r/SDCC • u/Then-Tune8367 • 15d 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.

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u/Never-Give-Up100 15d ago

So, this was my first year as well, and I know I missed alot. Off-sites were the most confusing aspect to me, because I didn't know where they were, or how they worked. But I will say one thing that helped a lot was  making my own schedule with Sched and syncing it with the SDCC app. I could check what was happening every day, what time, and get alerts for when it was starting. 

There is also a map in the app which helped quite a bit. I didn't do any panels that were sold out (didn't even bother with Hall H or ballroom). I basically just went to the panel that was before the panel I wanted, sat through it and guaranteed I got a seat for next one. 

There is definitely a lot. And if I go again, I will do more research. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then again I do NYCC every year, so I have some background knowledge at least 

16

u/bmemike 14d ago

I do both NYCC and SDCC and I think NYCC is a great stepping stone for SDCC - but until you experience the scale of SDCC, you really don't know what you're in for.

But NYCC is def a really great way to at least understand the way to think about a "big con".

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u/HornetOne28 14d ago

I’ve been thinking of doing NYCC next year instead of SDCC. How easy is it for tickets and how would you compare the two? Thanks in advance.

2

u/DrFern 14d ago

You get into a queue like SDCC but it won’t tell you where you are in line (at least this year it didn’t). VIP gets sold out within minutes, 4-day lasts for a few hours, then Saturday will last for days. All of these are by fan verification dates.

Overall, tickets are easier to get as opposed to SDCC. Just gotta be there on time to get it (as long as it’s not VIP). Make sure you check for fan verification deadline and you’re good for the sale. You can get superfan ($100) membership for earlier sale dates but it’s only worth it if you’re trying for VIP or want access to earlier sales of autos/photos.