As Aiya has posted our overall thoughts on Anime Expo I thought I would list some of the stuff we learned, and how we are going to prepare ourselves better for next year’s expo.

1) Bring your own food or go farther from the Expo to eat.

How expensive can they be? Well, let me tell you a bottle of Minute Maid orange juice cost $5-$6 inside the convention food court. (They don’t cost that much!!!) Hamburger and other food are double the regular price. I thought maybe food trucks would be cheaper, but it is not! A small bowl of plain jasmine rice from the food truck cost $3. The restaurants near the Expo are a little more reasonable but still expensive. Go to Chinatown or Little Tokyo for dinner. A bowl of Udon is like a bottle of orange juice at the Expo.

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2) Check the weather, bring umbrella, water, sunscreen, phone, and friends because there will LINES and LINES

You will be lining up before the expo starts to get in and you be lining up even if the expo starts to get in. There is a security check, where they check your bags so there is a line! The line for when you go into the expo is not inside. So if it’s hot, you would be under the sun for at least 1-2 hours. After getting in there was more line for panels, to take pictures, to get into booths, and to pay for stuff. If you are attending the Expo on a Friday or a Saturday, bring food to the expo because if you leave the Expo for lunch, be prepared to lineup for another 30 minute to get back in. If you want to get tickets to get autographs from your favorite voice actors or manga artists, be prepared to camp outside. You be sleeping in your line till they sell you the ticket and you be lining up to get the signature.

3) Download the Anime Expo App, check twitter, and check for updates everyday, maybe every hour till the Expo starts.

Panels, guests, and events are still updating till the Expo starts. They may suddenly drop the news on you that your favorite manga artist is coming and is giving autographs. The autographs are sometimes free but some may require you to sign up/register online to get a ticket or do something for you to get the autograph. The first post they do may say registration is TBD, so keep checking in. The 2nd post they will give you a date. So if you want that autograph set a alarm for that date and time of when it starts because those tickets will be gone in 5 minute or less.

4) Book your flight and hotel early, and buy 4 day pass if you can

The 4 day pass is definitely more worth it than you buying a one day pass. If you can buy it early the 4 day pass is also cheaper because as the days gets closer the price rises for the passes. However, two one day passes are like the same price as a four day pass. So you might as well get 4 day pass if you can. Didn’t attend the Pre-Show night so don’t know how that was. There is also the Premier Fan Badge, it gives you some special privileges you can check it on their website, but it cost double the amount of 4-Day Attendee pass. So that depends on your budget and do you think is worth it. Also, if you plan to live close to the Expo or next to one of the hotels that has shuttle buses that take you to the Expo, book them early. Beside prices rising they will also be out of rooms.

5) Bring Credit Card….basically bring money! Don’t lie saying you won’t buy anything now….and bring a big luggage

The Exhibit area is like a big shopping mall. We have the artist alley downstairs with a lot of amazing artist that are selling their work through key chains, body pillow cases, drawings, etc. All the big anime companies such as Good Smile, Aniplex, Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Viz Media will be selling their merchandises there and they will also have free stuff through their events or just free giveaways ( first come first serve basis). Most giveaways are like posters so bring a container to hold your posters if you can because they can get wrinkled.

• Anime Expo