National vs wheelchairs
 

If I want to go to the National for the first time, I’m going to have to use a wheelchair to travel the isles. Has anyone had this experience ? what is the least crowded day and times?

I am going with my son and grandson. I collect pre-war NY Highlanders, my son doesn’t collect, my grandson collects Yankees and Pokemon cards. Will my grandson have a hard time finding Pokemon cards ?

I haven't had that experience personally, but I'd assume you might want to get in Thursday and Friday before the weekend crush shows up.

I don't think there will be least crowded day this yr again, it should be relatively the same as last yr traffic wise. I don't recall seeing that many pokemon cards last yr but u never know...

People usually very respect people on the wheelchairs, you should be ok, they will give u the right of way.

Sunday has the least amount of crowds.

Good luck with your first National.

Some dealers will have Pokemon. If it sells, they will have it at the National.

Gary,

My son cleaned up on Pokémon cards at the last national. There were several vendors with cards available.

Best,

Mike

Gary, make sure you stop by and say hi. It would be great to see you again.

We went through some trying times after my girlfriend's mother's spinal surgery, as she refused to convalesce by staying home, which would've been easier for us. LOL. Not sure if the collecting community is the same as regular humanity, but people were entirely helpful and quite forgiving as we navigated through crowded places. They instinctively made room for us to pass on by.

If I can give you a bit of advice, do two things:

1) Either you or your kin (I don't think I've ever used that word before) constantly say "Thank you!!" whenever anyone helps even in the tiniest of ways. It is a way to get attention and alert others that there may be a bottleneck developing if they don't get on board, so to speak.

2) Employ reverse psychology. We would constantly say, "Please watch your back," to get people to turn around and be aware of our situation. When they did, we would amiably explain that we didn't want to accidentally run into the backs of their legs with the wheelchair, because it's painful. People will always react to self-preservation. They would usually say, "No problem!" and quickly step aside and make room for us to get by.

Good luck. Have fun!!