GenCon newbies, ask your questions here!

[Dragon Ruler]

We drive every year, stay in a hotel between 5 and 10 miles out, and drive in and park every day. Best place we have found to park, per the advice of Retlaw is Lucas Oil Stadium. $10 and just a short walk to the convention center. Unfortunately if there is an event at the stadium any day, the lots are not open. One Direction or some similar band took priority last year on one of the days so we found a lot for $10 in the general vicinity of the Stadium.

[Tornado]

This year games will be in Lucas Oil(really looking forward to that), so you may be able to enter the Con right there.
Great tip!

[caps]

I can't tell for sure from that map but I think we typically parked at #15. #16, or #28. It was not a bad walk. Not in a garage

[Dad_Scaper]

@Ranior , we drive in early morning and park every day. I'm sure you can get a deal, but we put the car in one of the big garages at about 8:30 every morning and leave each night at midnight, give or take, and it costs us $20. Might not be the cheapest way but it's worked for us.

[dok]

Originally Posted by adoney

so, I literally know nothing about GenCon...buying a Badge just gets you "in the doors" so to speak?

for each Heroscape tourney event will there be a ticket fee? Cause if I do end up going, I wanna enter around 3-4 of the Heroscape tourney events...so should I plan on paying a fee for each one? As well, are tickets for the events picked up once we get there? or is there a pre-registering for the different events?

adoney,

If you want to attend, first you will need to buy a badge so you can get into the gaming areas.

Then you buy tickets for events. Event sales go live at noon this Sunday. Most events will not sell out, and even the ones that do won't sell out for a while, so don't worry too much. If you can't decide what you want to play, you can purchase "generic tickets" that can be used for any event that's not sold out.

I can't remember for sure, but I think most events cost $6 each to play.

[lonewolf]

I feel like staying downtown is the only way to go. The freedom to be able to head back to your room and drop stuff off, take a nap, eat, whatever, is so convenient. I do always room with a bunch of other people to keep the cost down. A good part of the fun is the games played in the room.

[Ranior]

Thank you for the advice.

For this year, my boyfriend and I wound up in a hotel about 20 minutes from downtown. I'm excited to experience my first gencon, and in future years I may try to get a downtown hotel by being prepared earlier in the year, rather than getting things together in May/June as I did this year.

I want to thank everyone for their advice, it has helped make planning things out easier. Hoping that the advice for parking at Lucas Oil Stadium will work well, as that is our plan currently.

In future years I am hoping more of my gaming friends will make it with us and we can lower costs for everyone by being in a bigger group. Many of my friends have recently graduated college and have limited funds and days off, which hopefully will be improved for future years so they might come with.

Again, thanks to all the helpful advice on these boards. Always constantly impressed by the people here and their friendliness and willingness to take a few minutes to help others. Pumped for my first gencon, can't wait to go!

[Dad_Scaper]

I am super happy for you, ranior. Don't worry about the parking. I've never parked at Lucas Oil Stadium and it's never been a problem. Just get into town early every morning, which you should anyway.

[Ranior]

Gotcha sounds good.

Just because different people have wildly differing definitions or early, what time do you mean? I was figuring we would be lookign for parking around 8:30am local time most mornings.

[Dad_Scaper]

That should work. We are normally so excited about something or other that we're signed up for an 8 am event, or showing up at one with generics every day. Sleep when you get home.

I mean, sleep a *little* while you're there. Enough. But not too much.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

That should work. We are normally so excited about something or other that we're signed up for an 8 am event, or showing up at one with generics every day. Sleep when you get home.

I mean, sleep a *little* while you're there. Enough. But not too much.

Sleep just enough so that your ability to drive the car you brought with you isn't affected.

[Hendal]

yea we use to park in a lot right by the convention center, you just have to get there before 8 to make sure you get in. It all works out, 2 years ago I was 15 min. away and parking was never an issue