My Top 10 Convention Tips

With Oz Comic Con coming up this weekend I'm getting really excited and after a my first few conventions I came up with a bit of a guide to make the convention experience run a little smoother.

1) Buy a two day ticket: I find that going both days is the best way to enjoy a convention allowing you to spend the first day looking around at the stalls, going to panels and enjoying the cosplay.

2) Take your money with you: There are always long lines at ATMs so it is much easier to stop on the way there to grab your cash but don't worry you can always line up for the ATM if you forget or run out of money.

3) Set a budget: It is easy to get a little overwhelmed and spend all your money in the first 15 minutes so to prevent this set yourself a budget and stick to it, remember you need to eat for the rest of the week.

Remember you need food to live

4) Appropriate behaviour: I've spoken about the dos and don'ts before but the basic rule is "if you wouldn't like it done to you, don't do it to others".

5) Have a plan: Have a rough idea of what you'd like to do each day.

6) Be flexible: Sometimes plans just don't work out so be flexible and don't get too upset if it doesn't run like clockwork.

Let's wing it

7) Token Purchase: If you decide you want to get a photo with or an autograph of one of the guests at the convention you will need to purchase a token. If you can purchase the tokens earlier online then that is the best way to go but if not then your next best option is to purchase your tokens at the end of the first day to use on the second day. Unfortunately some conventions have a purchase on the day only and if that's the case you'll just need to line up.

8) Check guest/panel times: If there is a panel you want to attend or a photo/autograph session with a guest make sure you check your times. The last thing you want to do is purchase a guest token and then miss the time completely.

9) Be patient: The lines will be long, everybody has to wait, be patient and your turn will come. If you really don't want to wait you can purchase a priority ticket that gets you first access to photo and autograph sessions.

I know it feels like this but I promise it isn't,

10)  Take a water bottle: I can't stress this enough, you're going to get thirsty, it will happen faster than you think and I don't want to pay $5 for a bottle of water.

This is usually after just the first 2 hours