Wonderfest Survival Guide 2.0
	UPDATED 04/20/13
Wonderfest Survival Guide

Thanks to some suggestions from fellow fest-goers I have decided to add another page.
This one is mainly general tips and advice to help make the weekend more enjoyable.
I will assume you have read the first page and have a general idea of what is in store now.
Here is some more detailed advise to make the weekend more enjoyable for you.

Rest up before the show. I know. We tend to burn the midnight oil trying to get our contest entries done on time. But you aren't going to get much rest during the weekend. So rest up as much as you can the week leading up to the show.
Rest when you can during the weekend. There is usually a decent gap between when the show closes for the day, and the after hours activities. Take advantage of that. Go back to your room and lay down for a little bit. Even if you don't nap, the rest will give you a bit of a recharge.
The lack of sleep is almost a shame, as I think the beds are very comfortable, and I would actually love to get a full night's sleep in one of them. But sadly, we average about 4-5 hours sleep a night if that. (might explain the unofficial WF moto "there will be time enough to sleep when we are dead")

Wear comfortable shoes with some good support. Preferably something that has been broken in.
You are going to be on your feet a lot. And walking a lot as well. The show itself runs for 7-8 hours a day. Then add in the after hours stuff and you will be on your feet most of the day. Sure, you can sit down during the demos and talks, but otherwise you are up and moving. And moving a lot as well.
You have to walk down to the show. Walk around the dealers room. Walk to the demos, then back to the dealers room. If you buy a lot of stuff, you are going to need to take it back to your room.
Then back down to the show. And if you wander around at night like we do, then there is even more walking.

Eat and drink!
And by drink I don't mean just in the bar ;-)
Think of WF as a marathon. You need to pace yourself and take care of yourself.
Stay hydrated. If you are from up north like I am, it's a lot warmer down there. And even though the hotel is airconditioned. With that many people in a small space it still gets warm.
If you're into water, keep a bottle with you. Us, we run on Pepsi and Mountain Dew.

I won't give you any specific advice on eating as I have no idea what your normal habits are and what you like. But I will tell you what we do, and what we know others do.
I'm a breakfast guy. I need to eat shortly after I get up in the morning. I also have to have a bowl of cereal. So I bring some with me, as well as some milk (kept in a cooler in the room along with plenty of pop and/or beer). One of the advantages of driving. We bring lots of stuff with us.
Other love the buffet in the resturaunt. Others still, like my daughter, don't eat in the morning.
Lunch. Keep is small. First you don't want to waste too much time during show hours. Second, you don't want to weigh yourself down while all the activities are going on.
We swing back to the room sometime in the middle of the day (usually in conjunction with a trip to unload to save travel). While there we grab something to snack on and drink.
Our first year, we brought tons of snacks and such. But we learned we ended up not eating hardly any of it. For us, all the activiy lends itself to frequent small snacks. It keeps us going. We usually bring some chips, cookies, and a few candy bars. That way we can choose what we are in the mood for. There are vending machines in the hotel, but I won't get into what I think of their pricing.
There are also hotdogs and such for sale in the hallway leading to the dealers room during the show.
I can't say anything about the quality or taste, as I have never sampled any of it.

Edit - well, as we have been doing this more, things have changed a bit.
We are both more into eating actual food now, and not doing as much with snacks.

Dinner.
This is the biggie. For some this is an event that goes hand-in-hand with the show.
Several groups of people get together and either eat at the hotel, or at local resturants.
I have heard some great stories about some of these adventures. And I hear there are some great places to eat as well.
For us, dinner is pizza. Our first couple years we ordered the hotel pizza. Which is good, not great, but really good. It's a little different than what we normally get around here. The past couple years we have opted to order Pizza Hut though. More bang for the buck, and is something of a treat for us, as we rarely have it since there are none close to home.
The reason we like pizza in the room, is it gives us more time to rest and relax.
We watch TV and spawl out on the beds, while going through our purchases for the day.
We compair notes on things we saw (we often go to different demos and spend a lot of time off on our own during the show).
Also, then we have enough leftovers to have that for dinner the next night. :-)
Whatever you do, make sure you have a good filling meal. Something that will give you enough fuel to carry on the rest of the night and get started the next day. And if possible do it with friends. Either ones you have known for a while, or new friends you just met at the show.

Make your reservations early. If at all possible, you want to stay at the hotel where the show is.
There is tons going on all night, you don't want to have to travel to get to your room to sleep.
It might cost a little bit more, but the convenience is more than worth it.

If at all possible, get there on Friday, and stay Sunday night.
Friday night kicks things off. (well, not entirely true anymore. What with all the stuff going on Friday now. Sci-Fi U, Kitbuilders painting seminar, and sculpting seminar. This is fast becoming a full 3 day event for many people).
But Friday night sets the mood and gets you raring to go for the opening of the show.
Sunday night is the wind down after the the show. People are more relaxed. You can get more of a chance to talk to some of the dealers that have been busy during the weekend taking care of busiiness.

Remember. Even though this FAQ is meant to answer most questions. Don't be afraid to ask more questions on whatever boards you hang out on. That way you can find out about specific get-togethers, or group specific events that may be happening.
I intentionally avoided mentioning things like that to avoid that information becoming outdated if things change. (though I think some thinks like Ugly Shirt Night in the lounge Friday will be around forever)
Also, most of us love discussing WF and the added anticipation of the show coming up.