So now you know which convention your going to and where you are going to stay. The next thing you have to think about is how are you going to get there. And obviously make sure you can get in the door at the convention. If you’re lucky and the convention takes place in your neighborhood, you probably already know how to get there. If it’s any further away you will need some logistical planning to get where you need to go. Depending on what form of transportation your are taking determines how long in advance you should start making plans.

Traveling is the most tiring and stressful part of any trip. On your way you are anxious to get there and on the way back you are so tired you just want to go home. And it also takes the most preparations and planning. A good way to start is try learning something about the place you are going if it is unfamiliar territory. You can do this any number of ways including asking people on the convention forums, checking the city website, or just pick up a map of the area. This will help you get a feel of your surroundings, see how close the convention center is to your hotel, and how close all the available transportation is as well. After you’ve picked a mode of transport, and paid for it, you can probably put money down on a ticket for the convention since you’ve made your big commitment at that point.

Just about any convention today will let you buy tickets online and many times, the sooner the better. If you pre-order your ticket there will usually be a discount. Some cons will give you a flat rate pre-order discount. Others will have a tiered rate if you order your ticket before a date or before a certain number of people have registered. In the case of the tiered system, the earlier you order the cheaper it is. Also if you are going with any posse over 10 people you should look into the conventions group discount. If the convention does not list its group ticket policy, shoot them a friendly email and you can usually work something out. This is fairly easy to get with anime clubs or if you just happen to be popular. Without a doubt the greatest benefit to pre-ordering your tickets is once your get to the convention you will almost always spend less time in line.

I always have the odd feeling that if I buy my ticket too soon something is going to come up and stop me from attending. One of the things I dislike about most anime conventions is that they require you to register with a name and bring ID to pick up your ticket effectively stopping you from handing over your unused ticket to someone else. So while ordering your ticket well in advance can save you some bucks, it is a decision you have to be sure about. However, I always recommend pre-registering, it will probably save you at least a couple of minutes in line if things are going correctly at a convention. Though I have been in attendance where the pre-reg line was out the door because everyone did it but if you bought tickets there you could just walk right in.

Plane tickets are now the most expensive part of any trip so our general recommendation is avoid flying unless time, distance, or circumstances prevent you from doing otherwise. If you can’t avoid flying then there are several options to keep your ticket price as low as possible. Your first is to hop on Expedia/Travelocity/Hotwire and see what the prices are looking like. Then check all the websites of specific airlines, the prices can sometimes differ. You can also see if your hotel offers some sort of room rate/plane ticket discount. Some hotels have deals with airlines that can get you discount rates on both prices if you ask. Also if your going very far or overseas you might want to talk to a travel agent because they also can get you combination deals on room rate/plane tickets as well. And travel agents make their money from companies you stay with so it is free to use them. Once again, plane travel can be steep so order far in advance to get better rates. Also keep an eye on prices after you order, if they drop significantly sometimes you can get a little refund by talking to the airline.

I have traveled to conventions most often by bus and I don’t have any real horror stories from doing it whereas I feel like others do. One year coming back from Otakon it did take about 6 hours to get home though, that was a real mess. Anyhow it is usually the cheapest way to go. There are a number of places depending on where you live, the most obvious being Greyhound and one you might not know about called Mega Bus. Mega Bus has a unique pricing system and also is way cheaper than other bus options. I only recently found out about it myself so I have not used it yet, however I have heard good things. One thing to remember about bus transportation is first come first served. You aren’t always guaranteed a seat on the bus you want to be on even if you order your ticket in advance. If it is full it is full and there is nothing you can do about it. You will notice this when coming back from a convention more often that going there. This is being done away with slowly. So be sure to get to the bus station at a decent time! Of course the downside to a bus is that it takes a little longer to get where you are going. But seriously we are anime fans, right, we have plenty to do! Plan your convention stuff, work on a panel, read manga, play video games, etc. we are never bored!

Trains are sort of the in between of taking a plane and taking a bus. Trains are faster than the bus but cheaper than a plane. As far as I can tell Amtrak is the the biggest interstate train system because all the discount travel sites dump you right to their website.  In general any advice that applies for buses also applies for the train.

Personally, I like driving to a convention. You get to arrive when you want, leave when you want, take as much luggage as you want, play your music loud, etc. This also allows you to get a hotel further from the convention, and possibly cheaper, if you want. The only city I don’t recommend this for is New York City. Most other places, including Chicago and Baltimore, have decent priced parking garages. If you are going to drive though, you should be comfortable with the interstate and/or driving for long periods of time. If you have a couple of friends who drive you can switch off to make it easier. Driving can be expensive though if you don’t have a full car to split the gas and tolls with. Tolls will get you, so plan your route ahead of time and look up the tolls you will probably be incurring. Driving gives you the most freedom to come and go as you please.

When you finally get to the city you have to get from where you are staying to the convention. Unless you are within walking distance or have a car you have two options you can take a taxi or your can take public transportation. If the con takes place in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, or Washington D.C. your best bet is to use Hopstop. You just put the address of where you are staying and where you are going and Hopstop tell you the quickest directions by public transportation and also how far you have to walk. If you are attending a convention outside of these cities your best bet is either use the website for the local department of transportation, call your hotel, or ask on the forums.

Taxis are always the last resort, use them sparingly. They are over-priced, period. But some hotels don’t offer shuttle services and in that case a taxi may be necessary. Before you consider one, make sure you aren’t within walking distance of where you need to go, this is an easy mistake if you are unfamiliar with the lay of the land. Also if you know it advance that you will need to take a taxi, it is best to print out directions or a map of where you need to go. Though this is good advice for anything not just taxi taking!

My only parting piece of advice is to always assume everything is going to go absolutely wrong. If you can swing it, try to get to out of state conventions the night before the con and give yourself the day off afterward. If life does not afford you that luxury, atleast try to get to the con 2 hours before any event you want to see and get home at least 4 hours before your minimum bedtime. You will always run into canceled, delayed, and rerouted planes and trains or bumper to bumper traffic when you absolutely cannot be late. It’s also when your leave yourself no leeway when you find yourself getting lost. So assume the worst and you will never be disappointed. Other than that may the road rise to meet you and may the wind be always at your back.

If you are even thinking of going to a convention and will need a room, get a hotel room as soon as possible. Like as soon as the con rate is available. Hotel reservations can be canceled with 48 notice (even 24 hours at some hotels) with no charge to you, so make it. If you don’t end up being able to go there’s no harm done but if you find out all of a sudden you can go a month before the convention you are going to be hard pressed to find a hotel with a decent rate.

We unfortunately were not able to attend the incredibly awesome Otakon 2008 this year due to our own lack of foresight. Usually we book our room for Otakon the day they announce the date of the next Otakon. For some reason this year everyone involved totally forgot to make the preparations. So by the time we remembered all the con discount rooms were already long gone. By the time the chance to snag a room again came up most people involved had budgeted their money towards other endeavors so nobody we normally attend with went. And so we missed out on one of the most awesome Otakons in recent memory which was a darn shame. Don’t lets this happen to you! Make reservations for the room the second you can.

Now picking a hotel. Well, that is all personal taste isn’t it? I’m incredibly picky so once I find one I’m happy with I always go back to it. Of course price is a factor but even the most expensive con rates for hotels aren’t bad if you split it between many people. Hotels have a 4/5 person limit for rooms because of fire safety, but as long as you aren’t acting like a fool no one is going to mind an extra body or two. It is pretty expected at cons. More expensive hotels usually have bigger rooms and bigger bathrooms.

Yes, but the magic key of not acting like a fool is harder than it seems for some people. This means keep your room parties to a dull roar, not getting alcohol poisoning, not getting under-aged drinkers alcohol poisoning, not vandalizing your room and the hotel, not harassing the non-otaku hotel guests, or doing any of the other countless stupid things to get you kicked out of the hotel. These all seem like easy enough things to avoid but you would be surprised how often they happen.

If you do find yourself in a situation where you can go but don’t have a room, there are a couple of things you can do. Persistence will be your friend! Write down all of the hotels and their phone numbers then call them everyday to see if there is a cancellation. Since you can cancel anytime many people overbook or end up not being able to go so you have to hope you call at the right time. But this does seem to work especially the week right before the convention. Also try the major travel sites like Hotwire and Expedia you never know what kind of deal might be out there sometimes they are just as good or better than the convention rates.

You can also see if anyone is willing to share a room at one of the local hotels in the area on the convention forums. There is usually a thread for people who want to share some space in their room with others. They have to pay less for their room and you get somewhere to stay for the convention. If you don’t see such a thread then start one. You can even ask the forum moderator if they will make it a sticky so it stays on the top of the forum. You might also be able to find a local who will put you up in their home for the convention.  If you have any preference about smoking or other important preferences don’t forget to mention it in the posting. I have one word of caution about this whole idea. When ever you do something like this you taking somewhat of a gamble. You could be signing up with total slobs whose room looks like a natural disaster. You could also get people who decide to kick you out at midnight so they can consummate their love for several hours. Or even people who regularly post on 4Chan. Think about your own tolerance of others before you do such a thing.

For the love of all things mighty, have the hotel send you an e-mail confirmation for your room. Then guard it with your life. The last thing you want is to show up at a couple of hundred miles (or more) away from home and hear that they don’t have you registered. This can happen especially with the craziness of conventions, lots of cancellations, people in and out, etc.

I remember the first year we went to Anime Boston, disaster was narrowly avoided. When we arrived at our hotel they told us that they had no reservations for us (mind you us being 15 people). It was a tense few minutes of deciding what to do, until Narutaki whipped out his powers of negotiation. They quickly found us two free rooms at the con rate. All of this could have been avoided. Afterall, what if you don’t have a Narutaki with you? A good rule of thumb is to print out a confirmation of anything you reserve in advance, then place it in a neatly labeled folder for the convention. This makes sure you only ever have to look in one place for any pertinent documentation. You might also want to give each person coming their own copy of the print outs as well. This gives everyone the ability to deal with situation should it arise.

If you are driving or even if you aren’t a good way to save cash over the weekend is to bring some grub along for the trip. The best times to save are on breakfast and those hunger pains in between meals. This can also save you time away from the convention. Each hotel differs but almost all of them provide a coffee maker (i.e. you can have boiling water) and some provide mini-fridges but don’t bank on it. I know that our favorite hotel for Otakon doesn’t have them. Don’t forget a bowl and silverware!

Suggested groceries you might want to bring/pick-up:

• Parmalat (milk that doesn’t need to be refrigerated, stays good for seven days after opening)
• Cereal
• Granola bars/Fruit bars/Cereal bars
• Instant ramen/Cup Noodle
• Loaf of bread
• Butter/Peanut butter
• Juice boxes
• Fresh fruit

There is a dreaded affliction that many people come down with after attending an anime convention (or any convention for that matter) called the con flu. This epidemic is when people seem to get sick immediately after attending a convention. It is caused by two major factors. The first is when you get a large number of people together you are just going to have a decent amount of trading of germs. The fact that many otaku are not the most hygienic of human being certainly does not help this fact. While you may be a decent human being that does not mean than everyone breathing on you is. The second reason is that most people eat like crap when they go to a convention. It’s all fast food and snack food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Combine that with a lack of sleep and it tends to weaken your immune system. Therefore unless you are going to eat out healthy, your best bet is to bring your own healthy snacks to balance out your otherwise terrible diet. Plus you will probably save some money in the process as well. That means more money for sake, bishonen, and anime OSTs.

We always try to have one nice meal out with all our friends who’ve come along. This usually takes place on Thursday night, the only night when everyone is not dead tired or running in four directions at once. Besides, room parties are going on Friday and Saturday nights!

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder is famous for saying that, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” This is especially true of any and all planning done for cons. I have yet to go to an anime con where everything went exactly as planned. Something or someone will always fall through often at the worst possible time. Vital items will be forgotten or left behind. The posted schedule almost always changes day to day sometimes hour to hour. Oddly enough though even though this is a truth you are doomed if you don’t have a plan for going to a con. A small amount of planning can turn a disastrous or boring anime convention into one of the highlights of your year.

But therein lies the problem, if there is no plan nothing will get accomplished. The plan will inevitably change. No matter what. The only way a plan can run perfectly is for only one person to be involved, so unless the con is just you in your basement it will involve others. If you are going alone you still have to worry about traveling (which involves all manner of other people) and the con itself may not run smoothly so your plan even less so.

I will tell you that Narutaki is correct. I was the only person at Hisui Con 2007 last year in my basement and it went off without a hitch but I found that it had no atmosphere what so ever. Roald Amundsen said that adventure is just bad planning. My friend Ben’s infamous road trips always stick out in my mind as to what happens when you take no care to plan you trips in advance. Ben is famous in my little circle of friends for spontaneously planning road trips at the last second and having many a horror story because of it. Tales of him driving half asleep in misty unknown parts of North East while trying to find somewhere to stay for the night before falling asleep at a rest stop to find people rather creepily staring at him when he awoke immediately spring to mind. So much of Ben’s interesting little “adventures” could have been avoided by some planning before setting out.

Disaster can be averted! The first thing you do, is decide to go. So let’s start now! Okay, so the first step has been taken and you haven’t broken a sweat. So why not take the bull by the horns and plan your trip yourself, leave it to no one else!

I myself have up until recently have been more of a passive participant in convention planning. I have always been fortune enough to either have anime conventions near me or to have someone in charge of planning things for me. Narutaki is usually our group’s main chief of planning. But when CLAMP was at Anime Expo 2006 Kohaku and I were forced to make plans for ourselves. It turned out fine but it was the first time I had to fend for myself. I’m also had to plan out my solo journey to the Providence Anime Conference. I will say the the less people you have to plan for the easier it is but the more good friends you bring the more likely you will have a good time.

I have worked with people to plan for 20 and to plan for 2. I’m slowly but surely becoming a seasoned organizer for these types of excursions. Every year something new is learned and every year something unexpected happens. So our guide will be a multiple post, ongoing series initially coming out once a month (the last Monday of the month).

The Con Survival Series:

• Room and Board
• Tickets and Transportation
• Money and Packing
• Schedule and Time Management
• How to Run a Panel
• How to Navigate the Dealer’s Room

Why are we doing this? As the average age of the typical anime fan gets younger and younger while the number of people going to anime conventions increase it means that many con goers are totally green to the con going experience. Just look at any message board for you local con and you will invariably see a thread asking for advice and suggestions. Having the battle scars of years of mistakes, failures, learning experiences, and triumphs we have decided to pass along our wisdom in hopes of teaching first time con attendees what to do and what to avoid in planning their first con experience. Heck old timers might pick up a new trick or two as well.

Okay, yeah, we are going to tell you the mostly overly detailed way of doing things. To the point of madness at times, but this is just a guide not a set of laws. Heck, we may even forget to do some of the things we’re going to tip you off to. The goal is to remember all the great stuff about the convention, not the screw-ups. So hopefully a little help from us you can accomplish just that!