Edward's Convention Tips: Planning

That time is drawing near.
It's a cosplayers favorite time of year.

The time we hold so dear.
Convention season is here!! 

Haha... I wrote a lil' poem. 

Anyway! I thought I'd make a list of important tips and advice for newbie con goers. (Or it might help veterans, I don't know.) I'm certainly not a veteran, but I do have a few years experience and would like to share what I've learned so far. Now, there are LOTS of lists out there on how to survive a con. This is not going to be a comprehensive list of everything you need. This is just a list of things I've found help me prepare for and survive convention season. Some of these things I've seen on other lists and some things I haven't. 

I was going to do my entire list in one post, but it was starting to get long. So I'm going to split it up into three different posts: Planning, Personal Tips, and Cosplay advice. I'm still deciding if I'll post them over this week or if I'll just continue to post them on Mondays. I guess it will be a surprise!

So I hope you find this list helpful!

Planning

The Right Convention

For people going to their very first convention, I suggest going to a smaller con. 1000-2000 attendees or smaller. I find that these smaller cons are much more personable. My first convention was Anime Oasis. And it was the perfect size for a beginner con goer! It was large enough that it had interesting events and guests. But it wasn't so huge that I was overwhelmed. My husband's first convention was Sakura-con. I regret that decision now.....  It was just way to huge for a first timer. There is SO much to do at those big cons, it's hard to figure out what you should try to see. And there is a lot of waiting in line for events and seeing guest. With smaller cons, this is not such an issue. My favorite part about small cons is the intimacy. It's so much easier to make friends and get to really know people. My Facebook friend list doubled when I went to Anime Oasis, but I only got a few new friends when I went to Sakura-con.

Make a budget

This is important! You can't go to a con if you don't have any money. It's important to plan ahead. You don't want to be a month away from the convention and realize you forgot to save money for food. And if you don't make much money or don't have a job, there are lots of ways to save money! Here is a list of things you need to plan for and how to save money with them.

Badge- Be sure to buy your badge AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE! The earlier you buy it, the cheaper they are. At some conventions they sell badges for the next year for a super cheap price. That's the best time to buy them. The WORST time to buy is at the door. They are most expensive and a lot of times you have to wait in line.

Hotel- Hotel rooms can be VERY expensive. And don't forget the hotel tax that they add on. The best way around this is to bunk with several other people to split the cost. I won't condone "room stuffing" (that's cramming as many people in a room as humanly possible, +1), but that is a route some con goers take. Keep in mind, if you get caught, you could get kicked out of the hotel and not be aloud back again!

If you live in or near the town the convention is held in, you might not need a to get a hotel room. You might be able to walk or drive to the convention each day with no problem. But keep in mind, if you are driving each day, you have to account for the gas used to drive back and forth AND you'll most likely have to pay for parking each day. Which can add up quick. I suggest pricing out how much a room will cost when you bunk with other people (don't forget the tax) and comparing it to the amount of money spent on gas and parking. Which ever is cheapest is the option you should choose. I did this recently and discovered it was much cheaper to share a room than it was to drive every day and pay for parking.

Gas/Parking- Whether you're driving across the country or across town, you'll have to plan for gas money. I suggest carpooling when at all possible to save some money. And don't forget parking when you get there. A lot of time you'll have to pay for (as mentioned above). Be sure to check with the hotel or convention center to find out your parking options and how much it will cost per day.

Food- The best way to save money on food is to eat out as little as possible. Of course you might want to go out to eat with friends at least once or twice during the weekend, but don't do it for every meal! You'll spend a fortune. I suggest bringing your own meals to save money. And I don't just mean ramen noodles either. What we did for Sakura-con, and my favorite food for cons, is to buy a small precooked ham (or you could do lunch meat or a rotisserie chicken), some sort of bread or rolls, and your favorite cheese. Then when you are hungry and get back to your room, you just slap together a quick sandwich and you're done! EASY! And much better (and tastier) than eating ramen for every meal all weekend. If you do decide to eat out with your friends, go out for lunch instead of dinner. Dinner menus are always more expensive. I plan about $50 for going out to eat for the entire weekend. Otherwise I eat whatever I've brought with me.

And don't forget snackies! Yogurt, fruit, and pocky are some great choices. I like to have light weight things that I can carry in my con bag (we'll discuss the con bag in a later post) that I can munch on and not have to go all the way back to my room.

Fun money- Of course you'll want to buy cool stuff from the dealers room and artist alley! Be sure to plan for it! If you want to save money here, be sure to ask if they have any deals. Or if you can get a discount if you buy more than one item. More often than not, they will give you a discount. Or if you're good at haggling a lot of time you can get a deal that way too. My strategy (because I'm female and I'm cute) is to look very interested, but somewhat wayward, and a lot of times men will give me discounts. That might be kind of sexist, but hey, that bag wasn't worth $35 anyway. XD

Also, a lot of times, the artist alley has a lot more unique and interesting things than the dealers room. And they are usually cheaper too! So don't brush off the artist alley as a bunch of homemade trinkets. Sometimes there is some cool stuff in there!

I like to plan about $100 for "fun money." That's kind of a lot, but I burn through it really fast! And it never seems like enough. Lol.

 Plan Your Schedule

I like to print out the schedule as soon as it's available and highlight all the events I want to go to. That way I know if things overlap and I can decide which I'd like to see more. It also helps me to see when I have down time so I can plan when I'm going to eat and change cosplays. It's important to remember to make time for eating and sleeping!! It's also important to plan time to visit with your friends! That's kind of the whole point of going to conventions!

Make a List (and check it like 10 times)

I don't know about you, but I'm incredibly forgetful. My first convention, I drove all they to the con (5 hour drive) and realized I forgot my badge. DON'T DO THAT! So now I always make a list of everything I plan to bring to con. That includes: your regular overnight stuff (regular clothes, toothbrush, shampoo, pjs, etc.), important paperwork (your badge or confirmation email, hotel info, ID, credit/debit cards, etc.), whatever memorabilia you'd like to have signed (if applicable), and an itemized list of all the items needed for your cosplays (very important! I have forgotten important items for Sailor Moon before). Lists are your friend! I'd forget my ass if it wasn't attached. Seriously.

So those are my pre-con planning tips! I hope they are helpful and aren't too repetitive of other lists out there. Do you have you're own pre-con planning tips that you haven't seen on other con-survival lists? Please share them in the comments and I'll add them to this list! Leave your name too so I can credit you!

Join me next time for part 2: Personal Tips and Advice!

Love,
Edward