Travel Preparations · 4:28pm Jan 22nd, 2017
As you may know, I'm headed to Ponycon next Sunday. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but it will be my first convention. As such, I'd like to go in with some idea of what to expect. I'm most concerned about the following:
• What should I bring? Corollary: How much cash should I bring? I definitely plan on perusing the vendor hall. Do note that I'm only going to be there for the one day.
• How far away should I expect to park? I suppose this one will need some independent research, but I'm guessing the hotel parking lot won't be a viable option.
• Who else here is going? I'd love to meet up with some familiar names.
• Any general advice? As I said, this is my first convention. I'm sure there are considerations that I don't know I don't know.
Thanks in advance, everyone. 
1. Enough clothes to change each day. If the place you stay at is a hostel, bring a lock to use for their lockers.
2. Depends on how close you can get for the hotel. A few blocks away should be plenty to walk to, especially if you're in a group.
4. Hand wipes. Use them prodigiously. ConFlu is a real thing and it stinks coming back sick.
unfortunately I'll be there on saturday because that's what my schedule allows and I'm not sure who else from fimfiction is going to ponycon, but I'll probably be running into a few people I interact with on twitter.
As for money, it depends on how deep into the vendor hall you want to go. There's stuff in there that I wouldn't buy because I just don't have the money, but I think most vendors have debit/credit readers and you're local so you won't have to worry about charges being denied.
I'm not super sure about how con parking works because I've never just been to a con for just one day and previously parked at the hotels I was staying at, so someone else can help there.
Um, remember to have fun, don't get too wasted(I'm usually horrible about this)and the rest should follow.
Never been to a pony convention, but I have been to... well, kinda a different genre of convention, but I think some of it should still apply. I suppose I've also day-tripped for a food show once, too.
First, especially if you're going for a day trip, you shouldn't need to bring too much, and what you do bring will probably be along the lines of 'day-trip-survival-gear'. For a large con, definitely Hygiene (which may or may not count head hair manipulation tools as necessary), wallet and associated contents, probably a smartphone. Definitely bring the presence of mind to actually enjoy the thing.
And for the record, fingernail clippers are like towels, but more like pocket knives, without taking up the same space or actually being a knife. The ones that come with files can open boxes, too, if you have a bit of an imagination. They are one of my standard pocket contents, and I use them way more often then I ever imagined (and more often when dealing with computers...).
I wouldn't bring more than $200 for pretty much any reason, and I would probably stick to ~$100 at most anyway, depending on financial status and expected number of things to be purchased (i.e. how much stuff you're willing to obtain for any price). I haven't perused vendor halls so much, though, so I can't speak to the prices of individual things.
Parking is a lie. Rush hour is a lie. There is one truth: cars. Sometimes, this comes to mind while I'm driving.
Okay, that's probably not perfectly true, but geez are there a lot of people on the roads at any time of day these days. Plan safely for the parking, then peruse the closer options when you get there, just in case.
Check the con's website about parking. If there a decent con website they will list alternative parking locations. There site does say they offer free parking at the hotel. I dont see any alts listed. So that would require asking past con goers for there experience with that issue.
For those going, check in on fim's discord chat. You may be able to get an idea there, or look for forums related to said con. I will not be there as that is way to far a trip for me. And I lack any funds whatsoever.
Almost every vendor accepts credit/debit cards. You can easily spends hundreds of dollars on stuff. Generally give the entire area a once over before making a purchase. You may find a similar item for cheaper at another table. Also as you are going on the last day you will not have as large a selection. Depending on how well there sales have been for the previous days. They also maybe dropping prices to get rid of excess stuff.
Other then that. I have never been to a pony con. While I have a mild interest, they dont seem all that interesting.
As for cash, I'd say not to worry about it as long as you have a debit card. All the vendors at BABSCon had card readers, and there'll be an ATM inside even if some don't take cards. That said, buying swag from vendors gets expensive quickly if you want plushies, easily reaching hundreds of dollars for a nice one. You can often get other stuff like ties a lot cheaper, though. My favorite acquisition has been my alicorn amulet replica that I wear just about everywhere, and I think that ran me about $25.
General advice? Don't worry too much and just enjoy yourself. Go to interesting panels. Talk to people who aren't declaring themselves as uncomfortable talking to folks. Bring a deck for that pony card game, if you are into it.
I hope you have an awesome time at the Con, Fan.
I have never been to one myself, so my ability to provide advice is limited. I suspect, though,
4392200 is completely correct about nasty bugs and colds. Bring hand sanitizer, and use it.
Wish I could go, but NYC is a good deal away from Wyoming, nor do I really have money for a con in the first place.
The ponycon people have created a backstory for their Draconequeus character, Mirage. She's one of the mascots of Ponycon. They even created a youtube video with animation and voice work for the talented lady who provides Mirage's voice.
The story goes she was hatched from an egg much like Spike in the same manner where they use dragon eggs for the unicorn exam at the school. She was always different from the ponies around her, and her caretaker did not want her to interact with the ponies until one day, Mirage discovered her chaos powers, made herself invisible and snuck out to mingle with the other ponies. She meets others who are afraid of her appearance and steals apples, attempting to make a friend, only to be shunned. She also meets a grumpy mule/donkey, a demanding Diamond Dog who makes her work in the mines for gems, and then has a land dispute with a rather angry dragon in the dragonlands.
She even has rules about her interactions with the ponies: You got powers, use them, take if you don't get your way, and don't get caught doing so. Mirage is also on Twitterponies, a role playing experience using twitter, where players can create their own equestrian citizen of all races and types and make friends along the way. They have school age ponies, adults, and older ponies of all ages.
I've done oodles and oodles of ponycons, so:
1. If you're daytripping, bring a comfortable backpack or something to carry everything you might purchase. For cash, bring as much as you are comfortable spending. If it's your first con you are virtually guaranteed to find enough stuff you might be interested in buying that will soak up all your spending money.
-> That said, most vendors take credit these days via Square, so you can also have that as an option.
Hand sanitizer is not a bad bet at all either. Beyond that, comfortable clothes, but since you are only daytripping you don't need everything else people normally bring. When I'm walking the con floor I typically have my backpack on me and that's it, besides the usual stuff like phone and wallet. Backpack can carry anything like art book, notebook, laptop, whatever.
2. I'd research it, yea, then just park wherever fits in your budget. Google is your friend here, search for 'cheap parking near XXXX' or whatever.
3. Much as I'd love to its not in my con budget for the year!
4. Plan out panels in advance; since it's Sunday it's going to be the shortest day. If you can make Saturday I'd strongly advise that instead, because Sundays @ con always end much earlier and guests of honor start leaving that afternoon, so if you want to see them Saturday fits better.
-> Also, if you know anyone going, ask to meet up, because cons work way better not wandering the floor alone. Solo wandering makes it easy to get Con Loneliness, where you are surrounded by people but don't see an easy way to just join into stuff. That said, cons are also a place to meet new people and loads of congoers are open to talking to / meeting new people so often a simple 'Hey, that <game/book/whatever> looks neat' is a quick icebreaker.
But yea, above all else, if you like swag at all, the vendor hall can easily drain your entire budget :)
4392412
Unfortunately, I've already bought the Sunday ticket. Which is a shame, because I'm missing on a few very cool looking things. I suppose I could get a Saturday one and double up, but if feels like a bit much for my first experience.
Ok, answering in order:
- How much cash to bring: $20 per person for food, $100 per person for the vendor hall. Big notation here: These are absolute minimums. This guarantees you'll have enough for at least one overpriced meal and that you'll be able to walk away with a few pieces of merchandise. There truly is no upper limit, so make sure you have your budget and your must-haves list ready.
- Every convention I've ever been to has involved parking many blocks away. If your hotel is closer to the convention center than 4 city blocks, it'll be better to just walk.
- I wish I were going.
- This is a multi answer question:
Bring a phone charger. You will use your phone if you're traveling with anypony else or plan on meeting peeps, and you will drain that sucker.
Have backups for all the panels you plan to attend and plan plenty of time between the ones you want to attend. The popular ones fill up and you might have to get in line early for one. Until you've done a few conventions, you won't have a good feel for travel time to/from areas, so always be generous.
Make 1-3 items a priority, be the panels, the dealer room, or autographs. Especially for just a one day con trip, you will be extremely lucky to get more than 3 checklist items accomplished. And space those items out, they can't all be things that happen in a 3 hour window.
Oh, wash your hands before eating, especially after going to the dealer's room, and even then, know you'll get whatever it is that's going around.
4393000 <-- This man speaks truth on all points. I always feel like I'm being OTT OCD by spreadsheeting a con schedule and planning first-second-and-third-choice picks for every time block (and then printing it on physical paper like a mo'fo' dinosaur), BUT THEN I GET THERE and I can re-prioritize at-a-glance when a room ends up full, or a guest has bugged out early, or I'm just too friggin' tired to walk all the way across the whole place.
I'm also even more of a dinosaur because I'll advocate careful budgeting, and using cash as one possible way to enforce that with yourself. It's easy to go overboard with plastic in the face of all dat con swag. It's not a question of how much you "should" bring, it's a question of how much you'll feel OK with once it's gone.
4392252
Oh, the plushies. Abandon hope now unless you're loaded. There was a gorgeous Limestone Pie at Ponyville Ciderfest 2016 that I was drooling over until I found out she was $700 (and amazingly someone still bought her). Even the low-end picks from Cutie Corral (which are still really cute, if they're at your con) are upwards of $50 (and the high-end ones are almost triple that).
4392412
I'll second the urging to make it for Saturday if that's an option. My (admittedly not authoritative) experience with cons is that Friday is the day when everyone's tired and getting there, and Sunday is the day when everyone's tired and bugging out; Saturday is the actual day of the con.
4392437 Apparently my reply never went through...because I never finished it.
Basically, go Saturday if you can justify the expense, and if you have enough fun go back Sunday!
4393382 Depends on the crowd. Most I know do travelling Thursday, and thus are decently rested come Friday!
4394296
Thing is, there are other things I want/need to do on Saturday, like write up the next edition Friendship is Card Games... but it's also the day they unveil Ponies: the Anthology VI.