Have a look at San Dingo Comic-Con through the lens of someone relatively new to the Comic-Con experience from 2025
It’s been a few months since my first Comic-Con, and I’ve had time to reflect on my experience. When I was invited to Comic-Con, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had heard about it from my friends and seen photos during some of the more popular Marvel-heavy Cons, but I had never done much digging into the Con itself.
I’ve broken my experience down into the pluses and the minuses, plus a few tips and tricks, with my overall review at the end.
San Diego Comic-Con — Ursula
The first thing I really loved about Comic-Con was seeing all of the costumes. So many people put a lot of time into creating costumes, and they’re very open to you approaching them and taking pictures of or even with them. There were countless characters I forgot about until I saw them dressed up at Comic-Con (example, Ursula). It was fun to wander around and look at them, and I highly recommend you create some sort of scavenger hunt or checklist to make it even more fun!
The other thing that I really liked about Comic-Con was how respectful the crowds were. At one point, my bag unzipped itself. A girl stopped me and, not only did she zip up my bag and made sure everything was safely enclosed, but she also gave me a little trinket. I was worried about big crowds, that there would be a lot of pickpocketing and people trying to steal your stuff, but, in my experience, people were respectful and even said sorry when they bumped into you. There was no point during Comic-Con that I felt unsafe.
Another thing that I really loved about Comic-Con was how much the town celebrates it. All of the restaurants had Comic-Con themed happy hours and menus. They were extremely accommodating of the crowds, and we were almost always able to get in and get food and drink right away – even when it was busy. I appreciate San Diego and all the local businesses for all that they do to as I assume Con is a hectic time for them.
One thing that I recommend is staying in a hotel near the Con and using an Uber. We were close by, and it took a max of 15 minutes to get from our hotel to the event center, which helped with exhaustion.
San Diego Comic-Con — Pinball
If you can, I would recommend going a day early or staying a day late. We went early on Thursday and we’re able to play the pinball machines without waiting. The next day, there were lines, and we weren’t able to get in without waiting quite a while. I was grateful that we went early and were able to see things before they got busy.
In terms of cost, I felt like things were pretty well priced. When you’re going to an event like this, you expect things to be expensive. I would say that most food was about $20-$50 a plate, with drinks being about $10, depending on where you go. I brought snack bars and my own water bottle, which saved a lot of money. They have water bottle fill-up stations at the convention center. The Con allows backpacks for you to fill up with food and drinks.
One of the things that we enjoyed was going on the Voodoo Ranger Pirate Ship. Even though we had to wait in line, I’m glad that we did it. We also went to one of the pop-ups that wasn’t associated with Comic-Con and that ended up being one of my favorite experiences. It was a Malibu Barbie pop-up with decor, food, drinks, merch, and a few fun experiences like rollerblading. We all wore Barbie costumes – I’m a sucker for a group costume. In relation to the Con, it wasn’t at the convention center, so we had to Uber, but because it was off the beaten path and took reservations, lines were nonexistent.
San Diego Comic-Con — Barbie
That being said, I will move on to the lines that were probably my least favorite. I wish that you could sign up for a specific time for events, signing, experiences, etc, but they don’t offer that, so you must get in line for whatever experience you want to see as early as possible and stand in line half the day. From what I was hearing from everyone else, they were only able to get to one or two of the experiences, such as King of the Hill or Alien, in a day. Personally, lines are not my thing – I cannot stand outside in the heat for very long – so if there were a way to sign up for slots, such as we did with Barbie, it would improve everyone’s experiences. I also think that with time slots, they could get more people through each event.
One thing that was lacking in Comic-Con was the directions. There was a lot of misinformation, and sometimes no information at all, so if you were looking for something specific, it was often hard to find it. We asked the volunteers and the staff that we’re helping, and most of the time they knew the answer, but sometimes they didn’t. It kind of just felt like everyone was running around chaotically, and it would’ve been nice if they had a little bit more direction and a little bit more information so people could prepare ahead of time.
Along those lines, a few of the things that my friend wanted to do/buy were sold out immediately. We couldn’t get information about where or went to stand in line. They also wouldn’t let us around, so by the time we came back when the event was ‘supposed’ to start, it was already sold out. My friend was trying to find a Magic: The Gathering card. It would be nice if there were more information, direction, and organization/scheduling.
San Diego Comic-Con — Crowds
I also found the lack of seating quite disheartening. There weren’t many places to sit down and take a break/eat/drink. If you sat on the floor, they often asked you to get up and move. I highly recommend that the convention have a giant ballroom with tables and seating so people can take a break, eat food, relax, and not feel like they’re being corralled around.
The other thing I didn’t love about the Comic-Con was how much selling there was. Someone was always trying to sell you something. I understand that people do enjoy this – the people I went with collected some fantastic artwork, books, etc, along the way – but I also really would’ve appreciated more experiences that didn’t cost money. A great example of this was the Star Wars & Lego displays. They had a bunch of things to do, look at, read, and take photos with that didn’t cost money. I get that a lot of people want to buy and sell things, but I also think that Comic-Con itself is very expensive and that there should be more free things for people to do.
One thing that I did love about Comic-Con is that you can do whatever you want in terms of experiences. My goal was to see and do as many things as I could. Some people stood in line all weekend just to see George Lucas, some people who spent all their time on the selling floors, and even some who solely went to play games. I hope that if you go, you can make the best of whatever experience you want and don’t feel pressure to do or not do things you don’t enjoy.
In terms of recommendations, I highly recommend bringing a water bottle (or even better, a Camelback bladder). The Con involves a lot of walking, and it can get hot both inside and out. I also recommend you come with a group of friends, and that you allow yourself to hang out with your friends but also wander off on your own. That way, no one feels like they didn’t get to something. As always, I recommend sunglasses, a baseball cap or hat, and lots of sunscreen because it’s summer in San Diego.
San Diego Comic-Con — The Harbour
If you are going to participate in cosplay, I recommend you bring an alternative pair of clothes, as the back of my dress zipper broke and I was almost running around naked. Eek! (Don’t worry, I got it fixed, probably to my friend’s displeasure.) I recommend you have a good pair of shoes and socks. I wore Brooks tennis shoes that I broke in before the Con. My favorite socks are Darn Tough – even though they are wool, they will keep your feet dry without getting blisters.
San Diego Comic-Con — Galactus
I also recommend you don’t carry/bring a lot of extra stuff. If you are walking around all day with a heavy backpack, your shoulders will start to hurt. Plus, an empty pack will give you room to collect things along the way. Again, I highly recommend staying close to the convention center and taking an Uber so you can easily drop things at the hotel. Oh, and make sure you have enough room in your luggage if you fly!
While I do recommend bringing cash, most vendors take cards. If you are trying to save money (or eat healthily), I recommend you pack your own food. Examples include sandwiches, energy bars, and nuts. One “pro tip” is to attend a panel if you need to take a break. Also, if you wander around the convention, you will be able to find A/C cold spots, and I highly recommend finding them and standing underneath them. If you get headaches or a backache, I recommend an OTC pain med of your choice, and if you get lost, I ask for help. There is no need to wander around aimlessly!
My last piece of advice is to try to have fun. Some people go to see celebrities, some people go to play games, and some people go to shop. There’s no wrong way to do Comic-Con. You are going to get tired and feel like you want to quit, but you spent a lot of time and money getting there, so just go with the flow! Have a cup of coffee or an energy drink if you need to, but you can sleep when you get home. PS, you are probably going to get sick after Con – “Con Crud”.
Overall, I had a very fun time, and depending on the events at future Cons and my friend’s availability, I will be back! Happy Con-ing friends!