If last year felt like a return to form for SDCC, this year felt like a calmer year. There were some visible absences and reductions to things at the con, so it’s hard to ignore the effects of all the budgetary declines happening across all industries. It was still a great time as usual though, so let’s move on to the recap!
The critters
This year I dropped 11 critters, plus 3 guest critters by Gina! Ten of my critters were found with successful check-ins, and all 3 of Gina’s were found and checked in! I didn’t get that 100% response rate that I’m always chasing after, but I’m still happy knowing they were all taken! Jeff the Landshark is the only critter that’s unaccounted for, so if you or someone you know found him, let me know! It’s never too late for a check-in!
THANK YOU to everyone who joined the hunt, and congratulations to all the finders! This year my critters found new homes in California, Missouri, Florida, and Texas! If you want to see where my critters have ended up over the years, you can find my critter adoption map here!
The Convention Floor
I know it sounds ridiculous to say that the convention floor was subpar, because being able to step foot onto the floor at San Diego Comic-Con is a privilege in itself. But it’s hard for me to have the same enthusiasm for it when I think of how much more it used to be. Giveaways get slimmer each year, booths no longer have interactive experiences other than some photo ops, and the crowds seem to be there more for buying exclusive merchandise. I’m sure it was still an amazing experience for first-timers, but it’s hard for me not to think back to when the convention floor had amazing (substantial) giveaways left and right, and fully immersive booths pushing their latest products. Coming from when the Walking Dead used to bring shambling zombies to scare passing attendees (or get spooky selfies with them!), when Outlander built out a castle to walk through and get photo ops (and a cool tartan bandanna), or when celebrities would be interviewed right on the floor at the center tower, it’s hard not to feel like attendees are getting less for their time and money. Economic times are rough all around, and the convention floor was a stark sign that pop culture studios haven’t been immune either. It’s like seeing your favorite restaurant start serving smaller portions, or having the food not taste the same because it’s become cost-prohibitive for them to use the usual ingredients. It’s not upsetting, just sobering. That being said, walking the convention floor is always a cool experience in itself, even if it felt more diminished this year.
One booth that was a standout though was the Lego booth! Lego is always one of my favorite booths to visit because I love seeing the Lego art they bring in, and they usually have good giveaways and fun Lego building activities. This year the swag wasn’t as good (plastic poppers vs. daily enamel pins – again a sign of economic times), but the booth display itself was INCREDIBLE. They crafted a model of the convention hall itself, and they spared no detail, from the Gaslamp sign, to the little trolley, and a miniature Hall H. I didn’t find out until later that they even included a mini Lego booth with its own mini convention center! LEGO-CEPTION.
Another activity that was completely slept on in the convention hall was the Gunpla building workshop! I was surprised this wasn’t completely filled up, you got to build a Gundam figure for free! It was a great way to rest your feet for a bit too, you got to sit down and build your Gundam, and then carry on with your day. I think people just didn’t know this was there?
Panels
Marvel didn’t show up this year. And selfishly, that’s a good thing to me, because that means it’s MUCH easier to get into Hall H on a Saturday! All of the panels I went to were basically walk-ins, even the much talked-about George Lucas panel on Sunday. Easy access is always a win!
Coyote Vs. Acme
The Coyote vs. Acme panel was a highlight for me, and even though they didn’t reveal much about the movie itself other than the release date, there were lots of fun shenanigans with representatives from “Acme” constantly trying to shut the panel down. The entire premise of the movie sounds hilarious to me, it’s all about Wile E. Coyote suing Acme for giving him faulty products whenever he was chasing after the road runner. The movie doesn’t come out until August 2026, so maybe they’ll have another panel at Comic-Con next year? At least I hope so, sounds like it’d be a fun time.
The Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror
A favorite panel ever since my husband found this needle in a haystack of a find in the schedule years ago! This one keeps getting more popular every year, I feel like they’ll have to move it into a bigger room at some point! This year one of the guests was Tina Romero, the legendary George Romero’s daughter. One of my favorite quotes was her talking about growing up on the sets of her father’s movies, saying that she sat on a zombie’s lap long before she ever sat on a mall Santa’s lap as a kid. Must’ve been a pretty fun childhood, ha!
Sneak Peek: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
This was shockingly a walk-in? I honestly thought all the Star Wars fans would come out just to see George Lucas at his first-ever panel at Comic-Con, but I guess not. I had to leave the panel early to catch my flight home, but being able to see THE George Lucas at his first appearance at Comic-Con was pretty cool. He introduced his upcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which looks absolutely stunning and already looks like it’ll have an impressive collection of storytelling art. Can’t wait to visit when it opens.
The Offsite Activations
Anyone who’s been to Comic-Con knows that there’s just as much happening outside of the convention itself, if not more! I managed to visit all of the activations that I wanted to see, plus a few parties (no, not the Fandom or IGN parties, I’m not nearly cool enough for those!). Among some of the things I did, I visited the King of the Hill activation and ate some sacrilegious barbecue, got chased by a clown in a cornfield, got recruited to investigate some alien wreckage, and hung out at the Paramount Lodge. Biggest loser was the South Park experience, which ended up being an oversized merch booth with nothing else going for it. Adult Swim’s party on the green is still always a favorite for me, with ridiculous activities like cat jousting and a Rick and Morty butt bounce house (farting sounds and all), and great parties at the end of the night!
My two favorites of all the activations this year were Peacefest and Brawl Stars Starr Park. Peacefest may have been a disaster with its initial reservation snafu (I was seriously refreshing for EIGHT HOURS before I finally got through), but once we got there it was such a fun glam rock-fueled time, and my friends and I were selected to meet Eagly! I nerded out even more when I learned that the eagle came from the eagle sanctuary at Dollywood, I looked like a toddler meeting Elmo in my photos with the eagle. The cover band nailed the whole 80s hair band vibe, there was an open bar, and there were lots of fun references to Peacemaker throughout the space. It was basically one big 80s rock karaoke party until they booted everyone out.
If Peacefest was my favorite based on my personal interests, Brawl Stars Starr Park was my favorite in terms of being flawlessly executed from beginning to end. The online reservation system worked perfectly (no glitching or crashing!), reservations were mostly on time, and the whole experience was so damn CUTE. Actors were enthusiastic and hit that sweet spot of humor to be kid-friendly and still cheeky enough for adults, welcoming you into a fun and goofy video game world. The logistical details were the truly impressive part of Starr Park. Chocolate bars were served out of a freezer so that they wouldn’t melt. All of the mini games were short and easy enough that there weren’t long waits at any particular station. The cupcakes had a gluten-free and vegan option, with allergens listed for all the other cupcakes. Trash cans were everywhere, which is always appreciated (in contrast, Peacefest had empty cans littered everywhere when we were leaving). The most brilliant part was that each group was assigned a colored lanyard upon entry (a really nice lanyard too!), which served as an indicator to the staff which colored lanyards should be on board, and which color would be coming next. It served both as swag and a flow control system, and it was GENIUS. Everyone got a nice swag bag upon exit, and a good time was had by everyone. 10/10, whoever ran this event deserves ALL the praise, I haven’t seen an activation run that smoothly from end to end in a long time, and it was fun for both kids and adults!
The Swag
This year’s swag haul was decent, but not as much quality swag as last year. Yet another sign of rough economic circumstances. Last year we picked up pretty substantial things like lunchboxes, umbrellas with custom art, custom printed T-shirts, Deadpool oven mitts, lots of enamel pins with cool art, and even a giant pickle Rick pool float. This year still had good stuff, but with notable reductions, like enamel pins being replaced with buttons, or many of the giveaways being posters, art cards, or QR code coupons. It’s not a slight against the companies, but so many of us go to Comic-Con as a fun geeky escape from life, and it made me feel some sort of way knowing that the budget downturns were visibly present there too.
That being said, STILL NO WEIRD SWAG FROM CONAIR. I’m going to keep hoping Conair comes back to dish out completely bizarre irrelevant swag. My current “weird Conair swag” count will remain at one nose hair trimmer and a fabric shaver for now. FOR NOW. I’ll still be eagerly waiting for your return, Conair.
It may have been a slower year for Comic-Con, but it was still a jam-packed week full of fun geekiness! Thank you again to everyone who’s followed along with me on my SDCC shenanigans all this time. I say it every year, but I wouldn’t be where I am today with my silly little crochet hobby without all of you. Here’s to the end of SDCC 2025, and here’s to looking forward to SDCC 2026!
