San Diego Comic Con 2018 recap
July 30, 2018
Our travel cost breakdown
1. Food and lodgings, $100
2. Gas, $114
3. Trolley: $40
4. Gifts and stuff for us, $125
5. Badges, $572
6. Dogsitting, $250
7. Stupid tax, $10
Total: $1,261
1. We lodged with friends and they never let us pay for that. This year we weren’t able to pay for a meal out because of our timing but I have a thank you gift in mind if I can find it.
4. $125 of this was gifts, $50 was $100 worth of gift cards to the Out of Stock Clothing store. We’ll stack these with a $10 off coupon they may eventually send to us and probably use it to buy gifts.
5. Four days plus Preview for two adults. JB attends free up to age 12.
6. A dear friend dogsat for us because of some logistical complications. She protested that this was way too much but she treated Seamus and Sera to a doggy spa like experience for several days when I was most worried about Seamus post-op so I don’t agree with her. We did agree to disagree and that she could consider this a deposit for caring for them again in the future.
7. Would you believe that I managed to NOT pack our badges this year? Left them right on my desk when we packed up the car and left. Thankfully, since they switched to RFID badges, replacement badges don’t cost the entire badge all over again, just a nominal stupid tax of $5 per badge.
We saved by not renting a car this year but our badge price doubled because we went every day, and we also had to pay for dogsitting. We spent about $200 more this year than last year.
The lotteries
Badges: We did amazingly well this year. We haven’t had a Preview Night badge among the six adults in our group in several years but this year, three of us snagged one. I think it was balancing out all the years of accumulated favors from friends, we were able to return the favor and make sure everyone was set. I hope we haven’t used up all our good cred for the next ten years!
Parking: PiC and I got into the parking lottery and bought passes for all FIVE days but passed that set along to my friend who needed it more. Cost: $220.
We took the trolley again: $20 per adult, JB rode free. It was more fun than last year. JB sits a bit more still and could participate a little bit in some of those random conversations that inevitably spring up when a bunch of nerds are going to the same place.
On making it happen.
I was expecting to dread the week but two weeks before, oddly, I felt at peace. I don’t know if it was because I started packing three weeks in advance? Last year was awfully quiet insofar as our friend group, and this year was the same, but the Con itself was also feeling really mellow and I loved that.
On food.
Mama S always knocks it out of the park but this year she went ten extra miles for me. I’d let her know that my GF diet was in effect and that she shouldn’t worry about it, the more fool me, and she made it happen anyway. Gluten free pancit and lumpia in tofu like wrappers, a zucchini baked pasta, GF chicken and rice.
We packed our lunches as usual: light deli meat and veggie sandwiches plus snacks.
On having fun.
I sweated my whole way through Con this year, thank goodness for good deodorant. Also thank goodness for all the sunblock. It was so bright and sunny and warm the whole week.
We didn’t go home for naps this year, made JB walk most of the time so we could forgo a stroller, and didn’t take enough rest breaks. Those were mistakes. Ze was destroyed by Sunday and full of tired meltdowns. We had a lot less patience with those meltdowns because we were tired and didn’t realize what our mistake was until too late.
Surprises: the staff was mostly very friendly. Usually the red and yellow shirts rudely tell us to pick up and move from places that aren’t marked as non standing or non sitting places. They’re usually so rude that this year we were bracing for impact and shocked when some of them were polite and just asked us to stay within some reasonable boundary instead of shooing us away.
This politeness extended to the transit too. Lots of people take the trolley into the Con, and lots of people commute to and from work as well. I witnessed multiple able bodied seeming people take notice of a Muslim mother struggling with two small children, an older man who walked with a stoop and grimace, our party separated by a lack of seats, and generously offer up their own seats to stand in order that someone else might sit.
Comradery is usually the order of the week, but people are, in particular, are often kind and sympathetic to onlookers who aren’t attending but would love to, or fellow attendees with children who are loud and curious (JB).
JB and PiC ran into a set of Coco cosplayers were both creative and lovely, and we ran into them again the next day! JB is apparently quite recognizable because they spotted us. Leia and Indiana Solo took five minutes to sit down and talk to zir when we pointed them out, the Pink and Green Power Rangers each waved a friendly hello to JB when ze was fascinated by them. There was a set of positively amazing HawkGirl and Hawkman cosplayers with a combined wingspan of about 20+ feet.
Oh, we can’t forget about the free DC ice cream! Dark Knight Brownie Bite, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso, and Krypton Cookie Dough. We decided to go in the morning and thus JB got ice cream for a second breakfast.
We even massively lucked out with the Hasbro booth. We didn’t get a slot in the lottery for buying exclusives so I didn’t look at the Bumblebee Razor Scooter longingly more than a couple of times, but lo and behold, walking past on my way to indulge JB in zir sudden and bizarre love of the Deadpool Party Dancers, the booth was welcoming all buyers without a wait. I ducked in and bought a coveted 2018 exclusive for a friend who has been Excellent to us.
On family time.
This year, JB really bonded with Grandma and Uncles and Aunties. Being the only kid among a lot of adults can be lonely but these adults were all a little bit indulgent, willing to play or goof off, and that was a whole lot of fun for zir.
We also had a lot of family time on either end of the trip as well. Mostly the non-stressful sort, I avoided the other kind.
Swag n stuff!
We didn’t buy any books for ourselves this year because I wasn’t feeling the thrill of the hunt in my bones as usual but can I just tell you, DJ Older, Tomi Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir are amazing to have on panels. I didn’t get to attend all the panels I was interested in but we shared our favorite quotes after panels.
JB made out like a bandit. Half a ton of books and fun freebies: Peppa Pig book and car toy, PJ Masks masks to share with zir bestie, photo booth photos with the utterly terrifyingly large-headed PJ Masks, Judge Dredd and Harry Potter.
This was the year of the temporary tattoos. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention before but this year was a treasure trove of them and JB asked to plaster zir body with them. Sure, fine, it’s free and temporary. I gathered enough to set up a temporary tattoo station for JB’s birthday.
For the adults:
- Last Shot (Star Wars): A Han and Lando Novel, by Daniel José Older
- Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
- An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
- A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman
For the kids:
- Hush Now, Banshee!, by Kyle Sullivan and Derek Sullivan
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I would have loved to go in my 20s. Now, I’m not too interested anymore. We visited the one that came to Portland, but I wasn’t impressed. It was too crowded and Junior didn’t know what was going on. He was 3 at the time. 🙂
I thought I had heard good things about the Portland show but it really depends on your expectations too, I’m sure.
Of the past four years, at 3 years and some months, this is the first one where JB was really dialed into the show and absorbing the things that were there for zir to enjoy.
Heehee. I have never been to ComicCon–I am somewhat geeky and love firefly, the guild, felicia, joss, wil, etc., but when living in San Diego, I wasn’t totally sure I’d like the con experience. It was too expensive just to “go to see what it was about.” Despite never having gone, I do have a special connection to it: when I lived in SD, I had a wonderful friend/roommate who had an equally wonderful boyfriend (now her husband) who I became & remain great friends with. He is a regular/famous(?) cosplayer (is that the word? I dunno–he dresses up) at ComicCon. He goes to the con every year as the same wacky character he made up with his friend. He gets his pic in the papers & on TV every year. Because of that, he somehow gets a stall where he signs autographs? and gets to meet almost anyone he wants to meet?–the celebs always want pics with him! I’m so confused as to how that could happen, but he is a quality person & has lots of fun stories as a result, so good on him! 🙂
Because of him, I always read your SDCC round ups with fondness and imagine that you two have crossed paths at some point. <3
When I first started going half a lifetime ago, I tried it out by volunteering so I got in free 🙂 It’s still possible but harder to navigate now, so I bite the bullet and just pay.
That’s such a fun connection – I can’t remember the names of all the cosplayers but we love watching them. Let me know what his name is if you ever recall it!
Eekkk. I am so jealous. My friend and I have tried two years to get badges with no luck but one year we shall! I’m too lazy to cosplay but my blerd would have such a blast. Glad you guys had a great time.
Also I’m currently reading Children of Blood and Bone. Good stuff.
Thanks for sharing your ComicCon experience, sounds like you guys a great time down there. I’ve always heard about it since it’s the biggest ComicCon out there. If my son is interested in it down the line, we will go.
They have the Bay Area version earlier this year at Oakland and SF last year but it’s not as big as San Diego’s.