New DragonWolf on the go

> 1. In order to get in I noticed you need an ID of some sort
> I guess? Would a driver's permant count as an ID to get in?
> Do I need to get a state ID?

We need government ID with your picture on it. Most learners permits do not have pictures on them, so you would need to get a state ID.

> 2. How crowded can it get in most areas? Like is there
> enough room to walk and not get knocked over or something?
> Just curious cause I really am nervous of getting lost in
> a new place ^^;;

There's room to walk around. In some places, like the Registration lines (especially on Thursday afternoon, when they open), we'll have Security doing crowd control. We will also have maps published in the Con Book to help you find your way around.

> 3. Is it really hard to find the con from the airport. I
> am coming in from MA hopefully. I dun mind walking if its
> not too far.

It's a little further than walking distance from the airport. A shuttle bus will cost you $2.25.

> 4. How far is it from the Omni Hotel? I just dun wanna
> have to pay for cab rides or anything if I can honestly
> help it.

2-3 blocks. It's easily walkable.

well I might not be helpful in info but its like the same thing with any other con, I am not an experienced con-goer but I am casue i have attended otakon 4 yrs in a row now, but you will have a wonderful time, and meeting alot of new or old furs is good to ^^

I heartily endorse the Airport Flyer shuttle, which Giza recommended; it is a short-haul shuttle-bus, of the sort which car rental agencies and off-prem parking facilities use to shuttle customers to-and-fro; it is small, but can take about 20 passengers and their baggage, on an internal baggage rack set up behind the driver.

The best advice that I think I could give you is, travel light. Pack one bag, if you can, and perhaps an additional shoulder-bag or briefcase. While you might be tempted to take the bag aboard as carry-on, resist, and have it stowed as checked baggage; because so many - as in, "everybody on the plane" - are intent on avoiding baggage pick-up, everyone who boards the aircraft ahead of you will try and stow all sorts of luggage, including the humvee of baby strollers and child car-seats, into the overheads, that it will be difficult to find space for your main bag.

Additionally - the time that might be saved is usually lost as you wait for people deplaning, disembarking, whichever is the better word...ahead of you, to struggle to get their stuff out of the overheads.

You are not a business traveller, having to make an appointment or meeting downtown - you will have plenty of time to wait for the baggage handlers to get your bag, and deliver it to baggage claims. Relax! No need to rush! Just be sure to properly tag your bag with a legible address label, indicating your name and destination hotel in Pittsburgh, and include the hotel's phone no. Put another tag _inside_ your luggage, near the top, with your home address and phone number, and a "PS about destination hotel, in case the outer tag somehow gets torn off.

If you take a second bag - a smaller, shoulder-bag or document case or briefcase-type of thing - you can store that under the seat of the passenger in front of you. This is the bag that should have your camera, your iPod, or whatever valuable toys you may bring to the convention - and remember to travel light, if you can live without it (and the associated worry of losing or misplacing it), leave it at home!

Handy Items to have:
- 1) foam earplugs. These can make airtravel a little easier, if the aircraft doesn't offer music and headphones. The earplugs will be critical if you go to any of the dances at AC...Or have roommates who snore.

- 2) canvas bookbags or tote bags. When not in use, they take up as much room in your luggage as a roll of socks (which you should have a fresh set for each day, right?), and are convenient for hauling the swag that you are going to purchase or bid on at AC. If you don't buy anything the first time through the dealers' room, it stays conveniently rolled up in your pocket.

- 3) sports water bottle - simple or fancy, cheap and bare or pricey and with a strap, these modern "canteens" allow you to have water at any time, and most folks don't stay hydrated enough. Nice to have along.

- 4) FedEx or USPS document mailers. These stiff cardboard envelopes are great for protecting the prints that you might buy; many of the artists have them, but don't count on it, bring a couple of your own. Good for prints or comicbooks, and if you are overburdened when it is time to go home, you can seal them and mail the contents home, instead of packing them.

Additionally - a small "kit" with aspirin, aleve, advil, or your headache/painkiller of choice; a couple foils of Alka-Seltzer; a foil (typically 10 doses) of Ranitidine Tablets, which is the generic of ZANTAC 75 "acid reducer"; and a travel-size bottle of PURELL hand-sanitizer.

The Purell you may wish to keep about your person, and use liberally after hand-contact with strangers, and before meals, though you should wash your hands before dining anyway. Conventions are where lots of people from all over the globe come in close contact with each other (meaning like seated in a theater, or standing in an elevator), and any illness from a cold to the flu to god-knows-what can be spread literally like a plague. The generic cough or cold that many get a day after returning home from the convention is called "con crud". You can avoid it by taking active measures.

I don't know if the Airport Flyer will take you directly to the Omni; it might not, but it should get you within about 4 blocks of it, and the blocks in downtown Pittsburgh are short blocks. Unless it's pouring rain, you should have no problems.