Visit buffalo: off topic

[matter2003]

20 minutes ago, sabresouth said:

Wow, this is cool. We are flying in on Monday leaving on friday for the senators game on Tuesday and the Canadians game on Thursday January 28th and 30th. We went ahead and booked the harbor center, figuring the weather will probably not be good. Like Miles, only get to one away game a year in Dallas. This will be our first time to key bank. Looking forward to it. Good luck to you Miles. I also appreciate the info for around harbor center.

Ehh, there is probably a 50/50 shot of snow. And realistically our plows are so good that i would rather drive here after a foot of snow than most other places after 2 or 3 inches...even some places that SHOULD know how to plow like Cleveland who has some of the worst plowing Ive seen for a snowy place...

Most roads will be cleared within a few hours here, especially the I90 which has some of the best plowing in the US outside of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Many places literally send their plow teams to the them to teach them how to plow properly.

Edited August 25, 2019 by matter2003

[sabresouth]

We're renting a car at the airport. Will do a little sightseeing if weather permits. Maybe the falls or make a short trip to Ithaca, got kin folk there. Lived in Buffalo maybe 42-43 years ago as a kid for a few years. Was actually there in  the blizzard of 77. Now live in San Arkansas, lucky if we get 2-3 inches a year.

[Eleven]

3 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Wife and I took Amtrak from Buffalo (depew station) to NYC (MSG) for a concert. 

It should have been a seven hour ride (according to Amtrak), but there were extended multiple delays and extended stops. It took 10+ hours. We arrived at MSG and sprinted to our seats at MSG and literally sat in them as the headlining act walked on stage. We planned on eating dinner in NYC before the concert. We were starving by the time the concert ended. The bathrooms on the trains were never cleaned or kept up. It was very gross.

The train ride back took almost 13 hours to return to Buffalo. All in all just a very very bad experience. I’m glad others may have had good experiences taking trains. If I can avoid it, I’ll never take another Amtrak train again.

I know that they only clean the bathrooms at the ends of the lines--but how did you not have the opportunity to eat on the train?  The food is better (not much, but better) than what you'd get at a fast food joint or at a Starbucks, too.

[Zamboni]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

I know that they only clean the bathrooms at the ends of the lines--but how did you not have the opportunity to eat on the train?  The food is better (not much, but better) than what you'd get at a fast food joint or at a Starbucks, too.

The only food available were concession stand type foods. And the selection was limited and unappealing. Not to mention the line (because everyone was hungry too) was very long. So, did I have a “opportunity”? Yes, in the strictest sense. But we didn’t want any of what the train offered. We did bring some light snacks with us to hold us over with the plan to eat in NYC. For us, it was just an awful experience. But, we arrived alive and returned alive so that’s a nice bonus. ? 

[Eleven]

5 hours ago, Zamboni said:

The only food available were concession stand type foods. And the selection was limited and unappealing. Not to mention the line (because everyone was hungry too) was very long. So, did I have a “opportunity”? Yes, in the strictest sense. But we didn’t want any of what the train offered. We did bring some light snacks with us to hold us over with the plan to eat in NYC. For us, it was just an awful experience. But, we arrived alive and returned alive so that’s a nice bonus. ? 

How long ago was this?  Amtrak's food is actually somewhat decent. (I think I'm repeating myself.)  Recent trains I've taken even have had healthy options like veggies and hummus, and yogurt parfaits, and stuff. That said, train travel definitely isn't for everyone, but if I have to go to Albany or Syracuse, that's how I'm getting there.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Eleven

[Zamboni]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

How long ago was this?  Amtrak's food is actually somewhat decent. (I think I'm repeating myself.)  Recent trains I've taken even have had healthy options like veggies and hummus, and yogurt parfaits, and stuff. That said, train travel definitely isn't for everyone, but if I have to go to Albany or Syracuse, that's how I'm getting there.

Two summers ago. Can’t remember the month. Glad your experiences have been good.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Zamboni

[matter2003]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

How long ago was this?  Amtrak's food is actually somewhat decent. (I think I'm repeating myself.)  Recent trains I've taken even have had healthy options like veggies and hummus, and yogurt parfaits, and stuff. That said, train travel definitely isn't for everyone, but if I have to go to Albany or Syracuse, that's how I'm getting there.

Amtrak food is pretty good but expensive.  Growing up I always got the ham and swiss sandwich and had them heat it up...it was sooooo good.  Sadly, did not have this option on any of the trains I have been on lately.  Dining car food is really good if you are on one of the long distance trains, plus it is always fun to socialize with people from different places.

Edited August 25, 2019 by matter2003

[miles]

Bumping an old topic. which train stop should i choose. amtrak has depew and exchange street. Which would be closer/safer to use?

 

EDIT> it looks like exchange street is closer to the stadiums

Edited September 11, 2019 by miles

[Zamboni]

24 minutes ago, miles said:

Bumping an old topic. which train stop should i choose. amtrak has depew and exchange street. Which would be closer/safer to use?

 

EDIT> it looks like exchange street is closer to the stadiums

 

[Doohicksie]

Depew is a suburban station outside of Buffalo.

[Taro T]

39 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Depew is a suburban station outside of Buffalo.

But it is very easy to get to the football stadium from there.  (Not so much the rink.)

[miles]

booked the hotel. we are staying at LaFayette hotel. Priceline had a deal with 8% off, so i was able to get it for a nice price. It saved us over 50 dollars 

i also bought 1 pair of tickets to the March 22 game against the Rangers in the 100 level section. We decided to drive instead of taking the train. there was no direct train from nj, only NY Penn Station, which is 1.5 hours from us. That would make it a 10 hour trip each way, where driving is less than 7 hours. We also checked greyhound, but they didnt have any good return times. 

During the season we are going to try to get tickets to the March 21st game against the blackhawks. I am hoping to get a good deal like i found on the 100 level seats. 

 

thanks to everyone that helped me on this. i am really excited

 

[Ogre]

4 minutes ago, miles said:

booked the hotel. we are staying at LaFayette hotel. Priceline had a deal with 8% off, so i was able to get it for a nice price. It saved us over 50 dollars 

i also bought 1 pair of tickets to the March 22 game against the Rangers in the 100 level section. We decided to drive instead of taking the train. there was no direct train from nj, only NY Penn Station, which is 1.5 hours from us. That would make it a 10 hour trip each way, where driving is less than 7 hours. We also checked greyhound, but they didnt have any good return times. 

During the season we are going to try to get tickets to the March 21st game against the blackhawks. I am hoping to get a good deal like i found on the 100 level seats. 

 

thanks to everyone that helped me on this. i am really excited

 

I’m glad you’re all hooked up. My wife and I were doing a game and a downtown hotel on the NY eve but those dweebs in their tuxes that sat next to us last time scared me off from those games. Usually it’s always a good time though and the Hyatt is a more than reasonable walk. We took the metro one time and met these piss drunk Sabres fans from Ontario. They were awesome. Hope you guys have a good time.

[Eleven]

10 hours ago, miles said:

booked the hotel. we are staying at LaFayette hotel. Priceline had a deal with 8% off, so i was able to get it for a nice price. It saved us over 50 dollars 

i also bought 1 pair of tickets to the March 22 game against the Rangers in the 100 level section. We decided to drive instead of taking the train. there was no direct train from nj, only NY Penn Station, which is 1.5 hours from us. That would make it a 10 hour trip each way, where driving is less than 7 hours. We also checked greyhound, but they didnt have any good return times. 

During the season we are going to try to get tickets to the March 21st game against the blackhawks. I am hoping to get a good deal like i found on the 100 level seats. 

 

thanks to everyone that helped me on this. i am really excited

 

You're going to enjoy that hotel. 

 

And if you do get tix to that Blackhawks game, check out the meetup thread.  A bunch of Sabrespace people will be there together.

[miles]

2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

You're going to enjoy that hotel. 

 

And if you do get tix to that Blackhawks game, check out the meetup thread.  A bunch of Sabrespace people will be there together.

Thank you. the hotel looks terrific.  

I would really like to hit the second game since we picked that weekend specifically since there were two games in a row. I honestly didn't know the tickets were so expensive. I have baseball partial season and I paid 35 dollars for lower level seats in the outfield. I figured the hockey would be double since there is half the games, but its 3 to 4 times more. It's a once in a lifetime experience for me so it will be worth the splurge I think 

[miles]

I bought 300 level tickets for the Blackhawks game, so in set for both. 1 game in lower level and one in upper level. I'm glad to get both games that weekend. 

I found the Sabres site are selling the tickets I got, same row and section for 75 each and I paid 51 each after fees from StubHub. 

Now I'm really excited. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by miles