DivaLea: It's, uhhhh, Comic-Con in February

You know, the first time I went to San Diego for ComicCon, back when it was "San Diego ComicCon", instead of Comic-Con International, I got my registration form in the mail (a copy sent to me by Stan Sakai) sometime in May.
May of the same year I was going.
Years following that, I'd reserve rooms in, oh, April.
Luckily, people new to CCI, or new within the past few years, have never known a San Dieg--I mean CCI where you could put off rooms and tables until a couple months before. This hearty new breed knows Christmas starts as soon as the unsold school supplies have been shoveled off the shelves, that Valentine's begins December 26, and that convention season doesn't start with WonderCon, it starts in January with the opening of online hotel reservations for CCI.

Luckily, to torture the dinosaurs v. mammals metaphor often applied to Comics As They Were v. Manga's Gonna Getcha, I'm at least a rodent. I can cope.
Here's my DivaLea's Very Tiny Guide to SDCC, er, CCI in January, er, February), originally seen as an LJ post response (I believe in recycling). Here are the very basics of CCI: what it is, getting to it, getting around it, selling it, and keeping spending money in the pockets without resorting to McDonald's.

What It Is:
Fucking huge. If you've never been, you have no idea. You'll either be like the Giant in The Iron Giant in his first trip to the junkyard, moaning in ecstacy at all before you, or you'll see it as a optical migraine, as Carla Speed McNeil does.
For more about what makes it fucking huge, see CCI's Main Page.

The most-asked question about CCI is How Much Does It Cost?:
This depends on so many factors, like how you get there, if you exhibit, where you stay, what you eat, and how much you spend, that it's only possible to give a one-size-fits-none figure.
A good ballpark figure is about $1100.-$1500. US. That assumes you're going all four days of the con, you have to fly, and you want to sleep someplace safe: four hotel nights at the average of $125./night, airfare of about $400., and eating meals from the deli at Ralph's (not a bad option) at a cost of about $40./day.
Obviously, you can scoot this cost down with room sharing, and eating twice a day. (Note: the first option is viable, the latter is foolish.)

Getting In There:
If you're a pro, you can get in free once you prove it. Pros who attended last year will get a mailer this month with reg info for 2005. The mystery is how do you register if you're a pro and you're attending for the first time. I couldn't find the answer on the CCI website, so do what I'm doing: write to cci-info@comic-con.org and find out.
For everyone else, there's the MultiPurpose Form. Until April 20th, a four-day pass is $50.

"Moooltipurpose."

Selling There:
That ballpark figure doesn't include a table. Tables start at $200. for a Small Press table (for persons with a run of less than 200), all the way up to $6300. for an Island Premium Booth. Learn more about tables by reading the CCI Exhibitor's Form PDF.
It's good to buy your table early, as CCI offers sweet discounts on Comic-Con tables and booths before May 1, and Small Press tables go fast.
California requires you have a Temporary Seller's Permit to sell at CCI. There's no dodging this, you have to have a TSP number for your Exhibitor Application. If you even think you might sell at CCI, just get the damn thing now.

Getting There:
Try Expedia.com or a favorite travel agent for airfare prices. (Or Priceline.com if you're flexible about departure and arrival times.)

Being There:
Hotels at the CCI rates are still available. They start at a modest $74./night and go up to $229. A table of the various hotels with their costs, amenities, and distance from the convention center is here. If nothing you like is available via Travel Planners, hit Hotels.com and reserve through there.
Be ready, though, if you have roomies, for the hotel to not let them in until the person who reserved the room shows up. I had this happen at an APE, because we neglected to make sure the names of everyone in the room were on the reservation. (Always a good thing to do.) I made double sure when I had a room reserved for me in San Diego that my name was on it.
I had my room info printed out, my ID, and Clementine at The Bristol still wouldn't let me in until the person who reserved the room got in from their delayed New York flight. Steve Leiber had a similar problem at the Bristol last year as well.

Transportation:
Transportation costs in San Diego can be minimal if you get a hotel within one mile or so of the convention center. That's an easy walk. Don't look at me like that. It is too. The freaking convention center is over a mile long--think of the hike there as a warm-up. The con also provides a sponsored shuttle that runs over a large area, with clearly marked stops.
Transportation to and from the airport runs from free (if your hotel provides a shuttle) to about $14.00 to $20., depending on the van or cab you take.
Feet will be your #1 form of transportation once you're in San Diego, so wear comfortable shoes. There's a reason so many comics pukes wear Doc Martens--it's one of the few shoes that'll get you through all the walking you'll be doing. This is a con that will chew up and spit out your Payless cobblery. The convention center is over a mile long, the various parts of CCI occupy most of it, and on two floors.

Eating There:
Food is highly indivdual call. Even crap food, three times daily, is going to run $15. to $20. a day. A good breakfast, a carry-along lunch from Ralph's or Starbucks and a good dinner, will run from $40./day and up. Depends on your tastes, needs, and willingness to ingest sub-par vittles. Carry a snack in to the convention center, the Snack Bar prices are hilariously high. There are two Starbucks within the center, and the prices and the product are the same as a Starbucks outside the center. They don't take Starbucks gift cards, the bastards, and it's a hike to either one location. You'll walk off the Frappucino before you ever get it.
A last word on food: Good God, do everyone a favor and eat. Otherwise, CCI will turn you into a weeping hypoglycemic monkey. Plan now to not be that monkey.

Some time much closer to the con, when dinosaurs and mammals alike can cope with it, I'll post some fine links and articles on finer points of the CCI experience, such as Where's Ralph's?, How Not to be a Tool, How to Show Your Portfolio, How to Cope With Your Table, and How to be Someone's Best Friend Ever.

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