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Yeah, the location of these places (the Hollywood mansion in particular) is ideal because they're right between MIA and FLL, so people can fly into both airports easily, and Darth and I can share chauffeur duties.

I get the impression that the mansion is within walking distance to the ocean, but I can confirm that once I actually go see the place.

It depends on how many people show up in the end, but yes, we will probably need to rent a van.  My car holds 4 people.  Mills and Darth live in the state so I assume they will have their own cars too?  So that's space for 12 right there, but we may need an 8-9 person van to fit the rest.

Right now the list of interested parties is at 30, but we'll see how that changes as time passes.

bump!

Check first post

Hooray!  Best birthday gift ever!

Whoops! Good catch. I'm not used to it being 2009 yet it seems...

[Monday June 29]

Bump again.

I've been asking around, and it's time to finalize some dates.  It seems that airfare skyrockets starting July 1, so I was thinking of accommodating everyone and holding Mittens from Monday June 29 to Monday July 6.  This means the 4th of July holiday will fall over the last weekend of Mittens.  Also, some people have expressed interest in going to the theme parks.  It's possible to go on Tuesday the 7th and stay overnight in Orlando at a cheap hotel, then come back down after a day or two depending on which parks you guys want to go to.  It's a much better idea to go mid-week than on a weekend to the theme parks, because they will be less crowded. 

So, does anyone object to these dates?  If not, they will become the final ones.  I've already sent an email to the house rental people, and am awaiting a response.  If I can have solid dates it would be better.

If it's in January, airfare to the UK would be pretty cheap, since it's low season.  I'd be interested in attending.

As far as speaking?  I dunno, it seems weird that anyone would want to hear anything I'd have to say when you have big names like Ron Gilbert et al attending.  But I wouldn't be opposed to doing it.

In any case, good luck with it!  It would be great to see this idea realized.

Ah yes, this video came with the CD of King's Quest VI.  All the Sierra behind the scenes videos were great, ranging from vomit-inducing to genuinely interesting (GK1 was one of the latter).

A few years back I had the idea to make a parody of these videos, but I was too lazy to actually finish it.  A Making Of video for an AGS game where the developer basically lounges around all day drinking beer and watching tv could be pretty funny if done right.

Consider this a challenge!

It was the old and time honored game of "finish drinking your drink."

No, Ryan was watching from the sidelines.  Just because he wasn't interviewed doesn't mean we were going to leave him behind, and have him miss out on the food and fun time!  That's the kind of swell people the Bytejacker guys were.

Flights are usually cheaper mid-week, that was my basis for that.

I'm planning on having it be the standard Mittens length, one week, most likely from Wednesday to Wednesday.  This means July 22-29, 2009.  Are these dates good for those interested in attending?

A lot of people are expressing interest in extra excursions.  Keep in mind that we'll likely be renting the house I linked to, so we want to get our money's worth out of that.  If people want to stay a few extra days afterwards to go to theme parks/Bimini, then by all means do so, especially if it means getting more out of your airfare.

I just think that the week of Mittens itself, we should stay in the Miami area.  There's plenty to do here already!

Probably around the £400-600 range.  My flight to Brittens last year was about $1200.

Okay, taking into account the number of people who have expressed some form of interest, we're at 20 attendees right now...though I'm sure more people will probably express interest, and I'm sure others will drop out, as it happens every year.

Just to give you guys an idea of the type of house you can expect, this one seems pretty nice.  Even though it says it sleeps 18, I'm sure we can work some magic with sofas and air mattresses/sleeping bags, just like any other place we end up staying at.

[will]

So far it seems most people want a house.  I agree that this would probably be a better option.

It pretty much boils down to how many people show up.  If it's around 16-20 we'll probably be able to get a nice house within the city, if it's more we can get one on the west coast.

One thing to keep in mind is that Miami is not a city designed with walking in mind.  We will need cars to get around, even if we're in the city.  I have mine, which holds 4 people, so we will most likely need to rent a van like in Canada.

Florida is roughly the size of Great Britain.  It takes about 2 hours to cross the state, and about 3 1/2 to 4 hours to get to Orlando, so getting anywhere can easily be done in a day.

Radiant: A cruise wouldn't really work, unless you want to go on one of those booze/gambling cruises that last a day.  There's really no point in spending extra money to go out for 3 days if we have a house for 7.

I am looking at the last week of July for Mittens, so all you pasty European types had better make sure to pack your sunscreen. 

Less fires, less hiking, less brainy discussions, more theme parks, more discoteques and alcohol!

I don't know what the rules are regarding bonfires on Florida beaches, but we may have some.  Theme parks (Disney ones) are expensive and will be super crowded mid-summer, so I would hold off on those unless you're really really desperate to see Mickey Mouse.  Discoteques are reeeeaaaaallly not worth the bother.  Alcohol...well, it's Mittens. There will be alcohol.

[EDIT 11/3/08]

Hello,

As you may know, I will be hosting Mittens 2009 in Miami, Florida.  I've started this thread to get some input from potential attendees regarding where to stay.  As of right now, I've been able to find a couple of options, but each has its pros and cons.  So I will be taking into account people's preferences when choosing a place to stay.

Originally, I had this place in mind.  It's cheap and in a decent location.  Even though it is essentially an RV park, it has cabins which can be rented.  However, a look on the map of the site shows that the cabins are a bit spaced out from each other.  If we were to only rent the one big cabin, the limit is 16 people.

Another option I've been looking into is house rental.  There are several nice, large houses available to rent in many areas of the city.  The downside is that they aren't as accommodating as the French chateau,  and the largest one I've been able to find is 22 people.  This probably won't be as cheap as the campsite, but it won't be horribly expensive.

A third option which may be necessary if more than 20 people come is to rent a house elsewhere.  I know there are large beach homes for rental on Florida's west coast, which is about a 2 hour drive from Miami.  We would be able to come to the city on day trips no problem.

So basically this all depends on how many people come.  I would hate to have to set an attendance limit, but it might be necessary in some cases.  Please discuss.

Also, Darth or Mills - if you guys are aware of any places in Florida that rent houses that can fit 25 + people, please let me know.

EDIT 11/3/08
This is the place I'm looking at now.

Update 1/25/09
The house people got back to me and informed me that the original property is no longer available to rent.  They did, however send me links to two other properties which are in a nice area.  The choice lies with how extravagant we want to be.

Oceanfront house?
or
Historic Mansion?

Personally, I lean more towards the mansion, as it's slightly cheaper and has more rooms/amenities.  If we get 20 people it will be less than $300 per person for the week, so not a bad deal.  They are relatively in the same location, so getting around won't be a problem.

Input is appreciated!

Not very impressive, but I'm not enough of a man to let it grow any further!

Well, what I meant by collaboration was it's the first time I co-designed a game that wasn't mine with another AGSer.

"Sacre bleu"?