#so i decided to manipulate it into p2. i think its interesting but. idk maybe its bad

[newdejavuu]

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[fightingdiamond]

KCON LA 2017 fanaccount!!

part 4: tips & advice 

Just some things from my experience! Hope it helps :) 

My inbox is always open if you have any questions! KCON is super confusing and I’d be happy to help out in any way I can.

Tickets and vouchers:

Before tickets go on sale, really think about what kind of seat you want (how close you want to be to the stage). I feel like other than GA/standing (diamond, platinum, P1 and P2) all of the other seats are kind of the same? I was in P3 and I felt like I probably could’ve had the same experience being in P5 for like $100 less LOL. I was still looking at the big screen a lot from my P3 seat. The sound in the Staples Center is really good so there’s no way you’d miss out on the sound experience no matter which seat you have.

That said, other considerations:

People with GA tickets start lining up at the Staples Center the morning of the concert or even the night before (so I’ve heard) so they can get a good view. If you’re with friends, you can take turns waiting in line, but just be prepared to wait in line for hours or else you won’t get a good view.

Idk how they’ll do the stage in future years, but this year most of the idols walked through P2 GA to get to the stage. If you want to see them up close, that might be the way to go :)

Vouchers! Omg the voucher situation is really messy. I had an extra P2 ticket by accident and I hoped I could offset the cost by selling off the vouchers that came with it, but that didn’t happen. Don’t buy a higher tier ticket expecting that you’re gonna be able to sell off vouchers for lots of money! Especially since this year, KCON removed Wanna One from the regular hi-touch options and did a raffle for it instead, so the demand (and therefore cost) for Seventeen hi-touches shot up like crazy. I wouldn’t put it past KCON to do something like that again - manipulate the demand for fan engagements so that people end up paying more money.

As an aside, this is kind of useless info but it’s something I wanted to know when I was looking at tickets: the “limited edition gift bag” that comes with P1/P2 doesn’t really have anything in it LOL. It has some stickers/decals/pins for KCON, but no artist merch or anything. 

This is super important: don’t panic if you don’t get a ticket the first round. AXS sucks and it’s really hard to get the ticket you want, but just be patient. DO NOT spend more money than necessary buying from Stubhub or other resellers. KCON will most likely release more tickets later on even if Staples or whoever claims it’s ��sold out”. Plus, people will sell their tickets as KCON approaches because something came up or whatever, and the closer you get to KCON, the lower the price will be. On the day of the concert, I saw someone selling a P4 ticket for $40. (The face value for P4 is $110 + taxes and fees, so.) One of my friends happened to be in the area so they randomly showed up at 6pm, and bought VIP tickets from someone for a third of the original price. I know it can be hard, but be patient! If you’re interested in the convention itself, go ahead and make plans to go, and look for concert tickets later. Do not panic.

Be careful of scams. If it’s not a face-to-face or otherwise physical transaction, always use Paypal’s Goods and Services option. It will allow you to file for a refund if you find out you’ve been scammed. Trust your instincts; if a seller seems sketchy, it’s best to be safe. If a seller asks you not to use Goods and Services, this is sketchy.

If you have a P2 or higher ticket, check in and get your vouchers as early as you possibly can. If you check in on Saturday and get a voucher for something that already passed, you’ve just lost a selling or trading opportunity. Don’t worry too much though, KCON usually makes it so that the schedule of fan engagements goes from (approximately) least popular to most popular over the course of the weekend.

I mentioned this in part 1 of my fanaccount but the check-in lines weren’t bad this year. Hopefully KCON keeps its shit together in this aspect for next year!

This year, there were really well-made fake vouchers being sold/traded at the convention. Pay close attention to what you’re getting: look at the font, the spelling (ex. K.A.R.D doesn’t have a period on the end), the spacing - if those are difficult for you to notice, look for the shiny KCON watermark in the top right corner of the voucher.

It’s good to decide beforehand how much money you’re willing to spend on a voucher you want, so you can stick to that price and be less tempted to just pay whatever price someone asks. 

Budgeting:

Hotels in downtown LA are expensive, just fyi.

By all means, have an upper limit on how much you want to spend on each meal, but don’t do what I did and skip meals to save money. Eating is important!!! The KCON food street is a bit overpriced, but it’s good food, and you should go enjoy it! (I heard they cut down prices after 6pm, but I was not able to find this out for myself.)

Also, I had zero problems at bag check with bringing in food and water, so bring lots of snacks and water so you don’t have to buy those there!

Make sure to budget for merch :)

Convention:

Make sure to ask the Toyota booth staff when idols are visiting!

You don’t actually need to print your ticket despite what they tell you. It’s ok if it’s on your phone.

Some of the booths do giveaways, so stick around if you have time and try to win some free stuff.

I wish I had gone to more panels and workshops, just saying.

Wear comfy shoes (and clothes)! You’ll be walking and standing a lot. I was sore after Day 1 :(

People start lining up for fan engagements (and other things, like the free dumplings with Bibigo) pretty early, but it can be hard to predict how early. If you want a good view, check the fan engagement area every so often and see if people have started to line up yet. 

Make friends in line! You can save each other’s spots for bathroom/food breaks and such.

Concert:

Find the correct line. This is really important but I feel like people forget; make sure you’re in the right line! You don’t want to get to the front and find out you have to go somewhere else. People in the line might not even know which line it is, so try to find staff to ask where to go. I wanna say that it’s fair to assume that unless you have GA tickets, you should not be in a long line. Once I found the proper bag check line, I was in the door within 5 minutes.

PS: the Staples Center does not permit backpacks, and large bags will take longer to check too. Save yourself the trouble and leave unnecessary items in the car or at home.

Definitely recommend bringing earplugs. I watched a fancam of Habit recently and I realized that my ears were ringing so much at that point that I hadn’t been able to hear it clearly. Sad :( 

Bring a light stick! I don’t necessarily mean those $50 fanclub light sticks, but just something that lights up and that you can wave around. It’s cool to have something to show how excited you are :)

You don’t actually need to print your ticket despite what they tell you. It’s ok if it’s on your phone.

Things to bring:

Having a portable charger is a lifesaver.

An actual camera and/or video camera. Maybe I’m just incompetent with technology, but a lot of my fancams are really blurry because my phone camera didn’t feel like focusing properly. Also, my phone ran out of storage space despite me deleting every app I could and my text history with my sister.

Reusable water bottle(s) and snacks.

Sign(s) for your bias(es), if you want them to notice you ;)

That’s all I can think of for now! My inbox is always open :)