You can read all about my adventures at San Deigo Comic Con here!

This time next week I’ll be in San Diego. I actually arrive on the 20th and I can’t wait. I already feel like I’m going to need a vacation from this vacation though. I can’t wait to start packing and checking things off my list. Today I’m going to swing by Target to pick up a few things and then this weekend I’ll start filling up the suitcases and double checking everything. Does anyone else out there find themselves always adding something to their bags? I do. Normally up until the time that I leave for the airport I’m shoving last minute or “just in case” items into my bags.

I’m really looking forward to “cooler” weather. It’s been in the 90s-100s the past few weeks and according to Weather.com it’s going to be in the uppper 60s and 70s out in San Diego. I can’t wait! Even if it hits 80 I can deal with that.

Even though I’m going out there for Comic Con I hope I can find time to see some other stuff as well. I think on Wednesday we’re going to try and hit Downtown and maybe one of the beaches before we head off to Preview Night for the convention.

In a month I’ll be heading out to San Diego! I can’t believe it. I still feel like I have a ton of stuff to take care of before I leave. I still need to buy an extra battery for my camera, some comfy shoes, figure out what bags to bring and how I’m going to pack everything and a ton of other stuff. Comic Con isn’t even here yet and I already feel overwhelmed! As a first timer I’m sure this is pretty normal. I mean, I have all the important stuff taken care of and that’s what matters really. I’ve had the passes and hotel room booked for months, and I do mean months. I booked the rental car last week and prepaid for parking which helped save some money.

The panic will really set in once I know all the information for my shows that I want to see. I know who’s going to be there but no idea on what days, time or rooms yet. It seems like information is coming out slowly though. I know “Big Bang Theory” is on Friday but that’s about it for the stuff I care about. I have a feeling most of my shows will be on Thursday. Hopefully all in the same room and one after another. I don’t want to have to choose between shows. That would make me sad, very sad.

I’m so excited. I really can’t wait!

There are only 42 days left until I head out to San Diego for Comic Con. I’m getting really excited! I’m a little nervous too as this will be my longest flight to date. I’ll be fine on the way to San Diego since I have a Chicago layover and a friend will be joining me at that point but on the way back it’s non-stop and just little ole me! I’ll have to bring a good book or two to help kill some inflight time.

One reason that I’m getting even more excited is the fact that panel information is starting to be released. It turns out a crapload of shows I love will be there including Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Burn Notice, Psych & Bones plus a ton of others. You can see a list here. Just remember that panels/times/rooms can change at anytime, even during the event itself. I just hope my shows are either on different days or all in the same room. I really don’t want to have to choose between my TV loves!

I’m surprised at how fast time has seemed to fly by surrounding Comic Con. I seriously feel like it was just yesterday when I was talking about it with my friends and buying the tickets. The reality is it’s been months! I think it helps that I’ve actually been busy for once and haven’t had the time to sit down and mark days off the calendar if you will. I’ve had a wedding, a weekend trip to Chicago, baseball games and other “summer” activites.

Even though San Diego will be a long trip just because of all the events, I’m still looking really forward to a vacation!

I can’t believe San Diego Comic Con is just around the corner. In just 50 days I’ll be heading out to the West Coast. I’m not only excited about Comic Con but I’m excited to be visiting San Diego. It’s on my list of places I’d like to visit. I’m a little nervous too as this will be my 1st cross country flight. The way to San Diego shouldn’t be too bad as I’m meeting my friend in Chicago and she’ll be on my flight but on the way back it’ll be just me. I’ll have to remember to bring a good book or two for the return flight!

I’ve already started checking out what else I want to do while out there. I know I want to check out The San Diego Zoo and The Whaley House. As far as food I have no idea what’s the “must see” place to visit. If anyone has any suggestions let me know!

I really can’t wait. I know as more information is released for Comic Con, like what movies/shows will be there, I’ll get even more excited!

I’m a member of a few San Deigo Comic Con Facebook groups and I put the word out that I was looking for some tips in order to write up a blog post that might help out other first timers like myself. What I got was an awesome list! Brian Stempien is President of Leftyfilms and provided me with the great advice you’ll find below.

Bryy’s Guide to SDCC

Wear solid shoes
The Convention Center is huge and you will more than likely get stepped on once or a million times. I turned my head and almost ended up biting a girl’s left boob at SDCC 2008. You will get “walking fatigue”, and getting back out into the lobby will be hell. Be comfortable.

Bring water
You’re going to get dehydrated, and many of the panels (mainly Hall H and Ballroom 20) are rife with the stench of humanity.

Arrive EARLY the first day
The lines to get passes are huge-mongous every single day, up until the very last hour on Saturday. Starting with SDCC 2008, I had to wait in line for a professional badge for the first time ever. It’s also insanely hot in San Diego during July, and you don’t want to be stuck all the way frick down by Hall B at 4pm. If you are coming for Preview Night (which is now just Day One), do not assume that this does not apply.

Schedule the hell out of your week
Panels do not go online until the last two weeks prior. I usually end up redoing my schedule five or six times. SDCC 2009 was nothing special, but the programming for SDCC 2008 was ludicrous. There were at least ten panels every hour that I wanted to attend. We’re not even talking Fluff Panels, either; we’re talking the Big Dogs. Due to the crazy atmosphere of SDCC, you’ll want to make sure you have a plan. A lot of the times, it will change when you are there, so be prepared.

Pace yourself
Once again – as I will iterate many times, I am sure – SDCC’s crowds will take the wind out of you (no, literally). Knowing when to quit is key.

Eat wisely
The Gaslamp, San Diego’s historic downtown district, has a ton of great food and a lot of entertainment. The Strip Club (not to be confused with the plethora of actual strip clubs in the harbor district, many harboring their own SDCC discounts) is a steakhouse that you need to experience at least once in your life. Live music, a rowdy but non-threatening atmosphere, and great eats. Another fan favorite is Rockin’ Baja Lobster, which offers spiced seafood. Both of these are very expensive, though. Subway, up by the Marriott Gaslamp, is cheap, but due to SDCC’s recent population boom, it has been seeing huge lines the past few years. If you don’t mind walking a distance, Seaport Village has less extravagant eats for a bit more decent prices. Great bacon burgers. TGI Fridays and The Yardhouse are also further away, but are also faves for post-day parties. You’ll even find that some Gaslamp eateries have been transformed into PR Moves, the most notable being SyFy’s Eureka’s Dream Café.

Budget the dealer’s hall
Look on the SDCC page the day that Exclusives come out and see if you want any. They will go fast. You will also find things you need but didn’t know you needed. I got a beautiful Cthulhu statue one year, $80. Expect to go overbudget, and strategize accordingly.

Forget about Hall H unless you enjoy camping
The year that they converted Hall H into a panel room, I was floored. There was nothing online about such a remodeling. It just Happened. Anyhow, forget about Hall H. There will always be a huge line spanning ten-plus blocks (seriously, last year it went all the way to the new Hilton on the wharf), and it will always be populated by fans much more diehard than you. Hall H is YouTube’d by most major blogs, anyway.

Get in line early
The second floor lines are killer. Ballroom 20 is better than they are. This is almost entirely due to the fact that you have a bunch of rooms that are next to each other in an amazingly, mindfrakkingly narrow hallway. The need to get in lines early for even the smallest of panels has become a concern ever since the population boom.

Don’t be afraid to blow off panels
If you can’t get in, you can’t get in. If you are having a pleasant conversation, have a pleasant conversation. Ultimately, your schedule is going to screw up big time (unless you are press like me) at least twice a day for so many reasons. This is not the end of the world, and it is not the point of conventions.

Go to a panel you wouldn’t normally
Whether because it’s with a friend that is only down for Friday, or you want to expand your view, going to a panel for something you either know very little about or nothing at all is quite liberating. At WonderCon and SDCC, I usually pick out at least two panels that I would normally just look over. A huge opportunity for this is with the “Spotlight” panels that host indie artists that nobody cares about because they are not DC/Marvel.

Don’t simply walk into DC/Marvel panels
I did this once at WonderCon 2008, and now my Steam username is The Goddamn Tiny Titans. Google it, I got into a few blogs. It was also how I met Bob Wayne, DC’s VP of sales. But seriously, they really take offense to stuff like this.

Talk
Interact with people. You’ll meet so many interest folk at SDCC, whether it be just for one day or for a lifetime. Some of my best friends were met at cons. Don’t be afraid to approach professionals, either; SDCC is a great place to talk to writers/directors/actors in a friendly environment. Heck, you may even end up with a connection or two, personal or otherwise. I love SDCC and WonderCon specifically because I can schmooze with all of my friends in the industry all in one gigantic place. The good folks in Artist’s Alley are all jovial and craving interaction. Just stay out of Porn Alley. You’ll know what I mean when you get there.

Figure out if you have any friends with extra guest/pro/press passes
Getting in to SDCC for free is better than paying the what-is-now $100 price tag for all four days. Getting in for free is just plain awesome no matter how many days you attend.

Use Points whenever and wherever possible
If you can book a hotel using AMEX/Interval/Marriott/ect. Points saved up over the year, do so. It’s how I’m about to stay at the Marriott Gaslamp again, and not out in Chula Vista like last year.

Build your budget around SDCC
Unless you make a decent wage, SDCC is a huge expense. Gas, airfare, food, toys, all of it needs to be thought of as not just a vacation but as a battleplan. For myself, I have to take SDCC into consideration year-round. If you come to Preview Night, scope out what you want for the rest of the week. That’s what I do.

Build your work schedule around SDC
You need to know if you have time off, and for what days. If you want to go all four days plus Preview Night, that’s a hefty thing to consider if you work a nine-to-five job, and taking out those vacation days will have an impact.

Do not wait for SDCC Hotel Discounts
Don’t. Other people are not. It’s best to book a hotel by mid-February, with the extreme – but smart – measure being booking the next SDCC on the Sunday of the previous SDCC. I know that saving $100 seems like a huge deal, but the SDCC Hotel Discount comes online way too late into the game, and everything normally books up in a span of ten minutes. This is especially crucial if you are going to SDCC for business and yet you have not been deemed important enough to have a room booked for you. I also know that a lot of people enjoy staying at the Marina or the new Hilton, but the discounts for those are not really discounts, and they sometimes offer less services due to their SDCC HQ status. My friend was not able to use her points for the Marriott Marina, but was able to use them for the Gaslamp. By the way, the Gaslamp is a wonderful hotel. I endorse it fully. It’s not fancy, but it’s close and roomy.

Don’t be afraid to blow off Preview Night
Liz Cavalier once told me that she thought Preview Night should be reserved for press and pro only. This was in 2006, a full two years before the population boom. I know that it sounds cool and special, but Preview Night has essentially become Day One of SDCC with the recent addition of programming and a time extension. It’s suddenly become nothing special, and that is sad, because I remember when it felt like Preview Night was my own personal playtime on the con floor. I’m only 27, and I only started going to SDCC in 2004. If that doesn’t give you an indication of how quickly SDCC has grown, I don’t know what will.

Bring business cards and/or content but don’t expect anything
One of the worst kept secrets of SDCC is that the pitch sessions are worthless. You’re better off just giving people your stuff on at a one-on-one level. Don’t think that they will read it, however.

Investigate the city
San Diego is honestly a wonderful town. Right in the harbor district, you have the USS Midway, Coronado Island, water expeditions, museums, Seaport Village, Point Loma, SeaWorld, TWO Zoo’s, Balboa Park, and NBC. There is even a yearly migration of giant, killer, flying Squid. A lot of people come in from out of town and just don’t experience the city because SDCC is just so huge. Even more sad is they just go for the comic books.

Enjoy yourself
This seems obvious, but it really isn’t. With an astronomical crowd and very few newbies at booths, it’s very easy to fall into the mindset of looking at SDCC as work. Just have fun, and let go.

There are Opening Night Fireworks, no matter what anyone else says
My friends all thought I was making stuff up until they saw the fireworks reflecting in the windows of adjacent buildings.

If you don’t know what San Deigo Comic Con (SDCC) is don’t feel bad. I really had no clue what it was until this past year.

At Comic-Con, the programming incorporates the whole realm of pop culture, and in particular, the science fiction, horror, action, adventure, and animation genres. And Comic-Con is a big deal: the annual gathering is where the major comic book publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics unveil their latest projects. It’s where Hollywood presents exclusive previews of their upcoming productions, presented by the actual directors and stars of the films. It’s where retailers gather to discuss issues within the industry. And it’s where the latest merchandise is rolled out (action figures are a big deal here.)

That’s how About.com sums it up. I’ll be attending for the “pop culture” aspect of the Con. Last year there were a number of shows that I love in attendence including Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Bones, Burn Notice & Psych. It’s a great way to get some inside info and have a chance to meet some of the stars. Another awesome part is the fact that many of the shows & movies that attend Comic Con give out some one of a kind swag that you can only get by being there.

As of right now nothing major has been announced as far as who’ll be there. Normally that’s not announced until a few weeks before the event. I’m hoping most of my shows are in attendence but this isn’t something you can just sit around and wait to buy tickets for. The 4 day passes are sold out as are certain single day tickets.

You can learn more about Comic Con here. If you want to see a ton of pictures you can visit the San Diego Comic-Con International Flickr group.

This morning I was checking my email and noticed I had one from Southwest letting me know I now had enough Rapid Rewards credits for a free round trip flight! I’ve been waiting for this in order to book my airfare for San Diego in July. It’s the whole reason I applied for the Southwest Visa. I was able to save myself about $400! My flight ended up costing only $7.50 and that’s the 9-11 fee or whatever they call it now.

I had never used Rapid Rewards before and was surprised at how easy it was to use them. I just logged into my account and picked my flights and done. It was that easy. The best part is I had been keeping an eye on certain flights that I liked and was able to book those flights. I’m actually having a stop at MDW in Chicago that way a friend who’s going will be able to be on the same flight as me which is nice. The flight home though is a non-stop.

I’m really excited and can’t wait. I’m working on having a special Comic Con post to explain what it is for those of you who don’t know. Hopefully I’ll have that together soon.

Another month is over and that means one month closer to Comic Con. The only thing left that I need to do is purchase my airline tickets. I’m going to be using Southwest and hopefully I’ll be using my Rapid Reward credits! That’ll save me $400! I signed up for their Southwest Visa card through a promotion I received. I already have 7.5 credits plus I have a flight in May which gives me another 2 credits plus the offer I received will give me 16 first use credits and 2 credits for a balance transfer. I’ve already been approved, now I just have to wait to get the card and earn my credits!

I actually went back and forth on the idea of getting the credit card because it does have a yearly fee. In the end though I thought saving $400 was worth it plus I plan on using the card for travel related purchases only. I think I actually earn double points on those purchases which is always good.

I really can’t wait for Comic Con! 168 Days!

Now a little break from Miami since I still need to write up the last few posts.

Comic Con has released hotel information for next years big event. According to the site, hotel reservations will open up on March 18th at 9am PST. It sounds like they’re trying to make things a little easier for people this coming year when it comes to finding a hotel. You’ll be able to choose from 38 hotels and 24 of them are on the Comic-Con Shuttle route. Another thing that’s new for the upcoming year is all hotel reservations will require a deposit of one night’s room and tax for each room you book. They hope this will keep people from making reservations with numerous hotels and afterwards picking the one they actually want. If you do book a room and something happens where you can’t attend Comic Con don’t worry, hotel reservation deposits are fully refundable until May 14, 2010. You can find more information about the guidelines here.

They’ve actually released hotel names and rates as well. The PDF they have is very well done and breaks everything down for you. You’ll find the hotel name, the rates for single up to quad & even how much they charge for parking and of course if the shuttle picks up from that hotel or not. They even tell you the distance each hotel is from the convention center. You can find the PDF here.

While I already have my hotel booked I’m sure there are plenty of you out there that could use this information.