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Advice wanted for a post high school senior year comic con trip
Beril
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My friends and I have been planning on doing a cross country trip to the San Diego Comic Con since our freshman year. Our hope is to leave from Fort Worth, Texas the first or second week of June in 2013. Our plan is to stop at places such as Marfa, Roswell, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, etc. We, at this point, don't have jobs, though, we are currently looking for them, so we can pay for the trip.
So here's the question, where should we stop, how much money should we bring (there are going to be between 7 and 10 people going), and what are ways of making money for the trip barring that we don't get jobs?
So here's the question, where should we stop, how much money should we bring (there are going to be between 7 and 10 people going), and what are ways of making money for the trip barring that we don't get jobs?
Beril on
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Money is always a bit tougher to estimate. You really should plan what it is exactly that you want to do, and figure out how much that will cost. If you want to be more spontaneous, than figure out how much you'll need to at least get where you're going (gas, etc.), buy food, and pay for lodging. There are hostels, which might help with the cost, but communal lodging doesn't work for some people, so keep that in mind.
I'm not sure what you mean about making money without a job? Unless you win the lotto, there aren't many other ways to be cash flow positive without being rich, and if that were the case then you wouldn't need the jobs, haha.
Plan out the what needs to be paid for and then add about 50% to that.
Also, on another note, thanks for the advice so far.
I dont know about roadtripping to other places, but my friends and I drove from Utah, stopped for the night in vegas, and continued on to San Deigo with a day to spare for the beach. Vegas off the strip is so cheap it might actually be illegal or something, we shared a room at the stratosphere and I seriously payed $15 for my share of the room (with 4 of us in a room). Obviously, try to get any many people into one room as you legally can to cut down on costs. In SD the price of the room was a little more expensive obviously, but see what kind of deal you can get for a room.
I actually thought it kind of fun to just walk around vegas for a night! Even if we couldnt drink or gamble or whatever
TONS of people walk from their hotels to the con, it took us about 20 minutes everyday, so don't let the distance from the con influence you too much. I feel like food cost its usual average amount, it wasn't all that expensive
Honestly I would just wait until you and your friends actually have jobs. Our comic con trip planning started pretty damn early, in september, when we first bought our hotel room in SD in order to get a good deal. I personally went with about $600, then I had enough for the hotels, food, a little gas, and plenty left over to buy junk to my heart's content. If you don't buy a single thing you might get away with bringing like $300
I avoided this last year by parking at Qualcomm stadium for free and then taking the trolley over (I live in the county so I didn't need a hotel), but that leaves you at the mercy of the trolley schedule.
One thing to keep in mind is that with a big group like yours you should make sure everyone is paying for their own stuff and the risk of one or more of you guys flaking out is on them. Especially when you have graduated you don't want people to owe you money, because there's a reasonable chance you'll never see them again.
Also, as someone who has excellent crafting and building skills, and all of the necessary odds and ends to build damn near anything, I wouldn't mind making a costume for wearing at least one day(or part of one day) at the con. I've made a mandalorian costume, but I want something a bit more substantial. I was thinking of a space marine. A Black Templar, Imperial Fist, or, everyone's favorite, Angry Marine. Which should I do?
I went to SDCC for the first time last year and here's a couple of notes:
1) Tickes sell out fast. Find out when they're going on sale and make sure you can log on the moment they do. I think they're doing a couple of different things this year.
2)Pick a hotel within the shuttle route. It was a lifesaver as traffic closer to the convention center was hell. The shuttles were really convenient.
3)Be prepared for lines, lines, lines. Even knowing how much of a line fest SDCC is suppose to be I was surprised by just how much line waiting there is.
4)Do you care about panels? If so, which ones? Plan your SDCC trip around it. If you don't care about panels you only really need one day at the floor to see almost everything.
5)San Diego is an awesome city, try to do something while you're there. I went surfing at one of the beaches, hit up the Zoo, wandered through the Gaslight district, etc. So much stuff to do.
you need a member ID so that you can buy a ticket when tickets go on sale. You need to be constantly stalking their twitter and facebook page. Getting a ticket will be the hardest part, and then a reasonable hotel room will be the hardest part. And seeing as the con is in July and they haven't even said when they're selling tickets, it's a gamble if you get your hotel and flight or whatever now or if you wait and see if you actually get tickets.
There is no way to get tickets except through their official site, if someone tries to sell you some, they're faked and you won't be allowed in. They will know. They are registered to your name and will not accept anything but your name and an ID that matches it.
Preview night isn't that great anyways.
At ComicCon: If you're the type to get peckish waiting in line, carry a granola bar or a snack with you. You only get one real chance to get food during the day or you risk missing big panels. (Don't waste money on overpriced nachos and hot dogs.) Take full advantage of the coupons/deals from local businesses that they have at the information kiosks inside the convention center. Look for any good deals and make sure to grab lunch during lunch hours. Restaurants in the main Gaslamp Quarter are expensive and tend to have long waits in the daytime due to the ComicCon crowd. Although I highly highly recommend Chocolat Cremerie on 5th. So. tasty. And remember that you don't have to eat where everyone else is. There are some really great restaurants (with good prices) if you're willing to walk a distance from the convention center. If you no longer see hordes of people in costume and the people sitting down to eat look like locals, you've walked far enough.
Shame on you if you eat Subway more than once while at ComicCon.
2) $50 per day for food, purchasing expenses. ($10 for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner +$20 for purchasing)
3) $25 per hundred miles driven for gas expenses (assuming you aren't driving a clunker, if so double that)
4) $75-$250 per night for hotel/motel accommodations. The farther from the event you get, the cheaper the hotels if you are looking for quality. Staying a small distance away that you can commute to via trolley is a definite way to keep your hotel costs very low.
$1000-$1500 would be the total I would expect if you are planning on doing so completely unlimited (going all out on the trip). On the cheap, you might be able to do it for $500-$750, but you will likely have a lot less fun or be a lot less comfortable. You can lose an entire day of your trip trying to get to the North Face of the Grand Canyon, among other places. Plan driving about 300-500 miles per day if you want to have time to do things in between and not just be trapped in a car with your buddies. At your age, with the lack of substantial bills you have as a student (probably living with your parents) you could raise that in about 3-4 months easily with a minimum wage job and part time.
Be sure to plan ahead. Have a spare tire, first aid kit, lots of water, and an emergency plan if things go sour, contacts to phone in as you drive through the long empty places. Nothing is worse than breaking down in the middle of no where with no cell signal and no one looking to find out if you are ok at the end. Having a parent or friend staying at home to check in with each day can give you a lot of peace of mind if things go horribly wrong (and something usually does during a road trip). Make sure the care is tuned up before you leave, has a recent oil change, air in the tires (and check/refill them every few hundred miles).
And gameboys/psp/iphones. Thats a long time to be stuck in a car!
Oh, I thought you were for 2012 and I was like, god damn. But you still need to register for a member ID so you might as well do it now, even if it's for 2013. The hardest part of getting to SDCC is getting tickets. Good luck!
I know you guys have had this dream of going to SDCC, but really. Not worth it. I can almost promise you'll have a better time doing touristy stuff than doing SDCC.