Other than food and traveling, K and I are major nerds. Video games, super hero movies, sci-fi tv shows, board games - we’re pretty deep in the nerd territory. This will be the 3rd year K and I attend Comic Con, and it never fails to be the BEST. WEEK. EVER.
There are a million things going on during the con, and to ensure we hit it all, we must come prepared. So, I’ve put together a little list to share how I get prepared for the greatest event of the year. Check it out:
- Create a schedule. There’s so much going on at this conference, I have to write up a schedule to ensure I see everything I want to see.
- Make some sacrifices. There are often times where 2 interesting panels are going on at the same time in 2 separate locations. For example, The Amazing Spiderman panel in Hall H and the True Blood panel in Ballroom 20. So after battling a mini internal dilemma, I’ve decided to check out the Spiderman panel.
- Be prepared to wait in lines. Lines suck, and there’s no way to avoid them. If you’re planning to hit up a hyped up Hall H panel, be prepared to wait in line at least 1 hour before the panel begins.
- Research the party scene. I love love love the celebrity watching at Comic Con. I like to describe this event as celeb Disneyland because there’s so many of them and they’re all over the Gaslamp district. Since I cannot figure out how an average civilian like me get into any of the celeb parties, my girlfriends and I are planning to hang outside the red carpet in hopes of meeting one of our favorite characters from our favorite movies and TV shows. My eyes are peeled for Zachary Levi (Chuck), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck), Lea Michele (Glee) and the cast of True Blood.
- Be connected through social media. A lot of industry peeps have been tweeting about the event, and Twitter is where I found most of the celeb parties - the Aushole party hosted by Michael Ausiello, NBC After-Party Access Event ticket contest and the infamous SyFy/E! party location. If one day, I figure out how to get into the SyFy party, I would be complete. My eyes are currently glued to Jon Favreau’s twitter account for the Cowboys and Aliens premiere tickets. See below for my Twitter list.
- Wear comfortable shoes. There’s a lot of running back and forth at this conference, so I wear comfortable shoes. I will be participating in the NerdQuest scavenger hunt this year, and I’ll be sure to have my game shoes on. I have to win!
- Bring a comic/book/smart phone/DS/PSP/iPad/tablet/etc. Have I mentioned that there are lines? I could be waiting in line for 2 hours to see a panel, and I’ll need something to keep me entertained! Usually I play with a DS or my iPhone, but this year, I may pull out the iPad.
- Research coinciding events. As if there isn’t enough to do at Comic Con, there are coinciding events. I found out about Zachary Levi’s NerdHQ event via Twitter and now it’s become one of the most anticipated activities for the whole con. This event is a casual hangout place where fellow nerds can gather in a more intimate setting and share their interests for technology, gaming and entertainment. They’ve set up “conversations” in sessions of about 200 people or so with a handful of celebs where fans can purchase for $20 (all proceeds go to Operation Smile). I, myself, purchased tickets to see Zachary Quinto speak with his group, Before the Door. After the convo, most of the celebs are planning to stick around for an autograph signing. It’s a win-win!
- Bring a camera. At any moment, I could fall upon my favorite celeb. I’ll be sure to have my camera empty and charged so I don’t miss any of those special moments.
- Buy tickets for the next con! It’s almost impossible to purchase Comic Con tickets online. Servers crash, tickets sell out, etc. So, I avoid all of the stress by buying tickets for the next con at the present. The bad news is that ticket prices are going up. 4-day with preview night is going up to $175 as opposed to the usual $105. The guys at Comic Con are smart because no matter what, I’ll still purchase tickets.
Check out my Twitter list for all things SDCC.
@Comic_Con
@thenerdmachine
@MichaelAusiello
@Jon_Favreau
@ZacharyLevi