[CurseOfTheLeek]

Leaving for the con a day early is probably one of the best ideas I've ever had, so I've been going on Thursday for a few years now.
I was wondering, has anyone ever stayed Sunday night? Was it a good experience, or was it too depressing for words trying to outlast the exodus of ACen goers?

[magishine]

I stayed Sunday night one year. It's not bad if you've got other people staying with you. But it's very boring otherwise. You can either go out into the city to have fun or stay in and watch TV all night. We went all over Chicago that night so it was fun. I can't imagine it's too fun at the hotel though

[MsLovelyCookie]

For 2 years I have stayed Sunday Night. The first time it was me and 2 other girls so we each got to sleep in and went out to eat a nice breakfast together. We had all the time to pack up our bags and figure out how to fit everything that we had. This year was fun, there was always something going on. The guys brought their video games, cable TV to watch, and reading manga. On Sunday we saw everything from out of the 7th floor window, we were face towards the the convention center so we got to see everyone else pack up their things and leave. Plus we watched it rain, it was assume, day or night we were all acting like 5 year old. I saw how the hotel crew cleaned up after Acen weekend, garbage, pizza boxes, beer bottle, glow sticks, you name it it was outside in the halls. I ended up making a video with Glow Sticks , took me awhile to figure out the camera. It is how we spent most of the night at the hotel room, playing with glow sticks.

Staying Sunday Night is a great experience depending on who you are with and what you guys have. Plus there is no rush of packing everything and hoping that you didn't forget anything while trying to get out the door before 12pm.

[GITS SAC Motoko]

Yeah that morning rush is craaaaaazy especially if you stayed up ALL NIGHT....like me..... O_o. (too many energy drinks haha). I think it would be a good idea, but again like people have said I bet it's boring at the hotel because no one is there...but the city is SUPER awesome and so fun to hang out in....the CTA blue line is right there in Rosemont. I'd like to stay Sunday one day I think it would be fun and a day well spent if you asked me. And no rush! If you can do it and afford it, I'd say go for it!

[STVO]

I don't think it would be the worst idea, but I personally don't want to throw down the money for it. In my revised words of Jimmy McMillan "Hotel rate is too d@8n high!!!!" (Not sure if "damn" is censored on the forum. ) I mean if you have friends to hang out with that day/night, don't have work or can afford work off, then perhaps. Like others mentioned, you have the city to go to, you can drop by Mitsuwa after ACen closes, etc. If you're coming from out-of-state, I might recommend it so long as you can afford it, but if you're like me and live in the suburbs or Chicago, I don't really recommend it.

Thursday night is better in my personal opinion as there seems to be more people either coming out of town or just excited to start ACen that lots of pre-ACen activities begin. Plenty of Meet-N-Greets, Midnight Showings of whatever movie is coming out (this year it was Pirates, no idea next year, Batman?), and just all sorts of "let's get this party started" mentality. I went Thursday for the first time in my 8 ACen spree and I'll have to say it's going to be a welcome change in my future convention attending ways.

[Dark Spellmaster]

I would only recomend staying sunday if: 1. You can afford the extra night. 2. You're from out of town or live a farther drive. 3. Have a bad hang over and can't make it out. Other then that...staying on sunday seems okay but more then likely you'll be throwing money down the drain. Thrusday I can see.

[Stormy-chan]

My group are from Ohio(6hrish drive) so we enjoy avoiding the rush of check out, and the quiet time after the all the con peoples clear out, lol With our group the added cost is not so much, so staying Sunday is a great time to relax and prepare for a rested start out Monday morning after a good breakfast

[YoungBirdcall]

Thursday night is the way to go... That's how I met STVO! Honestly, even if I didn't have to work on Monday mornings, I probably wouldn't stay overnight on Sunday. Then again, I live in Chicago, so I am a bit biased. If you're from out-of-town, staying through Monday could be a lot of fun. Like others stated before me, Sunday could be used to explore areas of Chicago that you didn't get to see because you were too busy having an awesome time at ACen.

[Valkyrie]

As others have said, staying Sunday night is a good idea if you're from well out of town. Not everyone does this, even on staff, but it is a handy fallback option if you simply don't want to try to leave Rosemont on Sunday. (Especially if you're driving and have a long way to go...and if you know for a fact that you'll be tired beyond reason.)

Personally, thus far, I've never stayed at any con Sunday night - the furthest I've driven for a con is about 3.5 hours, give or take, and I always manage to get home sometime that night. For ACen, I live less than an hour from Rosemont, so I've never had a reason to stay the night. ^^

[Otaku Otoko]

I have been showing up Thursday and leaving Sunday for the past 3 to 4 years out of the 9 ACens I have been to. Thurday is great. You can get to the hotel, sort your room, not have to worry about rushing to put on your cosplays (if you cosplay) and you can have a restful night before a long weekend. You can also meet plenty of other con goers that show up early or you could even volunteer to help con staff setup even. As for Sundays... I will warn you. It is depressing. Going from a hotel filled with a possible 20k+ people to 100 is a bit of a shocking sad wow factor. But you do get to see how the hotel looks during non-con times (they have a lot more furniture in the lobby) and you do get to sit back and rest. My group travels in from eastern Indiana/western Ohio so we have anywhere from a 3 to 5 hour trip to get home, and we lose an hour traveling back into the eastern time zone. It does cost money to stay for what most con goers would consider nothing but over all the rest and peacefulness after the con is worth it to me.

Also did I mention that you could meet any con guest that linger behind on Sunday without IRT security? Thats how I got to take pictures with High and Mighty Color a few years back since IRT and the record studio said no pictures at the con.

[Sir Gibby]

I agree with everyone here; if you're an out of towner then by all means, stay the extra day and see the sights! But if you're from Chicago like me and a few others from this thread are, then staying Sunday night through Monday is just depressing, 'cuz ACen is gone at that point.

[Femme Fatale]

Of all the past Acen's I've attended, I've never stayed on a Sunday. There's really nothing to do on the day Acen closes, except for maybe going out to dinner with friends later, but I see no need to stay an extra day and leave on Monday...the day I and perhaps others go back to work or school.

[dorkatlarge]

For ACen 2011, I left work on Thursday and headed right to the con site to get my badge, since I had time before the evening meet-and-greet events. Waiting in line was a chore, but meeting other con attendees at IHOP in Rosemont (just a couple miles from the con site) really made up for that. That's one good reason to arrive in Chicago on Thursday afternoon/evening.

I've used my vacation time to visit other cities, attend cons, and do sightseeing both before and after events. The most recent time I did that was Seattle in 2010... I didn't enjoy Penny Arcade Expo very much (imagine a weekend surrounded by /v/ trolls), but getting to see the city was a great experience. Just make sure you can afford your hotel(s); and if you need public transportation, make sure the hotel is close.