First Time DC'er

[kbuff.livejournal.com]

Next weekend will be my first Dragon*Con ever and I could NOT be more excited! I have a few questions that I haven’t been able to easily locate in other posts:

 

1.       Do you have to have a badge for the parties? If you don’t have a badge will there be other parties you can get into?

2.       Should I buy a badge before or after the parade Saturday morning? I probably can’t get one before that…

3.       I’d like to do this as cheaply as possible (I know some things are unavoidable, though). Any tips on how to navigate this weekend on the cheap?

4.       I’m starting to get to understand the tracks, etc. I want all things Whedonverse this weekend. Any recommendations? Also, it will only be myself and another friend of mine going. Any Whedon peeps who want to meet up and bev up, holler!

Comments

[eidolon-bird.livejournal.com]

1. If you get invited to a private room party, badges usually aren't required. Some check ID at the door to make sure they aren't handing alcohol to minors.

2. Badge lines on Saturday are insane. How much do you want to see the parade? Either get in line at 5am, or go during the parade if you don't mind skipping it, otherwise plan on not being able to buy a badge until after noon. (Alternately, if you are of the "time is money" school of thought, you might want to keep your eye on this community and snap up one of the membership transfers being sold for $80 or $90.)

3. Avoid the food court and restaurants at all costs. (With the possible exception of that wonderful place with the shawarma, as one of those can easily feed two people.) We stock up on lunch meat, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, bread, condiments, fruits and vegetables and small, easily prepared items such as cup o' soup mixes, trail mix, instant oatmeal, granola bars and some candy bars. Perishables go in a small cooler - fill with ice from the ice machines a couple times each day. Everything is bought on sale before the con, and we usually have enough food to feed people at least two meals a day. Grand total spent per person: under $10 for the entire weekend.
In addition to that, avoid the hotel bars if at all possible. The mixed drinks at the Pulse bar in the Marriott are stronger than some bars, but run about $10 apiece. If you have time, bring in your own liquor. Don't make it obvious as the hotels will charge a corkage fee - slip it in a suitcase or backpack instead of carrying it in a cooler or out in the open.
(Yes, there is the ConSuite in the Hyatt and they usually have some sort of munchy food and sometimes even real food, but lines can be horribly long and you really shouldn't count on it as your sole source of nutrition for the weekend.)

4. I believe Whedonverse is with the alt. history/steampunk track over in the Westin. It's a bit of a walk, but not much farther than the Sheraton. If you plan on walking back to your hotel after dark (especially if you plan on drinking), make sure to walk with a couple other people, ignore panhandlers, safety, blahblahblah.

[eidolon-bird.livejournal.com]

In contrast to one of the above commenters, I think bottled water is a ridiculous idea. The hotels will have plenty of water available in the form of water fountains and water dispensers located around the panel rooms. Bring a bottle with you and refill it every available opportunity rather than wasting money on over-priced filtered tap water in plastic bottles that will just end up in an ocean or landfill somewhere.

[neovenom.livejournal.com]

+1 There are lots of water sources throughout the con. A container is all you need, if even that.