Celebration V should return to Indianapolis!

Dingo, in my case... its more just that I like the country. I'm heading down there for my third trip in just over 2 weeks.

 

Have it in LA again, that way I have another reason to go back! I'll stay at a more central hotel though, the New Otani was kind of out of the way, even though it was on the shuttle route. There wasn't much around the hotel, thank god the Starbucks there had breakfast sandwiches, we lived off of those until we got to the LACC to eat! Anywhere they have it, I will be there, and hopefully by then I will have a Shaak Ti costume!!!!

 

Yes, I agree. The directions on the website were terrible and they should have given out a "what to do in LA" brouchure with a few local attractions and dining options for the out of towners. I think that would have alleviated a lot of the complaints.

 

Have to agree that the map and Gen-Con info was lacking, but we got all the things we needed at our hotel. We stayed at the Shereton, and they gave us a very detailed map of downtown LA which included places to eat and stores like Rite Aide. The front desk had information about bus routes, airport shuttles, points of interest, etc. They were friendly and informative.

Additionally, ValedaKor's "rambling" post helped my group to make their way around. (A big thanks for that!)


Andé

 

But that's what the "See LA" booth on the main floor was for. There was another one in the West Hall. They had all types of brochures on L.A. All one had to do was go over and ask.

 

I'll be honest, I wasn't aware there WAS such a booth, though also wasn't something I would have been looking for.

 

Being a resident of Orange County, I really hope all future Star Wars conventions take place in LA. There's no bloody way I'd go halfway across the country to Indy; I expected I would never have been able to attend a Celebration until I found out it was a stone's throw from where I live. I found the facilities to lack any problems whatsoever, I was surprised that the much feared lines from Indy I heard about never materialized this time. I fail to see the wisdom of establishing a supposed central location as the superior site anyway, since it won't reduce the amount of people that have to drive or fly over no matter what. So CV might as well be here, heh heh.

 

Star Wars was released in the United States... the main Celebrations should stay in the states. No offense to Sydney.... If it was in Australia that'd be my whole trip spending budget out the door.

 

I suppose Dingo's point needs rementioning that he wasn't meaning to suggest the feasibility of Celebration in Australia, but that simply what gets said in conversation, even from the top people speculate about it, doesn't mean that is neccessarily a plan.

 

I kind of got the impression Dingo was saying that it was absolutely, definitely, going to be in Sydney. I might have misread, though.

 

No, no, no. This is what Dingo is referring to, from an earlier post of mine:

"Just like Dingo said, guys -- if any of you want to start up a meeting planning company, can provide a business plan, can prove you have a ton of money and the "street cred" to get celebrities to come to your convention, Lucasfilm would love to talk to you. They (Steve and Mary) just don't have the ability to plan all these things themselves. He [edit to say this is referring to Steve Sansweet] inferred that if someone in another country (like Australia) wanted to plan a celebration, and can prove they could put it on, it's not outside the realm of possibility."

They would be happy to have a convention in Australia -- if someone would step up and take on the planning (and the expense).

 

To be fair since I would be going by myself, I really don't want to fly clear across the country to LA for Celebrations. And alot of people I know feel the same way. Which is why the majority of them didn't go this year. But who know's maybe my opinion will change on that matter come 09'.

~PK~

 

I've been to CII, CIII and CIV. I really like Indianapolis for the friendly city and the fact you could find places to eat without driving all over the place. I'm sorry but IHOP isn't my idea of an ideal eatery for dinner but we ate there a lot because we couldn't find anything else. We ended up eating at the hotel one night because everything was darn closed and I was sick of IHOP by then.

The busses were horrible. They weren't frequent enough and since we were on the last stop of our bus line, half the time they wouldn't let all the people on and we ended up walking a mile. That's fine if you are young and healthy but for older people or those with minor disabilities (major disabilities got their own smaller bus) or those with kids, the walk was very, very long. I ended up using the taxis a lot.

That being said, the LA space was much nicer. The lines inside were shorter and I loved that the Hyperspace people got their own day.

If LA had hotels closer to the convention center, I'd say fine. Otherwise, look for someplace else.

As for Baltimore, they hold Otacon (anime convention) there every year and they get about the same number of people. Plus the hotels and restaurants are all within walking distance and so are the museums/aquarium.

 

Bus route 4 was super slow and late, but the others routes were faster. I think?

Biltmore was okay but the restaurants around the hotel were super expense. We just ate the first day in the hotel.

Indianapolis will be okay but in my case I am afraid to flight. since we had horrible storm in Denver.

How so far is Australia from CA?

 

It's a 15 hour flight to California from Sydney, for instance, if you go nonstop.

 

That is one of my only gripes about this con. I was at the end of route 1, and got passed by more busses than I care to count. I was in costume, ready to go, and watched bus after bus go right by. The drivers waved like they were full, but I was willing to stand.

Because I took the bus only once from my hotel, I found it tough to find where to get back on them for the return home. Pain in the ***.

I thought the food wasn't bad at the con (the chinese and BBQ seemed almost worth the money. The rest was a bit overpriced. Also, we were dissapointed to find the local food court shut down early. I'm glad I brought some food.

If it is in LA next time, I'll be there, and I guess I'll go with the Fig. I can't stand Uno, but his hotel was THE place to hang out at. So as long as you play by his rules, I guess it's cool.

Lots of fun was had, and I'm ready for the enxt one.

 

We had a great time! No traffic, we parked real close, security some how forced us to the front of the line, as we were walking toward the back of the long line. Met lots so nice people, Staff was super polite and helpful. Everyone in costume allowed us to take numerous pictures. Muy 15 year old son and his buddy thought it fantatic. My son is still thanking me for taking him, 4 days later! Couple of helpful ideas:

1. Play the movies all day long!
2. Anaheim has better/ closer hotels, more places to eat, safer, less traffic. The Anaheim Convention Center would be nice!

All in all...THANK YOU!

 

They allowed standing one day, but stopped when one of the drivers got a ticket from LAPD for allowing people to stand. After that, all the buses had signs saying everyone had to be able to sit to ride. I hope they figure out something before the next con, because while I can sit in my snowtrooper armor, most of the TKs can't sit in theirs!

The bus situation was really irritating - the only real gripe about the con that I experienced. Next time, I'll definitely stay at the Holiday Inn. It's not like I even had TIME to enjoy the Westin's amenities - it was a place to store my armor trunk and sleep on occasion .

 

You've been on this boards for quite some time and should have taken advice from a few members who suggested renting a car or taking the metro to enjoy L.A. and the surrounding area, then you shouldn't have been so BORED. I'm just assuming that you did not hook up with the people who had the right resources because you would've had a blast.

If the next one is in L.A., you gotta hook up with different buddies who are willing to venture out of the Convention area. That's just how L.A. is. NOW YOU KNOW.

 

Here, here. I don't really think they are set on any location, yet.

 

Thank you Valendakor.

Ohhhhh 15 hours?

 

Flight to Sydney from LA is only about 12 and a half hours.

 

Eastbound is shorter because of the jet stream or something like that.

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. I was going by United's nonstop to Sydney - one fight is 14 hours 45 minutes, the other 13 hours 22 minutes. Still a long time .

 

Oh dang, I accidentally used post-time change time when I did that. so yeah, 14 1/2 heading there, 13 1/2 coming back. My bad.

It doesn't feel quite that long though. For me anyway.