Well, I thought Otakon was a blast.  I had read Answerman on ANN at one point tell someone who wanted to go to a big convention for their first convention that they may get overwhelmed.  This was something that I feared but, luckily, didn’t happen.  I guess I was a little stressed trying to figure out what was where and how to get there on time, etc., but that had to do with it being so big and there being so much to do than being freaked out by 20,000 people.

It was really fun, and worth my time.  I kind of wish some of the stuff that I personally wanted to go to were spread out over the 3 days better and not mostly clumped in the first day, but that could just be do my wanting to go to different things than most other people.  I realize they schedule for everyone and not just for me.  Also, I have to blame myself for missing some of the things I wanted to go see (damn you Harry Potter book 7!)

What I Learned

So what are some things I learned my first time at Otakon.  Well, here are some:

Get your badge on Thursday.

Ok, I didn’t really “learn” this since I did this anyway, but I guess it just reinforced doing so.  If you wait until Friday, you’ll be faced with two lines: a huge line to actually pick up your badge and then a huge line to actually get into the convention center.

You don’t have to get in line Friday morning way early

I got to the convention center about 8am on Friday to get in, and at first I thought I’d regret it since I was standing in front of the Charles Street Doors – the 2nd time by, after the line had already started at the doors, gone down the block to Sharp Street (the street that runs under the 3rd floor), then wrapped back.  However, I still got in just around 9, and they started letting people in about 10 minutes late, so no, you don’t have to get there at 6 or 7 in the morning, though you’ll obviously get in that must faster if you do.

Look at the schedules at each room frequently

This is definitely something I’ll try to do next time.  If you’re really busy, you may not find much time to do it, but you should try.  The schedule they give you when you register is mostly correct, but not totally.  Some things get changed.

For example, the panel for Morio Asaka got moved from like 5 to 6pm to around 1 or 2pm on the first day.  The showing for Sola episodes 1-4 got canceled altogether I think.  Just make sure, especially for guests, that they are still scheduled to show up at the time and place that your booklet says they are.

Wear good shoes

Ok, my shoes were still pretty good – but you’re probably going to be walking from one end of the convention center to the other – and it’s about 2 blocks long – several times.  If you’re going to wander around the dealer’s room or go to the harbor to eat, that means even more walking.   The bottom line is that you’re going to walk a lot, so make sure that you at least bring a good pair of shoes.

Budget out time to eat

I’d recommend an hour for lunch and at least an hour and a half for dinner, just so you have enough time to walk to the restaurant and walk back, plus possible waiting time.  The food within the convention center itself is ridiculously expensive (a bottle of water was $3), so unless you’re willing to pay for that convenience, carve out some time.

Budget out some time to rest

Along the same lines as taking time out to eat,  take some time out to rest.  This doesn’t mean you have to find some place to curl and sleep, but just hang out in the Charles Street lobby, or hang out in the cafe for half an hour, or if you’re going to watch an anime, most get done at least 20 minutes early or so from their schedule end time, so go in and just sit for those 20 minutes to wait for what you want to see.  Just give yourself at least some breaks during the day.

Staying in downtown is best, if you can’t, stay close to the light rails

Staying in downtown is best – if you can share the costs with other people – if for no other reason than because you’re just more flexible.  You can stay and go to the 2am panel if you want to if all you have to do is walk across the street to get to your hotel.  However, if you’re like me and don’t know anyone to share a room with, try staying at a place close to the light rail – i.e. the BWI Airport district, Glen Burnie, Timonium, etc.  Hotels there are at least doable for people going on their own, and the light rail is a great way to get into the city.

Cash isn’t needed – but is still good to have on hand

I bought some stuff with cash, just because I had it on me, but most everyone – even people in the dealer’s room – takes credit cards.  Make sure you have some cash on you in case you run into a place that only needs cash, or if you need to take a cab, and if you ride the light rail, you’ll need cash for that, but there is no need to stuff $500 or $1000 into your wallet unless you just don’t have a credit card.

Alright, that’s all I can think of for now.  Now, on to…

Site Notes

I kind of talked about this before, but I thought I’d give an update of when and what I’d get up to on my blog.  First off, I do plan on doing my podcast again this Saturday, so look forward to that.  I’ll hopefully start posting episode reviews for Nagasarete Airantou and School Days starting this weekend (think Sunday) as well.  Also, hopefully by this weekend I’ll have a post or posts up with pictures as well, and then next week I’ll hopefully get back to a semi-regular posting schedule.