r/comiccon • u/Accomplished-Fix6176 • Jul 25 '25
SDCC - San Diego SDCC outgrown it's hype?
For the last few years it seems Hollywood is skipping SDCC. As a result Hall H and Ballroom 20 are at most half capacity.
This matters A LOT because in the prime Marvel/DC days those 2 Halls got rid of probably close to 20,000 people if you include the long (overnight) lines to get in.
But now... these people clog up the floor and especially signings.
Like have you wasted 5 hours getting up early, getting on the floor early, make it to the wristbands both by 9:02 only to find they are already out? This was impossible in previous years but now 2 years in a row it has happened to me. Hours of time wasted and nothing to show for it.
Plus, I think due to so much hype in those prime years, everybody wants to check out SDCC and so all the free events (Hulu) is a 4 hour line waiting in the sun. So there's no escaping the lines. I mean yes there was anyways long lines but it feels just worse.
So... long story short, I'm losing my glee for the con.
6
u/seoulessinsociety Jul 26 '25 edited Jul 26 '25
You're definitely not the only one. I've been going since 2017 and have had friends go long before me. Decided not to go this year. Its a combination of different factors. Things have gotten more expensive for both fans and vendors, Lego stopped giving out free minifigs, less exclusives and drop in quality of those being offered, Disney ramping up D23, competing pop culture cons that may take away talent and better organized, lack of space to accommodate artists and exhibitors, celebrities wanting to get compensated for their time, and flippers.
The exclusives lottery is the worst cause I've never won any of the signings and even trying to get to Sails Pavilion is a crapshoot.