My Comic-Con exclusive Uglydoll Hello Kitty

After we checked into the hotel and picked up our badges, it was finally time to be giddy. We made it! Now to fight the crowds through the exhibit hall during preview night. The exhibit hall is massive at Comic-Con. It’s most likely double how big you’re imagining it to be now. You could spend your whole time there and still not get enough. There’s something for everyone including swag, exclusive goodies, artist alley, and more. You can find retailers of every geeky kind here as well as the newest video games to try out. Major networks and movie studios promote their newest things and give promotional stuff out like candy. Lines are massive in here for the exclusive toys and swag and I’ve found the best time to be in here is in the early morning before everyone else can get in. I also find that getting in a line and then asking questions is way better than finding out what the line is and then getting in line. By the time you get back to the end of the line, it may have grown exponentially or closed off altogether. It can get pretty crazy in here but it’s usually worth the time and effort. Last year, we got a ton of swag that we ended up having so many extras of everything. This year, we didn’t end up with as much swag as last year, but we did still end up with posters, hats, t-shirts, bags, pins, comics, and more.

Unlike last year, we did get passes with preview night this time around and we managed to get some Uglydoll Hello Kitty dolls that were pretty much sold out at the end of the night. The rest of the place was super packed though so we didn’t really end up with anything more than that on preview night. We did venture back a few more times and were able to pick up some swag. It seemed a lot harder this year to get into the lines for the free things in the middle of the day so we went in early a couple of days and got in line to get in. If you’re in the line to get into the exhibit hall, it moves very quickly once they open the doors and you get in before the crowds build which means you have a better chance of getting to where you want and getting what you want more easily.

Visiting the exhibit hall and seeing life size Legos, Hobbit creatures, superheroes, and an actual Thor hammer prop.

Even if you’re not buying anything, the exhibit hall is a fun place to wander around if you don’t mind the crowds. It’s a great place to spend your down time and there’s always tons of things to look at. Just keep in mind that it can be extremely crowded almost all the time so avoid the very busy aisles and intersections if you’re trying to get anywhere quickly.