Author Topic: DLCon 4: Travel! (Read 8009 times)

Meeplelard · « **on:** March 19, 2009, 02:14:48 AM »

Ok, we should get how people are getting here out of the way now, and when and such. Why? Cause if we don't, how are people going to know!?!?!?

Anyway, here's what we have so far!

If I don't mention an Airport, it means Newark by default, assuming flight.

Meeple: Walking across country, ocean, etc. Yeah, I'm making a HUGE sacrifice to come!

Tonfa: Flying.
Arrival: Tue Jul 28th, 15:50, JFK.
AY 0005
Departure: Sun Aug 2nd, 22:40, JFK.

OK: Driving. (Specifics on when he's coming aren't known, though, since he's driving, he has flexibility and such, so yeah.)

Notmiki: NJ Transit

Zenny: Flying
Arrival: Thurs, July 30th, 3:16 PM
Departure:Sun August 2nd 6:00PM

Grefter: Flying
Arrival: Mon July 27th, 5:30 PM, New York (JFK)
Departure: Sat Aug 15th, 2:10 , New York (JFK)

Xer: Driving (in a manner of speaking; basically, not Bus, Train or Flying)
NOTE: Sage apparently will be carpooling, but nothing is certain.

Tai: Arrival: Thu, Jul 30, 2009, 7:57pm
US Airways 204 / 685
Departure: Sun, Aug 2, 2009, 11:05am

Gate/MC:
Arrival: See Tai
Departure: 4:35 PM 02 Aug 2009 77 Newark, NJ (EWR)

Super
Continental Airlines # 3223
Arrival (EWR): July 30, 11:44 AM EDT (morning)
Departure (EWR): August 6, 3:29 PM EDT (afternoon)

Djinn:
7/29 Atlanta 9:50AM - NW-4800 >> Newark 12:19PM
8/3 Newark 9:10AM (ugh) - NW-1863 >> Detroit 11:18AM

Ciato:
Jul 30, 2009
Arrive 3:14 PM Northwest Airlines #522
New York La Guardia (LGA)

Aug 05, 2009
Depart 5:25 PM

Dhyerwolf:
Inbound: 7/30, 7:57 PM Newark Arrival (Same as MC/Gate/Tai.)
Outbound: 8/2, 2:55 PM Newark Departure (American Airlines Flight 447)

Pyro:
Arrival (EWR): July 30, 11:44 AM EDT (morning) (Same as Super)
Departure (EWR): August 2, 3:29 PM EDT (afternoon)

CK:
July 30th
Arrive: 11:55am Newark, NJ Newark Liberty Int'l (EWR)
Return Sunday, August 2, 2009
Depart: 7:40pm Newark, NJ

Talaysen:
Thu, Jul 30, 2009
Arrive: 12:10pm
Flight 638 (on Airbus A319)
Adult fare rules

Sun, Aug 2, 2009
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Depart: 10:48 am

Niu:
Arrival (EWR): July 30, 8:30 PM EDT (evening)
Departure (EWR): August 2, 8:30 AM EDT (morning)

Andrew/Lady Door:
Flight CO652 from SFO to EWR, arrive 7:35am Friday, July 31, 2009
Flight CO648 from EWR to SFO, depart 7:25pm Monday, August 3, 2009

Nitori:
The kappa will arrive: Thursday, July 30th, Newark: 1:59 PM
The kappa will depart: Sunday, August 2nd, Newark, 10:59 AM

(...I need to structure the above to be in a consistent format for my own sanity at some point!)

All I know of offhand. I know some people all depend on WHERE they'll be at that time, but in any event...

Post your travel info here. People bussing/flying/going by train, we'll need your Arrival and Departure times, and where you plan on coming on from.

Worth noting, as I stated, for those who are using Grey Hound, you are taken directly to Port Authority, which from there, you can take a bus directly to Wayne. This just makes my life saner, and I'll be willing to help you guys figure out which bus you need to take and such.

Oh, if you list actual travel plans, I assume you are confirmed to come <_<.

NotMiki · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2009, 03:42:35 AM »

NJ Transit, Friday 5ish, unless Meep wants to pick people up from NYC/Newark on Friday or there are enough people going from NYC/Newark to make arranging for alternate transportation worth it.

Cotigo · « **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2009, 09:28:36 PM »

Just bought the ticket.

Leaving Albuquerque at 6:15AM Wednesday July 30th, Arriving at Newark Airport at 3:16PM same day.
Leaving Newark Airport at 6:00PM Sunday, August 2nd, Arriving at Albuquerque at WhocaresOclock.

Grefter · « **Reply #3 on:** March 28, 2009, 11:29:39 AM »

Tickets booked bitches.

Arrival
Mon 27 Jul 09   11:05   Brisbane      07:00      Los Angeles   QF15
Mon 27 Jul 09   09:15   Los Angeles   17:30       New York (JFK)   QF107

Departure
Sat 15 Aug 09   19:10   New York (JFK)   22:10      Los Angeles   QF108
Sat 15 Aug 09    23:20    Los Angeles    06:10 (Mon)   Brisbane       QF16

SnowFire · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2009, 07:15:46 PM »

Meeple asked me to post instructions on getting through New York City to Meeple's house via public transit, which saves an extremely scary trip through NYC traffic (unless your flight arrives at 10:00 PM or later).

Basically, start here:

http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

If your flight arrives in JFK, it's easy. There will be an "AirTrain" dealie that connects the airport to the subway system and the Long Island Railroad. Handy, though it also charges bandit prices (5 dollars for a short ride vs. 2 dollars for a ride *anywhere* on the main subway system.). It connects to both the Howard Beach / JFK stop as well as the Jamaica Center stop. You want to go to the Jamaica Center stop... but it's not a big deal if you go to the Howard Beach stop. You won't have to drag your luggage up stairs, they have escalators and elevators.

From the Jamacia Beach stop, take the E train. [[If you went to the Howard Beach stop, take the A into Manhattan (note: there will be trains going the *wrong* direction as well at Howard Beach, so be sure to pick the stairs that say "To Manhattan" or whatever. Though the A is the only train at the stop, so you don't need to worry about the wrong route.). Both these will get you to the same place. Take the A/C/E line to the "42nd street / Port Authority" stop. The Port Authority is the main bus terminal in NYC, from there you can transfer to a bus to Wayne. (Meeple has more on which routes below.)

(If for some reason you are opposed to buses, you can also get off at 34th Street / Penn Station and take an NJTransit train... but Meeple has said he'd prefer the bus pickup? Talk it over with him, just throwing that out there as another option.)

--
If your flight arrives in La Guardia, it is slightly more annoying. I'll freely admit I try not to fly into there... basically, you want to get a bus to take you to the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station, and then take the E line into Manhattan. Checking... I believe the Q33 bus will get you there? Possibly the Q47/48 as well? Failing that, there are several buses to the 7 line (like 111 Street / Roosevelt Avenue), and if you end up there, you can just transfer off the 7 once you get to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue and onto the E after all. (Fun fact: The 7 line name for this station is apparently 74 Street-Broadway / Roosevelt Av ? Because more names always makes things simpler.) Once you get to the E, be sure to take trains going in the "To Manhattan" direction, then get off at the Port Authority as above.

A quick Googling also reveals
http://www.nyairportservice.com/page.php?id=55
For what's apparently an express bus service from La Guardia to the Port Authority, at least during most of the day. (Though I would seriously not recommend it if you arrive anywhere near rush hour times.) You will get dinged 12 dollars for this, which is far more than taking the bus/subway (2 dollars if they let you transfer, 4 dollars if not), but with fewer annoying transfers.

Fun fact #2: There used to be a train line out to La Guardia! They destroyed it. (It was built for the World's Fair, and destroyed about a year before they started building La Guardia there. Somebody HAD to know that there were still plans to use that space... meh.)
--

If you take the train into NYC, then you'll arrive at 34th St / Penn Station. Rather than pay 2 dollars to take the subway a short distance, if your luggage isn't bad, you might as well walk north 8 blocks and go into the Port Authority that way, or chat with Meeple about taking the train instead.

If you take the bus in, then you're likely already at the Port Authority already, so congratulations.

Also: It's possible that by July, fares will have gone up and service will have gone down due to budget stupidity in Albany. So the fares might be 2.50. Write your non-state-senator! Or something. ( http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/mta-board-meets-to-vote-on-fare-hikes/ for background.)

(Edit: Fair enough point from Sopko about Jamcia Center actually being a better stop to go to here. I live in lower Manhattan, so it's closer for me to use the Howard Beach stop... but since your goal is the Port Authority in uptown Manhattan, going through Queens isn't a big deal, and the E runs express through Queens anyway.)

superaielman · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2009, 07:17:27 PM »

Is there anyone who can pick people up at the airport and herd them through traffic, assuming Meep can't make it? Getting through NYC (First time for most of the people flying in there) plus luggage would make that tough.

Meeplelard · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2009, 08:08:08 PM »

Just want to clarify that I'm not so much concerned with people going into La Guardia; its less convenient than Newark, but its a lot better than JFK. Its a good 15-20 minutes saved in both directions *AND* far less chance of traffic. So the transfering to Port Authority nonsense that Snowfire discussed above only really applies to those going into JFK.

Grefter · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2009, 05:26:46 AM »

Luggage + international flight + NYC public transport by yourself = just no as a heads up.

Meeplelard · « **Reply #8 on:** March 29, 2009, 06:00:06 AM »

well, I was speaking mostly for people coming closer to the Con-date. For people who are coming especially early (such as yourself), making such out of the way trips are easier.

Cotigo · « **Reply #9 on:** March 29, 2009, 06:08:57 AM »

Quote from: Grefter on March 29, 2009, 05:26:46 AM

Luggage + international flight + NYC public transport by yourself = just no as a heads up.

Backpack. Deal with wearing the same shirt/boxers/socks three days in a row. Don't bring too much crap. Problem solved. >_>

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #10 on:** March 29, 2009, 07:29:09 AM »

I can lead in people coming in from JFK. Nothing I haven't done before.

And you DEFINATELY want to go the Jamaica Queens route, honestly. It shaves at least a half hour off travel time to Port Authority than the route from Howards Beach. It's not bad. I used it at 4-5AM when my flight got in from DLC3, and I transferred to the 7, even!

Meeplelard · « **Reply #11 on:** March 29, 2009, 05:00:26 PM »

BUS STUFF!

From Port Authority, the bus numbers you wanna look for are 193, 194, 197, 198 and 324. My sister told me to look for a specific gate and check what's coming based off that. I forget what this is, will get answer by tonight though.

The busses all lead to different stops around Wayne. I don't largely care which you take; the stops you wanna look for are the Park and Ride on Route 23 (this may have a specific name, which I will find out in due time), Willowbrook Mall, and Valley Road.

During Rush Hour, apparently you can get dropped off right at Packanak Lake (SP?), which is RIGHT BY MY HOUSE. I wouldn't bank on this though, but its there, and just figured I'd toss it out.

I'll get more specifics and once I get everything significant down, I'll edit it into the main post.

EDIT: Or better yet, I'll just do this!

This is from the NJ Transit site, so I figured I might as well just C+P all relevant info!

193    PACKANACK LAKE - WILLOWBROOK - NEW YORK
Packanack Lake, Totowa, Willowbrook Mall, Willowbrook Park & Ride, New York

194, 324    WAYNE - NEW YORK
Wayne, Mothers Park & Ride, Rt. 23 Transit Center, New York

193, 194, 197, 198    WILLOWBROOK PARK/RIDE - NEW YORK EXPRESS
Wayne, Willowbrook Park & Ride, Willowbrook Shoppers Stop, New York

I don't think the Mothers Park & Ride is actually used anymore, at least for drop offs, and the Park and Ride I was talking about I BELIEVE is the "23 Transit Center".

But yeah, you wanna go to Packanack (though that's not always an option), Willowbrook, anything "23" and well, I'm guessing that "Wayne" is Valley Road. I'll get more specifics when my sister is available to help explain stuff, unless someone already knows the answer to this. In any event, this should help shed light on the scenario!

Note that anyone whose Greyhounding in, this info would be useful since as I said, Greyhound brings you RIGHT TO PORT AUTHORITY, so you might as well bus from there to Wayne.

EDIT 2: The gate is apparently 233.

superaielman · « **Reply #12 on:** March 29, 2009, 05:31:28 PM »

You're planning on picking up everyone who flies into Newark?

AndrewRogue · « **Reply #13 on:** March 29, 2009, 07:14:53 PM »

If we come, we're likely flying.

Meeplelard · « **Reply #14 on:** March 29, 2009, 08:53:46 PM »

Yes and no, super.

Some people will be driving by Newark, so if they can swing by the Airport and grab people along the way, that'd help me out; I've already asked a few people who might be doing this and they said they wouldn't mind, assuming time syncs up. But yeah, Newark is a lot easier a schlep than JFK (easier than La Guardia too, but not as big a deal)

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2009, 12:45:39 AM »

For people with a little more confidence in their busriding abilities, the closest 197 stop to Meeple's house is actually the Preakness Shopping Center (the place we had pizza and went to GameStop, for the DLC1 and Mini Meet people). There's a big sign that says Preakness Shopping Center. It's not a big stop, but it's noticable and they always stop there. Just make sure you sit on the side opposite the driver so you can look out for it.

For those with less confidence, yeah, the Willowbrook Mall Park and Ride is the most easily recognizable stop. It's the first stop for the 193, 194 and 197 buses, plus the mall is easily recognizable.

I don't have any experience with the 324 though.

superaielman · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2009, 01:01:33 AM »

Just as long as people who want rides can get them. There is roughly a 0% chance of me wanting to chance public transportation.

Shale · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2009, 01:46:11 AM »

Why would you, when you can get Greyhound tickets?

Yakumo · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2009, 03:17:21 AM »

*Sets Shale on fire*

Taishyr · « **Reply #19 on:** April 28, 2009, 09:26:29 PM »

Thu, Jul 30, 2009
Departs 9:10am, Arrives 7:57pm
US Airways 204 / 685
Oakland, CA to Newark, NJ

Sun, Aug 2, 2009
Departs 11:05am, Arrives 6:36pm
AirTran Airways 581 / 144
Newark, NJ to Detroit, MI

metroid composite · « **Reply #20 on:** April 28, 2009, 10:39:53 PM »

Quote from: Taitoro on April 28, 2009, 09:26:29 PM

Thu, Jul 30, 2009
Departs 9:10am, Arrives 7:57pm
US Airways 204 / 685
Oakland, CA to Newark, NJ

Yeah, Gate and I are on that flight too; I assume Gate and I share a flight back, but I haven't heard confirmation yet.

VySaika · « **Reply #21 on:** April 29, 2009, 12:59:58 AM »

Yeah, we do. Jenna just bought my ticket to match yours.

metroid composite · « **Reply #22 on:** April 29, 2009, 01:08:40 AM »

In that case, gate/mc returning:

4:35 PM 02 Aug 2009 77 Newark, NJ (EWR)
Airbus A320 Phoenix, AZ (PHX)

Yoshiken · « **Reply #23 on:** April 29, 2009, 05:15:21 PM »

Gonna be getting the plane tickets this week, should be arriving at Newark a few days before the con (25th, to be precise), and... don't know what I'm doing past that. I'll need to sort that out soon, but it's incredibly likely that I'll be going now.

superaielman · « **Reply #24 on:** April 29, 2009, 05:48:54 PM »

You have a place to stay before the con/talked to Meeple about that?

News:

Author Topic: DLCon 4: Travel! (Read 8009 times)

Taishyr