"Historicon 2012 - don't bother" Topic

"No one is being forced to attend. If you do not like the location – don't go."

Or, throw a massive hissy fit so that everyone can laugh at you. That works, too.

Hmmm. This location is actually closer to me in Kansas. No major cities to drive through to get there. I guess I might make a hotel reservation and see what happens.

Not nearly as close as KoP is for me (or Lancaster for that matter), but I realize that HMGS East does not exist to cater to ME. There are a lot of gamers out there that come from all over the place, and this is a national convention in which many will travel much further than you would.

Grow up, sir.

> What's wrong with Ok City

Not enough time to list all the things…

OK city is actually a great place for a gamer (or used to be). For a medium sized city it had a whole bunch of really nice game stores when I was there last. (that was many years ago, about 6 months before the bombing).

OK city also has more buffet places then any other city I've ever seen – they had a hamburger buffet place of all things…

I'll go to Historicon 2012, and I'll calculate my significant gas savings and add that to my dealer room budget. And I'll up the total by 5% to honor LIG!! Just nobody tell my wife..

Plynkes:
"They should split it into two conventions. One in Bangor, Maine and the other in Key West. Then surely both North and South would be happy."

+25 for the win. Keywest baby!

I never realized all the gamers in HMGS-East were in NY. 'Course I dropped my membership long ago so maybe I'm just forgetful…

Geez. Isn't this a compromise decision that will probably be changed for 2013 and beyond, so nothing is set in stone long-term? I rather think the Board should get SOME credit for salvaging the convention and moving forward, given that the Baltimore disaster easily could have sunk the entire organization.

At least the protesters are sticking to this thread rather than the other one. I am sure all the attendees from California are laughing their butts off at the NY whiners.

I am really psyched to have Historicon be in Fredericksburg! Yay HMGS BOD!

I booked my room. Hopefully I will see ya'll there. Should be a nice drive from Texas.

Concerning HOST Parking, there was never too much, and losing the end of the extended parking (where I used to park)made it a bit difficult to park at the COLDWARS immediately after the bulldozers finished. In the unlikely event HISTORICON returns to the place James Mattes hates most in the entire universe parking will be a big problem unless people stay away in droves.

Unfortunately after rejoicing that the BORG made the obvious choice, I looked at the "Lodgings" page. Can you believe $141 USD as the negotiated discount price for a room with two queen sized beds?

And unlike Orlando (home of the Mouse Palace) Fredericksburg is not even a tourist trap! Meanwhile, HMGS SOUTH has negotiated a reduction to $69 USD a night for a luxury hotel in Orlando.

Nor is Fredericksburg a booming commercial hub.

But they do obviously understand business ethics. They certainly never give a sucker and even break. They make the casion look cheap.

Pat Condray

PS: I don't know about Bangor Maine. But Oklahoma City is supposed to be resurrecting TWISTERCON. And Florida has several conventions.

Virginia is becoming the place to be for wargamers! As a Richmonder, i think it's great. williamsburg Muster, Guns of August and now Historicon! There goes my paychecks…

Using Expedia I found a double available at the Ramada Inn for just $45 USD a night. You can do MUCH better than the negotiated rates, but you'll have to drive a couple of miles.

Pat: As the hotel and expo centers are under seperate ownership (from what I understand), they are not going to negotiate much. I stayed there at the Hilton Garden Inn about 1 month ago, and all of the hotels were full on a Wednesday night. Pretty much the going rate in many areas in VA, NC, GA etc. These are nicer places than what you may be used to staying at, and they cater to business travelers.

Towns like Orlando have been overbuilt in regards to the # of hotel rooms. That and the slow season at the parks allows those kinds of rates. You would not get that deal by the end of November!

DK

Also, I booked the Hampton with two queen beds at $ 119 a night. I didn't think that was so bad.

Regards, Bill Gray

FYI I just booked at the Homewood for about $14 USD less a night using my AAA.

Actually just rebooked at the Hampton for $ 98 on Thursday, $ 107 the other two days using my AARP Card. Maybe sometimes it doesn't suck getting old.

Regards, Bill Gray

I have to come in from California while you whine about about a couple hours of more driving.

BTC

The "separate cost centers" story doesn't deserve credence. The Ike used it, even though ownership was in common. But frankly, before signing with a convention center "due dilligence" should involve going to the hotels in the area and saying, in effect "We will bring you several thousand customers if the price is right. Otherwise you can get rich off the idiot commercial travellers who want to park 45 miles from the nearest commercial center of any account.

Signing your life away with the convention center than going hat in hand to the hotels is a business practice worthy of Pete Panzeri.

I can't understand why business travelers would hunker down halfway between Washington and Richmond on Wednesdays. Nor can I understand, if business travellers are such fools, why weekends cost more. But I may try my AAA and AARP to see if it is worth staying on site.

Orlando may be overbuilt. But it was $109 USD a night when we moved there in the fall of 2006. It is no more overbuilt now than then.

Pat Condray

I wasn't planning on going to H-con in 2012, but now I think that I will just to p-off Long Island Gamer.

LIG's outbursts almost make me want to go out of spite, and I'm in the UK.

"I am sure all the attendees from California are laughing their butts off at the NY whiners".

Non-attending ones as well.

It just wouldn't be Historicon without some major or minor controversies.

Off to get more popcorn…..

So which thread will be longer? The one about Historicon or the one LIG launched to cry?

Depends. There could be seperate threads about both issues.

I'm waiting to see what the next HMGS conspiracy theory thread will be.

Anyone for starting a pool about either the number of pages or the number of entries? I'll say 600. Nice round number…

Wake me up, please, when the number gets over 500. I'll try to get interested then.

Pat, sorry that the Fredericksburg area does not fit into your "world" of travel. In fact, I will be there in 2 weeks again for business as I have to meet with a client in Stafford. Why in the world would I want to stay further north and deal with traffic and congestion (plus higher hotel rates), or down in Richmond and then have to drive up in the morning? Fredericksburg is a great place to stay on business trips as there are plenty of restaurants, the historic district, battlefields etc. All of this without much fuss or muss.

I find the rates equal to where I stay around the host and similar to Valley Forge but with much better hotels.

The fact regarding Orlando is that visits/travel to the parks are down a lot since 2006. I was there last November, and it was great not having to wait in lines!

To each their own….

Wow…what a load of whining. My friends and I have driven from south Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and North Carolina over the years (depending upon where we lived) to attend HMGS EAST conventions in Lancaster/Gettysburg/Valley Forge, PA since the mid 1990's. We have supported the cons, and every economy in between, with our journeys. Its very simple; if you like the hobby and the conventions then you gotta go where they are hosted. You guys that have to drive a bit further now, cry me a river…!

It seems to me that Fredericksburg fits the bill as a suitable long term replacement site for H'con – parking, accommodation, some room to expand, not quite an inner city convention center, but not a dump either.
So I don't believe that this is an interim location – I can see it having a long future, providing 2012 doesn't show a significant drop off in attendance.
And with a hint of speculation, in the event of H'con 2012 being a success, the BoD might even consider moving the other conventions there too – but that, I think, would be a mistake……..

npm

Interestingly enough the only whining in this entire thread came from LIG. Where are the rest of the detractors? Luckily enough he seems to have stopped posting. Perhaps he realized that he has no support on this one. Lets all be real quiet and hope he goes away!

I am from Jersey and while the drive will be longer its just all part of the deal. Hoping to make it.

We here at OG are very pleased with this descision. Nothing stays the same forever and things just move on?
The area is very nice also.
Regards
Russ Dunaway

Okay, who broke historicon.org ? Just tried going there and got a service unavailable message. Did someone spit and miss a face and hit the intarwebs gerbil instead?

I'll second Oklahoma City, damn near dead center of the USA, cheap hotels and free parking !!!!

Not bad but Arlington, TX would be better (to me). No free parking but a free place to stay (living only 10 minutes away of course). Just make sure the Rangers aren't in town that weekend. :)

Martin

Unless they announce a reduction in the room rates, I'd use Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline or whatever. Even going to the effort of calling them directly seems to be a better deal than getting the HMGS "special" rate. So the Historicon Lodging site being down might be a good thing in actuality.

Waco Joe,

That was my bad as the URL I posted is tacking on the comma at the end. Here it is again:

historicon.org

See if this works now.

Regards, Bill Gray

nope I saw the typo earlier. The site is down.

Looks fine to me.

I am an HMGS East member and spend about $1,000.00 USD every year @ Historicon. I live in Indiana and I don't whine about the drive. I have been coming to Historicon for 20 years or so and I don't remember anyone from the northeast ever being concerned about all of the people that travel long distances to the con, so I won't be concerned about anyone having to drive from the northeast a couple of extra hours now that it has moved south a little bit. Either it is something that you enjoy enough to sacrifice a little for, or it's not, but to try and sink the con or wish it bad attendance seems pretty selfish to me.

Allen

Allen, you are attempting to inject logic and reason into a conversation where neither make any difference. Must I remind you that this is TMP?

Strange, can't get to the site in either IE or Firefox or on my Blackberry. I suspician a plot

Move it to Vegas and everyone is happy, well at least me and Kyoteblue!

Well I would make fun of these guys but we have people out West that get upset because driving from the north side of Seattle to Olympia (maybe 50 miles -- maybe less) is too far.

Whine whine whine . . .

There are some that wouldn't go to a convention if you held it in their basement. Can't make em all happy.

BTC

I didn't think most business clients work or live in Stafford. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that is why I-95 is impassable on Sunday afternoon coming south from the beltway.

We are in a depression. But there is still lots of money being spent around Washington DC. Lobbyists and all that. But while I can see the advantages of staying at Fredericksburg to visit clients in Stafford, the rates definitely seem outrageous. Although the rates from going direct are not as outrageous as the "discount" rates negotiated by the BORG.

Traditionally chronological adults who play with toy soldiers have not aspired to being the last of the big spenders (though exceptions like Mike Cosentino and James Mattes do exist.)

I'll have to compare the cost of commuting from Woodbridge to the cost of trying to join the "Last of the Big Spenders" Club.

Pat Condray

When I go to the site, I get this:

Service Unavailable

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

See my message above. Works for me.

Regards, Bill Gray

I'll be damn, it is down!

Regards, Bill Gray

I know it will never be in OKC. Just joking there. I do want to go some year. I have been to Orgins(Columbus) several times but my gaming buddies are all board gamers. They were never interested in Historicon.

No Jason, the Board spit in the face of the people who have supported this convention. I hope people like Bill Grey are proud of themselves… They should hang their heads in shame!!

in the words of Sgt Hulka….

"Lighten' up FRANCIS"

Some people will go WAY out of their way to take things personally.

How sad though, that you feel the need to wish ill upon others.

I checked – fly into the same airport as I would for Lancaster. Try a flight LIG – its way cooler.

KAM

About the level of class you'd expect from Long Island……

"Once again, sma1941 has shown the TRUE colors of HMGS. They think they're better off without the people in the North."

No just you LIG, and its a shame, we needed more children.

The passion,
the emotion,
the conviction,
link