Mittens 2007: Ontario, Canada (Update: Mar 21, 2007)

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Hey, I have the second edition of Zombies!!  It's pretty neat, though I probably should have gotten When Darkness Comes since it integrates role playing and works with Zombies!! also. 

[AGA]

And don't forget the lube 

Pff, lube? We ain't no fancy-Dan city boys.

[Baron]

OK, after exhaustive research I think I've found our best deal for the AGS Bus.  My apologies for the length of time this took, but proximity is a big issue for me since I don't have a car and live in a small town.

I looked into 7 seater mini-vans and the big 12 seater passenger vans.  They surprisingly cost within about a hundred dollars of each other for an eight day rental, so I opted for the larger vehicle (everyone will have luggage anyway).

The cost I was quoted breaks down like this (all prices in Canadian Dollars):

$799.95  for the rental
$199.92  for automobile insurance (I might be able to get a better deal with my own insurer)
$999.87

Divided eight ways that's $125 each.  This converts to $116.68 US dollars, or 58.45 UK pounds.
Oh, there might be tax on that -I'll get back to you on that count (max 15%).

I sort of figured on having to spend money on gas anyway, so don't worry about this.  If we do any significant side trips we'll just split the extra gas bill.

We will have a few extra seats in the bus, so if anyone else is interested it will bring the cost down for everybody .

Another note: the rental would only be $6.99 (EDIT: That's $699.99) if it were only 7 days, which we might be able to swing if I just head down in the evening on Friday July 21 and have everyone dropped off at the airport by Friday July 28 in the afternoon (I think the drop off was planned then anyway, but the pick-up is pushed later).

Discuss.

[Matt Goble]

Sounds good.

Now just to clear this up, BaRoN, would you prefer US or Canadian $? I'm guessing you don't want UKP!!

Thanks for doing this.

Matt

[Disco]

Another note: the rental would only be $6.99 if it were only 7 days, which we might be able to swing if I just head down in the evening on Friday July 21 and have everyone dropped off at the airport by Friday July 28 in the afternoon (I think the drop off was planned then anyway, but the pick-up is pushed later).

Discuss.

Wait... it is the 20th to the 27th, right? Otherwise, we could all just hang out in Toronto on the first day until everyone arrives and do some sight-seeing, have dinner out and such, then rent the bus sometime after midnight if they are open then and get to the cabin in the wee hours. But that may not work as I assume we have to be around at a decent time on the 20th for the keys from the owners.

One more word to my fellow Mitteners: I aim to sponsor viewings of both Serenity and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. BE WARNED!!

[Renegade Implementor]

I thought it best to notify people that due to unforseen circumstances, I may have to cancel my participation.  Things are still up in the air and I won't know what's happening until next week (hopefully).  Things are dependent on what news I get and when final payments need to be in.

While I'm hoping everthing works out, I think it would be wise if budgets were recalculated with one less person as a worst-case scenario ...  which I truely hope doesn't come to pass.

[Baron]

Sorry -it IS Friday July 20 to Friday July 27.
The (potential) loss of one person is unfortunate, but by deferring all pick ups into the evening I think we can swing the $699.99 price, which evens it out.  Hopefully things work out for you Renegade Implementor.
Would everyone be cool with an evening pick-up?  This would mostly affect the Yorkdale pick-up (pushing it to approximately 6pm-ish) and possibly the airport one.  If I don't hear anything in two days I'm going to make the reservation.

[Disco]

Would everyone be cool with an evening pick-up?  This would mostly affect the Yorkdale pick-up (pushing it to approximately 6pm-ish) and possibly the airport one.  If I don't hear anything in two days I'm going to make the reservation.

Well in that case we ought to get to Pearson on our own accord, then when everyone arrives, stash our stuff in a locker and go into town for a bit, and wait for the price to drop. Or...we could always kill time at Pearsonian Starbucks or Wolfgang Puck's

[Disco]

*semi-necessary double post*

I am changing my arrival information a bit, and need a local's perspective on the Toronto transit situation. I will be arriving at 11pm on the 19th and staying the night at a hostel right across from the University. Checking out at 11am the 20th, I am wondering if I should take the bus or subway to Pearson, or the subway to Yorkdale to wait for pickup.

The times for the Yorkdale pickup are different depending on where you look in this thread, and I'm wondering if it is even necessary depending on from where Ivy intends to be extracted or if Renegade can come (hope you can dude!). My Google countdown tells me I leave in 20 days, so I would like a conclusive roundup of times and travel info whenever possible.

Quintaros arrives at 14:16
Britishes arrive at 14:50
What time was your flight arriving Radiant?

How about those who are driving? Are we all meeting at the airport and making an exodus to Bayfield? any approximate times for getting to Toronto?

[Radiant]

What time was your flight arriving Radiant?

By the looks of it, between 8 and 8:30 PM, in Toronto.

[Baron]

Alright, a resummary of current information.

LATEST BUS SCHEDULE:
                  Rent the bus at 4pm Friday July 20th. (for cheaper rental purposes)
                  Arrive Yorkdale Mall (Toronto) approximately 6pm (depending on traffic)
                  Swing by Pearson Int'l by about 8pm and lingering/driving around until 9pm (or whenever we have Radiant)
                   Leave directly for Bayfield and arrive somewhere around 1am on the Saturday.
         *                  *                     *                   *                      *                   *                  *               *
                   Leave Bayfield between 8am-10am on Friday July 27th (depending on people's flight schedules)
                   Arrive at Pearson International between 12 noon and 2pm.
                   Get bus back to rental place before 4pm, thus achieving cheaper rental costs. 

LATEST PASSENGER LIST:                    LATEST EXPLICIT OR IMPLIED PICK-UP PLACE
               BaRoN ...................................................... Orangeville
               Ivy ............................................................ Yorkdale
               Kevbot (new addition) .............................. Yorkdale
               Disco ......................................................... Yorkdale
               Renegade Implementor (pending) ............ Yorkdale
               AGA ........................................................... Pearson
               Pumaman .................................................. Pearson
               MattGlobe .................................................. Pearson
               Quintaros .................................................. Pearson
               Radiant ..................................................... Pearson

LATEST COST ANALYSIS **All figures in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise stated
$699.95  for the rental
$199.92  for automobile insurance (I might be able to get a better deal with my own insurer)
$899.87

$899.87/9 = $100        $899.87/10 = $90 (depending on whether Renegade Implementor can make it or not).

I'm still going to quote the $125 as the per-person cost since this is the worst case scenario (i.e. there's tax on top of the rental cost).  This breaks down to approximately $116.68 US Dollars or 58.45 Pounds Sterling.  Preferred payment method is the actual silver, but if this proves impractical due to weight restrictions on international flights then Canadian dollars would be the most convenient.

DISCUSSION:
The revised schedule that enables us to save $100 dollars on rental fees won't affect our arrival time in Bayfield because of Radiant's late arrival time (8:30pm).  The only people really put out are the people arriving at Pearson between 2-3pm, since they have to wait around at the airport for 5 hours.  While I wouldn't recommend settling in at the airport bar because it is expensive, there are all kinds of seedy establishments on Airport Road which would be a short $10 cab ride away.  The Yorkdale pick-up is the most deferred, but there are simply all kinds of things to see and do in Toronto.  Immediate access to the subway system means you are relatively mobile, so take advantage of it!  I'd suggest Disco and Renagade Implementor get Ivy and Kevbot to give them a tour or take one themselves.  Unfortunately with travel times being what they are at rush hour the same option isn't really practical for those stranded at the airport.

Unless...... I'm not averse to stopping by the airport on my way into town to pick you guys up (approx. 5pm) and take you to Yorkdale (not exactly representative of Toronto, but at least it's not the airport).  Then we'll just grab Radiant on the way out of town.

I believe that is everything.  Please bring any errors or omissions to my attention.



                   
                 

[Disco]

I believe that is everything.  Please bring any errors or omissions to my attention.

Who is Kevbot? *EDIT* oops, nevermind

As for the Yorkdale/Pearson divide, I will wait to see if Renegade is coming or when Ivy and Kevbot plans to come around, otherwise I would like to be there for the early arrivals at the airport. How easy/hard is it to get to Pearson on the subway?

[jetxl]

Say Radiant, I could give you a lift.

[LUniqueDan]

Still asking myself... How Mittens should someone need to be in order to show up and say 'Hi'?

(AKA 'get drunk around the fire while staring at ppl fighting canadian mutant mosquitoes - so huge that they need to get on there knees to suck blood out of your frontal region'.)

May have end of July out of contracts.

[Baron]

L'UniqueDan, I hope you bring bring some sort of iron plated protection for your..... frontal region.

The subway situation, according to an officially published TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) map:


Fortunately there are three busses running directly from subway stations, with the one leaving from Kipling probably the fastest since it goes straight up highway 427.

The last time I tried it by bus they charged me extra for crossing municipal boundaries, so make sure you have some change in your pocket before attempting it.

[Pumaman]

Baron: Thanks for organising the bus, that all sounds good! Those of us who have phones that will work in Canada, it might be worth exchanging numbers in case we have any trouble meeting up?

Also, would this 5 hour window at the airport be our only opportunity to visit Toronto, or are we planning a day trip during the week?

[Baron]

Bayfield is far too boring a place to spend an entire week.  You can't come to Ontario and not see Toronto, so I expect a day trip must be in order.  We should do it all in one fell swoop: Niagara Falls, Toronto.... well, that's it, actually.  That's all we've got.  But they're both just within driving range and relatively close to each other.
Anything else you'd want to see in Ontario would either either be impractically far away or a comfortable half-day/spur-of-the-moment-type trip (London, or Stratford, or.... Goderich).

[Radiant]

take you to Yorkdale (not exactly representative of Toronto, but at least it's not the airport).  Then we'll just grab Radiant on the way out of town.

Say Radiant, I could give you a lift.

I'm fine with either. Sorry for arriving so late; the alternative was a plane trip that left really early morning the day Mittens ends.

[The Ivy]

Niagara Falls? That's a bit of a hike. But a day trip or even two to Toronto sounds awesome. I'll offer as much of my 'tour guide' expertise as I can...and maybe I'll make up some funfacts about the city. Kevbot knows the city better than I do and I'm sure there will be other locals to look out for us. This is shaping up to be an awesome trip!

Oh, and for those of you scratching your head about Kevbot, he's my bodygua-- I mean significant other.

[Renegade Implementor]

Things have finally resolved themselves and I'm glad to say that I'll be going to Mittens after all.  For those those of us at Yorkdale, having a gathering place would be nice.

If Disco is planning screening Star Trek, I'd like the possibility to counter with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen for anyone who hasn't seen this film.

<joking>Oh, and could someone explain to me why London would such a great place for a half-day trip.  Granted, it's a somewhat decent place to live but I certainly wouldn't want to visit.</joking>