These guys are the very first in line for Hall H, at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. They were super friendly, excited and ready to go!
The big one is almost here!
I’ve taken even more photos of 2018 Comic-Con preparation around San Diego. I walked all around this morning–Wednesday–and observed that workers are frantically getting the many offsites around the Gaslamp, Petco Park and San Diego Convention Center ready for tomorrow.
Tonight is Preview Night.
Let the party begin!
At Dead Quarters, they have a lot to do. At least according to some ragged signs that are being created!Cartman’s Escape Room at the Comedy Central offsite appears about ready!The Convention Center trolley stop has been converted into a weird, very cool promotion for Stranger Things.This morning they were testing the Jack Ryan Experience. A test subject was carefully lowered from the mock helicopter.A creepy jacketed mannequin now stands in the Children’s Park fountain, with a cage looming among the trees behind him. Part of the Castle Rock offsite.What I called a castle has turned out to be more like a brick palace, created by Bandai at the Marina Terrace.Getting the entrance to the Lyft Lounge at Comic-Con Village ready on Wednesday morning. You’ll find it at Embarcadero Marina Park South, near the San Diego Symphony’s outdoor summer location.The IMDb yacht gets a boat wrap!The Starbucks at the Hilton Bayfront has been converted into a small Jurassic World.A BBC film crew gets ready to cover 2018 San Diego Comic-Con on the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.Graphics at the entrance to Rotten Tomatoes suggest that possibly Your Opinion Sucks.Someone has appeared in one of the round windows of The Good Place.Looks like a good place to me! Let’s get this party started!
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You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A car appears to have mysteriously crashed into the Childrens Park fountain! It’s part of the Castle Rock offsite for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con. Surprises await visitors around every corner.
Four days to go until 2018 San Diego Comic-Con! There’s so much cool stuff popping up around the convention center, I can hardly keep track of it all!
This afternoon I walked around the entire area, checking out some of the building wraps and offsites that have begun to appear. Construction hasn’t begun on the Experience at Comic-Con or Deadquarters yet. I was told Comedy Central will occupy the same space at the Broad City indoor coloring book last year, but I could see no indication of activity there, either.
Check out these photos and read the captions for more information. It seems Comic-Con gets bigger and more exciting every year!
A photo of the Castle Rock sign from across Harbor Drive.These mannequins will be part of Hulu’s surprising Castle Rock experience!A guy working on the Castle Rock offsite said this is the bed and breakfast.Picnic tables have been placed in Childrens Park, which will become a spooky Castle Rock forest.At Amazon’s Jack Ryan Experience, more progress is being made.Visitors to the Jack Ryan Experience can enjoy shade under camouflage netting!The big Conan wrap on the Marriott Marquis is almost completed!Another photo I took walking around the Gaslamp four days before 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.The prominent DC Universe wrap is wrapped up!A Doom Patrol sign on a temporary structure inside the DC Universe Experience. This must be Chief’s (Dr. Niles Caulder) Lab.A Marvel building wrap is being applied above the Lou & Mickey’s sign.Inside The Chuck Jones Gallery in the Gaslamp you’ll find a bunch of cool Star Wars art.Plus some super cool Alex Ross artwork depicting DC’s most popular heroes.The line for LAIKA LIVE San Diego is growing as Comic-Con approaches.Lots of construction activity around the hub of Comic-Con’s outdoor campus.An ice cream vendor crosses Fifth Avenue. The Gifted wrap on the Omni appears above the offsite for The Good Place, now under construction.Some guys are working on NBC’s The Good Place offsite at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.On Friday I spoke briefly to a guy putting The Good Place stickers on the Tin Fish’s outdoor tables.Turning back for another photo as I walk along.Here comes a restored PCC streetcar on the San Diego Trolley’s downtown loop Silver Line. I love riding these old trolleys, but not today. More stuff to see!Crossing the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, I see the tents outside the San Diego Convention Center are already set up.There’s that Jack Ryan wrap on the Omni Hotel that I photographed a couple days ago. It’s nearly finished.The FXhibition area is under construction now. Those shady canopies when seen from above spell FX.I learned this interesting structure will help promote the FX show Legion.Looking across the grass of Hilton Waterfront Park. Lots of Comic-Con offsite construction activity!FOX and National Geographic will be previewing Cosmos Possible Worlds.That big wrap on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront is in fact for the upcoming FX television series Mayan MC, a spin-off of the popular Sons of Anarchy.I believe this winding blue track will be Adult Swim’s lazy river, where go-kart “canoes” will race. I imagine those races will be visually funny!Another Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan building wrap, this one on the side of the Marriott Marquis. Amazon Video is promoting their upcoming show in a very big way at SDCC 2018.A colorful Dragon Ball Super: The Movie wrap on the Marriott’s recent meeting room expansion.
UPDATE!
I walked around Monday morning and got lots of new pics! More wraps and offsites are appearing!
Manifest, an upcoming NBC television series, promoted on a building wrap being applied to the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego for 2018 Comic-Con.Another graphic promoting Manifest on the convention center side of the Hard Rock Hotel.The symbol for Marvel hero Iron Fist in a building wrap near the Gaslamp Quarter landmark sign.Construction continues on The Good Place offsite near the Tin Fish.Getting video screens ready at NBC’s The Good Place offsite.Looks like Comic-Con fans might be served yogurt.It would be really, really hard to eat yogurt with that gigantic fork, however!The upper story of The Good Place.The Experience at Comic-Con in Petco Park’s adjacent Lexus Premier Lot is barely getting started on Monday morning. Better get to work in a hurry!Behind the San Diego Convention Center, near the Hilton Bayfront, the FXhibition is under construction. I saw these graphics which I believe will be used to promote the FX show Archer.I see FOX will be promoting The Passage in their section of Hilton Waterfront Park.I believe this is part of the Adult Swim lazy river. Workers would tell me nothing. Top Secret, apparently!Another photo of the Adult Swim offsite under construction.Comic-Con exhibitors were unloading their stuff as a small fleet of forklifts zipped about.Bandai is setting up an offsite in the terrace by the Marriott Marina, where Conival was last year.The left portion of that big Dragon Ball Super wrap is done. Very cool!The Jack Ryan wrap on the Marriott Marquis is about half finished on Monday morning.Syfy wraps are being applied to The New Children’s Museum.Getting ready for 2018 Comic-Con–just three days away!In Hulu’s Castle Rock forest, some sort of structure is being set up.The South Park Escape Room is just getting started.Dead Quarters is also just getting started. It’s going to feature a slide!And a zombie meat grinder!With a bloody conveyor belt!Purge City is starting to set up at Petco Park.Another photo of Comic-Con preparation in front of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.I learned this lot at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Island Avenue will feature a gigantic 20 foot tall Dell laptop!A peek into the space where the Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience will be during 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.
ANOTHER UPDATE!
I walked all over the place on Monday afternoon, and even more Comic-Con stuff is appearing around the San Diego Convention Center, Petco Park and the Gaslamp!
Here comes yet another batch of photos!
Characters from South Park are readied outside a Comic-Con escape room being prepared at the Comedy Central offsite.Cool mural for Mayans MC in courtyard by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.Some big teepees and wooden bridges over the lazy river canoe track have appeared at the Adult Swim offsite on Monday afternoon.Left side of the Adult Swim entrance.Welcome to Adult Swim State Park!Wraps on Petco Park are appearing. The two I spotted promote Whiskey Cavalier on ABC. (UPDATE! I was wrong! As it turned out this first one promotes The Rookie on ABC.)The second Whiskey Cavalier building wrap is farther along.I believe this will be a big stage in one corner of the Experience at Comic-Con.Sacred Lies, an upcoming show on Facebook Watch, will be promoted near one entrance to the Experience at Comic-Con.Erecting the huge stage in a Petco Park parking lot.Spherical shrubs at The Good Place match circular windows.I believe that’s Harley Quinn in a window of Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar in the Gaslamp.Alita Battle Angel promoted on a pedicab on the Embarcadero.The Team Coco House on Fourth Avenue is being prepared.Dell will be building that huge laptop here.At Dead Quarters, they must realize that blood meal makes for great fertilizer.The Syfy wrap on The New Children’s Museum is looking good.So is the facade of the bed and breakfast at Hulu’s Castle Rock offsite.Props are being placed in the Castle Rock forest, otherwise known as Children’s Park.Lawn chairs face a stage.Part of a Middle Eastern bazaar on MLK Promenade beckons people to head up First Avenue to the Jack Ryan Experience.A huge bazaar is about ready at the Jack Ryan Experience offsite by Amazon Prime Video.I learned visitors will climb to the helicopter, descend by wire to a top floor, then head over to the zip line. Once on the ground, there’s more training to do involving some sort of vehicle.The Dark Ops emblem is ready on the bunker-like escape room.I was told the escape room will be pretty intense.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A huge helicopter now stands high above the street on a steel structure for the Jack Ryan Experience at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con!
Check it out! More cool stuff is appearing around downtown for 2018 Comic-Con!
The Jack Ryan Experience has been under construction for a few days now, and that helicopter I spied in the parking lot is now way up in the air on a huge steel structure. It appears the zip line will descend from the helicopter across a backdrop depicting a rugged Middle Eastern landscape!
I also spotted three gigantic banners hung from the parking structure of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. They advertise two upcoming video games: Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Kingdom Hearts III.
Ten days to go until Comic-Con officially opens!
The Jack Ryan Experience graphic backdrop appears complete. Lots of crates in the parking lot indicate there’s much more set to up before this Comic-Con offsite is ready.A look at the gigantic Jack Ryan helicopter from across the street. A zip line will run from it along a Middle Eastern aerial landscape.The Hilton Bayfront parking structure has three huge banners hung as of today for 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.A prominent banner facing Petco Park and downtown promotes the upcoming video game Shadow of the Tomb Raider.Another banner on the Harbor Drive side of the parking structure also advertises the new Tomb Raider game.A huge banner facing the San Diego Convention Center features Disney characters and promotes Kingdom Hearts III which debuts early next year.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
LAIKA LIVE San Diego is coming to 2018 Comic-Con . . . bigger and better than last year!
In my previous blog post, I discovered Laika is returning to San Diego Comic-Con. This morning I walked down to check things out again and learned that Laika’s presence in the Gaslamp this year will be substantially larger and more interesting!
The Laika Experience in 2017 was so amazingly successful, with lines that were so long, they’ve decided to enlarge the space and include even more stuff. I learned that for LAIKA LIVE San Diego this year, there will be life-size movie sets that the public can enter, including Coraline’s bedroom! (I went on the tour since I wrote this. Turns out I misinterpreted what I heard. It’s a life-size replica of Coraline’s Other World Living Room. Still very cool!)
UPDATE!
Here’s some great info I received from Laika!
Oscar®-winning animation studio LAIKA, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, returns to the heart of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter with an all new, bigger-than-ever LAIKA LIVE exhibit from Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 22, 2018 coinciding with the city’s PRIDE and Comic-Con festivities. With a new location (350 Fifth Avenue) providing three times the space as last year’s fantastically successful LAIKA installation, the free and all new exhibit will feature a huge cache of props, puppets, and sets from LAIKA’s critically acclaimed and award-winning films. Highlights include fan art, technology demonstrations, drawings for a pair of coveted Coraline Dunks from Nike, social media activations, LAIKA merchandise offered for sale (including brand new items and limited edition Coraline items), multiple giveaways, and more. LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight will lead a Facebook Live tour of the exhibit and do an autograph signing with a soon-to-be-announced special guest on Saturday, July 21.
Curators will explain the magical process of LAIKA’s filmmaking as guests peek behind the curtain at one of the most imaginative film studios in the world. LAIKA’s roster of costume characters (appearing both at the exhibit and throughout the Gaslamp Quarter) will pose for photos and for the first time ever will include Coraline and Other Mother, in a nod to the iconic film’s 10th anniversary (release date was February 9, 2009). In addition, fans will meet the costume character Mr. Link and see a set and Mr. Link puppet from LAIKA’s latest film Missing Link (set for release April 19, 2019).
Saturday, July 21 (with soon-to-be announced special guest)
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)
12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.
WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:
● Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
● LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
● Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
● Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including:
◦ Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline
◦ Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman
◦ Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls
◦ Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings
◦ Mister Link from Missing Link
Coraline graphic at entrance to the LAIKA LIVE San Diego offsite at 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.
Laika is returning to Comic-Con! As I walked through the Gaslamp Quarter this evening, I noticed their offsite venue for 2018 is under construction, in the old Dick’s Last Resort patio, where the Syfy Geek Love Chapel was located last year.
I loved the Laika Experience last year. Lots of cool stop-motion puppets, models and sets from their great animated movies were on display, open free to the general public. If you want to see what they had on display during Comic-Con last year, check out the related links at the bottom of this blog post.
I’m not sure right now exactly what LAIKA LIVE San Diego will be, but when I did some searching I noticed that Kubo and the Two Strings will be showing at the UltraStar Theater in Hazard Center during Comic-Con. I also know they are working on a new movie Missing Link which will debut in 2019.
LAIKA LIVE San Diego is coming to the Gaslamp Quarter for 2018 Comic-Con!The Boxtrolls.ParaNorman.Kubo and the Two Strings.
UPDATE!
Here’s some great info I received from Laika!
Oscar®-winning animation studio LAIKA, creators of Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, returns to the heart of San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter with an all new, bigger-than-ever LAIKA LIVE exhibit from Friday, July 13 – Sunday, July 22, 2018 coinciding with the city’s PRIDE and Comic-Con festivities. With a new location (350 Fifth Avenue) providing three times the space as last year’s fantastically successful LAIKA installation, the free and all new exhibit will feature a huge cache of props, puppets, and sets from LAIKA’s critically acclaimed and award-winning films. Highlights include fan art, technology demonstrations, drawings for a pair of coveted Coraline Dunks from Nike, social media activations, LAIKA merchandise offered for sale (including brand new items and limited edition Coraline items), multiple giveaways, and more. LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight will lead a Facebook Live tour of the exhibit and do an autograph signing with a soon-to-be-announced special guest on Saturday, July 21.
Curators will explain the magical process of LAIKA’s filmmaking as guests peek behind the curtain at one of the most imaginative film studios in the world. LAIKA’s roster of costume characters (appearing both at the exhibit and throughout the Gaslamp Quarter) will pose for photos and for the first time ever will include Coraline and Other Mother, in a nod to the iconic film’s 10th anniversary (release date was February 9, 2009). In addition, fans will meet the costume character Mr. Link and see a set and Mr. Link puppet from LAIKA’s latest film Missing Link (set for release April 19, 2019).
Saturday, July 21 (with soon-to-be announced special guest)
11am: LAIKA President & CEO Travis Knight (director of Kubo and the Two Strings) will take Facebook Live guests on a tour of the exhibit. (Details tba)
12:30 to 2:00pm: Autograph signing session with Travis Knight. Autographs of merchandise (available at the store at LAIKA LIVE) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, time permitting.
WHAT TO SEE at LAIKA LIVE:
● Sets, puppets, props and technology demonstrations from all four LAIKA films as well as our hero puppet and a set from the studio’s upcoming Missing Link.
● LAIKA merchandise available for purchase.
● Daily drawing for one pair of collectible Coraline Dunks from Nike.
● Photo ops with LAIKA costume characters, including:
◦ Coraline and Other Mother from Coraline
◦ Norman and Zombie Judge from ParaNorman
◦ Boxtrolls Fish and Sparky from The Boxtrolls
◦ Kubo, Monkey and Beetle from Kubo and the Two Strings
◦ Mister Link from Missing Link
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Amazon will be promoting their new Jack Ryan web television series in a big way during 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, and their cool offsite The Jack Ryan Experience is now under construction.
You’ll find it in that big parking lot off First Avenue, north of Harbor Drive, where Blade Runner 2049 was located last year.
UPDATE!
I took those first two photos this morning–Friday. This evening after work I swung on by again and noticed that red steps are now in place that climb up to a zip line.
UPDATE!
I took more photos on Sunday afternoon. Some graphics are going up, plus what appears to be a large United States military helicopter in the middle of the parking lot. I’m told visitors to The Jack Ryan Experience will find themselves immersed in a Middle Eastern setting. It will be interesting to see what develops!
UPDATE!
I’ve taken a bunch more photos! You can see how the construction has progressed by checking out one of my later San Diego Comic-Con blog posts, by clicking here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
The House of Mexico had a fun display in the Plaza de Panama during the 2018 Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Yesterday during the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Balboa Park I walked around the Plaza de Panama checking out a variety of colorful tables. At the House of Mexico’s table, I learned how these good people are raising money to build their own casita at the International Cottages. The necessary permits have been obtained, now they just need to raise more money for the construction!
The House of Mexico has been a member of the House of Pacific Relations since 2004. Their mission is to promote the beauty, history, and culture of Mexico, San Diego’s close neighbor to the south.
If you’d like to help this cultural project, by becoming a member or perhaps by making a tax deductible donation, please visit the House of Mexico’s website!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
