Battle.net

Annual version of this - it needs some reformatting and there are a few things that need updated changed still - I'll get to that eventually.

Link to the US Blizzcon forums unofficial survival guide post -http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/forum/topic/7923993732 (Leonadius's post is what I based mine on :) )

This is the Original US Survival Guide compiled by Leonaidus (reposted every year for every Blizzcon so far) and is a big influence for this guide. Also note there is info in that guide that isn't in this one with things to do and places to eat etc, if you’re going I recommend that you read this as well.

Tips for visitors to Blizzcon 2013
Compiled from a variety of sources

Currency
US Dollar
When changing money remember to ask for some smaller notes (ie one dollar bills) for use for tipping etc for when you arrive at the airport / taxi hotel etc) In the UK the Post Office is usually good for this and usually has a no-commission deal for dollars

Timezone
Pacific Timezone (GMT -8 hours)

Useful Phone numbers
Emergency 24 hours ambulance, fire, police 911
Directory assistance for local numbers, dial 411. For long-distance directory assistance, dial 1 plus area code and 555-1212. For assistance with toll-free phone number, dial 800-555-1212.
Area code for most of the Orange County area is either 714 or 949. Toll-free phone calls have area codes of 800, 866, 877 or 888; however, not all toll-free numbers work outside the U.S.

Local Drinking Laws
The legal drinking age in the US is 21. You will regularly be asked to provide photographic proof of age, carrying your passport with you is the best bet – NOTE it doesn’t matter what age you are you can and will be asked for ID. Alcohol may not be served, purchased or consumed in public establishments from 2 – 6am.
As of January 2008 alcohol is no longer permitted on any of the beaches in the San Diego or Orange County areas. There are locals bars and restaurants on the shoreline where you can drink – just don’t take anything onto the beach area.
Also several of the local boardwalk and parks are alcohol free zones – if in doubt check for signs or ask lifeguards or police.

Smoking Laws
You must be at least 18 years of age to purchase or use tobacco products. Throughout California, smoking is prohibited in most public buildings, all restaurants and many beach areas.

Convention visitors
Remove badges when leaving the convention area.
Create a buddy system with someone and check up on each other every so often.
When out at night, use lighted sidewalks (pavements) and don’t travel alone if possible.

Staff Tipping
Although tipping is voluntary, restaurant and bar staff are customarily given a gratuity of 15- 20% of the bill.
Taxi drivers are tipped 15% of the fare.
Bellhops receive $1-2 per bag to carry luggage to your room or $5 per person.
Hotel door attendants, valet parking and other service personnel $3
Housekeeping staff $2 - $3 per room/daily
Airport skycaps are tipped 50 cents per bag or generally a $1/ 2 minimum.
Please note that unlike the UK it is generally ‘expected’ in the US that you will tip staff. This is a good idea if you are going to be in the same area for a few days and trust me you will notice the difference in service. In some cases (bars etc) the actual staff wages are a bit on the low side as it is expected that customers will tip thereby making up a larger part of the staffs take-home wage.

Driving Regulations
Valid driver’s license and liability insurance are required.
Traffic flows on the right (with driver closest to the center median).
Child seats are required for children weighing less than 60 pounds and are available with car rentals.
Most car rental establishments require drivers to be at least 25 years old.
*note UK (and possibly European Drivers) you may well need an International Drivers Permit
see here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/renew-driving-licence#idp , you may not get asked for one when you hire a car but it appears some insurance companies are using not having one as a reason not to pay out if necessary for the sake of £5.50 from the Post Office then its probably worth getting one if you plan on driving. Apologies but I'm not sure if other European countries have the same sort of thing.

Vehicle Security

Regardless of driving a personal or a rental vehicle, make sure any item left behind in the vehicle is locked in the trunk and not left on the seats or on the floor. Out of sight means there will be a good chance it will still be there when you return.

Sales Tax
In the US sales tax is added to items at the checkouts and is NOT listed in general on the items on display, it’s worth remembering this when working out how much you want to spend.
Orange County sales tax is 8%

Cash Machine / ATM
There is a Bank of America on Harbor south of the Convention Centre. The 7-11 has one as well and some of the hotels. Note that it is standard practice in the US to be charged per withdrawal so be prepared for this on top of your usual charges.

Flights and Customs / Immigration

Before you go

USA Airport Security Rules

Check the latest updates before you travel as for security reasons these change on an infrequent basis. The latest information can be found at: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information

Also make sure that any locks you use on your luggage conform to TSA rules otherwise you may find them being cut off so that your luggage can be inspected.

(at least 2 weeks in advance) if you are allowed to participate in the Visa Waiver program you need to fill in a E.S.T.A. (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) application, this application needs details of your passport, flights and where you are going to be staying in the US.

For details of the Visa Waiver Program then visit the following websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Waiver_Program

For the actual application itself then visit

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

Please note – there are various other websites which claim to be this website and charge a fee to process your application – the direct website above is the actual one and it costs $14 as of September 2010.

If you are not able to participate in the Visa Waiver program then check with your local US Embassy as soon as possible to find out how you can get a visa.

If you require special meals or extra help (with wheelchairs , other disabilities etc) on your flights then ensure that you have followed your airlines guide for making sure that they are aware of this.

On the Day

Ensure you have all the tickets you need and are aware of all the times of any connecting flights you have to make (double check if you are crossing multiple time zones – although your flight reservations should have local times on them)
Ensure you have your Passport and any other identification documentation as applicable.
Ensure you have a note of the address you are going to be staying at in the US – you will be asked for this at check-in and at customs when you land.
Ensure you are aware of any luggage limitations that apply to your flights.
Ensure that you have your destination address on your luggage tags on bags you are checking in.
Ensure that you have both your destination and home addresses on a piece of paper inside any bags you may be checking in.
Ensure that you have some dollars in cash on you so that you can pay for taxi’s / shuttle buses when you reach your destination and to purchase
food and drinks if you have to spend any length of time at an airport between flights.
Ensure you have copies of any hotel / shuttle reservations in your hand luggage so that is readily available when you reach your destination.

Hotels

Update for 2013 - official blizzcon hotel page is at -

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=10517512

I know link looks strange but you can find the blog post with it on here -

http://eu.battle.net/blizzcon/en/blog/7335912/BlizzCon_Hotel_Info-19_02_2013
Before you go -

If you have used a centralised hotel booking service – confirm with the hotel directly that they have received the reservation.
Check if your hotel runs its own shuttle service to / from the airport you are landing at.

When you get there -

Hotel Taxes

As per sales tax there are various hotel taxes added to your room bill which may not be displayed – check with your hotel in advance so you know what these will be.

As a rough guide for Orange County –

Hotel Room Occupancy Tax
Anaheim: 15%
Garden Grove: 13.05%
Orange: 10.10%
Fullerton: 10%
Buena Park: 12.08%
Irvine: 10%

Tourism Tax

Anaheim Resort Tax: Varies from hotel to hotel, but usually between $0.50 – $2.00 per night.
Please call hotel for current charges.
Please note also that these taxes are cumulative. I would check these before going if they haven’t been included on your bill (if you are paying for your room in advance).
Also note that although some booking sites will include taxes on your bill these generally do not include the tourism tax and you are expected to pay this on check-in

Room Damage Deposit

Some (most) hotels will also require a damage deposit to be paid at check-in (For example the hotel I am staying at requires either a $100 cash or $50 credit card deposit at check-in).
This will be refundable at checkout. Please note that this ‘fee’ is not included in any advance bookings as far as I am aware.

Hotel Security

Determine the most direct route to and from your room to the fire escapes, elevators and nearest telephone.
Use all auxiliary locking devices on doors and windows.
Use the door viewer to identify anyone requesting entry. Open the door only if you are certain the person has a legitimate reason to enter your room. If in doubt, call the front desk.
Report any lost or stolen items to the management and to the police.
Never leave money, checks, credit cards, jewellery and other valuables, extra room keys or car keys in the room. Take valuables with you or leave them in the hotel safety deposit box.

Report to the hotel management any suspicious activities in the corridors or rooms.

Remember – the only way to stop crime is to get involved in crime prevention.

Local Transportation

Public Transport

Within the general Disneyland area there is a tram type service that runs regularly (Day passes are $4 and may be available from your hotel – check the website below or ask your hotel)

http://www.rideart.org/index.html

For the wider area there is the OCTA bus services

http://www.octa.net/

There is an interactive trip planner on the website if you plan on using this to get around.

Travelling from the Airport to your hotel

If your hotel does not run its own shuttle service and you are not hiring a car or attempting the public transport system (depending up arrival time here I would guess), then the best option is to book a shuttle bus. You can also obviously just get a cab but this will be more expensive.

I thoroughly recommend Super Shuttle (If available at your airport – I checked LAX and John Wayne and they both have super shuttle service – if not there are usually a list of comparable companies, my recommendation is based on personal experience as I have used them several times from different airports spread across the US)

www.supershuttle.com

You want to book a shared ride ( unless there are 7 of you :) as this is the cheapest option (shared rides are a common thing in America) its also MUCH cheaper to pay online in advance! (previously on a trip to Dallas for work – I paid $25 online and a woman going to the same hotel paid $50 by just getting on without pre-booking!) pre-paying will also include an amount for tipping on it – however I would still tip a couple of dollars to the driver on arrival at the hotel you can get a quote online without booking but this doesn’t include the tipping bit ( usually 15% I think for super shuttle) Last year the trip to my hotel from LAX was $16 and from John Wayne to my hotel was $10 so it is really in-expensive.

When you book you give them your flight number so they know about any delays etc.

WARNING – if you book a shared ride you might get a little trip round the airport whilst the driver tries to pick up other passengers – obviously it makes sense for them to have the mini-bus as full as possible – tho I have never spent more than 20 minutes hanging about in this fashion as there is an obvious trade-off between completing a journey and being ready for the next one and having a half-full bus. You might also get a mini-tour of the area depending on where people need dropped off but it’s all good and cheap.

Car rentals

You don’t have to rent a car – $30 a day can add up fast, especially if you don’t plan on going anywhere else but the convention center / Disneyland area.

Food

Average Prices

Food at restaurants:
Breakfast: $10-15 (Dennys/ cocos)
Lunch $10-15 (fast food/ sandwich and drink) – tho a footlong Sub at Subways is $5
Dinner $15-25 (‘sit down’ place)

Remember tipping in restaurants is considered customary – but this does not include fast food places like McDonalds.

On the Blizzcon Days

The Inside food is like the sport statium / movie theater selection- chicken strips, nachos, burgers,etc.
Expect to pay to pay sport stadium type prices: so $6 for a burger, $3-5 a can of coke, etc.

Personally I think you are better off taking a walk outside to find somewhere to eat – there is a Denny’s and some other places within easy walking distance and will be much cheaper.

Places to Eat in general

The main intersection of the area is Katella and Harbor Blvd.

Coffee : Starbucks outside the convention centre – Hilton Hotel Lobby, Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Hyatt Regency & Anaheim Marriot Suites in lobby.

Heading South (Turn right from the convention doors)
Denny’s, Bakers Square, Carls Jr, Jack in the Box, & Taco bell. If you want to go further, then 2 blocks down on Chapman is an Outback, Del Taco, Cocos and Red Robin. For the expensive ones here, a Ruth Chris Steakhouse is right outside the center on Harbor.

Heading North (Towards Disney)
Denny’s, Subway, IHOP, McDonalds, Mimi’s Cafe and Toney Romos.

Other Places to Check out for Food and Entertainment

Disneyland

Is basically right across the street from the Convention Centre. It is roughly $90 on the gate for a ticket and expect to pay up to another $50 dollars inside for food, drinks and stuff. A must to check out if you are here really and its not just for kids. Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones ride, etc. Plan for an all day outing into the evening and watch the fireworks at night over the caste.

Downtown Disney

Has a lot of good restaurants and places to check out too – House of Blues, ESPN Zone and others. Walk up Harbor and walk into the Disney lot, as you are going into the park, head towards the ticket pay booths (NOT the parking) and head left = Downtown Disney. The Block at Orange is also a great place to check out, lots of places to eat and a movie theatre. 10 -15 minutes drive from the Convention Centre.

Anaheim Gardenwalk

There is a shopping / eating outdoor mall right next to the corner of Katella and Harbour. Restaurants that are now open include Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., The Cheese Cake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, McCormick & Shmick’s Grill, Roy’s and P.F. Changs. There is also a Cinema right at the back of this.
http://www.anaheimgardenwalk.com

In n Out

Best burgers in California apparently (definitely to be recommended ;) ). The closest one is on Brookhurst and Orange, to get there head West down Katella (Convention Centre on your left) and turn right onto Brookhurst, Go up a few blocks and look for the sign. Check the website for details of the ‘secret’ menu ordering options.
http://www.in-n-out.com

Knotts Berry Farm

Probably a cab ride with friends but a fun place to go. Lots of good rides and slightly cheaper than Disney. Its about 20mins by cab from the Convention Center.
http://www.knotts.com

Hollywood

Consider renting a car or taking the train and head to Hollywood for the sights. The Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Wax Museum, Walk of Stars and lots more.

Actually at Blizzcon

This is what its all about people ;o)

Collecting your tickets

You can queue up for your Blizzcon Badge/Pass on the day before (Thursday). (I’ll post times when they are confirmed but expect it to be roughly 3pm to 9pm) A few years ago the queues for this were horrendous but the last couple of years it has been better and I haven’t had to queue for any longer than an hour to get my goody bag (I think last year was only approx 30 minutes).

If you are only arriving the day before then you can collect your ticket on either the Friday or the Saturday when you turn up.
Note the Queue to get in on the Friday morning can be fairly long ( a couple of hours).

Basically you have a few choices but it all depends on what you want to do / see.
1. Turn up at 6am and be at the head of the queue and get in line near the front of any queue inside as well
2. Turn up at 10.30am and either walk straight in or have a small queue but then be faced with long queues for anything inside.
3. Turn up somewhere in the middle and queue for everything. A couple of years back I watched the opening ceremony on the internet stream in the hotel and just walked in afterwards.

Things to Take to the Blizzcon event

1. ID – remember your credit card and your ID (passports are pretty much essential if you want to go drinking alcohol as you WILL be id’d ( or carded as the Americans say) if you look aged 21 or under.
2. Print out of your ticket barcode.
3. A Small Backpack – something to put stuff in, all your freebies etc ? From the FAQ it should be smaller than 20 inches by 10 inches. Please note all bags are searched on entry to the convention centre.
4. Water Bottle – bring water its very easy to become de-hydrated in these large events and the aircon doesn’t help. Keep your water bottle sealed if you want to take one inside as security will search your bag and opened bottles are likely to be confiscated.
5. Something to do – Bring a magazine, iPod, gameboy, DS, PSP, something. Waiting in the queue for the store or other things for an hour or so gets pretty boring! Not to mention the hanging about between panels, events, etc.
6. Snacks – a few candy bars, trail mix , nuts something that won’t melt in the heat in your bag or smell bad after being in your bag for a bit. Anything to keep you going until lunch or dinner.
7. Good shoes – Wear something comfortable, you will be doing a lot of walking / standing around. It doesn’t matter what they are just make sure you know you are going to be comfortable wearing them all day.
8. Cash – Cash in small bills ( ie $1, $5, $10 etc for the vending machines, lunch etc makes getting your change easier and faster. Also bring coins if you have them as some vending machines don’t always take notes
9. Pens – The blizzard store onsite has a mini flyer with the items for sale. Easier to fill this in whilst waiting in the queue rather than when you get to the front. Saves time as well!
10. Sellotape – The blizzcon badge holders in the past have not always been the best quality.

So you are actually in Blizzcon – Congrats!

Maps

There will be one in your goody bag or available on the day. Check this out along with the schedule and try to come up with a vague plan of what you want to do and see and when – I would keep this as a rough guide however and be prepared to be flexible as timings at conventions often change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Contests / Quests

In previous there were quests / contests at the event (Brady Strategy Guide’s usually have some sort of ‘collect a thing’ quest type event – note get to this early if you want to do it – the queues get to be very large very quickly and they usually run out around lunchtime). There are other sales as well – read the flyers in the goody bag early on to make sure you don’t miss out. Check both sides of flyers as well – whilst one side may only have an advert that’s useful for people who live in the US, the other side may well have a special offer available on the day.
Don’t be afraid to ask at stands if they have any freebies or contests.

Blizzcon Store

There is usually an option to buy the exclusive goodies online before the event and have them delivered to your home address, which should alleviate some of the queue’ing issues from previous years .

Jinx Store

Expect to queue for this – especially if they ahve the talking murlocs again :) But some good offers on t-shirts etc.

Links to other useful sites -

Note that a few of these forums and sites are not overly active yet, they will be more-so as the event gets closer

Twisted Nether meetup for bloggers (anyone welcome!)

http://www.twistednether.net/blizzcon-2011/

Aimcon/Chatcon

Online chatroom in it's 6th year, have a bit of a laugh and sit and chat about general stuff but there is a meetup and dinner at Blizzcon (note that whilst this chat site allows use of webcams and voice chat its not necessary, text only works fine for most of us)
http://chatcon.org

Facebook Wiki Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BlizzCon/104049626299044?ref=ts

I'll update this soon as a few of the sites have changed so I want to check them out before linking here.

Other Info

For people from the UK you can sign up with the Foreign Office travel abroad scheme

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/staying-safe/Locate/

Basically this registers when and where you are so that someone has your contact details should any major emergency occurs
(in before conspiracy theorists ;) )

Another tip provided by Aucoeur is to scan all your travel and ID documents to pdf (I'd recommend also that these be password protected) and either uploading these to a secure online location or putting them on a usb/SD card and keeping them in your hotel safe so that you have copies of important stuff in case you should lose the originals.

The legal drinking age in the US is 21. You will regularly be asked to provide photographic proof of age, carrying your passport with you is the best bet – NOTE it doesn’t matter what age you are you can and will be asked for ID. Alcohol may not be served, purchased or consumed in public establishments from 2 – 6am.
As of January 2008 alcohol is no longer permitted on any of the beaches in the San Diego or Orange County areas. There are locals bars and restaurants on the shoreline where you can drink – just don’t take anything onto the beach area.
Also several of the local boardwalk and parks are alcohol free zones – if in doubt check for signs or ask lifeguards or police.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHH UBER AMERICAN FAIL

Thank you very much for posting this. I'm determined to go this year. Is there an age limit for Blizzcon? Because if I did go, I'd still be 16. Just wondering (:

Thank you very much for posting this. I'm determined to go this year. Is there an age limit for Blizzcon? Because if I did go, I'd still be 16. Just wondering (:

16 is fine for the con, but you will need the card that bought the tickets, also if you are travelling on your own and not with anyone older I would confirm that the hotel you are going to stay at is ok with that age.

I'm sure it would be ok but better to check before you travel all that way ;)

06/04/2013 19:23Posted by Shadowscout

Thank you very much for posting this. I'm determined to go this year. Is there an age limit for Blizzcon? Because if I did go, I'd still be 16. Just wondering (:

16 is fine for the con, but you will need the card that bought the tickets, also if you are travelling on your own and not with anyone older I would confirm that the hotel you are going to stay at is ok with that age.

I'm sure it would be ok but better to check before you travel all that way ;)

Yeah, I'd be using my card to buy the tickets so that wouldn't be a problem. Indeed, I'd do all of that when I actually know I can go. I've got to make a few calls on Monday to ask about some stuff and actually see if I can go, since with the Flight and Hotel, I technically won't be using my own money to pay for that. (I won't get into that, but I hope you can see what I'm saying) I hope I can go. :P I know I'd be going on my own but meh, it'd be fun. (:

Just one more question. When buying the tickets, I've been seeing a lot of posts about buying the tickets saying 'I'm going to get my F5 ready'- things like that. What do they actually mean by that? Is that when trying to get into queue for the tickets, or? I'd be more worried with mucking up the purchasing a ticket bit, knowing me I probably would.

the F5 is for refreshing the ticket sales page, the page goes live a bit before the tickets sales but the 'buy' button on it isn't, about 5 minutes before the sale time its wise to start refreshing the page in your browser so that you don't miss the button going active.

the past couple of years you have had literally seconds to get the buy button clicked to get high enough up the queue to get tickets, I've seen people talk about minutes for this and that just isn't true if you aren't in the ticket queue in seconds you probably aren't going to get tickets in the 2 main ticket sales.

The dinner tickets take a longer to sell out (or have for the last few years anyway)

The dinner tickets take a longer to sell out (or have for the last few years anyway)

In 2011 it was still seconds though.

I refreshed after the "buy" was active (bit over-eager on the F5) and was out of contention.
Luckily my mate got in.

the F5 is for refreshing the ticket sales page, the page goes live a bit before the tickets sales but the 'buy' button on it isn't, about 5 minutes before the sale time its wise to start refreshing the page in your browser so that you don't miss the button going active.

the past couple of years you have had literally seconds to get the buy button clicked to get high enough up the queue to get tickets, I've seen people talk about minutes for this and that just isn't true if you aren't in the ticket queue in seconds you probably aren't going to get tickets in the 2 main ticket sales.

The dinner tickets take a longer to sell out (or have for the last few years anyway)

So when it comes to buying the tickets, I better make sure I'm prepared and try my best to get into the queue as soon as possible?

the F5 is for refreshing the ticket sales page, the page goes live a bit before the tickets sales but the 'buy' button on it isn't, about 5 minutes before the sale time its wise to start refreshing the page in your browser so that you don't miss the button going active.

the past couple of years you have had literally seconds to get the buy button clicked to get high enough up the queue to get tickets, I've seen people talk about minutes for this and that just isn't true if you aren't in the ticket queue in seconds you probably aren't going to get tickets in the 2 main ticket sales.

The dinner tickets take a longer to sell out (or have for the last few years anyway)

So when it comes to buying the tickets, I better make sure I'm prepared and try my best to get into the queue as soon as possible?

Yep, unfortunately the other 100,000+ of us will be too.
Good luck on the 24th (25th for us, gonna have to get up early for that one :))

So when it comes to buying the tickets, I better make sure I'm prepared and try my best to get into the queue as soon as possible?

Yep, unfortunately the other 100,000+ of us will be too.
Good luck on the 24th (25th for us, gonna have to get up early for that one :))

Indeed. Having to get up at 3:00am if I do get to do. I might even go my Grandad's and do it because it wouldn't surprise me if my internet screws me over. -.-

I just hate the tipping policy, but that's to blame on the government for not regulating minimum wages and not the actual people themselves...

If I manage to get a ticket, then paying ~1000€ for flights and few hundred for hotel for three nights how badly can I expect to be looked down to if I really cba to tip? :) :(

The website only gives the ticket amount in Dollars. Would the amount be £114? Or, is it a different amount because we're not paying for/buying currency?