San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog

SDCCBlog.com reader Tyler Miller sent us a firsthand account on how he went about planning and hosting his SDCC panel, geekEd: Bringing Geek Back to Higher Education, at Comic-Con 2011. Interested in what it takes to pull off a successful panel? Read on.

It was Comic-Con 2010.  My first.  Overwhelming to say the least as my wife and two kids (5 months and almost 3) navigated our way through the exhibits, went to panels, and had a blast.  Since 1990, it was a dream for me to attend comic-con and I was living out a dream to be in attendance at the Con.

My friend and colleague Ryan let me know that Comic-Con was reaching out to college educators.  I registered my family for tickets and we were ready to go!  During the Con, we took Ryan out to dinner to thank him for helping us go to Comic-Con.  As we sat at dinner that Thursday evening at Comic-Con 2010, we looked at each other and knew.  We could TOTALLY present at Comic-Con.  We could talk about higher education and geekdom.  We knew it was possible as we’ve presented at conferences before.  Both of us had won awards for presentations given in our own field at our regional conference.  My wife came up with the name – “what about geekEd. ?”  It was a play on “geeked” but was a blending of our passions – higher education and geek life.  Then and there, Ryan and I agreed that we would put in the proposal when it came out to present at Comic-Con 2011.

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One of the things that has become a part of Comic-Con as much as the long lines and cool exclusives is photos. People with everything from cameraphones, point and shoots, starter DLSRs, all the way up to professional gear. I’m guessing those with the professional gear know what they’re doing, so this blog is for the rest of us.

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Comic-Con is great not just because of the events going on inside of the convention center, but everything going on in the surrounding areas of downtown San Diego as well. Being so close to the Gaslamp District gives attendees a lot of great nightlife, restaurants, bars, and plenty of offsite events.

With everything going on after the doors to the convention center close for the night, you’ll want to be close to all of this action. If you’re one of the thousands staying within walking distance to the con, your transportation needs are basically how comfortable your sneakers are. But the popularity of the weekend has pushed thousands more to stay farther out into the city.

For the past several years, CCI has been offering a shuttle service to get people to and from their hotel. They’ve just updated their official site with a PDF of the shuttle schedule, and you’ll want to keep this handy and know when you need to catch the bus to make your don’t-miss panels. The shuttles run at regular intervals and well into the early morning for those who just don’t want to leave. Keep this one on your smartphone so you’re never stuck looking for a cab home. The shuttle is also free, by the way, for all con ticket holders.

The MTS trolley is another way to get to the Convention Center, if for some reason the shuttle service isn’t going to work for you. A one-way fare is $2.50, but a one-day pass is $5 and a four-day pass is $15. Check out the San Diego MTS website for more information.

SDCC Blog reader Wendy Farrington (@SerendipityWAF) let us in on a nice deal for everyone needing transportation during the Comic-Con weekend.

Chuck website WeGiveAChuck has arranged a deal with SuperShuttle to offer a 10% discount to all Chuck fans. Which we know all of you are, of course. Here’s the deets from the website:

Visit SuperShuttle’s website to book your shuttle (you will also find iPhone and Android apps for those fans who are always on the go). When booking your trip simply type CHUCK into the discount code box and your discount should be automatically applied. This offer is valid in all SuperShuttle locations throughout the US (including San Diego!). It can be used for any shared ride or ExecuCare private sedan service.

This is a great deal for long-distance travelers needing to get from the airport and back. The discount is valid through July 31, so be sure to book your round-trip service to save some cash for the SDCC exclusives!

Thanks Wendy for the tip!

This is Part 4 and the last post in a series. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

Yes, the convention center is an amazing place. If you can run off Starbucks and Mrs. Fields you should feel free to stay there all day. Hey, if you can find a dark and concealed corner you could stay there all night. We’re assuming neither of those will happen though, so this is the guide for when you leave the convention center and journey into San Diego!

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This is Part 3 in a series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

This is the reason that people save their money up. This is the reason people invented wallets. This is the reason you cleared out an entire shelf in your house. So that you can walk into Comic-Con and spend $3,000 on a collectible bust of your favorite character.
Shopping at SDCC is an integral part of almost every attendee’s experience and whether you’re looking for all the free stuff you can grab or a wildly expensive Con exclusive, the Exhibit Hall is the place to go. In this post we will cover tips on navigating, buying, and staying alive.

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Part 2 in a series. You can read Part 1 here.

My favorite part of Comic-Con and the aspect that takes up most people’s time is the panels. With subject matter ranging from the biggest movies in Hollywood to the smallest indie web-comics that you’ve probably never heard of, SDCC panels are where the magic happens. In this post I will guide you through how to have an awesome time at every Q+A, discussion, and footage premiere at the con:

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Description: With hundreds of Comic-Con tips floating around the web I’ve decided to mix ours up. It is divided into four parts (Packing + Arriving, Panels, Shopping + Exhibit Hall, and Outside the Convention) and one will be posted daily. In each part I won’t just list out some tips, I’ll also give a strategy of sorts to that part of the convention and provide commentary. Enjoy!

After months of scheduling, packing, and anticipating you finally get off the plane in San Diego and think “what now?” Do you rush out to get passes, relax in your hotel room? Eat? And what if you forgot something important? Let’s just relax and start at the beginning.

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Whether you’re a first time con-goer or have visited the sacred convention center for many years, here’s 20 tips you should know:

1. Comfort is a must: Comfortable clothes, shoes, backpacks, anything you can think of. Just make sure it’s comfortable. You’re going to be walking and standing for many hours each day and even the littlest pain can really hurt your con!

2. Traffic is crazy: If you plan to use a taxi or car to get to the convention center, expect massive delays! Easier ways are walking, pedicabs (pretty cheap and everywhere), or trolleys. All can help you avoid the massive traffic throughout San Diego.

3. STAY CLEAN: Whether it’s deodorant, showers, body spray, or all three, make sure people will be okay cramped up against you. This can be a major problem at the con and you can help end it by doing your part to smell nice!

4. Tag-team lines: If you are in a group you can have different people in different lines. Just make sure your line holder doesn’t get into any room without you because once they get in there’s no way for you to get in without going to the back of the line. Though this can help parties it can also be a major problem if the line holder gets into the room before the rest of the party. Hey line holder, with great power comes great responsibility!

5. Take a break: If you get tired there’s tons of things to see all around San Diego. Visit the Gaslamp District, see Chinatown, sit by the harbor. San Diego’s a great city and its all within walking distance. Enjoy it!

6. Do not forget your badge: Once you get your badge never lose it or forget it at your hotel/house. Without the badge you can get into nothing and that pretty much ruins the con. DO NOT forget your badge!

7. Pick up the comic-con newsletter: A much over looked part of the con is the well produced newsletter for each day of the con. Inside will be a great summary with photos of the last days activities and highlights of what’s coming up that day. It’s great to read while standing in line and it’s available at almost every entrance.

8. Make Reservations: If you know of a restaurant you want to go to, make reservations! San Diego is packed during the con and if you don’t make reservations you could get shut out of your favorite restaurants!

9. Advertise: If you have a business involving comics or entertainment then the con is a great place to advertise. A business card is a cheap and easy solution but swag can really get you noticed. T-shirts or buttons are favorites but if you are creative with your swag then you’ll really get noticed.

10. It’s never to early to buy your tickets for 2010! They’ll be available at the con and you can always return them if you end up not being available, better safe then sorry!

Reader Tips From Twitter:
11. Bring rubber bands to help with the poster tubes – @GeekFilter
12. Bring at least $100 a day not including food – @slasherbernie
13. Leave the strollers/Crying Babies at home – @tguard
14. Wear new socks each day – @vorear
15. Purchase high demand items on preview night, for others wait for Sunday bargains – @salaciouslq
16. Bring Sunscreen for the Hall H Line and always have backups for anything you’re attending – @scarletcat
17. Be patient and courteous – @jmiewald
18. Look for signs on where to line up and make sure you’re in the right line – @saramckinniss
19. Sheet protectors in a hard notebook are a must for autographed pictures – @TNgirlinWA
20. Don’t bring your pets, be courteous when typing/twittering, and if you’re cosplaying bring a change of clothes – @eccentriclee

Hope the tips helped and get packing!

Yesterday I gave you 10 packing tips and today I switch focus to the massive Comic-Con Exhibit Hall! This place has hundreds of booths with everything from comics, to toys, movies, and video games! In no real order, here’s 10 tips you should know before attempting to go through this huge spectacle:

1. Plan out your time: I’ve found that with the thousands of hot sweaty people crammed in their all day I can’t stay in their for more than an hour at a time without a break. You might be stronger but it still can get overpowering fast. Don’t plan to stay in there for 3 hours without a break, plan your time wisely.

2. Keep in mind the time: Keep in mind on thursday, friday, and saturday the exhibit hall closes at 7. That means don’t plan to go there late after all your panels are done. If you really want to explore it put some breaks in your schedule for “Exhibit Hall Time”.

3. Make a game plan: Decide whether to start on one end and go to the other, or split the hall into different days. Just randomly walking around is fun if you have free time, but doing that all of con can make you miss really good booths.

4. Be on the lookout: If you’re just walking through the hall be on the lookout at all booths around you. Just looking around you could probably find tons of booths that are giving out free stuff. You can get a lot of free stuff by just being observant.

5. Ask Questions: Ask people at booths when their next giveaway or signing is. Sometimes they wont tell you, but much of the time they will and it can really help plan out your day.

6. Bring Cash: Pretty self-explanatory. A lot of small business only take cash and you don’t want to be left in the cold if you find that thing you need to have!

7. Be aware of the food: Though there is a food vendor in the exhibit hall, most of the stuff it sells is pretty gross and could make you feel sick. Unless your just buying a pretzel or a drink it’s a lot better to eat offsite.

8. Bring the camera: There’s a ton of great photo-ops in the hall. Whether its with a giant lego Vader or a life-size twilight standup, there’s going to be a lot of times when you want to take a picture!

9. Bring Water: Like I said earlier it gets really hot, so unless you want to spend $7 on a bottle of water every time you go into the exhibit hall, bring your own!

10. Soak it in: The exhibit hall is an amazing place. Look around every once and a while at the awesomeness. It only happens once a year so try to savor the moments. Overall have a good time in it!

Hope the tips helped you!
Tomorrow is 10 tips for every con attendee!