FFXIV Fanfest 2016 Megathread

[111]

I wanna go too!!!

No you're not allowed.

Why senpai eva

ok fine u can go.

But only because you're cute.

[Star Lin]

Wish I could go but once I figure up the cost of my room and the tickets, it was going to be 600.  I'm not even look how much the airfare and money for food would cost me on top of that.  You guys have fun meeting up.

[ShoggMommy]

Managed to get tickets with my S.O.

Right now we're thinking of staying either at Luxor or Mandalay Bay as we can get the tickets at discount due to MyVegas Slots on facebook lol.

Um, no idea about flight stuff yet.

Though I will likely be cosplaying with Lakin.

 

Also to make another note on MyVegas it's a clicker type game on facebook, you play it and you can get discounts. I'd highly suggest it if you can play it. It's simple enough to let it run in the background. I don't really ever play the games but you accrue points. Lakin's mother plays the hell out of it and pretty much gets major discounts. >_>;

[Tex]

So! I'm not going, because it's not realistic in my budget this year, but: I got married in the Paris, spent a week out there, and I am familiar with that little stretch of Vegas! As such, have my very informal guide to Vegas! Let me emphasize: this is all five+ years old. Things may have changed.

 

Food

 

There is a legend that one can eat cheap in Vegas. This is a myth, or more accurately, only true if you eat at some heinous-looking places off the Strip. You do not want to eat off the Strip; Vegas ceases to be walker-friendly once you leave the Strip, and if you're lured in by a $4.99 all you can eat steak dinner... uh, you're paying for what you can get. You wanna budget for food, and you want to identify what you can afford.

 

Are you looking for a fantastic meal? You're in luck! You're gonna want to bust out the wallet for it, but basically every mega-casino has at least one restaurant by an accomplished celebrity chef bringing out their very best. Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill is but one example; there's also some by Hubert Keller and other famous folks. However, these will cost a lot and sometimes astronomical sums.

 

If you're looking to eat around the Paris, you have a few options. First, there is a French restaurant at the front of the Paris. It's a little costly, but it's quite good. More importantly: I recall the brunch and lunch options were cheaper -- the dinner options were climbing quickly in cost. It's a French bistro; they had things like steak frites and other such stuff.

 

Second, there is a walkway to a connected casino, Bally's. This includes a few food options, including the best: a crepe stand. It's next to a little food court with a large seating area, and the crepes are cheap and have savory and sweet options, as I recall. We ate there a lot; it's a good snack, it's a good lunch, it's a good quick bite. There were other restaurants here, more like a food court.

 

Remember how I said Bally's is connected? Well! That's good, because Bally's is the Paris's cheaper cousin. It's owned by the same people; its buffets are cheaper, its restaurants are cheaper. Buried somewhere on the bottom floor is a true gem: a very traditional Japanese place, with sushi and other delights, ran by a Japanese family. It's delicious. Go grab some! Bally's breakfast was also quite good.

 

Outside of the Paris-Bally's complex, there's the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, and the Flamingo close by. They all have food and restaurants in them. The Bellagio has shops, including a mall food court somewhere in there. There is an amazing place with chocolate there, called Max Brenner. It is delicious. You should go there! It's seriously good. The Flamingo is a bit thin on food options, though, but it's worth seeing as a piece of history.

 

Lastly: do you want a drink? Don't pay for it! Or rather, pay for it... by gambling. If you're spending money on the casino floor, wait staff will bring you drinks. You don't pay for these. (Or you do, but by gambling.) This includes $25 minimum bet blackjack tables... and penny slots. Take 50 cents, walk to a penny slots, and slowly work through it. A waitron comes along, you order a Coke (or a martini or whatever), and bam: 50 cents for a drink. The alcoholic ones are watered down, but they're all right.

 

Getting Around

 

The Strip is huge. Blocks are enormous. It's walkable, but be ready for long walks; if your health isn't up for it, you may want to be ready for a cab. Cabs can get expensive, but they're well regulated. Traffic on the Strip is atrocious, so I don't recommend driving. In general, if you can walk it, you should. The weather in October should be fine -- it's the desert in autumn, so it'll likely be dry and cool.

 

Casinos tend to be mazes. They build them so you'll get lost and have trouble getting out. Ask for help finding the exit if you do. If you want to see a show? Get a cab to the casino, and ask where the show is. Similar for the Fan Fest: make sure you allow lots of time for walking, because each casino is the size of a city block or so.

 

The casinos are huge. They're cool. If you're bored, they're worth exploring. The Paris is gorgeous; so is the Bellagio. If you head up to the Camelot, you can do a ridiculous but fun Medieval Times type show.

 

The streets of Vegas have some people trying to sell you/give you stuff. Keeping your hands in your pockets is a good idea if you don't want it. You also wanna watch for pickpockets and stuff -- wear a money belt or put your wallet in an unusual pocket, keep your purse closed and against you, and other usual big city tourist location ideas.

 

Gambling

 

If you're interested, budget for it. You will likely lose your money, but treat it as an entertainment expense. If you wanna sit at a table, roulette's good; it's my favorite, and it's fun to put chips down on the table and hope. You can bet on low odds ones -- for example, bet on the 50/50 (actually the 47% chance of winning) black or red. You need to specify if you're betting on those or the numbers. Most dealers will walk you through.

 

Cards are harder, but fun if you know how to play. I never did craps before. Slots are fun, but I find they're kinda like boring video games. I found table games like roulette are more fun. You can also do sports betting if you're down.

 

If you win, know when to walk away from the table. If you win a LOT -- and it can happen -- the hotel will usually start comping you stuff. This is so you'll decide, for example, to enter $10,000 poker tournaments. Do not enter $10,000 poker tournaments if you win several thousand dollars.

 

Most importantly: have fun! It's a great place to take a vacation.

[ShoggMommy]

 

 

Getting Around

 

The Strip is huge. Blocks are enormous. It's walkable, but be ready for long walks; if your health isn't up for it, you may want to be ready for a cab. Cabs can get expensive, but they're well regulated. Traffic on the Strip is atrocious, so I don't recommend driving. In general, if you can walk it, you should. The weather in October should be fine -- it's the desert in autumn, so it'll likely be dry and cool.

 

Friends and I went to Vegas in spring last spring, it's a blast. The good thing is you can also use the Strip-tram. I believe they have day passes but I can't recall right off the top of my head. It's not too expensive (but I'm also from SF so consider that what you will by my view of 'expensive').

 

http://www.lvmonorail.com/stations/

 

 

Gambling

 

If you're interested, budget for it. You will likely lose your money, but treat it as an entertainment expense. If you wanna sit at a table, roulette's good; it's my favorite, and it's fun to put chips down on the table and hope. You can bet on low odds ones -- for example, bet on the 50/50 (actually the 47% chance of winning) black or red. You need to specify if you're betting on those or the numbers. Most dealers will walk you through.

 

Cards are harder, but fun if you know how to play. I never did craps before. Slots are fun, but I find they're kinda like boring video games. I found table games like roulette are more fun. You can also do sports betting if you're down.

 

If you win, know when to walk away from the table. If you win a LOT -- and it can happen -- the hotel will usually start comping you stuff. This is so you'll decide, for example, to enter $10,000 poker tournaments. Do not enter $10,000 poker tournaments if you win several thousand dollars.

 

Most importantly: have fun! It's a great place to take a vacation.

 

You can also play penny slots and cheaper slots, lots of time if you're playing casino folks will ask if you'd like drinks. Most like sodas etc. are typically cheap if not free as long as you're playing. But keep in mind folks; you have to be of age to be in these areas.

 

Edit: Also I'm dumb I just realized you mentioned this

[111]

I have an unhealthy love of blackjack, and will spend a lot of time at the tables, assuming I don't blow all my gambling money on the first night.

 

If anyone is interested in the basics I can show you the ropes. You basically have to accept that you'll probably lose about a hundred bucks, but you'll probably get half that amount of free drinks out of it, and it's a shitload of fun.

[Oroban]

I fully intend to cook and bring a bunch of victuals along the way. Can't wait to hand out reaper jerky to people I know...

[Yssen]

Will be attending, again. This time with FC mates. Will be staying in the Paris and extending stay to do Vegas things. Yar.

[Tex]

No worries!

 

And yeah, blackjack looked fun! I just don't have experience with it, especially some of the casino customs (scratching the table for a card is one I learned last time I was there).

[Val]

I'd definitely considered going, but I think I'm going to put my budget (and PTO) toward Dragoncon this year. Never been and it's relatively close to where I live. That being said, maybe next year will be better and I'm envious of everyone going  hope all of you guys have fun!

[Faye]

I'd love to go, but I don't have the funds this year, sadly. (Well, I do, but it would be pretty much all of my extra cash.) Like Val, I think I'm gonna just pay a visit to Dragoncon and some anime cons instead this year.

[Arcian]

I'll be there, along with...well, basically half of my FC.

 

We were lucky and managed to grab rooms in the Paris, so that's less walking, at least.

[rainichan]

I nabbed two tickets, and I'll be around fangirling over everyone tbh. Driving down to Vegas (I live in Reno) and then I may or may not have a comped room sooooo hopefully I'll know soonish. If not, no biggie, I have the funds to go and be buried in a plush pile of cute.

[cuideag]

Going again with the beau, though we're going to be there a starting from a few days before Fanfest to do other stuff as well. Looking forward to hanging out with yall!

[chaoticsleepy]

I fully intend to cook and bring a bunch of victuals along the way. Can't wait to hand out reaper jerky to people I know...

 

I'm onto you. /suspicious squinty eyes

 

But yes, myself and a generous handful of other Gold & Glory folks will be there as well! We're so excited! ;A;

[Oroban]

I fully intend to cook and bring a bunch of victuals along the way. Can't wait to hand out reaper jerky to people I know...

 

I'm onto you. /suspicious squinty eyes

 

But yes, myself and a generous handful of other Gold & Glory folks will be there as well! We're so excited! ;A;

Knowing the horror that is coming means nothing. Simply that you can feel terror and dread as you wait for the inevitable. <3

[Shofie]

I'm going!

 

I've also been doing digital badge commissions for folks, so they can print out a cute headshot of their character with their character's name on it and attach it to their badge!

[Martiallais]

Hey, it's me, the late kid to the thread. While I didn't originally buy a ticket (largely due to how much vacation time I had and choosing between yearly meetup with CoH pals and FanFest)....surprise surprise, my oh so amazing director has gifted me with a rather sizable chunk of vacation time with my promotion to burn between now and the end of the year.

 

SO, if anyone has a friend that ended up backing out of their ticket, do feel free to point them my way. I would definitely be down for going and meeting up with you crazy folks, if possible.

[Seriphyn]

Well, hey, I live in Vegas, but don't have any tickets or anything. Alas.

[Delilah Scythewood]

We may or may not be in the area. Fiance and I decided to just do the stream and get the minions since we plan to visit my cousin in Vegas as well as get married in Vegas in the fall of next year. If anyone has any questions about the area, let me know! I know a great omelette bar with strippers and pole dancers that you can hit up at 10AM.

[Kage]

http://ffxiv-fanfest.com/na/blog/index.php

 

Check out the newest blog post for the streamlined process for picking up tickets!!!!

 

No character names or real names will be printed on your badge this time.

[Star Lin]

Has there been any word yet when we can do the subscription for the livestream of Fanfest?  So far, I haven't seen anything about it.

[Kage]

Not yet. The event schedule hasn't been posted yet either but it will be available by the time fanfest starts.

[Duplicitous Dame]

I'll be there! Super excited for my first FanFest <3.

[Kage]

I'll be there! Super excited for my first FanFest <3.

-insert sticker of - on whiteboard along with a fat cat sticker-

 

LF NAHA FOR BROW WAGGLES