I am going to a con this weekend (Someone talked me into it by giving me a free code) but I am VERY tight on money. Unemployment baby. So I need a way to enjoy it without money. I have a job interview soon so I am hoping I can get it.

I enjoy going to anime conventions. They bring me such a great joy by watching idol/masq performances and going to cosplay meetups. I do have a slight problem though it seems like everyone in my age group and on social media goes to cons nearly every month. I feel a bit of jealousy and fomo from this. I’m currently a college junior living alone so I don’t have that much disposable income. So I was wondering if anyone else feels left out and how do they deal with it?

(It’s late so the grammar might be bad)

Ten years ago, a lot of the lessor known guests could hold autographs for free. You could walk up to a guest's handler and ask about the prices, OR the prices would be read on a printed sign standing at the end of the queue line. NOW, EVERY guest charges for everything from autographs, selfies, recorded quotes, etc., in addition to the prices going up, and the signs? Well they're now replaced with QR Codes, so lord help you if your phone lost battery before the end of the day because cons have stopped printing booklets! I also heard that now, prices for guests aren't run by the con staff themselves and are set months in advance, which makes me suspicious that it's all hijacked by corporations.

I'll be attending Animetown Greenville in October. This is going to be a special con for me as Dan Green and Eric Stuart will be there. I'm a huge Yu-Gi-Oh DM fan and am afraid that the Yu-Gi-Oh photos at their booths will go fast. I found some anime promo pictures that I'd like for them to sign (among a multitude of other things), but have no clue where to get them printed! FedEx only offers paper copies, PakMail no longer exists, and all of the other print shops in my area only offer banners and branded stuff. Are CVS or Walgreens decent options? I'm just wanting 11x17 matte prints.

This seems like a dumb question especially since this isn't my first con (been doing various cons since 2016), but I've always just gotten what's been offered at the guests' booths.

Tl;DR: How do you go about changing into and out of cosplay at a con especially on a busy day?

This is my second year going to Anime NYC and my group has a lot planned. The main being our Gachiakuta group cosplay on Saturday.

The problem is that there's a persona meetup I really want to attend an hour or two beforehand. I'm planning to cosplay a Persona 3 character for that meetup, then switch into Rudo afterward.

I just don't know how people actually change into a more elaborate cosplay in such a crowded convention. Do you leave the con and change somewhere else or are there usually designated changing areas or is there another method people use?

On paper it seems doable because Persona cosplays aren't that intricate, but Rudo definitely is. Any advise is helpful toodles.

After decades and well over 100 cons and shows, I cannot express just how HORRIBLE this entire event was today. East Coast Card Shows showed themselves to be disorganized and scummy, and the Hampton Convention Center should feel ashamed that they didn't step in to fix or stop the show.

1) People who purchased VIP access were told as part of the price they would have early admission, with the highest tier being told they would have a separate entrance. Upon arrival, we were all put into one single line and told VIP didn't matter - we just had to wait.

2) By 10 a.m., the line stretched across the entire front of the building, entirely in the sun. Some of us experienced con goers were prepared. Most parents with children were not.

3) By 10:30, the line hasn't moved at all. Some employees start popping out of side doors to take GENERAL ADMISSION ticket holders in, while telling VIP ticket holders to continue waiting in the line, in the sun, to go through the main entrance.

4) Just before 11 a.m., over an hour into waiting outside, I watch the first kid pass out from the heat. The parents left before the other children passed out.

5) By 11:20, the line has stopped again. This time, we start to hear from the front of the line that the event was at capacity and they weren't allowing anyone else in. There were still thousands, most with VIP tickets, standing outside. The limited staff then locked the door.

6) 11:30, the doors are still locked. The line is now wrapped around two sides of the building. Tons of people start heading to their cars, many with varying stages of heat exhaustion. Doesn't matter though, because just as many people are still getting in line.

7) 1:00, and they have let a few more people in, but all of the items promised to VIP members as part of their ticket price - gone. The staff isn't even checking tickets at that point, and they are still selling tickets online, claiming the event is not sold out yet. People on Facebook start calling the organizers out.

8) Word gets out that there are TWO other conventions being held in the building, and that the organizers of Anime City vastly misrepresented how many tickets they sold to their event. People start using the doors that are entrances for the other events and then just walking into Anime City because no one is checking or scanning tickets. Doors get locked again.

9) At 2:00, the organizers finally take down online ticket sales. The line is still stretched across the entire building, with just a handful being let in at a time. Several people have passed out. The people who have made it inside are coming back out complaining about how the inside was almost as bad as the outside. People start going to the BITE con next door.

10) By 5 p.m., the Facebook page is absolutely destroying the reputation of the event organizers. Finally, the organizers remove the Facebook page for the Hamptpn event AND the Facebook page for their business. They delete and then turn off all comments on their Instagram.

11) The event ended at 6 p.m. with people still in line.

It was the Fyre Festival event of the summer.

EDIT: At this time, the event organizers have blocked and deleted any contact on social media for anyone who has complained. Numerous banks are issuing chargebacks. The email for the organization is bouncing back emails.

EDIT 2: For those that don't understand the size of our center, that routinely holds Nekocon with 8k+ attendees.

Did anyone do the Nijisanji EN meet & greets at Anime Impulse? How's the line situation? Like do you get a time slot or do you just wait in line until it's your turn, if so how long did it take? Curious about your experience during the one minute too. Thanks.

MAILED BADGES, COMPLIMENTARY BADGES, ANIME NYC+, KIDS SUNDAY, AND NON-ATTENDEE BADGES (PROFESSIONAL, PRESS, EXHIBITORS, CREATORS, PANELIST, CREW, ARTIST & EXHIBITOR) ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR RETAILER PICKUP.

IF RETAILERS ARE OUT OF YOUR BADGE TYPE, YOU CAN PICK THEM UP AT FAN REGISTRATION.

Had to look up this event today and I can not find any photos of the event that are not influencer driven, "it could look like this" photos, or of the stage (with no audience or seating in the shot) and all together am just getting completely sketchy vibes from it.

Did anyone actually attend the event and if so, was their any reason to consider planning for it next year?

Personally, I feel like you should be old enough to drive in order to go to a convention, even then you should maybe bring friend with you just to be safe. What’s your thoughts on this?

Hi guys, I'm gonna be hosting a panel where I have people guess things based on a photo of a drawing- however it seems like the only viable platform to host this on is kahoot, and only if i pay upwards of $100. That's a bit crazy just to use for an hour at one convention, so I'm wondering if there's any other platforms I could use. The criteria it needs to meet is being able to host a live interactive audience of around 50-100 people, they need to be able to type in their answers, and I need to be able to upload my own photos. I've been researching possible websites and apps for a week now and I can't find anything that meets that criteria that isn't hundreds of dollars. Thanks in advance!!

(WARNING: LONG) I went to Anime Midwest this year and it was honestly one of the worst conventions I have been to. I thought I was alone in thinking the convention was terrible this year but I feel validated knowing that I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment. This is my second year attending and it was much worse than last year.

I have a lot of complaints. First off the panel rooms in the hotel were too small. I understand that the Hyatt was bought out by a private equity firm and changes had to be made. The replacement hotels, the Embassy Suites and Doubletree, shouldn't have been used to host panels or events. The rooms were undersized and uncomfortable to be in. They were hot and there was not a lot of space to move around in.

There was an issue with miscommunication and a case where a staff member straight up gave me the wrong information. This year I considered taking part in the date auction (though in hindsight I'm kind of glad I didn't). The issue was that I didn't know how to sign up. I checked on the website to see if there was a sign up sheet but I didn't see anything like that. I thought the website would at least have instructions on how to sign up but that wasn't there either. All it had was a description of the event with no instructions on how to participate. This was an oversight on their part and should be improved. After the event ended I asked a person running the date auction how I could have signed up. They told me that I had to sign up through the discord server. The problem with that is that I couldn't find a link to the discord server. It's not linked on the website.

The next issue I have is a minor one but it speaks to how the convention needs to be organized more efficiently. I wanted to attend the date auction but didn't know where it was being held. I asked a staff member and they told me it was being held at the convention center. This was false. It was actually being held in one of the hotels. I checked the schedule to double check and it turns out I was given wrong information.

I now want to address complaints about the convention that are more personal and relate to my individual experience. You may or may not agree with these complaints but I want to address them. Did anyone else get the feeling that Anime Midwest felt creepy this year? The atmosphere of the convention felt unpleasant. The best way I can describe it is that it felt degenerate and exploitative. I understand that most anime conventions can have a feeling of degeneracy but it rubbed me the wrong way and I felt very uncomfortable throughout the convention. I also felt that people were unfriendly. I came alone and aside from some brief positive interactions I felt that people at the con were closed off compared to other conventions I've been to. It made me feel left out and like everyone was having fun expect for me.

There was an area of the convention called the bunny bar that I didn't like. For one thing, you have to pay to get in and nowhere on the schedule or website or discord does it say that it costs money to get in. I feel like this should be communicated to attendees beforehand. The room was hot, sweaty, small, and very uncomfortable. There were women in there who were offering paid services. Lap dances and things of that nature. I was in there for a little bit and left immediately. It was extremely uncomfortable to be around a bunch of sweaty men paying for intimacy. That environment felt very exploitative and dangerous. I don't want this to be at Anime Midwest but I understand I'm in the minority here. I'm sure there are some people who come to this convention specifically for that.

Overall, I really hated Anime Midwest this year. There were so many problems that stacked on top of each other that made me regret going there. I honestly felt like I got scammed by going there. In my defense I enjoyed my experience last year and I naturally assumed that I would have a positive experience this year. Conventions don't really change from year to year, I thought to myself. Sadly I was wrong and this will be last time coming to this convention.

Feel free to chime in and let me know how my experience could have gone better. Did I make any mistakes or wrong assumptions? I am new to the convention scene so there are probably some things I don't know about going to conventions that other people may know. Thanks for reading!

What does buying a quote mean in a convention from a guest? I’m considering buying a quote from a voice actor but I have no clue what that means. Do I get a picture for them to sign? Do I have to bring something? I’m so confused 😭

Hello, I'm wondering if Holiday Matsuri Orlando Hotels book out fast? I noticed it goes up in 3 - 4 days, and debating plans. I don't live in Florida, but was hoping to go a day with family and debated on getting a night.

Hello! (Sorry if this post kinda sucks I’ve legit only opened Reddit on a web browser before n posted like once.) Anyhow getting to the point I really miss precovid cons. I was rather young when I attended em but there’s such a difference from the true nerds yapping making fanart and homemade cosplays to celebrity focused and amazon cosplays with ai drop shipped slop alley. The more I see what AnimeExpo has become I get less excited about the day I can actually afford to go. I’ve realized I really enjoy mid to slightly larger cons and I want to go to more where it seems true nerdy fans still attend and esp cosplay in decent numbers. (I’m a big comic/anime con fan in gen) but I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations? Recently I went to kawacon and that was pretty fun still wish there were more cosplays but yk. :)

TLDR: I miss real nerds, cosplay, and old cons any recs for medium to slightly larger cons?

It's been 8-9 years since I first cosplayed, I've grown significantly more social throughout the years and I'm wondering what's a good convention to start? I know for sure I'm going to Fanime, Anime Expo, and Offkai during 2027.

went to an anime league con and loved it, found out afterwards that they suck! all the good ones i can find are a little farther than id like to travel, so does anyone have any suggestions?

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a recent experience I had vending at a local show put on by TwinPop Collectibles, as a warning to fellow small businesses, bakers, and artists looking to book events in the DFW area. This is the post I would’ve wanted before booking.

Vending at a convention is incredibly exhausting work, especially when you are a food vendor pulling late nights to make fresh, scratch-made items. While you expect a bit of risk with any show, the total lack of professional organization from this organizer completely ruined the weekend for multiple small businesses.

Here are the main reasons why I strongly advise against working with them:

• Paid for Placement That Didn't Exist: We were charged a premium $200 vendor fee explicitly under the promise that our table would be positioned near the guest Voice Actors. This was supposed to guarantee high foot traffic (we were given a map of where we’d be and weren’t put there). Instead, we were placed incredibly far away from them, completely missing out on the crowd we paid for.
• Horrible Floor Layout (Zero Consideration for Competitors): The organizer placed our specialty drink and pastry booth directly sandwiched between two other drink shops. Instead of spacing out similar vendors to give everyone a fair shot, they forced us into a direct clash in an aisle that already suffered from low traffic.
• Predatory layout: More on the layout, our booth was in the middle of the mall. Near the entrances and exits was where all the traffic was. Everyone in the middle was a minor. If you walked around (which we did), on the edges or the convention, most of the shops were either corporate or adults. From the beginning, when the owner didn’t ask for any form of ID, I should’ve been suspicious (?), because what if a minor purchased booth space? But then I realized that might’ve been the point and found that sweet. However, every single minor was placed in the middle of the mall, in our section. It was so dead Saturday that three of our neighbors packed up shop and left early. Everyone else hardly made a dime.

Mistakes happen, but charging small vendors under false pretenses and displaying a total lack of basic floor-planning awareness hurts small businesses who put their livelihoods into these weekends.

If you are a local creator or food vendor, save your money, your stock, and your energy for organizers who actually plan their floor layouts properly and deliver on what they promise.

edit: In our messages, the owner said that there are usually a few thousand attendees daily. After speaking with other vendors, they claimed that in the past few years, the convention had been dead, mostly because the mall itself is dead. If there were 2,000 attendees, we saw maybe 500 of them per day in our section both days.

As title says, I’d completed a paid stamp rally at smash con 26 hosted by an artist called rollround and didn’t receive a prize since there weren’t any left. Is that normal for conventions? I don’t go to these things and was left a bit stumped by it. Probably won’t participate in stamp rallies anymore if this is the norm, considering the fact that you’d have to spend money at multiple vendors for a chance to get something. Cheers

Found it at a thrift store and I genuinely don’t know anything about it, I reached out to one guy and he told me it’s fake so I came here for a second opinion. Thanks in advance! 🙌🏻

So, im still a minor (17 atm) and i want to find some friends at conventions and maybe im getting greedy, but whenever I actually interact witg someone for longer that usually ends it, I mean after thst even tho we tag each other in photos we dont talk anymore. Are there any rules or tips when making friends at cons?

I’ve been going to conventions for a little while now— but it’s usually just been one day at a time.

Well, with Metrocon coming up soon I’m planning to stay for the full length of it and am worried that I’ll get bored after the first day or so.

To con goers who frequently do extended stays or trips to conventions, how do you guys handle that? Is there anything I can do to ensure I won’t easily bore or burn out at the convention?:

What cons are you guys looking forward to the most for the remainder of 2026? AX just ended and I'm realizing I'm having a bit too much fun to just not go to a con for the rest of the year. Favourites in the contiguous USA? I live in SoCal so even if its small, if its around LA tell me about it!

I got accepted for a panel where I talk about making cosplays at a pretty large convention in my state and I’m excited but really nervous. I talk really fast and I have experience giving regular short speeches but this is my first time doing a panel… I don’t know how I’m going to speak for an hour.

Also I tend to be really loud and hyper and I don’t want to overwhelm anyone.

What I mostly want to know: How to get over the nervous feeling, how to keep people interested, and how to appear confident and not absolutely bomb.

Should I hand out candy lol? I also wanted to hang out badges but I dunno how much to get made

My wife has been attending cons since 2006, and I've been attending since 2011. At the peak we both used to hit 4-5 cons a year and they usually cost around $1000 per weekend. But that was our vacations. It was fun and we didn't mind spending $1000 for a weekend hotel, crappy con food, overpriced figures, and $6 sodas. But the last few years we just stopped going. Cons have lost that magic we loved.

We still hit our local con but no more flying to Chicago for AMKE/ACen, flying to Orlando for Holmat, driving out to the Poconos for CCE, taking the train to NYC for ANYC. Instead we take that money and put it towards real vacations and bring our cosplays on those trips instead.

Instead of cons we've taken Vanitas and Noe to Paris, Link and Zelda to the black sands of Iceland, this year we are taking Vanitas and Noe to Tokyo, next year we are taking Vash and Wolfwood to Spain for the eclipse.

It sucks because we made a lot of lifelong friends at these cons. Friends we invited to our wedding. Photogs who we talk to weekly but never see anymore because we just don't go to the same cons anymore.

So I ask this. Who else has felt that going to multiple cons a year just isn't worth the price and instead starting to do other things instead?