How to Do San Diego Comic-Con Without Buying a Badge

I just got back from San Diego Comic-Con and didn’t go into the convention center once.

In fact, I didn’t even have a badge.

This isn’t the first time I’ve gone to a convention without going to the convention. It’s much more fun to go “convention adjacent” to any con where I haven’t specifically been asked to panel or perform.

Why? Well, anyone who goes to a lot of conventions quickly figures out that the really good stuff doesn’t happen on the convention floor. It certainly doesn’t happen in the panels, where an exclusive Suicide Squad trailer or a new clip from Syfy’s The Magicians will end up officially released to the rest of the internet within a day, if it isn’t unofficially leaked first. Anything else worth sharing — like the Con Man panel where Alan Tudyk arrived dressed as Wash from Firefly — gets live-tweeted instantly.

Alan Tudyk wears Wash costume to Hall H before stripping to reveal @ConManSeries outfit #Firefly #SDCC @comicsbeat pic.twitter.com/DZ7XUu7lgY

 — @EdieHelena

Some people like to get exclusive merch, and that’s fair, but that stuff also ends up online eventually. I thought about buying or borrowing a badge just so I could snag some of Scott Campbell’s SDCC-exclusive prints, but it looks like we’ll be able to grab them online too:

The rest of the GoT Great Showdowns prints from #sdcc will go on sale July 21st in the Scott C Shop.. http://shop.pyramidcar.com/collections/all

 — @scottlava

So where does the good stuff happen? Before and after the events, if you’re at a small convention, and outside of the convention hall itself, if you’re at a big one. In fact, at a place like SDCC it’s much better if you stay at least three blocks away from the convention center at all times. You’ll be more likely to meet people, have conversations, and build the kinds of connections that can lead to job opportunities, if you are interested in that kind of thing.

Think of it like a math problem. Anyone who is inside the San Diego convention center only moves when they absolutely have to, and only when they need to get from one place to another. Packed convention floors and hallways are not ideal for mingling or chatting, and if you see someone you want to talk to, chances are they’re in the middle of getting somewhere else as fast as they can.

And then, when they’re done, they leave. They walk away from the convention center and go to a bar or a hotel lobby or an Airbnb to relax. That’s where the good stuff happens. That’s where it’s finally calm and quiet enough to have the kinds of conversations that make a place like Comic-Con worth the hundreds of dollars it takes to get to San Diego and pay for your lodging and food.

So why buy a convention badge? Sure, it’s only another $150 or so on top of what is already going to be a very expensive weekend — and I’ll share my Comic Con expenses as soon as I get them tallied up — but skipping the badge both saves money and puts you in the position where you are more likely to make interesting things happen.

When you don’t have to wait in line to sit in a panel and listen to someone else talk, you have to do something else to fill your day. So you start texting or tweeting to see who else is free and is interested in grabbing lunch or coming over to play games, and people bring their friends, and suddenly you’ve met someone new and instead of waving in passing, you’ve got an entire hour in a quiet room to talk.

It all sounds a bit networky and gross, but let’s just cut through that by saying that if you are in fact networky and gross, nobody will respond to your request to hang out. So that leaves cool people having interesting conversations far, far away from the convention center.

And that’s why I go to conventions without buying a badge. I’m not the only one who does it, either. We go to the place where everyone else will be and then skip the thing that everyone else is doing, which frees up all kinds of time to do something more fun.

It also frees up more time to rest, which is essential for a long weekend like this. I got 7.5 hours of sleep every night, and I also both brought and finished a book, which I rarely have time to do on a non-convention weekend. It was one of the best, most relaxing times I’ve had in months.

So take my advice and do not buy a badge the next time you plan your trip to San Diego! You don’t have to worry about FOMO. You’ll be having your own private convention — and having a much better time.

Photo credit: Kevin Dooley

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