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Cosplaying at New York Comic Con; is there anything like it? The most talented costume designers pay homage to the most popular of franchises, together for four days amidst the throngs of celebrities and devoted fans. But if you've ever been in one of those costumes, we don't need to tell you that can also be quite exhausting, especially if your outfit is on the intricate, warm, or heavy side. One of the most valuable things you can bring to a convention, it turns out, isn't a prop: it's the knowledge of a good place to change.

If you find yourself at NYCC without that knowledge, never fear. Popverse is thrilled to support cosplayers of any level any way we can, which is why we've put together this handy guide to the best places for cosplayers to change at the Javits Center. Let's begin.

Cosplay Central at the Javits Center

Perhaps the most obvious place to change at NYCC is in the River Pavilion, at the station known each year as Cosplay Central. This massive stretch of space is dedicated to the craft of cosplay, with perfect places to take photos, some helpful staff available, and, of course, some sectioned off areas to change (indicated by the star in the image above). You can access the River Pavilion by heading all the way up to the fourth floor of the Crystal Palace, just above the main show floor.

Of course, being the central hub for cosplayers is both the River Pavilion's strength as well as its weakness. If you're going there for cosplay-related activities, so are many of the people in the building. Naturally, you might want to try and duck those crowds, which is also why we'll be getting into...

The bathroom situation at the Javits Center

There's a whole separate guide to be written about the bathrooms at the Javits, but for our purposes, we're just going to talk about which are the emptiest. The first of those, contrary to what you may think of the convention, are actually on the first floor of the Crystal Palace, labelled above as areas 1D03-06. Yes, these bathrooms are just outside the Main Stage, so you'd think they'd be constantly busy - but in our experience being at the convention center, they are actually looked over by people passing in and out of that massive hall. 

However, if a large panel is letting out form the Main Stage, you may end up running into crowds in the 1Ds anyway. That's why the absolute best option, in our opinion, is as far away from both the show floor and the Main Stage as possible.

That would be on the other side of what's considered the fourth floor of the Javits, though it's inaccessible via the River Pavilion. Specifically, the bathrooms we're talking about are across from the fourth floor meetings rooms, under the stage area known as The Pavilion (confusing? Yes. But that's New York baby). They're accessible by either walking north on the Javits's second floor and heading outside toward a different entrance, or by walking north on the third floor and taking a right at its end.

Either way, you're going to go up a long set of escalators, then walk all the way across the fourth floor, then take a right, then head all the way down that hall. Obnoxious as it may be, your efforts will be rewarded by a clean, not-so-busy bathrooom, and a perfect place to change out of or into your cosplay.

Get ready - tickets for NYCC 2024 are on sale now!