[Elc1247]

Originally Posted by Tempest Wind   If it's your first con, you won't cosplay, but you'll wish you did. Then, when you finally do, you'll realize your costume isn't nearly as good as the other costumes out there, and you'll lose some -- but not all -- of your nerve. XP. That's the experience all of my friends went through during their first and second cons at least. Scribbles is totally right about eating and drinking. I recommend bringing your own food because everything is INCREDIBLY expensive or out of reach. Normally during conventions I subsist on breakfast bars, trail mix bars, and pretzels. Not very healthy, but it's only a few times a year. There are no microwaves ready, and hot water can be hard to come by, so I don't recommend bringing anything that requires cooking or refrigeration. Also, if you room with other people, they may have food as well. That's always fun. (It's so sweet because my typical roomies know I'm vegetarian, so they bring me vegetarian food. <3) Also also, be crazy and do your own thing. =B I rarely hang out with my typical group of friends and instead search the con for other people cosplaying from the same series as me. It's a great way to meet people and free yourself entirely from your typical day-to-day life. X3 Aaaaand, the last day of the con is depressing. *nods* I cry. Most people don't even cosplay on the last day, and everything feels sluggish. You're thrust back into normal life, after having spent three days in an anime world closed off from the rest of society, and it's a difficult adjustment. But it's so worth it.

in general, i would say that its best to start planning at least a few months ahead for cons anyways, most likely cons wont be very close to most people, its most often that you travel and stay in the area for the duration. going to cons is expensive, but we at 918 are gonna be there to cover what cons we can. you can look forward to us being at Anime Expo this year at least!

for cosplaying, if you felt like you made your costume well, theres a good chance it is actually a pretty good one, if you find us at a con, we take tons of pictures of cosplayers, not just the amazing ones wearing costumes that might have taken months and hundreds of dollars to make. i remember taking a ton of pics last year at AX, drained more than 1 battery every day i was at AX last year, thank goodness I had 3 batteries with me, I just stopped random cosplayers with interesting costumes and took pics. ah there were some epic ones, and some simple yet great costumes too. if you are going to cosplay, i say go for it, its to enjoy the experience more.

for food, i recommend going out for meals, yes things are VERY expensive at the con. if theres a fast food place down the street, i say go for it, thats what i did when i went to both AX and Fanime to save on food costs. or bring your own food to the con, dont forget to bring a bag or backpack to carry your stuff: food, water, shwag, stuff you buy, costume stuff, etc. cell phones are essential when you are going with a group too, though it is usually too busy or loud for you to notice your cell ringing, so make sure to turn on the vibrate...

oh man... theres just allot of things to keep in mind when going to a con, the main thing is just to plan ahead, it will help to no end.