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[Hazaro]

Oh sure, talking to devs directly is one of my favorite things about the show, but the lines to play their game isn't necessary for that.

I did just about everything I wanted to at PAX East sans some conflicting panels, but I didn't wait 8 combined hours to play Firefall, Borderlands 2 (twice), Max Payne 3 (twice).

Hopefully we can get good recordings of the panels at Prime instead of the crummy ones we had at East.

 

[NintendoGal]

As someone who typed out Sakura-Con's entire pre-reg list by hand for badges a few years ago, I find it inexcusable that an organization like PAX can't figure out that they need to do something like put names on the badges to stop this scalping.

 

[Patryn]

Remember: Last year was so packed because there were between 5-7k counterfeit passes.

So that's an extra 5-7k people (enough that they began to get SERIOUSLY worried the fire marshal was going to shut them down).

The danger is that with this fast sellout, I have a feeling the counterfeiting will be TERRIBLE.

Seriously, people: If you didn't get a pass from the system, be VERY, VERY, VERY careful where you buy it from.

 

[barrin87]

I am going this year to PAX Prime but I have never been to one of these conventions before. What are usually the best things to go to while there?

I definitely want to go to some panels since that sounds like it would be really interesting. Playing unreleased games could be cool but if it's for a game I know I want I will probably buy the game either way. What other types of events would PAX Prime have?

 

[krae_man]

Every single badge has been sold, and there will be no extra allotments either online or on-site. We know many of you would still like to attend, but unfortunately, building firecode restricts us from selling any more badges.

Along those same lines, if you buy a badge from a third party, we have a series of measures in place to detect counterfeits on-site. Last year there were an extremely high number of fakes, so know that if you're purchasing from anyone that isn't us, you run the risk of having a fake badge and not being allowed into the show.

We think it's important to note that we care very little about the money in the "counterfeit badge" situation, but rather when a building is supposed to fit X, but we have X + 5,000 in it... there is a legitimate safety concern. That said, we absolutely cannot let people with fake badges into the show.

So please be smart. If you buy from a 3rd party, do so from a trusted source. Thank you.

.

 

[Patryn]

I am going this year to PAX Prime but I have never been to one of these conventions before. What are usually the best things to go to while there?

I definitely want to go to some panels since that sounds like it would be really interesting. Playing unreleased games could be cool but if it's for a game I know I want I will probably buy the game either way. What other types of events would PAX Prime have?

Panels are great, but I'd avoid a panel that's for either a specific upcoming game or a specific studio; Anything you hear will be PR-filtered, and any announcement will be leaked immediately after the panel is over, and you'll probably have to wait in line FOREVER.

The concerts are a ton of fun. I'd advise hitting the keynote panel (which is usually pretty interesting) and the first Penny Arcade Q&A (which happens immediately after the keynote), as they're usually fun.

If they do a PA/PVP/Wil Wheaton D&D thing, I'd highly advise going to that if you have any interest in D&D or just want to laugh. That event was the highlight of last year's PAX Prime for me (although my poor GF and I had to sit and wait 3 hours to get near the front for that).

If they're using the same main theater, be prepared to stand/sit on concrete in the beating sun for potentially hours. Sun screen would probably help.

Make sure you have something to entertain you, because you'll be in lines quite often. A DS, a PSP or even a Vita works great.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Hope not to go too far off topic, but I still don't understand why people wait in the lines to try the AAA demos at PAX. There's so many better experiences within minutes yet people spend hours waiting in line for something they'll play in a couple months.

The composition of people that go to these things have changed dramatically, they're not really for the industry savvy people like you or me, and the idea of seeing new games before they show up is WAY more appealing than listening to a panel from some guy who talks about something about games. The expo hall is almost always more crowded than anything else.

Now mind you, waiting in line isn't that bad. I clock on plenty of multiplayer DS/3DS sessions on that, which is a great way to kill time and play games.

I am going this year to PAX Prime but I have never been to one of these conventions before. What are usually the best things to go to while there?

I definitely want to go to some panels since that sounds like it would be really interesting. Playing unreleased games could be cool but if it's for a game I know I want I will probably buy the game either way. What other types of events would PAX Prime have?

Key attractions:

Concerts: There are two sets of concerts (Friday and Saturday), (assuming they're roughly the same as last year) they're a bit different in tone, but both highly recommended. Protip: if you have never seen Paul & Storm or JoCo live, DO IT. Don't leave right after VGO.
Panels:Panels of all sorts: community meetups (like the one that Overclocked Remix, Mega64, RoosterTeeth), podcasts (Major Nelson, Giantbomb), game talks (East just had a few with Harmonix, Irrational), and of course, from the guys at PA (If you've never seen them live, do so, GO TO THE MAKE A STRIP PANEL)
Board/Card/Tabletop games: You're never going to find a place with this much board/card/tabletop games under the same roof. Discover new games, play old favourites with others. There's a free to borrow section for you to try out games and meet people.
Freeplay Section: There's also a large section of PC and Console "freeplay" area where you can borrow games out and play on your own terms. Plenty of impromptu tournaments develop from this places.
Expo Hall: And of course, there's the expo hall. Prime will be a great place to see all the upcoming games, and it's well positioned to get all the demos the trickle down from E3/TGS.

 

[jstevenson]

Panels are great, but I'd avoid a panel that's for either a specific upcoming game or a specific studio; Anything you hear will be PR-filtered, and any announcement will be leaked immediately after the panel is over, and you'll probably have to wait in line FOREVER.

The concerts are a ton of fun. I'd advise hitting the keynote panel (which is usually pretty interesting) and the first Penny Arcade Q&A (which happens immediately after the keynote), as they're usually fun.

If they do a PA/PVP/Wil Wheaton D&D thing, I'd highly advise going to that if you have any interest in D&D or just want to laugh. That event was the highlight of last year's PAX Prime for me (although my poor GF and I had to sit and wait 3 hours to get near the front for that).

If they're using the same main theater, be prepared to stand/sit on concrete in the beating sun for potentially hours. Sun screen would probably help.

Make sure you have something to entertain you, because you'll be in lines quite often. A DS, a PSP or even a Vita works great.

Two giant exceptions to this rule are Gearbox Panels and, if i do say so myself, Insomniac panels. Gearbox gives away stuff and pizza and is always a good time. In terms of Insom, one of my primary rules on when we do a panel is to always do a panel I myself would want to see, and as such bring new content and a behind the scenes look. I always want our panels to be interesting, revealing, and leave plenty of time for Q&A.

We've consistently gotten good reviews from folks on our Comic-Con and PAX panels being interesting and fun (A Crack in Time showed 5 new videos at comic-con, 2 of which that were never released, Resistance 3 showed new behind the scenes stuff, including a new cutscene we didn't release + revealed Global Resistance, ACIT's PAX Panel dived into the whole process of designing weapons, and revealed two new ones, I think we demoed a new level of All 4 One at its PAX panel too --- not to mention panels at our community days which are always good). At Comic-Con for R3 we went up against another big game's panel, and all the press that went to the other one instead of ours were lamenting that fact after they heard about everything we showed at ours vs. the two new pieces of concept art at the other game's.

I think we will have a multiple this year, and I hope to have exclusive content at each.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Panels are great, but I'd avoid a panel that's for either a specific upcoming game or a specific studio; Anything you hear will be PR-filtered, and any announcement will be leaked immediately after the panel is over, and you'll probably have to wait in line FOREVER.

I don't know what panels you've been that were like that, but the ones I've been to mostly have been pretty good (and I do agree with jstevenson with Gearbox, Insominac, and I'd even put Harmonix in there). I think it does have to do with what you're expecting from the panel, and in those cases, the ones I've been to were as advertised with the description: developers talking about their design process, their inner workings, etc.

Mind you, panels will ALWAYS be hit and miss: going to a community panel that you don't know of would be a waste of time, which would be the same as going to a game panel for a game you don't care much about.

 

[krae_man]

Mind you, panels will ALWAYS be hit and miss: going to a community panel that you don't know of would be a waste of time, which would be the same as going to a game panel for a game you don't care much about.

Yeah I went to the "how to start your own gaming website" or whatever panel by the Destructoid guy last year and I walked away thinking he was a total idiot. At one point he said "Destructoid doesn't make money. If I have a good 4th quarter I can pay off my credit cards so I can start racking them up again"

Craig from Screwattack came off as knowing what the hell he was talking about and he had some good insight but he didn't talk much.

 

[vid]

It's just hitting me today. I have PAX passes. I am freaking out a little. This is going to be the longest four months of my life.

...I am fully prepared to give up a kidney for a spot in the Omegathon. I know it's incredibly unlikely, but let me dream...

 

[Patryn]

I don't know what panels you've been that were like that, but the ones I've been to mostly have been pretty good (and I do agree with jstevenson with Gearbox, Insominac, and I'd even put Harmonix in there). I think it does have to do with what you're expecting from the panel, and in those cases, the ones I've been to were as advertised with the description: developers talking about their design process, their inner workings, etc.

Mind you, panels will ALWAYS be hit and miss: going to a community panel that you don't know of would be a waste of time, which would be the same as going to a game panel for a game you don't care much about.

The Bioware panels at PAX East were garbage, and, this is tough to say, but I wasn't super impressed with the Gearbox panel there either. Part of that was the Enforcers's fault for starting the seating WAY too late, to the point that the panel didn't start until it was supposed to be halfway through, but it also felt super rushed.

It also meant that I missed the Omegathon finals.

It was a decent panel, but I don't think it was worth the amount of time I spent waiting in line. Sorry to the Gearbox guys here, just my opinion!

 

[krae_man]

The Bioware panels at PAX East were garbage, and, this is tough to say, but I wasn't super impressed with the Gearbox panel there either. Part of that was the Enforcers's fault for starting the seating WAY too late, to the point that the panel didn't start until it was supposed to be halfway through, but it also felt super rushed.

It also meant that I missed the Omegathon finals.

It was a decent panel, but I don't think it was worth the amount of time I spent waiting in line. Sorry to the Gearbox guys here, just my opinion!

Gearbox PAX Prime panel was amazing*

*Free Borderlands 2 did help.

 

[Ventron]

It's just hitting me today. I have PAX passes. I am freaking out a little. This is going to be the longest four months of my life.

...I am fully prepared to give up a kidney for a spot in the Omegathon. I know it's incredibly unlikely, but let me dream...

I have a 3-day.

This will be my first PAX.

I have no idea what the Omegathon is, but I submitted myself for it anyway.

 

[barrin87]

Two giant exceptions to this rule are Gearbox Panels and, if i do say so myself, Insomniac panels. Gearbox gives away stuff and pizza and is always a good time. In terms of Insom, one of my primary rules on when we do a panel is to always do a panel I myself would want to see, and as such bring new content and a behind the scenes look. I always want our panels to be interesting, revealing, and leave plenty of time for Q&A.

We've consistently gotten good reviews from folks on our Comic-Con and PAX panels being interesting and fun (A Crack in Time showed 5 new videos at comic-con, 2 of which that were never released, Resistance 3 showed new behind the scenes stuff, including a new cutscene we didn't release + revealed Global Resistance, ACIT's PAX Panel dived into the whole process of designing weapons, and revealed two new ones, I think we demoed a new level of All 4 One at its PAX panel too --- not to mention panels at our community days which are always good). At Comic-Con for R3 we went up against another big game's panel, and all the press that went to the other one instead of ours were lamenting that fact after they heard about everything we showed at ours vs. the two new pieces of concept art at the other game's.

I think we will have a multiple this year, and I hope to have exclusive content at each.

I really enjoy what Gearbox and Insomniac put out so I would definitely be interested in seeing panels that they would have.

I definitely want to see a little of everything while I am there so I don't miss anything but I am going to try limiting panels and the like to games and companies that I am interested in instead of just seeing anything or what is just the most popular.

 

[Dreamwriter]

I have a 3-day.

This will be my first PAX.

I have no idea what the Omegathon is, but I submitted myself for it anyway.

It's a big tournament of many different games, both video and tabletop, that goes on all throughout the convention. The prize is always completely awesome.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Gearbox PAX Prime panel was amazing*

*Free Borderlands 2 did help.

Hi5!

 

[FloppyDelux]

It's just hitting me today. I have PAX passes. I am freaking out a little. This is going to be the longest four months of my life.

...I am fully prepared to give up a kidney for a spot in the Omegathon. I know it's incredibly unlikely, but let me dream...

go on with your daily life and time will go by fast.

 

[Lhadatt]

I definitely want to see a little of everything while I am there so I don't miss anything but I am going to try limiting panels and the like to games and companies that I am interested in instead of just seeing anything or what is just the most popular.

You won't see everything. There is just no way you'll get it all. The best thing to do is take a few minutes on the first day to read over the program, which will list all of the companies in the expo hall and all of the events taking place. Make note of the most important things you want to do and plan around them. Aside from that, take in and play everything you can.

- Know that your plans may change on a moment's notice.

- Know that you might not get into a queue room quickly enough to make that fan fic panel you wanted to go to.

- Know that you may be randomly dragged into a 3-hour 8-player game of Arkham Horror.

- Know that the line for that Kirby game might actually be a line for the cotton candy cart next to said Kirby game.

- Know that some of the best moments of PAX may be not the big game reveals, but the small things -- randomly browsing the expo hall floor, checking out the quiet[er] indie and PAX10 areas, picking out something to play from the table top room, eating a sandwich next to some guys who are checking out the miniatures in a game they just bought. *

- Know above all else that you're surrounded by ~35,000 friends you didn't know you had. Be spontaneous, try new things, and don't be a dick.



* One of mine was almost being run down by a frenzied Adam Sessler not 5 minutes after I entered the expo hall last year. That and the Firefall carpet.

 

[AcridMeat]

From my 4 years of PAX I'll offer this to newcomers.

- The concerts are very fun if you haven't seen the live performances before. However, after two years I stopped as the sets didn't change much.

- Depending on your interest in Penny Arcade, the Q&A and Make-A-Strip are fantastic. But if you pick one, attend Make-A-Strip.

- Attend panels that interest you, they're really a lot of fun.

- Attend Scott & Kris late night. I went only once (last year) and it was the funniest panel I've been to. Even if you don't really know the guys, I didn't, go. It's a fun time.

- Find any meet ups you're interested in and go. The community atmosphere of PAX is truly special and meeting like-minded folks is one of the best parts of the show.

- If you can, go to a publisher/developer party. It's a great way to shoot the shit with developers in a relaxed setting. Plus catered food/drinks.

- Explore. There's awesome stuff happening everywhere, don't get too bogged down with just the show floor.

- Hand sanitizer. Depending on how active you are, you'll be touching controllers and shaking hands with tons of people. Last thing you want is the flu.

- Bring snacks. Again, depending on how active you are, you'll be going all over the place without many breaks.

- Explore the city. Seattle is a great place with tons of great food not far from the convention center. Do a little research to find places to eat. I highly recommend Honeyhole (heavy/greasy sandwiches, open until 2am) and Po Dog. Oh and go to Pike's Place if you can.

edit: Most of this is prep to do in advance.

 

[Pachinko]

This has been a whirlwind week for me, got the heads up that badge registration was up again this week and managed a 3 day badge. Now after reading that penny arcade post concerning the sell out I decided to just book my flight and get a hotel.

At the moment I've booked a single hotel room which was listed as bed with pull out, dunno what I'll wind up with in the end. I was unable to convince any of my local friends to go with me. So I'll have to hang out with you innanet peoples.

This will be the first time I've gone to pax and the first time I've gone to a convention on my own.

Any veterans of pax prime know if the local bars hike up prices like san diego does ? Last time I was at comic-con it cost 9 bucks for a cocktail. Or.. is that normal in the US ? (canada-edmonton Gaffer here).

 

[barrin87]

I appreciate all the advise that people are giving for us new PAX Primers! I am writing it down so I make sure I don't forget.

I know I won't be able to see everything I will want. I will try focusing on the main things I want to do and have plenty of other backups for off time and if I miss something. Even wandering around the convention sounds like it would be fascinating just to see all the different types of people.

The publisher/developer parties sound very interesting. Are those open to just anyone or do you have to be invited to them?

 

[AcridMeat]

$9 is a little pricey but it's around that unfortunately in cities in the US.

Dev parties are invite only, but if you look on the PA forums closer to the show date or look at companies attending you'll be able to see what's going on when. Either you'll need to put yourself on a guest list or talk to people at the show.

For instance, I was looking at Gotham City Imposters last year and a developer came over and asked if I wanted to go to a WB party that night.

Happy to answer questions!

 

[Firestorm]

My friends usually spend most of their time in the Expo Hall and I find myself at panels for most of my day. Different things will interest you depending on who you are! I can count the actual games I played on one hand probably XD Can't wait for the full schedule.

For those visiting from outside the US with unlocked phones, I'd recommend grabbing a T-Mobile SIM card for their $2 a day plan which is what I'll probably do.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-by-the-day-cell-phone-plans

 

[GhaleonEB]

- Explore the city. Seattle is a great place with tons of great food not far from the convention center. Do a little research to find places to eat. I highly recommend Honeyhole (heavy/greasy sandwiches, open until 2am) and Po Dog. Oh and go to Pike's Place if you can.

Good advice all around; I make a stop at Pike Place Chowder on day 1 of every PAX. So good.

Another suggestion:

--Plan the panels you want to go to in advance, after the full schedule is published. You won't be able to go to all the ones you want, but a bit of planning can help you decide how much time to set aside to hit the show floor, and how much time to spend wandering or doing other social activities.

 

[smug]

When is the Pax "south side" representin??? I needs me sum 2 PAX g-love... I heard .50 cent was gonna be up all in that biotch.. dropping some new FPS'es dual wielding my gunz, bustin some caps in yo azz!

 

[number47]

so.....nothing will be done about the scalpers....
or is it that registration was kinda kind up so people were very prepared..

 

[krae_man]

My friends usually spend most of their time in the Expo Hall and I find myself at panels for most of my day. Different things will interest you depending on who you are! I can count the actual games I played on one hand probably XD Can't wait for the full schedule.

For those visiting from outside the US with unlocked phones, I'd recommend grabbing a T-Mobile SIM card for their $2 a day plan which is what I'll probably do.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-by-the-day-cell-phone-plans

I'm good, I have Wind. I used less then $1 on my last trip.

 

[lastflowers]

so sad I couldn't get a ticket--though I'm sure I'll be able to find something as it gets near.

 

[RebornYeti]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm super excited to meet some of you! We def need to plan some sort of Gaf meetup or something.

 

[Hero]

This has nothing to do with scalpers and everything to do with the fact that PAX Prime has outgrown the existing venue. I'm not sure how big it is in comparison to the BCEC for PAX East but 60,000 cap isn't going to cut it without upsetting or disappointing a lot more people than that from here on out.

Do they have a contract for PAX in Seattle?

 

[NintendoGal]

This has nothing to do with scalpers and everything to do with the fact that PAX Prime has outgrown the existing venue. I'm not sure how big it is in comparison to the BCEC for PAX East but 60,000 cap isn't going to cut it without upsetting or disappointing a lot more people than that from here on out.

Do they have a contract for PAX in Seattle?

Actually it does have to do with scalpers because the badges are easily sold once purchased, so those looking to make a quick buck will snap them up before those legitimately interested in going even have a chance.

 

[cartman414]

They should at least add a couple more PAX shows in major areas a la Wizard World.

 

[Lasthope106]

They really need a PAX Midwest or PAX South. Or just get a bigger venue.

 

[FyreWulff]

As someone who typed out Sakura-Con's entire pre-reg list by hand for badges a few years ago, I find it inexcusable that an organization like PAX can't figure out that they need to do something like put names on the badges to stop this scalping.

They've already shot it down as taking too much time to check IDs and such.

They really need a PAX Midwest or PAX South. Or just get a bigger venue.

Yes. But aren't they pretty much at the biggest venue they can get in Seattle?

 

[Darvan]

I know it's crazy but I'll just throw this out here if anyone is willing two sell two 3 day pass tickets for a reasonable price I'll buy them. I got screwed out of my ticket's from the first order mishap and I couldn't order since I was on the road when they set the system back up thanks.

 

[FyreWulff]

They're losing their mainstream appeal with how fast this shit is selling out -- especially to those with jobs during the day.

The scalping this year is going to be absolutely insane. Something has to be done.

Didn't Seattle make scalping legal recently? PAX doesn't even have a legal leg to stand on, the scalpers just stand right next to the doors.

 

[FloppyDelux]

Tip: if you love mac and cheese, beachers at pike place market makes great Mac and cheese.

 

[cartman414]

Rename PAX West PAX Northwest and make southern California the spot for PAX West.

 

[Hero]

Actually it does have to do with scalpers because the badges are easily sold once purchased, so those looking to make a quick buck will snap them up before those legitimately interested in going even have a chance.

They've already stated that the average number of badges purchased per person was 1.7 when the maximum allowed was 5. In addition all the hotels are sold out through the weekend. I'm not saying there aren't scalpers but it's no where near as problematic as anyone is making out to be. The real problem is that there aren't enough badges to meet the demand anymore, plain and simple.

Even if it were, printing names on badges wouldn't be the solution anyway. There is no feasible way to check IDs to compare them to the badge holder. That would require so much more manpower that they don't have and time that won't exist.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Even if it were, printing names on badges wouldn't be the solution anyway. There is no feasible way to check IDs to compare them to the badge holder. That would require so much more manpower that they don't have and time that won't exist.

E3 does it quite well with just two tables of 10 people, with roughly the same amount of people to check as PAX. And they don't just check ID against the badge, they also check to make sure the person is in their computer system, yet I've never had to wait in line.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Didn't Seattle make scalping legal recently? PAX doesn't even have a legal leg to stand on, the scalpers just stand right next to the doors.

PAX doesn't care too much about onsite scalpers - in fact they are helping them this year, they will have an easy-to-access booth on-site where ticket buyers can take ticket sellers to make sure the tickets aren't counterfeit before paying for them. THAT is what they care about most, because counterfeit tickets threaten the very existence of PAX. PAX sells the most tickets they legally can due to fire laws, and If the fire marshal thinks too many people made it into the buildings, they will shut PAX down.

 

[Hero]

E3 does it quite well with just two tables of 10 people, with roughly the same amount of people to check as PAX. And they don't just check ID against the badge, they also check to make sure the person is in their computer system, yet I've never had to wait in line.

I'm not sure how E3 works, I've never been there. But at PAX literally everything you do or want to go to requires you to have and present your badge. You can't tell me that there's a realistic way of doing badge and ID checks for panels in the gigantic conference rooms that fit 800 people in a timely fashion, not even just the Expo Hall itself. Also going by attendance numbers E3 2011 was 46,000 compared to PAX Prime 2011 70,000 and PAX East 2012 which was reportedly bigger than that.

Again, even in some hypothetical situation where a name/ID-check system is implemented there's still no proof that scalping is the reason why PAX just sold out in a 24 hour period and wouldn't be worth the time, energy or effort. If that were true we would've seen the average tickets sold per person way above 2, after all if scalpers were into making money why not get 5?

 

[Necromanti]

Gearbox PAX Prime panel was amazing*

*Free Borderlands 2 did help.

I'm still annoyed that I had to leave that panel 10 minutes before they gave out Borderlands 2. The only and only panel I had to leave before it was over... Never making that mistake again.

 

[creid]

They've already stated that the average number of badges purchased per person was 1.7 when the maximum allowed was 5.

I really hope this isn't all they're going by. Scalpers have been in business for an awfully long time, and they most definitely have come up with ways to not be really obvious about it. The registration system doesn't even use a captcha, for chrissakes.

In addition all the hotels are sold out through the weekend.

Not true at all, less than half of the hotels are sold out. I find it really suspicious that so few hotels have filled up if the vast majority of ticket buyers really were legitimate.

 

[krae_man]

Not true at all, less than half of the hotels are sold out. I find it really suspicious that so few hotels have filled up if the vast majority of ticket buyers really were legitimate.

It looks like most of the multi-bed rooms are booked already, and the cheaper hotels are booked as well. I wouldn't look too much into hotel room bookings yet. Lots of people won't have the money to book a room or flight yet, or aren't on the ball as much.

I do agree that Scalpers do have the ability to create scripts and buy multiple small orders with multiple names, addresses and credit cards however.

 

[creid]

It looks like most of the multi-bed rooms are booked already, and the cheaper hotels are booked as well. I wouldn't look too much into hotel room bookings yet. Lots of people won't have the money to book a room or flight yet, or aren't on the ball as much.

Eh, but booking a room costs $0 until August.

 

[krae_man]

Eh, but booking a room costs $0 until August.

Getting groups together isn't easy.

 

[creid]

Getting groups together isn't easy.

Ah, true. Since there's no commitment and the good stuff fills up so quickly I've always booked the room first and gathered the people later, but I guess not everyone can do that.

 

[krae_man]

I prefer to fly Solo. You spend all day with 60,000 people, it's nice to have a couple hours to yourself each night, not have to wait your turn to use the shower etc. That and I don't want to deal with the drama of getting money and commitments out of people.