Annual Nerd Vacation!
It is wild to me that my 15th San Diego Comic-Con with John is already complete. I’m sad that it’s over, but we had a great time! So of course, I’m here to recap my experience. As with all of my travel posts, this will be a long one.
TUESDAY
We flew out of Dulles on Tuesday morning and arrived in San Diego mid-morning. Our flight took less than five hours, and even arrived about 30 minutes early. One of the easiest cross-country flights I’ve experienced!
Once we retrieved our luggage from baggage claim, we grabbed a taxi to our hotel, the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Hotelpocalypse screwed us this year—not one of the six of us in my SDCC group got a hotel assignment. BUT, we got incredibly lucky and managed to book my favorite SDCC hotel during the general hotel sale! This was probably our fourth or fifth time staying there. I love it because the rooms are nice and the location truly can’t be beat. It’s close to the convention center but it’s not so close that it’s a constant shitshow
While we were waiting to check in, we ran into John’s brother (A) and a friend of ours, who were also staying at our hotel. A room was ready when we arrived—ahhhh, the benefits of arriving on Tuesday! So we were able to head on up to the 28th floor. This was the view from our room:
I rested in the room (SDCC energy conservation is key!). In the afternoon we met up with my brother-in-law and our friend and we went on a snack run at Ralph’s. That evening, we all met at Brigantine for dinner. After dinner, we Ubered back to the hotel and went to Top of the Hyatt for drinks and this view from the 44th floor, which I’ll never tire of:
Top of the Hyatt has oddly semi-rebranded itself as “Dive Bar in the Sky.” All they did was put up cheesy 90’s college dorm decor and add a couple old school video games like Pac-Man. IMO, it’s wild to call yourself a dive bar when you’re charging $18+ for cocktails. They should axe the goofy theme and simply allow themselves to be a nice bar with a beautiful view. Dive bars don’t typically have sunset views like this:
WEDNESDAY
In the morning, John went for a run with A and our friend, and they went to breakfast afterward.
I have an inability to sleep in, so I woke up early, went to Seaport Village directly behind our hotel, and grabbed a San Dieggo bagel sandwich and cold brew from Spill the Beans. One of the things I love most about staying at the MGH is having this bagel shop so close by! Market One in the hotel lobby has perfectly fine breakfast food, but I’m a bagel fan so Spill the Beans is my jam. It’s not like NYC-level bagels, but they hit the spot for me during SDCC.
Note: STB is much more affordable when you just get a bagel and cream cheese and coffee instead of a bagel sandwich and cold brew. I’m talking $25 for sandwich + cold brew + tip versus $15 for bagel & cc + coffee + tip.
I had packed Sally Hansen press-on nails, so after breakfast I did my nails (ignore my dry hands):
This was my first time trying these press-ons and I wasn’t sure how well they would stay on. So I walked to CVS in the Gaslamp District to pick up a different set in case I needed a manicure redo. While walking down 5th Avenue, I was surprised to see a lot of SDCC stuff still being set up.
Because we had several big days of socializing ahead of us, I chose to rest prior to our dinner plans. But I did do a YouTube Pilates video in the afternoon to get some movement in before the con.
My friend K and my brother arrived on the train that afternoon and checked in at the Intercontinental. Once they got settled, K walked over to meet John, A, and I so we could try to pick up our bags, books, and lanyards (BBLs) at the convention center.
Predictably, communication on where to enter the convention center was confusing and of course we were told couldn’t go inside because we didn’t have Preview Night badges. So we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our evening plans.
That day was my brother’s 40th birthday! A month prior, I had made us reservations at False Idol Tiki Bar. We went there for tiki drinks a couple years ago, but weren’t able to go last year because they were booked for private events during SDCC. This year they happened to have availability on my brother’s birthday, so it worked out perfectly. We had a good time celebrating my brother’s birthday with tiki cocktails:
From False Idol, we headed to Isola Pizza Bar, which we enjoyed a couple years ago. We had a nice dinner there, then went to Harbor & Sky at Springhill Suites to finish off the night with a glass of wine. This is becoming one of our go-to outdoor bars because it’s off the beaten path enough that it’s not usually crowded during SDCC. And it’s right across from the Intercontinental, so it was super convenient for those in our group who stayed there.
THURSDAY
First official day of SDCC 2025!! I got Spill the Beans for breakfast again. In the late morning, K and I met up and headed over to the convention center. First order of business was to get our BBLs in the Sails Pavilion, which was a breeze because we went after the con had been open for awhile. And we entered in the back of the convention center, which allowed us to avoid any lines that might have built up in front.
From Sails, we went downstairs and into the exhibit hall. We had to hit up the Lego booth to see their SDCC build, which I had seen posts about on social media. Lego captured the convention center SO perfectly and in an incredible amount of detail!
K and I explored the exhibit hall for awhile and I bought a gift for John (a sheet of music from Labyrinth with David Bowie’s character painted over it).
The show floor was insanely crowded and I quickly got tired of being ping-ponged around by other bodies. So we left and walked up 5th Avenue briefly before all of the stimulation began to overwhelm me.
From there we went over to meet John at the Marriott Marquis pool. I was feeling cranky from the crowds and did not want to socialize. So I went back to our hotel, got an espresso from Market One, and went upstairs to recharge.
While I was resting, John, K, and A got into Hall H without a wait. IMO, SDCC’s vibe on Thursday was a little…off. I’m not sure why, but there weren’t really lines for the big panel rooms. Not a bad thing, but it was certainly unusual.
I got vegan tacos from Market One and then decided to try to get into Hall H. South Park had dropped its controversial episode the day before, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone were going to be on a Hall H panel early that evening. Therefore, I figured the panel would be an exciting one. I don’t often watch South Park, but since I was going to try to get into Hall H, I watched the new episode in the room while enjoying my tacos.
The weird vibe was palpable to me as I walked from our hotel along the marina to get to the Hall H line. The marina is usually a total shitshow, but it was quieter than usual that evening. To be fair, I didn’t walk the full length of the marina at all this year, so I’m sure it picked up as the con went on.
Speaking of weird, Hall H had no line whatsoever on Thursday when I got there before the South Park guys’ panel. I breezed right on through the chutes and only had to wait for about ten minutes before being let in. The Toxic Avenger panel was going on when I entered and found a seat with my peeps. Peter Dinklage and Elijah Wood are in the movie, so that was a treat! We got tickets for free swag, which I picked up in the premium room at the Hyatt. It’s a pretty cool poster:
After Toxie came the panel with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Andy Samberg and Mike Judge. Each was there to talk about their respective animated series. The conversation was more muted than I expected after the SP episode release and reaction, but with these guys of course it was still fun.
When the panel finished, we left the convention center. John, K and I went to Sally’s (a seafood restaurant behind the Hyatt) for drinks. With the first day of SDCC behind us, it was time for bed.
FRIDAY
In the morning, I got breakfast from Spill the Beans again and rested. K and I met up in the late morning and headed over to the convention center. Before she got to our hotel I got an espresso from Market One. On my way there I spotted Breckin Meyer standing outside our hotel. I’m not sure what he was there to promote, but that was a fun sighting…especially since Clueless just had its 30th anniversary! I actually met him a thousand years ago when I was in college and Road Trip filmed some scenes on my campus.
K and I went to the exhibit hall for a bit. In addition to the giant SDCC, the Lego booth had a life-sized Elphaba and Galinda:
I bought some fun stuff from Con Rangers:
I love that they have a 15 years patch…obviously I had to get one to commemorate the occasion! The Friday exclusive “Drank an Emergency Coffee” badge needed to be mine. I had literally done so before coming to the exhibit hall! And I bought the Ballroom 20 badge was for manifestation purposes because there were some panels in Ballroom 20 that I actually wanted to attend that day.
And the manifestation worked! K and I headed upstairs to Ballroom 20 around 1pm and there was zero line. We walked straight in during a panel for Primitive War, starring Jeremy Piven, Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer, and Nick Wechsler. After that panel came a Collider conversation with the one and only Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman!!). He was there to talk about his career and the upcoming sequel to his action flick, Nobody 2.
We didn’t go specifically to see that panel, but I was thrilled we got to see it! He is such a gem.
The next panel was for Neon’s upcoming horror films, which I figured would be interesting. Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony, aka Psycho) kicked off the panel with some heartfelt words of support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco were on hand to talk about their new body horror film Together, and we got to see a clip. It looks excruciating, and I mean that as a compliment. I’d love to go see it in the theater.
Tatiana Maslany was also there to talk about Osgood Perkins’ film Keeper, and they screened the trailer for us. She is always incredible, so I’d like to see that as well.
A YouTube film critic-turned director named Chris Stuckmann was also there to talk about his film Shelby Oaks, and they showed the trailer. I got a little bit of a Blair Witch vibe and would also like to see the film when it comes out this October.
Next on the Ballroom 20 agenda was the panel for Gen V, which I was really excited about. Some of the cast was there, including Hamish Linklater, a new addition to season two. We got to see a trailer for season two, and then they surprised us with a teaser for the fifth and final season of The Boys…I cannot wait for that!!
Last B20 panel of the day for us was Dexter: Resurrection. This was the panel that I was most excited about! We went to Dexter panels back in the day and they were always such a good time. This new series premiered recently and it actually feels like vintage Dexter. What a cool thing to be able to go to a Dexter panel again in 2025! Michael C. Hall was incredibly grateful and humble. Guest stars David Dastmalchian and Krysten Ritter also appeared on the panel. The cast of this season is fucking off-the-charts exciting, and I can’t wait to catch up on the show.
After unexpectedly sitting in Ballroom 20 for five hours, it was time for some sunshine, food, and a drink. We left the convention center and met up with John, then walked over to Harbor & Sky to meet up with our peeps. My friend H had arrived that afternoon so she met us there as well. We all chit chatted and had some drinks, and then it was time for bed.
SATURDAY
I don’t have a lot of photos to share from Saturday. Me and my group were kind of all over the place!
For breakfast, I got a cheese danish and coffee from Market One. I had lunch plans with friends, so I rested and recharged in the morning. In the afternoon, I walked over to Villains Brewing Company to meet H and our friend M for lunch.
My friends were running late for lunch so I found a quiet spot in the Hotel Indigo lobby and chilled there while I waited for them. At lunch, we had a fun time catching up. Then the three of us wandered around Gaslamp a little bit to witness the Saturday SDCC insanity.
Then we decided to grab a drink at the Horton Grand lobby bar, which is a cool spot that I’ve been to a few times before but should really remember to go to more. K met us there after leaving Hall H, and we all hung out there for awhile. Then K and I went to the exhibit hall to meet up with another friend, who hadn’t been to SDCC since before the pandemic. We were able to find her and catch up a bit as we walked around the exhibit hall. Then it was time to leave and meet the rest of my group for dinner at Shino Sushi up near Little Italy.
On my way out, I snapped this pic of what it looked like outside the convention center just before 6pm on Saturday:
We had a nice dinner, then some of us split off and went our separate ways. John went to an evening panel, while K and my brother and I got drinks at Harbor & Sky again. John met us there after his panel, then we all called it a night.
SUNDAY
Fourth and final day of SDCC 2025. The last day of the con is always such a bittersweet vibe.
I got Spill the Beans for my final breakfast, and rested in the room. Then John and I went over to the convention center to walk the exhibit hall together. We don’t typically spend a ton of time together during the day at SDCC, but over the past few years it’s become our tradition to wander the show floor together on Sunday afternoon.
We spent a little over two hours wandering and taking it all in. I bought three Funko Pops to add to my collection:
We went to the Lego booth to see the exhibit hall side that I had completely missed the first time around. Un. Fucking. Believable.
Another look…in the center you can see they built the Lego booth with a Lego convention center inside of it. LEGOCEPTION. Gold star for whoever conceived of this build!!
After a couple of hours we were ready to say goodbye to SDCC 2025. I always feel so sad to leave the convention center for the last time each year.
I took a lot of photos of stuff I liked inside the exhibit hall. Instead of making this the longest post of all time, here’s a slide show of some of my favorites. Click through using the arrows at the bottom of the image:
In terms of cosplay, we saw a fair amount! Sadly, I didn’t take many cosplayer pics. But I will share a slideshow of the ones I did capture:
After John and I left the exhibit hall, we went to the premium room at our hotel to pick up our free swag from the Thursday Hall H panels. I got the aforementioned Toxic Avenger poster and we picked up these SDCC 2020 pins that they were also handing out:
Since the pandemic hit in 2020 and SDCC was canceled for two years, my guess is they’d already produced these pins and then forgot about them. Though 2020 was a bummer of a year, I’m happy that we were able to snag these.
After returning to our hotel, we rested in the room for awhile. Then we went out for a date night on our final evening in San Diego. Because we had done so much walking during the con, it was tempting to just grab a casual bite in our hotel. But the weather was beautiful so we decided on Malibu Farm in Seaport Village, just a short walk from our hotel. We got a table on the patio overlooking the water and I had a delicious burrata salad.
We took a little post-dinner stroll along the marina, then returned to our hotel to finish packing for our flight home the next morning. And we were treated to this beautiful sunset view from our room before going to bed:
Our flight home the next morning went seamlessly. Although it’s sad to linger in town when most nerds flee as soon as the con is over, it’s better than battling con crowds at the airport.
To Sum It Up
Overall, I would call my 2025 SDCC a success. We stayed at my favorite hotel, which makes things SO much easier. I did a ton of walking but didn’t notice my feet starting to feel tired until my walk to dinner on Saturday. So physically, I handled the con better than in prior years.
My pattern of resting in the morning, then taking on the con and social activities later worked well for me. And I was really pleased that I was able to easily get into panels without having to wait on line forever and ever! It’s been years since I went to a panel.
Though I didn’t buy a lot of stuff, there were so many cool things to take in. Everyone was all about Labubu this year, but I tuned that mess out and browsed the things that caught my eye. The 80s Halloween horror figurines at the NECA booth were so awesome that I ended up pre-ordering a set once we returned home.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading! I hope you had a good SDCC if you attended; if not, I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through my recap.
Now we wait for Returning Registration, which they’ve already announced will be on October 4! May the force be with you!
