Going to cons is every fan’s dream and something that is planned for years or months leading up to the event. So much can be said for con goers that attend San Diego Comic Con, Wondercon or both. I have been attending Comic Con for four consecutive years and attended Wondercon for the first time back in March 2015.  With badge sales aside, each experience has me thinking, what are the pros and cons of both?  I weigh in on ultimately which con proved to be more personable, organized, and who has the better venue. 

Which con is more personable and offers a better experience?

Comic Con is one of the world’s largest cons. Fans travel from all over the world to meet their favorite entertainment stars, comic book writers, artists, check out new games or gaming technology, cosplay from their favorite fandoms and meet up with those that share the same common interest. With huge crowds comes the tendency to make things less personable. Sure  it is able to draw out A-List actors to the event and in return draws more con goers, hoping to get a few seconds of time with their favorites, mainly through autograph sessions.

However, nabbing a wristband to get that chance to meet your cast member/celebrity proves to be a difficult task. I have witnessed off hand a few occasions where con goers left broken hearted by the ‘lotto’ drawing for wristbands. One moment that will stand out in my mind for awhile, is a young tween crying after she devastatingly found out that the ticket she pulled to meet the Teen Wolf cast was not a winning ticket. The tween has been up at 3 a.m. in line with her parents in hopes to get a chance to meet the Teen Wolf cast that year. The tween was nearly unconsolable and had to be escorted by her parents away from the remaining people in line.

The “lotto’ is a technique used by both Comic Con and Wondercon, however the likely hood of getting a wristband to meet your favorite cast/celebrity is better with Wondercon and here is why.

1. The organization of the line for autographs:

•  Comic Con throws everyone together into one giant line that is not the line up for Hall H. This means that Ballroom 20, exhibit hall and autograph participants are all in the same line together. After released into the convention center, things become a little more like a ‘mad dash’ to then line up in the WB, and FOX line to wait out the lotto.
• Wondercon lines up autographs next to badge pick which leaves those not wanting to try for autographs to venture to their designated areas. Not to mention Wondercon’s autograph chutes are labeled by the show or assemble you are trying to obtain autographs from. No crazy ‘mad dash’ for the line up and I feel more comfortable lined up inside the convention center rather than being out in the summer sun at Comic Con.

2.  The lotto chances 

• Comic Con’s ‘lotto’ for wristbands is like having you name drawn out of the “Hunger Games.” Okay maybe not to that extreme, but wristbands are hard to obtain, unless you have the right people, the endurances, patience and well luck on your side. WB and FOX are the big studios that hold wristband autograph sessions (this is not including Marvel, AMC or Lionsgate autographs), in which everyone lined up lumped together into studio lines. The ‘lotto’ is at the tail end where they have variety of show bags that hold tickets to win a wristband. You get one draw and if you do not have a winning ticket, there is no second tries or chances.
• Wondercon follow the same ‘lotto’ drawing, however you are placed into a chute of the show you are trying to get autographs for. I missed out on my first try to obtain a winning ticket and was able to line up again to try once more. Thankfully a friend I made in line helped me obtain my wristband to meet the cast of Shadowhunters. I saw people go fours times through the line until they got a winning ticket. This was the case for the other shows that morning usually allowing con goers to go 2-3 times till they lucked out.

3.  The Autograph Experience 

• Comic Con has swarms of con goers roaming around the exhibit floor, causing crowds to form around popular autograph sessions. WB autograph sessions do not allow fans to take photos while going through the autograph line and WB employees give you the “Come on and move along mentality, ” if your conversations runs more than 3 minutes. I heard FOX is more lenient as sometime they may allow you take photos or video while meeting cast members. I experienced this on two occasions where I was lucky enough to obtain wristbands to meet The Originals cast and The Vampire Diaries cast.
• Wonder con, depending on the studio is more personable, while meeting the cast of Shadowhunters. I was able to talk in some length with the cast, take selfies and request a video shout out to my cousins from their favorite character of the series. I know this is a reflection of what the studios allow, but either way the experience I had with Wondercon trumps the impersonal autograph sessions with Comic Con.

The Venue Space

We all know Comic Con has outgrown the space at the San Diego Convention Center sparking criticism from con goers about the difficultly of obtaining badges to the biggest con of the year. Comic Con proves every year to be the best and most talked about con, with laptops ready for the ‘madhouse’ lotto badge sales, selling out every year. This leaves disgruntled potential con goers devastated or angry over missing out on the event. Comic Con has extended their contract with San Diego till 2018, in hopes for the convention center expansion. Being from San Diego, we have not seen any headway with plans to expand, as San Diego’s main focus this past year has been to keep the NFL Chargers in San Diego by building a new stadium, not to mention the San Diego’s City Council fighting the expansion plans and appealing the plans for the expansion.

Where as their counterpart, Wondercon, never seems to sell out of a full weekend of badges or certain days. Wondercon usually takes place during Easter weekend, which may put a small damper into sales. Also the venue for Wondercon was held in another convention center, this time at the Los Angeles Convention Center, rather than in Anaheim as previous years. Talking with Wondercon vets, I was informed that the Anaheim convention center was under construction. The choice for the Los Angles Convention center was made in part to keep Wondercon going.

Despite the change of venue, I found the layout pleasing and allowed ease from jumping to exhibit hall to panel venues. If I had to critique anything it would be the schedule being to close to events that I was interested in attending, but that goes with every con, having to decide which panel or event to chose over the other. Overall based on organization, venue and overall experience, I would say Wondercon won me over. The only thing I found lacking was on the exhibit floor, as it lacked the interactive exhibits and big name vendors that Comic Con is able to draw in.

I am excited to attend Comic Con 2016 and look forward to another Wondercon in 2017. Tell me what you think about Comic Con and Wondercon. If you attended either please share your thoughts with us!