Today marks 1 month until I make my way down to San Diego for one of the most popular geek conventions of the year—Comic-Con. I'll be posting on my past experiences there in the weeks leading up to the event, along with what I plan to do this year. The first post in this short series is about my first time at SDCC.
My first attendance at SDCC was in 2009. Back then a 4-day with Preview Night badge only cost $75. Crazy how things change, yeh? Being new to the event (and really not knowing any better), I went ahead and bought it. My friend who came down with me bought hers later and was only able to get Sunday. So unfortunately I only actually made it out to 2 out of those 5 days that I paid for. NBD. Obviously that wouldn't apply now since prices continue to increase with every year, meaning that you'd have to get your money's worth if you even had the slightest thought about going.
My journey to the convention center on Saturday, now that I look back on it, was pretty hilarious. I was by myself and planned to meet up with a friend once I arrived. I drove to the convention center thinking that parking wouldn't be too bad to find. Nope! There was traffic heading towards it, and the garage right next to it was already full. I had to get out of there and pulled into a nearby residential area to contemplate on a Plan B. I then opted to park at the trolley station and took it there. Ok, cool. This would be my game plan for Sunday. I touched base with the friend once I was finally inside, and was told he and some other people were in line for Ballroom 20. Which leads to noob moment number 2. I had jumped into a queue inside Sails Pavilion with the assumption I was at the right place. Wrong again! Luckily I was already looking at my event guide and eventually located where Ballroom 20 was. I was able to spot my friend and their group not long after I walked over, which was a relief.
Now the SDCC shenanigans can begin.
So what exactly did I do on my very first day of my very first SDCC? Panels.
Lots of them. How I managed to get through them being semi-wired from 1/4 of a 5 Hour Energy drink and having only 1 good eye (long story short, I lost a contact while removing them after partying the night before), I have no idea. We were able to get good seats near the front, so my view was fine. Family Guy, Fringe, and True Blood were just a few of the panels I saw.
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| Family Guy panel |
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| Fringe panel |
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| True Blood panel |
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| True Blood panel |
Once my Ballroom 20 experience was over, I was about ready to call it a day until some of our group suggested checking out a True Blood off site event. I figured why not, and I'm glad I went.
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| Signature cocktail made with the True Blood beverage. |
Sunday was spent in the exhibit hall since I only managed to get a glimpse of it after leaving the panels. This time my friend came along with me. My voice was nearly gone from all the laughing and yelling from the previous day. The Transformers 25th Anniversary edition Soundwave from Hasbro was my first purchase at SDCC. Again, long gone are the days when you can just hop in line at the booth to buy anything. Not gonna lie, I miss it. After a good hour or so of taking photos and walking around, my friends, new found friends, and I spent the remainder of the day hanging out in the Gaslamp area.
These were the humble beginnings of what would eventually snowball into several years of attending this annual event. My SDCC group has grown from a core of 4 to over 70 from the addition of other friends made throughout my years of attending, and their connections as well. I'm happy and proud to see how far we've come in terms of preparing ourselves for these 4-5 geek filled days, and the effort put into it never ceases to amaze me. Needless to say, I'm excited to see what this year will bring.
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