And, before you say anything else, no, San Diego Comic-Con should never be moved anywhere outside the city itself. LA, Anaheim, Las Vegas could never handle it. I’m not talking about their convention centers, which certainly have enough capacity to add thousands more attendees to the roster. I’m talking about the cities themselves. None of them offer a perfect storm of lodging, food, entertainment, and atmosphere that San Diego offers. I live in LA and I would love to be able to save $$$ on a hotel each year if it was closer (as I will with WonderCon this year), but I don’t think LA could handle the One True Comic-Con. And speaking of WonderCon, we’re about to get a taste of what a smaller SDCC might look like in a few weeks if it were held in Anaheim. Yes, it’s got lots of hotels (sorry, mostly cheap motels) and a number of nightlife restaurants a few blocks away, but remember that it’s being held in March, not Comic-Con July, when nearly every one of those motels would be packed tight with Disneyland visitors. WonderCon should be a big success and I don’t doubt that it or a potential new 4th arm of the CCI brand could set up shop there in the near future as a result. If CCI continues there, even if WonderCon goes back to San Francisco, there’s a chance that it will release the pressure put on San Diego Comic-Con if it offers a lot of the same things, but more locally to the LA/OC people who aren’t hardcore geeks and are just pop culture lookee-loos wanting to see what all the fuss is about and maybe get an autograph from Robert Pattinson or the cast of Big Bang Theory.

I completely agree with the anti-scalping rules CCI has put in place. Your predicament is an unfortunate side-effect, but you did get your money back when you returned them, right? The reason that the anti-scalping rule is SO important is because due to the insane panic you and so many others are now feeling, there are vultures out there willing to take advantage of it. Imagine if you didn’t have to just worry about getting a ticket. Imagine if those anti-scalping measures weren’t in place. Tons of big money scalping operations, both legit and downright seedy, would step up and buy ALL of the tickets made available on the official sale day (or at least as many as they could purchase, which is A LOT). They have tools to make that happen. I’ve talked to guys who have said that if they could, they would do that and just rake it in. So now instead of paying $150 for a 4 day ticket to Comic-Con, you can now pay $1000+ for a 4 day ticket. Or you can choose not to go and it becomes just a convention where the mega-rich can only go to. Or you could try to buy a ticket from another scalper who doesn’t really have any tickets at all, but he’ll take your money, and give you that fairly decent looking fake ticket that won’t get you in the door at all. But at least you didn’t pay $1000. Maybe you’d only pay $500 or even $100. Either way, you don’t have a ticket and that scalper/scammer has your money. By making it clear that the only legal means to purchase a ticket is through Comic-Con itself, you avoid all of that. You don’t get ripped off. You don’t end up paying an insane price that so many scumbags want you to pay to THEM. Not Comic-Con, who actually does the work and makes the event happen. I talked to one guy who wished that SDCC was just a vendor show, with no fans at all, kind of like the E3 Expo, where industry folks come in for a pretty penny and the exclusives that everyone loves would just get bought up by the vendors who paid to be there, who would then turn all of that around on their websites or eBay at 10x the price. I know, it doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s how some of these people think.

And, yes, there are still ways around the no scalping rules, but it is still extremely risky (even if you meet your seller face to face outside the convention hall, there’s nothing that says the badge is real). And those that get caught end up getting banned from Comic-Con for life (seller and buyer). Plus, if your name is Joe, do you really want to get caught wearing a badge that says Sally?

Either way, people have to decide whether going to San Diego Comic-Con is worth the stress and trouble and why they even want to go. If it’s the tight crowds that bother them, try one of the many other conventions that are slightly smaller, like WonderCon coming up in March. There’s also shows in Long Beach, LA, and even one in Las Vegas coming in September. Depending on your tastes and your desire to avoid the insanity, there’s a con for everyone at every level.

We may complain about the hoops we have to jump through, but I have a feeling that most people’s desire to go to Comic-Con is stronger than any reasons they have to stay away. Which is why we fight.

When it comes to a stroller, yes, you could bring one, but there are points near the center of the big media booths (CBS, Disney, Fox, ABC, Sony, Lucasfilm, etc) where the crowds are so thick at almost all times, that you wouldn’t be able to make it through. You would be relegated to the outer edges for the most part. The way around that is to have someone stay with the stroller while one of you tries to venture into a crowd going mad for freebies. I usually tell people to leave the stroller at home if at all possible, but if you can’t, be prepared to miss out on some of the crazier stuff toward the center of the maelstrom during the craziest times (which is almost always). And if possible, bring one that isn’t too bulky and can easily collapse. The super-mega strollers just end up being more trouble than they’re worth. The double-wides are the worst, yet some people tend to bring them just to use as people plows. Not a good idea, especially if there is no kid in sight. People with big double-wide strollers stacked with swag and no kids pushing through a mosh pit of people are the most hated people at Comic-Con.

And, yes, the crowds are big and crazy, depending on where you are in the Exhibition Hall and what’s going on. If movie stars show up to sign autographs at the Sony booth or a TV show cast does a signing at the CBS booth, you can be sure that insanity will reign in that area. But not all of the floor is always intense. The further you get away from the big media (tv and movies) booths, the less tight things will be. Without you ever being there, it’s hard to explain the intensity of the event, because everyone’s tolerance for such things varies so widely and everyone’s experience is different. If you go in with a good attitude and are open to this new experience, you will discover some amazing moments throughout your time there, regardless of how crowded and crazy it gets. If you go in feeling like you’re going to have to fight and kill to survive with a negative attitude, it’s all the event will be for you… a struggle. For the most part, people are REALLY good and friendly. Just don’t let the bad apples spoil it for you. I don’t know if you got the book, but I talk about that as the key to truly surviving this event.

As for money… buddy, if you can get away with spending ONLY $500 at Comic-Con, you’re doing something right! Most people will spend that much on one night’s hotel, food, parking, and shopping. Okay, to be honest, I rarely spend that much at exhibitors’ booths in any given year, mainly because I don’t go for a lot of the exclusives (just a few). But between food, transportation, tickets, and especially hotel (if you can get one), for 2 people and a child, you can easily spend a lot more with little effort. I have a budgeting spreadsheet available on my sister site’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/imapopculturegeek?sk=app_208195102528120
If you click LIKE, you’ll get access to the download and it will help you figure out the potential cost of the event at every level.
I hope that helps and I encourage you to come back here or the Facebook page to tell me how it went for your first time. Even if you don’t get tickets, I still suggest that you bring your family to downtown San Diego that week. Like I said, my friends with the 3 year old had no tickets whatsoever and had an amazing time seeing the sights and grabbing all the freebies wherever they went. Monster trucks down one street, free popcorn down another, Adventure Time costume parades down yet another. And if he likes scary stuff, make sure you hang out Saturday evening for the Zombie Walk, where hundreds of costumed zombie fans amble down 5th Ave. You can have a great time at San Diego Comic-Con even without a ticket! Either way, good luck and have a great time!

In that way, it’s a good idea to carefully watch the website for whatever property you’re interested in, as they might casually announce well in advance what day they’ll be appearing at Comic-Con, hopefully before tickets go on sale. If you’re into the Hobbit, for example, Peter Jackson might post on the Hobbit website or Facebook page that they’ll do a panel on Saturday (the most likely day for the biggest, most sought after panels). But unless you hear it from somebody official (not just a fan throwing out rumors in the comments section), don’t consider it gospel. There’s also a very good chance they’ll do nothing at all. There’s never been a Harry Potter or Dark Knight panel at SDCC and they are HUGE!

I feel for you. But even if you told me which panel you’re interested in and I had a “feeling” what day it might be scheduled, it doesn’t mean that it would be listed for that day. The ticket sales vs programming issue is one that might yet have to be addressed in the future by SDCC. I’ll look into creating an information exchange here or on Facebook so that people can share links to information they’ve found regarding programming. Other than that, it’s a guessing game. I wish I could help more.