Edgerunner

The badge registration line Friday morning is always hellish and if you can avoid it you will do yourself a huge favor. Also, getting the schedule/Book Thursday night allows you to better plan for Friday. Also there are sometimes events Thursday night (such as concerts).

There are many thousands of people dressing up in costume at this event and if you have any interest in photography YOU MUST BRING YOUR CAMERA. At the same time though, try to be courteous and ask people before you snap their picture, most of the time they'll pose for you.

I know, sounds like common sense right, but many people do not regularly bathe and it really sucks when you get stuck near some of those individuals in a row of seating. So please, for the sake of all those around you, make sure to use that bar of soap.

If you anticipate buying anything at all in the dealers hall, you should take a large back with you (such as a huge messenger back or backpack). Cause trust me when I say those bags can get really damn heavy after all a while if you are trying to tote 10 seperate plastic bags of stuff. Plus you can be more environmentally friendly as a perk ;)

Baltimore in July usually ends up being damn hot and you will get very thirsty when you are outside. This is especially true if you can't follow suggestion #1 and you have to wait in line Friday or Saturday. Keep hydrated, your fellow attendees get rather alarmed when you pass out from dehydration.

This goes back to point #5, heat stroke and dehydration are no fun and will ruin your convention experience. It gets really hot outside and that registration line can take hours to get through. During that time you really don't want to bake inside you costume (plus you probably won't smell too hot afterwards). There's plenty of time, once you get your badge, to go back to the hotel and put your costume on.

Again, this sounds like common sense but you won't believe what difference a couple of blocks can make. Book your room as early as you can, the rooms fill up FAST! If you don't care about getting the convention discount (in which case I'd call you nuts), you can book it any time you like. Otherwise you need to wait till the convention housing program starts, at which time you should immediately book your room. In the even that you don't get a room quick enough, don't totally panic. If you are a social Otaku (yes they exist) then you can usually find individuals looking for a roomate to share a room and split the cost. I'm personally not that adventerous, but many are. This is also nice if you can't afford your own room for whole stay.

Most of the lines at Otakon are pointless. Concerts and the AMV contest at the convention hall almost never fill up that I've seen. Instead of standing in line for an hour, go check out some anime or panels, come back once the event is starting and happily walk in and snag a seat after everyone is already inside. The dealers hall line is the king of POINTLESS, don't line up, just don't do it! Once the hall opens the line moves like lightning, so unless you just want to stand there with the other lemings, go do something worthwhile. Panels are the exception, because many of these are in small rooms, also some of the really REALLY popular anime/movies will sometimes fill up a room (again because it's small). The HD Theatre and Video 1 however, are very very large, so don't worry about it.

Otakon usually has one to four musical guests every year and if you enjoy their music, a concert is a great experience to add to your con! Many of the concerts are held inside the convention center with others occassionally being held at outside venues such as the First Mariner Arena. Unless you are just really driven to be as close as possible to the band, don't worry about standing in line, go get something to eat instead. These events never fill up as far as I've seen (except maybe at some of the outside venues) and you'll get a decent seat even if you come in late. You should still get your tickets as early as possible though for outside venues.

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Have you ever watched MTV in your life? Do you enjoy music videos? I'd ask if you enjoy anime but that would be stupid .....right? So if you enjoy these things, you very well might enjoy the AMV contest. You get to watch music videos put together by your peers and vote on them, sounds like fun right? Plus I've been introduced to new anime shows as well as new musical artists thanks to some of these videos. I generally find this a fun must attend event at Otakon and they run multiple sessions of it. Just to clarify though, if it says "AMV Overflow" those ballots will not be counted and the Sunday session is never counted because they are already being counted by Saturday afternoon so that the winners can be announced at closing ceremonies. However if you don't care about voting then the overflow sessions might be perfect for you. If you don't like music videos, then just ignore this event.

Food is important, Otaku need fuel, so with that in mind you should find out where all the local eateries are. There are various vendors in the convention center and the Einstein Bagel place on the second floor isn't bad, but if you want real food you have to leave the convention center. There is a food court in the mall along the harbor not far from the convention center. I recommend that if you have a group of friends with diverse tastes. There's also a couple of new restaurants across from the Center called "The Nest" and "The Wharf Rat", both have good food, with prices that aren't too horrible. There's also a time honored Otaku eatery diagonally across from the center called "California Tortilla". Since it's a franchise I doubt I need to explain that one to you. There are also a couple of chineese places in the area, a mcdonalds and many many other places. Locating them in advance can save you time :)

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As it nears time for the 18+ late night showings/panels to start everyone rushes to get a wristband and suddenly there's is a crazy long line. The rest of the day there is no line for wristbands at all, so why not get yours earlier in the afternoon, then you can shake your head at the poor bastards waiting in yet another pointless line as you stroll into the event.

We all love anime and movies, but you can watch a lot of those 362 other days of the year, while some of the panels could be a once in a lifetime experience, certainly a once in a year experience. While there are some really bad panels, there are also some really great panels as well. Why not find out some of the history of anime, learn how to review it if you are into journalism. Maybe you want to learn more about mecha anime, or maybe you just want to laugh at REALLY REALLY BAD anime. It's almost a guarantee that you can find a panel that will appeal to you. I personally recommend anything being run by Frederick Schodt, or the Anime World Order crew. The old timers of anime are also a good group to check out.  I will add some references to groups/individuals that have run some good past panels.

This is the best way to find some new anime you want to watch. Just pick some stuff and check it out, and if you don't like it, move on to another. Once you find shows you like, you can always watch the rest of it after the convention when you buy or rent it (you are buying anime and actually supporting the guys making this stuff right? ...right?)

I have yet to actually do this myself, but if you like taking pictures of some awesome cosplayers and seeing some whacky skits, this is probably something you should check out. It's usually held in the First Mariner Arena (yes there are that many people) and it runs for around 3 hours.

The rave isn't really my scene, but if you like dancing and rave music you should check this out Saturday night. Ever wanted to see a cat girl get crazy on the dance floor? Well this might be your event then.

Schedules will change, it is inevitable, at some point you will go to watch something only to find it has been cancelled and something else put in its spot. With this in mind you should pay attention to the scheduling boards at the different video rooms when you pass them. The shcedule boards at each room's entrance are gosphel. Any edits to the board will be pretty obvious and you may save yourself some surprises later. Sometimes these changes are pleasant surprises, sometimes not. Just keep aware.

You can count on plenty of cosplayers being gathered here through most of the entire con and thus it's an excellent place to take lots of pictures. If you have some time to kill and want to take some pics, wander over to here.