Going to E3 For The First Time. Tips?

SirUltimos

So come Sunday I'm heading down to sunny California to spend all my time indoors looking at videogames. Only problem is, I've never actually been to E3 before so I'm not quite sure what to expect. I've heard that it's really big and really hectic and that buying food actually inside the convention center is probably the worst decision I could possibly make. But what else do I need to know?

I am going to have a media badge so I'll be good on that front, but does anyone who's been before have any tips to help me survive? i'm trying to get the most out of my time down in LA.

kaliyama

Where are you staying? There's a grocery store on Olympic and flower; you'd both save money and get less shitty food of you stock up in the morning there. Decent restaurants in that part of DTLA: the farm, WP24, Roy's (grudgingly), Morton's, takami, sugarfish.

SirUltimos

I'm staying at the Rodeway Inn on Olympic Blvd. I was hoping that there'd be a grocery store around so that I could buy some actual food and not pay out the nose for it.

kaliyama

Oh. You're like two miles from the LACcc. You're not walking there are you? It's a very rough, very Mexican neighborhood you're staying in. Don't go to MacArthur park after dark. If you're taking a shuttle, walk from staples/LACC to the grocery store which is east of e3. Bit of a schlep but it's worth it.

SirUltimos

Rough neighborhood? Eep.

I was told by TripAdvisor and Google Maps that it's a roughly 20 minute walk (1.1 miles) to the convention center (which I'm fine with). They also said that it was a farily nice, if old, neighborhood If it is actually a lot further or more dangerous than I was led to believe then I don't mind taking a taxi. And I'll definitely keep your info in mind about MacArthur park.

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

kaliyama

You are entirely right as to distance. Not sure if I was blind or I typed in the wrong thing. Yeah, I don't think there's any problem walking there in the day time but at night i would just have fun in downtown proper and take a cab back. The ralphs is out of your way, but only by 3 blocks.
Crime maps here - where you are staying is the roughest LA geography north of USC.

http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/westlake/crime/


http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/pico-union/crime/?q=1904+W+Olympic+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90006,+USA&lat=34.050642&lng=-118.277878&g=Geocodify

x

NotYou

Yea, it's not the best neighborhood where you're staying but it's definitely not what I'd consider scary (except perhaps late at night). The real scary places are in East LA. I don't think you need to be too worried. Some parts of LA can feel intimidating and look dilapidated, but it's always good to remember that all of these little kids and old ladies manage to live on the street, so you can too. I think you'll be fine walking there and back.

I used to live in koreatown which is right next to where you are, and the crime levels are pretty similar, and as a nerdy white kid still felt ok to wander when I wanted.

noir_blood

I went to E3 three years straight, with my last year being the last one they did before they tried to restructure it, so I'm not sure how much of this is still relevant;

First of all, obligatory "get the hot dogs outside of the convention" advice.

For me, I found that two days was more than enough time to do/see everything I wanted to do. If this is your first time in LA, consider doing some sightseeing on the third day.

The convention center cafeteria is/was fucking expensive. Hence why everyone loved the hot dogs- but if you're willing to walk a bit, you can find some okay and cheap restaurants.

Wear some comfortable shoes. I don't think you can bring food/liquid, but I was able to bring in an empty water bottle and just fill it there.

Like Comic Con, you might find that you have to plan ahead. Again, I don't know if they still do the whole bring in celebrities to sign/take pics and all that, but if they do, they'll give all that info on a newsletter that they hand out every day.

Oh, and don't be a douche and hog a game for half an hour if there's a line behind you.

And for God sakes, wear deodorant.

Bursar

Get a little bottle of hand sanitizer. You'll be glad you did after handling a slick controller at some booth.