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Nice tutorial for newbie con-goers biggrin
I'd like to add maybe a couple things-
On hotel rooms- BOOK THEM EARLY! If a con is in a hotel, I guarentee it will fill up fast. Once the con dates are set, there is no such thing as booking rooms too early. If the con hotel is over your budget, scope out close area hotels. We've frequently stayed in a hotel down the block, which isn't a bad walk to the con hotel, plus you can go somewhere quiet and not as chaotic as the con hotel to retire for the day.
You can always ask the people at the hotel for closeby places to eat and such, so be sure to ask.
I totally second the notion of bringing your own food. A small cooler of drinks, some fruit, and backup ramen is great when you flop into your room exhausted after being at the con all day. We usually bring bread and peanut butter & jelly. Cup o noodles and a hotel coffeemaker are your friends. Stuff at the hotel is NOT CHEAP. Some hotels are near a bunch of fast food or resteraunts, some not so close. Also be aware that EVERYONE at the con is ALSO going to those places, so there will likely be a wait for seating during normal lunch and dinner hours. If you can manage to go during a more odd hour or during a really big panel event, you'll probably have an easier time of it. If you want to go with your group to a resteraunt, its nice to phone ahead. Our whole anime club used to go to cons and have a Japanese steak/sushi house night where everyone went, and we were quite a large group. We'd just call around and find the closest ones to the con, and then make reservations.
One really good thing to have with you- a WATCH. When you first get the con schedule, what I like to do is go through and use a highlighter to mark all the events or panels I want to see the most, as well as the stuff I want to see in the video rooms. Its guarenteed that there will be something you really want to do scheduled at the same time as something else, so you'll have to choose. Plan your day. There's plenty of things to do between those panels you wanted to get to, but watch your time so you can get to them in time (its quite often a good idea to GET THERE EARLY to any bigger events that a lot of people will be attending). Its also good for synchronizing your watches and meeting with friends at a certain time and place, especially if you're in a group and you want to split for a while and then regroup.
A CELL PHONE is also a great coordination tool. (Watch for roaming charges and stuff tho.) Be polite and keep it on vibrate, since you'll probably be in a lot of panels or video rooms and forget to reset it.
You WILL spend more money than you mean to in the dealer room. The best stuff is there Friday morning and may even be gone by late-afternoon. Plan your spending though. Don't just get stuff that catches your eye, and then when you get home you're like "why did I buy that?" It is a definate tendency to want to buy everything you see because its more than likely there will be a lot of stuff you never even knew existed. If you're lucky enough to be there when it opens the first day, do yourself a favor and do a sweep of the entire room. There is some competative pricing, some places will be offering the same thing cheaper than others (especially with stuff that lots of dealers carry, like manga, DVDs, CDs, wallscrolls, etc.). You may want that plushie so bad, and pay $20 for it, only to find the exact same plushie at a different dealer later for only $15. It pays to shop around. You don't *need* to buy everything the first day, if you're going to be there for the weekend. Only pick a couple things you want the most and look to be limited in quantities, maybe even prioritize the kinds of things you want to find most so you're not too distracted by temptaion of other stuff. Think about what your most favorite series and/or characters are right now, what you're most dedicated to. If you already have 20 wall-scrolls/posters plastered all over your room, you don't need 5 more... maybe just pick your 2 favorites. I know its hard when its all new to you, but once you've been to a couple cons you learn what stuff just keeps reappearing for sale over and over.
Indeed some dealers do start cutting deals come near closing time on Sunday, since they'd rather not haul everything back, but don't *expect* everyone to do so. I sometimes think this is a bit exaggerated, but I'm sure it depends on the con. The really good stuff is generally gone by then, but maybe you can get some DVDs or something discount. Also maybe give a thought to the fact that everything you buy is going to have to fit in the car with you when you leave IN ADDITION to everything you brought with you (unless you live nearby it isn't such a big deal.) You're also going to have to keep it somewhere in your hotel room, I think there's few cons where at least one small thing or bag I've bought has gone missing and may or may not have been found. Maybe try to consolidate everything into as few bags as possible. Everyone else has all their stuff too, so if you came in a caravan of people it can get quite crowded on the ride home with all your stuff. This sucks in long car rides.
I know in older years dealers also used to take checks, but I think few do anymore (cause its easy to get ripped off that way.) Also few take credit/debit cards because they usually just have to take a copy of them, they may not have a zon machine at the con so again they can get ripped off that way later. Cash is the best. If you see a lot of stuff you want from a dealer, always ask first what kinds of payment they accept. Use credit when you can, so you have the cash if you need it later. There are also generally ATM machines at the hotel, but they always have a high fee associated with them and frequently are out of cash by late Saturday, so they cannot be depended upon. Be safe with your cash though. Make sure you have what you need for food and stuff allocated aside. I wouldn't have *all* your money on you the whole con. Keep some safely stowed in your room just in case.
It is also nice if you give the old artist's alley a browse before you completely wipe out your money. Some nice people there, and some good work, you can get prints for fairly cheap. Support your local fans ^_^. Wouldn't it be cooler to have an original print on your wall than a poster that you could get most anywhere? You could even maybe get a sketch of your favorite character or yourself.
A note about cosplay- its great if you want to make a kick-a** costume, but if its ackward to move around in, such as big wings or something, maybe pick a prime time later in the day to wear it. It sucks navigating the dealer room if you can't see properly through a mask or bumping someone every 30 sec with some appendage from your costume.
Also, pretty much all cons have weapon restrictions. You'll more than likely have your weapon checked, and some things will not be allowed except for costume judging type things. So don't get yourself all worked up over it.
I agree with the being safe and always being in contact with your group you came with, especially if they're your ride. It has been many con-years that our club group has temporarialy adopted people to help out because they've lost their group and thus can't get in their room or a ride home etc.
Also, for those old enough (and especially for those who are not!), don't drink yourself silly while you're at the con. You will regret it.
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Gaara<3X_X 
