We landed at LAX Tuesday evening before the convention. The flight was less than half full, so although I did watch all of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms plus two movies, I also was able to stretch out across three empty seats and get a few hours of sleep. It also meant the lines were quick, and our suitcases didn’t take too long – we were on the Metro to Anaheim less than an hour after landing!

We took the Metro from the shiny new transit center, which was still being built when we were there in 2024 for Gally, and then a bus from Norwalk. It took about an hour longer than a taxi would have, but we are transit sickos, as John puts it. It was also around $98 cheaper, and the stretch between the bus stop and the hotel had a bunch of places to grab dinner. Obviously we chose Mexican, a small local chain called Sabrosada – which we returned to several times – it was the perfect start to the trip.

Once at the hotel we got our keys and although we did spot some familiar faces in the lobby, chose to go drop the luggage off first. I unpacked, freshed up a bit, and went down to see who was around.

The lobby of the Hilton was a great convention social space, primarily the round bar right by the elevator banks, surrounded on three sides by seating – some fairly open and some more tucked away. This was flanked by two large escalators leading to the second floor, where the ballrooms and convention registration were located. There was also additional space to sit near hotel reception and quieter spots here and there.

For food there was the restaurant (which we never visited), a small deli-style shop to buy convenient (if expensive) food and drink when things were busy, and a handful of fast food options in the food hall on the way to the convention center entrance, plus of course the inevitable Starbucks.

On the first night all I saw was the bar area though, where I spent a happy hour catching up with Kevin Roche and Andy Trembley. I considered this a good start to the week and was in bed before midnight.