The awesome Games of Thrones Experience the Realm offsite is headed back to the Omni Hotel this year – but for the first time, HBO NOW subscribers have a chance to get in on the action a little early.

This year’s experience will allow fans to step into the world of Westeros by featuring installations such as the chance to use a replica of Arya Stark’s wooden training sword to strike targets as they appear on a 10-foot projection screen. Afterwards, you’ll also receive an artistic portrait made entirely of your sword strikes, that you can share on social media. Attendees will also have the chance to create sharable animated GIFs including being incinerated into ash by Danaerys’ iconic dragons and turned into a WhiteWalker, and to participate in photo opportunity with the Iron Throne and the giant sword used by The Mountain. Select costume displays from Game of Thrones will be featured along with a gallery of select work from the Game of Thrones Compendium Book, featuring original creations from the talented fan-base ranging from art, fashion, food and fans can pick up a limited-edition T-Shirt designed by Beautiful Death artist Robert Ball.

Starting today through July 3 at 12PM ET, HBO NOW (HBO’s new stand-alone premium streaming service) will offer a select number of current and former subscribers attending Comic-Con an exclusive chance to Experience the Realm early by skipping the lines with a special daily HBO NOW VIP preview Thursday-Sunday. For more details and to enter for a chance to win, eligible fans can visit ExperienceTheRealmSweeps.com.

The event is open from 11AM-5PM PT, Thursday-Saturday, and 9AM-12PM on Sunday.

[UPDATE] Our own Parks and Cons is on the ground in San Diego now, and he was able to capture some photos of promotion for the Game of Thrones Experience the Realm already up in the Gaslamp.