2008 Unofficial Rifftrax Meet-Up Thread!

[Stacey]

I'll take your autograph RVR.

Signed,
Fan Girl

[RVR II]

I'll take your autograph RVR.

Signed,
Fan Girl

Aww Shucks.. Thanks Fan Girl

[James of LinHood]

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward something like Kate Sessions park in Pacific Beach, which allows booze, has tables and grills, and has a killer view of Mission Bay to boot.

If you can hold off until next week to reserve a spot, I should have some time this week to tromp around Balboa Park and see what's available.

Thanks for offering to scope out Balboa Park for us.  I really appreciate that.

Yeah, I'll hold off on reserving a spot until I hear back from you.  The major thing we need is a grill or two on the site.  At this point, if the spot doesn't have a grill then it's a deal breaker.  I'm just assuming Grillslinger doesn't want to lug a grill of his own all the way to the meet-up.   

Thanks again Steve-O!

[ManUnderMask]

I'm up for it. This will be my third year at the 'Con, and my first time there married.

Anybody know if Mike, Kevin, and Bill will be there again this year? That panel last year had my sides aching.

[James of LinHood]

UPDATE.

I'm probably going to call Balboa Park this week and ask about reserving a spot.

That is, unless you guys approve my new-and-improved meet-up plan.

I've been thinking about it and I keep running into a few problems:

1.  Who's bringing the food?
2.  What do we do if Grillslinger isn't able to make and grill for us?
3.  What about alcohol?  Is everyone bringing their own?

But I've found a solution for those problems.

We've agreed that meeting at a bar isn't a good idea because people under age 21 won't be able to hang with us.  But what about meeting at a restaurant that also serves alcohol?

That way, we don't have to worry about who's bringing the food/alcohol, we won't have to worry if Grillslinger can't make it, and people under age 21 are free to come along.

One specific restaurant comes to mind.  It's Elephant & Castle and it's attached to the Holiday Inn on the Bay in downtown San Diego.  There's indoor and outdoor eating sections.  I also believe that the place is smoke free.  So, if you're sensitive to smoke that's a plus for you.

So, if you guys approve of moving the meet-up to that restaurant or a place like it please let me know!

[Grillslinger]

It's official, gang... due some recent financial trouble, I won't make the meet-up this summer. On the upside, it may make things considerably less complicated.


Have fun!

[James of LinHood]

It's official, gang... due some recent financial trouble, I won't make the meet-up this summer. On the upside, it may make things considerably less complicated.


Have fun!

Damn.  It's too bad you can't make it out.  But I understand.  We'll try to make the best of it without you.

Well, I suppose since Grillslinger won't be able to make it, meeting up in the park doesn't look that great.

So, unless there's a huge objection I'm moving the meet-up to a restaraunt that serves alcohol.

For now, the restaraunt will be the Elephant & Castle at the Holiday Inn on the Bay.  I'll post the street address in my first post in this thread.  It's perfect for our needs and has a nice view of the bay.  If any of you have better suggestions for a restaraunt please let me know.  Otherwise, that's where we'll be meeting.

[GregMcduck]

For the record, I am pretty much on shaky ground on the trip till the week before, but assuming I end up making it, a restaraunt sounds fine.

[James of LinHood]

For the record, I am pretty much on shaky ground on the trip till the week before, but assuming I end up making it, a restaraunt sounds fine.

Greg, you've gotta make it.  Please don't join the losers people who can't come.

[Steve-O]

As it happens, this was the week I finally found the time to get off my tuckus and check out Balboa Park as a meeting venue.  As I had suspected, there really isn't much there that provides picnic/grilling facilities, and I was planning to recommend Kate Sessions Park again as an alternate.

Without a grillmaster, of course, that simplifies everything.  A restaurant-with-bar definitely sounds like the way to go now.  So hooray, my tardiness paid off in the form of James not wasting any money to reserve a spot in the park.

Elephant & Castle would probably work, and its proximity to the convention center is a nice benefit -- or perhaps not, if it ends up being crowded with convention-goers.  That particular stretch of the bay is not the most picturesque in the world, but it should get the job done.  I have the sneaking suspicion that I've been there of a drunken evening, and if it's the place I think it is, it's more pub than restaurant.  I'll try to swing by there sometime soon to check it out -- of course, we know how timely I am, so certainly don't wait on me.

I'll also give some thought to possible alternate locations.  Given this crowd, the first thing that springs to mind is Dave & Buster's.  There's no view to speak of (and I don't recall any outdoor seating either), but I seem to recall there being a big corral of tables that could easily be smooshed together for large parties.  It's in Mission Valley, still fairly close to downtown, but not close enough that there will be a ton of covnention folk clogging the joint up.  And there are other activities to engage in besides eating, drinking, and yakking, for those who are less than comfortable in social situations with big groups of strangers.

Old Town has some possibilities as well, though that gets crowded even during non Comic-Con weekends.

I'll let you know if I think of any other good spots.

[James of LinHood]

Elephant & Castle would probably work, and its proximity to the convention center is a nice benefit -- or perhaps not, if it ends up being crowded with convention-goers.  That particular stretch of the bay is not the most picturesque in the world, but it should get the job done.  I have the sneaking suspicion that I've been there of a drunken evening, and if it's the place I think it is, it's more pub than restaurant.  I'll try to swing by there sometime soon to check it out -- of course, we know how timely I am, so certainly don't wait on me.

I'll also give some thought to possible alternate locations.  Given this crowd, the first thing that springs to mind is Dave & Buster's.  There's no view to speak of (and I don't recall any outdoor seating either), but I seem to recall there being a big corral of tables that could easily be smooshed together for large parties.  It's in Mission Valley, still fairly close to downtown, but not close enough that there will be a ton of covnention folk clogging the joint up.  And there are other activities to engage in besides eating, drinking, and yakking, for those who are less than comfortable in social situations with big groups of strangers.

Dave & Buster's does sound like a pretty good spot.  But first let me know what you think of Elephant & Castle.  I think having the option to eat outside is kinda nice.  And having a place to eat that's close the comic-con could be nice for those attending it that weekend.  Anyway, once you check it out and give us your opinion we'll nail down a restaurant.

Once we nail down a restaurant I'll take a head count and probably make a reservation (assuming they take reservations).  Nothing would suck more than meeting there just to find the place packed.

[Peeeches]

I can't make it - I am going to ComiCon but only on Saturday (I'll be back in L.A. late Saturday night).

[Stacey]

I love the Elephant & Castle pub and think it would be a great place for a meet-up anytime except during Comic-Con. I vote for Dave & Buster's. (I'll be there either way.)

[James of LinHood]

Stacey and I were discussing the possible meet-up location in the chat room last night and settled on Elephant & Castle for the following reasons:

1.  It's within walking distance of the comic-con which wil save you comic-con attendees some money.  Dave & Busters is about 7 miles away and you'll need to drive to get there no matter what you're in town for.

2.  It's extremely easy to find.  You'd really have to be blind not to find it.  According to Stacey, Dave & Busters is a little more difficult to find and I want this meet-up to be as stress-free as possible for all of you.

3.  You get more food for your money at E&C when compared to Dave & Busters.

4.  It has an outdoor eating area.  I don't know about you but this is a plus for me.  Dave & Busters has no outdoor eating area.

Stacey, who is now my official sectretary for the Rifftrax meet-up, went ahead and made reservations for us at Elephant & Castle.  The reservations are for the outside area.  So, if any of you have a problem with that please let me know and we'll see what we can do about changing that.

So, as of right now, this is how the meet-up is looking:

Place:  Elephant & Castle
              Holiday Inn on the Bay
              1355 North Harbor Drive
              San Diego, CA 92101
Day: Sunday, July 27th, 2008.
Time: 1:00 PM

Let me know what you guys think!

[Steve-O]

My only concern is the crowding situation during Comic-con.  E&C is close to the Convention Center, and 1:00PM is close to lunchtime.  It might end up being wall-to-wall people, which would make it difficult to chat.  That's won't bother the many Asperger's Syndrome sufferers that will be in attendance, but for the rest of us it does sort of defeat the point of having a meet-up.

My wife -- a.k.a the brains of the operation -- wisely pointed out to me yesterday that D&B might be a little hard to get to.  I'm guessing that more than a few attendees might not be renting cars while they're in town, so we'd have to find some way to shuttle people from either the convention center or a trolley station.  So logistically, D&B is probably a bad idea.

Another possibility is Casa Guadalajara up in Old Town.  It has an outdoor patio, is far enough away from the convention to potentially be less jammed with people, and is a short, easy trolley ride away from Comic-Con.  Casa de Pico would also work nicely.

But if you just want to be done with it, I think E&C is most likely fine.  We may just have to find some way of clearing the patio so it's not so loud.  I recommend Monty Python quotes.

Stacey, who is now my official sectretary for the Rifftrax meet-up

Aw, man.  Made a secretary the day after Administrative Professionals day!  What a rip-off.  If I were you, I'd demand flowers and a cake and a gift card to Bed, Bath, & Beyond.