Scarily enough, Comic-Con in San Diego is already on its way. Pre-registration is done. Media credentials are due soon. And the mad rush for tickets and hotel rooms will soon be upon us all.

But unfortunately, there are some people who have not gotten to experience San Diego Comic-Con for themselves. So to help let you know what it’s like, we’ve put this together.

Comic-Con International 2014 is set to kick off in just over 48 hours and after selling out 130,000 passes in just 90 minutes, San Diego is about to be descended upon by hordes of Con newbies. Every year those of us who have survived and live to tell the tale make sure to pass on our knowledge (whether or not they ask for it) to try and help these rookies get the most of their SDCC experience.

The best most important piece of information to take from this article is to have a game plan. Without knowing what your goals are for the show, there is a serious risk of wasting a lot of time only to not get the experience you’re hoping for. Luckily there is no shortage of information about the show, the exclusives, the panels, the autograph signings, the celebrities and everything else going down in San Diego during the show.

Working in both the entertainment industry and in YouTube, you’re bound to hear a lot of silly things said. “There’s no way people would want to watch someone else play video games.” “She looked like she had to be 18, right?” “He can’t wait to put me in his next feature.” But there’s one statement that you hear and you just know people are full of it.

When prepping for SDCC this year, I was asking a bunch of friends from various social circles who was heading to Comic Con and there was a common thread from those who weren’t going. They all used the phrase, “I think everyone is over Comic Con.”

Now I can see where this statement might be coming from. One could argue that year after year San Diego Comic Con can start to wear you a little thin by the end of it. No sleep, bad diet and abundance of partying can kick your butt. But when you look back a month later after recovering from the nerd flu you inevitably were stricken with a few days after it ended, you’re up and ready to rock once again.

But this year, there seem to be people claiming that “everyone” is over the Con.  And this is where I call them out on it.