bobquasit | Arisia: A Guide

I wrote this as a way-too-long comment over in

arisia. I ended up putting enough work into it to want my own copy here. Can you tell that I'm in the throes of Arisia Fever?

But I'll spare my flist by putting in a cut.

Yet another thing I forgot to mention: the invisible floor. Some people find it odd that there's a secret floor between the Mezz and Four.

Just for clarity, here's the layout:

Lobby: Ground floor. People circulate here, and there's a staircase down to another big room where they do the Goth Beach thing and possibly other events (it's also where the costumers prepare their costumes for the Masquerade), but there aren't any events scheduled for the Lobby. This is where you check in for the hotel, if you're staying there). It's also where you're most likely to run into mundanes.

There's also a good, medium-priced restaurant in the lobby called "The Swans" - or at least, that's what it was called for the last few years. They have decent hotel food (the same that you'd get by calling Room Service), and they serve a good all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet in the mornings - pricey, but worth it. There are a few other restaurants in the hotel, and you can pick up a guide to local restaurants at the information desk.

Mezz (anine): A wide balcony above and around the perimeter of the lobby. There are a pair of wide stairs that connect the lobby and the mezz. On this floor you'll also find the Imperial Ballroom (where the Masquerade is held on Saturday night, as well as other major events throughout the con), the Art Room, the Film Room, usually the Anime Room, the Dealer's Room, and Stanbro, which used to be the Game Room in past years but is now something else (I don't know what). You'll also find the Arisia Information desk, the Gopher Hole, Con Registration, Security, public bathrooms, telephone booths, and a couple of small doors leading to stairs up. Oh, and of course elevator banks. The elevators are usually impossible; things get bad quickly, when people start crowding onto the elevators going down in order to go up (i.e. "Down to go up!"). That's why you need to know about the stairs.

Third Floor: There Is No Third Floor. Actually, it's for hotel staff only. You can walk through it (follow the signs) to get to the fourth floor if you're taking the stairs, but the regular elevators don't stop there.

Fourth Floor: Normally this is where panels are held, along with (this year) the game room(s) - I think. Don't talk to gamers about this issue, though. We're all Very Upset.

Fifth Floor: Dealer's Row. Round-the-clock hucksterism. Ah, the fun.

I hope I got everything right. Do yourself a favor, if you can; set some time aside to just wander around and explore. It's SO much fun!