SDCC - What's it cost you?

[Ron Phillips]

I've never been, not going this year, but maybe there's hope for next year. But to do that, I need to budget now.

So how much do you guys spend on your SDCC week? Flight, Lodgings, Food and Transport all included.

[danedawg99]

tell ya when i get back.

[MatthewMonster]

I'd love to go too. Im thinking its at least north of a grand. I guess it depends if you crashing on a couch or getting a hotel...and where your coming from...

[joshm]

I found flight and hotel deals for less than 700 at expedia.com, and if you want a car for a week it would be about 165 extra. So, all you have left is food and whatever gas or travel will cost. I guess you can say about 1000 with an extra 200 for miscellaneous. Personally, I plan for at least that much, but don't plan on spending it all. I figure if I do then fine, but if I end up with extra then I'm good.

Josh

[jrod]

Originally Posted by joshm

I found flight and hotel deals for less than 700 at expedia.com, and if you want a car for a week it would be about 165 extra. So, all you have left is food and whatever gas or travel will cost. I guess you can say about 1000 with an extra 200 for miscellaneous. Personally, I plan for at least that much, but don't plan on spending it all. I figure if I do then fine, but if I end up with extra then I'm good.

Josh

200 for miscellaneous...yeesh, that's close to my total bar tab for the three nights I was there last year. Bar tab was probably a bit higher.

[D.J. Coffman]

I think this last minute trip is probably going to total me around 1300.

It was 950 total (taxes!) for a room for two nights nearby, the round trip non-stop flight .

if you're planning on staying the whole week, it's gonna run you around 2000 I bet-- although a crafty person could do this all MUCH cheaper.

[Cat]

well last year was not so bad..but this year!!! ARM AND A LEG!!!

[Mecha]

Airfare $300 US
Hotel for SDCC $200 US
Hotel for the second leg of my trip: $500 US
Travel by bus/taxi to/from airports: $75 US minimum (I have to take a Greyhound and a taxi 3 times each on my trip)

I have to put everything other than those things on my credit card

[Buckyrig]

Yowza!

I could drive there and I have friends in SD, but I never bother going.

Maybe I should before I eventually leave this hole and save a pile of cash.

[Saraquael]

Airfare - 120 ish
Hotel - 300-400
Food - 200-350... but I like to eat
Pruchases - Yeesh... 400+?

[T.J. May]

This is for two of us travelling from Boston:

Airfare: $700
Hotel: $375

Booth: $450
Shipping Product: $300

We'll see how much food, transportation, and misc. kills me.

T

[Crazee Creator]

Props / Books/ Supplies: $1500
Airfare / Hotel : $700.00
Food / Car Service/ Misc: TBD
Advertisements for appearance: $3,000.00

Anyone have any bottles and cans I can collect.

[D.J. Coffman]

Wow-- Crazee's prices there take me WAY back... I'm totally over spending that type of dough on the comic book land. I know all about that though!

[SDulaney]

Ron,

Just a coupple of quick thoughts as you plan next year.

1) You want the "con wrangler" gig for next year? If at all possible, I'd like to try to lock in a booth for '07 before we leave town but you never know. Booth space is a big expense but getting it done early saves a bit of cash.

2) Remember this rule on hotels. The better the hotel and closer to the con center, the more expensive it's going to be. I think we were paying $160 a night at the Radisson (13 blocks) last year, this year I'm 3 blocks away at the Embassy and it's around $200 a night. Luckily we have enough in the room to spread that out. With you and the missus, you might want to split a room with another couple if you opt to stay closer to the con center rather than farther out. (Stay close and you don't have to stop drinking early to catch the shuttle. Those Pedi-Cab guys tire out around Broadway.)

3) Another hotel tip. High speed internet and a fast dailing finger will be your friend. They open the reservation desk usually in Jan/Feb and at that exact moment the internet breaks in half. If the site crashes, be dailing at the same time and you'll get through. Hopefully they'll have the convention hotel info up prior to R-Day 07 so you can spot what hotel has what you'll need. (for example, shuttle service to and from the airport or being on the convention shuttle route. Free breakfast and happy hour. Sleep-number beds.) If you want to be REALLY cheap, there's a couple of hostels in the gaslamp.

4) Plane tickets. I wound up paying about $300 after taxes and fees through the convention's travel agency. I could've flown a little cheaper through Southwest but I would've gotten into the hotel around 11pm and had a layover from hell in Denver. Instead, I'll be getting there about noon. I could've gotten the tickets cheaper but I was waiting to see if a buddy was flying out with me or not. Had he decided it wasn't in the card 30 days or so earlier, I would've been able to fly out for $260 at the most. If you can swing it, try to book your flight through the agency on Reservation Day or wait until around late March/early April when the Southwest reservation window includes the July convention dates.

5) Spending money/tourism. San diego is a beautiful city and there's lots to see and do. Luckily a lot of the attractions have it set up where you can order tickets online. If you do what I do (come in a day before preview night.) You can check out the sight and, theoretically, already have the zoo/ball game/tour of the Midway paid for before you left home. Food can be bought cheaply around Seaport Village, a few Gaslamp spots and at Ralph's. Beer is another matter. Expect $5-$6 bottles of Bud at the Hyatt. Something to be said for the beer sale at Ralph's (20 pk of bottles, 10.99 til Wednesday btw). On the con floor, my advice is make a want list...set a spending limit...and have a little extra set aside for that impulse buy. $500-$700 ought to get you through if you're watching it close.

[MatthewMonster]

All I can hope is that the NYC CC gets ALOT better year to year....it'll cost me like subway fare lol