FantastiCon - 16 August 2014, Hull

Darren Grey

Darren Grey
NEW: We have an event web-site! http://www.fantasticon.co.uk

On 16th August in Hull Fantastic Books Publishing will be hosting FantastiCon, a one-day event to celebrate the launch of the Elite fiction being published by FBP. This will also be an Elite community event, with many of the community stars appearing and what is bound to be a terrific night of excitement as we approach the public release of Elite: Dangerous.

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Ticket Purchase page

If you backed our audiobook Kickstarter at £25 or above then you already have a ticket! If you backed at £50 or above, or you backed £25 and you backed other Elite projects in the past, then you already have a golden ticket! We'll be confirming Kickstarter attendee details soon...

The event will be held in the Royal Mercure Hotel in Hull on 16th August. It will very specifically be held in the Royal Suite and the Jameson Room (yes, there's a Jameson room - and it has a bar in it). Golden ticket access will be from 11am, regular ticket access from 1pm. There is a 24 hour bar so it can go on as late as we like :)

Features of the event:
- Elite: Dangerous on the Oculus Rift and TrackIR and on a big screen with 3D glasses
- Numerous official Elite authors (Drew Wagar, Allen Stroud, Kate Russell, etc)
- Goodies from Frontier (if they're nice to us - but they're always nice :) )
- Dave 'Selezen' Hughes DMing the Elite Encounters RPG
- Book readings, signings, interviews, and closer access than you're comfortable with
- Raffle for the last special edition fiction boxset and other Elite goodies
- Skype-ins from remote authors around the world
- Cake

If you have anything you want to contribute then get in touch! We have a lot of space and much of what we're presenting is fan-organised. EliteMeet and LaveCon in the past have both benefited hugely from fan contributions and we want to see that again.

We'll also be trying to get on board Gollancz and Frontier to promote as much Elite goodness as possible.

Note that there's also LaveCon on 5/6 July and the unofficial launch party some time later in the year. We'll be do our best to work with them rather than clashing, and I personally intend to attend everything :D

This post will be updated as further details are confirmed!

WATCH THE TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAwFEB61FrY

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Darren Grey

Darren Grey
Incidentally, here's what the suite looks like:

wUdU60k.jpg

Rather nice I'm sure you'll agree :)

The best hotel to stay in is the Royal Mercure itself, and we've negotiated a special convention rate of £25 per person per night B&B. Ring up the hotel and say you're with the FantastiCon event to claim this special rate!

I'll be staying the Friday and Saturday, and I know a few others are planning the same and may be up for a few drinks the night before. We'll sort out such details later... The hotel itself has a 24 hour bar (which may be part of the reason we chose this venue in particular...)

For now be sure you have a ticket and the date marked in your diary :D

Edit: And here's some great local info from local man cassius!

cassius said:
Arriving in Hull
Train & Bus - Arriving by train or bus is by far the easiest option, as the hotel is a stones throw from them both.

Car - If you're arriving by car and staying in a hotel, they all have parking as far as i'm aware. Whether they have limited numbers i'm unsure. If you're just there for the day, there are a couple of large multi-stories nearby, as well as the train station car park. Have a look on Parkopedia, but theres a relatively big one at the St. Stephens shopping centre across the road.

Ferry - The docks are a bit far unless you don't mind a good walk. A taxi would be a better bet, and would probably be between £5-10.

Air - Voyager_NL mentioned flying into Leeds or Manchester. While this is certainly an option, the closest airport is actually Humberside (about half an hour drive). They're not a huge airport but do have regular connections through Amsterdam with KLM i believe. It'll certainly be possible to get a taxi from there, but i imagine it'll cost £30+.

For the ferry and airport, depending on numbers, timing and other duties, i might be able to run a bit of a shuttle service... so long as you don't mind a three-door Polo :D

Hotels
Royal Hotel - As Darren mentioned, the venue is a hotel and will make life a lot easier if you're staying there.

Depending on budget and availablity however, there are other options:

Holiday Inn Express and Travelodge - There is a Holiday Inn Express joined onto the St Stephens shopping centre and offer reduced parking rates in the multi-storey (£7 for 24 hours i believe) if you're staying there. The Holiday Inn is a tiny bit closer but both these hotels are pretty much five minute walk direct to the venue.

There is also a Premier Inn, but this is about a 15-20 minute walk away. If you stay there it'll probably be best to use a taxi.

Taxi's
Like any city there are a lot of taxi services in Hull. You're best to pre-book them, and some useful numbers are:

01482 606060
01482 828282
01482 353535

The Royal Hotel also has a black cab taxi rank right outside. They're very handy for the venue, bus station and train station, and there'll always be one there, but you'll pay a couple of quid more for these.

Hope this helps! If there's any questions give me a shout :)
Click to expand...
 
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Ian Phillips

Volunteer Moderator
Ian Phillips
Anyone from Holland planning to go?

I believe there is a ferry from Rotterdam direct to the hotel door (well almost -to Hull docks at least).
 

Voyager_NL

Voyager_NL
Ian Phillips said:
Anyone from Holland planning to go?

I believe there is a ferry from Rotterdam direct to the hotel door (well almost -to Hull docks at least).
Click to expand...

I just checked that Ferry out Ian... It's an overnight ferry, 11 hours of boating. You need to get a cabin to sleep (it only goes at around 21:00 and back at 20:30. It's about 450,-EUR per person! It includes some food.

I checked Easyjet but they don't land in Leeds (closest airfield). There's a BA flight for little under 250,-EUR per person. Easyjet comes as xlose as Manchester.

Driving from Rotterdam and taking the train under The Canal is 780KM and wil still take you half a day getting there. About just as long as the ferry but much more tiring. A bit cheaper than the ferry though.

This is either going to be a very expensive bookset or.. I just might go to LaveCon as you suggested a while back to me ;)
 

Cody

Cody
Voyager_NL said:
Driving from Rotterdam and taking the train under The Canal is 780KM and wil still take you half a day getting there.
Click to expand...
Check out the Stena Lines Hook to Harwich ferry - it'd put you much closer to Hull, and cost less (I think).
 

Voyager_NL

Voyager_NL
Voyager_NL said:
I just checked that Ferry out Ian... It's an overnight ferry, 11 hours of boating. You need to get a cabin to sleep (it only goes at around 21:00 and back at 20:30. It's about 450,-EUR per person! It includes some food.
Click to expand...

Just found out why this was so expensive... I opted to take the car with me ... without it it is much more affordable. About 150,-EUR for 2 persons. You'll be going by foot then.
So .. confirmation required that the Hull harbor is close enough to the venue please!
 

Sir.Tj

The Moderator who shall not be Blamed....
Volunteer Moderator
Sir.Tj
Voyager_NL said:
Just found out why this was so expensive... I opted to take the car with me ... without it it is much more affordable. About 150,-EUR for 2 persons. You'll be going by foot then.
So .. confirmation required that the Hull harbor is close enough to the venue please!
Click to expand...

Looks to be quite close, 20-30 min walk. or about 4-5km

Google Maps Link
 

Evenstar

Evenstar
Timing is . . . . . . . everything.

Curses!! Backed high to get my golden ticket (and the books of course!) only to find that it's held on the day I fly to France :(

Not sure I'd survive if I told the missus that I'll be flying out a day late...

Have fun guys!
 

cassius

cassius
Darren, i can make myself available for any set up/dogsbody/gopher duties etc as well. PM me if you need anything :D

I'm local so heres some info for people if they're wondering:

Arriving in Hull
Train & Bus - Arriving by train or bus is by far the easiest option, as the hotel is a stones throw from them both.

Car - If you're arriving by car and staying in a hotel, they all have parking as far as i'm aware. Whether they have limited numbers i'm unsure. If you're just there for the day, there are a couple of large multi-stories nearby, as well as the train station car park. Have a look on Parkopedia, but theres a relatively big one at the St. Stephens shopping centre across the road.

Ferry - The docks are a bit far unless you don't mind a good walk. A taxi would be a better bet, and would probably be between £5-10.

Air - Voyager_NL mentioned flying into Leeds or Manchester. While this is certainly an option, the closest airport is actually Humberside (about half an hour drive). They're not a huge airport but do have regular connections through Amsterdam with KLM i believe. It'll certainly be possible to get a taxi from there, but i imagine it'll cost £30+.

For the ferry and airport, depending on numbers, timing and other duties, i might be able to run a bit of a shuttle service... so long as you don't mind a three-door Polo :D

Hotels
Royal Hotel - As Darren mentioned, the venue is a hotel and will make life a lot easier if you're staying there.

Depending on budget and availablity however, there are other options:

Holiday Inn Express and Travelodge - There is a Holiday Inn Express joined onto the St Stephens shopping centre and offer reduced parking rates in the multi-storey (£7 for 24 hours i believe) if you're staying there. The Holiday Inn is a tiny bit closer but both these hotels are pretty much five minute walk direct to the venue.

There is also:

The Premier Inn, but this is about a 15-20 minute walk away. If you stay there it'll probably be best to use a taxi.

The Holiday Inn Hull Marina which is about 10 minutes walk.

The Ibis which is also a very short 5 minute walk away.

Taxi's
Like any city there are a lot of taxi services in Hull. You're best to pre-book them, and some useful numbers are:

01482 606060
01482 828282
01482 353535

The Royal Hotel also has a black cab taxi rank right outside. They're very handy for the venue, bus station and train station, and there'll always be one there, but you'll pay a couple of quid more for these.

Hope this helps! If theres any questions give me a shout :)
 
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Kroy

Kroy
Would love to join, but I have family commitments that wouldn't be at all wise to try and wrangle out of ;-)

Looks like a great event and I'm jealous of everyone who makes this, and hopefully see you all at the next one.

There's a joke... there, I heard once something like:

A member of the Federation of Elite Pilots walks in to the bar and says "I hate these family reunions".

I probably butchered it.
 

Jacksy

Jacksy
Voyager_NL said:
Just found out why this was so expensive... I opted to take the car with me ... without it it is much more affordable. About 150,-EUR for 2 persons. You'll be going by foot then.
So .. confirmation required that the Hull harbor is close enough to the venue please!
Click to expand...

It is very close literally a 5-10 min car journey depending on traffic. I understand Humberside(very much closer than Leeds) airport has links with Amsterdam airport.

edit:i see one of my fellow Hullensians has supplied more detailed info
 
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Voyager_NL

Voyager_NL
Thanks everyone for the update on Hull.

I'm discussing it with a fellow Elite-ist on how to get there and when to leave.
 

Frank

Frank
I'm a wee bit confused here. I backed the audiobooks at the £35 mark so I should hopefully have a ticket. Do I need to confirm that I'm coming on FaceBook?

If you still need to sort that out then could you please set up some other method than FaceBook. I doubt I'm the only person that intends to go that doesn't have an account with them.
 

cassius

cassius
Frank said:
I'm a wee bit confused here. I backed the audiobooks at the £35 mark so I should hopefully have a ticket. Do I need to confirm that I'm coming on FaceBook?

If you still need to sort that out then could you please set up some other method than FaceBook. I doubt I'm the only person that intends to go that doesn't have an account with them.
Click to expand...

I believe Dan will be sending a KS update email out sometime soon with ticket details... keep an eye on your inbox :)
 
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