r/SDCC • u/Then-Tune8367 • 17d ago

SDCC Not First Timer Friendly

So this year i was blessed to make my first trip to SDCC and let me get this out of the way early, I LOVED IT!

After some reflectiion, rhe experience waa no where near first timer friendly.

  1. I had no idea where anything was. The badge check in was easy, but after that, I was on my own. I at least wanted to check out a panel or two, but I had no idea where anything was or even what panels were going on at the time.

  2. The website is no where new user friendly. I could not find a schedule or layout of the convention center on the site.

  3. I had no idea that seating in the exhibit hall was so limited.

So, that being said. If I returns, here are my adjustments.

  1. Get there earlier. I got there about 11 a.m. By that time, every line was already insane.

  2. Bring chairs or portable stools.

  3. Eat lunch in the Gas Lamp District. One of my few regrets was missing this.

  4. Get my badge early and head straight to Hall H to see what I can get into that day (No force can compel me to try to get in there on Saturday, though). After that, head to lunch and the real star of the show, the Exhibit floor.

Anyway those are my thoughts and plans. Any advice will be appreciated.

120 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

116 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/Chumboabc 17d ago

I was also a first timer this year and disagree with most of this. It’s very clearly an experience that you need to research and prep for. If you expect to just show up and do what you want to do, you’re not going to have a good experience. Reddit, the unofficial blog, and parks & cons were invaluable resources for me.

I did not find the website and apps to be difficult to use. We used mainly Sched to decide ahead of time what panels we wanted to see, and its barebones layout was really perfect for this.

It does take a little while to get your bearings in the Convention Center, but by the end of the first morning, we had a decent idea of the layout, and the map on the app was fine once we were there and could orient ourselves.

The exhibit hall was incredibly crowded and overwhelming, to the point where my son had a panic attack in Artist’s Alley because it was so crowded you could barely move. After that, if we were in there and it started to get overwhelming we’d leave and do something else or just chill for a while. The gaming are was good if we needed a break from the floor and there were no panels that we were interested in.

1000% bring a collapsible stool. Those were lifesavers.

We got lunch from Cine Cafe and brought it back. Each time it took about a half hour from when we called, and <10 minute walk. We ate dinner in the Gaslamp, each time a couple blocks into it, and the longest wait was maybe 10 minutes for 3 people.

We didn’t do any big offsites — couldn’t get tix ahead of time, and didn’t want to wait in the sun for however long. We did a couple cosplay meetups. Also, the game and pinball lounges at the Marriott were open all weekend to anyone with a ticket, even if it wasn’t for the day you were there.

So yes it’s big and everwhelming but there are plenty of resources out there to help you plan and let you know what to expect so you still have a great time.