Money

This may seem obvious, but many people don’t realize just how expensive a convention can be. Besides the price of admission, you also need spending cash for the Dealers Room as well as funds put aside for purchasing food. It also helps to have money for things like extra batteries, bus fare, and the bar. To be safe, you’ll want to have at least $300 saved up for the weekend. Also, budget what you have. I know that the Dealers Room is nice with lots of goodies but it‘s easy to spend it all in one day which will lead to problems later when you can’t afford dinner.  The best way to do this is to separate your money into three envelopes. One for emergencies (¼ of your budget), one for the Dealers Room (½ of your budget), and one for food and drink (¼ of you budget). By doing this, you will make sure that cash will not be a problem during the trip.

Spare Batteries/Phone Charger

You never know when your camera/phone will run out of power; in fact, this happened to me when I went to get pictures with Fake? To prevent this problem you should bring at least four extra batteries and your charger to the con. This will ensure that you will be able to take a lot of pictures and keep your cell phone working in case of emergencies.

Water

Unless you are sitting in an air conditioned room, conventions have you walking from place to place in cramped areas for several hours a day. This can lead to dehydration. Unless you want to fork over $6 for a small cup of water, it is essential you bring your own water and lots of it. I recommend at least five 20 oz bottles of water to go through over the con. This is a cheap, efficient way to quench your thirst and keep you from passing out.  

Food

Unless there is a dinner included with the price of admission, do not eat at the convention center or hotel. It will cost you a lot of money and will not be filling at all. Eat before you get to the con at a local restaurant or leave the con during a dead section and go out to eat. You may lose your parking spot but you will be able to eat real, affordable food and not $12 hot dogs.

Backpack

No matter what you bring, buy, or need, you will have to carry it in something. That is why you absolutely need a backpack or backpack equivalent. It might clash with your Haruhi costume, but it will leave your hands free to pick up more anime DVDs and figurines as well as hold onto the various fliers you will collect over the convention. Also, if you are cosplaying, one of those rolling suitcases is a good way to transport your costume from point A to point B.

Con Badge

DO. NOT. LOSE. YOUR. BADGE. I cannot stress this enough. No more badge equals no more convention. This piece of paper is what tells the security that you paid the entrance fee. If you don‘t have a badge, they have no way of knowing, and they probably aren‘t going to take your word for it. Always keep your badge on you unless you are in the hotel room. If you remove it, then place it in an easy to remember spot. If you lost your badge, you will have to pay for another ticket.

Plan Ahead what you want to see beforehand. It is fun to explore the panels and see some of the random things going on, but knowing which panels you want to go to and where they are in advance will make life much easier. All good conventions will post schedules beforehand. This will help you plan out what to see and what to avoid.

Hygiene

Many people go to these cons and forget the basics. When you spend a long time in hot rooms with hundred of people you will sweat and you will start to smell bad. Remember to take a bath all three days of the con, and for God’s sake, wash your hands.

Dealers Room/ Exhibition Hall

Without a doubt, the Dealers Room is a wonderful market of everything an anime/manga fan could dream of. From rare anime movie to 1/15 scale models of the Gundam X, there is a treasure trove of goodies to purchase; however, it is important to not go crazy. Before you go to the dealer room, make a list of things that you want to purchase. The top of the list should be priority items, and everything else is stuff that’s kinda cool but you can live without.

Once you get to the Dealers Room, do not just run to the first table you see and blow all your cash on the $200 rare Baki the Grappler box set. Go through the Dealers Room and check out the cool tables, but do not buy anything yet. Many tables are selling the same thing and chances are, if you find the rare DVD at one table, another table may have it for half the price. Once you've checked everything out, go to the tables where you saw the goodies you wanted and purchase to your heart’s content. One more thing, do not stray from your budget. If you have $200 in Dealers Room money and $60 in emergency money, don't spend $260 in the Dealers Room. You may need it later, although, finding something crazy awesome/rare after you’ve spent most of your money could be considered an emergency.

Artists Alley

Generally overlooked, this is where the fan art and doujinshi’s are kept. For a good time, walk around the area and look at what your fellow fans have created. The art can be pretty cool and it is relatively inexpensive. Why spend $20 on an official picture of Naruto, when you can spend $5 on a drawing of Naruto and Sasuke making out?

Video Game Room

The Video Game Room is a haven for all the video game fans and a great place to check out various demos and gaming tournaments. Beware, these games can suck you in and monopolize your con time.  So check it out and have fun, but don't spend all your time here. You can play Guitar Hero as much as you want when you get home. You also need to be courteous. Don’t spend a whole hour playing Hokuto no Ken Punch Mania if there’s five people waiting behind you. Remember to share, kiddies.

Video Room

The Video Room is great place to check out anime you’ve never seen before. Sometimes, this is the only place you can watch some of the rarer titles. The con should have a list posted with all the shows and when they’re going to play. They’re generally open 24 hours a day for the duration of the con. Just be weary of the guys who go to the hentai video rooms.

There are many more tips and necessary things that can make any first time con attendee's experience more eventful. The best tip is to simply experience the convention.  Do things you enjoy and try something new and exciting. Don't try to go to the same panels every single time. There are events that are diverse for a reason. Hopefully, you find these tips helpful and they help you have a fun time at any convention you attend. In this author's opinion, the tips listed above are necessities to surviving a con. Now go out there, find a good con, and have a blast.

Oh... One more thing before I forget. For all that is holy, beware of Sailor Bubba and Man Faye. You will need to bleach your eyes out afterwards.