Definitely make time for the vendor hall...and take a back pack. Not just for purchases, but for the free stuff too. There is plenty of swag to be had at Gen Con...you've never seen two happier nerd girls than when Meg and I stumbled upon an unattended barrel full of BreakKeys and we both had our backpacks.
Is your PC Hot or Not (contest of the Nerds. It was so funny I had stomach cramps)
Picture a room full of chairs to accommodate 50-75 people with 12 or so people actually in it...3-4 panelists, Meg, Josh, myself, my DH, 1-2 others in our group, and 3 'parties of one'. The premise of this panel was for people to describe one of their characters to the judges and then the judges would award prizes at the end for the best one.
Our group had gone just to listen in. One by one the people not in our group got up and gave long, somber and earnest presentations of some of the most boring and lame characters ever created. They waxed poetic about what they wore and what their job was before they started 'adventuring' and other inconsequential details.
Our group was a mix of dumbfounded and desperately trying not to laugh out loud...very similar to the reactions of the judges. So Josh pops up and wings a three minute description of one of his random characters, including 1-2 funny anecdotes. And he won hands down.