Starting a thread to detail all the coping essentials while staying in Miami for WMC/MMW/Ultra/whatever other acronym they're using these days.

Myself, I'm staying at a Miami Int'l Airport hotel (Crowne Plaza). For the first time, I'm bussing it down from Orlando using Megabus (megabus.com). Total roundtrip is $20. They operate out of several cities in the U.S. so if you're not too far away, this is a very viable option.

It's just under a 4.5 hour travel time from 436/50 intersection in Orlando all the way to MIA, or closer to 5 if you choose to get off in downtown Miami. These buses, from what I can tell, are nice, modern buses with comfortable seats, legroom, and USB chargers for mobile devices. With this route, parking nightmares and costs are negated during WMC. We all know these costs during WMC can add up over $100 over the course of a weekend. Probably closer to $200 if you make it a 5 day extravaganza.

Staying in an airport hotel, while "far away" from the WMC action is actually not a bad idea in terms of actually getting to the action. And the rates are a good bit cheaper AND you get much more hotel room for your money. There's an express shuttle (Miami Beach Airport Flyer) that goes for $2.65 each way to and from MIA to South Beach. Service stops at 11:40 but starts again at 6 am so just as you're getting out of the party, hit up a diner or pizza joint and by that time you'll be ready to get back to your hotel.

The bus system in Miami isn't the greatest, lots of stops and lots of transfers, but if you stay in a strategic location to get to the WMC action, it's not bad at all. Other than the airport: Wynwood, Brickell, DT Miami, and the beach, of course. Uber and Lyft are both far cheaper options than taxis and I can almost never recommend taking a taxi in Miami. You will almost assuredly pay a quite substantial less using Uber or Lyft than you would with a taxi service (unless you try to get one during a "surge"...) in that case a taxi might actually be cheaper.

Re: AirBNB and vacation rentals...they are very hard to get when it comes to good deals during WMC week, unless you don't mind staying in Broward or Sunny Isles. AirBNB and the like are great for normal weeks but these condo owners know what time it is when it comes to WMC. Last year and this year combined I have tried to book 5 condos and each time either the owner mistakenly did not increase the rate for that weekend (and didn't approve the rental) or somebody else got it before me. If you can score a dope pad in Miami for a good deal using these sites, then great on you but it is not easy.

I cannot recommend staying anywhere in Broward. You're either paying really high prices to get down to Miami via Uber/Lyft/shuttle services, or you're driving your own car and having to deal with frustrating WMC traffic and very high parking prices. Combination of public transpo/Uber & Lyft is definitely the way to go.

As far as food: the local Cuban joints are always my favorite and cheapest. Nothing like a Cuban-style steak and eggs for breakfast with a glass of absolutely fresh squeezed OJ. And it's usually like $6. . There's an Argentine steakhouse in Brickell though that is just phenomenal so if you want to splurge on a nice dinner at some point, try Graziano's. And an afternoon jaunt in downtown Miami is never complete without a trip to the Filling Station. Hipster burger joint with great craft beer selection (and great burgers). Staff is welcoming and chill as fuck.

Obviously SoBe is fun in its own right and the Clevelander has a legendary bar scene but you are definitely paying to play down there for afternoon drinks. Still gotta check out that scene at least once during conference. I myself gravitate towards the downtown Miami scene during WMC a little more but again, the beach can be a lot of fun. So far the only time I'll be finding myself at the beach is Saturday -- definitely for Bedrock/Digweed at Treehouse that night and maybe getting into something at a pool part that afternoon.

Others feel free to chime in with their WMC tidbits and insights.

Last edited by ucforange on Feb-13-2015 at 20:59

I got a sick condo on midbeach in a real spiffy condo building right in the beach. Air bnb came through for me 150 a night. The usual condos I stay "cynergi" were sold out in oct.

As for where to eat, I love kush in wynwood jimmy kitchen in wynwood and pride and joy bbq also in wynwood. There are also great spots on 2nd st for the cheap. I highly recommend wynwood for food as it's real good hipster shit fairly priced. South beach is crap food for tons of money and downtown is hard to find good food for a fair price

I'm gonna try that mega bus one time. For that price u can't beat it.

Last edited by Faceplant on Feb-13-2015 at 21:28

Staying downtown as all of the events I'll attend are there. Burger Bar off Brickell is a dope spot. Don't eat a lot during WMC but there are plenty of food trucks/ dives to grab great Cuban/ seafood.

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TechYES

i bussed it to berlin once. vowed never to do it again. didnt even use my return ticket. buses blow i dont care how cheap it is. really advising ya against that.

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Originally posted by PatMcGroin i bussed it to berlin once. vowed never to do it again. didnt even use my return ticket. buses blow i dont care how cheap it is. really advising ya against that.

Must be nice to have lived a life in which you only used a bus once, lol.

Really though, busses aren't bad at all. My experiences using them in Europe were actually worse than in the States, but that doesn't mean I won't use them again. Sure, the lines can be annoying, bus companies can be unorganized, and there's a chance you'll experience delays, but it's not that bad if you're looking for a deal and aren't in a rush. Good time to catch up on reading, sleep, etc.

I've used MegaBus multiple times without issue; I prefer them to Greyhound for sure.

I don't know. I've been riding a bus since I was a little kid going between New York, Buffalo, Philly, etc. Perhaps I'm just used to it and know what to expect.

If not for anything else, you'll run into an entertaining cast of characters

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO Must be nice to have lived a life in which you only used a bus once, lol.

if you knew me youd know how far this was from the truth.

im just not a fan of taking a bus on a long journey. as public transportation, theyre vital.

quote:

Originally posted by PatMcGroin if you knew me youd know how far this was from the truth. im just not a fan of taking a bus on a long journey. as public transportation, theyre vital.

I get all the cons and agree with you, but im just planning on blazing a few bowls before getting on the megabus, putting my sennheisers on, and knocking the fuck out. Before i know it ill be in MIA

quote:

Originally posted by ucforange I get all the cons and agree with you, but im just planning on blazing a few bowls before getting on the megabus, putting my sennheisers on, and knocking the fuck out. Before i know it ill be in MIA

i can never sleep on transportation. well no im lying. i went out thurs to see digweed here but had to work fri. i of course drank too much and knocked out on my last train and actually made a complete round trip. but i still made it home with time to shower and got to work on time.

i get all the reasons youre doing it, i just personally vowed to never again. that was the bus ride from hell. ive almost considered doing it again but i just think about it for a second and decide against it.

quote:

Originally posted by PatMcGroin if you knew me youd know how far this was from the truth. im just not a fan of taking a bus on a long journey. as public transportation, theyre vital.

Word. I misunderstood that as being your one and only bus ride - ever. Lol.

My bad.

quote:

Originally posted by OrangestO Word. I misunderstood that as being your one and only bus ride - ever. Lol. My bad.

no worries buddy.

Renting a condo in SoBe. Only way to do it. More space, more privacy, and can prepare our own food. Walking distance to most of the parties we're going to, plus shopping and restaurants, but not so close to the action that we can't get proper sleep.

I've stayed RIGHT on Ocean Drive before and that was fun, but I def prefer something more quiet now that I'm older.

So many good places to eat on Espanola Way!

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Originally posted by Silky Johnson Renting a condo in SoBe. Only way to do it. More space, more privacy, and can prepare our own food. Walking distance to most of the parties we're going to, plus shopping and restaurants, but not so close to the action that we can't get proper sleep. I've stayed RIGHT on Ocean Drive before and that was fun, but I def prefer something more quiet now that I'm older. So many good places to eat on Espanola Way!

I got in on the condo renting a little too late this year. All the reasonable places were gone a ways back now.

For the WMC-goer who hasn't locked down a place yet, that person can expect to pay upwards of $350 for a decent place in DT Miami or the beach. My own dilemma inspired me to write the bit about possibly staying at a place at the airport. With it being such a public trans-friendly hub as well as lower prices and bigger/modern rooms, I felt it was a viable alternative.