San Diego Comic-Con or Bust

There are conventions, and then there’s San Diego Comic-Con. We’re talking 4 days (and a preview night) of celebrities, panels, advance screenings, cosplay, parties and everything the geek masses could possibly want all gathered together in one place, along with 130,000 people. I’m making my first trip to SDCC this year, and in between jumping up and down with excitement over finally making the pilgrimage, I’ve been desperately trying not to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of it all.

As soon as they released the schedule I started making a must-see list. Then things got added to the schedule so I revised my list. Then there were parties that aren’t on the official schedule, but that I wanted to attend, so I revised my list again. And then I remembered w00tstock and it was at about this point that I feared my head would explode like an over-ripe melon. I took a deep breath and crumpled up the whole list before downloading the official mobile app and giving it another try.

With just three days before I board a plane I’ve managed to figure out one thing, and that is, I’ve figured out absolutely nothing. Sure, I’ve checked off my favorite events in the handy-dandy mobile app so I’ll have an idea of when things happen, but I know I’m not likely to make even half of the things I’ve checked.

Everyone tells tales about the incredible lines that stretch through the convention center, so short of picking one event and planting myself in that line all day, there will be little to no hope of getting into the room. This means the super-popular panels like The Walking Dead or True Blood or Game of Thrones are right off my list. And you know what? That’s perfectly okay.

There is so much happening at SDCC, that standing in line for hours just to see a panel is not for me. There are are just too many other things I could be checking out. There’s a giant exhibit hall to explore, autographs to score and the artist’s alley to investigate. I’m kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my pants girl, so half the fun for me is just wandering around until something catches my eye.

And then there’s  the best part of every con I’ve ever attended. The people. It’s the friends I know who’ve made the trip, the online friends that I’ll meet for the first time and the complete strangers I end up chatting with that make a convention worth attending. I love snapping pictures of the cosplayers who are always happy to pose and listening to random snippets of happy conversation as celebrities chat with their fans. Amid all the booths and panels and parties, it’s the like-minded people that surround me that make conventions so much fun and I can not wait to see them all in San Diego!

(Also, I’m a bit of a  twitter-holic so you can follow me, @nicolewakelin, for updates from SDCC throughout the convention.)