Comic Con Without a Badge: It Can Be Done.

   

Comic Con officially came to a wrap just yesterday and was a four day event stretching from July 21st to July 24, plus a preview night on July 20th. Due to the truly massive amount of people who want to come each year, it can be incredibly hard to get your hands on badge. Even if you do, it might not be for all the possible days. So what do you do when you can’t get inside? Go explore the rest of San Diego’s Gaslight District.

There is so much going on around the Convention Center that doesn’t even require a badge. That’s what I did when I took a train down to San Diego last Friday. I walked around for a little bit trying to get a feel for what awas going on, before stumbling upon Camp Conival at Petco Park hosted by Geek & Sundry and Nerdist. The line was short, so I all but walked right on in. It cool in and of itself to visit the ballpark I had never been to before, but there were all sort of fun (and free) things to do inside. I got to play laser tag and practice my archery. There was also a sort of challenge to do all the events at the ‘camp’ and get a free pin. Which I did. Though I didn’t get a chance to see anything, they also had panels going for big names such as Rick & Morty and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which required no badge, just patience in line.

Next I went to the Suicide Squad Experience at the Hard Rock Hotel. The line for this was a good 2-3 hours. I didn’t get bored though, I made friends in line and played Pokemon Go as almost all of the many Pokestops nearby had lures dropped. Once I got inside, I enjoyed a VR experience with a scene from the movie, as well as some behind the scenes footage. There was a personality quiz as well as s fun little video that you could post to your social media. I also got to design a temporary tattoo as well as get some free dogtags. They were giving out free t-shirts earlier but ran out. Side effects of being at the end of the line. Overall it was a fun thing to do and very well put together by Samsung and Warner Bros.

My last experience of the day was at a ship called the ‘Abigail’ from Fear the Walking Dead. The line was only about an hour and a half. After going on the boat I think I might watch the show again. You had the make difficult survival decisions as well as shoot at zombies, all of which decided whether you were an Alpha Dog, a Tool, Zombie Bait, or Infected. I shot well, but made poor choices, so I ended up the infected of my group. You also get a cool exclusive trading card with your photo and how you ranked in your group. Another cool thing about the boat is that it had actual decorations and props from the set on the boat.

There were so many other things I could have done, such as a Game of Thrones Experience, Adult Swim Carnival, South Park Pop-Up Town, as well as events put on by local businesses, parks and museums. So even if you don’t get badge, come on down. Check out the cosplay, play some Pokemon, and enjoy the insanity that is Comic Con.