*Official Thread* - One Stop Shopping - Quick Questions, Quick Answers

Stole this right from Sebulba-X -- when we do have more to discuss (hopefully soon!), this kind of thing can come in handy:

"Look, I understand...you're a busy poster. You've got spoilers to comment on, political topics to fight about, boy bands to gush over...you don't have time to read the whole forum to get a single answer to a simple question...Or maybe you're just new and completely lost...Or maybe you're a convention pro that wants to know where to get an extravagent meal to abuse your boss' expense account.

Well, here's your place to do so. Any and all non-discussable, one shot "ask whatever you want and I'll do my best to answer it" questions. Doesn't matter if 4 different people asked it just prior to your post. No one will ask you to re-read anything...you've got questions, I got answers.

So, ask away."

 

What can we expect the weather to be like in late May? How often does it rain in LA? Is there cool breezes or is it pretty much standing heat the whole time?

 

VK is away at the moment so I will jump in 'cause this is an easy one.

The weather here will probably be great in May! You won't have to worry about tornado warnings or hailstorms or snow. It probably won't even rain. You can expect sunshine and nice temperatures. It might get a little hot but hopefully we won't be having a heat wave (if we do, make sure to drink a lot of water, keep cool, and don't over exert yourself. Stay inside where it's air conditioned as much as possible).

Bring a sweatshirt for the mornings since it tends to be overcast in the summer. It invariably goes away by lunchtime and then it'll start to be hot. It gets cooler again in the evenings. If you are wearing normal clothing, bring stuff so you can layer if you need to. If you are wearing a Jedi costume, armor, etc., I'm not sure what to tell you...you might get kind of hot. Make sure to bring/buy water. And everyone should bring sunscreen!

Be aware that the weather will vary depending on what part of Los Angeles you're in. What I said above should be pretty close to the mark as far as downtown L.A/the convention is concerned. If you are going further inland it will be hotter, and the coast will be cooler. If you will be at the beach at night, you should definitely dress warmly.

Here is a link with some more about the weather.

And you can check this page as it gets closer to the date

 

I saw this quoted in the link

"If you are visiting in May, June or July, watch out for the 'marine layer', a cloudy overcast which affects the beach and first mile or so of the coastal strip, especially in the mornings. Locals call it "June Gloom"."

Is this referring to the LA Smog or is it a different weather condition?

 

It's a thin layer of low clouds/fog. It can make the weather rather muggy.

 

Yeah, the smog is a different thing.

 

Hi, I'm new to the world of Cons and to this forum, so sorry if my questions are rather newbyish.

Anyways, I'm a broke college student and consequently don't have much money to spend on C4. However, I lucked out that C4 is in LA because I live in Santa Barbara which is only like 100 miles away. Now my question is this, since I'm broke I was just planning on driving down really early one morning spending the day at C4 and then driving home really late that night. However, after browsing some threads I'm starting to question this plan. Is one day enough time to see a good chunk of stuff or do I need a couple days? Also, if I were to only be able to make it for one day would Fri or Sat be a better day or does it really matter?

Thanks for the help

 

It really depends...oh and hey, welcome. It depends on what you want out of the convention. If you just want to hit the vendor hall and maybe get a few autographs, maybe a day is what you need, especially on your budget. Just keep in mind if you want to see some of the other events or get in line for the official CIV store, a day just won't cut it. Keep in mind, many of the lines for things at CIII were several hours long. I'm not kidding. The guy I went with stood in line (well, okay, he sat...) for the store for 7 hours. It shouldn't be "that" bad this time around but it's possible.

Good luck with whatever you decide..and again, welcome.

-GJ

 

Welcome aboard, Solo. Glad to have you here.

From my past Celebration experience, my answer to your question would be a resounding NO. There is just simply WAY too many things/events going on at all different times/days that one single day will not allow you to see all that there is on display. Once the C4 itinerary is eventually released, you will see what I mean. Plus, the wait lines for some events (like autograph sessions and the C4 store) will be LONG, which may not give you the time to drive all the way home and then come back expecting the line to be shorter. Obviously what you consider to be "can't miss" might differ from what I consider to be a must-see. But if you are even a slight Star Wars fan, you will have sensory overload with the sheer amount of awesome stuff that goes on at a Celebration. And one day will not be enough to see it all.

At C3, there were events that took place one day at one time, then on another day at a completely different time. And events tend to overlap at times, meaning you can be sitting in a room watching one thing while another event that you would love to see is going on next door or on a completely different floor (as was the case at C3). You really need to see what is being planned for which day (when it is finally posted) and determine for yourself what you really want to see/do and what you can afford to miss at C4.

It's unfortunate that you can only devote one single day to C4. But look at it this way: one day at C4 is sure a heck better than no days, right?

Again, welcome aboard and I hope my "advice" was helpful in at least a small way. See you at C4...

 

1.) You might want to consider the Amtrak Surfliner instead of driving. Parking is a royal pain and very costly. However, the Goleta (GTA) train station is very close to UCSB. Take the train to Union Station (LAX...yes, it's the same code as LA International Airport. Yes it's confusing. But play along.) The train is also cheaper when you consider the cost of gas. With a Student Advantage card you can get 15% off on your Amtrak fare.

2.) The Red Line is your friend with regard to getting around. The Red Line to the 7th St. Station then the Blue Line to the first stop -- which is Pico -- will get you right to the Convention Center. The Red Line will give you options of where to stay that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Hollywood is a possibility, as is North Hollywood. Stay away from the Wilshire District...it's a bit skuzzy. Do a lot of homework on budget accomodations and youth travel. If you have a Student Advantage card Choice Hotels gives a sizeable discount on accomodations.

3.) The MTA Metro Bus is the same price, pretty much, as the Santa Barbara bus system. However, it's way more crowded. However, the short-run DASH lines run by the City of Los Angeles will save your bacon getting around Downtown LA. However, you will do well getting an MTA day pass every day because in a pinch the Metro Bus will get you there, and a day pass is also good for unlimited Metro light rail (Red Line, Blue Line, Gold Line, Green Line) transport.

If you need further information drop me a Private Message. I'm local so I know the area.

 

Thanks for the advice you guys. Looks like I might have to try and save up for a couple days then. Oh well, who needs to eat right?

 

Hi VK,

We're staying at the Hollywood Orchid Suites & we have a rental car reserved at LAX. I used Yahoo maps to get directions from LAX to this hotel & the results stated that it'll take approximately 30 minutes. Does that include traffic time?

Also, these are the directions from Yahoo Maps. Any advice or comments will be appreciated:

1. Start going to the AIRPORT EXIT on WORLDWAY N.
2. Bear left on EAST WAY toward PARKING 1 & 7.
3. Bear left on WORLDWAY S.
4. Take ramp onto W CENTURY BLVD toward CA-1 S.
5. Turn left on AIRPORT BLVD.
6. Turn right on LA TIJERA BLVD.
7. Turn left on LA CIENEGA BLVD.
8. Turn right on W SUNSET BLVD.
9. Turn left on N FULLER AVE.
10. Turn right on FRANKLIN AVE.
11. Turn right on ORCHID AVE.
12. Arrive at 1753 ORCHID AVE, on the right.

DISTANCE: 14.6 miles
TIME: 30 min. (approx.)

I was also wondering if FREEWAYS are the same as HIGHWAYS. And also how much is the average tollway fee in CA?

Thanks Val,
Miarama

 

No toll roads in SoCal except one in Orange County if my memory serves. That's why they call it a freeway. Free as in "free beer." It's not free as in "free from traffic," though.

 

That route is OK -- it avoids the freeway, making it a straighter shot from the airport. It is all surface streets, though, which means it will be very slow depending on what time you are driving it. Lots of stop lights. I'd say 45 minutes at least, and probably more if you're doing it around 5 PM. You will see a lot of L.A. neighborhoods .

 

next question: Beaches

* What are some of the best public beaches around?

*which are safe to swim in? (not polluted etc)

*what kind of marine life lives in the waters?

*hours of operation if any?

 

Sharks: Reef, black tip, bull, tiger, the list goes on and on. Oh ya, don't forget to see Shamu after you've been to the Shark Encounter at Sea World.

As for swimming wild around the beaches, I've never seen a single shark here and I've lived in So-Cal all my life. So don't worry!!

 

Awesome. I've been searching for this answer in here and either I'm retarded or it doesn't exist, so this thread can tell me which one.

I've seen the Gencon site and the kinda-registration that doesn't do anything. Here are my questions:
1)Has anyone announced an official date & time that passes will go on sale?
2)If not, will that date be announced beforehand, like C3, or will they just go on sale one day out of the blue and we'll all have to scramble to buy them when we get wind of it?
3)How are the convention-rate blocked off hotel rooms going to be sold/reserved?

 

Hey Aayla, hope this sheds some light on your questions. You need to register on Gen Con's website before you can purchase a badge to any of their sponsored events. The registration process is independent of C4 and totally seperate from the actual admission badge-purchasing process:

1. The official badge release date has yet to be announced/posted by Gen Con. I have been checking their website 10-15 times per day for the past 3 weeks for this info. Keep checking their site often.
2. I'm not sure if Gen Con will notify us beforehand when the admission badges will be released. And don't worry about having to "scramble" to get a badge. There will be more than enough for all fans to purchase.
3. I believe the list of reserved hotel rooms will be released once the admission badges are. If memory serves me right from C3, once you purchase your admission badge(s) on Gen Con's website, you are directed to a page where you can check for hotel room availability. Or you are sent an e-mail containing info on reserving these rooms.

 

Thanks! A couple follow-ups:

When you say the registration process is separate from the actual admission badge-purchasing process, do you mean opening a Gen-Con account? How is that separate from the badge-purchasing process? Just separated by time? I have an Gen-Con account from C3, do I need to do some other kind of newfangled registration before buying a badge?

Also, in terms of the "scramble," I was talking more about hotel rooms than admission. IIRC the website was nearly impossible to get through because it was so overloaded when the badges went on sale for C3 and by the time I finally got through the hotel rooms were ancient history. Basically-is there any official information about hotels or will that all come with time?

 

If you already registered on Gen Con's website for C3, then you are good to go. You do not need to re-register before buying your C4 admission badges. In fact, I verified that my registration was up to date a few weeks ago on their site (had to update my new e-mail address and home phone number). I think the registration part allows Gen Con to keep track of what events you already attended, and I'm sure it acts like a customer database. Similar to creating a customer account on websites such as Amazon.com and Buy.com.

I did not book my room for C3 thru the reserved hotel blocks. I just found a hotel that was relatively close (and reasonably priced) to the Indy CC and booked that way. So I'm not 100% sure how the reserved hotel blocks will be handled for C4 (my wife and I are already booked at the Figueroa for C4). My best bet says the rooms are released the same day the badges are released.

Again, hope this helped out somewhat.

 

Thanks again!

 

We have a friend coming with us who will be a couple of months shy of her 21st. Are there any night places that will allow under 21s in as long as they don't drink?

 

Any place that serves food allows people under 21 to sit there, so hotel lounges and bars are OK; true old-style "hangouts" will not. You will see a sign posted by the door that says no one under 21 is allowed in. They mean what they say; regulations are very strict in California as to underage drinking, and they will "card" you.

 

Sorry, I still LOL at the 21 to drink thing. So used to the UK 18 regulation.

Thanks for the info VK

 

Hi,
I read somewhere that you had to join a fan club to either get in on one of the days or get special priveleges. Do you have any info on what that's all about? Is it SW HyperSpace or something else? Any guess on which day would be exclusive to these folks?
Thanks for the terrific job you're doing to help with these questions.

Newby,
DB