aspirin (travel sized container)
* 6 chewable Vitamin C tablets (at least 500 mg each)
* 2 Vitamin B complex tabs, stress formula
* 1 pack Tums/Rolaids
* 6 bandaids (or a travel sized pack)
* 6 antihistamine tablets
* 1 travel pack of tissues
* Tube of chapstick or other lip balm
* 6 cough drops or throat lozenges
* Smallest size of tiger balm or camphophenique oil
* Travel size tube of spot remover
* Spare car and house keys
* Breath freshener
* 6 moist towelettes (for cleaning hands)
* Small pencil sharpener
* Small pen
* 1 small pack of post-it-notes (the square ones work fine)
* Clear nail polish
* Small amount of masking tape wrapped around a short pencil
* 6 rubber bands
* 3 unlubricated condoms
* Small penknife
* Small tube of neosporin
* 3 garbage bag twist ties
* Mustache scissors (small pair of scissors will work as well)
* Styptic pencil or qwik stop
* Hand lotion (travel size)
* Aloe vera gel (travel size)
* 3 nail polish remover pad
* Tampons or pads if you are the type to bleed occasionally
The next section is taken from @sary from last year, with some modifications
sary wrote:
Color Guide: POSITIVELY MUST READ! | You probably want to know this. | The Details
3 PAX RULES TO LIVE BY___________________________________________________________________________
- Wheaton's Law is... Law. - seriously, just DON'T BE A DICK.
- 5-2-(2)-1 - Common Con advice is you should have a minimum of:
EACH DAY.
- 5 hours of sleep
the hours of 3:30 to 8:30 am are a good choice, as that won't overlap with too much going on.- 2 (actual, balanced) meals
- 1 shower - for yourself, to refresh for or after a long day of awesome
A common recommendation is that you add to that - with 2 liters of water.- Enforcers make PAX happen! Treat them awesomely.
- Remember: PAX opens on Friday at 10AM. Book your hotel rooms and set your alarm clock accordingly.
- Realize now that you will not be able to do everything you plan on doing. Even if none of the panels conflict, even if you swear to wake up early every day, even if you are the latest Companion and have a key to the TARDIS. You will not be able to do everything you plan on doing - Schedules get juggled, alarm clocks fail to go off, multiverses need saving...
Block out your Must-Sees, your Want-to-Sees, and your Eh-that-sounds-cool-but-I-don't-really-care-one-way-or-the-others. Schedule, oversleep, reschedule, cancel, and reschedule (again) accordingly.- The Official FAQ says to bring a pair of socks a day, plus one extra - really, bring at least two pairs of socks for each day. Carry the spare with you. Middle of the day, your feet are tired (despite those comfortable walking shoes that you're wearing, right?)... change your socks, instant refresher.
- If your mobile data plan sucks (or you don't have a smartphone), up your text messages - a lot of things have twitter accounts, and you can just push tweets to your phone.
Bonus: texts seem to get through a tad more reliably when the circuits are in heavy use, than data or voice does. not guaranteed to be perfect, though.
And Remember....
Frugus wrote:Be this news to you or not, you have to understand one thing about this convention - it is not like other conventions. Well, of course all conventions are somewhat different, but their themes tend to be the same: Get a bunch of things people like and put that in one room. PAX however is about getting all the people that love the same stuff in one room, the rest will naturally follow. In a certain way, Penny-Arcade and everyone that's behind it represent the glue that holds all our common interests together, so if you get a bunch of people who like there stuff together... well you can see where I'm going. This is why there are so many community driven events that work amazingly well. This is why the attending corporations don't get in your face too much. This why people have so much fun and leave with such a great experience.
AND most importantly...
Be excellent to each other.
Moe Fwacky on
+1
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Specifically take this into consideration if you're going to wait for anything at the main concert venue (the Paramount) during the day. The line area is not shaded, and you could be out standing or sitting on hot concrete for 2+ hours in direct sun.
Last year while brigadiering the concert lines, we had more requests for water than cookies. Bring water.
Also be careful I've heard some hotels have switched to those RF chips for minibars and charge you as soon as something's taken out (so don't just assume you can empty that and use it.)
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. I had been dieting and exercising for 6 months or so prior to pax and I was still ill prepared to stand on my feet for hours at a time and walk all over the place. I work a desk job these days ('nuff said there.) You'll be standing, walking and occasionally sitting on the ground.
Test your swag bag in advance. The wife and I had these nice messengerbags we brought, were all ready to go. Turns out they were uncomfortable to carry stuff in and awarkward to walk with. We use them for travel so had never though about that (since running through an airport is just generally uncomfortable.) Luckily the Halofest bags worked well as replacements (although my wife just gave up and I carried her stuff.)
Finally, I will pass along advice given to me by someone in this thread last year. Bring a cardboard tube for posters. We bought one before we left so we didn't have to worry about it when we got there. All of our posters made it back mostly intact (I had an accident with a rubberband that dented one) and now hang in our office. If not for the sage advice of whoever said that (stand up and take a bow please) we'd never have gotten them back since I don't think I would have remembered to get a tube before our Sunday night packing.
EDIT: Wait..shit...why am I telling you people this?! CURSES FOILED MYSELF
Most of the hotels are within a mile (if not a half-mile) of the convention center.
Twitter: @MrArcys
Arguably, the Sheraton. It shares an intersection with the convention center, though there's no skybridge like the Westin has.
Yeah, OnPeak has them blocked off. PAX has its own hotel system, and you usually don't book through the hotels themselves.
I'm told the Sheraton is cheap, but my wife and I are planning to do the Grand Hyatt again. It wasn't too much last year, and its not much farther than the Sheraton (it's across the street from the Annex) and I think it's closer to the main theater (I could see the line from my room last year if I craned my neck, made for easy judgement of when to leave for early morning panels.
I walk very slowly* (curse you genetic knee problems) and had pretty much zero knoweldge of the area (less than zero actually, my wife and I ended up at one point making reservations at the Sheraton's resturant via open table because we didn't realize we were doing that, we then walked around the block and back to where we started, seriously, we're that directionally inept.) So yeah great idea for some, not for me. Plus, 30 minutes of quiet, still can't beat that part. Oh, and cheap, I love the cheap part too.
*I can clear about a mile in 20 minutes, so it's not super, disablingly slow, but it's not exactly pleasant either. After a few hours on my feet, those two blocks seem a lot farther when I'm considering walking them.
Relative to what? You find $200-$300 per night cheap? If you do, I can easily leave my partner for you. :P
There will be a special PAX rate, but it will just be a bit less than their standard.
Almost all decent hotels will hold your bags for you if you are checking out the last day of an event. That said, I think /many/ folks on this forum would tell you it's more fun to leave the next day, so you get to participate in any post-pax festivities and you don't have to worry about messing around with your stuff or trying to get out of dodge while things are still going on.
Ah yeah, fair enough. Hell, even I tend to keep a few slices of emergency pizza (and a bottle of whatever I'm in the mood for lately) in the room even though I do know the area because shit happens and I end up getting back from awesome stuff late and nothing is open. So yeah, keeping food in the room is definitely a good idea.
That said, for people who don't mind some Seattle adventure time, just pick a street and start walking from the convention center, you're guaranteed to hit somewhere that serves food in like 5-10 minutes.
Cheap relative to the other same block hotels and IIRC competative to many of the hotels in the same general "type" (e.g. not hostels, motels, the like.) within about 2 blocks. But my memory for numbers is....fading. (I can tell you what we spent at the Hyatt because it's closer in proximity to my memory. If I think really hard I can see the OnPeak Grid in my head and pull out what I remember to be trends, but they're only going to be about 75% accurate.) It was less than $200 though (don't remember if that was with or w/o taxes) because last year the hayatt was $180ish and it was more than the Sheraton.
You're right though that should of read "Cheaper" not "Cheap" (My definition of "cheap" gets stretched since this is our primary vacation for me and the wife so some splurging is acceptable. Also I tend to refer to "realative cheapness" a sort of "all things considered" methodology so I wouldn't go leaving your partner just yet
@TOGSolid: Fair point, we did our "Seattle Adventure time!" (TM) in the days leading up to PAX (while visiting friends) so my advice in that area may be tilted. Also we do "Seattle Adventure time!" (TM) during dinner, where we did walk to quite a few places blocks away. So yeah, my advice was heavily tilted towards lunch as well. I heartily encourage the going out and about for dinner. (This Wine bar called "Purple" was delicious, and served things by the glass I can't buy by the bottle in STL, which may warrent a return trip, even if our dinner bill was higher than I'd like, but we ate cold cut sandwhiches for lunch so it all balances out in the end. That's how we roll, cheap lunch, splurge on dinner.)
Doesn't the PAX rate only go through Sunday morning? Meaning that if you wanted to stay another night it would cost more than the other nights?
It wasn't drastically different if it was any different at all. I think the hotels keep the event rate through the night following.
Anyone flying in around 10:30 thursday morning, just look for the biggish ginger with the nine year-old mini-me with him. We'll get you to the train and downtown painlessly.
I've booked Wed-Tues and had the same rate each day. It could depend on the hotel though.
And tackle him for cookies.
Ha! I may not have cookies with me! I'm leaning towards shipping them rather than using checked baggage. I can get more cookies to you that way, you see. (I can also use dry ice to keep them durable for the trip if I do that.)
I don't know if some hotels don't block out extra days (OnPeak has a grid of the hotels and available rooms by day updated in real time that should go up when it goes live provided they show it like last year.) IIRC, most hotels had at least Wednesday though Monday as available PAX rates. That may change this year, but I highy doubt many hotels would end the PAX rate on Sunday morning (the Con goes until 6, so many people stay the extra night and if you're the hotel that chooses not to have a Sunday night rate you'll lose business.)
I think I said this upthread, in a different thread or whatever, but last year we decided Friday to stay downtown through Sunday night (rather than go back to a friend's home Sunday night). I expected to pay an arm and a leg but they actually honored the PAX rate for us even though we hadn't booked that in advance. (We did have to wait to see if we could get our reservation extended, but I think they told us by 3PM on Saturday.
I am bit confused as to what takes place where. It sounds like the panels take place somewhere besides the convention center. Or did I just misread the FAQ?
As far as the Sheraton goes, is it a nice hotel? I am wondering why it's cheaper than the Hyatt but just as close.
What is the convention centers food situation like at Prime? Similar selection to East? Also is there a place close by to pick up groceries to make lunches?
Panels take place in 3 places. 1) The WSCC, 2) the Sheraton, 3) the Main Theater, which was the Paramount theater (very close to the WSCC) last yeaer and hopefully again this year.
The Sheraton is very nice, but the normal rooms are very small imo. The Hyatt is just /nicer/ but that doesn't mean the Sheraton isn't nice.
Unlike East, there's a plethora of food options /very/ close by. The WSCC itself has some similar fare to the BCEC, plus a subway inside and just outside. Within a very short walk there are a lot of food options though (unlike the BCEC in which there are SOME but not TONS).
Attire: Cargo pants or shorts are your friends. Especially the styles sold by companies like 5.11 and Blackhawk, where you can fit a wallet, keys, cell phone, DS, phone & DS chargers, iPod, and a paperback book or a Kindle, all without needing a backpack or bag.
Badges: Bring a zip-tie and use it to secure your badge to your lanyard. Unless the plastic of the badge itself breaks, you definitely won't lose your badge.
Contributing writer at Marooner's Rock
Twitch broadcasting! Currently playing through Wing Commander: Privateer
Pinny Lanyard
The zip tie is an interesting idea; you can also just remove the clip on the standard behemoth lanyard and just thread the lanyard itself through the badge and it works great. (If you're not sure how to do this, ask an Enforcer; lots of us have done it to our own or others' lanyards.)
Alternately, you can be sexy and get one of these KnittedSteel chainmail lanyards. Lightweight, impervious to damage, doesn't irritate your neck, and your badge won't come off.
A list of things, should you be of the gifting persuasion
Wait till OnPeak has their system ready. $150 is probably average? It's certainly not high. Take a look at last year's hotel thread to get an idea of where people book and what they like.
5 hotels all within a block of the convention center?! (I mean if they are the same ones as last year.) Was there a big price difference between them or were they all pretty similar?
Similar-ish. Some are nicer than others, some are slightly closer than others, some have different amenities.
I set aside 1 think I wanted to do per day, I figured was a good way to play things. (I didn't force myself to 1 thing, I limited myself to one thing.) That way I didn't feel like I was "missing something" (since I already set my priorites) and I didn't feel rushed (because I timed that one thing and then just rolled the rest of the day.)
Yeah, +1 on the "pick 1 (maybe 2) thing(s) per day" and wing it after that.
Winging it was totally cool once I got into the swing of things. Had I not been winging it, I wouldn't have gotten my signed copy of Axe cop (because we stumbled into the SJ area about 20 minutes before signings started.)
Agreed. At East we only planned for 2 panels a day (3 if there was a really late night one to add). Then the rest of the time was wander around the expo floor and try new tabletop games. Remember that a panel is an hour but you will probably have an additional hour wait in line (sometimes more depending on the panel).
If it involves Wil Wheaton in any fashion, plan to show up in the line area at least two hours early.
Last year 4 of us stayed at the Sheraton starting Thursday night and checked out Sunday morning (3 nights). It cost each of us $230 total for the stay and the passes, and not including meals and gas. The Sheraton is my favorite. We have previously stayed at Crowne Plaza, and one a couple blocks farther away, I forget. International something or other. Crowne is the same price as the Sheraton and is a bit farther away. The International whatever is around the $100 price point and it was kind of shabby.
If you can't wait for On Peak to start doing research, just bring up the convention center on google maps then search "hotel" and start seeing what their rates are. It will give you an idea of what the price and distance differences are.