Mittens 2012 Pre Planning

[Pesty]

Just thought I'd pop in and say I'm definitely going to be there 'cause I ain't no square and this is the closest Mittens has ever been to me, as long as it does eventually wind up on the west coast somewhere. I can't wait to bug everybody in person again!

[Mr Jake]

I am undecided yet, but a firm maybe

Any time would be good for me, but around August would be best.

[AGA]

So is there any progress on this? It's really getting to the point where we should be making a decision...

[Disco]

For numbers, I came up with the following:

Layabout  (1)
Grundislav
Darth
Disco
Miez (5)
Snarky
Limpingfish
ProgZ
Bicilotti
AGA (10)
Jen
Dave
Janet
Abstauber
Mrs. Abstauber (15)
Pesty
CJ
Esseb
Jake
Suicidal pencil (20)
The Triumphant Return of Andail

There were others who expressed interest but seemed kinda doubtful so I left them off. We will probably add and subtract as usual, but this list seems the most likely from this thread.


Date wise, I think only Berian, Jen, and myself have expressed any preferred slot. August seems to work for everyone so far. Does anyone else have any date suggestions??

[Grundislav]

I think August is good.  Seems to be good for everyone else too, since nobody has said otherwise.  We should then decide on a 20 person house before everything gets booked up.

[Grundislav]

How about this one? 

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p936992

[Disco]

Wow, that place definitely has my vote for location and sexiness! Being available one of our most common Mittens weeks is a sign.

I came up with $259 / â,¬198 / £165 / 246 AUD / 1,495 NOK each based on 20. Seems to be one of the more convenient locations in regards to transportation and amenities that we have considered so far.

Count me in  8)

[Snarky]

Yes, that looks great. With one exception...

I'd like to see more of their calculations for "sleeps 20", since their description only mentions 1 King Size bed, 3 Queen Size bed and one triple bunk bed (Twin Size), which by my count comes to 11 if we double up on the Kings and Queens. Then there are two couches and a love seat that can be slept on, and they offer 4 air mattresses with bedding. 

OK, so that comes to 18 (some of them not-so-comfortable-sounding). Where are the last two? Are they counting the crib?

[Dave Gilbert]

Has a date been decided? Jan and I plan on going to Gamescom in mid-August so as long as it doesn't conflict count us in!

[Grundislav]

This place is a bit less luxury, more functional.  It claims to sleep 24 and in one of the reviews someone says they had a group of 22 with no problems.  Closer to civilization http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p398232

[Disco]

Hmm, that seems more reasonable and the luxury is comparable to what we are used to. If it fits more people comfortably and is roughly the same cost as the other house, this may be the ticket.

@Dave: Grundy and I have been searching for the last week in August. If we do it from August 24-31 that will give you five days buffer space. It would be great to see you and Janet for more than a few hours at a time for once so hope you can make it  

Does that Friday to Friday plus the weekend sound okay for everyone? I plan on spending some time in the area before and after. We could do another weekend after Mittens in a hostel somewhere like we did in Dublin, though I'm not sure if Los Angeles is conducive to that kind of travel.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Any location near a major city works for me since there's a 95% chance I'll be taking a greyhound in and I can get to either anaheim or LA via greyhound in roughly 8 hours.  The latest place Grundislav showed looks awesome because:

1.  hot tub

2.  pool table

3.  foosball table

4.  Anaheim (not far from a greyhound)

5.  $2800/week for 20 people would be super cheap.


Right now I have the means and the opportunity for this location.  Hopefully Disco or someone can meet me at greyhound so I'm not totally lost.

[Layabout]

Those dates suit me

[Snarky]

Looks good! I think we should take it.

[Esseb]

Good find, Grundislav. That does look excellent.

[Andail]

As per usual, I'd like to come, but it's a very huge maybe.
It would be nice to continue the production of "100 days to Ragnarok" with Esseb, just to mention one reason

[LimpingFish]

Yep, I like the look of the latest place a lot. And the last week of August sounds perfect. I was wary of the expense of a two-week stay, but a single week makes my attendance much more likely.

[Pesty]

Just wanted to confirm that now that we have some dates and a pretty nice house (I want to make things in that kitchen!), I am a definite definite, not just a secretly tentative definite like I was before!

[Miez]

Nice place! Last week of august sounds good to me ... consider me there

[Disco]

Hey everyone, I have an update!

Grundy and I are co-hosting this year. He is taking care of the security deposit while I act as PR/liaison. I sent an inquirey, got a response, and had a telephone conversation with the owner yesterday. The property is available for those dates, but she wanted to speak with me first because they normally do not rent to groups of adults only. Apparently they have had issues with some wild party groups causing disturbances in the neighbourhood, but once I explained more about our group and our activities and interests she gave us the okay.

The property has an unlisted pullout couch in the game room that they did not include in the totals because the room is unheated (being in late August this should be no issue though). This makes the total for sleeping in beds 19 without using any air mattresses, but mostly doubling up except for the bunk bed.

Total based on 20 people is $4,700, so $235 each. Every additional person up to 24 adds $175 to the overall, while each person less down to 12 decreases it by the same.

Good to see a solid interest now I'll contact Grundy when I get home tonight to see if we can go ahead with the booking.