I would start planning now. Not necessarily booking things, but work out the details of where you want to stay, for how long, and what kind of tickets. I'm not sure if this is a graduation gift and someone else will be paying, but either way you should try to work out a budget. If you and your friends are paying, I would suggest working out how much the hotel and tickets will cost (don't forget to add tax on the hotel, that can really add up!), and maybe even work out a savings plan. So if you figure out you need to save $1200 and you have 12 months to do so, put away $100 per month, etc.
I would also just start looking at the menus and have a rough idea of how many sit down meals you plan to have, and try to work out a dining budget too since that's probably the next biggest thing to the hotel and tickets.
When you reserve rooms, assuming you're staying onsite, you'll need to have a one night deposit. You can book that as soon as you're ready to pay the deposit. If you find a discount code before your trip, you can always have the rate adjusted.
Have fun, planning is part of the excitement!
