Convention 101

Tomorrow is the first day of my local anime convention! As always, I'm excited to see old friends, dress up, and just be in such an exciting environment. This will be my ninth consecutive year of attending this convention, and almost every year has been unique and great! This year I'm only helping my fiance with his panels and only wearing a lolita coordinate one day - as opposed to past year where I've helped run panels or performed or such - so it's exciting to not be too stressed about things.

I loved the very first convention I attended, it was so exciting and magical! But thinking back, there were some things I wish I had known ahead of time, or even things I wished other people would have known. So I decided to write up a basic intro to conventions panel that might help some convention newbies out! I even drew some quick doodles because I couldn't find good images to use! Of course, don't follow my advice precisely - go off and be unprepared, it can be fun sometimes!

Before The Convention

• Buy your badge/pass ahead of time! I've never been at a convention where this wasn't cheaper then buying it at the door. Some bigger conventions even run out of badges and you're not able to just come the day of and pay to get in! Some conventions will actually mail your preordered admission to you so you don't have to stand in a line when you arrive to the convention. If this is not the case, the pre-reg line is usually shorter then the general admission line anyway, as well as quicker to get through.
• Buy a room and, if applicable, plan your roommates. This bullet point isn't going to be for everyone, and that's fine. Some people feel you absolutely need a hotel room to enjoy a con and that's just not true. I think a hotel room is good, however, if you don't live in the area, or you're changing outfits often, or if transportation back and forth would be a hassle. Also, it's a good idea not to let everyone in creation stay in your room, no matter how cheap it would make costs. Think about space, hygiene, and if all your proposed roommates would even get along. Stuck wanting a room? The convention forums usually have some posts from people needing roommates!
• Plan your cosplays/special outfits ahead of time! This applies moreso for cosplays, but always assume if you're ordering costume pieces or wigs or such that they'll arrive later then they should, so you're not stuck panicking at the mailbox the day before the convention. Also assume that life or something might get in the way and don't plan to finish your cosplays the day before! 
• Look at the schedule, guests, vendors, etc. before arriving, if you're able to. It's not good to make a concrete, wiggle room-free schedule, but it is a good idea to have a rough plan of what you might like to do and see, if there are any guests you need to get an autograph from, if there are any artists or vendors you just have to buy from, etc. A good idea might be to make a loose schedule, noting panels or events you just have to go to, some you really want to go to but won't be too upset if you miss, and so on. Some conventions have begun putting out apps that do this very thing!
• Save more then you think, especially if this is your first convention and everything is new and amazing. If you only bring a bit of money when you could have brought more, inevitably someone will just have that one item that's been sold out online at a good price and you're left wanting.
• Plan what you're going to be eating! Look around the area for food options, or think about bringing your own food (check to see if your hotel room has a microwave, fridge). Keep in mind if there's food to be purchased at the convention site it's more then likely going to be quite expensive. 
• Make a list of every little thing you need to bring, from cosplay parts to device chargers. This may sound like a no-brainer, but the one year I forgot to do this, I left my cash at home. Yeah. Don't be me.

In the Hotel Room

• Make room rules. Obviously don't be overly strict, but guidelines such as not having boys or girls in the room overnight, not playing loud music past x at night, and so forth might save you or your roommates from getting into disagreements.
• Think about who is best suited to have the room keys. Who is not only most responsible, but would always answer their phone in case someone needs in at a moment's notice. 
• Have a rough idea of who is sleeping where so someone who can't fall asleep anywhere but a bed is stuck on the floor with no blankets. 
• Don't feel shy about asking who is doing what! If you want to join up with a group, tag along with others. They might be going to panels or events you might normally not, so you might do something new and really fun!
• Unless you're setting someone's stuff gently aside because it's in your way, don't mess with anyone else's stuff. Just, don't.
• Unless you and your roommates are the closest of friends, not everyone is okay with you walking around naked after a shower or seeing a pile of hair clinging to the shower walls. Don't be gross. And do not, unless it's explicitly okay with all your roommates, bring someone back into the room to be dirty with. 
• Do not bring illegal substances into your hotel room, or drink when there are minors. Not only is the former illegal, but in both cases, if the police show up, they can find everyone in the room guilty because there is no way of proving only one person was the culprit. Not only could you get kicked out of the hotel, but kicked out of the convention, fined, or arrested.

At the Convention!

• Before you purchase that figure, think if you could maybe find the item cheaper online. Not saying you shouldn't purchase things from the dealer room in general, but a lot of dealers do mark up items that can be considered pretty common at conventions. Personally, I find buying things from artist alley is a better use for my money, as these items are more unique and the person selling may not even have an online store. Keep in mind that some artists and dealers may give special deals on the last day of the convention so they don't have to haul bak as much product.
• Don't be rude and block the hallways. There are usually people walking right behind you who would not appreciate if you suddenly stopped. If you want to take a picture of someone's cosplay, move aside to a less congested area. Many conventions have areas just for taking pictures.
• Don't be a creep and touch people. Even if you don't think it's a creepy thing and you're just admiring someone's costume, it's creepy to touch their wig or dress or what have you. The person may also have issues with being touched. Also, that intricate costume or prop you want to inspect might be very delicate. Always, always ask!!
• Don't ruin someone else's enjoyment just for your own amusement. Don't just run into a panel room shouting something stupid and interrupting the panel host or jump in front of a photo shoot. I've even heard of people knocking food or drink out of peoples' hands or even hitting others for the sake of "being funny" or because it was "in their character."
• Don't be stressed!! All this information I'm throwing out may make conventions not seem as fun as they are, but they really are a great time. Don't worry so much about not making this panel or getting to buy everything you wanted. Just relax and have fun!

That's it for conventions 101! If I missed anything, feel free to tell me what you would have liked to have known when you first went to a convention! Also, keep in mind every convention is different, in location, size, and events.

I might do maybe a "Conventions 201" post at some point where I talk about things like running panels or volunteering. I might also do a con experiences post? I know at least I'll be posting about this weekend's convention. See you Monday~!