Attending an Anime Convention step one: Planning before the convention

It’s a little more than a month before AFO (Anime Festival Orlando) and I am pretty excited. Excited that I get to miss work on our two busiest days out of the week and escape the wrath of being completely rushed with orders. Excited that for three days I get to not think about delivery orders and running out of boxes/sauce/dough/EVERYTHING and special co-workers who drive me up the wall.

But I am mostly excited about the anime convention itself. The cosplays, the dealers room, the hotel filled with equally crazy anime fans. A year seems much too long in-between cons (which is why we added another convention to our vacation list this year). I am having serious anime convention withdraws.

So to hold off these my convention withdraws I have decided to do a series of posts about anime conventions. Sure anime conventions are fun and a time to just chill out but you still need to have a game plan and do a bit of research before you embark on your journey of fun. So here are some words of wisdom from myself on how to have a blast at the anime convention of choice while being safe/alive and without breaking the bank.




So after you have decided that you want to attend an anime convention you have to decide which convention you want to attend. If you live in Florida like me you have quite a few options. But if you like in North Dakota probably not so much. So you to narrow down what convention you want to attend before you proceed any further.

That is where the internet comes into play. Are you more interested in a huge convention like Fanime and Otakon that have massive attendance or a smaller convention that has a more close knit feeling? Both types of conventions are fun in their own right but have a different kind of feel towards them. Lines tend to be longer and the rooms a little more crowded at the bigger conventions. The smaller conventions might have less to do and with less people less wonderful cosplays.

And there is also the decision between an established convention and a newer convention. Most new conventions will be very small and have a few little bumps along the way. But if the new convention is nearby it will be worth supporting it and help get it on its feet. An established convention probably will have things down pat but will more expensive overall.

So once you decide what kind of convention (s) you want to attend it’s time to think about a few basic things. One of the most important is time off from work. I am going to just assume for blogging purposes that everyone is over 17, has a job, and will not depend on a parent/guardian/alien companion for any anime conventions. Nothing is wrong with youngens going to anime conventions but that is a whole different set of rules and relies on too many outside factors out of the con attendees control.

Back to the work situation. Even if the convention is 6 months away you still have to factor in time off and what your managers will say about the situation. If the anime convention of your choice is after Halloween you might want to cross your fingers you can get time off. Most retail stores have a no vacation/limited vacation rule during the holiday season. And there are other factors to consider when asking for time off (is the convention near a major holiday weekend like Memorial Day Weekend). So to play it safe make sure you will be able to get time off before you spend any money on the convention!

The next factor to consider is travel plans. Most conventions require you to stay at a hotel (meaning it is not feasible to travel to your house and the convention everyday). And depending on how far this convention you might have to make airplane plans. But most likely the convention will be cheaper to drive to. So you need to take care of hotel arrangements and car rides.

Almost all hotels require the person booking the room to have a working credit card. That credit card will need to have enough to cover the amount of the room and usually a small incidental fee (50 dollars or so). Sometimes the hotel will actually charge your card even if you are planning to pay with a different method. The card will be refunded after you check out if you choose to pay by a different method but know that money will be unavailable during the convention.

Maybe you can catch a ride with the Pika mobile?

Transportation will depend on if you have a reliable car or not to get you to the convention. If not you will either have to rent a car or bum a ride from a friend who loves and cares for you. If you do bum a ride chip in for gas money. Your friend is doing you a favor the least you can do is help out with the rising cost of gas. Also be ready when they come to pick you up. Nothing is more annoying that arriving to your friend’s house and they are still running around packing.

Speaking of friends it is also important to decide if you are going to go with friends or if you are going it alone. Going alone is a little lonely and will cost a bunch more but you will have more independence to do your own thing. Going with friends will help defray the cost of the hotel/travel arrangements but it can be a hassle. Bathroom time will be crazy especially if you have a bunch of cosplayers in your room and you might not even get a bed.

But if you do go with friends and you are the credit card holder for the hotel get the money up front. As in the second someone gets the convention that is rooming with you get the cash from them. If you wait until the last day people might have spent their hotel money in the dealer’s room. I am not saying your friends are going to cheat you out (on purpose) but they might get caught up in the moment and go a little crazy. Also if you are the one who makes the hotel arrangements you are in charge of its condition at the end of the convention. So while I am not saying being the fun police you might want to make sure no underage people are drinking in the room or if people are getting high in the bathroom. If you are the car driver set some ground rules. And make sure your trunk has enough space for all your luggage and your passenger’s luggage as well.

So after you have decided the convention and who you are going with, make the hotel arrangements and buy your tickets as soon as possible. For many conventions there is a discount if you mention you are with the convention. You either need to mention the convention of the phone or use the code found at the convention’s website. The sooner you buy the tickets the better. Most likely you will save more money than if you pay at the door and the prereg lines tend to be shorter. You will also be able to put aside the hotel and ticket money aside, away from the other expenses.

There is also the small matter of arriving a day early. Some conventions are HUGE and waiting in line even for a prereg ticket is insane. Some people spend hours in line on the first day of the convention (usually Friday) and that is after they spend hours on the road getting to said convention. So it might be worth it to arrive on Thursday and picking up your ticket in advance (check to see if your convention has that option first). Sure it will mean an extra night at a hotel (which might not be in your budget) but it might be worth it so you can spend a full day on Friday at the convention.

Something else that needs to be thought of well in advance is if you are cosplaying or not. You don’t want to put a costume together 3 days before the convention. Most costumes take month to gather the materials/sew them together/make the money to buy said materials. That will probably be a major expense and will cut into your merchandise buying spree. So if you want to cosplay you need to decide sooner rather than later.

The next issue and probably the most important is money. You will need money for basic things like the hotel, transportation, the convention badge, and food. You need to figure out what your share of the hotel room is and gas money right off the bat. Factor in your ticket and at least 20 dollars a day for food and that is the bare minimum for what you need for the convention.

Perhaps not a healthy bento but one can not live on pocky alone at a convention!

The food issue is a little bit dependent on where you are going. Is this hotel/convention center close to a bunch of fast food/restaurants or is it pretty much out in the middle of nowhere? Or are all the restaurants in the area way too expensive for your small budget? Some hotels may provide you a fridge but one is not to be expected. It is cheaper to bring your own food but storage becomes an issue. Some basic things you can bring that will count down on costs are your own water bottles/sodas and light nonperishable snacks. If the convention is at an actual convention center be aware of outrageous lunch prices. Imagine movie theater prices and work from there. So 20 dollars might be a pretty lowball number actually. But eating is important! Do not pass up dinner in favor for a new shine figurine.

Some conventions charge extra for some events. The ticket price will not cover special events. Some events include concerts, Maid Cafes, and certain dances. If you want to attend these events you need to budge a little bit extra money.

The dealers room: The source of my empty wallet.

Of course there is the always popular dealers room. Some people spend huge chunks of money during the convention weekend while others barely can afford to get to the convention. If you do want to drop some healthy change in the dealers room make sure you research some of the products you are interested in. Dealers are there to make money and some bank on the fact that you will be too caught up in the MOG funness to see that they are charging slightly (or really) outrageous products. You do need to check out the entire dealers room before making purchases but we will leave that for a future post. For now you need to figure out how much money you need budget for said dealer’s room.

The dealer’s room will probably be the most up in the air in terms of your budget. How much you spend there will depend on how much you can save before the convention and after all your other necessary expenses are paid. The easiest way to save money (at least for me) is to save a little bit each month. If you try to pull money together a week or two before the convention it might not work out. You might have an unexpected real life bill or medical issue or a parking ticket or something else. The point is saving two weeks before a convention isn’t a good idea. What I do is put aside at least 20 dollars from each paycheck. That is a pretty small amount that can add up quickly over time and surely you can survive on the rest of your paycheck and not miss that 20 dollars. So if you start saving 6 months before a convention and you receive at least two paychecks a month that is 240 dollars. Since you have already budgeted how much it will be for the hotel, ticket, gas money, and food you should have the base amount of money you need figured out. So if after all that the 240 dollars is long gone or not enough change your budget accordingly. Personally I try to budget at least 100 dollars for the dealers room but everyone is different.

As a side note cash is usually preferred at conventions. Some vendors won’t have a credit card machine handy. Others might be able to give you a bit of a deal when paying all in cash. Cash is also easier to pay back your friends for gas money/hotel expenses/ect. In short cash is better. I would bring said cash with you to the convention and not rely on long line at ATM machines if they are available at all.

So now that we have the money issue covered you need to plan for your real life issues. Do you have pets that need to be taken care of while you are out of town? Do you have exams/classes that you will miss on Friday? Do you have any bills that are due on the days you will be out of town? Whatever your real life issues are need to be taken care of before you leave for the convention, not the morning of. XD Also make sure someone knows where you are going in case something happens. That probably means your parents and hey parents like to know this stuff because it makes them feel better about the situation.

Next is making up a list of events you want to attend at the convention. Most conventions post a schedule up when it comes close to the time of said convention. If that option is available it makes planning your weekend easy. Otherwise you will have to wait until you get to the convention and pick up the convention handbook. At the very least the website should list major events that you can pick from and highlight in your convention book when you arrive. Time can fly really fast so make sure you have a game plan so you don’t miss anything fun.

I think I have covered the basic planning needs before an anime convention. Of course everyone has a different life situation so there may be more things that apply to them or most of the list doesn’t apply at all. The point is this post covers most scenarios and maybe will remind you of something else that you need to do before said convention. It all depends on how much money you have, what kind of weekend you are looking to have, and whether or not you are cosplaying. For my next anime convention post I will focus on the items you need to bring on your super fun convention trip. Thanks for reading!