First comic-con! ...What do?

[mauve]

Mauve is a grown-ass woman and is only just now attending her very first con this weekend. Will it rock? Will it suck? I DON'T EVEN FUCKING KNOW, BUT I'M GOING TO THIS SUCKER!!!

So do any of you more seasoned comic-con-goers have any tips for surviving? I've been really hesitant to go because of crowds and parking and such, but I've ultimately decided I don't give a damn because ADAM FUCKING WEST. I've already been advised to bring bottled water (thanks Zarber!), so does anyone else have tips/advice/ideas of what I should do?

I'm not going in costume, but I'll definitely be people-watching.

[synkr0nized]

Don't feel bad about pushing your way through crowds as you try to navigate what will surely be a highly-packed venue.

Though it may not be as bad as anime conventions, be prepared for others' B.O. and poor hygiene.

Also probably specific to anime cons, but perhaps be on the lookout for random people going around for hugs. Either to avoid them or flock to them, as you see fit.


Get a feel for what you totally want to do ahead of time, if possible. This will help you identify the things/events you want to attend so you can plan to be there early, in case there are lines. Panels, for example, can fill up depending on the room/space available.

The bottled water is a great idea. It'll be way too expensive wherever they sell it there, and fountains won't be so great.

More often than not, folks in costume won't mind getting their picture taken or posing with you. They're usually pretty nice people, and I'm sure most of them are planning on the attention. And Comic-con gets all kinds of fans, so you might see some really creative and well-done work.

[Flarecobra]

Make sure your camera (If you're bringing one) is fully charged/has plenty of film.

Bring extra water.

Always have extra pens.

Your feet WILL hurt when all is said and done, so be ready for that.

Have a plan regarding food.

Make sure you have cash on hand, as card machines can and will go down.

Bring hand sanitizer.

[rpgdemon]

Also, don't take creeper-photos of cosplayers, ask them before you do take one.

Also also, wear comfortable walking shoes.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Originally Posted by Flarecobra

Bring hand sanitizer.

This if nothing else. Lots of it. and put some vics vapor rub under your nose.

Large congregations of nerds in an enclosed area is a carrier of stink and den of fornication for sick things to get you sick with nerd sick.

Con-flu is a thing. A terrible terrible disgusting thing.

[Aldurin]

Originally Posted by Grandmaster_Skweeb

This if nothing else. Lots of it. and put some vics vapor rub under your nose.

Large congregations of nerds in an enclosed area is a carrier of stink and den of fornication for sick things to get you sick with nerd sick.

Con-flu is a thing. A terrible terrible disgusting thing.

But it's great if you're power-leveling your immune system for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

[Azisien]

You'll probably spend more money than you would want to at the indie artist venues that sell oodles and oodles of unique cool shit. Bring lots of cash and be merry, or very little and be sad!

[Menarker]

How long is the trip to the con itself or how far from home is it? If it is overnight, spanning several days, or happen to be in a place far away from home, you'll want to ensure you got a safe place to rest. Both to ensure you don't get robbed or worse when you aren't aware and because some venues that host the cons don't tolerate (or possibly cannot) tolerate people sleeping on the premise.
If you buy lots of goods, it's a good way to save your strength by using certain lulls in the day to rest up and ditch any goods you don't need to carry with you the entire day in the safe room (and it'll probably help protect said items from accidental damage from the bustle of the day.)
Try to avoid appearing that you're being extremely overloaded with goods. Especially closer to night-time or more secluded places when appearing overloaded with expensive items might make you a target.
As a side-note, if you travel at night it'd be a good idea to get an escort from the venue or at least travel with like-minded con-goer.

Don't accept food from people you don't know (or at least haven't gotten to trust). In the same vein, don't be offended if you encounter an artist/celebrity that you're found of and are refused when you offer gifts of sweets or other food. Unfortunately not everyone at a convention goes there for innocent fun (or the offeree might have poor hygiene and unintentionally infected it) and the artists might just be safeguarding their own health and thus their livelihood. Refusing such food yourself is thus a good idea. A more diplomatic way to "graciously accept" without accepting their food is to go out to one of the food stalls and buy a meal and sit together and chat or what not. (If you can afford this that is.)

Ideally, it is a good idea to have a decoy wallet with about $20 (multiple smaller bills to make them look loaded at first glance) and some loose change that you can offer in case you get mugged, especially if you toss it to the side so you can run in a different direction toward safety while the mugger heads toward the wallet. TYPICALLY (but not always), the mugger just want to score something (or think they score) and do so with the minimal chance of getting caught.
If you elect to do that, keep your real wallet out of sight (possibly one of those travel ones worn under a shirt with a string around the neck) and keep your personal identifications in that one. Better yet, make photocopies of personal identification and keep them separate from your wallets.
(In an attempt to make my decoy wallet look real, I have used fake cards so the absence of such cards don't alarm the mugger until I've left the scene. Simple cards like loyalty cards from supermarket stores and perhaps library cards are a good way to pad it convincingly.)
This way, you aren't stranded and completely reliant on the good-will of others if you happen to lose one source of money.

If someone asks you to hold their prop weapon or whatever, it is a good idea to politely refuse... and you still hold it, DO NOT remove any odd tape or string or very visible marking, no matter how it might not be part of the actual costume/prop. Many (if not all) conventions require that items that look like they can potentially cause harm or look like weapons be marked in such fashion (known as peace-bonding) to make them easily and safely identifiable to the staff or to authorities from a distance. You DO NOT want to be caught holding one of those props (especially if it looks like a realistic weapon) with a removed peace-bond.

If you can manage to get a friend to come with you, do so. Chances are, it'll be more enjoyable and much safer and it'll be easier to manage certain things like having a friend grab food for you while you're waiting in a line, extra hands to carry goodies and so on...

Be careful when handling/examining merchant/dealer/artist goods. It might be entirely possible that too much handling or an accidental smudge, spittle, spill, tear or other sort of damage can result in a "you damage it, you bought it" scenario that would not be entirely pleasant, especially if you're just browsing comics that you're not certain that you want to buy or so on... If you have any doubts, consult the dealer/artist for assistance.

If you're traveling across borders or live in a place with restrictive content rules, remember what items are permitted or restricted when you buy goods. Buying a ninja blade for show might seem awesome until you got to deal with customs. >_> And some books/movies/games/posters/etc might be regarded as illegal in some places (especially certain manga that might appear to have provocative sexual content featuring characters that appear underage.)
In a similar fashion if you travel internationally, be aware of technical limitations of the products you buy. It'd suck to get a game or movie you can't play because it is PAL region when your player is NTSC region or whatever.
And of course, if you buy weapon-like products like the aforementioned display weapons, DO NOT attempt to branish, wield or display it "even just for kicks" until you're on property that won't frown on you for possessing such things (ideally, your own home). Best to only check the product once upon purchasing (to ensure you got the right thing) and then do not open the package (not even to peek at it) until it reaches your "home base". Even better, see if you can request the vendor or a staff to peacebond the package itself to help avoid any issues with authorities on the venue.

I realize that some of my suggestions may appear to be on the extreme/paranoid end, but they are potentially useful details to know for a first time visitor to avoid any massive situation that would ruin an otherwise enjoyable occasion. Even more so if you happen to be traveling to a con more than driving distance from home or so.

[Aldurin]

Originally Posted by Menarker

Ideally, it is a good idea to have a decoy wallet with about $20 (multiple smaller bills to make them look loaded at first glance) and some loose change that you can offer in case you get mugged, especially if you toss it to the side so you can run in a different direction toward safety while the mugger heads toward the wallet. TYPICALLY (but not always), the mugger just want to score something (or think they score) and do so with the minimal chance of getting caught.
If you elect to do that, keep your real wallet out of sight (possibly one of those travel ones worn under a shirt with a string around the neck) and keep your personal identifications in that one. Better yet, make photocopies of personal identification and keep them separate from your wallets.
(In an attempt to make my decoy wallet look real, I have used fake cards so the absence of such cards don't alarm the mugger until I've left the scene. Simple cards like loyalty cards from supermarket stores and perhaps library cards are a good way to pad it convincingly.)
This way, you aren't stranded and completely reliant on the good-will of others if you happen to lose one source of money.

On this note: I've heard stuff from teachers who have traveled to the EU that a common pickpocketing problem is that whenever something to make you aware of the possibility of pickpocketing occurs (say a "check to make sure your shit isn't stolen" announcement on public transit), most people more or less immediately give away the location of their wallets to nearby thieves. It's something that is probably very possible at cons, too.

The best ways to deal with this would be to check for your wallet subtly (for example bumping that pocket against a wall to make sure that there's still stuff in it) and to make sure that your wallet access is inconvenient in some way, such as in a pocket that is zipped shut. A location that takes 3 more seconds to remove your wallet from is going to be 3 seconds too long for an opportunistic thief.

[Menarker]

Originally Posted by Aldurin

On this note: I've heard stuff from teachers who have traveled to the EU that a common pickpocketing problem is that whenever something to make you aware of the possibility of pickpocketing occurs (say a "check to make sure your shit isn't stolen" announcement on public transit), most people more or less immediately give away the location of their wallets to nearby thieves. It's something that is probably very possible at cons, too.

The best ways to deal with this would be to check for your wallet subtly (for example bumping that pocket against a wall to make sure that there's still stuff in it) and to make sure that your wallet access is inconvenient in some way, such as in a pocket that is zipped shut. A location that takes 3 more seconds to remove your wallet from is going to be 3 seconds too long for an opportunistic thief.

A very good point. I have had once attached my decoy wallet to a chain which looked attached to my jeans, so as to make it visible that my wallet was going to be impossible to just snatch from me. Looking like a difficult target is a good way to avoid trouble. ^^
PS: I didn't actually connect the chain to my jeans though. Just a simple wrap of the chain around, so I could still remove the wallet quickly if the situation called for it.