[Somewhat OT] DragonCon budgeting...

[Neowolf]

I'm trying to work out the economics of going to the con, and so far here's how I'm guessing it'll break down:

Total Budget: $460

Hotel: $100 (staying with some other people)
Food: $100 (assumes we bring some of our own food)
Gas: $20 (not my car, and we're coming from Tuscaloosa, AL. (3-4 hours?) The $20 is my gas chip-in money)
Entry: $60 (assuming I pre-pay by July 15th)
Left-over spending money: $180

2 questions about all this:

1) Is that a realistic budget?

2) Will that give me enough disposable funds to have a good time?

Any input/suggestions are welcome. I've never been to a con before, so I'm determined to get this right. Also, other than the obvious essentials (clothes, toiletries, money, dice, etc.) what else might I need?

 

[Dagger75]

Lets see for me last time I went to Dragon Con...


Was unemployed so I had limited funds.

Stayed with Friends in hotel room, Cost about $100. The room was split 3 ways.

Gas, had a Van 5 people drove up in it though, needed to fill up twice. But the driver got a speeding ticket. I gave $20 to help cover the cost.

Preregsitered: Did that, Saved cash. $60 bucks sounds right. I did mine threw ticketmaster BTW and the line was hella shorter than the Dragon Site Pre reg. Your Milage may very here but Prepay.

Food- I suffered and only ate 1 day. That was like McDonalds or delivery to the hotel. Say spent like $80 all weekend. Again I was unemployed so I was used to not eating much. Ohh I also bought Pop Tarts for breafast each morning and brought them to the con.

I also played a lot of RPGA when there, at 2 bucks a pop this cost me like $40 by itslef.

I also bought the Manuel of Planes Aprrox $30

For me about $350 all weekend for an out of state con. That sounds about right. Thats what i usally spend going out of town for cons.

Now advice: First for Dice- DO NOT BRING YOUR WHOLE DAMN COLLECTION!!!!! Bring 1 complete set. Nothing I hate more than sitting at a table and some joker opens up a back pack full of dice. The goes through the whole thing to look for a set that matches. Took him an hour.(I am not kidding, on person had 1 backpack for dice. Not a Dragon Con though)

Books if you aint running and just plan on playing 3e D&D. Travel light. Just bring the 3 Core books.. Travel light. For RPGA events I had to bring a few more but I only brought what I knew I would use. If you are going to play Shadowrun or what not just bring the one main book. These are not campigns you will be playing in, they are oneshots. Travel light. Did I mention to travel light. You don't need your whole RPG collection.

TRY A DIFFERENT GAME!!! Try something you would never buy in the store. You like making fun of Mage Knight players but never actually played the game. Go try it out. Some of the most fun I have had at cons is trying the stuff I thought would be stupid.

Well I hope this helps.

 

[Neowolf]

Thanks, that actually helps quite a bit.

 

[Mark]

Pack band-aids, asprin, etc.

Pop tarts work well, also power bars and other snacks....but...get the carpool to stop at a big grocery store when you get into town and stock up on a couple of cases of soda or water and a cheap styrofoam cooler to keep in the room. Load that baby with ice every night and morning. One of the biggest hidden costs of conventions is snacks and drinks. Get a loaf of bread and a pound or two of your favorite cold cuts. Those will keep just fine through the weekend. Be sure to bring from home any condiments you plan to use.

Wait to buy things on the last day when dealers are making the best deals. They don't like to carry home any more than they have to carry. Scout out where things are on the first day, but make purchases on the last day. You can always pay full price for something just as easily later as earlier.

Get used to napping. There will be games to play at all hours and if you find an open slot and have already spent time at the dealers area (on your scouting trip), grab a few hours in the middle of the day so you can take advantage of late night games.

 

[Stormprince]

My advice...

Do not fear DragonCon's hospitality suite! It's a good place to hide from the crush, grab some small snacks and something to drink, and it's free as long as you have your badge!

Christopher

 

[Neowolf]

*bump*

Oh, excuse me.

 

[Felon]

DragonCon. The one good thing about living in Atlanta.

Funny how many folks have never even heard of it, including people in the industry. I remember back when I was on one of SJ Games' mailing lists I asked why no MIB's ever came to DragonCon. I then had to explain to them exactly how huge it is, which they refused to believe until other southerners on the list started to speak up.

I love DCon. Always something to do. Too much sometimes; makes you pick and choose.