How to plan for Katsucon 16

Filed Under Anime Conventions 

gaylord convention centerYou know you’re excited for this.

Between learning the ropes as an official maid and staying in touch with staff to get permission to film at the convention, I realized that I’ve become a bit of an insider to Katsucon this year. With the con at a new hotel this year, a lot of things have changed. Instead of just giving my friends the heads up, I thought I’d extend my knowledge to all my readers. Here’s a few tips from me to you:

1) Get somebody to drive you there. I found out the hard way that the Gaylord is neither cheap to park at, nor easily metro accessible. Parking in their garages is $19 a day. In order to get there the public transportation way, you have to take the green line all the way to Branch, and then take a metro bus. From there, you still have to walk a quarter of a mile to the hotel. The cheapest and easiest solution? Have a friend who isn’t attending drive you there. You could even take a taxi to cut costs!

2) Bring your own food. Much like a theme park, the Gaylord is surrounded by lots of conveniently placed but pricey dining options. If you’re planning to spend your money in the dealer’s room, you might want to bring a bunch of sandwiches with you to cut costs. My solution? I’m bringing my rice maker and my friends and I are making bento lunches in the room while we’re there.

3) Get there Thursday… Or be ready to wait. If you were at the con last year, you no doubt remember the three hour lines those of us who pre-registered waited in to get inside. If you’re not a volunteer like me, be prepared for that again. (Seriously guys, maybe we should all not pre-reg next year?) I haven’t heard an explanation for why this is the case, but Katsucon registration will be done completely on paper, without the aid of computers. This is going to considerably slow things down, so get there on Thursday before the rush if you can.

4) Reserve me! OK, it turns out I’m a more popular maid than I’d expected, but I’m not totally booked yet! You should go to the maid cafe page and reserve me so I can serve you some food and meet you. Now that I know there’s more of you than just people I know in real life, it’d be great to meet some of my readers. A tip though– if you get me I might ask you if you’re cool with an interview for my latest documentary. =D

If I missed something and you have another question about the con, leave a comment and I’ll answer it if I can.

Comments

7 Responses to “How to plan for Katsucon 16”

  1. John B. on February 7th, 2010 5:12 pm

    A very good primer for those of us who aren’t in the loop. Hopefully this can get out to the masses in time to save some con goers time and money. This has the potential to be a great con… but also has the potential to be a total bomb because of the unexpected food and parking costs. Unlike years past there isn’t a McDonald’s or other similar fast food chain right near by… and unlike Otakon this convention center is kind of sequestered, and in winter making it less likely for you to want to walk to cheaper restaurants. I could see this as possibly being a make or break issue for the con…

    Have you thought about posting a link to this on the message board…?

  2. Tom S on February 7th, 2010 5:42 pm

    THere are several under $10 options nearby (especially for Lunch) that people are forgetting about. Maid Cafe should be one of them along with Mayorga Coffee Roasters, McCormick And Schmicks (has under $10 lunch menu), Potbelly (open until 11 PM) and Aromi D’italia. All of them are in the hotel (the Maid Cafe being there) or within two blocks of the hotel.

  3. Catherine on February 7th, 2010 5:56 pm

    Ah, I’m so jealous that you get to go to Katsucon!! Have fun~ <3 I'm sure you're going to be an adorable maid!

  4. Lauren on February 7th, 2010 6:01 pm

    Thanks so much Tom! Those are definitely good, cheap options. However, I’m used to going to a con and eating fast food the whole time- THAT kind of cheap. We’re not going to have that chance this time, but those options will definitely help us make the best of it.

  5. Lauren on February 7th, 2010 6:02 pm

    Aww, thanks! I’m so excited to see how my newly altered maid outfit fits.

  6. Nick Ferris on February 7th, 2010 8:37 pm

    Note that the Metrobus drops off about 150 feet in front of the Gaylord. I took it myself to try it out before we signed the contract with the Gaylord. That said, with the extra snow that may arrive Tuesday/Wednesday/Saturday/etc., Metrobus could shut down again. Be prepared.

    Speaking of being prepared, Katsucon has not done a good job of reminding people that the Gaylord’s cancellation policy is less forgiving than hotels of recent years. If you decide you cannot come, I believe you need to give at least 72 hours notice or you will lose that one night deposit you paid. For people arriving Friday afternoon, that means you need to make up your mind about coming by Tuesday afternoon. The unfortunate thing about that is that it’s uncertain just how much extra snow is coming, and the state of the roads on Friday won’t be certain until at least Wednesday or Thursday.

    Whatever people plan, please put your safety first. If the roads are bad, stay off them.

  7. Lauren on February 7th, 2010 8:52 pm

    Hi Nick, it’s so great to hear from you! Do you remember me from when I interviewed you over the phone last year?

    Thanks so much for the additional advice. I clearly don’t know everything about Katsucon! I’ll be sure to let people know.

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