I should also probably confirm / double check -- I'm talking about the actual studios, not the theme park. But they're all/both in Universal City, right?

They are the same thing. The theme park includes a tram ride that takes you through the studio back lot.

Hey all. I'm planning a F2F for Bronzers in New Orleans in May, and it will be similar in number of attendees/style of the Burbank F2F.

I really need some good constructive criticism on the party so I can fix what broke, improve, and keep what worked well. I have no objective ctiticism abilities on my own shit, I can only see my tired face and grouchy 'tude from getting up too early on Saturday and wanting so bad to swim with everyone and forget about my responsibilities. Which, you know, fixable.

I can't remember anything else except putting glow sticks in vases and being sad that I didn't have enough yummy desserts on the tables.

Allyson, one thing I'd definitely recommend is buffet-style food in one place rather than caterers moving around with trays.

The food sitch is funny. I remember thinking at the LA-F2F (which had a buffet-style setup) that there was too much food. It seemed like a waste. But not enough food would also have been a bad thing. So I have nothing useful to add

Oh - Definitely don't have the bar away from the main room. Though I don't think that'll be a problem in NO.

Also, that main room for us at the LA F2F was too crowdeded. I know bigger rooms probably cost more, but there's something to think about, too.

A lot of places down there have courtyards for cheap (cheaper than a room)- you could look into that.

Hey folks. We now have our field narrowed to four cities.

New Orleans, Toronto, Minneapolis, and Kansas City.

Now the real work begins. Java has made a nice RFP that we can send out to the tourism bureaus in the cities and to hotels. Each of those cities has a person that stepped up to be a point person.

This is the time to start looking at actual costs and transportation and all of those fun things. So, I'd like us to start contacting hotels and finding out group rates, people can start to look into airfares, sightseeing activities, public transportation options, etc. etc.

I'd really like all of this stuff to include links and/or phone numbers if at all possible.

We've still got a lot of work to do, but soon we will have our F2F City and hotel chosen!

Thanks for doing the housekeeping with the selection, y'all.

I'll go back to kibbutzing on the side, since Austin/SA didn't make the cut.

It was my second choice! Next time I get down there to see my sister or her boyfriend's band we'll give you a call.

No problem at all, it was my second choice, too, after all. YAY, N'awlins!!!

I just don't know how much I'll have to contribute to the discussion for the other sites, so I'm going all lurky again.

Love to see you when you come down here, though, if we can work it out.