Summer of Sonic 2016 "Mr Yuji Naka is alright!"

[bmn]

1 hour ago, Sephy said:

Well, we're gonna arrive on Gatwick, so I was thinking about getting the Easybus option to go to West Brompton where we are hosted.

The thing is that the airline (Easyjet) suggested reserving the Easybus tickets, but it was insanely expensive (10 pounds per person or something like that)...I don't know if it's really that expensive (Considering we are supposed to arrive between 23:00 and 00:00 this Friday) or it's just Easyjet being cheeky.

edit: seems that getting an Oyster Card is the best option, I'll make sure to get it at the airport.

Gatwick's quite awkward for getting into London, because it's not connected to the London transport network (Oyster is only usable within this network, so you have to actually get into London first before you can use it!). Unfortunately, London really is that expensive!

What you choose to do depends somewhat on what you're planning on doing in London, but here's the main options from Gatwick:

• Taxi: Money. Don't do it
• Gatwick Express: Expensive (£18 single, £31 return), gets to London Victoria in about 30 minutes, then you have to get from Victoria to West Brompton on the Underground.
• National Rail (Southern): Still expensive (£12 single), passes through Clapham Junction (continuing on towards Victoria) in about 45 minutes, then you've got an easy, less than 10 minutes, Overground trip to WB from there.
• Coach (National Express): Variable price (tends to be around £10 single), gets to London Victoria in around 90 minutes, then you have to get to WB.
• Coach (easyBus): Variable price (again, around £10 single), goes direct to West Brompton in about 65 minutes, so if you're not doing other things in London this may be the best choice as this coach is the only thing you pay for.

[kimplix]

I'm planning to arrive at Kings Cross and then take approx 11 stops to Earl Court Station and take a one stop ride from there. Already booked my Tickets for Saturday, so I'm fine and calm about the process of train routes

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[Sephy]

3 hours ago, bmn said:

 (Oyster is only usable within this network, so you have to actually get into London first before you can use it!). Unfortunately, London really is that expensive!

Oh shoot! :V

Yeah, EasyBus is still the best option...I hope buses in London use some kind of information about where you are in each bus stop...because if not, I'm seeing ourselves in the last stop without noticing it (it happened to me A LOT, even here lol)

[bmn]

Gatwick and Earl's Court/West Brompton are actually the last stops, so no need to worry there, as long as you're on the right bus

[TheOcelot]

I've printed my ticket. Will also have it on my phone so no issues there. I plan to arrive hopefully between 9.30 and 10am. I imagine there will be quite a queue to get in so the earlier the better I guess. I'll be coming up on south-eastern trains and then taking the district line to Earls Court. I believe you only get a part-time  service between Earl Court and West Brompton so it's probably quicker to get off at Earls court underground station and walk.

Anyway, looking forward to it.

 

[ChikoLad]

Judging by what people are saying here, it's probably best I take the Southern Rail from Gatwick Airport, straight to West Brompton. I'll be arriving in Gatwick Friday morning, and I'll be staying at the Ibis Hotel in Earls Court - basically on top of where the convention is being held! I'm hoping to get up quite early and get ready and breakfast and all that out of the way and hopefully be one of the first in the queue. I'll probably hang around nearby the venue before the queue even officially starts.

Some more questions though:

-Once I get into the hotel on the Friday and sort all of that out, my friend and I are hoping to explore London a bit. I have a few places in mind, like Forbidden Planet, Drop Dead (to pick up the Sonic stuff they have as of late :P), and Westfield Shopping Centre. Would an Oyster Card be eligible for train journeys between those places? Does it basically cover all of London, or are things a bit more complicated?

-For anyone who has been to Forbidden Planet, do they sell any kind of Sonic stuff there?

-Regarding Summer of Sonic itself, will the vendors be announced before the event (assuming they are official collaborations with companies selling their Sonic merch or something, and not just random people selling their unwanted stuff)? And if the details are being kept a secret until the day, then would I be able to get some kind of ballpark range for how expensive the items on sale could get? I only have so much spending money, a good deal of which will have to go towards trains, and some towards food, I'd suspect. I'm only staying from Friday morning to Sunday morning, but I was hoping to buy some things or do some things on Friday while I'm there, so that'll cost money too. However, I don't want to overspend on Friday and miss out on buying some really cool, but expensive merchandise at Summer of Sonic. So any info on that front would be really appreciated so I can budget things out.

[Badnik Mechanic]

5 minutes ago, ChikoLad said:

-Once I get into the hotel on the Friday and sort all of that out, my friend and I are hoping to explore London a bit. I have a few places in mind, like Forbidden Planet, Drop Dead (to pick up the Sonic stuff they have as of late :P), and Westfield Shopping Centre. Would an Oyster Card be eligible for train journeys between those places? Does it basically cover all of London, or are things a bit more complicated?

If Bmn says different take his word over mine as he knows London better than me. 

From what I understand, London's transport network is split into 'zones' (from 1-5(?)), the bulk of the stuff a 'tourist' would want to visit and see is within zones 1 & 2. When you get into travelling to zones 3 and above costs to travel tend to go up.

However with an Oyster card you don't really need to worry about it too much so long as you have enough funds on it to cover the daily cap since Oyster covers the entire London transport network.

The main issue I believe you will have is time. Even when I've had an unlimited all day travel ticket, I never get everything done in a day, I'm usually too tired or just simply run out of time to do everything I want to do. You'll encounter a lot of distractions around Forbidden Planet, British museum is a big one as is Leicester Square and the immediate surrounding area. 

You would be very surprised at how many time sinks there are in London. 

 

19 minutes ago, ChikoLad said:

-For anyone who has been to Forbidden Planet, do they sell any kind of Sonic stuff there?

-Regarding Summer of Sonic itself, will the vendors be announced before the event (assuming they are official collaborations with companies selling their Sonic merch or something, and not just random people selling their unwanted stuff)? And if the details are being kept a secret until the day, then would I be able to get some kind of ballpark range for how expensive the items on sale could get? I only have so much spending money, a good deal of which will have to go towards trains, and some towards food, I'd suspect. I'm only staying from Friday morning to Sunday morning, but I was hoping to buy some things or do some things on Friday while I'm there, so that'll cost money too. However, I don't want to overspend on Friday and miss out on buying some really cool, but expensive merchandise at Summer of Sonic. So any info on that front would be really appreciated so I can budget things out.

Forbidden planet merch: It's been a bit dry with regards to Sonic merch lately, odds are you can find some cool travel wallets but that's about it. 

As for vendors, I think there will be an announcement about that at some point this week.

[ChikoLad]

Yeah, I'm not expecting to get an awful lot done in one day. That's why I've kept "places I really need to go to" pretty minimal. I'm hoping that at least one of the places I want to go to will have a lot of stuff of interest in the nearby area, as the less travelling I have to do, the better, since I'll have more time and money. I'm kinda hoping Westfield Shopping Centre has some things of interest in and around it. I'll be sussing things out with my friend before we leave though, in terms of places we want to go.

[kimplix]

This is for anyone who has used the off peak side of Train Tickets. I booked mine 2 days ago, but I'm curious for the times they can be used for. I asked one of the staff at the ticket booth and he replied that they can be used anytime (example was they were usable even at 5am), but I'm still curious about it just so I arrive in time for the event itself.

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[bmn]

The whole of Saturday and Sunday is Off Peak, so if you're only travelling at the weekend you're all set.

I'm pulling figures out my ass here, but Peak on weekdays is somewhere in the region of 6-10am and 4-7pm. I could look the times up properly if anyone needs them.

[kimplix]

The whole of Saturday and Sunday is Off Peak, so if you're only travelling at the weekend you're all set.

I'm pulling figures out my ass here, but Peak on weekdays is somewhere in the region of 6-10am and 4-7pm. I could look the times up properly if anyone needs them.

That'll be so helpful if you can. Thanks

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[The Tenth Doctor]

Uh oh, the Blue Blur himself will be on patrol!

Introducing Our Final Guest…

What kind of Sonic the Hedgehog convention would we be without inviting the big man himself? That’s right, at Summer of Sonic 2016 you’ll get the chance to meet and get a photo with the one true blue blur, Sonic the Hedgehog!

You will find Sonic wandering around the show floor at various times of the day; the following times are subject to change but if you want to find him then this is your best bet:

10:15 – 10:55
11:30 – 12:10
13:30 – 14:10
16:30 – 17:10

Sonic will also be on stage for a special birthday celebration at 15:30, so be sure you don’t miss that! We’re only a couple of days away, and we can’t wait to see you all on Saturday!

Svend & Adam

 

[ChikoLad]

1 hour ago, The Tenth Doctor said:

Uh oh, the Blue Blur himself will be on patrol!

 

 

But will he dab the crowd once more?

Can't believe I didn't think of that as the final guest, lol.

Also, this seems interesting too.

https://2016.summerofsonic.com/sos2016/sonic-jump-fever-crowd-event-and-sonic-dash-extreme-at-summer-of-sonic/

[The Tenth Doctor]

So before I do my travelling tomorrow (popping on now and then to see if anything changes) I'd like to wish everyone happy travelling and say if you see me, come say hi! I'm a friendly guy (I may need reminding of who you are if you are on here :p). If you want to look for me, I am this bloke.

I'll be wearing the same shirt on the day and a red Eggman short tomorrow. Let's do it to it and make this one to remember!

[kimplix]

Finally got the money I will be needing on the main day. Hope that traveling is going well or are going to go well fot everyone as for the post aboth. Since it was brought up, I might share mine as well. If you want to meet me on the day, find this fella here.

I'll be in a white Sonic Show t-shirt that I won in a 2013 contest while carrying a SoS13 tote (I might be wearing a blue sonic fleece cap most of the time too) which has some signing material inside. Depending where I am, I'll be all over the area demoing Mania if possible and giving a play on the Retro Sonic games as well.

[DarkRula]

I'll be travelling down tomorrow, so thanks for the wish of happy travels, and hope you have happy travels too.
Me and my friend are very much looking forward to this weekend away, and especially Summer of Sonic itself.

You'll be looking for this person if you want to meet me.

[Your Vest Friend]

I'm heading down tomorrow as well, never stayed in London before.

As for what I look like...you'll find out. Or maybe not. 

[DarkRula]

Well, it'll be my first time in London as well.

Sunday will be the day to see some sights. Probably.

[Badnik Mechanic]

I'll be the one hosting Buzz Bombers. Come say hi or give me free stuff. Like money.

Any of those choices is fine.

[Your Vest Friend]

I've got a random (official) Vector plush to sell while there. Long story short, it's an extra one, so I don't need one on top of the one I've got. Looking for £20 for it, ideally.  

Unless Iizuka wants it, but I dunno why he would. 

[ChikoLad]

I have arrived at the Ibis Hotel.

I saw Matt from Tails' Channel immediately as I walked into the lobby, wearing a t-shirt with "SEGA Staff" on the back.

[DarkRula]

Arrived and am sat in my Holiday Inn room.

There was a bit of trouble navigating trains but we got here just fine.

Schedule for the event is now up, by the way.

[Speeps]

Got off the bus into London, stopped off for food in the nearby pub. Provided the reservation hasn't been cancelled I should be staying at St. Mark Hotel.

Here's a pic:

Webcams always make me look like shit lmao.

[The Tenth Doctor]

I have arrived! Staying at the Garden View Hotel. Hope to see you guys.

[kimplix]

Will be arriving tomorrow by chance. Should be right before 9:30AM as it saves me time with London not being that far from me entirely. I also got the info for the super off peak tickets and they can be used all day at anytime. Everything is going so well right now.