This year they did room assignments in the top three most coveted hotels differently--a lottery system. Register and pay for your badge by a set deadline, get a slot in the lottery. J and I both got our badges in time and each got a place in the lottery. This is a far departure from how it used to be--a totally chaotic open up a special webpage for a day and the site would crash from the traffic and all the Prime Rooms would book up within a couple of hours. So, at least, I guess the lottery system is a bit more fair and a lot less harrowing on the blood pressure? :/
Tonight we finally heard back--neither of us got into one of the Top Three hotels. Not terribly surprised, but bummed none-the-less. We were able to get a room across the highway from the DoubleTree (home of CVG) at the Days' Inn, which is allegedly serviced by the shuttle service, for the duration. We were even able to get a Triple A club discount on top of the con discount for the nights we're staying, so there's that at least.
This could mean we do a fair amount of walking over the course of the con to and from the hotel. Hopefully the weather will be temperate and not rainy...Else wise it's *really* relying on either a van or a bus shuttle that makes its rounds of several hotels. Cabs are right out because of the expense on top of the room and food expense we're already shelling out for the con. Sigh. This really sucks.
I think CVG is getting too big for its current venue's britches, have thought so for a handful of years now. This year will be a watershed year for us, as it will likely determine if we're going to continue to attend in future years if it stays at its current venue. This makes us both sad--we used to enjoy going to this convention every year. Now the crowds are so huge (we got "lucky" and it only took us just over four hours standing on line to get our badges from registration back the last time we attended in 2013--took others we knew well over that) that, by design, it can't be the same quaint and quirky convention it used to be...
It's also the *only* convention either of us attend. It'll be sad if we decide not to go anymore based on that fact alone.
Sigh. CONvergence, we miss the way you used to be! Come baaack to us!! :/
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