If you’ve never been to San Diego Comic-Con before, then you might be wondering what an activation is. Well, not everything at the con takes place on the show floor or the panel rooms. The park behind the convention center, the docks on the bay, and the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego are all a part of the party. These areas feature takeovers of restaurants, bars, and open spaces by game, movie, streaming, and other entertainment companies that create interactive experiences for the public. And I do mean “public” – since they are outside of the SDCC venue grounds they are open to all, even those who weren’t lucky enough to snag a badge to the con. There were far too many activations for me to visit this year with my appointments for booth tours, interviews, and panel coverage, but I was able to sneak away to tour several of them and give you an idea of what they were like.
Sonic Racing Karting Experience
My first stop of the week was a good distance from the San Diego Convention Center, but luckily San Diego has a good trolley system with two stops in front of the Convention Center and another not too far from the K1 Karting Experience where the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds x K1 Karting Experience was taking place. SEGA took over the indoor kart track to promote Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, giving Sonic fans the chance to ride real-world karts for free (sorry, there weren’t any speed boosts or weapon power-ups on the track). The track featured a number of Sonic-inspired decorations, and while waiting for their time to race visitors could indulge at the Sonic Café, play games at the pop-up SEGA arcade, or purchase (or even win) some Sonic merch.
The Lodge
After a trolley ride back to the Gaslamp District it was time to visit Paramount+’s The Lodge. This was a nightspot takeover of what for the rest of the year is the Happy Does Bar. “The Lodge” is a play on the rendering of Utah’s Ben Lomond Mountain that is featured in the Paramount+ logo, and it features a bit of a ski lodge vibe with skis, trail maps, and other winter sports paraphernalia on the walls between the themed areas. The Lodge is really an activation of activations, featuring themed areas based on the Paramount+ streaming lineup. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was represented by a “holodeck” which featured an other-worldly garden and a bar serving up cosmic inspired cocktails. Not to be outdone in the libations department, Happy Does’ actual bar was taken over by Landman, and offered visitors their choice of a beer or themed cocktail. It wasn’t all bars, though. An NFL challenge offered prizes to those who could throw a football through one of the holes in a wall, there was a Dexter: Resurrection vault containing mementos of the other serial killers that Dexter has faced through the years, an NCIS photo op that would put you in the middle of a live-motion wanted poster, and the opportunity to be inserted into an iconic scene from the Mission Impossible series. And just to make sure visitors wouldn’t go hungry while enjoying The Lodge, sliders, fries, and popcorn were freely handed out.
Pirate Purrrty
Up next was a little hike back to the Convention Center and around back to Adult Swim’s Pirate Purrrty. If you missed the pun at first glance, this was a pirate cat themed event featuring games and photo ops from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup. Well, there was a cat joust as well, just ‘cause, in which visitors would try to dismount their opponent from the back of a cat on a spring by using a lance with the tensile strength of half-cooked spaghetti. You could also bounce around on inflatable butts while Rick and Morty looked on, have your photo taken with the Smiling Friends, or ride Fang the T-Rex from Primal.
Spider-Man Magic
It was then another hike back to the Gaslamp District’s Hard Rock Hotel, which was hosting an activation for Magic the Gathering’s new Spider-Man game. A ballroom was transformed into a New York street, with the first stop being a bodega window to pick-up your free starter deck. If you weren’t sure what color starter you wanted, the helpful people manning the window would ask you a few Spider-Man universe related questions to help match you with the right deck. Inside the bodega were plenty of tables to play, each one manned by someone to help visitors to learn how to play the game. There was also a news stand handing out copies of The Daily Bugle, The Divine Doughworks bagel shop serving up comics rather than bagels, and the office of the Editor-In-Chief of The Daily Bugle.
All of that was on preview night and the con still hadn’t officially begun at that point. And while things were got really busy on Thursday, I still managed to stop by a couple of activations, both of which were on the green space surrounding the Convention Center.
Alien: Earth – The Wreckage
FX was promoting its new Alien: Earth series with Alien: Earth – The Wreckage. FX created the crash site of the USCSS Maginot and the military camp built around it to study its Xenomorph cargo. Alien egg containers, field labs, sections of the broken ship, and more were available for visitors to explore in this surprisingly large activation. I only had the chance to visit during the daylight hours, but at night the Xenomorphs came out, turning the experience into a Halloween-style fright fest.
King of the Hill
For a complete change of scenery, I continued along the green area until I reached Arlen, TX. Hulu has been bringing their animation lineup to Comic Con for several years, but this year they went all-in on the return of King of the Hill after its fifteen-year hiatus. Hulu created a mini version of Arlen, complete with its signature water tower. Locations that any fan of the show would recognize featured games, refreshments, or photo ops, which visitors could enjoy with cans of Alamo “beer” (filled with water). The Mega Lo Mart was making custom trucker hats for everyone and the Hill House was the place to go for some BBQ brisket. Games included a cowboy boot ring toss with a King of the Hill BBQ apron as the prize and a beanbag toss into giant Alamo cans for the chance to win an Alamo beer can cooler.
Scott Pilgrim
While technically not an activation, since it was so appropriate for a Scott Pilgrim game I’m going to go ahead and include this on the tour. To promote their upcoming Scott Pilgrim EX game, Tribute games brought the band behind the game’s soundtrack, Anamanaguchi, to the House of Blues. And to make the concert even more Scott Pilgrim themed, Bryan Lee O’Mally himself was on hand to talk to fans and enjoy the music inspired by his comic creation.
Starr Park Experience
The mobile game Brawl Starrs went all-out, converting a dock on the bay behind the convention center into the Brawl Starrs All-Sar Park. The park was hidden from view by high walls, both to keep what lie within a mystery and to enhance the experience for visitors. Visitors were brought in a group at a time where they would meet their tour guide. After a joke-filled welcome speech, the group was led into a spacecraft-like shuttle for the ride to the park. The craft’s “windows” were video screens so passengers could watch the journey unfold in a Star Tours style experience, minus the motion. Of course, some hijinks occurred and the shuttle was hijacked and taken off course. When it finally came to a safe landing, the doors were opened and the visitors could enter Star Park. The park was a circular plaza with a fountain at its center with carnival game stations around the perimeter. Visitors could try their luck at each and if they won, they were given a sticker. Once all the games were played, you collected a swag bag on your way out, with bonus items for each sticker that was collected.
There were many more activations available for visitors, but these were all that I had the time to visit myself. Hopefully this gives you a good idea of what they’re like at SDCC. And i you live within a day’s drive of San Diego and missed out on a badge, now you know there’s still plenty for you to do during SDCC.
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