What to Expect in the Exhibit Hall at Comic-Con 2007

by Carole A. Lane on July 26th, 2007

I attended the Preview Night at Comic-Con International 2007 last night, and took some pictures and a few notes to make your trip to Comic-Con easier. First, the pictures:

What to Wear

Get your freak on. There’s no reason to get dressed up for this event, unless your idea of getting dressed up involves a costume. Otherwise, your best bet is to dye your hair pink and dress in black - you’ll fit right in. (If you can’t manage pink hair, just go with any color not found in nature.) Also, wear comfortable shoes.

What to Bring

If you’re trying to find anything specific in the Exhibit Hall, bring a map. (There’s one in the Events Guide.) The Exhibit Hall is enormous and extremely crowded, so it’s easy to miss things or get lost if you don’t know where you’re going.

Bring money. Along with the toys and goodies that you can bring home for the kids (okay, I know they’re really for you), there’s the most bizarre variety of t-shirt, comic books, and collectibles that you’ll ever find in one place.

(Leave your wheeled carts and wheeled backpacks at home. They won’t make it into the Exhibit Hall.)

Where to Park

There’s parking for $10 in the building next to the Convention Center, at 8th and Harbor, but if you park there, don’t stay until the end of the day. I made that mistake and it took a full hour to get out of the building last night.

Petco Park is just across the street from the Convention Center, and you can park there and walk across. The city has published a map of additional parking structures.

There are shuttle services from many of the downtown hotels, as well as other locations around San Diego.

The Trolley has expanded service during Comic-Con, so you can leave your car at Qualcomm Stadium, Fashion Valley, Old Town, Santee, El Cajon, Grossmont Center, or SDSU and ride in.

Parking is the most difficult thing about attending Comic-Con. The city is working on it, but it’s not easy yet, so plan to get there early for the best options.

See you there!

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