I caved...

[altivo]

It was my intention to attend MWFF on just a one day admission for Saturday. However, that requires a full registration at the door process. Looking at the schedule of panels and events, I see things I might like to do on Friday or Sunday, though I doubt I'll show up all three days. Still for the $20 extra to get a full membership, I can drop in any time during the weekend and get to go through the (somewhat) shorter registration line. So I went ahead and pre-registered today. Depending on weather and driving conditions, I'll probably make it for part of Friday at least, and much of Saturday.

It's getting so that actually staying at the hotel for these things is ridiculously difficult. You have to commit almost a year in advance because the reservation blocks fill up so quickly. As I've been saying for several years, furry conventions are getting too large to be practical. Scary events like the chlorine attack last year at MWFF don't help either. It seems like we should be able to find some other ways to promote gathering and socialization in more moderate sized groups. I know that the UK has "meets" that take place on a monthly basis in some regions, for instance.

Comments

[hrrunka]

Sometimes, for some events, hotels fill up very fast. I didn't get to the LonCon3 (Worldcon) hotel booking site until about 3 days after booking opened. That turned out to be about two and a half days too late. I know at least a few friends who booked at non-convention rates a year or more in advance because they knewt the'd get a room that way.

I ended up commuting to the WorldCon, which took about an hour each way on trains, and wasn't too bad over the weekend, but was pretty grim on the weekday mornings.

[altivo]

I think the panic over getting room reservations leads to overbooking and eventual cancellation of many early reservations. There should be a better way to handle it.

In this case, I can commute. It's not convenient and parking is probably a big deal, but it will work out.

[shining_river]

Hi Altivo! I looked at the Sched site for MWFF and I'm impressed with its diversity of subjects. I hope you have a good time there.

When I attended Rainfurrest this past September I stayed at a hotel about three miles away, one which I had stayed in on previous, not con-related trips to Seattle. The only drawback was the cost of parking. The hotel lot was $13 and full every time and the nearby airport pay lot was $15/day.

[altivo]

Chicago hotel prices are astronomical, even for the ones at remote distances from this event. And of course, fursuiting is problematic if you are based at a distance. I'll not be doing that this time.

Parking has been nearly hopeless at the last two or three MWFF gatherings I attended. I haven't done MWFF since 2008, but I rather doubt it will have improved in that respect.