San Diego, July 19, 2018 – July 22, 2018 — SDCC 2018 was such a fun mix of immersive offsites, classic convention panels, and unexpected moments. One of the first highlights for me was Laika Live. My sister-in-law and I totally improvised our way in by dressing up as Kubo with whatever red clothes we had, sandals with socks, and the eye patch Laika provided. It actually worked and we skipped the line! Touring the exhibit and seeing the behind-the-scenes puppets from Kubo and the Two Strings was amazing and so worth it.
I also hit the Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience at 643 G Street, where you could play a VR escape game called Mr. Mercedes: Lair Escape, explore augmented reality clues, see show props like Brady’s lair and Mercy General sets, and even get a custom lenticular photo.
One of the bigger offsites that year was the DC Universe Experience at the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter. It featured a bunch of interactive areas including a Doom Patrol lab, swamp walk-through with Swamp Thing, a Dick Grayson escape room teaser for Titans, a Harley Quinn chaos room, and “comic book” walkthroughs with Court of Owls elements. So much fun for DC fans.
I attended ConanCon and managed to catch two of Conan O’Brien’s shows downtown at the Spreckels Theatre. It was such a blast and one of the best live entertainment moments of the weekend.
A couple of offsites were more on the quirky/brand side. I tried the Ready Player One offsite, which had themed rooms like 80s arcade spaces, Room 237 from The Shining, optical illusion chambers, and props like the Iron Giant. It was cool but felt a little sloppy compared to the others.
I also escaped Cartman’s Escape Room, a South Park escape experience that challenged groups to solve puzzles based on the show’s characters and themes. We got out in time!
The FX Archer activation was another fun stop, with themed setups tied to that show’s irreverent style (and of course networking from the FXInstallation area).
One of the most adorable offsite memories was the Castle Rock activation, where the actors in character were surprisingly fun and enthusiastic, making the theme even more memorable.
On the panel side, seeing the Venom panel in Hall H was a big one, and grabbing a photo at the Stranger Things train stop was such a cool photo op moment that really felt iconic for 2018.
And bonus highlight: I randomly met Conan O’Brien at dinner in Little Italy at Cucina Urbana. That one totally made my night — my YEAR — and is one of those Comic-Con memories you never forget!
See you next year, SDCC 2019!
