Connected downtown is gone, at least for doubles.
I just got a 2 bed unit in the Omni.
I don't care about connected really - I just want downtown, period.
And short of making badges non-refundable, I dunno if there is a good way to prevent the other "hack".
bought my badge at 11:55am this morning (5 minute before housing starts). Got a 50 minute wait time
All the connecting hotels to the convention center had rooms available as of 12:55pm.
I understand the inclusive nature, the desire to be a "big tent" and embrace the myriad tangential subcultures, but at some point you have to start triaging what you keep and what goes, based on customer experience, space constraints, etc., etc. OR, alternatively, you take the SDCC route and you almost rejoice in your success and exclusivity, to the point where sitcoms dedicate episodes about how hard an event you are to actually attend. (Which BBT did for SDCC).
I wish that Gen Con would do the former, but it appears to be taking the route of the latter.
First try, was a refresh and a 503 error. Now it was a 1 hour and 13 minutes wait * with 21 mins to go now* Last year, it was 4 or 5 days before I got a place.
Glad I had a backup hotel!!!
I got the Embasy for 8 days at $199/night with hot breakfast and in room wifi. I wasnt going to be able to beat that deal but wanted to see what was available via the lottery!
I got 2:38, but one of my bunkmates got 0:30, so we got the room we wanted. :)
I'm irritated that it doesn't matter what time you log into the housing system. I was ready to go right at noon and have an almost 3 hour wait. A friend logged in 5 mintes ago and has a 15 minute wait.
There are still downtown hotels left, including JW and Conrad. Conrad only has kings, can't speak for JW
I've toyed with trying out Origins, but that's sort of a topic for a different thread....