Comic
Con Tips!
· * Dress
comfortably, especially shoes. Your feet will kill from all the standing and
walking, this is not the time to break in a brand new pair of shoes.
· * Carry
drinks and snacks. Seriously. Do this. There is very limited food in the
convention center, it is pretty much all junk, it is all expensive, and
everyone in the center will be in line for it when they get hungry. Fruit,
granola bars, trail mix, bottled water and juice are your friends. You don’t
want to be hangry when you’re waiting in line or about to meet your favorite
celeb or artist.
· * When you
do go to eat, try to eat at non-peak times. This is obviously more difficult in
the morning as everyone tries to cram in breakfast before heading to the
convention center and the lines for coffee border on insanity. Try waiting till
2 or 3pm before going for lunch, it is far less crowded. This is also where
having snacks comes in.
· Don’t be
afraid to travel a bit to find a place to eat. You may have to walk 6 or 10
blocks but it is worth it to find good food and a less crowded restaurant. Don’t
worry, they aren’t New York City blocks so they aren’t that long =)
* *You will
get so much swag, it’s overwhelming. Remember, you don’t HAVE to take
everything people try to hand you (I have a serious problem with this, though.
I took pretty much everything =P) You also have to keep in mind you will be
dragging all this crap around with you until you can get to your hotel to dump
your bag. Try to do a bag dump at least once a day, more depending on how much stuff you get.
*
· * Speaking
of your bag, the SDCC bag is a great collectible but if you overload it, it
will get really uncomfortable to carry and it will probably rip. A great
lightweight foldable/packable bag is your friend. These are fabulous: https://baggu.com/shop/bigbaggu
A good crossbody bag is also a good idea.
Backpacks I would tend to avoid because you will smack people with it when you
try to turn around and the convention floor is packed full of people. Also,
people could take things out of it without you knowing.
· * Chargers,
Chargers, Chargers. No, not the football team. Cell phone, iPod, camera, iPad,
Kindle, handheld gaming consoles, etc. You want to have everything fully
charged, nothing could be worse than happening upon Tom Hiddleston in a random
hallway and being unable to take a picture with him because your phone is dead.
I strongly advise bringing a power strip with you to the hotel, they even make
excellent small travel size ones that you can throw in your bag to bring into
the con. http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F9YN2M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01
Or carry a portable charger like this: http://smile.amazon.com/External-20000mAh-Limefuel-LP200X-Flashlight/dp/B00OHZVN5U/ref=pd_cp_107_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1C90Q8PMHQ4EHZFYFP1Q or the one I have:
Mine is now 3 years old, has been to Europe
and back, and is still going strong. I can get at least 5-6 full charges of my
phone, iPod & Kindle (in whatever combination) off of it.
· * Carry at
least two new Sharpies with you, a black one and a silver one, along with
something to sign just in case. Your SDCC program guide is good for this plus
you need it carry it with you in order to know what activities are going on
during the con. (You may also want some highlighters to go through the program
guide to mark some of your most desired activities.)
· * Carry
hand sanitizer and tissues. The former for obvious reasons, the latter in case
you get the stall that’s out of toilet paper.
· * Take
Airborne before your plane journeys and at least twice during the con. Daily
would be better. Avoid the dreaded con crud!
· * Cell
phone reception is pretty non-existent on the convention floor, it’s like a
black hole in there. If you split off from your friends, make sure to select a
place and time to meet up later on. (Ours was by the restrooms close to the
snack bar.)
· * Don’t be
married to a rigid schedule of Musts. The best things can happen when you fly
by the seat of your pants. Don’t be afraid to wing it. I wandered into a great
panel just walking around poking my head into open rooms.
· * Be
alert! Eavesdropping, not in a negative way, but listen because people talk about things that
are happening inside and outside the convention center. You may find your way
into something that you never would have found otherwise.
· * Keep
your eyes peeled! The best part of SDCC is that the actors, artists, directors,
etc. are fans too! They walk the convention floor, eat in the restaurants, are
in the lobbies of hotels. Michael Sheen was just strolling on the convention
floor and we got to take pictures with him. I complimented a cute guy’s leather
jacket as he bent down to tie his shoe outside the Westin & once he stood
up, realized it was Thomas Jane. They are everywhere! =)
· * Following
along with the above: if you do see someone famous, please try to play it cool.
I know it’s difficult and excitement is absolutely going to shine through but
try not to freak them out by being a creeper. Screaming, crying, or professing
your undying desire to have babies with them is probably not the best way to
go. OTOH, telling them you love their work, or whomever your favorite character
is, or thanking them for being generally awesome is totally cool.
(Editorial
note: my friend’s son saw Dominic Monaghan trying to creep unnoticed through a
sea of fans in the Gaslamp Quarter one evening. Instead of freaking out &
alerting all and sundry to Dominic’s presence, which would have gotten him
mobbed, Tyler gave him the cool guy nod [because he IS a seriously cool guy],
Dominic returned the nod, and they went on their respective ways. And Tyler has
a neat story to tell for the future.)
· * Do go
outside the convention center. There are great things happening all around San
Diego. Take a walk, get some air, soak up the gorgeous weather. You never know
what you’ll find.
· * Please
be respectful, patient and polite. To your fellow attendees, to the volunteers,
to your harried hotel and wait staff, to the shuttle drivers, to everyone! You
will wait in long lines, you will get tired, you will be hungry, and so will
everyone else. Being an asshole will get you nowhere. (I will say I had
absolutely no problem with this. Everyone I met was lovely and so happy to be
at SDCC. The good mood is infectious!)
· * Ask
permission to take pictures of a cosplayer unless they are already posing for
pictures. The level of cosplay at SDCC is mindboggling.
· * If you
can’t get into a panel, see if your favorites are signing at one of the booths.
Even if you can’t get an autograph ticket, you can at least lay eyes upon them
and get a picture. (I saw the Vampire Diaries cast [gorgeous but tiny!] and
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki [tall and gorgeous!] as they were walked
through the crowd to the signing booth.)
· * Talk to
your fellow attendees. Get to know your line buddies. Discuss your favorite
comics, movies, books, celebs, etc. Share what you plan to do during the con.
This is another great way to find out what’s going on in and outside of the
con. The entire vibe during SDCC was overwhelmingly joyful. People are excited
to be there, not just because it’s SDCC, but because they can find like-minded
people who love the same thing they do and celebrate their fandom freely
without people shitting on it.
· * Try to
buy intelligently. You will want to buy ALL THE THINGS. All the comics, all the
t-shirts, all the collectibles. You cannot do it. Try to limit yourself to
buying things you can only get there. You can probably get those 25 comic books
you want to buy because they are 50% off but you can probably get them from
your local comics shop. (But if that’s what you’re there for and you absolutely
must have them, by all means do it!) That SDCC only item or piece of original
artwork though? Yeah, buy that. But only after you cruise all the booths. You
may see something you fancy more two booths down. If you miss out on something,
it just wasn’t meant to be yours.
· * Have
cash! Lines at the ATM in the con are murder. (Hopefully most vendors now have
Square, etc. but when I went in 2010, cash was king.)
· * Strongly
consider mailing things home. USPS flat rate boxes are free at the post office,
take up almost no space in your suitcase, and may save you from overweight bag
fees from your airline. Bring tape with you, you can order your postage online at usps.com, print it out in your hotel's business center, and just drop the box off at the post office (most have a dropoff box in the lobby for after hours packages)
· * Have a
sense of humor. Shit happens. Not everything will be perfect. Someone will snag
that last limited edition Funko POP you wanted and you will see more beautiful
art than you have funds to buy but you are still in nerd heaven and millions of
people would kill to be at SDCC. Enjoy it!
Some
good links:
http://sdccblog.com/2014/07/how-to-make-the-best-of-san-diego-comic-con-by-not-planning-everything/ Some
good winging it stories in the comments here
