I looked at the website today, because it piqued my interest after having so much fun at Fanime. It looks like it would be really fun to go and I would fking love to but I probably can't for several reasons.
- It's Friday through Monday like Fanime, so I have to take time off (ridiculously higher paying compared to my previous jobs) work to travel to LA to attend more or all of the days, otherwise miss some of them.
- Driving to LA takes a lot of time and energy that cuts into either AX or work depending which one I decide to spend less time on, and I wouldn't drive myself either so the time would be subject to the preference of whoever is the driver (I think I may have bay area friends going down). I can save more time if I fly to LA but fares around that time are probably crazy.
- Hotels are also gonna be booked out or sky high prices, further adding to expenses.
- It's fking $90 for a 4 day pass right now and I feel like since the end of May barely passed it was probably somewhat cheaper if I acted a few days earlier. I won't get as much value if I attend fewer days, so it'd be better to attend more except the reasons above still apply.
I'd say it would be reasonable to leave LA Monday afternoon and get back home that night, but knowing holiday traffic on my way back to school after Fanime (LA and mountains jammed at 8 through 11 PM) the drive is more likely to take 9-10 hours. As for departure, leaving on a Thursday night would make me completely miss work on Friday, leaving on Friday night would make me completely miss one day of AX, and anything in between is partial.
Chances are I would be fine saving myself the money and hassle (attending Fanime cost me over $300) for another con like Sacanime which I heard is also in the summer, and closer to the Bay Area.