San Diego, Friday, July 25, 2014, Hilton Gaslamp Hotel — The absolute best part of SDCC 2014 was visiting AMC’s The Walking Dead BBQ: Those Who Arrive, Imbibe outside the Con and then being completely surprised when the cast showed up! It was one big happy zombie BBQ.
To get in, fans had to take part in AMC’s #TweetToEat social challenge. You had to snap a selfie with the Terminus map, either at The Walking Dead booth inside the Convention Center or outside the terrace entrance at the Hilton Gaslamp Hotel (I did the latter), and post it on Twitter with the hashtag #TweetToEat. The first 200 people each day, Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26, could pick up a wristband between 9–11 am that gave them access to that night’s BBQ.
I woke up at 5:30 am to be one of the first in line, nervously waiting for my SIL and her (now ex) bf to show up. He wanted to take his time and didn’t want to be rushed, and honestly, he nearly gave me an ulcer because you can’t do Con without making a mad dash for everything. They made it in time before they started handing out wristbands early. There were over 200 people in line, but we got our wristbands and went about our Con day until we returned for the BBQ.
The event was literally a barbecue tied to The Walking Dead branding, playing on the show’s Terminus storyline, which is notoriously associated with cannibalism in the series. Fans were treated to Walking Dead–style BBQ food and drinks, and there was even chocolate pudding as a nod to the iconic “pudding” (Strangers, Season 5, Episode 2) episode. We finished our food early and were about to leave around 6 pm, even though the event was scheduled to go until 8. My SIL’s bf wanted to leave early to sell our wristbands for $20, which I was definitely not on board with. Luckily, one of the staff members noticed us heading for the exit and told us to hang out for another 30 minutes. I am so thankful she did because the entire cast showed up shortly after. Totally worth the wait!
