I've seen a bit of discussion about this lately, so with regard to the questions about which building is closer to the buses, there are a few different factors to consider.
First, remember that for most buildings, you will enter Classic Hall and then out to the buses in front. For the 80s/90s section, you can cut across the parking lot, making it a shorter trip.
I've found that it's fun, though, to be able to go through Classic Hall. I'm weird like that
You also have to consider that even though one building may seem closer to the buses or Classic Hall, your location within that building can make a significant difference in the distance you must travel.
But anyway, here's a little map that I've drawn up using the overview map from post #1 with some "point A to the buses" distances based on the rough distance from a central location in each decade, and what would be the quickest path to the bus loading area. If you're farther or closer to the buses than the "center point" that I measured from, just add a bit or subtract a bit from the total.
80s/90s = 945 feet
70s = 950 feet
50s = 980 feet
60s = 840 feet
As you can see from the numbers, the distance from the center of any of the decades is pretty much the same, using the routes I've placed on the map. The 60s is slightly shorter from the other side of the Hippy Dippy pool, but for the rest of the decades, the "center" has the same walk to the buses regardless of which one you're in.
Of course there are places within each decade where the distance is significantly longer or shorter, so keep that in mind when requesting rooms or choosing your path to walk to the buses or Classic Hall. For example, if you're in the 90s, you may be able to cut straight across the parking lot cutting off a lot of distance.
Don't forget that the elevators of each building are located at the cross of the "T" shape where the wings all meet. Keep that in mind when choosing your route if you always use the elevators. The staircases are located next to the elevators, as well as at the very end of each wing, for a total of 4 staircases to each building.
Also remember that generally speaking, it can be difficult or impossible to stray off the marked sidewalks on the map. There are usually trees, bushes, and other obstacles that make cutting across the green-marked areas on the map very difficult. So basically, if you want to use the map to plan your route, make sure you take into account that you'll probably have to follow the tan colored paths.
Just as an example, you might be thinking that you could just cut across the grass near this 50s building as a shortcut (the
red path illustrated below). Unfortunately, there's a berm with trees there, and
you just can't get through that way. You might even be tempted to follow the
blue path, and then cut across the bus traffic to the bus stop. While you
can technically do that, it turns out that not only is it
exactly the same distance as the
green path that I recommend taking, but it also cuts across some of the bus traffic, as there is no walkway cutting across that area. If you wanted to follow the path around (the skinnier blue path) that would be an extra 300 feet out of your way vs. just taking the green path. Most of that would probably be fairly obvious once you're there, you might not realize that when you're making your room requests, and end up requesting a room location that's not as short of a distance to the buses as you though. So basically these are just things to keep in mind not only once you're there, but as you're making room location requests.
If anyone wants to know the exact optimal path to take from a specific location in a specific building, just let me know! I'd be happy to calculate some distances for a couple different paths, and let you know what would be the easiest or quickest way to the buses.
thanks
