Yes, it is that time again....I have made it to GenCon, and time for the reports from the front lines!
GenCon Day -1 : The Drive!
This year brings me, Leonard Kerensky, and ShadowSeraph back to GenCon. We are bringing a GenCon Virgin with
us, who does not even have a forum account(so he will have no idea what we say about him! Mu-HA-HA!). We picked
our rental car up Monday evening, a Nissan Altima, with room for all our bags..and still enough room to put some bodies
in if we, by some chance, needed to.(This last is only PARTIALLY a joke....seriously..the thing has ROOM in that trunk!)
We left earlier this time then the last times, leaving out at 3 P.M. US Central, 4 P.M. US Eastern(Indy time). While
it was dark by the time we got out of Alabama(Alabama is like a third of the trip), we took almost exactly the same route
we took last year. (This is amusing because the GenCon Virgin decided he would record the route he had found, and use
his GPS smart phone to show us a "better route" to I-65.) This time, we did NOT have any encounters involving us and
Alabama's Finest. All in all, the ride was smooth, and we hit Indy at about 7 A.M. Indy Time.
GenCon Day 0: Check-in and registration
We got to Indy, and went to our hotel. When we were checking in, they had told us the GenCon rate, but that nothing
could be done since that has to be set by GenCon Housing. However, Katina, the Front Desk Agent who checked us in
said she would talk to her manager when he came in to see if there was anything that could be done to help us. So,
we head up to the room, get settled in, get showers after being on the road so long(so I could get the swelling in my
feet to go down enough that I could put my hiking boots on).
From there, we go and wander aimlessly while waiting for will-call to open. I point out to our GenCon Virgin(GCV) where things
were in 2009, and where they were last year, we say hi to the guys setting up the Firestorm Pods, and look through the
open door and see where the catalyst booth is being set up, see that the GameScience dice booth is right next to it this
year, and then get shooed along by Con staff.
We go wander around the mall, scoping it out and showing the GCV where the important stuff is: food court, Tilt, Artsgarden.
From there we wander back, pick up the GenCon programs and sit around on the second floor of the convention center talking
about the neat stuff this year. Then, me and the ShadowSeraph head back to the room, drop off our programs, and then head
to the will call line(where Leonard Kerensky and our GCV are a) already waiting and b) a bit further ahead inline. We get to the
tickets, and ShadowSeraph's badge is not there, Leonard Kerensky, and GCV's events are not there, and my Generic Tickets
are not there.
We figure "OK..we have the badges..lets head back to the hotel and check on if we can get the rate lowered." Turns out
that we did not have to do any sort of effort...it was fixed for us. We get the portions of the cash deposits back, and I
give everyone back the portion they had to kick in extra, plus the difference from what we had originally calculated. This
ended up being cheaper then the hoped for Friends and Family Rate.
From here, me,Leonard Kerensky, and the GCV head to the "tickets trouble" area, and when they still don't have our
stuff, and we find out alot is still being printed out and delivered and sorted yet...Leonard Kerensky heads back to the
room, and the GCV and I head over to the mall to get food and spend some time at tilt. Now, we head back to the hotel,
get in a elevator with 3 of the younger catalyst crew(a young guy in a red shirt and glasses, another young guy with dusty
blond hair, and young lady with blonde, curly hair..I know they are CGL because of their lanyards), and comment to our GCV
that, again, we are in the same hotel as Catalyst, which is awesome!(Unlike last year, we do not seem to be on the same
floor, though). I come down to the Starbucks, get some water, and begin typing this report. As I am typing this, I see
Bull from the Shadowrun forums(and the Shadowrun Missions Coordinator) tooling around on his spiffy electric convenience
vehicle.
We are planning on heading over to the Convention Center around 7 this evening, when it should be quieter, to see if they
have our stuff. Note: if you see the poor old guy that is trying to handle the "trouble issues"?(long, really wavy grey hair,
small, round bi-focals..looks a bit like what one would expect a wizened wizard to look like) Give him props. He is stuck dealing
with a very bad situation right now, and some of the people ahead of us were extremely....rude(would be kind) to him.
Also, I am coming to the conclusion that, even if I would have had to pay the full rate, I will never stay at any hotel in Indy
other then Marriott Indianapolis Downtown. Even when there have been problems, they have been nothing but polite
and helpful. And I am NOT just saying this because I am a Marriott Employee...believe me, there was PLENTY they could
have done to have NOT helped me which would have been perfectly within Marriott policy and practice. I came back to
the hotel all prepared with facts and counter Marriott Policy arguments, all prepared to play hardball...and I didn't have to.
Also: Good news! Apparently the StarBucks in the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown is going to be open 24 hours Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday.
