Salt Lake Comic Con FanX 2016: My experience and first con tips.

So, like I mentioned in my last post, I went to my first ever comic con in March. I attended Salt Lake Comic Con FanX. After being very disappointed for not going to SLCC in September last year, my roommate and I decided to go to FanX. We bought are tickets as soon as they went on sale, and we decided to only go for one day, just to test the waters. I didn't want to spend a ton of money getting a multi-day pass only to discover that I didn't love it. So, we bought Saturday passes, and I counted down the months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds until my very first con. I did tons of research to get pumped (watched YouTube videos, read blog posts, looked up pictures, etc.) I honestly had no idea what to expect, so I am here to tell you my experiences with some tips I realized from going to my first con.

1) COSPLAY!!
Now, I already knew I was going to cosplay, and I had my cosplay already made. The only thing I had to make for Comic Con was a con-friendly frying pan for my Rapunzel costume. (Dollar store bubble pan and black paint.) But some people may choose to make cosplays specifically for a con. (Like I'm doing for my next con!) Cosplay is a good way to make friends. You will meet people that are in the same fandom as you, and they will appreciate your cosplay. You can even meet people in your fandom before the con by joining a cosplay facebook page in your area, or for a specific con. I am part of a Utah cosplay page, and through that, I was able to set up a huge Disney cosplay meet-up at FanX! So now for my tips:

• Make like Nike, and just do it. Seriously, even my roommate, who is not into cosplay, dressed up. It's fun, and it's a good way to show off what you love!

• Don't worry about if it's "popular". Just cosplay a character you love. Like I said above, you are showing off what you love! And trust me, there will be someone else there who likes the same things you do.
• Be prepared for pictures. Obviously the more well known/well liked characters will be stopped more often than obscure characters (there were times when me and some other Disney princesses I met  at FanX were stopped in one spot for a good 20 minutes with people just snapping pictures of us). Seriously, someone will stop you for a picture.

I fount this picture someone else took of us on Facebook! See! People ask for pictures!

• You are allowed to buy cosplays. You don't have to be crafty and make them. Buying costumes is totally fine. (I like making my own, but my current favorite was bought online from China.) Don't let anyone shame you into thinking you are less of a cosplayer.
• Put yourself out there. Join those facebook pages, post about your cosplays, ask about other peoples. Like I said, because of facebook pages, I set up a Disney Cosplay meet-up, and it turned out great! And several people there recognized me, and told me how awesome it was. I now have some new friends from it!

I SET UP THIS MEET UP!!! LOOK AT HOW BIG IT IS! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!
Photography: https://www.facebook.com/ChiseledLight/?fref=photo

• Don't be afraid to talk to people. Do you like their cosplay? Tell them! Ask for a picture! Honestly it is so flattering and makes a person's day.

How Cool is this 18th Century Cheshire Cat??? 

• (BONUS) If you are cosplaying a kid-friendly character (princess, super hero, Disney character, etc) BE NICE TO KIDS! Seriously, you don't have to stop and talk with them if you are not comfortable, but smile and wave to them. And try to be in character around kids. It's awful when a kid thinks you're their favorite character, and you're just like "Hey dude. wazzup? My name is Joe."

2) Preparation!

So, like a mentioned above, I watched/read/looked at every single thing I could fine about going to conventions, and it was so overwhelming. The actual convention was nothing like I was planning (definitely not in a bad way at all) and I felt like all the tips I got didn't apply to me. Now, since I only went for one day, I am going to give tips for one day and things I am going to do for SLCC in September (when I am going all three days of the Con).

• Decide what is the most important thing you want to do. Is there a celebrity guest you want to meet? Is there a really cool panel you want to go to? Do you want to get as many pictures as you can? Do you want people to get pictures of you? Once you decide that, you're golden.

For me, I really wanted to get pictures of cosplayers. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so celebrities were out of the question for me, and none of the panels seemed super interesting to me. I also found a videographer that wanted to get some cosplay shots for the Convention, and set up a time with him to do a short video shoot with some other princesses. This ties back to the join facebook groups tip above. Photographers and videographers like to get shots of people at cons, and will often post to get people to set up times with them. Besides the video shoot, and the Disney meet-up, I didn't have any other set-in-stone plans, so I was able to just wander around and go with the flow for a bit.

• Bring emergency supplies. This means you will have to bring a bag or have pockets in your cosplay. I way over prepared for this (I brought two cameras with spare batteries and an external charger and extra memory cards. Overkill. Way way way overkill.) But bringing a charger is a good idea. Also, bobbypins (for wig emergencies), safety pins (for cosplay emergencies), touch-up makeup (you don't want to find pictures of yourself posted all over the internet where you're super shiny or your mascara is running), and a water bottle/small snacks (granola bars, fruit snacks, etc) are good basics to have. I also found ibuprofen was useful (I hurt my foot a few days before the convention) and bandaids if you're breaking in new shoes. I also made business cards for my princess parties to hand out to people. 
• Wear comfortable shoes/break them in before hand. I bought my very favorite flats for my Rapunzel costume, but some people need more support than flats. If you want character accurate shoes, you can get inserts to make them more comfortable. I would advise to NOT wear heels. Please. No. You will be doing SO MUCH WALKING and standing. There were a couple times throughout the day where I just looked at my friend who was with me and said "We need to find a place to sit down NOW." Seating can be hard to come by, so it is not uncommon for people to sit on the ground. Or stairs. or anywhere they will fit. By the end of the con, Maia and I collapsed on the ground while we waited for my roommate to be done watching the cosplay contest.
• You will spend money at the convention. Trust me. I was able to do the convention relatively cheaply, because I just didn't want to spend much money. Some friends and I walked to a nearby mall to have lunch, which saved money on food, and I only bought one souvenir (mostly because they sold out of the other thing I wanted). So, to prepare, set a limit for yourself. If you want artwork, that will be more money than the figurine I bought. 
• Carefully schedule your time. Look at the schedule for celebrities and panels and meet-ups, and figure out where you want to be and when. Give yourself a pretty large bumper of time (if your panel starts at 4, tell yourself you need to be there by 3 to make sure you can get over there one time.) I was at the mall before the Disney Meet-up, and I made sure we left to get to the meetup around 20 minutes early. I was able to get some personal pictures with awesome cosplayers before the meet-up happened. Just expect things to take more time than you think they will.
• Don't stress. Seriously, just remember that this is fun. If you stress, you will not sleep well and it will effect your con experience. 

So for September, I will be going all three days, and I'm looking forward to having a new con experience! Here are a few things that will be different for me

• I will be part of a group Cosplay. Now you can argue that I was kinda part of a group at FanX (I was Rapunzel with Elsa and spent some time with Ariel and Merida.) But this one is a group where we are all making coordination costumes specifically for the con.Four of us (so far) are doing a Disney Fairies group. I will be Rosetta, and we will have a Tinkerbell, Fawn, and Vidia. For this day, I am planning on just doing what everyone else wants to do since I will have the other two days to do what I want. 
• I am planning on spending the second day doing panels and shopping. I haven't had a panels experience, so I want to do a couple. Also, I will take that day to buy my souvenirs. I want to have this be a chill day because I know the other two days will be crazier. 
• I will be participating in the cosplay contest. I have a huge surprise cosplay for this day, and it is one that will be very... uhmm... well hard to do a lot in. If I make it past the prejudging and actually get to participate in the performance portion of the contest I want to make sure I have energy. And (not to sound conceited) but if my cosplay turns out how I'm hoping, I think I will be stopped for photos quite a bit. So, Saturday will be my "cosplay" heavy day. Also, a lot of people save their best cosplays for Saturday, so I want to be ready to get a lot of pictures of other people as well. 
• I will not try to get to the con 2 hours early. That was good for going one day since we were able to get a good parking spot, and get into the con super fast once it opened, but I feel like if I'm going all three days, I will not need to be that early every day. I can chill out, make sure I get some sleep, and be ready for each day.

Well, I hope this helped you get ready for your first con. Since every con is going to be different, there's not really any way to prepare you for what you have in store. Just remember, it is supposed to be fun. If you are not having fun, then maybe conventions are not for you, which is fine! But, if you're like me, you will love it. 

No go out there, and have fun at your first Con! :)

Here's a bunch of pictures from FanX