Author Topic: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?  (Read 9757 times)

Offline joyful_314

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #45 on: April 25, 2017, 05:40:46 PM »
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My first year as part of the hotel process, a long time ago in a galaxy far away, I was given a hotel (I no longer remember the name) where I walked a mile to get to the bus that took me to the trolley that got me to the convention center. Everything has seemed easy after that.


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HAHA that was like my trip! Camped in Chula Vista, Parked at an airport parking lot, walked the mile to a hotel that had a shuttle stop and got on from there. Man.. Those kind of trips definitely make every year after seem easy lol

Especially when you forget to make a plan B after the parking lot got full.. I am still SMH for not having a plan B..

Offline Jumping Jehosaphat

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #46 on: April 26, 2017, 09:50:49 AM »
I stayed in National City the first year I went.Room was nice, but transportation was bad. That was before uber though.
This year I am most likely staying in Chula Vista, which is even further away, but on the trolley line.

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #47 on: Today at 03:48:13 PM »

Offline Mdgeist316

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #47 on: April 26, 2017, 12:04:56 PM »
I stayed in Old Town last year. Easy access to the trolley, great food, etc. I definitely wouldn't mind if I got put out there again.

Offline dcuodust

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #48 on: April 26, 2017, 12:24:51 PM »
I stay in Mira Mesa with my cousin.
Drive to Fashion Valley Transit: Tank of gas for five days and 20 minutes...
Trolley to Convention Center: $20 SDCC Pass and 20 minutes...
Money saved on hotel (& bfast and dinner): Hundreds...
Not having to deal with Hotelpocalypse: Priceless :)
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Offline Pyramid

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #49 on: April 26, 2017, 12:29:28 PM »
One year I stayed with some friends at Serra Mesa right off the 5.  The second farthest would have to be Chula Vista.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2017, 11:30:03 PM by Pyramid »
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Offline accelerate

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #50 on: April 27, 2017, 11:36:54 PM »
My first year, waaaaay back in 2003, I didn't know a darn thing about Comic-Con, so I booked the only place I could find, some cheap motel maybe 20 minutes driving distance away (up Hwy 163), with a broken toilet. Back then, you could find street parking, down Harbor Blvd over the bridge past the Convention Center. Also, back then, you could buy badges at the door as well as next year's badges in Sails Pavilion.

Every year since then I've been able to get a downtown hotel, with the past 5-6 years close enough that I didn't ever need the shuttle.

Offline alyssa

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #51 on: April 28, 2017, 08:31:33 AM »
the 1st year i went, i drug my 10yearold with me. We stayed at a ramada in about  a 10 min drive from the football stadium/trolley. it was about $120 a night and a single queen bed.

I learned, the next year we stayed in Chula Vista, drove in with underground parking. And 2 beds-

i'm kinda noticing a trend, it seems as tho folks stayed farther away when then first come to con, closer once they've been around a while.
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Offline accelerate

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #52 on: April 28, 2017, 11:27:40 AM »
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i'm kinda noticing a trend, it seems as tho folks stayed farther away when then first come to con, closer once they've been around a while.

Part of it is just learning the process and figuring out how to maximize your chances. In the late 2000's, there was no waiting room or queuing, and it was simply a matter of trying to get in and fill in the form as fast as humanly possible (and hope the system doesn't crash). Often though, I would be "stuck" in further hotels. But then afterwards, I would constantly check the website (literally hundreds of times a day), hoping for a room to free up. And my diligence would pay off, as invariably something would come up, and I would jump on it. If you weren't on the ball, these rooms would be gone almost in a flash. Sometimes I would end up in multiple hotels (one year I had a couple nights at Sheraton by the Airport, and then moved to Manchester Grand Hyatt). But having to change hotels mid-SDCC was a small price to pay to avoid staying in Mission Valley or further. Even if I got a hotel in downtown but like a mile away (eg. Holiday Inn), I would still constantly check hoping to get something closer.

In the 2010's, I got better and better at filling out the form, and I would always manage to be in and out in under a minute (so, before 9:01am). And hence I always got my 1st or 2nd choice. Last year and this year, they threw a monkey wrench with the randomization process. But my chances are actually better now since I now have a group of friends, and we generally get enough room allocations between us to all stay downtown.

Offline kremss

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #53 on: May 02, 2017, 12:28:04 PM »
Before my family started coming with me I would stay at a friends in Rancho Penasquitos. Only about 20 miles away.

After we had our first kid We stayed near the airport for 2 years then my wife said if she was coming back we were staying downtown. We have stayed downtown ever since.


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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #54 on: May 02, 2017, 06:15:55 PM »
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the 1st year i went, i drug my 10yearold with me. We stayed at a ramada in about  a 10 min drive from the football stadium/trolley. it was about $120 a night and a single queen bed.

I learned, the next year we stayed in Chula Vista, drove in with underground parking. And 2 beds-

i'm kinda noticing a trend, it seems as tho folks stayed farther away when then first come to con, closer once they've been around a while.

My first year (2015) I didn't know about the hotel lottery (long story).  After scoring a badge in open reg, I didn't start thinking about a hotel until May/June.  I pulled down the hotel list from CCI.  After realizing I wasn't going to get close to the convention center, I looked at the hotels on the list that were further out.  I settled for Humphreys on Shelter Island.  I made the reservation directly with them, and got the convention rate.  Funny thing...  A couple made a reservation at the desk the same day I was checking in for the Con.  They had a room available, but the rate they were quoted was $100/day more than I was paying.  My room was very nice, and the shuttle was great.  I got a downtown hotel the next year, and I'm really close to the convention center this year.  Based on my experience the first year, I never worry about eventually getting a room.  And... while I'm excited about staying close to the convention center,  I would have been content with a non-downtown hotel.
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Offline racheva

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #55 on: May 03, 2017, 09:55:47 AM »
Our first year, 2011, we (me and [member=3724]jristen[/member]) actually stayed in Orange County and drove in, but we only went for a few days. 2012 and 2013, we did HomeAway, west of Balboa Park and then in Pacific Beach. Then we started doing the hotel lotto! MMM in 2014, and Bayfront 2015 and 2016. And this year we have the Bayfront again. It's pretty crazy to think how far we've come, both figuratively and literally. It was fun to stay at HomeAways back in the day, but now I could not imagine going back. I love the Bayfront so much, it's an integral part of the SDCC experience.

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Offline comicconfamily

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #56 on: May 03, 2017, 09:56:02 AM »
Short story: our very "first" year in 2010, we stayed in Vista, CA, which is about 45 miles from the convention center.

Longer story: This "first" year was really only the first year for one of our kids -- she was the only one with a badge. She had hotel arrangements that ended up falling through at the last minute (even longer story). She was devastated and had no idea where she would stay, she figured she would have to skip it. But, I decided to do whatever I could to help her still attend, although I really had NO clue how anything worked at Comic-Con. First decision: my husband and I decided to make a semi-vacation out of it -- and we'd drive her to San Diego.

We quickly realized that hotels were booked up and if we could get them close, the prices were beyond our budget. So, we ended up booking a hotel in Vista, CA. To get her there, we drove every day to the convention center and then we'd go do whatever we were going to do (zoo, outside the con stuff, etc). On some days, we drove all the way back to the hotel because I had work to do. But every evening we went back to pick her up.

While all the driving sucked and I would never want to stay that far away again, it was still a great experience for us and her. Seeing all the excitement around Comic-Con is what instantly turned us into fans and we knew we just had to attend the next year. So we did -- and have been attending ever since.  :)
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Offline TeamKiLL3R

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #57 on: May 03, 2017, 09:58:35 AM »
one year I stayed at a hotel next to LEGOland. It took about 20 minutes to drive to football stadium each day and then took the trolley from there. I didn't mind it because I was committed to spending the whole day at the con. That would not work this year. Bringing two younger kids that will need breaks.

Offline Pyramid

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #58 on: May 03, 2017, 12:08:13 PM »
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My first year, waaaaay back in 2003, I didn't know a darn thing about Comic-Con, so I booked the only place I could find, some cheap motel maybe 20 minutes driving distance away (up Hwy 163), with a broken toilet. Back then, you could find street parking, down Harbor Blvd over the bridge past the Convention Center. Also, back then, you could buy badges at the door as well as next year's badges in Sails Pavilion.

Every year since then I've been able to get a downtown hotel, with the past 5-6 years close enough that I didn't ever need the shuttle.

I remember parking at Horton Plaza and moving my car every couple of hours.  Sounds like a hassle but it wasn't.  Stopped by the Starbucks across from Ralphs ... or whatever coffee shop used to be there.
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Offline Brian.A

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Re: How far away from SDCC have you stayed?
« Reply #59 on: May 04, 2017, 07:48:45 AM »
Farthest we've ever stayed was on main street in Chula Vista. It was maybe a 20 minute drive. We always rent a car so it wasn't bad at all. In recent years we've been staying at Hotel Circle. It's as close as I need to be unless one of these years I can afford the Hilton.