Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Surviving Comic-Con

Whenever there's a big event, I usually weigh in on my dos and don'ts, what to bring etc., so I'm gonna modify my festival survival with some extra stuff for Comic-con.

The funny thing is that as I've been reading through press releases and google alerts, I came across this video that basically covers everything beyond. (Start at 4:54 if you don't wanna watch the whole thing)



Still, here's my usual street festival list, modified for Con:
  • A refillable water bottle
  • NO FLIP FLOPS (ok, that's a personal peeve, but they're not very comfortable for 4 days)
  • Extra clothes: t-shirt, socks, hoodie. It's gonna be hot and muggy this weekend.
  • Sunscreen, napkins/kleenex/baby wipes, hand sanitizer, lotion, deodorant, toothbrush- You never know where you might end up...you just might get lucky...if not, you still get stinky and sticky. To me, these are pretty much essential if I'm going to be away from home for anything more than 5 hours.
  • Camera (and backup batteries) Duh.
  • Phone (and charger). Double duh.
  • Laptop-Not for everyone, but there's a press room and free wi-fi throughout the convention center and downtown, so I expect to need mine often. I don't wanna hear shit about how I need an iPhone r iPad either, unless you're offering to buy me one.
  • Power strip- Sometimes outlets are hard to find. A power strip will let you share with others.
  • Snacks-Granola bars, jerky, string cheese, nuts...you never know how long you'll be waiting in lines. Small and compact and non-melty works best.
  • Cash- you do not want to be stuck in ATM lines

This year Comic-con is offering expanded bag check, so you don't have to lug everything around all day. The Bag Check station is located near Hall A and underneath the escalator in the lobby of Hall E, on the ground floor level of the Convention Center. The charge is $2.00 per bag.

You need to return to the Bag Check before they close as items cannot be left overnight.

The Bag Check schedule for 2010 is:
Wednesday, July 21 2:00 pm-9:00 pm
Thursday, July 22-Saturday, July 24 7:00 am-2:00 am
Sunday, July 25 7:00 am-5:00 pm

I made a map of some places below (and included some downtown 7-Elevens and Albertsons) on the map below if you're looking for some things to check out. You can also check out the East Village and Gaslamp maps from Urbanist.




View Comic-con Essentials in a larger map

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