LTX Tips and Advice from people who went last year

[Elektra57]

Lodging:

 

We stayed at the Pinnacle Harbourfront last year. I was on vacation and I wanted a room with a view. It was nice and I could walk to the convention center and to most restaurants. It was easy to get taxis to anywhere else. They had an amazing breakfast that we had comped since they messed up our room. We would not have been able to afford it otherwise since it was 25$ a person. We got the harbourview room with a rollout bed. We had 3 people and honestly we were barely in our room. The pictures are deceiving and I was disappointed when we got there. It was older than the website made it look. I won't be staying here this year unless I get a better price. I am looking forward to hear where other people stayed. 

 

Food:

 

If you stay somewhere that you get free breakfast, load up. Eat as much as you can. You can avoid eating during the convention if you do that lol. More time for panels and booths. Bring a water bottle (lttstore.com or merch booth) 

 

Download "skip the dishes" it is like the Canadian Doordash. If you are looking for poutine I recommend Smokes Poutinerie it was delicious!

 

Spaghetti Factory was delicious and it is haunted. They give you a lot of food. 

 

Touristy things:

 

Honestly my Teen's favorite thing was the Sky train to LTT Studios. 

 

If you don't do anything else Granville Island is a must. Tons of fresh food and it is located in a beautiful location. 

 

Hop On Hop Off bus. It was a great way to see all of Vancouver and learn the history. It was 40$ a person but the ticket was good all day for two days. 

 

Electric boat tour: you could do this with a discount from the Hop on Hop off bus. I would do this again. It was a tiny boat that is fully electric. It was super cute. He took you around the harbour. You got to get up close and personal with the Floatplanes and learn the history of Vancouver's waterfront. The most interesting thing I learned was about Dead Man's Island, the naval base. It reminded me of Poveglia. 

 

Ghostly Vancouver: This is a walking tour. The guide walked very fast. His story telling was great. It was not scary at all. It was fun but I wouldn't do it again.

 

There was a lot we didn't get to see and do that I have on my list for this year. I want to go to Whistler, Grouse Mountain, and Capilano Suspension Bridge. 

 

Make sure you have a good camera. I took pics with some of my fave people and they came out so bad. Dennis even made the comment "that's bad", lol. Get a charging pack.

 

The LTT Office Tour:

 

I hope they offer this again. I had so much fun. It was worth it. I felt so bad for Linus. He was running back to back tours. There is no videoing allowed. You can take pics but no video or audio. Everyone was super nice. We were quiet in the work areas because people were working while we were there. We got to see all the sets and offices. The gaming lounge was super cool and seeing sets that you have seen on YouTube for years is surreal. Linus was thorough and at the end he tools pics with everyone and we got to ask him questions. It is very hard to find the office. We took the Sky Train and got off at the wrong stop. We took a taxi the rest of the way. We were lost in Surrey for a while. So make sure you give yourself a lot of time and know where you are going. 

 

The convention:

 

They line up early. The line to get into the convention was wrapped and long. I blew out my knee running through the airport so I stayed in the stage area and didn't miss a single panel, lol. The panels were amazing. James was an excellent Emcee. There wasn't a single panel that I didn't find interesting. My sister and son did the booths. The lines were too long for them to do a lot so I hope that is fixed this year. All the creators are super nice. Get to the merch booth early. That line never died down. Don't forget to enter the raffles at the different booths. They will draw for prizes. Make friends! I made a couple friends in the stage area that watched my seat for me. My son made friends in the free play area. He is an introvert but being around other introverts was great for him. 

 

LTX is worth it. Vancouver is a magical city. They care about the environment and everyone is super nice. I hope everyone else posts their recommendations, tips, and tricks. 

 

 

 

 

[Elektra57]

Here are some links:

 

Hop on hop off: https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/vancouver/24-hour-downtown-vancouver-hop-on-hop-off-tour-ticket_25743

 

Sky Train: https://www.translink.ca/Schedules-and-Maps/SkyTrain.aspx

 

Ghostly Vancouver: https://www.ghostlyvancouvertours.com/

 

Stanley Park: https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park.aspx

 

Vancouver Aquarium: https://www.vanaqua.org/?gclid=CjwKCAiA98TxBRBtEiwAVRLquyho24Wg51W0Ih5B3eMoclv2X7y0mQJflulJnQcpZL9ucZlyhOpu0hoC3dcQAvD_BwE

 

Capilano Suspension Bridge: https://www.capbridge.com/

 

Grouse Mountain: https://www.grousemountain.com/

 

Science World: https://www.scienceworld.ca/

 

Here are 25 FREE things to do in Vancouver: https://www.tourismvancouver.com/activities/free-almost-free/25-free-things-to-do/

[TheSwayzieExpress]

We stayed in Surrey last year and I figured I should post my experiences in case people are curious how feasible doing that is.

 

I ended up choosing Surrey because I'm a Marriott rewards member and the civic autograph collection hotel there is significantly cheaper than similar Marriotts in Vancouver. Surrey isn't the nicest city so I definitely cannot speak to other lodging. However, the Marriott is about 100ft from the skytrain rail. Which was super convenient and nice. At around $100 USD per night you get a ridiculously fancy room.

 

The skytrain is super nice, you buy a little plastic card for a dollar or two and then you load it with rides. The day pass seemed to be the best value from Surrey as it was unlimited for 10 dollars (CAD I think).

 

If you have a big pc/monitor I wouldn't recommend staying in Surrey as it's a 45 minute ride to waterfront by skytrain, unless you have access to a car. We drove up from the US last year so we drove our PCs into Vancouver and parked in the garage for LTX19 and used the skytrain for everything else (we visited for a week).

 

Surrey isn't the safest place, there is a lot of homeless/strung out people. They generally seemed to keep to themselves but I'm also 6'3' Army vet with a large beard so experiences may vary. I will say I always had my guard up when I walked around Surrey. On the morning walk to the train station you get to dodge puddles of vomit from the night prior so that's fun! There is an amazing Pho place located next to the skytrain station that I will definitely be going back to next year!  It's  called: Phở Tâm Vietnamese Restaurant.

[Dayglorange]

I volunteered and spent my Saturday at the con, Sunday working. Being a broke college student, I couldn't afford a hotel so I decided to pull an all-nighter in the BYOC...

 

DON'T. That was a mistake I was miserable most of Sunday, having been on my feet basically all day the previous day and with no real rest in between. I was lucky enough to be working the Gaming at Every Price Point booth, which was right next to Vertagear, who graciously let me lounge in their chairs the whole day.

 

So with that experience in mind, as much fun as I had last year, being miserable and dead on my feet wasn't the best idea and my drive home was not fun either. (I drove up from Washington)

 

I think I'm going to try and book a hotel this year, and will probably try to do the BYOC properly as I only brought my laptop last year which isn't meant for gaming and I've since upgraded my desktop to something I feel actually proud to show off, however its still a chonker and carrying it down the stairs in my house is terrifying...just the prospect of moving this thing around is why I didn't bring it last and opted for the laptop instead. I'm also definitely driving up again, as I'm only about a 2-hour drive away and that's the cheapest and easiest option for me. Assuming I have the funds, I plan to do it properly this year and not try to run on nothing but coffee and prayers on Sunday lol

 

If you're like me, and you're coming on your own, and really don't need a hotel for much more than sleep and a place to change clothes, the Panda Pod hotel looks like a good deal. I think I'm going to book one of those this time around, so when I get tired of playing around at the BYOC at like 4am I can go snooze and actually feel like a human again for the second day. I also plan to volunteer, and if that's an option for you I also highly recommend it! Volunteering last year was awesome, and having volunteered for other conventions in the past like PAX I'd have to say this has been my favorite to work so far.

[Elektra57]

Panda Pod Hotel: https://lmg.gg/ltx20panda single pod per night for $59 CAD + tax. With deal from LTX.

[Dayglorange]

WELP that plan might not work after all for me

Quote

As per manufacturer specifications, all sleeping pods have a maximum weight capacity of 220lb/100kg; for safety and health of our guests, only one person not exceeding 220lb/100kg is allowed per pod at all times.

I am not within the weight limit for the stupid Panda Pods...sooo not the best idea if you're on the bigger side like I am, I guess. Looks like I'll have to figure something else out.

[Spartan256]

A few recommendations from my trip last year:

 

Do the LTT Studio tour if you can. Make sure you get there with plenty of time. As OP said you can get Skytrain half way there if you are coming from downtown. I got off at King George station, was planning on then getting the bus. But its better to get a taxi's, they are right outside the station and quicker. When you get to the Studio and have a bit of time you can chill with the other people doing the tours. 

If you are staying downtown and get up early go to Jam Cafe, it opens at 8am but queues start at 7:30am. But the wait is worth it as the food is amazing. 

Walk/bike around the sea wall around false creek. If you want to bike you can use the Vancouver's mobi bikes and you can stop and the many bike stations. 
Make sure you stop at Granville Island, there are a few shops and a market with plenty of food options, you could easily spend a couple of hours here, 

There are also little ferries which will take you to different parts of false creek. 

Take a walk around Stanley Park