How early to prepare for a GP
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Posted on Jan. 19, 2015, 8:50 a.m. by filledelanuit
I and a group of my friends are planning to go to the Modern GP in charlotte this June. None of us has ever been to a GP before and we don't know how early you need to book hotel rooms and such.
So my questions are:
How early do you book a hotel room?
How far away from the convention center is too far away to get to?
Do you book a room for Saturday night even if you don't expect to make day 2?
NoPantsParade says... #4
I agree with fluffybunnypants
1) Last GP they had in Charlotte was the largest one they had at the time, but that's not the case anymore. The earlier you book, the better. I went to the one in 2013, and it was pretty crowded. Although, I don't quite remember the morning part because I was half-asleep at the moment.
2) I live outside of uptown Charlotte, and as far as I know, if you're driving to the convention center from a hotel, traffic shouldn't be too bad. I might be wrong. The walk isn't bad at all, either. Most of the hotels in the area are near the convention center, so driving or walking won't/shouldn't be too long or bad.
3) I'd go ahead and book a room for Saturday night, even if you don't make day two. If you don't stay at the GP all day on Saturday, there's plenty to do in uptown Charlotte at night and during the day should you choose to hang out on Sunday as well.
January 19, 2015 9:35 a.m.
Both the gp's i went to, i had more fun doing the side events like grinders and wacky drafts than i did the actual gp. So yes, book both nights. There is plenty to do all day.
Definatly get within walking distance or a short drive. Also if you are 21+ it helps to be walking distance from a bar or something. I always made a few friends and it was fun to go out and see a bit of the city you are in and have some non-magic fun.
Go in with the attitude of having fun and meeting people. Some of my hyper-competitive friends were huge buzzkills when they got knocked out. (also a good reason to be near a bar)
January 19, 2015 1:51 p.m.
Rhadamanthus says... #6
At least a month or two ahead of time. Charlotte has a good amount of hotel capacity within walking distance of the Convention Center, but it's not infinite. Better safe than sorry.
When I go to GPs I don't like to be more than a 20 min drive away. Any more than that just makes it a huge hassle to get up and going in the morning. Like I mentioned above, Charlotte has a lot of walking-distance options, so get on that if at all possible.
Yes, do Saturday night. I'm on the West side of Greensboro, which isn't all that far away, but I always go with friends to events like this and I like to hang out with them and various internet acquaintances when I'm not playing. If I don't have Saturday night arrangements then the drive back home is going to be really late and sucky, and if I make Day 2 it will be actual Hell to get up and go back Sunday morning. When I went to the last GP in Charlotte the only one of my friends who didn't make Saturday plans was also the only one who made Day 2, so he had to crash with us. I had to cover for his part of the room and I don't remember if he ever paid me back...
fluffybunnypants says... #2
1) Book a couple months in advance and you'll get your pick of places to stay.
2) I like to stay within a couple miles of where it's taking place. Regardless of buys, Saturday starts ass early as GPs for me because I'm the usually the driver.
3) I like to have the option of staying and hanging out on Sunday, so I always book for two nights (Friday and Saturday).
January 19, 2015 9:02 a.m.