This was my first time ever at this event and I was not ready for this at all. I had been to comic cons before, but nothing to this caliber. This time around I was a vendor, and when we entered the warehouse on the first day, to say I was a little overwhelmed is an understatement. Looking around the room I felt so nervous being close to celebrities, and was not completely ready for the storm that would hurl itself at me during this entire weekend, but thankfully I’ve been able to take somethings away from this experience.
1. If you are going to do a comic con at this caliber wear shoes that will be comfortable.
Now you are probably thinking why would I need to know this? Well you need to know this because after walking around for hours in the shoes you just had to wear because they really completed the look of your outfit, your feet are going to be killing you! I made the mistake for the whole con of not bringing comfortable shoes to wear. I wish I could have told myself to bring comfier shoes so when I sat down I could at least feel comfortable.
2. If you are going to cosplay, be ready for anything and know the character you are going to be.
Over this weekend I cosplayed as Captain America and Black Widow twice, and I never felt more like I was being pulled in two different places at once than I did during this weekend. Also, make sure you have a pose down for when people want to take your picture. For example, if you're Spiderman, your go-to pose would be the crouching pose, and if you are being Black Widow, your go-to poses could be holding your gun up and twisting it to the side, or holding your fists up. Also, bring a spare change of clothes because after a while it gets annoying wearing your costume.
3. Bring your own food!
With all of the things they charge you for, you would think that the one thing they wouldn’t overcharge you for would be the food. Unfortunately, they overcharge you for that, too, and your best bet would be to pack up your own food and bring it with you to eat. Over the duration of the comic con we realized that making food beforehand would mean making up a bunch of sandwiches and having a picnic. Why pay over 10 bucks for something when you can just make it at home?
4. Transportation!
If you are able to find any other way to get to the comic con besides a car, take it! When you drive into the city, parking is one of the biggest pains that anyone can deal. When you park in the city you pay by the hour, so if you add that all up you'll be paying about 30 dollars. For over two/three hours you are paying about $120 in total for the whole week. So if you can get someone to drop you off, or take the bus or train, do anything you can to avoid paying for parking.
5. Treat yourself!
If you find out that a celebrity that you’ve been dying to see is going to be at the comic con (ie: Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, etc.), in the wise words of Tom and Donna from "Parks and Rec," “Treat yo self!” Save some money, and if you see that the person you want to see, give that chance to yourself, you have earned it. Also, if you happen to see a vendor that is selling something that you want to buy, go for it, because you don’t know if you’ll be back there again.
