I'll definately be there, as always.
A bit of the advice I have is that you should bring some of your own food. Have a couple juice boxes, a water bottle, lots of crackers and trail mix, other non-perishables, in your suitcase when you go. This cuts down on having to buy the local, expensive food from eating out.
Make sure to pick up a program book ASAP. I know that for me, there's nothing more useful than the physical book itself to find out what is happening when, along with a map, etc. If you arrive Wednesday, spend a bit of time perusing it to see what you can find.
At least a few places every year have either some freebies or a few advance copies of their new books available at the con. Make sure to hit these places first thing when the exhibit hall opens Thursday morning, as they're the first to go. They usually don't last an hour (in the case of freebies) or that morning (in the case of advance copies of books to purchase).
You seriously, seriously need to stop by the Hades Pro anime room. I'm not kidding. Even if you hate anime with a passion, these guys give away so much free stuff it's unbelievable. They have two major drawings during the con (which are clearly mentioned on their schedules outside their room), and quite often give things away intermittently. Last year, they had over a hundred bags with several prizes in them, giving them away massively over the con.
Haggle with the exhibitors at the con! While a lot of them stick to the manufacturer's suggested retail price and won't budge, just as many of them (usually ones dealing in older merchandise, but that's not a hard-and-fast rule) will be willing to negotiate a price. It helps if you act like you're running low on money, but really want said product.
If you want to participate in any events that need tickets, sign up now. Seriously, if you see something you like for the first time when you get the program book on site, it will be too late. Peruse their website now, find what you like, and sign up for it now.
Buy a half-dozen generic tickets or so. Just because an event is full doesn't mean that everyone will show up, and if you're there and there's an empty chair, generic tickets are your best friend. Even if you can't use them, generic tickets can be sold back for the full price you paid for them, so you lose nothing.
