How do I plan a trip to the Olympics?
May 9, 2007 6:26 AM Subscribe
I want to see the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in person. How early can/should I book a hotel room and plane tickets and event tickets? What do I need to think about in advance? How do I do this?
It looks like CoSport is the ticket seller. They're still going through the Beijing 2008 ticket process, but I would guess the relative timeline would be the same for 2010. It looks like the requests start about 18 months in advance.
posted by smackfu at 6:50 AM on May 9, 2007
posted by smackfu at 6:50 AM on May 9, 2007
Response by poster: Yeah, I read the website, but something about this strikes me as odd. A big part of me assumes getting a room and a plane is going to be a problem, and just sitting and waiting until after next summer makes me feel nervous. Has anyone done this before? Flown several thousand miles for the sole purpose of seeing the Olympics? I want to make sure I do it right.
posted by Plutor at 7:01 AM on May 9, 2007
posted by Plutor at 7:01 AM on May 9, 2007
I know most airlines and hotels wouldn't make reservations earlier than a year to 18 months prior to travel. I'm guessing that hasn't changed? Unfortunately, I think you are just going to have to wait for a while till more information becomes available. In the meantime, join all the mailing lists (the official olympics list, cosoprt, sportstravel.net, etc.).
I know plenty of people who have flown thousands of miles just to see the olympics. None of them ever had problems w/flights and stuff. Come to think of it, I'll bet it is pretty safe to assume that most spectators at the olympics have come from thousands of miles away for no other reason than to see the olympics.
posted by necessitas at 7:44 AM on May 9, 2007
I know plenty of people who have flown thousands of miles just to see the olympics. None of them ever had problems w/flights and stuff. Come to think of it, I'll bet it is pretty safe to assume that most spectators at the olympics have come from thousands of miles away for no other reason than to see the olympics.
posted by necessitas at 7:44 AM on May 9, 2007
I live in Vancouver. From what I've seen in the paper, none of the local hotels is taking reservations yet.
posted by acoutu at 8:02 AM on May 9, 2007
posted by acoutu at 8:02 AM on May 9, 2007
Response by poster: I didn't really mean "has anyone ever done this before". I was sure lots of people have. I meant "please raise your hand and tell me what you learned if you've done this before".
posted by Plutor at 8:52 AM on May 9, 2007
posted by Plutor at 8:52 AM on May 9, 2007
Best answer: I went to Atlanta '96. While there are a ton of little tips and tricks I could tell you (Coke - they Olympic beverage sponsor - handles ALL beverage concessions and charged $4 for a bottle of water in 1996; I can only imagine that it will be $10 in 2010. While this will be less of an issue during the winter, make sure to pack your own provisions or you will blow your whole wad on food in less than a day) what it really all comes down to is this:
The corporate sponsors set up pavillions that have couches, TVs, coffee, some SPACE away from the crowds, A/C (again, in your case, heat), bathrooms, water, and other things that you are going to become desperate for by day 3. The key to surviving the Olympics is getting passes to one of these pavillions; and multiple ones if you can swing it.
Generally what happens is that the corporate sponsors will allot a certain number and it will almost certainly be more than they can use. So you need exercise every connection you've ever even remotely made at Coke, Kodak, McDonald's, and any other sponsor. What happens is your buddy at the company just puts in for badges (which as an employee he should get no questions asked), passes them on to you in return for a reasonable and - key! - pre-determined fee. Be resourceful; we ended up getting passes to the pavillion of a bus company that was about as minor a sponsor as you could possibly imagine but having access to that space was a GODSEND, and it was still a pretty nice place (though I heard Shagri-La like rumors of what lay beyond the gates at the Coke tent) with free beverages, broadcasts of all the events (they tape every event but only have time to broadcast some. But they do put the feeds to EVERY EVENT out on CCTV) so if you have access to someone with access to those feeds, you can chill during the down-time between your tickets and watch 40 different events going on at once. Also they had hammocks set up, lots of couches, etc. etc. etc.
Anyway, I ramble, but that is the BIG key to surviving the Olympics - get access to a corporate pavilion.
Ok, one more: book your hotel at the last stop on the train line. Not only will it be cheaper and less of a hassle to book than closer accomodations, but the real key is that every morning on your way into the city you will be garaunteed a seat, since you will be getting on at the first stop, and every night on the way home you can sit for at least part of the ride, as odds are the train will clear out pretty quickly (the FOOLS who WAY overpaid for rooms close to the venues. FOOLS!) Again, this also affords you some space from the Madding Crowds, which are oppressive beyond your wildest imagination.
(PS Some of this might have been Atlanta-specific, as after the bombing a bunch of ad-hoc and pretty half-assed security measures got put in place that made life MUCH more difficult.)
posted by ChasFile at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]
The corporate sponsors set up pavillions that have couches, TVs, coffee, some SPACE away from the crowds, A/C (again, in your case, heat), bathrooms, water, and other things that you are going to become desperate for by day 3. The key to surviving the Olympics is getting passes to one of these pavillions; and multiple ones if you can swing it.
Generally what happens is that the corporate sponsors will allot a certain number and it will almost certainly be more than they can use. So you need exercise every connection you've ever even remotely made at Coke, Kodak, McDonald's, and any other sponsor. What happens is your buddy at the company just puts in for badges (which as an employee he should get no questions asked), passes them on to you in return for a reasonable and - key! - pre-determined fee. Be resourceful; we ended up getting passes to the pavillion of a bus company that was about as minor a sponsor as you could possibly imagine but having access to that space was a GODSEND, and it was still a pretty nice place (though I heard Shagri-La like rumors of what lay beyond the gates at the Coke tent) with free beverages, broadcasts of all the events (they tape every event but only have time to broadcast some. But they do put the feeds to EVERY EVENT out on CCTV) so if you have access to someone with access to those feeds, you can chill during the down-time between your tickets and watch 40 different events going on at once. Also they had hammocks set up, lots of couches, etc. etc. etc.
Anyway, I ramble, but that is the BIG key to surviving the Olympics - get access to a corporate pavilion.
Ok, one more: book your hotel at the last stop on the train line. Not only will it be cheaper and less of a hassle to book than closer accomodations, but the real key is that every morning on your way into the city you will be garaunteed a seat, since you will be getting on at the first stop, and every night on the way home you can sit for at least part of the ride, as odds are the train will clear out pretty quickly (the FOOLS who WAY overpaid for rooms close to the venues. FOOLS!) Again, this also affords you some space from the Madding Crowds, which are oppressive beyond your wildest imagination.
(PS Some of this might have been Atlanta-specific, as after the bombing a bunch of ad-hoc and pretty half-assed security measures got put in place that made life MUCH more difficult.)
posted by ChasFile at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: See, that's the kind of in-the-know I was looking for. I probably could have composed this question better, but thanks, ChasFile.
posted by Plutor at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2007
posted by Plutor at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by necessitas at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2007 [1 favorite]