The Camp Site

Two weeks ago, I went to the New York Comic Con. It was ah-mazing. I have so many wonderful things to talk about. But since this was my first time at this particular convention, I wanted to start with some tips that I learned. Some of these I learned from other people via social media and other I learned the hard way.

Anyways, here we go….

1. Wear comfy shoes

You will be standing. A lot. You will be walking… a lot. The Javits Center is huge. Sometimes one panel will be on the completely opposite side and up two sets of escalators from an exhibit. I averaged four miles of walking per day. Thankfully I wore my most comfortable pair of sneakers and while I was tired, my feet didn’t hurt.

2. Bring a chair

Someone mentioned this right before I left for New York. I brought a small camping chair that weighed about a pound and half. This thing was a life saver. When I was in a long line, especially in the morning waiting to get inside, I was able to sit comfortably on my little chair rather than on the ground. Maybe for younger people that wouldn’t be a problem, but it was very helpful to me.

3. Plan your schedule out ahead of time

I cannot stress this enough. Go in with a plan. I found the NYCC app to be especially helpful with this aspect. It allows you to create your own schedule so you know exactly where you are going and when. However, they only have NYCC official programing on the app. You won’t be able to see or include signings/appearances from vendors on there. For example: Penguin Random House had a lot of author signings each day. They posted their schedule to Instagram and that was how I was able to view their programming. I then wrote out a schedule. This made my life much easier.

4. Reservations and booth signings.

When it comes to schedules, you will have to make reservations for some of these. There are two types of reservations: those offered by NYCC and those offered by vendors.

For those offered by NYCC, you will need to make the reservations in advance. The panel reservations are separate from the signing/autographing reservations. Panel reservations are a first come first serve basis. I believe VIP gets early access. For general admission, there will be an announcement about the date and time reservations for panels can be made. You get into an online queue and make your reservations from there. Autographing reservations are separate. You get ONE autographing reservation TOTAL for the entire convention. ONE. NYCC will announce the date reservations open. There will only be limited time for you to make reservations. Reservations are awarded randomly so there is no need to get into an online queue. You put your reservation request in for each day. You will be notified which reservation you receive about a week before the convention. I will have more thoughts about this in a later post.

For vendor reservations, they often are first come first serve. Some vendors will ask for you to get tickets first thing and then come back at the assigned time. Others will just have you come back “15 minutes” before the signing. For popular signings, you will need to get there more than 15 minutes early.

Not every panel requires a reservation

5. Get to the panel early.

The lines for panels start early. The more popular the panel, the longer the line is going to be. If you want to get a seat, get there early or else you are going to be standing room only, if that.

6. Get to autographing early.

The autographing area is not in the same area as the panels. There is an entire hall dedicated to autographing and the lines can get long. Fun fact: you do not need to attend a panel in order to get into an autographing line.

7. Don’t stop in the middle of the fucking aisles!

8. Ask for permission to take a pic.

9. If you have to go potty stop and go right away! Bathroom lines get long.

I almost learned this the hard way. Do not wait until you really need to go to get to a bathroom. I can’t speak to the men’s room but the line for the women’s room gets looooong. Trust me, at the first sign you need to go, stop and go.

10. Bring snacks.

The food options are minimal and often expensive. Bring small snacks that you can munch on in line. Much cheaper and convenient.

11. Get to the Javits center EARLY.

This last one is debated among convention goers. Some people want to get the convention early to maximize experience. Others want to get to a certain booth to get swag that may run at a later time. Some panels and signings begin when the con opens and people want to get a good seat. Penguin Random House issued booth signing reservation tickets when the con opened at 10am. Once they were gone, they were gone, making it so you had to be there first thing. Any of the above scenarios would require someone to be at the convention prior to doors opening. I will talk more about this in a later post. The doors open at 8am to get into the queue hall. But people will line up outside long before this time.

Many con goers argue that arriving when the con doors open at 10am is sufficient. You can avoid long security lines and generally walk right into the con. I can confirm that there is not a lot of congestion at security if you arrive after the con opens.

12. Bring a poncho.

On the last day of the convention, it rained most of the day. I had a small umbrella that worked well but I wasn’t going to cover my backpack and swag bag sufficiently to protect my items from rain damage. I put my poncho on over my backpack and bag. Coupled with my small umbrella it kept everything nice and dry.

Those are all the recommendations I have. I’m sure there are others out there and people who would disagree with some of these, but I found that the con was much more enjoyable this way.

I’ll be posting more about NYCC in the coming days in terms of my experience and what I enjoyed.