Even as everyone limbers up dialing fingers and tests internet speed for the Big Day when the hotels go on sale, many San Diego Comic-Con rumors are rampant. Before reporting them we thought we’d check in with David Glanzer, PR head honcho for the con, and he gave us the straight scoop on some stories making the rounds. The main news is that the aisles in some parts of the exhibit hall are being widened.

“As you know the configuration of the floor changes from year to year,” he told The Beat “This can be attributed to any number of things including numbers of booths, size of booths and size of aisles.

“Safety is always a paramount concern, and because of that we have long been in the habit of increasing aisle width in areas of crowding or potential crowding. This year is no different.

“Our aisles are always at least 10 feet wide, with some aisles 20 feet wide. This year we have increased a portion of the back aisles in Hall D & E from 10 feet to 20 feet and a portion of Hall G also from 10 feet to 20 feet.”

Does this mean, ulp, fewer booths?

“This increase has resulted in some booths being moved to different locations on the floor,” sayd Glanzer. “As far as a wait list for Comic-Con yes, there is a wait list again this year. However, the reconfiguration of the floor hasn’t had an impact on that wait list. The reason is that while we do experience a great return of exhibitors, not every exhibitor can return from year to year.

“So while we may have lost minimal booth space because of the increase in aisle width, the attrition rate has resulted in that not being a factor for returning exhibitors who have turned their paperwork.”

As in the past, booths will be allocated to past exhibitors first, then new exhibitors. The con is still looking to find ways to accommodate as many exhibitors as possible in a “safe and fun environment.”

When you say wider aisles, we say HELLS YEAH! We hate being trampled while some Princess Leia tramp poses for every drooler on the planet! We need to make our getaways! We’d also heard that the gridlock-inducing confluence of studio booths in one area might be broken up this year but Glanzer expects the floor plan to be similar to last year’s.

1 COMMENT

  1. Eventually, the aisles will be widened until there are only a few booths in each hall. Attendees will circulate like livestock, as will most exhibitors, handing out items which will then be traded amongst fans. The Red Cross will set up an aid station on the upper level, and the Navy will supply tsunami-style relief via an aircraft carrier.

  2. Actually, this makes me wonder how it will effect the Artist’s Alley and Small Press tables – which every year is always touch-n-go and often wiggled into the corner fighting for space with bathroom and food concession lines.

  3. Artist Alley …Graphic Ghetto?… and Small Press are the soul of the Con, but the heart is multimedia marketing. That is what drives the Con. Remove the toys, the movies, the celebrities, and the Con would have half the attendance.
    I wonder if placing small booths opposite large booths would improve crowd flow, and help the little guy?

  4. Yes, well, we Princess Leia tramps have as much of a right to be there as anyone else… if not more of a right… and I don’t think that helping other people come just a little closer to a cherished memory or fantasy by posing for a simple picture is one of the worst injustices suffered to anyone in the growing crowds. I notice that you didn’t say “some Storm Trooper tramp,” because you probably don’t realize that females do get into costumes other than scantily-clad ones.

    Some kind woman’s or man’s inability to turn down a photo with an excited fan (be they children or adults) is not the worst horror story I’ve heard. The very few frustrated attendees who misdirect their anger towards me or fellow costumers in snide comments, really end up making themselves look like the jealous, impatient, braying jackals that they are.

    Huge exhibitors that bring the same boring exhibit year after year should really try something new, or step down and give more of the smaller vendors and artists a fighting chance. Wider aisles will let more attendees in and give us all breathing room; hopefully the con doesn’t suffer too much this year from the writer strike and “minimal booth space” lost. The convention would not be a convention without all of its attractions! If you can’t handle the sensory overload, please stay home and let the rest of us enjoy ourselves.

    As if, with the growing con selling out last year, one could really be surprised by the hotel prices affected by demand-driven inflation. They aren’t selling on-site tickets at all this year; if you’re smart, you live in San Diego and you already have purchased your tickets in advance, too.

  5. As a backpacker, I recall that some universities rent out dorm rooms during the summer months. Perhaps San Diego State?