Crucial Entertainment, best known for their amazing comics-focused comic cons in Asbury Park, New Jersey, premieres their inaugural East Coast Comicon in the Meadowlands this weekend! 10 AM – 6 PM Saturday and Sunday, just minutes from the New York City!
We’ll have a teaser post momentarily about the amazing guests and exhibitors, but here’s the survival guide! We know how easy it is to get lost in the wilds of the Jersey Meadowlands (just ask Jimmy Hoffa)! Last summer, when Marvel had a special promotion with Wal-Mart, this intrepid reporter caught a bus from Mos Eisley the Port Authority Bus Terminal and ventured into suburbia.
The Show:
Official website (We’ll have a separate post on the show itself!)
The Venue:
Meadowlands Exposition Center
For those keeping score at home:
The Meadowlands Exposition Center features:
- 61,000 square feet of contiguous, obstruction-free, dedicated exhibition space with 20-foot high ceiling
- 3,578 square feet of carpeted meeting space
- Capacity: 365 10′ x 10′ booths; 398 8′ x 10′ booths; 3,500 seating – banquet; 5,000 seating – sports events; 5,000 seating – concert/theater style
- Large multi-functional lobby may be used for registration, exhibit space or banquet area
- Two drive-in doors and four loading docks on street level for easy access
- Unique “flown from the air” electric simplifies floor plan and eliminates the need to carpet aisles to cover floor wires
Directions:
The Meadowlands Exposition Center offers directions.
Take the bus! (Here’s the county bus map for the area!)
Bus stops near the Expo Center:
- 85 Hoboken – Secaucus/Mill Creek (The other side of the shopping complex)
- 320 New York City PABT – Secaucus/Mill Creek (About fifteen minutes from NYC.) ($.3.95 one-way)
- One stop away (400 feet) is the #78 bus departing from Newark Penn Station to Broad Street and then Harmon Meadow, which then connects at Secaucus Junction.
If you’re driving from Manhattan, take the Lincoln Tunnel and Route 3. North or South, use the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). Click on the map above to figure out travel options. If you’re taking public transit, I suggest the buses. The ones from Port Authority are coach buses, similar to the shuttle buses you find at amalgamated-cons. I suspect the other NJT lines are as well.
The Neighborhood:
Harmon Meadow
The Plaza at Harmon Meadow (Click to access the map key.)
Note that this map is somewhat out of date. There is now a Red Robin restaurant across the street from L.A. Fitness. Also, to the north is a Sam’s Club and a Wal-Mart.
Also note the ATM east of the Expo Center (#31 on the map). It is a Chase bank. (Want to save on bank fees? Buy something at the Wal-Mart with your debit card, and ask for cash back.) Also, there is no shortcut between the 400 and 500 Plaza Drive buildings. You’ll have to walk around to get to the restaurants to the south.
On the other side of the Interstate/Eastern Spur is The Mall at Mill Creek. It’s a bit of a hike.
Home to Kohl’s, Toys R Us, A.C. Moore, two gas stations, a liquor store, and waterfowl.
Map: 
Dining:
There’s also a McDonald’s in the Wal-Mart to the north, but if you’re already there, why not buy some real food instead? (Maybe one of the employees will let you use their SNAP card.)
Hmm… with all of those office buildings nearby, I wonder if any of these restaurants deliver to the Expo Center?
Here’s the YELP search for the area.
Sleeping:
The official con hotel is Embassy Suites. [Please book here first. It’s next door to the Expo Center, and if the hotel has a good weekend, then it makes things easier for the show next year.]
Here’s where to stay:
DISCOUNT CODE FOR RESERVATIONS: ECC
Online reservation here >>
Official hotel of East Coast Comicon is the Embassy Suites
Located right next to the Meadowlands Exposition Center$169 per night. Includes breakfast.
Embassy Suites Secaucus – Meadowlands
455 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, New Jersey,07094, USA
TEL: +1-201-864-7300
There are other hotels in the area (due to the high concentration of corporate offices, the junction of Route 3 and the Turnpike, and the Meadowlands).
This is a great location for a show! Easy access, affordable dining, emergency retail (or distractions for family members), lots of hotel rooms. It rivals SPX! Maybe not “Camp Comics”, but certainly a “Spring Break” experience!
