Going to Supercon with a Toddler: Tips and Tricks


Supercon writstband on a black background and the year, 2017, below.

 This year my husband and I bought matching Star Wars shirts for ourselves and our three-year-old. (The shirts were on sale at the Disney Store. Woot woot. *happy dance*) So we were extra ready to go to Supercon as a family for the first time in our daughter's life. 

 **At the very end, I give some "Shoutouts" to a couple of artists and a writer who stood out to me, so don't forget to scroll all the way down to check them out.**

We had so much fun. There are some things that went very well, but there are other things that we'll do differently next year. 

Me in the front seat, three-year-old in the backseat. We're all smiles.
Happy to be headed to Supercon!
Looey in the front seat and Leia in the backseat, both smiling.
Her daddy was happy to be taking his little girl to her first con!

 Here's a list of tips to help make your day at a con with a toddler an enjoyable one:


1. Head over to the con during nap time. 

If your kiddo falls asleep easily in the car, take advantage of that to let your kiddo nap on the way to the con. Our daughter napped from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the way up to Ft Lauderdale from Miami. We had to hang out in the car for a little while, but she was able to hang at the con until 6:00 p.m. It was definitely worth waiting for her to finish her nap.

If your kiddo does not fall asleep in the car, then head over to the con soon after, or way before, nap time so you can enjoy the con as long as possible before your kiddo gets too tired/overstimulated.

Parents smiling in the front. Little Leia sleeping in the back.
While she napped, we talked about things we wanted to see and do.
2. Buy tickets online. 

Save some money by buying the tickets as early as possible. The price goes up after a cutoff date. Lines are also much longer for people purchasing tickets versus people who have bought ahead of time. This year there was a 30-minute line for pre-purchased tickets, and usually, the line for buying the tickets on-site is much longer. Also, on Saturday, tickets sold out by 1:30 p.m. 

A lot people standing in line to enter Supercon with pre-purchased tickets.
The line for pre-purchased ticket holders!

3. Take plenty of healthy snacks for the whole family. 

There were a lot of people there, so it was hard to navigate and see all of the food that was available. All we found was fried food and sugary snacks at the back of the convention center. My husband and I ended up buying some sugar coated toasted almonds as a snack (sugar-coated healthy-ish snack). We ended up buying our kiddo some candy instead of giving her a healthier snack. 

Don't make the same mistake we did! Take plenty of healthy snacks for everyone in the family to avoid giving in to unhealthier snack options.

Cookie Monster with Leia and I
Don't be a Cookie Monster, bring plenty of healthy snacks for the whole family!

4. Take lunch for everyone. 

The food lines are long and the food is pricey. My husband and I ended up eating chicken tenders with potato chips. They were delicious, but all fried and not healthy. Our daughter ended up eating her emergency PB&J (100% whole wheat bread, organic grape jelly, and organic peanut butter) for lunch. We always pack a PB&J in her lunchbox, just in case of emergencies.

Waldo with Leia and I
I'm going to pepper in some fun pics of us at Supercon after each tip, just for funzies. We found him! She got shy around Waldo.

5. Bring a water bottle for each person. 

Water is $3-$5 and buying it there can add up. We bought 5 bottles of water in the 5 hours that we were there. I didn't check if there were water fountains available in the convention center, but there usually are some somewhere in large places where people convene. 

Wonder Woman in her defensive pose.
This kick-ass Wonder Woman wants you to save money and be eco-friendly by bringing your own water bottles to the con. ;) 

6. Have plenty of memory available on your phone/camera for photos with cosplayers/artists/celebrities. 

I had coincidentally just cleared my phone of photos and videos the previous weekend, so we were all set. It was glorious! 

Looey, Maui, me, and Leia.
There were some great cosplayers this year! This was our little Leia's favorite! The demigod, Maui from the movie Moana. We thanked him for the photo, and guess what he said in a sing-songy voice. "You're welcome." Chee hoo!

7. Wear comfortable shoes! 

The convention center floor is huge and you will have to walk it several times to find things/artists/celebrities that may interest you. We walked the floor from end-to-end about 4 times. I felt like I'd walked all of Magic Kingdom twice. 

Belle, Me, and Leias
Four princesses just hanging out ;)

You can read the rest of this post at ellanewriter.com.


Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Comments

  1. JessicaAugust 11, 2017 at 1:25 PM

    Wow this is so awesome! I want to go one day. Not sure my husband would want to but he does like anime. My kids would have a ton of fun. You have some great tips about taking children and I loved how you gave a shout out to some creative people. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. E. L. LaneAugust 11, 2017 at 2:04 PM

      Thanks so much, Jessica! You should definitely take the kids - they'll love taking pics with all of the cosplayers. And your husband would love all of the anime stuff - they have so much merch and lots of cosplayers - he'll be in anime heaven. Xx 💕

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