Ever been to a drum corps show alone?

[NeutralNovice]

I'm thinking about going to San Antonio for the show there in July. Since it's kind of a last minute idea and expensive, I probably will be coming alone and maybe even meeting up with a friend who now lives in SAT. Has anyone ever made a far trek to a show alone?

I guess I'm a bit nervous because I usually have someone with me. Oh and it'd be my first time flying in a regional jet... one of them small ones LOL.

Edited June 27, 2013 by NeutralNovice

[ordsw24]

FWIW I love flying on regional jets.

If you have to gate check a roller-board, it comes up plane-side instead of at baggage claim (bags checked at the podium still go to baggage claim). Also, every seat is a window or an aisle on most of the RJs I've flown on, and I esp. like the a/c that are 2-1 configuration. Also, boarding and deplaning is a lot faster, and the whole flying experience just feels like less of a hassle. The bigger aircraft FAs seem to make so many more announcements during boarding that can feel rather nagging. RJ flights just seem like less fuss and drama and the passengers seem less keyed up -- this is my experience anyway. Also, with FA turnover at the regional jet companies fairly high, the FAs are usually pretty new and still nice (not jaded yet). Also, the newer RJ a/c are quieter and roomier than older a/c.

As to your other issue, I would enjoy the trip and not worry about being alone, esp. if you are going to meet someone in SA. People travel alone all the time, eat alone in restaurants, and even go to movies alone. I travel for work, and have to eat alone all the time, and it's a total non-issue for me now (it was a bit odd at first I'll admit). I'm so used to it now, it's second nature.

Enjoy and have fun!!

Edited June 27, 2013 by ordsw24

[CrunchyTenor]

I almost made a similar trek a couple of years ago. I also hve a friend in SA, and she had an extra ticket. Since I have flight privileges (I'm married to an airline) it would have been really inexpensive to fly. But because pass flying is space available (aka, stand by), I chose not to go. The flights from LAS to DEN looked pretty good, but service to SAT from DEN and back is on a regional. Less seats=less opportunites to pass fly and more opportunities to get bumped by a revenue PAX.

If you are positive space, why not? You'll have a blast!

Garry in Vegas

[NeutralNovice]

lol now this has me thinking of just heading to Indy for Prelims since it lands on my RDOs from work. It would be great to get to see all the corps at their best! Also, I am going to guess that the person who lives in SAT will probably not want to or be able to go to the show there so I'd be alone for the most part since my visit would be solely for drum corps and nothing else.

I checked for prices online and found this:

Using my United points from SFO>IND

I would fly to ORD then have a 6-hour layover until I board a regional jet to IND. (This particular flight is the only one with a Saver Seat fair @ 12,500pts--Return flight is 25k points so 37,500 pts overall)

Since I technically won't be arriving until Thursday morning, the day of the prelims, I'd only have to book 1 night at a nice hotel for $140, Prelim ticket @ ~70, then shuttle to and from airport and hotel @ ~25.

So this trip, if you assume flight is "free" would be around $300 + food. Not bad! lol.

Perhaps, so I don't feel so alone, I can meet up with someone from here in Indy to attend the show? I don't bite!

[NeutralNovice]

Oh and I forgot to mention... my apprehension with regional jets is the fact that you can really feel EVERYTHING. I get nervous with flying already LOL.

[TerriTroop]

Yep, many times. Do it! You will get far more out of the trip than just a drum corps day!

[BigBadMadMan]

Oh and I forgot to mention... my apprehension with regional jets is the fact that you can really feel EVERYTHING. I get nervous with flying already LOL.

Really? I much prefer flying on regional jets. The ride seems much nicer to me. None of the "whole plane shudder" I have experienced on some of the larger cattle hauler jets.

[JimF-LowBari]

lol now this has me thinking of just heading to Indy for Prelims since it lands on my RDOs from work.

Regular Day Off??? LOL at least that's what I call every other Monday.

Used to fly for work and had to take bunch of small (up to 40 passenger) turbo props to hubs in Philly, DC area and Baltimore. If that's what you mean by regional then get the heck away from the engine. Flew from Harrisburg-> Baltimore->Maine (forget the city) and sat next to the engine all day (flippin' Uncle Sam tickets). Day after each flight up and back I was half deaf in the ear nearest the engine.

[Daave]

The Buddy Holly flights are always an adventure Noise cancelling headphones, a must.

[Peel Paint]

There are many advantages to a regional jet, but a smoother flight isn't one of them. Let's be honest. If you're in turbulent air which is a roll of the dice, they're bumpier than a full-size passenger jet, but they're very safe even if they're bumpier. The Buddy Holly characterization isn't fair either. And at least it's a quick trip from ORD to Indy. Coming from the west coast though, because of the way schedules work, I would want to fly Wednesday, not Thursday. O'Hare connections are always a gamble themselves--you don't want a tight one and especially not a tight one on Thursday afternoon. You could miss the show. If you get stuck at O'Hare on Wednesday, you could always rent a car and drive to Indy in about four to five hours in most conditions. Don't try that on Thursday, either, though, as Chicago area traffic can be as bad as San Francisco. And keep in mind in planning your trip that Chicago is Central time and Indy is Eastern time, adding to the time pressure when flying from the west.

One big advantage of going to a drum corps show alone is that you can almost always score a great seat for no more than face value and sometimes even less. There's always some group of six at midfield with a late cancellation, and the supply of single tickets always outstrips the demand. Takes nerves of steel to fly to a show with no ticket, but it works well for singles.

I always advise here that Thursday quarterfinals are the best buy in DCI because the performances are almost always as good as at Saturday finals for much less money. There were always be sellers who had to buy packages of tickets for championships but aren't going Thursday, so it's easy to get an extra ticket. Plus on Thursday, in the past, they have not enforced seat assignments. You can sit wherever you want on Thursday with any ticket, so just get the cheapest one you can find. If the person with the ticket for "your" seat shows up late, you just move over a few seats. This doesn't work well on Friday for the best seats and would only rarely work for any decent seat on Saturday when almost everyone with a ticket shows up. And there's no guarantee for Thursday--that's just how it's played out in past years. The hard part about going to quarterfinals, though, may be getting a reasonably priced hotel room.