KCONLA2016 Experience
*Warning this is going to be a long post*
Today is 11/10/16
KCONLA2016 was held July 29 through July 31, 2016
Let’s just say I had the time of my life.
My journey started off driving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. Prior to KCON, I set my expenses to about $1000 for two people and extra $200 for gas. The tickets alone were very pricey but were purchased a few months ahead of the event.
Things I learned from ticket buying:
1) It is really hard to find perfect tickets.
2) Personally my cell phone found more tickets than my computer. (My computer is slow.)
3) If you don't get tickets when they first come out they also sell some at a later date.
4) The upsales from other people were ridiculous.
Anyways, I was lucky and found General Admission P2 Standing tickets :) The view was amazing. Sadly I regret trading my Standing for Seated tickets on Day2 of the event. (Note: I am a very hyperactive human)
If you’re gunna go to KCON, do it and go all out!
I also met a group of friends online whom I can say helped me through a lot during KCON. They were all around my age group which made everything much more enjoyable. I suggest getting into kakao group chats and finding a group if you plan on going to KCON alone. Together we networked and smoothly accomplished all our goals during the event. Remember everyone is very excited to go! The atmosphere proves it.
My priorities were:
1) To have a good time
2) See BTS
3) Meet new people
I even started a Facebook group in order to meet new people and just get to know one another preKCON. (Which anyone may join)
Let’s speak where to stay. If you are traveling to KCON it can be quite pricey. Know your budget and plan ahead. Always keep water near you. Plan for meals to be around $15 per meal so you have extra money. I used Airbnb which is an app that has listings for housing cheaper than hotels. I stayed at a hostel (if you don't know what that is look it up). The price was $55/night. It was a 15 minute walk from my stay to KCON which helped me avoid the ridiculous parking fees. I traveled with my boyfriend which made walking at night doable. There are also options like Uber and Lyft for traveling to and from the event.
Now that all that is out of the way~
Thursday July 28, 2016
I had planned to preregister for KCON. I was in line waiting for 3 hours!! AND DID NOT get to preregister. I was very angry and frustrated. During that long wait I did get some free BTS photo cards from someone who was in front of me in line. P1 line for registration went fast. GA P2 on the other hand was not like that. I did meet up with the group of friends I met through the internet and we spent a majority of the time in line together. I ended the night drinking on top of a roof top with them at their Airbnb. We laughed and just got to know each other in real life.
Friday July 29, 2016
OMG First day of KCON! If you have ever gone to a convention you know the rules:
1) Check out the maps
2) Look up the schedules for everything you want to do
3) Plan out your time accordingly
4) Plan out your eating times (I HAVE to eat three meals a day)
This meant that in between everything I am eating properly and not exhausting myself. There were water fountains at the venue as well so you didn’t have to worry about that. The security check was pretty adamant about metal bottles being used as a weapon? I don't understand. If you see a bathroom USE IT! I drink tons of water and the effects are constant bathroom usage.
I got up early and got to the convention center right around 8am. Thanks to the group I was with for waiting in line for me (we took turns) and it helped me out soo much! I returned to the convention center at 10am when it was actually open.
First day didn’t have any concerts but I did end up going to a Aritaum workshop after the meet Heyitsfeiii panel. Which was such a hilarious panel xD. Aritaum also had free KBeauty bags. Oh how I wish my boyfriend went to the workshop, he went pokemon hunting instead! Nevertheless there were free items at the beauty block! Beauty + FREE = ME ME ME!
After the convention ended around 6:30pm our whole posse ended up eating out at some of the best places to eat Korean food. OMG YAS take me back now.
Saturday July 30, 2016
WOHOOOO!!! There is a concert tonight!!!
Okay I had planned very extensively to grab all the free beauty products, go to the Astro & Monsta X audience. Then it would be time for the concert. The lines were okay for Beauty Block. I was glad I went this early because on the last day... the lines... eww... But anyways, I got my free stuff. I was quite happy. I also ended up buying beauty products yesterday and spent some $$$. All together my haul was pretty impressive. I got to look around the vendors and check many of the cool things out. I also cosplayed as V from BTS in the Fire MV.
Let’s just get to it. CONCERT TIME!
I waited last minute to get into the P2 standing line because I already planned to stay far back from the stage to avoid bad situations. I do not like being crowded for any reason. I’ve also heard of people having really bad experiences because the crowd was too excited. I mean don’t get me wrong, it would be pretty awesome to see your idols up close but it’s not more important that being comfortable. There were many performances before the actual concert started. DEAN was amazing. Zico was awesome too! I was so hyped because a friend of mine was a back up dancer for Zico, can you just imagine how excited I was!? Let’s talk SHINee. DAMN they were the first group I ever listened to besides Wonder Girls back in 2009! I AM FREAKING OUT! They played Replay as an intro and I was sad that the intro wasn’t the full song ;( It did bring back many memories though!
July 31, 2016
WELL JUST KILL ME I GET TO SEE BTS TODAY!
I just want to skip whatever I did that day and get to seeing BTS, but lets go in order. Honestly I was already tired. Yesterday I went out way past my bed time after the concert x_x; I know I had some great food, boba, walked around, got to see 1Mil in real life, they're all so gorgeous. I bought some KPOP gear and spent some good $$$.
Last concert day~
SO I traded my P2 Standing for some P2 seated tickets. I heard people were scamming others and gave invalid tickets so I was afraid that my traded tickets were going to end up making me not be able to see BTS live. They weren’t fake! I got through the door! My GoPro had died and my dummy self forgot the charger at home... so my videos sucked. Anyways~ The view from seated wasn’t what I wanted. I still enjoyed the concert. View from standing was AWESOME! (I am also very tall for an Asian women: 5′7′’) I don’t even remember who performed because I wanted to see BTS mainly.
LET ME TELL YOU! They do not disappoint. Their performance was bliss. I literally had so much fun during their set. I danced the whole Fire choreo along with them and made my poor boyfriend record the whole BTS performance while I got to enjoy myself! Shout out to him for being a trooper that whole weekend! I can’t even, like, okay. My excitement was through the roof. At that moment this whole trip and $ spending was worth it. I got to see BTS and SHINee! I was living! (seriously, take me back) AHHH!!! They all look so good!
Overall, this experience is something that I would want to do over and over again but let’s move on. I’m a traveler who wants to see the rest of the world. Until next time KCON~
Love,
Melissa <3
*Next post will be pictures of KCONLA2016*
