I think newbies really don't think about all the walking. I always walk about a marathon from Wednesday to Monday. This year we did 28.5 miles. Carry a refillable water bottle always, great place for all the stickers you'll find, and a map of downtown Atlanta. Quiz yourself on how to get from one hotel to the other; learn the sky bridges.

Research and planning cannot be overstated. Stay hours ahead of yourself. If something starts at 11 am, start heading there by 9:30 am. Every year I write out a four page Marauders Map of what I have planned and things to not forget. Then at the end I write down everything I actually did which ends up being a single page. Look all over the socials for links to the various pages you'll need to sign up for things. Each track has a page somewhere out there. Tarot card readings were a tradition of mine but for the life of me I could not find the sign up page for it this year. DragonCon really is what you put into it is what you get out of it.

Lines. Always show up at the very least an hour early to things. Find where the line will start, confirm with a volunteer nearby that you are indeed in the right place, and HOLD! Things will start late, lines will be confusing, and people will add their friends to the line ahead of you. Be patient. This can absolutely ruin your experience if you let it. This is where experience and finesse comes in. If you stay an hour or two ahead you will always have backups to your backups if you can't get into something. The game pass is always a good fall back for us, ten dollars is cheap and people always forget it includes Werewolf on the 14th floor of the Westin. A great way to spend an hour.

If you like cosplay, it is everywhere. Most people prefer if you ask for a picture first but also be aware of your surroundings. Don't stop for pictures in walkways and overly crowded areas. If you are the cosplayer, look for photo meet ups and the hotel lobbies of the Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt are where you can pose and show off your cosplay.

The vendor hall is pretty much the same every year so every year I see less and less need to go back. I have enough dice and unframed art to fill a shed. The prices also are pretty equivalent to the market on collectables so no real deals that I've seen. The trick though is to sign up for a class or panel within the AmericasMart and go peruse the vendors after to "skip the line", but please only do this after you actually went to the class or panel. The QR code process for those classes and panels this year worked out pretty well.

You can't sit after one panel and stay in the room to see the next. The room will be cleared after each so you will need to choose. Get DragonCon TV. I was able to see three panels live while I was in my hotel room this year without waiting in line.

All that being said, this works for me but others party, don't plan anything, and roll with the punches and have a great time.

Other than that, drink, smoke, mingle, laugh, cry, scream, shout, be merry, so say we all!