So, earlier this year, I finally felt able to go to Comic Con for the first time ever after several failed attempts (this was mostly due to my own anxiety, which was then compounded by COVID and COVID anxiety). And it was amazing! I had a really, really special experience. Having spoken to them a lot, I was about as prepared as I could be (given that I’d never been before) and that really helped me enjoy the experience so I thought I’d share what I did beforehand and what I learned from the experience that will make it easier next time, whenever I choose to go. With London’s Winter Comic Con coming up, I hope that these can be useful to anyone wanting to go.

Apply for an Extra Help wristband ahead of time – The Extra Help wristband makes you quickly identifiable to the staff at the event so that they know to give you priority and move you to the front of the queues for your photo and autograph, etc. There’s an extra queue just for these wristbands at the talks and reserved guaranteed seating (although it is still first come first served). There’s a specific help desk for the Extra Help wristbands too and all of the staff were lovely and super patient even when I’m sure I was asking really obvious questions. These wristbands do require certain paperwork to get ahold of but all of that information is here.

Apply for Carers wristband – Even if you don’t need literal ‘caring for,’ having someone there to support you with whatever your particular needs are (for example, I needed someone – in this case, my Mum – there to help me keep my anxiety down, to guide me somewhere quiet if I started to get overwhelmed, and to be someone who knows what to do should I have a meltdown or should something unexpected happen) so that you can focus on the experience rather than worrying about what could go wrong and what you’d do if any number of things happened can completely change the experience. A pass doesn’t allow the carer to get photos or autographs but they can join their person in the talks and so on. (I met some members of a group of friends, some abled and some disabled, who’d organised their ticket buying to allow all of them to go for slightly less money, although that only works if members of the group aren’t interested in meeting anyone and only want to look at the stalls and go to talks with the group member they’ve partnered up with.)

Diamond passes are a good investment for seeing someone that means a lot to you – Because the only person I really, really wanted to see there was Amanda Tapping, I bought a Diamond pass because it made access to all of the Amanda-related parts of the event really easy and straightforward. The pass gave me access to the talk, the autograph, and photo, combining and reducing the price. It also improved the accessibility in that it reduced the queuing times and guaranteeing a seat. It made the whole experience less stressful, although I wouldn’t have been able to afford the luxury for more than one person.

Email beforehand if you have questions – Because I was so nervous, I emailed the organisers several times before the event to get as much information as possible. The staff were great, replying clearly and in good time. Having said that, it’s worth remembering that information does change so it’s probably best, should you need to contact them about anything going on during the actual convention, to contact them closer to the event if possible (although they obviously have to set up and so don’t reply to emails in the last few days leading up it).

The line up changes multiple times – The fact that the schedule changes so much has caused me a lot of anxiety in the past, during previous attempts to go, but now that I know that that is what happens, it doesn’t phase me as much. Knowing that the early ones are really only a basic guide and that you’re not going to be sure until the day before, or even the day of, did reduce my anxiety because I stopped panicking every time they changed it.

There are chairs but you have to search for them – I had fully expected to have to sit on the ground between my events (and at times, I did) but there were a handful of empty tables and chairs here and there around the convention space (I assume for events on different days or something like that). So, on the whole, it was a pretty comfortable experience; I could’ve coped with sitting on the floor but it was very nice not to have to. So keep an eye out because chances are, you’ll find somewhere more comfortable to sit than on the ground.

Keep the map on your phone – It’s a huge, huge space with a lot going on and it’s easy to get turned around so keeping the online map (or a picture of the map – I didn’t want to rely on the assumption that the WiFi would be good) does make it easier to navigate that space and to find things more quickly, something that’s especially helpful if you need to find a bathroom or quiet corner as quickly as possible.

An unexpected and beautiful aspect of my Comic Con experience was how many disabled people I saw and, of course, those were just the people with visible disabilities; there were surely many people there with invisible disabilities, just like me. That was so comforting. I’d been so worried about how my disabilities would affect my experience but here were all of these people with disabilities who were, presumably, having a great time. It helped to reassure me that that was possible, not just for that event but for ones in the future. There were also lots of service dogs around – one of which I spent quite a lot of time with – and that gave me a little bit more confidence about what it will be like to have one myself. I just felt very safe and welcome there (even though I’d never been there before), which is not something I often feel out in the world. So it was a really positive experience, on so many different levels.

And although I don’t know whether anyone who’s part of the organisation will actually see this, I still want to say thank you to all of the staff who were so helpful and accommodating and patient – especially when my anxiety rose and I was less able to function – because it made the experience so much better and so special: I was allowed to be myself, to be anxious, to need help. They didn’t for a single moment make me feel weird or stupid for struggling and I appreciated that more than I can possibly express since that is often the world’s default. My Mum and I emailed to express our thanks but I also want to acknowledge them publicly because I really, really appreciated it.

Here is my Instagram post from after the event…