So, You’re Going To A Con? Here Is Your Comic Con Essentials 101

You have finally pulled the trigger and bought full event passes to your local comic/gaming/cosplay convention. Congratulations! Now what?

My wife and I have traveled and attended many conventions over the last 10 years. We’ve learned what makes a fun and successful con for us through some trials and many errors. So, let me give you some tips so you can skip making some of the mistakes we’ve made and you can have as much fun as possible.

First, let’s start with where to stay.

Accommodation

I always tell people that if they can, they should stay at one of the host hotels, even if they live close to the convention center. I know not everyone can do this; passes are already expensive, and hotels are not cheap either. However, we always like staying with the host hotels because of the convenience of location and, if we are being honest with ourselves, a “staycation” is always a good idea.

Having a room nearby allows you to step away from the hustle and bustle in and around the con. Our local con, Phoenix Fan Fusion, sells over 50,000 tickets for their three-day event. Sometimes, we need to get away from everyone to recharge our social batteries, especially for my introverted wife. And if you make any large purchases, you can run them back to the room so you’re not saddled with carrying them all day.

We also bring some snacks for the room. Convention center food sometimes isn’t the best and not at those prices. Having snacks in your room helps with recharging and returning after late-night dance parties.

Most conventions set aside blocks of rooms with hotels near the event and are sold through the con at discounted rates. A normal room may be $230 per night but through the con, they are $179. So, take advantage of the rates.

Necessary Con App and Schedules

The second thing you should do is download the Conventions app to your phone.

Most major conventions have an app with all the information about the weekend. Panel schedule, signing and photo op times, vendor lists, map of the convention center, etc. One of the things we do the week before we leave is look through the schedule of panels. For example, Phoenix Fan Fusion has around 200 panels each year ranging from big guest Q&A panels to smaller fan debate panels and everything in between. Going through the list of panels beforehand, and saving them to your schedule in the app helps you plan out your time.

We will make a list of five or six guest panels that we don’t want to miss. Then we look to see what other panels grab our interest. It seems a bit odd, but we also schedule ourselves times to eat or to walk the vendor floor. It is so easy to get caught up in all the different things going on that you forget to eat or do some shopping.

We also, over-schedule, which I know is counter to what I just said. We pick all the panels we are interested in, and sometimes those panels overlap. If we can’t get into one of the major guest panels, we can pivot to one of the smaller ones without losing time trying to figure out what is next.

OK, you have your passes, your hotel booked, and you’ve downloaded the app, now it’s time to pack. Here are some essentials we always pack to make our lives 100 times better.

Pack a Big Bag Full of Patience

Yes, patience. You are going to bump into people, there will be lines, the vendor floor will come to a complete stop because an awesome cosplayer is getting stopped every five feet, etc. Understanding that before you get there will prepare you. You will still get frustrated, that can’t be stopped. Just be patient with your fellow congoers, they are as excited as you and will forget to look forward as they walk through the vendor floor because something has caught their attention. (Yes, this happens a lot!)

Comfortable Footwear

Comfortable shoes and socks. I know! I know.

But you’re going to be on your feet a lot over a three or four-day weekend. Keeping your feet happy is super important. You don’t want to trash your feet halfway through the first day and struggle to move the rest of the weekend.

I want to be sensitive about how I say this but a couple of months before the convention go for some walks. Last year at Phoenix Fan Fusion we walked an average of 6 miles a day. If your body isn’t used to that kind of activity, it will rebel against you.

Carry a Water Bottle

Get yourself a collapsible water bottle.

This is one of the best things we have ever bought for our travels. As I said earlier, convention center food and drinks can be very expensive. Having a refillable water bottle is a simple way to save some money. AND, you need to remember to drink water!

We have ours clipped to the shoulder straps of our backpacks to remind us to drink.

Don’t forget to drink your water!

A Good Backpack

We love our Loungefly bags, but sometimes they are not big enough to carry everything you might need for the day.

I have a large travel laptop backpack with all the enamel pins I’m willing to trade, that serves as our carry-all.

It will hold almost everything we need for the day and still have enough space to carry all but the biggest purchases we get from the vendor floor.

Charge Your Phone

A portable phone charger is a must.

Listen, it’s the 21st century, most of us only carry phones nowadays. You will be on it a lot over the weekend. Between the app, taking photos, scrolling the internet while you wait in line… you will be using up your battery a lot faster than normal. Bring an extra charger or two. Leave one in the room to charge for the next day.

Comfortable Legwear

This one will seem a bit odd but, comfortable pants. I only bring this up because at Fan Fusion, they chill the building to 67ish degrees, and for us desert rats, that’s chilly. You will get cold in the big panel room watching your favorite actors recall stories of the latest thing they worked on. Pants are good.

Other Stuff

Of course, all your meds, clothes, and toiletries that you would take on any regular trip. But if you are cosplaying, make sure you pack all the items you need for the outfit and any extra items you might need to do last-minute fixes or adjustments. There are cosplay medics at most conventions and sometimes cosplay repair rooms, but it is also good to bring some extra stuff to keep in your room to help relieve the stress of getting ready in the morning before you debut a new costume.

Alright, you are packed and ready to go. What should you do at the con?

As much as you can.

Go to panels, walk the vendor floor, have dinner with your new and old friends… do it all. Remember to eat and drink and t0 pace yourselves, but get as much out of the weekend as you can. Go to the gaming area and play old arcade games. Go to the cosplay meet-ups. Take all the photos. We always forget that last one. Nearly every time we get home we kick ourselves for not taking enough pictures.

Talk to the artist in Artist Alley. They are just as big fans of this stuff as you are. They would love to geek out over their art and fandoms. Buy something from the artist or smaller vendors. They will appreciate it.

Go to the parties. Some of the best times we’ve had at conventions are the after-hours parties. Watching cosplayers dance never gets old. Some parties have themes; play into the themes. Last year at Fan Fusion, they had a 90’s dance party. Tons of people dressed in their best 90s clothes and danced the night away.

If you are going with friends I suggest making a group chat. Use it to make plans beforehand and during the weekend. We tell our friends, this is what we are doing and you are more than welcome to come along, but if there is something else you want to do, we will meet up for dinner. We always try to have one big “family” dinner together at each con.

Everyone’s experience at a convention is different because each of our fandoms is a little different. But coming together with other fans, geeky out, and meeting new friends is what cons are all about. Comicbook Conventions are escapism for us. Watching all the different cosplayers walk by even if you don’t know all the characters is amazing. All the shopping and art fill our buckets of joy to face the “real world”.

This year, we are attending WonderCon in Anaheim in March, Phoenix Fan Fusion in June, and possibly Rose City in Portland in September, and if life plays nicely, the mother of all cons, San Diego Comic-Con in July.

Hope to meet you on the floor somewhere!

Author: Sean Miley

I’d rather find the things that I like about a story, movie, or tv show, than lead with negativity. I love Star Wars, Doctor Who, MCU, comic book and conventions.

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