A San Diegan’s Guide To SDCC
San Diego Comic-Con is a week away, and all of us OG Gamers and nerds will be using our well-honed gaming strategy and critical path-building skills to plan which panels they want to see, which celebrities they hope to meet and how they’re going to handle the 8-hour-long lines.
Being from San Diego I am lucky I have somewhere to stay ( and no, you cannot crash on my couch – sorry).
However, if you know anything about SDCC, whether you are a local or not, you know the weekend is going to be expensive. Well-aware of the popularity of the event, hotels have increased their prices to match the demand, and many rooms are renting for over $400 a night! CRAY-Cray!
Airline algorithms have also noticed the increased traffic to San Diego in late July and are charging around $200 extra dollars per seat. If you haven’t already organized your travel and lodging, be prepared to spend even more; nearly all the hotels in San Diego are booked, and services like AirBed and Breakfast are charging $800 per night for local couchsurfers. Although there are couchsurfing websites you may be able to look into – it’s better than the convention floor! Besides, San Diegans have a reputation for being nice, so I’m almost 75% sure you won’t get brutally murdered.
After all that money getting here, you’ll need to eat. SDCC is right in the middle of Gaslamp Historical District, and honestly SDCC is the ONLY time this place is cool. Its overrun by nerds during SDCC instead the usual drunken jock crowd that tend to congregate here.
Since it is SDCC, and the only time of the year this part of town is absolutely awesome, you will want to check out the awesome events going on outside the convention hall (a local put a list together on Facebook) and buy a few things in the 460,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall and . (We’ve already written about the toys we want, like the exclusive Adventure Time puppies or the Transformers Masterpiece Soundwave.)
Imagine you are a San Diegan, because rent will still be due on the first of the month. Here are a few tips to enjoy the weekend without breaking your budget:
Don’t put anything on a high-interest credit card
Seriously, I live in San Diego and it is expensive! That one time you splurge on a $20 burger, or an $8 slice of pizza, trust me it isn’t a splurge. That’s how much it costs here, especially Gaslamp. We’re nerds, we can do math. There’s still time to search for a new credit card with a 0 percent interest rate. Start with the best cards from NerdWallet and make sure your $800 AirBed and Breakfast room isn’t going on a card that charges 20% interest!
Don’t buy food anywhere you have to sit down
I live in San Diego, so maybe I’m just biased but, you’ll have plenty of time for sitting when you’re waiting overnight for NBC’s Community Panel (Sunday, Hall H, hosted by Chris Hardwick). Instead, save on cash by eating only from places where you have to stand up: convenience stores and even those pretzels they sell in the convention center lobby.
If you really want to plan ahead, fill your backpack with delicious foodstuffs like granola bars and fruit; that’ll save you from a mid-afternoon snack attack where the only thing you can afford to eat comes with its own packet of orange nacho cheese (which is never actually cheese!).
But if you really want good food, go outside of downtown. Check out “restaurant row” on 30th street in North Park. It’s a $15 cab ride and well worth it if you need a break from the hustle and bustle.
Don’t buy anything you can’t carry
It’s way too easy to run through the Exhibit Hall like a katamari on Red Bull, grabbing everything that looks shiny until you have action figures spilling out of your arms. Because I have somewhere to go every night, I avoid those big bags like the plague or trust me – I WILL FILL IT. I’m a girl, its what we do. So I only hold on to what I can carry in my arms. If it isn’t worth carrying in my arms all day or immediately taking it back home (in your case your hotel room), then I probably don’t need it. When you run out of toys you can hold in your arms or pack into your Thinkgeek Bag of Holding, you’re done.
Don’t get defeated by money-sucking minibosses
Most of us are still Level 1 Financial Ninjas. We’re slowly making our way through the Financial Timeline of Adulthood but can still easily get tripped up by something stronger than we are, like an original animation cell from Spirited Away or a night spent drinking overpriced cocktails just because you heard that Joss Whedon was going to show up at the bar. (Pro tip: he’s not, unless its our Nerf Herder show – we hope.)
Last tip: whenever you feel like buying something, go sit in a line for a panel instead. It’ll take up a few hours, you’ll make new friends and you won’t be able to spend a single cent until the panel’s over.
How are you planning to spend your Comic-Con? Let us know in the comments – and don’t forget to visit the Geekscape crew at Booth 3919 in the Exhibit Hall and at Comic Con Nerdathon!
